January 2013

A Policy Prescription for the American Internet Economy

What is the policy prescription to move the economy forward? This was the question debated during the final panel discussion at the 9th Annual State of the Net Conference. Restoring American economic greatness through sound Internet policy was the theme of the conference’s final day.

Rey Ramsey, President & CEO of TechNet, moderated the discussion with Rob Atkinson, President of the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and Marvin Ammori, Principal of the Ammori Group. Atkinson pointed to three camps in Washington – those that wish to abdicate, regulate or facilitate Internet policy. Facilitating policy, which Atkinson advocates, can be accomplished through several approaches, including: driving the Internet to its promise – everything that can be digital, should be. He argued that everyone should have access to computers and broadband, and Internet innovation should be supported through a research and development tax credit. Atkinson also suggested that there should be a focus on high-skilled immigration and a domestic STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) policy.

Should Congress Rewrite the Telecom Act? Here’s What the Experts Think

The 9th Annual State of the Net Conference featured a panel discussion titled “Should Congress Rewrite the Telecom Act?” in which a variety of industry experts, including TAP Scholar Christopher Yoo, shared their opinions. Moderator Tim Lordan, executive director of the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee, asked each panelist to answer the title question with their initial reaction before taking a deeper dive into the debate.

The full panel included:

  • Christopher Yoo, John H. Chestnut Professor of Law, Communication, and Computer & Information Science, University of Pennsylvania Law School
  • Larry Downes, Consultant & Author
  • Cathy Sloan, Vice President Government Relations, Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA)
  • Corie Wright, Netflix

While there seemed to be some general consensus that rewriting the Telecom Act at some point made sense, there were a variety of opinions and perspectives on how, when and why the telecommunications law should be modified. Professor Yoo believes the worst approach would be not rewriting the Act at all. Cathy Sloan with CCIA agrees it is only a matter of time, but was clear now is not the right time. Though, she believes it is inevitable that a rewrite of the law will occur in the near future.

Apple, Samsung claim 95% of global cellphone profits, report says

Although there are hundreds of companies making and selling cellphones, Apple and Samsung accounted for 95% of the industry's profits in the fourth quarter of 2012. Apple alone claimed 70% of the cellphone industry's total worldwide profit of $16 billion, while Samsung had 25%, according to by Counterpoint Technology Market Research. In third place was Nokia with 2%. That left the remaining 3% to be split by about 300 companies.

Advertisers' Top-Ranked Media Company Is ... Google

Google earned higher marks from marketers and ad agencies than any other media company last year, according to the latest annual Advertiser Perceptions research, offering traditional media a discouraging note as they wade into 2013.

ABC was the highest-rated overall media company in 2011, preceded by Meredith Corp., the publisher of Ladies' Home Journal, in 2010. "This is the first time that a digital-media company has made it to the top," said Ken Pearl, CEO of Advertiser Perceptions. Advertiser Perceptions surveys thousands of agencies and marketers every spring and fall to come up with insights for media sellers. The good news for traditional publishers is that one of their own, the Meredith Women's Network, ranked highest among digital ad networks for sales knowledge. Several of the top-ranked websites for digital content were also rooted in traditional media: ESPN.com for brand strength, Economist.com for customer service and People.com for advertiser satisfaction, according to the research.

Britt: Dodger Deal Stabilizes Sports Costs For TWC

Time Warner Cable Chairman and CEO Glenn Britt addressed the elephant in the room on a conference call with analysts , adding that its recent regional sports network deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers will help the MSO manage escalating sports costs in the long term. Time Warner Cable agreed to a 25-year deal to distribute the Dodger’s RSN (dubbed SportsNet LA) in the Los Angeles market.

Although terms of the deal were not disclosed, published reports estimate Time Warner Cable spent between $7 billion and $8 billion for the privilege of distributing the channel. On a conference call with analysts to discuss its fourth quarter results, Britt said the MSO’s sports strategy in Los Angeles – last year it agreed to spend an estimated $3 billion to carry Los Angeles Lakers National Basketball Association games for 20 years and formed another RSN, Time Warner Cable SportsNet – has been to lock down its costs over a longer period of time.

Spin the Revolving Door: Tribune Hires FCC Chairman's Right-Hand Man

[Commentary] A lot of things don't work at the Federal Communications Commission. Consumer complaints disappear for years into seemingly bottomless file drawers. The wonky proceedings are hard to decipher if you're not a telecom lawyer. Even the website is clunky. But at least one thing at the FCC always runs at full speed: the revolving door.

The latest FCC official to get a job in the industry he used to regulate is Edward Lazarus, Chairman Julius Genachowski's former chief of staff. The Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday that Lazarus is the new general counsel of Tribune Co. Now it just so happens that Tribune Co. -- which emerged from bankruptcy at the end of 2012 -- is at the center of a major dispute at the FCC over whether the agency will trash longstanding rules on how much media one company can own in a single market.

Tool Makes It Easier to Tap Into the Conversation on Federal Regulations

The Sunlight Foundation launched a new open government tool that allows users to track comments on proposed rules by the broader topic, the commenter or the rule itself. The tool, called Docket Wrench, allows users to search for proposed rules using key works, such as hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” Users can then drill down to who commented on specific proposed rules. Users can also search for all comments by a specific organization. Docket Wrench can also uncover when commenters have submitted a form letter rather than unique comments by collecting comments that share 50 to 90 percent of their text in common, Sunlight said.

Will the US wage cyber war on its enemies?

At a time when policy makers in Washington are talking about cutting the size of the US military, the department of defence has signalled it is to dramatically increase the size of its Cyber Command over the next few years. Proponents of the plan argue it is a prudent response to the changing nature of 21st century warfare. They argue that in recent years cyberattacks at the behest of governments have increased in frequency and ferocity.

Cyber Command plans to develop three types of forces:

  1. National Mission Forces - will work to protect computer systems that run electrical grids and other infrastructure deemed critical to US security
  2. Combat Mission Forces - will focus on helping US commanders abroad plan and execute offensive cyber attacks
  3. Cyber Protection Forces - will work on strengthening the computer networks of the defense department itself

So does the decision to expand the size of its cyber security force suggest a new determination by the US to wage cyber war on its enemies?

This Year, All Publishers Go Mobile

Media businesses have already gone through a first wave of digital transition, and in the last few years, mobile has been the next frontier. Publishers have been tasked with deciding whether to offer their content on the smaller-screen devices—and how. This year will be a seminal one, marking the first time 100% of publishers will format their content for mobile, according to an Alliance for Audited Media survey of 210 media companies in North America. The development points to both digital’s essential role in media companies’ future profits and the importance of mobile to consumers’ daily media lives.

Your Social Networking Credit Score

[Commentary] The buzzword tsunami that is “big data"—a handy way of describing our vastly improved ability to collect and analyze humongous data sets—has dwarfed “frictionless sharing” and “cloud computing” combined. As befits Silicon Valley, “big data” is mostly big hype, but there is one possibility with genuine potential: that it might one day bring loans—and credit histories—to millions of people who currently lack access to them. But what price, in terms of privacy and free will (not to mention the exorbitant interest rates), will these new borrowers have to pay?