April 2011

Amazon to Sell the Kindle Reader at a Lower Price, but With Advertising Added

Amazon is shaving another $25 off the price of its Kindle e-reader, this time with the help of advertisers.

The newest Kindle is $114. Amazon will sell its e-book reader at the lower price by showing ads as screen savers and at the bottom of the home screen, and by selling special offers, similar to Groupon and other daily deal sites. The ads are the latest step in Amazon’s transition from e-commerce retailer to full-fledged digital media company. By selling ads that will show up next to digital content, Amazon is laying further groundwork that could enable it to someday sell tablet computers that would compete with Apple and Google Android tablets. Amazon is also showing how far it is willing to go to remain a front-runner in the e-reader price wars. The new Kindle is $35 less than Barnes & Noble’s least expensive Nook and $66 less than Sony’s least expensive Reader. It is also several hundred dollars cheaper than an Apple iPad.

Digital Technology Helps Create Platform for Political 'Pamphlets'

A look at how low-cost, fast-to-market digital technology is creating new publishing opportunities that otherwise would have little economic appeal in the traditional paper-and-ink book world.

Tech industry, broadcasters spar over popularity

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) are reprising their feud over use of the airwaves this week in the form of a popularity contest.

CEA released a poll on Monday that said Americans support spectrum auctions by a 6-to-1 margin. The poll also said that only 10 percent of Americans get breaking news from over-the-air broadcasts, in comparison to 38 percent who rely on Internet news sites. The tech industry poll, conducted by Zogby and the PR agency for CEA 463 Communications, is timed to the broadcasters' annual show in Las Vegas. NAB was quick to push back on the findings. NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton said that every survey, other than those funded by CEA, "finds that most Americans continue to rely on broadcasting as their primary source for news."

9/11 Commission member to promote D Block auction

Former-senator Slade Gorton, a member of the 9/11 Commission, will testify before the House Commerce Committee on April 12 that the D Block of airwaves should be auctioned to commercial providers in order to fund a broadband network for public safety agencies. That puts the former Republican senator from Washington at odds with the public safety community, the White House, and key senators, who would prefer to directly allocate those airwaves to emergency groups. According to his prepared testimony, Gorton will argue that funding, rather than the amount of airwaves, is what this issue hinges on. Strains on state and local government will make it more difficult for public safety agencies to receive funding to build out their networks, making an auction all the more important, according to Gorton.

Google Products Lacked Key Government Certification, DOJ Says

Google's Internet-based software applications for government customers don't have a key security certification, contrary to the company’s claims in a lawsuit over a multimillion-dollar contract, the Department of Justice said in a December 2010 legal filing.

In a filing unsealed April 8, the Justice Department said it “appears” that Google Apps for Government software doesn't have Federal Information Security Management Act certification, “notwithstanding Google’s representations to the public at large, its counsel, the GAO (Government Accountability Office) and this court.” A different version of Google Apps received the certification last year, the Justice Department wrote. Google sued the Interior Department in October, arguing that a planned $49.3 million contract to provide e-mail and online-collaboration services lacked sufficient competition and gave favorable treatment to Microsoft, which was set to be awarded the contract. The Justice Department comments were part of a government filing seeking a judgment in favor of the U.S. and dismissal of Google’s complaint.

FCC's Genachowski Appoints South Carolina PSC Commissioner Mitchell to USAC Board

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski named one member to the Board of Directors of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC): Representative for state telecommunications regulators: Commissioner Randy Mitchell, Public Service Commission of South Carolina.

Oregon Regulators Warn of Frontier Install Price Hike

The cable franchise regulator in the Beaverton area of Oregon is warning consumers about a new $500 installation fee telco Frontier Communications is charging new FiOS video subscribers. Frontier, which bought out local wireline operations in 14 states from Verizon in 2009, has been weighing various options to control the cost of the FiOS video operations it also acquired. In January, Frontier announced a 46% rate increase, but has not yet put it into effect. It instituted the $500 installation fee to new FiOS video subscribers in March, a fee an official at the local regulator, known as the Metropolitan Area Communications Commission, termed "simply ridiculous and unjustified."

Congress, administration grapple with cyber defense authority

The head of the military unit overseeing cyberspace reaffirmed that the US Cyber Command cannot monitor civilian networks, noting its powerlessness over systems outside the .mil domain might require congressional action. "I do not have the authority to look at what's going on in other government sectors, nor what would happen to critical infrastructures. That means that I can't stop [an assault on nonmilitary networks]," Cyber Command chief Gen. Keith Alexander said during remarks at a University of Rhode Island symposium on the increasing threat of cyberattacks. The division of responsibility between the Pentagon and the Homeland Security Department is at the center of a debate on cybersecurity legislation. DHS currently keeps an eye on vulnerabilities in the .gov and other civilian domains, while the Defense Department has visibility only into .mil networks. The White House has yet to weigh in on how to empower Defense to avert a potential cyberwar without running astray of civil rights and privacy laws. But Alexander offered hints about what the Pentagon might be pushing the Obama administration to consider.

How Much Is That Spectrum in the Window?

The process of getting new spectrum out in the marketplace for wireless broadband, a key goal of the Obama Administration, is turning into a slog, raising doubts that any new spectrum will be released by the end of this legislative year.

Hoping to jump-start Congress, the White House last week held a spectrum summit loaded with friendly technical and economic experts, along with the chief cheerleader of the initiative, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski. At the summit, the White House released a letter from three Stanford University professors, signed by more than 110 economists, who said that spectrum auctions (which must be authorized by Congress) would increase spectrum efficiency and be a good move for the economy. The proceeds from an auction have been estimated at $28 billion. But proposals in Congress that would clear the way for the FCC to hold the auctions are moving slowly. It doesn't help that both chambers have been tied up in knots over budget issues that are unlikely to go away anytime soon. Congress needs to sort out a lot of moving pieces.

Many rural areas still without high-speed, affordable Internet

Going online and accessing the World Wide Web is not only a way to share the day with friends over Facebook or to send news and pictures to others across country instantly through e-mail. It is also an important means of commerce and business communication. Access to broadband, high-speed Internet use is necessary to compete in the future, state and regional officials say.

“Small businesses and global corporations alike rely on broadband to connect them to the worldwide marketplace, train their work forces and facilitate the growth of their business,” Gov. Mike Beebe said last year in a statewide radio address. “Our future growth in Arkansas depends on how well we embrace the tools, skills and resources necessary to remain competitive in the 21st century.” Lamont Cornwell, director of the Benton Community Development Department, bluntly stated his opinion of the need for high-speed-Internet access. “It is a key for small business,” he said. “A small business or home business without high-speed Internet is dead. A lack of access can also be the death knell of larger businesses.” Use of high-speed Internet increased last year, according to Connect Arkansas, a private nonprofit organization promoting Internet access and created by the Connect Arkansas Broadband Act, signed by the governor in 2007. According to the organization, 24 percent of Arkansans subscribed to high-speed Internet in the past year, and 68 percent of the state’s residents have high-speed Internet in their home or workplace.

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