October 2010

Qwest aims to ease wireless backhaul migration pain

Qwest Wholesale, which has been marketing its wireless backhaul services for some time, has introduced what it calls an Adaptive Broadband wholesale product that enables mobile operators to migrate from traditional legacy T1 lines to emerging backhaul technologies such as fiber-based Ethernet to accommodate higher bandwidth services that will come with 4G networks.

Qwest, which has more than 2,000 sites that will come online by the end of the year, says the Adaptive Broadband product will give mobile operators a blueprint to plan out their total wireless backhaul capacity requirements. Qwest is also addressing the migration and cost issues by offering new pricing and Ethernet connections with varying discounts.

Don't Forget the Facts About NPR Funding

Juan William's abrupt firing from National Public Radio and hiring by Fox News seems to have kicked up an old debate over whether public radio should still receive federal funding. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has funded public radio since its creation through an act of Congress over forty years ago. In the past week, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich have all said that this policy should be re-examined. NPR actually receives a lot less money than people might think it does (a fact drummed into listeners' heads every time a membership drive comes along). The NPR website is quite clear about the organization's sources of funding, and the past few years' financial reports are available for download there. Money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and federal, state and local governments accounts for less than 16% of total funding for public radio stations

How is the Internet Evolving

[Commentary] At a New America Foundation discussion on the Internet's Mid-Life Crisis, author Tim Wu's central claim is that the evolution of technology-based media industries is from chaos or openness (good) to centralization (bad). The first is freedom, he argues, the second is monopoly. There is, however, a third state: Competition.

And I think given all of the change we see today -- the dynamism, the investment -- I think we are in that third state. And it has provided tremendous benefits for consumers. Competition is by definition not static. So what you will see in a competitive environment is not only different products and services, but different business models, and different value propositions emerging and evolving in ways that are very difficult to predict.

FCC Announces Freeze on Filing of Most Applications in the Low Power Television Service

The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau released a Public Notice announcing a freeze on the filing of applications for new digital low power television ("LPTV") and TV Translator stations, and major modifications to existing analog and digital LPTV and TV Translator stations in "rural areas."

After the completion of the nationwide transition to digital broadcasting by full-power television stations, the FCC announced that it would permit the filing of applications for new digital LPTV and TV Translator stations on a first-come, first-served basis. The FCC announced the filings would commence in two phases, with the filing of applications in "rural areas" beginning on August 25, 2009, followed by "non-rural areas" on January 25, 2010. The January 25, 2010 filing date for non-rural areas was delayed until July 26, 2010, and then ultimately suspended indefinitely. "Rural" area stations are those with a transmitter site that is farther than 75 miles from the reference coordinates for the 100 largest cities listed in Appendix A of the Media Bureau's original Public Notice on this matter. The Public Notice indicates that the FCC will continue to accept and process applications for minor changes to existing facilities, flash-cut applications, digital companion channel applications for existing analog stations, and displacement applications where the applicant can demonstrate actual interference from existing full-power television operations, or from stations still operating on channels 52 to 69.

Broadband stimulus flows disproportionately to Commerce Committee members (updated: NTIA response)

Communications Daily is reporting that over 40 percent of stimulus funds that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration doled out for broadband went to or was shared by districts represented by House Commerce Committee members. NTIA records show that committee members' districts took in all or part of nearly $1.9 billion in grants even though these Members make up 14 percent of the House.

The committee members whose districts were awarded the most funding were Reps Mike Doyle (D-PA) with $128 million, Joe Pitts (R-PA) with $128 million, George Radanovich (R-CA) with $128 million, Chris Murphy (D-CT) with $123 million and John Sarbanes (D-MD) with $115 million.

Rep Joe Barton (R-TX), ranking member of the committee, said, "Many of us said when the stimulus package was being drafted that there was no justification for simply lining favored constituencies' pockets with taxpayers' money. And if there was going to be spending no matter what we said, logic screamed that it should have gone first to unserved areas where people can't get broadband at any price." The report qualified Barton's district as "left on the sidelines" as far as taking in broadband stimulus.

Tom Power, the chief of staff for NTIA, said the agency awards grants "on merit and in strict accordance with the comprehensive review process detailed in our grant rules."

"As described in the grant rules, we considered factors such as the sustainability of projects and how they would meet the needs of the community," he said. "This resulted in a proportional distribution of grants funds, without regard to congressional districts or political affiliations."

According to NTIA officials, the report fails to show the breadth of the impact of each grant, which could benefit many congressional districts, and not just the district that received it.

They said the 100 grants that affect the districts of committee members also affect over 300 districts of other members who are not on the committee.

Google Street View privacy flap shows growing rift between US, EU

The decision by the Federal Trade Commission to end the Google privacy investigation is a sharp contrast with the reaction of regulators in Europe.

The United Kingdom has launched a new investigation into Google's collection of unencrypted WiFi data, exposing the company to potential fines. Germany told Google to mark its Street View cars that take pictures of neighborhoods and homes.

The Czech Republic banned Google from expanding its mapping software program. The differences highlight an increasing gap between regulators in the United States, where the freewheeling Internet culture has birthed many of the social networking sites and search engines used worldwide, and governments in Europe and Canada, which tend to be much more aggressive about privacy.

"Part of it is cultural, and part of it is that the U.S. and Europe have radically different privacy regimes," said Chris Calabrese, legislative counsel for the ACLU. "The European model is extensive data protection in private information, and the U.S. model is piecemeal." The result is a rising number of trans-Atlantic conflicts. The Obama administration has been criticized for its efforts to allow law enforcement to surveil Internet networks, for instance. In addition, the European Union is pushing back against U.S. demands to share data about U.S.-bound air passengers.

19% Will Switch If Cablevision, Fox Fight Continues Next Week

In analyzing the ongoing bitter battle between Cablevision and Fox, a quick survey from media analyst Richard Greenfield reveals that consumers essentially blamed both companies equally for their ongoing negotiation battle. 28% of those surveyed (285 respondents) say Cablevision is to blame, while 25% point the finger at Fox. Another 47% blame both companies equally.

Greenfield says the media investment community is shocked this public battle has gone on as long as it has -- and believes Fox will ultimately prevail, in part, because the Federal Communications Commission lacks the power to intervene. There hasn't been much movement as far as subscribers leaving Cablevision -- perhaps 1% or less. They are mostly going to Verizon FIOS, some to DirecTV. But if nothing changes by next week, results from the survey suggests the floodgates will open -- 19% of Cablevision subscribers will bolt and a whopping 37% by the end of the month. What's holding subscribers back from make a quicker decision? 64% say they don't want the hassle of switching to another service; 17% say it's the value of the "triple play" bundle of services offered -- video, phone and Internet. Finally, 14% believe Cablevision is making the right decision in trying to keep prices down; another 5% say they don't watch the Fox network.

What do Cablevision's 3 million New York area cable consumers miss the most? With the World Series now underway, 36% of consumers say its the Major League Baseball playoffs; 33% mentioned the NFL; 10% say it's missing "Glee"; 7% point to missing "House"; and 4% say it's the local news.

FCC Seeks Input on World Radiocommunication Conference Proposals

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking public comment on recommendations made by the Advisory Committee for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference on a number of issues that will be considered by the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference.

The FCC's International Bureau tentatively concludes that FCC can generally support most of the recommendations with some reservations. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has also drafted proposals and the FCC seeks input on these as well. The comments provided by interested parties will assist the FCC in its upcoming consultations with the Department of State and NTIA in the development of US positions for WRC-12. The recommendations may evolve in the course of interagency discussions as we approach WRC-12 and, therefore, do not constitute a final U.S. Government position on any issue.

(DA No. 10-2060). (Dkt No 04-286 ). Comments Due: 11/12/2010

95 Democratic Candidates Adopt Network Neutrality Pledge

In an effort to make net neutrality a campaign issue and fight against corporate control of the Internet, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee announced 95 Democratic candidates that pledge to protect the openness of the Internet.

"A neutral Internet allows small businesses, especially in rural parts of New Hampshire, to compete in the online marketplace and create jobs," said Ann McLane Kuster, a candidate for the second district in New Hampshire. "If phone and cable companies put tollbooths on the Internet, big corporations could afford to pay, but small businesses could not -- and that would stifle innovation and jobs."

Study Finds Health IT Adoption Growing

A CompTIA finds that up to 50 percent of healthcare providers have either adopted electronic health records or are partially using them.

34 percent of healthcare providers now use a "comprehensive" electronic health records system and 16 percent said they are using a partial system.

About 29 percent said they are evaluating their options while 20 percent have not looked at the issue. The study, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points, was conducted in two parts and surveyed 370 U.S. information technology firms, about 40 percent of which do business in the healthcare sector, and 300 U.S. healthcare providers. Of those who have adopted electronic health records, 59 percent said they were "completely" or "mostly satisfied," and 36 percent said they were partly satisfied and partly dissatisfied, with dentists reporting higher rates of satisfaction, 70 percent compared with 57 percent for medical doctors. Reliability was cited as the biggest complaint by providers.

Benton

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