May 2012

Regional carriers call AT&T's bluff on spectrum interference

A group of regional wireless carriers is calling AT&T's bluff when it comes to claimed interference issues in the lower spectrum bands of the 700 MHz frequency.

Cavalier Wireless, C Spire Wireless, Continuum 700, King Street Wireless, MetroPCS Communications, U.S. Cellular, and Vulcan Wireless filed a report to the Federal Communications Commission detailing results from a test conducted that shows there are no interference issues between devices operating in other parts of the 700 MHz spectrum frequency bands and the broadcast TV channel 51, which is right next to the lower A block portion of the 700 MHz frequency band. AT&T has created a separate band class for its 4G LTE devices that would not be interoperable with services deployed in other parts of the 700 MHz spectrum frequency band that was bought by these smaller carriers in the FCC's 2008 auction. AT&T has said it created a new band class due to potential interference issues with adjacent broadcast TV spectrum. But the regional wireless carriers claim that this study shows no such interference exists.

Cable still beating telcos at the broadband game

Cable continues to crush telcos when it comes to stealing broadband customers, according to new data from the Leichtman Research Group.

The analyst firm noted that during the first quarter of the year cable and telcos representing 93 percent of the U.S. market added 1.3 million new subscribers, bringing their total nearly 80 million subscriptions. A year ago the top providers had 76.6 million subscribers. As has been the case since 2006, cable companies have the most subscribers, with 45.3 million broadband subs now, while the top telcos have 34.6 million subscribers. This dynamic isn’t likely to shift anytime soon given the improvements that cable providers have made in terms of delivering faster speeds to customers as they upgrade to DOCSIS 3.0 networks. Meanwhile, telcos are stuck offering DSL or fiber-to-the-node products that top out at speeds that are far below cable’s. The primary exception to this is Verizon’s FiOS fiber-to-the-home product — on Wednesday Verizon said it would offer a 300 Mbps tier. The top cable companies added about 980,000 subscribers, representing 75 percent of the net broadband additions for the quarter, versus roughly 320,000 from the top telephone companies.

Riverside Program Helps Close City’s Digital Divide

In 2005, Riverside (CA) hired its first full-time CIO, Steve Reneker, and it launched SmartRiverside, an ambitious plan to attract and retain technology companies. The plan created free citywide wireless Internet access, technology literacy and digital inclusion activities, and new programs to foster technology innovation and use. A year later, the City Council addressed physical infrastructure needs by approving Riverside Renaissance, a $2 billion effort to improve traffic flow; replace aging water, sewer and electric infrastructure; and expand and improve police, fire, parks, library and other community facilities. It’s this dedication to high-tech and digital inclusion that, for two years, has earned Riverside a place as one of the Intelligent Community Forum’s (ICF) Top Seven Intelligent Communities of the Year. The ICF, a New York-based think tank focused on the digital economy, says the Top Seven communities represent international models of economic and social transformation in the 21st century.

iPhone Users Biggest Data Consumers

iPhone users are the data hogs of the smartphone world. On average, they account for 80% of the top 10% of heaviest data users, according to a new study by U.K.-based technology research firm Analysys Mason.

Furthermore, iPhone owners are three times more likely to be in the top 30% of heaviest data users than the next-most “data-hungry” mobile consumers -- those with HTC phones running Android. The findings were based on tracking of more than 1,000 smartphone users for two months in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Spain using Arbitron Mobile’s on-device monitoring app. When it comes to apps, people used an average of 32.6 apps during the two-month study period -- of which nearly half (47%) were used only once during that time. Given that nearly 1 million apps are available globally, the small number of apps per user indicates underscores the imbalance between supply and demand. Almost two-thirds (64.3%) of apps tracked during the study had only one user over the two months. Ronan de Renesse, co-author of the Analysys Mason study, noted that some apps are seasonal or created only for a specific event, so have only a short shelf life.

Rise In TV Shows Viewed Online, On Mobile

Longer Internet video viewing -- particularly that of full-length TV shows -- continues to climb at the expense of short-form video content. During the first quarter of this year, more long-form video content was consumed (longer than 10 minutes) on the Internet than shorter videos, which continue to decline. Research conducted by online video analytics company Ooyala says this is the first time this has occurred.

Letters to the DOJ: Public speaks out on e-book pricing case

As the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Apple and five big publishers for allegedly colluding to fix e-book prices moves forward, the public has the chance to respond with their take on the allegations. Any interested party has until June 25 to comment on the proposed settlement with Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and HarperCollins (Penguin and Macmillan are fighting the case in court). Many are also taking the opportunity to comment on the overall DOJ lawsuit. Here are a few excerpts from some of the most interesting letters sent to the DOJ so far. After June 25, the DOJ will review the letters, write a response and file everything in the public record.

To GOP, blatant bias in vetting

Republicans are livid with the early coverage of the 2012 general election campaign.

To them, reporters are scaring up stories to undermine the introduction of Mitt Romney to the general election audience – and once again downplaying ones that could hurt President Barack Obama. Republicans cry “bias” so often it feels like a campaign theme. It is, largely because it fires up conservatives and diminishes the punch of legitimate investigative or narrative journalism. But it also is because it often rings true, even to people who don’t listen to Rush Limbaugh. And the imbalance can do slow, low-grade but unmistakable damage to Romney: Swing voters are just getting to know him. And coverage suggesting he is mean or extravagant can soak in, even though voters who took the time to weigh the details might dismiss the storyline.

GOP groups plan record $1 billion blitz

Republican super PACs and other outside groups shaped by a loose network of prominent conservatives – including Karl Rove, the Koch brothers and Tom Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – plan to spend roughly $1 billion on November’s elections for the White House and control of Congress, according to officials familiar with the groups’ internal operations.

That total includes previously undisclosed plans for newly aggressive spending by the Koch brothers, who are steering funding to build sophisticated, county-by-county operations in key states. POLITICO has learned that Koch-related organizations plan to spend about $400 million ahead of the 2012 elections - twice what they had been expected to commit. Just the spending linked to the Koch network is more than the $370 million that John McCain raised for his entire presidential campaign four years ago. And the $1 billion total surpasses the $750 million that Barack Obama, one of the most prolific fundraisers ever, collected for his 2008 campaign.

AT&T, IBEW Reach Tentative Agreement on One-year Contract Extension in Core Wireline Negotiations

AT&T announced that it has reached a tentative agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers on a one-year contract extension covering nearly 7,000 core wireline employees.

The agreement, which will be submitted to the union's membership for a ratification vote in coming days, was reached prior to the current contract's expiration on June 23. Most of the IBEW employees covered under the contract are members of IBEW Local 21 and are in Illinois and northwestern Indiana; the rest are spread across the country. The one-year extension provides a 1 percent base salary increase; and a lump-sum payment of $500 for employees who will make less than $50,000 a year after the salary increase, and $300 for employees who will make more than $50,000 after the salary increase. Health care benefits remain among the best in the nation, with a modest increase in employee contributions. The agreement also would continue to provide employees with a pension and 401(k) savings plan, at a time when such benefits are increasingly rare in corporate America.

AT&T: Telecom consolidation 'logical,' inevitable

Speaking at a Nomura investment conference, AT&T CFO John Stephens said the wireless industry is likely to shrink down to two or three players, roughly half the roster across the U.S. today.

“I think it is just logical that the industry is going to consolidate in some form or fashion. I think the marketplace has spoken to that with what it has done to pricing in the valuations on some of the companies. From an economic perspective and a highly CapEx-intensive business, I think it is logical to assume you’re going to have two or three and certainly not six and seven competitors in any marketplace. So I think consolidation is logical,” he said. “Will the government allow it to happen? They have certainly spoken to us on that as a participant in that from acquiring spectrum and more customers. They spoke to us last year. Whether they will let it go at other levels or at a lower level or smaller deals, we will leave that to the FCC.” The argument from Stephens rhymes with what is usually heard from the airline industry. The theory: There can only be a few players given the high costs. In the wireless industry, spectrum is limited and it’s not cheap to build out a network.

Benton

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