April 2013

The Internet Is Not Freaking Out About the SOPA Sequel

Over 200 sites are participating in the Internet shutdown to protest the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), which the House of Representatives passed. But, the big names that showed up to last year's nearly Internet-wide protest of SOPA—like Wikipedia and Wired—haven't shut down their sites this time, even though opponents argue this bill is worse than any previously proposed Internet regulation.

"#CISPA is the ugly fusion of SOPA and PIPA into a super zombie bill determined to kill your online privacy," tweeted out YourAnonNews to underscore that very point. The voices speaking out are very loud, but they don't have the ubiquity or scale of that last round of online protests. Unlike SOPA which was widely condemned in the tech community, CISPA has the support of some major tech companies for the bill's measures meant to help them fight hackers. Last year Facebook came out in support of the legislation. And though it has since revoked its official support, the industry lobbying group TechNet, whose members include Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and Microsoft, sent a letter to Congress earlier this month in support of the legislation: "This bill recognizes the need for effective cybersecurity legislation that encourages voluntary, bi-directional, real time sharing of actionable cyber threat information to protect networks." A few days later, the House passed that bill. The full list of pro-CISPA companies found here also includes IBM and HP.

Mobile users clam up, use more data, survey shows

Mobile users in North America are hanging up and using email, text or social networking at a rapid pace, according to a survey by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Postpaid subscribers, who pay a regular bill for mobile service at the end of each month, spent an average of 673 minutes per month talking on the phone in the year as of June 30, 2012. That was down from 714 minutes per month a year earlier, while those same subscribers' monthly data use grew from 548MB to 694MB, according to a PwC survey of North American mobile operators. Cost-conscious consumers finally joining the mobile revolution is probably one reason for the fall in talk minutes, PwC said, but data services are definitely on the rise. Customers using new, faster networks are consuming 700% more data than the average subscriber. The average user of these so-called mobile broadband networks used about 4.8GB of data per month as of June 2012, up from about 3.6GB the previous June.

Verizon Rural Partner Launches Separate LTE Network for Fixed Service

Bluegrass Cellular announced that it has launched what the company is calling its “second 4G LTE network.” The new network uses the company’s spectrum in the lower 700 MHz band and will support a fixed wireless offering the company is calling “GetSetGo.” What makes this the company’s “second 4G LTE network” is that the company previously turned up an LTE network using upper 700 MHz spectrum leased from Verizon Wireless through Verizon’s LTE in Rural America (LRA) program. That network supports mobile LTE service and operates in parts of the Bluegrass Cellular service territory where Verizon does not have its own network.

FCC chief’s swan song: in-flight broadband

Julius Genachowski is preparing to exit the top spot at the Federal Communications Commission, and it looks like he’s planning on going out with a crowd-pleasing finale. Gadget junkies rejoice – the FCC is looking at a new rule to expand broadband access for airline passengers in flight. The FCC is looking at dedicating a swath of radio spectrum in the 14.0-14.5 gigahertz band for an “Air-Ground Mobile Broadband service.” The spectrum is currently used by amateur radio operators.

Civil Rights in Communications – A Movement Still in Motion

[Commentary] Civil rights, particularly in media and telecommunications, do matter.

Despite the nation’s tenuous grip on this delusion of a post-racial utopia, the facts remain. The sizable racial wealth gap continues to rise, while diverse ownership and participation decreases in the traditional and the broadband enabled/high tech communications sector, an industry that touches on one-sixth of our economy. These disparities illustrate that diversity is a crucial policy goal and that access, adoption, and informed use (e.g. digital literacy) of broadband technology is the civil rights issue of the 21st century. Arming individuals with the tools and skills to enable them to use technology to solve problems yields opportunities for individual, community, and societal advancement. It is our duty to the future of this nation to ensure that these tools and skills are available to everyone.

The Internet of Things: Coming to a network near you

When people talk about the Internet of Things (IoT), the most common examples are smart cars, IP-addressable washing machines and Internet-connected nanny cams. But IoT is coming to the enterprise as well, and IT execs should already be thinking about the ways that IoT will shake up the corporate network. "Products and services which were previously outside their domain will increasingly be under their jurisdiction," says Daniel Castro, senior analyst with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington-based research and educational institute. So, what are these devices? Castro says that companies increasingly will be operating in "smart buildings" with advanced HVAC systems that are connected to the rest of the corporate network.

It's Time for Cities to Deploy Emergency Wi-Fi Strategies

The nightmarish events of this week remind us how vital communications are during a disaster. People need information in an emergency, and with the prevalence of mobile devices, Wi-Fi is often the best way to get that information during a crisis. After the bombings in Boston this week, people reached for their mobile devices to contact loved ones or gather information. Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms lit up with warnings to text rather than call in order to save bandwidth, as well as requests for people to open up closed Wi-Fi networks. There were conflicting reports about whether cellular networks were shut down to avoid the remote detonation of more explosives, but ultimately the carriers confirmed that networks were just congested. Communications, understandably, became chaotic. In New York, we saw it with 9/11, Hurricane Sandy, and the Northeastern blackout of 2003. This is why urban planners and government officials need to take a hard, serious look at offering citizens blanket, municipal Wi-Fi connectivity in times of crisis.

Why Amazon Supports An Online Sales-Tax Bill

Amazon supports a Senate bill that would empower states to tax online purchases. Why?

Collecting state and local sales tax all around the country would require a fair bit of effort on the part of online retailers, because sales tax rules vary from state to state. That's not a huge deal for a giant company like Amazon, but it would be more of a burden for smaller online retailers. From Amazon's point of view, that's a good thing — it makes life harder for Amazon's smaller competitors.
Under current law, Internet retailers have to charge sales tax in states where they have a significant physical presence — like, say, a big warehouse. For a long time, Amazon kept warehouses out of big states so it could avoid charging sales tax in those states. Brick-and-mortar retailers didn't like this, and started lobbying state governments to push for Amazon to charge sales tax. So Amazon changed its strategy. The company agreed to start paying sales tax in more states — and it started building huge warehouses near major metropolitan areas in those states.

Instead of Taking Your Daughters to Work, Introduce them to Technology

It’s well documented that girls need more exposure to tech and science careers--they also need more female role models. Why is it that we can easily name legends such as Gates, Jobs, Dell, and Zuckerberg for their technical contributions? Yet most people cannot name the woman who saved millions of lives by inventing Kevlar (Stephanie Kwolek). Or the Nobel Laureate who invented radioimmunoassay (RIA) testing that revolutionized medical research (Rosalyn S. Yalow). Or the woman who founded the first word processing company, Redactron, in 1969 (Evelyn Berezin). These women deserve to be widely known for their significant contributions. But most importantly, our daughters need female role models. This Thursday marks the 20th anniversary of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. No doubt, it is a fantastic initiative. However, in 2013 many freelancers and entrepreneurs work from home. And many employees don’t work in offices anymore. For workers who remain in office environments, it seems that exposing our kids to the drudgery of cubicles, mind-numbing meetings, and dull cafeteria food is not very inspiring. So rather than going to work, why don’t you set aside a day and take your daughter to tech?

Here are a few ideas to swap for hauling your kids to your desk:

Learn about women in tech and science
Visit a tech or science museum
Join the Worldwide #WITI Wave celebration
Read about important women in STEM careers at the 2013 Women’s History Month website
Sign your kids up for a technology or science summer camp
Set aside time to help them participate in science events such as Google’s Science Fair.

FirstNet Board Is Off to an 'Optimistic' Start

A Q&A with Kevin McGinnis, the CEO of North East Mobile Health Services, the largest paramedic service in Maine.

McGinnis has spent nearly 30 years in the emergency medical services (EMS) field and understands the critical role broadband will play in the future of first responders and emergency management in general. His expertise and enthusiasm for a national public safety broadband network led to his being named to the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) board tasked with developing the national network. North East Mobile Health Services takes more than 30,000 calls a year, providing emergency medical response, non-emergency transfer, paramedic intercept, wheelchair services and other services. McGinnis also serves as a member of the Public Safety Alliance and chair of the SAFECOM Executive Program, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security advisory committee on interoperability in public safety.

Benton

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