June 2011

Akamai President Urges U.S. Companies to Increase Security

Akamai Technologies President David Kenny said US companies need to be more vigilant with network security.

Such businesses should be investing more time and money into security measures to keep pace with the growth of the Internet and the explosion of cloud technology, he said. Security is a “very fast-growing” part of Akamai, and most cyber attacks on the U.S. are coming from outside the country, he said. “It’s not sexy,” Kenny said. “It’s like buying insurance. Really smart hackers have had a decade to figure out how to hack firewalls.”

Why Apple Backed Down in Fight With Publishers

[Commentary] While Apple had gotten a few big publishers to agree to its subscription terms, it’s had pushback from companies over its terms, including the 30 percent it skims off App Store purchases and its refusal to share customer data, and it's likely this move is related to that.

Other devices are coming to market, presenting new competition for Apple, and loosening the stranglehold that the company has had over content producers to this point. Plus, publishers are exploring browser-based apps that would skirt the App Store altogether. This week, The Financial Times made waves when it did just that after having rejected Apple’s subscription terms. Outsell’s Ken Doctor believes other publishers, like The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, marquee brands that are important to Apple, see the FT as a potential model to imitate at some point. “Plainly, it’s a change of course for [Apple],” he says. “Apple knew there was dissatisfaction.” As for the practical effect, publishers can be expected to explore different subscription prices for digital editions. Condé Nast, for one, is already selling digital subscriptions on its own sites as well as in the App Store. Look for publishers to test higher prices in the App Store to offset Apple’s 30 percent cut.

FCC Expands Electronic Filing for Carriers

As part of its Data Innovation Initiative and an agency-wide transition from paper to electronic filing, the Federal Communications Commission expanded electronic filing of information about rates, terms, and conditions of telecommunications services. This reform will improve public access to information and reduce burdens on carriers. Although dominant local carriers have filed their tariffs electronically since 1998, competitive local providers and other nondominant carriers still submit hundreds of filings annually on paper and computer diskette. Enabling use of the FCC’s existing Electronic Tariff Filing System (ETFS) for all tariff filings will create a uniform system of online access that not only increases transparency for consumers and reduces burdens on industry, but also eases tariff enforcement and facilitates tracking of industry trends.

Under the new electronic filing rules, nondominant carriers will be required to make their initial electronic filings no more than 60 days after the rules become effective. The rules become effective 120 days after publication in the Federal Register, or after approval by the Office of Management and Budget, whichever date is later.

NCTA: Marketplace Doesn't Need Old Regulations

In a filing at the Federal Communications Commission, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association argues that data from 2010 just adds to the growing body of evidence that the multichannel video marketplace is increasingly competitive and that any regulations adopted when it was otherwise -- as in the 1992 Cable Act -- now need to be shown the door, as it were. Program access, program carriage, and leased access rules are unnecessary. It also argues that the remaining basic-tier rate regulation should go the way of the rest of the rate regulations, which were scrapped in the 1996 Communications Act.

Experts recommend an international code of conduct for cyberwar

The United States and foreign countries should broker a code of conduct for offensive cyber actions that bans knocking out banking, power and other critical infrastructure networks except when nations are engaged in war, some former U.S. defense and intelligence officials said. Their recommendation follows the White House's release of an international cybersecurity doctrine that states the country "will respond to hostile acts in cyberspace as we would to any other threat to our country" and "use all necessary means . . . in order to defend our nation." In recent years, the sophistication of network attacks has sparked debate about the nature of cyberwar -- specifically over those "means" and how they should be deployed.

IDC: Smartphone Market To Grow 55% In 2011

In its latest forecast, technology research firm IDC expects the global smartphone market to grow 55% to 472 million units shipped in 2011 as users increasingly trade feature phones for more advanced handsets.

That figure will nearly double to 982 million by the end of 2015. Falling average prices, more phone features and lower-cost data plans will all help smartphone sales grow at four times the rate of the overall mobile phone market this year. "The smartphone floodgates are open wide," said Kevin Restivo, an IDC senior research analyst covering mobile. "Mobile phone users around the world are turning in their 'talk-and-text' devices for smartphones as these devices allow users to perform daily tasks like shopping and banking from anywhere."

Tech policy gurus outline priorities

From securing the nation’s networks from cyberattacks to protecting consumers from Internet company hawks, federal officials are keeping a close eye on developments in the technology sector. Obama Administration leaders and congressional staffers told attendees at a Politico event that policies on cybersecurity, telecom reform and creating a public safety wireless network are moving in the right direction.

Zac Katz, legal adviser to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, told POLITICO conference that he is "confident" the FCC will be presented with proposals for USF and intercarrier compensation "over the next few months." When asked whether the commission is still targeting the August time frame, Katz said that he couldn't provide an exact date. Katz cited USF and intercarrier compensation program reform as one of the four top priorities for the FCC this year. The other top issues included spectrum reform, competition policy and broadband rollout acceleration.

Bloggers Focus on Palin's "One Nation" Tour

It was Sarah Palin and her controversial “One Nation” bus tour that led bloggers back to politics.

For the week of May 30-June 3, 12% of the news links on blogs were about the potential candidate’s actions, making Palin the No. 1 subject, according to the New Media Index from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. This is the first time in two months that politics led the discussion on blogs. The last time was in early March when the crop of potential Republican candidates for the 2012 presidential campaign was the most linked-to subject. Other hot political topics in recent weeks such as the presence of Donald Trump’s potential candidacy, the release of President Obama’s original birth certificate, and even the negotiations that nearly resulted in a federal government shutdown were not enough to turn the blogosphere’s attention to politics. At 12%, the story was not an overwhelming portion of the conversation when compared to the portion garnered by other top stories, such as the breakup of Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger three weeks ago (41%) or the death of Elizabeth Taylor in March (33%). But it drew bloggers in and was large enough to top all other subjects last week.

Fine, 1 Year Sentence for E-Rate Fraud

An owner of an Illinois-based technology company was sentenced today to serve one year and a day in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to defraud the federal E-Rate program, the Department of Justice announced. Barrett C. White was also sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon to pay a $4,000 criminal fine for conspiring to defraud the E-Rate program by providing bribes and kickbacks to school officials in multiple states.

White was charged with the conspiracy in U.S. District Court in New Orleans on Nov. 18, 2010, and he pleaded guilty on March 3, 2011. As a result of the Antitrust Division's investigation into fraud and anticompetitive conduct in the E-Rate program, including today's sentencing, a total of seven companies and 24 individuals have pleaded guilty, been convicted at trial or entered civil settlements. Those companies and individuals have been sentenced to pay criminal fines and restitution totaling more than $40 million. Sixteen individuals, including White, have been sentenced to serve prison time. According to court documents, White participated in the conspiracy beginning on or about February 2004 through August 2005. The department said that White offered and delivered bribes and kickbacks to school officials responsible for the procurement of Internet access services. In return for those payments, E-Rate contracts were awarded to his co-conspirators' companies. White's co-conspirators, Gloria Harper and Tyrone Pipkin, have also pleaded guilty to the conspiracy in separate charges and await sentencing.

Google Will Keep Washington Regulators Busy With $400 Million AdMeld Deal

Google’s full employment program for anti-trust regulators continues: The search giant is in the final stages of a deal to purchase ad tech company AdMeld.

Like other recent Google purchases, this deal will automatically generate scrutiny from Washington before it can formally close. That’s both because of the size of the deal — around $400 million — and because the purchase deals with a sector that Google already dominates — display ad sales. AdMeld is one of a handful of big ad optimization platforms that work on behalf of publishers by trying to get the best prices for their inventory from a variety of ad networks. That kind of work is one of the few parts of the ad tech ecosystem where Google didn't already have a presence, so a deal for AdMeld or one of its peers always seemed inevitable.

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