November 2009

Spanish citizens will have a legal right from 2011 to be able to buy broadband Internet of at least one megabyte per second at a regulated price wherever they live, the country's industry minister said on Tuesday. The telecoms operator holding the so-called "universal service" contract would have to guarantee it could offer "reasonably" priced broadband throughout Spain, said Miguel Sebastian in a statement sent to media. Former state monopoly Telefonica has always held the universal contract aimed at protecting consumers in poorly populated areas from being cut off in cases where operators would otherwise consider providing the service unprofitable. The service also subsidizes telecoms to disabled users. Until now, the "universal service" has only guaranteed Internet via telephone line, fixed telephone, directory service and telephone booths.

California regulators gave final approval Wednesday to the first mandatory US energy curbs on television sets, a growing but often overlooked power drain that accounts for 10 percent of home electric bills in the state. Supporters say the measure will save California consumers at least $8 billion over 10 years in electricity costs and enough energy to power 864,000 homes. California, which often leads the way in U.S. environmental initiatives, already boasts the lowest per-capita rate of electricity use in the United States. When fully implemented, California's standards will be the most stringent for new TVs in the world, said Noah Horowitz, a senior scientist for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group that backs the regulations. The rules require all new TVs sold in California to consume 33 percent less energy than current sets starting with the 2011 model year, and 50 percent less starting with 2013 models. This is expected to set a new industry standard for TV manufacturers everywhere by virtue of California's sheer size as a consumer market.

The US cable industry has spent more than $900 million to date on CableCard-enabled set-top boxes to comply with the Federal Communications Commission's so-called integrated set-top ban, according to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. The cable trade association included the estimate in an ex parte filing Wednesday with the FCC, detailing a meeting with agency staff on broadband and set-top topics.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and Councilmember Bruce Harrell yesterday released the results of a new city study on computer and Internet use by Seattle residents. The 2009 Information Technology Access and Adoption Report finds that almost 84 percent of households have Internet and 74 percent have higher speed services, mostly through cable and dsl. The survey also found a greater interest in mobile and personalized services, as well as even faster broadband, though residents are concerned with the cost of service.