June 2011

White House Event Amps Up Grid Modernization Efforts

On June 13, the White House brought together a range of stakeholders from throughout the energy sector -- including utility executives, state regulators, federal agencies, consumer advocates, technology leaders and entrepreneurs -- to discuss along with Administration officials the most effective ways of upgrading our country’s electric grid.

The White House also released a new report, A Policy Framework for a 21stCentury Grid, produced by the Cabinet-level National Science and Technology Council. The advent of a range of information, communications, and energy technologies provides us with an opportunity to upgrade the grid in a manner that will enable it to operate more efficiently, more reliably, and to spur innovation. To take best advantage of the opportunities provided by these technologies, A Policy Framework for a 21stCentury Grid establishes four key priorities:

"Scale what works" to enable cost-effective smart grid investments;
Unlock the innovation potential in the electricity sector with a continued focus on open interoperability standards;
Empower consumers with education and access to their own energy usage information in consumer- and computer- friendly formats, with improved privacy safeguards and consumer protections; and
Continue to secure the grid against natural disasters and cyber-threats.

President Obama highlights broadband investments in Puerto Rico

President Barack Obama highlighted federal investments in broadband during a trip to Puerto Rico, where connectivity still faces major challenges and fast Internet service is scarce. President Obama in his speech in San Juan pointed to the ways the Administration has worked to strengthen the Puerto Rican economy. He said in his speech: "We've been trying to make sure that every family on the island can find work and make a living and provide for their children. That’s why our economic plan and our healthcare reform included help for Puerto Rico. That’s why we’re increasing access to broadband and investing in education. That's why we’re helping to grow local tourism and healthcare and clean-energy industries. We’re giving Puerto Ricans the tools they need to build their own economic futures."

FCC's Genachowski: Broadband Adoption 'Just Not Good Enough'

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said that the pace of broadband adoption is too slow and called on cable operators to step up their efforts.

For his part, National Cable & Telecommunications Association President Michael Powell said the industry was committed to being a partner in that effort. Echoing Powell's phrase in his keynote, Chairman Genachowski said broadband adoption is what "powers the American dream," and empowers people to find and get jobs, an education, and healthcare. "Sixty-seven percent [the current broadband adoption rate] is so far from good enough, that we can't be satisfied with slow, step-by-step incremental change." He noted that adoption had only increased by a couple percentage points in the past year. It's just not good enough." Powell quickly responded that he could count on the cable industry to be a partner in that effort. But speaking to an audience that had helped make broadband available to 93% of the country and which has taken a number of steps to boost adoption as well, the chairman was looking to get more help, not to bite the hand that was already feeding that effort.

Broadcast still likely to rule in 2012, but advanced ads could make cable attractive

Presidential Advisor David Axelrod and former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie may have been talking to a cable industry audience, but they used the The Cable Show stage to argue for the dominance of broadcast, especially local TV, in election ad spending.

While it may seem that cable provides the necessary targeting for election campaign messages, local television is "still the nuclear weapon," Axelrod said. "I still think broadcast's is going to get the lion's share," he said, noting that 68% of media spending went to stations in battleground markets in 2008. "It isn't always terribly efficient, but you hit a lot of people in that market and that market may be pivotal to the election." Gillespie agreed. "Independents, they're making decisions on large, national issues," he said. "The national ad campaign still going to be the most resonant."

Irving To Leave HP

Larry Irving is leaving Hewlett-Packard to return to consulting. Irving, the company's vice president of global government affairs, has been with HP since 2009 and oversaw the company's government affairs office in Washington (DC). During the Clinton Administration, Irving headed the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Irving is moving back to consulting and his first client will be Hewlett-Packard starting July 1.

Wisconsin Budget Debate and Broadband

In Wisconsin, Republican leaders announced they were backing away from a controversial plan to give back some $37 million in federal grant money awarded to the University of Wisconsin system.

Supporters say that money will help extend broadband Internet to rural and under-served areas. The proposal would have meant UW-Madison could no longer support WiscNet, a statewide Internet provider. Eight Republican representatives wrote Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon) and Finance Committee Co-Chairman Robin Vos (R-Rochester) voicing opposition to the plan. “Our districts are largely rural and broadband access is a significant issue for our constituents,” they wrote. “Consumers, regional economic development groups, schools, libraries and higher education institutions have all expressed their concern that the discontinuation of WiscNet would have a devastating effect on access for our constituents, increasing costs and limiting accessibility.”

Future of media: Community is your new business model

[Commentary] As media companies try desperately to solve their revenue problems by launching paywalls and subscription iPad apps, too few are looking at how connecting with their community (or communities) can help. That’s the view of Public Radio International’s vice-president of interactive, Michael Skoler. Engaging a community can be one of the most powerful tools that companies have in an era of real-time, distributed and hyper-social media.

Executive feds are smartphone savvy, but lag on tablets

One-third of senior federal executives use their personal smartphones and laptop computers to conduct agency business, according to a recent survey by the Government Business Council, Government Executive Media Group's research division.

More than three-fourths of high-ranking government officials use agency-issued smartphones, and more than 70 percent use agency-issued laptops. Only 5 percent of survey respondents said they are using agency-issued tablets, like iPads, and only 6 percent are using personal tablet computers for work, according to the survey. None of the survey respondents said they are using agency-issued tablet readers such as the Amazon Kindle and only 3 percent said they are using personal tablet readers for work. The 148 survey respondents were all high-ranking government officials, either at the General Schedule 15 level or in the Senior Executive Service. The results suggest government executives could benefit from a more diverse array of agency-provided devices. They also indicate some executives might be using personal tablets for work despite security concerns and prohibitions.

In Run-Up To Kindle Lending Program, Libraries Beef Up E-Book Offerings

The number of people that check out e-books from libraries is still relatively small -- under 15 percent, according to a January Digital Book World survey. But as e-book sales surpass print sales and e-readers add support for lending books, libraries and publishers have to respond quickly. Now OverDrive, the leading distributor of e-books and audiobooks to libraries, has announced a series of updates to its platform that should improve the selection of e-books available to library patrons.

The update, called OverDrive WIN, will be officially announced at the American Library Association Annual Conference in New Orleans at the end of June. For now, in addition to streamlining e-book checkout process at libraries, OverDrive says the update will:

Offer support for Kindle Library Lending coming later this year, in addition to every major operating system, reading device, and mobile platform
Add hundreds of thousands of in-copyright e-book and digital audiobook records with free “E-Book Samples” for immediate access on reading devices and platforms
Enable patron driven acquisition, an opt-in program that will allow readers to immediately borrow a title, recommend to a library, or “Want It Now” from online booksellers
Provide new “always available” e-book collections for simultaneous access of romance, self-help, young adult, children, and other fiction materials
Launch “Open E-Book” titles, free of DRM

The 8 most provocative things heard at The Cable Show

Here's the eight most interesting things Engebretson has heard at this year's Cable Show:

Cable company as do-gooder: Newly elected Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, famous for using expletives when angered, remained calm and clean-talking as he kicked off the show, noting that every percentage growth in broadband creates 1500 to 3000 jobs. He also praised Comcast for announcing two weeks ago that it would provide computer access to every low-income Chicago child eligible for the school lunch program, as well as offer computer literacy training and reduced broadband rates to low-income residents.
The most hyped-in-advance announcement: Comcast seems to be doing its best to get people to stick around until Day 3, issuing an announcement yesterday saying it would be making an announcement tomorrow about its next-generation guide and interface that aims to make the TV “more interactive, personal and social.”
NCTA chief issues veiled threat to rural telcos: The cable industry has been taking every opportunity to criticize rural telcos that have received grants, low-interest loans or Universal Service funding to bring broadband to areas where cable companies already offer broadband service—at least in part of the service territory. NCTA chief Michael Powell’s address offered another opportunity to promote this view, although Powell spoke somewhat in code. Powell said he hoped that as policymakers contemplate telecom policy reforms they will “spend as much time pruning as they do sowing new seeds.”
The most applauded comment: Cable Show attendees aren't shy about clapping when they like something someone says—and no one drew a higher level of audience approval than Time Warner Cable chairman and CEO Glen Britt on the topic of the nation’s “growing underclass” that can’t afford cable services. “It would behoove us to work together to meet the needs of that population,” said Britt to a rousing round of applause.
Netflix hard to define: No single topic drew more attention than Netflix—and everyone seemed to offer their own two- or three-word descriptor to explain what that company represents.
“Netflix is really another programmer,”
A new home for Beavis and Butthead: The irreverent cartoon teens remembered best for sitting on the couch and critiquing music videos no longer have syndication value. But thanks to new over-the-top outlets, Viacom has been able to monetize them once again, noted Phillippe Dauman, president and CEO of the content provider.
The numbers guy: Anyone looking for market data is advised to pay special attention to Cox Communications President Pat Esser, who rattled off a wide range of statistics yesterday. Cox sells 31 million VOD sessions a month, Esser said. Before the recession, the company used to gain 250,000 new users annually but last year the number was between 70,000 and 80,000.
Techno-geek humor: The best joke heard at The Cable Show Day 1 came from Thomas Power, chief of staff for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. “IPv4 and IPv6 walk into a bar,” Power told attendees. “And IPv4 says, ‘I’m exhausted.’”

Benton

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