The House Commerce Committee’s Communications Subcommittee will hold a future of video hearing June 27, following up on last week's hearing on the future of audio. Also, the full committee has scheduled a Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing for July 10. It will be the committee's first chance to hear from the two new commissioners, as well as to catch up with the others.
Two public interest groups called on the Federal Trade Commission to closely examine Universal Music's bid to buy part of EMI, saying the transaction will increase concentration in the music industry and could stifle the development of new online digital music platforms. One week before a Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee hearing on the Universal-EMI deal, the Consumer Federation of America and Public Knowledge urged greater scrutiny of the transaction in a report filed with the FTC.
The commission is examining Universal's bid to buy EMI's record label and the proposed purchase of EMI's music publishing business by an investment group led by Sony Music. While Sony will gain control of more than a million compositions in EMI's catalog under its deal, the Universal-EMI transaction has sparked greater concern among critics, which include rival Warner Music. If the Universal deal is approved by federal regulators, the number of major U.S. music labels would drop from four to three. It also would give Universal a more than 40 percent market share, which far exceeds the level of concentration that prompts concern under current FTC and Justice Department merger guidelines, according to the CFA and Public Knowledge .
T-Mobile USA iPhone users can start rejoicing this summer – at least a few of them can. T-Mobile will complete its planned conversion from GSM to HSPA+ on 2,500 of its cell sites this July, T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray revealed at the NGNM conference. The upgrade will put its mobile broadband network firmly in the PCS band in 7 percent of its network, which makes it compatible with all current versions of the iPhone. That doesn’t mean T-Mobile will start selling the iPhone directly, but some of the million-plus current unlocked or hacked iPhones on T-Mo’s network may soon start seeing a “4G” icon popping up on their notification bars, as well as find their current slow-poke Edge speeds jump up to multiple megabits per second.
President Obama signed an executive order aimed at linking high-speed broadband Internet providers and application developers with communities to design and test new applications in medicine, engineering and other fields. The idea behind the U.S. Ignite program is to use the broadband communities as test beds to develop applications that eventually can be scaled nationwide.
During a launch event, researchers at Case Western Reserve University demonstrated a broadband-based simulated surgical theater, which they said could eventually be used at broadband-equipped medical schools across the country. The U.S. Ignite program is designed to “unlock the power of American innovation mojo,” federal Chief Technology Officer Todd Park said during the event. Another portion of the executive order requires federal agencies to take a uniform approach to approving broadband building projects along federal properties and roadways, which the White House said could make broadband construction up to 90 percent cheaper.
The Homeland Security Department later this month will present to federal computer contractors and remote cloud suppliers standards for finding and fixing cyber threats within 72 hours.
The new approach aims to resolve what some cybersecurity specialists view as a flaw with the principle of automated “continuous monitoring” that the White House called for in 2010. Real-time tracking of potential network threats is intended to identify weaknesses faster and more economically than the old policy of manually reporting on computer inventories and incidents once a year. But spotting all the risks to personal computers and Internet connections in an organization does not make data any safer, critics note. Fixing them quickly does. Resolving identified weaknesses rapidly is the goal of the new procedures and, according to some government advisers, agencies could eventually be required to adopt them. “We’re initiating the discussion and we are asking for comment,” said DHS National Cybersecurity Division Director John Streufert.
You don’t save enough by replacing your pay TV subscription with over-the-top services to justify the loss of available content.
That was the conclusion put forth by Barclays media analyst Anthony DiClemente, as he broke down the value proposition for litigation-challenged start-up Aereo for investors. In his report, DiClemente cast long odds for Aereo, the cloud-based programming service funded by media mogul Barry Diller, which seeks to stream broadcast TV channels with a DVR interface to tablets, notebooks and over-the-top boxes for $12 a month. Even if Aereo emerges intact from its court battle with broadcasters, DiClemente surmises, it’ll find itself positioned as merely “one more over-the-top distributor” in a realm he feels has limited long-term consumer appeal.
It's not often that a catchy pop song and speeches from President Obama fit together, but in the world of internet memes and viral videos, the two have collided to create a social media sensation.
A video produced by a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Tennessee mashed together snippets from Obama speeches to make it seem as if he is singing the hit song "Call Me Maybe." In five days' time, it generated almost 8 million views on YouTube-making it the most-watched YouTube news video last week. It was also the week's No. 2 topic on Twitter, according to the New Media Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. The video, which lasts less than two minutes, is the latest illustration of the phenomenon of the internet "meme," a message or idea that spreads rapidly via the web and often becomes a popular cultural touchstone. And in this case, it also shows how with improved technology the thread of a meme develops. There are now thousands of different spin-offs of the "Call Me Maybe" dance hit featuring everyone from former Secretary of State Colin Powell to the Harvard baseball team doing their version of the catchy tune. The massive appeal of this meme has even led a number of organizations from Major League Baseball to the Miss USA Pageant to join the "Call Me Maybe" craze as a way to advertise their own products.
Public Knowledge President and CEO Gigi B. Sohn announced a new structure for the Public Knowledge staff.
AT&T executives think the company has enough spectrum for the next five years, according to analyst reports of a meeting with AT&T's management. AT&T executives made clear that the spectrum amount they were discussing included airwaves that would come from acquisitions the company may make in the next few years. The comments are notable considering the dire picture AT&T often paints of the spectrum supply shortage it and the wider industry are facing.
Electronic health records (EHRs) and the electronic sharing of health information offer the potential to improve quality and cost efficiency. In the past three years, major initiatives have been launched at the federal and state levels to encourage the adoption and use of health information technology (health IT). Although consumers overwhelmingly support health IT, they want to ensure that their personal health information is secure. According to a recent survey, more than 80% of doctors and the public believe that requiring safeguards for patient privacy is important in electronic health information exchange (HIE). Policymakers struggle to strike a balance between encouraging data sharing while maintaining privacy protections for patients. Consumer advocates maintain that building enhanced security into electronic health systems will bolster the public's trust and support for the increased use and appropriate sharing of health data.
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