June 2009

Is Broadband a Civil Right?

[Commentary] There are some moments when you can feel the conversation change -- and the world tilt from right to left. Today was one of those days. It began early at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York City. The PdF as it's known, is now in it's 6th year -- and attracts the top talent in politics, consulting, and technology. Predictably, the conversation this year revolved around Twitter, Iran and the transformational power of social media to change the political landscape. The days agenda featured a list of Obama campaign and administration superstars -- and it perhaps is somewhat ironic that Julius Genachowski, the newly appointed FCC chairman wasn't able to attend, as he was being confirmed in DC just as the afternoon sessions began. But the elephant in the room wasn't about software, or technology -- it was about Broadband. The issues around Universal Access emerged as the most powerful metaphor for freedom, democracy, and free speech.

Personal Democracy Forum: Battle over Broadband

The Obama administration has called for a $7.1 billion upgrade of the nation's broadband Internet system as part of the Recovery Act, but it will be a tall order for the Federal Communications Commission to create a plan that satisfies both telecom companies and broadband advocacy groups. That was the takeaway message at a panel discussion of the broadband initiative at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York on Monday afternoon. Panelist Josh Silver, the executive director and co-founder of Free Press, ripped into his co-panelists, who represented the wireless and telecommunications industries. He accused them of price-gauging Americans on Internet service and monopolizing the industry rather than engaging in competitiveness and helping provide affordable access to the poor. "We're looking at industries which are protecting a very lucrative business model, and there are starting to be increasing numbers of people at the gates understanding that the ISP market should be competitive," Silver said. "We're talking about democracy," he added later in the discussion. "Can poor people see streaming video that calls out corruption in government and in business?" Co-panelists James Assey, executive vice president of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, and Hank Hultquist, vice president for federal regulation at AT&T, did their best to be diplomatic and remained even keel in the face of a crowd that was largely against them.

Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Roadmap

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) seeks comments on a report, entitled ''Report to NIST on the '' (the ''EPRI Report''), prepared by the Electric Power Research Institute. NIST will consider the EPRI Report, and comments received on the EPRI Report, in the development of NIST's interim ''roadmap'' for Smart Grid interoperability standards, a responsibility assigned to NIST under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. All comments submitted should reference this notice. Comments must be received on or before July 30, 2009.

Maine: A MacBook for each student in grades 7-12

Maine is extending an existing Apple notebook purchase program to high-school students. Apple has been working with the state since 2002 to provide middle school students with notebook computers. With the expansion, Maine becomes the only U.S. state that has committed to providing a notebook to every public-school student from 7th to 12th grade. To fulfill its commitment, the Maine Department of Education has ordered more than 64,000 MacBooks for students and faculty, with an additional 7,000 that will be ordered in the coming weeks.

The Stealth Media Mogul

Worth an estimated $5 billion, Philip Anschutz founded Qwest Communications and owns or controls stakes in some 100 businesses. Among them: railroads; oil companies; cattle ranching; wind farms; national park concessions; professional hockey, basketball and soccer teams; Regal Entertainment Group, the largest movie operator in the US; the Staples Center and Kodak Theater in Los Angeles; the 02 Dome in London, where the late Michael Jackson planned 50 concerts; and movie production house Walden Media. Launching free tabloid throwaways, as Anschutz has for the past five years, seems like a puzzling fit in a collection of sports and show business properties. Anschutz has been giving away newspapers since 2004, the year he bought the San Francisco Examiner for $11 million. He has used the 139-year-old paper to create brand extensions for two other free papers and a social-networking venture. In 2005, he launched the Washington Examiner; in 2006, the Baltimore Examiner. Both were also free and carried the San Francisco Examiner's famed "Eagle" masthead. Last year he rolled out local Web sites targeting 90 cities under the Examiner name, packed with user-generated content from contributors called "examiners." These bloggers are paid based on page views their content generates.

Telcos target Universal Service Fund

Major long-distance phone companies like AT&T are lobbying in Washington for an overhaul of the $7.1 billion Universal Service Fund, which helps pay for phone service for poor, rural areas and schools and libraries. They are facing opposition from rural phone companies over the question of how to move the fund, which was formed in the 1930s and expanded with the Telecommunications Act of 1996, into the Internet age. "It's worked for voice telecom," says Dan Mitchell, vice president of the legal and industry division of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association, a trade group representing rural telecommunications providers. "It needs to be transitioned to broadband and high-speed Internet communications. That's the $64 million question — how the (Federal Communications Commission) will do that transition."

Funds For Learning Announces Findings from National E-rate Survey

Funds For Learning, an E-rate funding compliance services firm, announces the results of the Second Annual National E-rate Survey. Findings include:

1) Opinions of E-rate program management have improved dramatically over the last year.

2) The majority of survey respondents, 71 percent, believe that their organization has more classrooms connected to the Internet than would be the case if the E-rate program did not exist.

3) 57 percent of participating organizations have just one person managing the E-rate process.

4) Fifteen percent of survey respondents indicate that they have undergone an audit within the last two years. Of these audited applicants, 72.5 percent had no findings as a result of their audit. For the remaining group, failure to properly retain E-rate related documentation was the most common audit finding. Most applicants feel that the amount of effort required to respond to an audit is disproportionate to the E-rate funding received, but agree that auditors conduct themselves professionally and communicate well with applicants.

Paramount talks to rivals on combining DVD ops

Viacom's Paramount Studios is considering combining its DVD manufacturing and distribution operations with those of a rival studio to cut costs. The goal would be to cut costs by combining some back office operations, including production and distribution, in sort of joint venture. Hollywood studios are cutting expenses to cope with the global economic crisis, stagnant video sales and up-and-coming technology that is steering consumers away from traditional home entertainment formats.

China backs away from Internet filter (updated w/more links)

China has delayed indefinitely a much-criticized plan to force manufacturers to bundle Internet filtering software with personal computers sold in the country, in an abrupt retreat hours before the policy was due to start. The climbdown was reported late on Tuesday by the official Xinhua news agency, which said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology would "delay the mandatory installation of the controversial 'Green Dam-Youth Escort' filtering software on new computers." The "Green Dam" plan, which officials said was to stamp out Internet pornography banned in China, was to start on Wednesday, but had been assailed by critics of censorship, industry groups and Washington officials as politically intrusive, technically ineffective and commercially unfair. No new date was given and the plan may drift into oblivion.

Roaming phone charges to fall in EU

Making a telephone call, sending a text message or reading emails on a mobile phone from across the European Union will cost less. The tariff cuts, which complete a European Union ruling from 2007, were proposed by the EU's executive arm at the end of 2008 and won approval by the European Parliament and member states. Following the new price curbs, which take effect on July 1, it will be up to 60 percent cheaper to send mobile phone text messages while traveling in the EU or to surf the Web by laptop. Operators will be allowed to charge customers a maximum of 11 euro cents (15 U.S. cents) per roamed text message (SMS), excluding sales tax, compared with current prices of about 28 cents. As of July 1, prices for making a roamed mobile call will be capped at 43 euro cents per minute versus 46 cents previously, and at 19 cents, down from 22 cents, for calls received abroad. The caps will further fall to 39 cents for calls made and 15 cents for calls received while roaming from July 1, 2010 and to 35 cents and 11 cents from July 1, 2011.