According to predictions by Pike & Fischer, high-speed Internet sign-ups are expected to decline by 10% in 2010 over this year's total. Cable is expected to add 2.1 million new broadband subs, and phone companies 1.7 million. The total number of broadband homes is predicted to top 77 million, or about 65%.
In the epic battle between giant corporations and pirates of digital media, the latter faction has struck a severe blow with the help of regulators at the Federal Communications Commission. Bureaucrats soon will be penning regulations that will keep the Internet free forever from -- well, regulation. Meanwhile, Internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast and AT&T will slink back to their caves to bemoan their inability to further mine profit from customers.
Such a description of the network neutrality debate is clearly a gross oversimplification of what's in reality a complex problem. If you listen to net neutrality advocates, ISPs are described as aspiring digital gatekeepers out to wring every last cent from innocent consumers. ISPs, on the other hand, have had a terrible time crafting a countermessage -- their best attempt has been claiming that they want only to reinvest profit into building more broadband. Net neutrality is an important issue, as it may well determine the future of the Web. And with the FCC's October 2009 notice of proposed rulemaking regarding network neutrality regulation, it would seem the grass-roots activists have defeated their corporate adversaries. Although there aren't any written rules yet, some worry the federal government is claiming power it doesn't possess to regulate the Internet in a manner that's far worse than what Time Warner or AT&T would even consider.
This year may well be the year that wireless operators adopt usage-based pricing models for their heavy-volume mobile data users, according to analyst firm Deloitte. With smartphone traffic eating up increasing amounts of data capacity and a small percentage of those users hogging the largest percentage of that bandwidth, carriers have little choice but to abandon their all-you-can-eat smartphone data plans and implement pricing models more equitable to all of their customers, said Phil Asmundson, Deloitte vice chairman and leader of the firm's US technology, media and telecommunications group. "If you look at what's happening today, they're being forced by necessity to adopt usage-based models," Asmundson said. "All-you-can-eat business models depend on your ability to predict how much data your customers will consume. The iPhone has proven that you can't make those kind of predictions." Due to that lack of predictability, operators are witnessing their data traffic increase at far faster rates than their revenues, but the balance is highly skewed toward high-volume users who not only are using more than their 'fair' share of capacity and limited network resources but are degrading the user experience for all customers, Asmundson said.
David Christopher, AT&T's chief marketing officer, stressed that improving its network is its top priority. "We are expanding daily. It's job one and priority one to make the best network possible," he said. New connected devices that are expected to come to the market, like Apple's tablet, will further weigh on wireless networks across the industry. For AT&T, its latest announcement that it will provide a platform for developers to create apps for mid-tier cellphones, will only provide more pressure. Mr. Christopher said, however, that he was confident the company could handle it. "There is a data explosion out there. But we're also at the bleeding edge of knowing how to deal with it. We're going to be better equipped to handle this new wave of capability," he said, stressing the high quality of AT&T's 3G network. He added that not everyone was streaming video all the time. "What's pushing it is certain users using an inordinate amount, and that's OK," he said.
The Federal Communications Commission launched the first-ever Web site dedicated to soliciting public input on ways to improve citizen interaction with the FCC. The launch also includes the first official FCC blog, which will feature posts from FCC employees and each of the five Commission members.
The site highlights five key elements of FCC reform for public discussion and feedback:
1) redesign of the FCC's main website,
2) a online clearinghouse for data sets made public by the FCC,
3) new ways to increase public participation through the use of new media tools, e-rulemaking, and expanding FCC audiences,
4) overhauling and reforming the systems available on the FCC's site -- from the Electronic Comment Filing System to creating a Consolidated Licensing System, and
5) modernizing and growing the efficiency of agency proceedings, and input on ways to improve the quality of agency decision-making, reduce backlogs, and enhance the public's ability to understand and participate in Commission proceedings.
The question of how patients and healthcare providers can prove their identities online was examined Thursday at a meeting of the Nationwide Health Information Network working group, which is focused on examining how health information can be transmitted securely over the Internet. The working group is part of the Health Information Technology Policy Committee, which was mandated by last year's economic stimulus package. Panelists probed such questions as what standards should govern authentication and what variables--such as the kind of information being exchanged--should impact how standards are applied. The forum also examined how to ensure the interoperability of authentication practices between organizations and providers.
Potential applicants for $60 million in grants to conduct advanced research in health information technology learned that any of their findings should be able to be put to practical use quickly to help extend the meaningful uses of electronic health records. The Office of the National Coordinator, which provided more details of its Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP) program to fund "breakthrough" research in health IT, will award four grants in March of about $15,000 each to create four interdisciplinary research program sites. Each site will target one of four difficult hurdles to overcome in enabling the widespread use of electronic health record systems, ONC said when it first announced the program last month. Those include health information security, clinical support for physicians, health information exchange and population health. The research sites will work with a variety of organizations to translate their findings into products and tools that can be put into use quickly to improve health IT, said Dr. Charles Friedman, ONC's chief scientific officer.
In a rare occurrence, three central elements of today's news ecosystem—the mainstream media, blogs and Twitter—agreed on the biggest story of the week, in this case, the failed Christmas Day terror attempt. From December 28, 2009 to January 1, 2010, more than half (52%) of the news links in blogs were about the attempt to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253, according to the New Media Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.
The Department of Energy is awarding $47 million for 14 projects across the country to support the development of new technologies that can improve energy efficiency in the information technology (IT) and communication technology sectors. The data processing, data storage, and telecommunications industries are a crucial part of the American information economy. The rapid growth of these industries has led to an increase in electricity use, but improvements in the sector's energy efficiency can provide significant energy and cost savings. The energy efficiency projects announced today will reduce energy use and carbon pollution, while helping to develop a strong, competitive domestic industry. The $47 million in federal funds for these projects will be matched by more than $70 million in private industry funding, for a total project value of more than $115 million. Information technology and telecommunications facilities account for approximately 120 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually—or 3% of all U.S. electricity use. Moreover, rapid growth in the U.S. data center industry is projected to require two new large power plants per year just to keep pace with the expected demand growth. Without gains in efficiency, the industry would face increasing costs and greenhouse gas emissions, along with challenges to the reliability of the electricity service.
The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on proposed guidelines that are designed to help Web site operators comply with the FTC's Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule. The proposed guidelines were submitted to the FTC by a non-profit organization known as iSAFE, Inc. under a provision aimed at industry self-regulation. This provision allows non-profit groups and companies to request FTC approval of proposed guidelines - known as safe harbor programs - that govern compliance with the Rule. Web site operators participating in FTC-approved safe harbor programs are subject to the programs' disciplinary procedures. In cases where the FTC is considering legal action against a Web site operator, the agency takes into account the operator's response to safe harbor disciplinary procedures. The Rule requires operators of Web sites that are directed at children under 13 years old and that collect personal information from them - as well as operators of general-audience Web sites that knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 - to notify parents and obtain their consent before collecting, using, or disclosing any such information. Since the Rule took effect on April 21, 2000, four groups - the Children's Advertising Review Unit of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, the Entertainment Software Rating Board, TrustE and Privo, Inc. - have received Commission approval for their safe harbor programs. In a Federal Register notice to be published shortly, the FTC seeks public comment about the proposed iSAFE guidelines; whether the guidelines provide "the same or greater protections for children" as those contained in the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule; whether the mechanisms used to assess operators' compliance are effective; whether incentives for operators' compliance with the guidelines are effective; and whether the guidelines provide adequate means for resolving consumer complaints.
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