February 2011

Group Says Innovation Needed To Address Digital Divide

In order to bridge the digital divide between those with access to new communications technology and those who lack it, communities will need to consider new business models, according to a new report by the New America Foundation.

Telecommunications researchers discussed innovative ways that communities are providing modern communications systems to low-income users and underserved areas. The report highlights "global best practices" from the United States and Europe. "By leveraging local capacity, which can range from the technological smarts of community residents to antennae mounts on buildings, it is clear there are many alternative models cities can utilize to advance their communications infrastructure," the report concludes.

Apple's book rule: 'I wouldn't be surprised if phones were ringing at the FTC,' analyst says

Sony sparked an outcry when it said the latest version of its e-reading app had been rejected by Apple which is changing the rules about how e-books can be sold and accessed via its iPhone and iPad devices -- a move that may get the attention of regulators, one analyst said.

Apple said it was changing its rules to require any vendors who sell books to iPhone and iPad users through their websites to also allow users to buy books inside the app. Until now, companies such as Google and Amazon have routed iPhone app users to their own book sites to purchase books they could download into the app. But Apple is now probably going to force those booksellers to change their apps. "We are now requiring that if an app offers customers the ability to purchase books outside of the app, that the same option is also available to customers from within the app with in-app purchase," said a statement by Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller.

James McQuivey, an analyst with Forrester Research, saw the move by Apple as a way to force more transactions to be funneled through its app store, where Apple receives a 30% cut of any sale. “One way to look at this is that Apple is leveraging its monopoly power” over the iPad and iPhone platforms," McQuivey said. “One could argue that Apple is simply maximizing shareholder value by leveraging its platforms.” But McQuivey cited two potential drawbacks to Apple’s approach. By dictating where digital books can be sold and turning away developers such as Sony, Apple may be squelching innovation, he said.

Secondly, such restrictions could be interpreted as restraint of trade, which is frowned upon by federal regulators such as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

“I wouldn't be surprised if phones were ringing at the FTC today about this,” McQuivey said.

Google says Microsoft's Bing is copying its search results

Google says it can prove that Bing has watched what people search for on Google and tailored its results to mirror the leader in Web search. Harry Shum, Bing's corporate vice president, addressed the story without denying that Bing monitors some Google user activity, but rather saying that it monitors all sorts of Web user habits to improve Bing's results.

Social media users grapple with information overload

A crush of popular social-media toys -- Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, Yelp, social games, Skype, YouTube and Quora, to name a few — has opened the lines of communication between millions of people as never before. But the glut of tools and their features -- chat, messages, instant messages, texting and tweets — have led to multiple conversations that can be head spinning.

That has not gone unnoticed by companies such as Facebook and Google that are looking for ways to streamline their users' online experience with features such as Facebook Messages and Google Buzz, respectively. People are drowning in a deluge of data. Corporate users received about 110 messages a day in 2010, says market researcher Radicati Group. There are 110 million tweets a day, Twitter says. Researcher Basex has pegged business productivity losses due to the "cost of unnecessary interruptions" at a whopping $650 billion in 2007. The consequences could be telling for major companies that ignore the conversation overload.

Agenda Set for FCC's Feb 8 Meeting

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting Tuesday, February 8 to consider:

1) an item to get broadband to all of rural America and spur infrastructure investment and job creation, by modernizing the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation (ICC) system while cutting waste and inefficiency,
2) a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, initiated as part of the Commission's Data Innovation Initiative, to streamline and modernize the collection of data via Form 477, in order to ensure that the data the Commission collects enables informed policymaking while minimizing burdens on voice and broadband service providers,
3) a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking initiated as part of the Commission's Data Innovation Initiative, to eliminate the legacy narrowband comparably efficient interconnection (CEI) and open network architecture (ONA) reporting requirements that currently apply to the Bell Operating Companies (BOCs), due to a lack of continuing relevance and utility.

Sources: FCC snags ex-Boucher aide

According to industry sources, Amy Levine, who served as a aide to former Rep Rick Boucher (D-VA), is taking a job with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski to tackle spectrum policy as the FCC makes a major push to free up more of the airwaves for mobile broadband.

Baker Announces Staff Change

Federal Communications Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker announced that Kari Amstutz, the Commissioner's Confidential Assistant, has left the Commission to return to Minnesota. Lori Alexiou will join Commissioner Baker's staff as her new Confidential Assistant. Alexiou most recently was the Litigation Specialist in the Commission's Office of General Counsel.

Time Warner Cable To Buy NaviSite For $230M

Time Warner Cable has agreed to acquire computer services firm NaviSite for $5.50 per share in cash, a deal valued at about $230 million. NaviSite, based in Andover (MA) provides enterprise-class hosting, managed application, messaging and cloud services to the commercial services industry.

The deal gives Time Warner Cable Business Class, the commercial services arm of the cable giant, an immediate presence in the managed services market with NaviSite's more than 1,200 enterprise customers. The purchase price represents a 33% premium to NaviSite's closing price of $4.13 per share on Feb. 1. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter, and is subject to shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions. Based in Andover, NaviSite has about 570 employees worldwide, operates 10 data centers in the United States and the United Kingdom and has operations centers in Gurgaon, India and Andover. Time Warner Cable is the second largest MSO in the country with about 12.3 million customers. Its commercial services revenue was about $1.1 billion in 2010, up 21% from the prior year.

Rep Rush To Reintroduce Privacy Bill Next Week

Rep Bobby Rush (D-IL) plans next week to reintroduce the online privacy legislation he offered in the last Congress.

Rush's bill from the 111th Congress would have allowed websites and other firms covered by the bill to use online information collected about users but they were required to provide clear notice about the information being collected and its use, while also giving consumers an opportunity to opt out. It also would have required third parties to obtain consent before using consumer information. In addition, the bill would have allowed companies and others covered by the legislation to obtain a safe harbor from some of the bill's provisions if they comply with a self-regulatory program approved by the Federal Trade Commission. Among the possible changes Rep Rush has considered including to his bill this Congress is some sort of do-not-track provision, which would give consumers more control over whether they are tracked online for advertising purposes. Rep Rush, a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said earlier this month that he was leaning toward including such a provision in his bill.

Utility Commissioners Propose Resolution Favoring Content Neutrality

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners has proposed a draft resolution that its members may vote on at its winter meeting later this month that would urge the Federal Communications Commission to ensure that all cable providers have equal access to content at a fair price.

NARUC's draft resolution noted the need for small and mid-size cable providers to be able to have access to content at a reasonable price in order to provide "triple play" packages, which usually include video, Internet and voice services. The resolution also discusses the FCC's recent actions on network neutrality and conditions included with the commission's approval of the Comcast-NBC Universal merger that dealt with the issue of content neutrality. The resolution also referenced the potential impact of possible changes to the universal service fund on smaller providers and those who primarily serve rural areas. In response, the draft resolution "strongly urges the FCC to carefully examine the damage these pricing practices may inflict on the business opportunities of midsize and small LECs [local exchange carriers] and comparable small and medium-sized cable providers and take appropriate action to rebalance the 'competitive playing field' to assure the ability of residents in small and rural markets to obtain the benefit of robust broadband is not impaired."

Benton

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