1. Monthly archive
  2. January 2013

January 2013

BroadbandBreakfast.com
Tuesday, February 19th, 2013
8 am – 10 am
http://broadbandbreakfast.eventbrite.com/

Speakers presently include:

Mark Cooper, Research Director, Consumer Federation of America
Mark Cooper holds a Ph.D. from Yale University and is a former Yale University and Fulbright Fellow. He is Director of Research at the Consumer Federation of America where he has responsibility for analysis and advocacy in the areas of telecommunications, media, digital rights, economic and energy policy. He has provided expert testimony in over 250 cases for public interest clients including Attorneys General, People’s Counsels, and citizen interveners before state and federal agencies, courts and legislators in almost four dozen jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada. His books include: Media Ownership and Democracy in the Digital Information Age (Center for Internet & Society, Stanford University, 2003), Cable Mergers and Monopolies (Economic Policy institute), The Transformation of Egypt (Johns Hopkins, 1982), and Equity and Energy (Westview, 1983).

Roger Entner, Founder, Recon Analytics
Entner, one of the most recognized telecom experts in the United States, leads IAG’s Communications Sector covering the wireless, wireline and cable industry. He is building IAG’s business endeavors in this rapid growth sector for IAG. Before joining IAG, he was Vice President, Wireless Telecom for Ovum, responsible for establishing Ovum as one of the leading research and analysis providers for wireless in the United States. Prior to that, Roger headed the wireless carrier group at the Yankee Group. While at the Yankee Group, Roger spearheaded and launched the new products that broadened the product portfolio to include quantitative and qualitative offerings. In both positions, Roger has been a trusted advisor to the senior leadership teams of the largest companies in the wireless industry. Roger is one of the most quoted wireless industry experts in the United States and a sought after speaker at industry and corporate events. Roger has an MBA from George Washington University and a BA from Herriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Nick Feamster, Associate Professor in the College of Computing, Georgia Tech
Nick Feamster is an associate professor in the College of Computing at Georgia Tech. He received his Ph.D. in Computer science from MIT in 2005, and his S.B. and M.Eng. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT in 2000 and 2001, respectively. His research focuses on many aspects of computer networking and networked systems, including the design, measurement, and analysis of network routing protocols, network operations and security, and anonymous communication systems. In December 2008, he received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for his contributions to cybersecurity, notably spam filtering. His honors include the Technology Review 35 “Top Young Innovators Under 35″ award, a Sloan Research Fellowship, the NSF CAREER award, the IBM Faculty Fellowship, and award papers at SIGCOMM 2006 (network-level behavior of spammers), the NSDI 2005 conference (fault detection in router configuration), Usenix Security 2002 (circumventing web censorship using Infranet), and Usenix Security 2001 (web cookie analysis).

Additional Panelists Have Been Invited

Moderator:

Paul Barbagallo, Reporter, Bloomberg BNA
Paul Barbagallo has covered media, technology, and telecommunications policy for Bloomberg BNA’s Daily Report for Executives since December 2009. Prior to that, he served as a reporter and senior editor of Telecommunications Reports’ State Newswire, where he covered state legislative and regulatory policy issues, while contributing to TR’sflagship publication, TR Daily. Previously, he covered business and politics for newspapers and magazines in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including The Times of Trenton and The Trentonian. He is an alumnus of Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and is currently pursuing a M.A. in Writing from Johns Hopkins University. He can be reached at pbarbagallo@bna.com


January 30, 2013 (Twisted Pair)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2013

Today: Regulation and the IP Transition: Laying a Predicate for Growth http://benton.org/node/143929

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Twisted Pair
   Free Press: AT&T Plan Would End All Oversight of Communications Networks - press release
   Five Fundamentals, Values For A New Phone Network - press release
   TIA Files Comments with FCC in Support of AT&T & NTCA Petitions to Facilitate TDM-to-IDP Transition - press release
   ACA questions accuracy of FCC's National Broadband Map

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   Justice Department asks FCC to put Sprint-Softbank on hold
   Verizon pushes for spectrum ownership caps in Sprint's purchase of Clearwire

CONTENT
   A martyr in the fight for free online access to research [links to web]
   Report Gauges Companies’ Approach to Advertising on Social Media [links to web]
   Who Owns, Controls Social Media Activity? - analysis [links to web]

PRIVACY
   Smartphone Users' Privacy Betrayed By Their Gadget Sensors, Says Study [links to web]
   Consumers now trust Microsoft more than Apple with their privacy [links to web]

EDUCATION
   US kids need computer-science education - op-ed [links to web]

HEALTH
   FCC Announces Details For January 31, 2013 Telemedicine Demonstration - press release [links to web]
   2-1-1 to Eliminate Health Disparities - press release [links to web]

CYBERSECURITY
   CEOs Open to Cybersecurity Rules
   Companies eye cybersecurity information
   US government warns of hack threat to network gear [links to web]

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIOS
   Testing by NTIA’s ITS Paves the Way for First Responder Broadband Interoperability - press release [links to web]
   Chicago Open311 Empowers Texters [links to web]

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   State Promotes Open Access to Educational Materials in Arabic [links to web]
   Additional Steps Needed to Address Overlap in International Broadcasting - research [links to web]
   ICE Gives Thousands of Employees iPhones for Work and Play [links to web]
   Unions, Hollywood open to bankrolling Obama’s advocacy arm [links to web]

COMPANY NEWS
   Apple’s $1 Billion Verdict Against Samsung Left Intact [links to web]
   Google's YouTube in Talks to Let Video Creators Charge Viewers [links to web]
   Even Facebook Must Change [links to web]
   Amazon's Growing Problem [links to web]
   Bezos: With e-book sales up 70% in 2012, Amazon has hit “transition” it expected [links to web]
   iPhone Users Rack Up the Highest Carrier Bills [links to web]
   Video ads growing at fastest rate on Web as TV-viewing habits change [links to web]
   Netflix's Hastings: Online steering TV's future [links to web]
   Former Top Genachowski Aide Lazarus Named Tribune General Counsel [links to web]
   Silicon Valley’s most important document ever [links to web]
   Netflix Raises More Money for Originals Like “House of Cards” [links to web]
   Sprint’s LTE rollout goes urban with launches in Boston, Austin [links to web]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   China anger at EU telecoms demands
   A New Target for Google Maps: The Streets of North Korea [links to web]

MORE ONLINE
   Gore defends Current sale to Al Jazeera [links to web]
   Worldwide Telecommunications Industry Revenue to Reach $2.2 Trillion in 2013, says Insight Research - press release [links to web]
back to top

INTERNET/BROADBAND

TWISTED PAIR
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Alex Byers]
Public comments on petitions by AT&T and the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association seeking to move the nation from Alexander Graham Bell’s old copper-wire telephone system to one based on the Internet poured into the Federal Communications Commission. As expected, they run the gamut from Free Press’s concern that AT&T is trying to short-circuit consumer protections, to AT&T’s own contention that it is simply seeking a smooth glide path for a change that’s already happening. “AT&T doesn’t want a discussion about a reasonable regulatory framework,” Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner. AT&T federal regulatory senior vice president Bob Quinn pushed back, writing in a blog post that the company just wants the FCC to conduct trials to see where the problems will be as the nation goes into a “final transition” away from the plain old telephone service. While Turner and Quinn are unlikely to agree on the solution, they both agree that it is time to decide just what the transition to an Internet-protocol based system means for bedrock principles like interconnection, universal service, consumer rights and emergency service. From Quinn’s perspective, the whole issue boils down to a pair of questions. “1) does the FCC have the authority to remove the legal and regulatory impediments to retire legacy technology? And 2) doesn’t it make sense to do a limited geographic trial of this transition to put in place the framework that allows us to complete this transition in the least disruptive way possible?” AT&T, needless to say, votes yea on both counts.
benton.org/node/144274 | Politico | Broadcasting&Cable
Recommend this Headline
back to top


FREE PRESS WARNS ABOUT AT&T PLAN
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Press release]
Free Press filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission concerning AT&T's request for the FCC to facilitate the transition to all-IP networks. If granted under the FCC's current broadband classification framework, AT&T’s request would result in the complete removal of all regulatory oversight of our nation's critical telecommunications infrastructure. Free Press urged the FCC to first address the lingering questions about FCC authority over broadband transmission networks. This deliberation must take place before the agency even considers taking any action that would lead to the removal of all the consumer protections and competitive safeguards Congress enacted for our nation's communications markets.
benton.org/node/144273 | Free Press | read the filing
Recommend this Headline
back to top


FIVE FUNDAMENTALS FOR A NEW PHONE NETWORK
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
[Commentary] AT&T’s decision to upgrade its network from tradition phone technology (called “TDM”) to an all Internet protocol (IP) system has enormous implications for every aspect of our voice communication system in the country. To provide the right framework for the transition, Public Knowledge submitted to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) our proposed “Five Fundamentals” Framework: Service to All Americans, Interconnection and Competition, Consumer Protection, Network Reliability, and Public Safety. Using this Five Fundamentals Framework, the FCC (and eventually Congress) can both facilitate the upgrade to an all IP network while simultaneously ensuring that we do not compromise on any of the fundamental principles that have made our phone system the envy of the world. This isn’t an engineering problem – it’s a policy choice. Now is the time to make the policy choices that will form the foundation of the all-IP network for the 21st Century, just as our decisions to adopt these five fundamental principles shaped the home network of the 20th Century. We must not keep old rules that no longer serve us simply because they are comforting and familiar, but we must not be so dazzled by the promise of new technology that we forget the foundational principles on which these networks must be built. The technology changes, but the social needs and goals remain the same.
benton.org/node/144272 | Public Knowledge | PK press release | read PK’s filing
Recommend this Headline
back to top


TIA SUPPORTS AT&T AND NTCA PETITIONS
[SOURCE: Telecommunications Industry Association, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), the leading association representing the manufacturers and suppliers of high-tech communications networks, filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in support of AT&T and the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association's (NTCA) petitions to facilitate the successful transition of Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM) technologies to an Internet Protocol (IP) infrastructure. In its comments, TIA said: "The Commission should be applauded for the foresight to ensure that the inevitable transition of legacy transmission platforms and technologies to Internet Protocol ("IP") networks occurs in an organized and orderly fashion. Facilitating this transition is one of the most significant steps the Commission can take to affirmatively help promote broadband deployment and infrastructure investment while serving the public interest." Regarding AT&T's trial proposal, TIA said: "AT&T's common sense proposal of discrete TDM-to-IP trials is a sensible approach that will encourage all parties to work collaboratively to find solutions."
benton.org/node/144271 | Telecommunications Industry Association
Recommend this Headline
back to top


NATIONAL BROADBAND MAP
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Steve Donohue]
Questioning the accuracy of the National Broadband Map, the American Cable Association told the Federal Communications Commission it shouldn't allow CenturyLink, USTelecom and other providers to use federal subsidies to build broadband networks in areas that are already served by small cable operators. ACA said several of its members, including Cable One, Armstrong Utilities, Massillon Cable TV and Nittany Media, have submitted data that shows cable broadband speeds of up to 20 Mbps are available in areas that the broadband map says are unserved.
benton.org/node/144259 | Fierce
Recommend this Headline
back to top

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

JUSTICE ASKS FOR SPRINT-SOFTBANK HOLD
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Kevin Fitchard]
The Department of Justice apparently has security concerns about Japanese carrier Softbank’s $20.1 billion bid to take over Sprint, and is asking the Federal Communications Commission for more time to look into the deal. In a short letter sent to the FCC, Jennifer Rockoff, attorney advisor for the DOJ’s National Security Division, asked the FCC to defer any action on the deal. Though the DOJ didn’t go into detail, its review most likely centers on foreign ownership. Softbank would take a 70 percent stake in the country’s third largest mobile carrier, which would trigger automatically trigger a review from federal agencies. It’s important to note that the Justice Department’s antitrust division, which would review from a competitive standpoint, wasn’t even named in the letter.
benton.org/node/144270 | GigaOm | read the letter | Washington Post | WSJ
Recommend this Headline
back to top


VERIZON PUSHES SPECTRUM CAPS IN REVIEW
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Phil Goldstein]
Verizon Wireless pushed the Federal Communications Commission to apply its spectrum screen to Clearwire's trove of 2.5 GHz spectrum while the agency reviews Sprint Nextel's proposed purchase of Clearwire. If the FCC does apply the screen to the deal, the agency could limit how much spectrum Sprint could ultimately acquire through its purchase of Clearwire. In a filing with the FCC, Verizon argued the FCC should evaluate Clearwire's spectrum in the same way as spectrum in other bands. Sprint has argued that Clearwire's spectrum is above 2 GHz and so the FCC's spectrum screen--which is aimed at capping the amount of spectrum a single carrier can devote to mobile broadband--should not be applied to its purchase of Clearwire. But Verizon pointed out Clearwire is already using the spectrum, dubbed BRS/EBS, for mobile broadband.
benton.org/node/144269 | Fierce
Recommend this Headline
back to top

CYBERSECURITY

CEOs OPEN TO CYBERSECURITY RULES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Siobhan Gorman]
Fortune 500 companies in a range of industries back a system of voluntary cybersecurity standards, according to a Senate survey by a strong backer of a new legislative push to protect computer networks. The findings suggest there might be a disagreement between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and many of the nearly 300 companies that responded to questions from the Senate Commerce Committee chairman. The Chamber worked aggressively last year to defeat a bill to create a voluntary-standards regime and faulted the new survey. Companies from sectors including financial services, communications, transportation and energy voiced support for voluntary standards, coordinated between the U.S. and industry. These responses come as a growing number of financial-services companies have come under assault from what Pentagon officials say are Iranian-backed hackers, prompting banks to press the federal government for action to stop the assaults. The companies responded to a letter from Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), who in September wrote to all Fortune 500 chief executives to ask about their handling of cybersecurity and their positions on policy proposals such as voluntary standards.
benton.org/node/144316 | Wall Street Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top


CYBERSECURITY INFORMATION
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Paul Taylor]
Company audit committee members are concerned about the quality of information that they receive on cybersecurity and believe risk management programs need to become more “dynamic”, according to a KPMG survey. The survey, based on the results of a survey of some 1,800 audit committee members in 21 countries undertaken by KPMG’s Audit Committee Institute, asked whether they were satisfied with the quality of information they receive from their company on a range of issues. Cybersecurity came out on the bottom of the pile and respondents noted that a broader range of skills on audit committees, including IT, would be welcomed. Only 26 per cent of respondents said they were fully satisfied with information on cybersecurity. In the UK, just one in five respondents said they were satisfied, compared to satisfaction levels of more than 70 per cent on legal and regulatory compliance issues. The results echo those of other studies that have suggested many companies and their boards remain complacent about cybersecurity or lack detailed understanding of the threats they face. It could also help fuel demands that cybersecurity risk assessment should be part of the formal audit procedure or addressed specifically in company annual reports.
benton.org/node/144315 | Financial Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top

STORIES FROM ABROAD

EU’S TELECOM DEMANDS
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Joshua Chaffin]
Europe’s top trade official has demanded a bigger share of the Chinese market in telecoms network equipment in an increasingly heated dispute that risks escalating into a full-blown trade war. Chinese diplomats privately complained about the EU’s demands this week with at least one EU capital, expressing frustration at what they believed were unreasonable – and possibly illegal - demands, officials and diplomats said. They claimed that Karel De Gucht, the trade commissioner, requested that EU suppliers be given a 30 per cent share of China’s telecoms market in return for dropping a highly contentious EU investigation into alleged subsidies to Chinese companies. Gucht also insisted that the Chinese companies, Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp, raise the price of their exports by 29 per cent as part of the agreement, these people said. The row is expected to come to a head on Feb 1 when top Chinese meet De Gucht in Brussels.
benton.org/node/144304 | Financial Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top

CEOs Open to Cybersecurity Rules

Fortune 500 companies in a range of industries back a system of voluntary cybersecurity standards, according to a Senate survey by a strong backer of a new legislative push to protect computer networks.

The findings suggest there might be a disagreement between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and many of the nearly 300 companies that responded to questions from the Senate Commerce Committee chairman. The Chamber worked aggressively last year to defeat a bill to create a voluntary-standards regime and faulted the new survey. Companies from sectors including financial services, communications, transportation and energy voiced support for voluntary standards, coordinated between the U.S. and industry. These responses come as a growing number of financial-services companies have come under assault from what Pentagon officials say are Iranian-backed hackers, prompting banks to press the federal government for action to stop the assaults. The companies responded to a letter from Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), who in September wrote to all Fortune 500 chief executives to ask about their handling of cybersecurity and their positions on policy proposals such as voluntary standards.

Companies eye cybersecurity information

Company audit committee members are concerned about the quality of information that they receive on cybersecurity and believe risk management programs need to become more “dynamic”, according to a KPMG survey.

The survey, based on the results of a survey of some 1,800 audit committee members in 21 countries undertaken by KPMG’s Audit Committee Institute, asked whether they were satisfied with the quality of information they receive from their company on a range of issues. Cybersecurity came out on the bottom of the pile and respondents noted that a broader range of skills on audit committees, including IT, would be welcomed. Only 26 per cent of respondents said they were fully satisfied with information on cybersecurity. In the UK, just one in five respondents said they were satisfied, compared to satisfaction levels of more than 70 per cent on legal and regulatory compliance issues. The results echo those of other studies that have suggested many companies and their boards remain complacent about cybersecurity or lack detailed understanding of the threats they face. It could also help fuel demands that cybersecurity risk assessment should be part of the formal audit procedure or addressed specifically in company annual reports.

Google's YouTube in Talks to Let Video Creators Charge Viewers

Apparently, Google's YouTube video site has been in talks to allow video creators to charge viewers to access their content sometime later this year, said people familiar with the discussions.

The move would add a new revenue stream for YouTube and its thousands of content partners, and it could potentially help the site lure new video creators who want a subscription model rather than rely only on advertising, these people said. YouTube executives have long discussed such a possibility publicly, so the discussions aren't a surprise. "We have long maintained that different content requires different types of payment models," said a YouTube spokesman. "There are a lot of our content creators that think they would benefit from subscriptions, so we're looking at that." He declined to comment further.

Even Facebook Must Change

To reclaim its status as a $100 billion company, Facebook is re-engineering itself into a mobile business.

Such a transformation has been daunting for one of the world's most-trafficked websites. Just over a year ago, Facebook's mobile business barely existed. Less than two dozen engineers were working on mobile applications as the social network focused on growing its desktop business to a billion users. While Facebook was a popular mobile app on Apple’s iPhones, users complained the software was slow and frequently crashed. All of that began to shift in late 2011 when Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg realized he had miscalculated. Facebook's own data showed that a large number of users—the company declined to say how much—were going to their phones' Web browsers to access the social network. Meanwhile, mobile startups such as photo-sharing service Instagram were emerging as threats.

"If we are going to be a mobile company at scale, we needed to do something qualitatively different," said Mike Shaver, Facebook's director of mobile engineering. "We needed a nuclear option." Today, hundreds of Facebook's roughly 1,000 engineers are coding for mobile on any given day, including those acquired from Facebook's purchase of Instagram last year.

Amazon's Growing Problem

The holiday season really was a taxing time for Amazon.

The company reported fourth-quarter sales of $21.27 billion; the slowest pace of growth since the second quarter of 2009. An increase in the number of states charging sales tax for online transactions might have something to do with it. Texas in July and California and Pennsylvania in September started collecting online sales taxes. Together, the three states account for a quarter of the U.S. population, so a fair-sized chunk of American shoppers had one less reason to buy online. There are other reasons to shop on Amazon, of course, like convenience and low prices. But to continue to gain market share on the basis of those factors may entail substantial investment that could continue to weigh on the company's margins.

iPhone Users Rack Up the Highest Carrier Bills

According to new data from the Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), the average monthly carrier bill of the typical iPhone user is the highest in the smartphone market.

iPhone owners spend more on wireless fees than owners of any other handset, be they Android, BlackBerry or Windows Phone. Almost 60 percent of the iPhone users CIRP polled during October-December 2012 spent more than $100 per month on their wireless plan, with 10 percent spending $200 or more. Just 6 percent spent $50 or less; for Android users in that category, the percentage was double. And only 53 percent of Android users fell into the “over $100 per month” category, with 7 percent landing in the “over $200 per month” category. Why do iPhone customers spend more? “We think it has to do with their data plans and carriers, rather than their usage habits,” CIRP co-founder Michael Levin explained. “They are all on expensive data plans, unlike Android users, some of which are on prepaid or unsubsidized plans with regional carriers.” That said, just because iPhone users on average spend more on their wireless plans doesn’t necessarily mean that the carriers are making more money. “Given the subsidies on iPhones, the carriers are working hard to make their money back during the course of the contract,” said CIRP’s Josh Levitz. “With the exception of perhaps the hottest Android phones, we think the subsidies on Android phones are lower, so the carriers make more money even with slightly lower per subscriber revenue.”

A martyr in the fight for free online access to research

They came from all over Silicon Valley, hundreds packing the pews of an old church to pay their respects to Aaron Swartz, the 26-year-old programmer and Internet activist who took his own life earlier this year.

They didn't just come to mourn a fallen comrade, they said. They came to carry on his fight. The memorial service held at the Internet Archive, a nonprofit group that occupies a former church in San Francisco, was as much political rally as solemn tribute. In death, Swartz has become a political martyr for the cause he championed in life: making scientific and scholarly research — much of it taxpayer-funded — freely available, not sequestered behind online pay walls out of the reach of the public.

Apple’s $1 Billion Verdict Against Samsung Left Intact

Apple’s $1.05 billion damages award against Samsung from its patent- infringement trial in San Jose, California, was left intact after a judge denied Apple’s bid to increase the award.

US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose declined to increase the award after she found Samsung’s infringement wasn’t willful. The ruling was one of many post-trial decisions Judge Koh issued denying both companies’ bids for a new trial and leaving largely untouched the jury’s finding in August that Samsung infringed six mobile-device patents. Judge Koh rejected Apple’s argument that jurors erred by finding Apple’s trade dress, or how a product looks, for the iPad and iPad 2 wasn’t protectable. The judge also denied Apple’s request that she overrule jurors’ conclusion that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 didn’t infringe one patent covering the design of Apple’s iPad tablet computer. She found that two claims, or elements, of Samsung’s patent covering data transmission over wireless systems were invalid. The judge also denied Samsung’s request for a new trial. Judge Koh also rejected Samsung’s argument that Apple’s patents may be “indefinite,” meaning that its claims, or elements, aren’t particular enough in describing the technology they covers.

© 1994-2024 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.