August 2008

The US needs a broadband policy targeting unserved areas that's backed by action, not just words, said several speakers at a technology forum that was held in conjunction with the Democratic National Convention in Denver. The US has gone from "leader to laggard" in broadband rollout and adoption during the past eight years under President Bush, said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), speaking today at the forum, which was hosted by Silicon Flatirons, a technology law center at the University of Colorado. In early 2004, Bush called for broadband to be universally available across the US by 2007, but that hasn't happened, Sen Rockefeller said. "Despite all the rhetoric about improving Americans' access to broadband, the Bush administration never made achieving their goal a serious matter," he added. "Why? For starters, deploying broadband is really hard work."

Several Internet service providers are moving to curb the growth of traffic on their networks -- or at least make the subscribers who download the most pay more. This could have consequences not just for consumers -- who would have to learn to watch how much data their Internet use entails -- but also for companies that hope to make the Internet a conduit for movies and other content that comes in huge files. Cable companies have been at the forefront of imposing and talking about usage caps, because their lines are shared between households. In a sense, caps on Internet use are no stranger than the limited number of minutes a cell phone subscriber gets each month. Internet use varies hugely from person to person, and service providers argue that the people who use it the most should pay the most. But the industry hasn't worked out where to set the limits, or how much to charge users who exceed them. Fearing a customer backlash, most providers are setting the limits at levels where very few would bump into them.

As the September 8 date approaches for Wilmington (NC) broadcasters to shut off their analog signals, station managers there have decided to conduct a second pre-test to make sure the message is getting out to viewers. The stations shut off the analog signal for a minute August 19, with affected viewers seeing an on-screen message informing them they're not digitally connected -- and giving them a phone number to call. The second test, set for 7:30 p.m. September 2nd, will run for five minutes. Stations can present the on-screen message any way they like, but McNair says WECT's will probably feature larger type, a more digestible presentation, such as a scroll, and perhaps the continuous display of the phone number. National Hurricane Center spokesman and former TV station chief meteorologist Dennis Feltgen doesn't see the weather putting a crimp in the transition plans.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, 97% of broadcasters are either on the air with their digital signal at full power or will be by Feb. 17, 2009, the Congressionally-mandated date for the cut-off of full-power analog. Of those, according to the status report, 1,002 stations, or 56%, have fully constructed facilities ready for the transition, with the only remaining step to pull the plug on analog. In fact, eight of those have asked to pull the plug on analog early, a request the FCC said it is currently considering. That still leaves 41% of the stations (716) who said they are not done with construction, though all those said they expected to be ready at full power on Feb 17. Of those 716 stations not yet broadcasting DTV in full power to their full coverage area, 502 stations said they had no special circumstances impeding that full build-out, but were making "appropriate" progress. The other 234 cited special circumstances, including 10 that had to coordinate with Mexico, five that had Fish and Wildlife clearance issues. The largest category was 92 stations needing to coordinate with other stations, and 60 stations that were seeking a different post-transition digital channel. Thirty Five channels claimed financial hardship. Fifty-six stations are taking advantage of the FCC's grace period for stations with "unique technical challenges." Those include ones that have weather issues, ones with side-mounted antennas that need to me moved to the top, or stations that have been hit by unforeseen problems, like those in New York whose towers were destroyed in the 9/11 attacks. But even those said they would be on with a digital signal and viewable in at least 85% of their coverage area by Feb 17.