Today's Quote 12.06.08
"It is unacceptable that the United States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption. Here, in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online."
-- President-Elect Barack Obama
December 2008
Addressing the Economy, Obama Pledges Universal Broadband
President-elect Barack Obama promised Saturday to create the largest public works construction program since the inception of the interstate highway system a half century ago as he seeks to put together a plan to resuscitate the reeling economy. Obama's remarks showcased his ambition to expand the definition of traditional work programs for the middle class, like infrastructure projects to repair roads and bridges, to include new-era jobs in technology and so-called green jobs that reduce energy use and global warming emissions. The plan would cover a range of programs to expand broadband Internet access, to make government buildings more energy efficient, to improve information technology at hospitals and doctors' offices, and to upgrade computers in schools. Paul Bledsoe, a former Clinton White House energy adviser, said, "He is advocating things like guaranteeing every American a college education, wiring the entire country for Internet, putting in a smart electric grid. If he can do it, these will be major systemic advantages for the United States in the competitive global economy."
In his weekly radio address, President-elect Obama said, "[M]y economic recovery plan will launch the most sweeping effort to modernize and upgrade school buildings that this country has ever seen. We will repair broken schools, make them energy-efficient, and put new computers in our classrooms. Because to help our children compete in a 21st century economy, we need to send them to 21st century schools.
"As we renew our schools and highways, we'll also renew our information superhighway. It is unacceptable that the United States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption. Here, in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online, and they'll get that chance when I'm President - because that's how we'll strengthen America's competitiveness in the world.
"In addition to connecting our libraries and schools to the Internet, we must also ensure that our hospitals are connected to each other through the Internet. That is why the economic recovery plan I'm proposing will help modernize our health care system - and that won't just save jobs, it will save lives. We will make sure that every doctor's office and hospital in this country is using cutting edge technology and electronic medical records so that we can cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes, and help save billions of dollars each year."
Universal Broadband, Economic Development and Job Creation
Economic and job creation success stories are more likely to take place not in the United States, but in countries with a more competitive combination of robust, affordable broadband and well-trained knowledge-workers. That is why in today's world, America requires a well-considered National Broadband Strategy. This is not just a matter of creating jobs and stimulating economic growth here at home; ultimately, it is a matter of economic necessity and survival in the globally-connected and competitive marketplace. The qualitative and quantitative evidence is clear and consistent: at the individual, local/community, and national levels, the deployment of fast, reliable, and affordable broadband will stimulate tremendous economic development and create hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of good-paying jobs that might otherwise be lost or go offshore. A well-educated population is essential to retaining America's competitiveness in the global economy. The ever-increasing knowledge and skill demands of the 21st century require that secondary school preparation and requirements be better aligned with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in postsecondary education and the workforce. To promote significant and sustained economic development and job creation, and enhance America's economic and technological competitiveness versus other nations, the new Administration must take swift and bold action that will once again make the United States a world leader in advanced telecommunications infrastructure. As detailed above, on Day One of his Administration, the new President must issue Executive Orders that will result in the execution of a National Broadband Strategy to bring universal, affordable, and robust broadband to every household in America.
How Should a Rural Fiber Fund Work?
[Commentary] Daily has been running a series on the idea of a rural fiber fund to accelerate the fastest Internet connections in the most underserved parts of America. How big does the fund need to be? $30 billion could be enough to fully fund wiring all of rural America (all US cities with populations below 20,000). How should the government support be structured? The government doesn't need to write a big check, it needs to step in and guarantee these risky, long-term infrastructure investments. Daily sees the Department of Agriculture.
Dorr Resigns from USDA Post
On November 5, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer announced the resignation, effective December 1, 2008, of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas C. Dorr who joined USDA in 2001. Dorr led USDA's rural broadband program launch (authorized initially in 2002) which is aimed at ensuring universal access to affordable broadband even in low-density rural areas
Retail's Future: Net Ads, Ecommerce
[Commentary] A record number of consumers are choosing to shop online this gloomy holiday season because the instant price comparisons, social-network recommendations, free shipping and other interactive tools save time and money. It is a behavioral shift that is permanently changing commerce and advertising in ways that Madison Avenue has yet to fully grasp. The recession is compelling consumers to discover better, cheaper ways to accomplish the mission online. Pitching a product or service isn't enough--even if it is to highly targeted connected consumers. Retailers are also advertisers; they must embrace interactivity to achieve their fundamental objective: the consumer esale. Advertisers' aggressive adoption of new online marketing and ecommerce business models could prove an ironic and valuable byproduct of challenging times.
PacBell v. linkLine: Case on Monopolizing the DSL Market to be heard Dec 8
On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Pacific Bell Telephone Co. v. linkLine Communications. The case could decide whether a company not obligated under antitrust law to sell to others at wholesale prices can be held liable for variations in its wholesale and retail price levels. In 2003, several Internet service providers, including Linkline Communications Inc., filed suit against Pacific Bell Telephone Co., contending that the AT&T unit monopolized and attempted to monopolize the relevant DSL Internet services market, in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act, by, among other things, "creat[ing] a price squeeze by charging ISPs a high wholesale price in relation to the price at which defendants were providing retail services." Pacific Bell asked the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to dismiss the case on the grounds that the U.S. Supreme Court's 2004 decision in Verizon Comms. Inc. v. Law Offices of Curtis V. Trinko compelled judgment in its favor. The district court denied that motion, holding that "because a price-squeeze claim is actionable under existing antitrust standards, and because the Ninth Circuit has upheld the viability of price-squeeze claims in the context of highly regulated industries, Trinko does not bar Plaintiffs' price-squeeze claim."
Quad-play overrated for cable, analyst says
Despite the oft-discussed benefits of the bundle and the relatively recession-proof nature of wireless, AT&T and Verizon Wireless are essentially the only major US operators to offer a true quad-play today. Cable companies are making moves in the wireless space, but at least one industry analyst is not convinced they should even bother with a wireless service at all. According to Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett, academic research shows that bundles have a negative utility in economic terms, meaning customers have to be compensated for agreeing to accept restricted choice. The argument in favor of wireless is that competing telcos have it and, as more cable customers cut the cord on their landlines, they must turn to wireless to stay competitive. Moffett calls this theory thin.
Thieves Winning Online War, Maybe Even in Your Computer
Internet security is broken, and nobody seems to know quite how to fix it. Despite the efforts of the computer security industry and a half-decade struggle by Microsoft to protect its Windows operating system, malicious software is spreading faster than ever. The so-called malware surreptitiously takes over a PC and then uses that computer to spread more malware to other machines exponentially. Computer scientists and security researchers acknowledge they cannot get ahead of the onslaught. As more business and social life has moved onto the Web, criminals thriving on an underground economy of credit card thefts, bank fraud and other scams rob computer users of an estimated $100 billion a year, according to a conservative estimate by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. With vast resources from stolen credit card and other financial information, the cyberattackers are handily winning a technology arms race.
Ball State Launches $17.7 Million Emerging Media Initiative
Ball State University unveiled a major initiative designed to advance the study of emerging media and to better prepare students for careers in a rapidly changing digital economy. The program, backed by $17.7 million in funding over the next five years from a combination of institutional and private sector sources, is another in a series of commitments the Indiana state university has made to become an area of academic excellence for the media industry. The emerging media initiative will be a combination of higher education and practical application. The goal is to attract and retain key faculty steeped with knowledge and understanding of emerging media, as well as fellows from within the industry. As part of that, the program will have an Emerging Media Faculty Fellows program, which BSU will provide incentives and start-up funding for the hiring of new faculty -- across the curriculum -- with expertise in the study and use of emerging media. One of the first Emerging Media Faculty Fellows is Mahesh Senagala. As BSU's newly appointed Irving distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Architecture, Senagala is working at the forefront of understanding emerging media's impact on architecture.