April 2013

Diller: Aereo Is 'Not a Loophole; It Is a Right'

IAC/Interactive Corp. chairman and founder Barry Diller defended his investment in Aereo by arguing consumers have a "right" to the service and that the company is not simply exploiting a "legal loophole" in the law.

Diller also contended that recent threats made by executives at News Corp. and other broadcasters to move networks from broadcast to cable was really an effort to spur Congressional action. "I think what they are doing is making a lot of noise in the hopes they will get relief from Congress," he told Bloomberg TV. "That is actually what they are going. I do not think they see Aereo as a 'threat' but what they are nervous about is the shifting ground underneath them. As it becomes more and more difficult to justify ever increasing cable fees, satellite fees, as programmers and operators want more and more money and there are more and more programs, as that closed circle becomes ever more pricey there are going to be chinks in that armor if the technology which now allows it, will allow it. My attitude has been to jump into something that looks difficult and is against what people think will succeed and plant my little food. Sometimes it gets kicked." Diller described Aereo as a service for people who don't want to pay $150 a month for a multichannel service and who can live without ESPN. "If those are true for you as a consumer, being able to watch all free broadcast, all the events all of the local television for $8 a month is an alternative."

NM Delegation Asks FCC to Protect Rural Broadcasting

The New Mexico congressional delegation (two senators and three House members) are the latest to contact the Federal Communications Commission about protecting rural communications, particularly broadcast translators, in the incentive auctions meant to encourage broadcasters to give up their spectrum for auction to wireless.

Translators help carry over-the-air TV station signals to hard-to-reach geographic areas. In the letter, dated April 26, the legislators said the FCC needs to protect over-the-air signals after the incentive auctions, whether that is a full-power broadcaster or a translator. They point out that some of their constituents can't afford cable or satellite and others don't have access to high-speed broadband. For them, they say, broadcast TV is "all the more" useful for emergency communications.

FCC Adopts Accessibility Rules

In this Second Report and Order, the Federal Communications Commission implements section 718 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (Act), which was added by section 104 of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA) to ensure that people with disabilities have access to emerging and innovative advanced communications technologies. Section 718 requires mobile phone manufacturers and mobile service providers that include or arrange for the inclusion of an Internet browser on mobile phones to ensure that the functions of the included browser are accessible to and usable by individuals who are blind or have a visual impairment, unless doing so is not achievable.

Specifically, the FCC took the following actions:

Affirm that Internet browsers used for advanced communications services (ACS), that are installed or included by ACS equipment manufacturers or provided by ACS service providers, are software subject to section 716 of the Act.
Find that sections 716 and 718 have overlapping requirements with respect to ensuring the accessibility of Internet browsers.
Adopt implementing regulations for section 718 that are consistent with the Commission’s Part 14 rules implementing section 716.
Decline to adopt requirements or safe harbors with respect to accessibility application programming interfaces (APIs).
Retain section 14.31 of the Commission’s rules with respect to recordkeeping requirements applicable to manufacturers and service providers subject to section 718.

The Company That's Buying Up All the Key Pieces of the Online-News Ecosystem

Betaworks announced it had acquired the first read-it-later service, Instapaper, from its founder and developer, Marco Arment. With Instapaper's acquisition, Betaworks stuck a hand in another part of the hypertext ecosystem.

Any link in any tweet from a news organization was probably shortened to something cute and custom -- and the market leader there is Bit.ly, owned by Betaworks.
Even before that, the publication might use a tool to figure out when it should post stories on Twitter -- a tool sold by a company like Social Flow, which is owned by Betaworks.
Littorally-proximate journalists will likely use a real-time analytics dashboard -- like Chartbeat, a Betaworks product.
The leading social news aggregator of the moment is Digg, which--yes--Betaworks purchased and remade last summer.
And when someone saves a story for later, they're likely to use the oldest product in that space, the product which has advertised on the Howard Stern Show and given itself away as Starbucks's free app of the week: Instapaper.

President Obama Celebrates the 150th Anniversary of the National Academy of Sciences

In March of 1863, President Lincoln and Congress established the National Academy of Sciences as an independent and nonprofit institution charged with providing the government with the scientific advice that it needed. Today President Obama joined the current members of that body to celebrate the advances in science, engineering, infrastructure, innovation, education and environmental protection that can be attributed to the 150 years of work by the brilliant and committed scientists who have been elected and volunteered to serve their country.

While the National Academy of Sciences was created during the Civil War to help the Union understand the challenges new iron-clad battleships would create for the Navy, President Obama praised President Lincoln's wisdom in looking forward and recognizing that finding a way to harness the highest caliber scientific advice for the government would serve a whole range of long-term goals for the nation. And he highlighted the Academy's legacy of answering big questions and solving tough problems for the benefit of the nation.

Should we provide a ‘Hand Up” to low-income Americans or “Hang Up” on them?

[Commentary] Last week’s Congressional oversight hearing on the Lifeline program vacillated between fact and fiction. Thanks to efforts by Springwire and Consumer Action, more than 1,400 Americans who benefit from the program wrote to tell the committee how important Lifeline phone service is to low-income households. Testimony from industry, consumer advocates and government confirmed that providing communications support to low-income households allows these Americans to call employers, schools, health care providers, family, veterans' help lines, and police. The bottom line is that access to communications helps people find their own pathways out of poverty. However, despite a record overflowing with letters of support, individual stories and expert testimony, many members attending the hearing continued to perpetuate negative myths about the program.

Sprint to talk with Dish about bid

Sprint-Nextel said that it has received a special waiver from SoftBank to talk with Dish Network about its takeover proposal. SoftBank, a Japanese cellphone carrier, agreed to buy Sprint last year. Earlier this month, Dish announced a competing $25.5 billion offer for Sprint. Sprint said that the waiver will allow a special committee of its board to enter into a non-disclosure agreement and to hold discussions "for the purpose of clarifying and obtaining further information from DISH regarding its proposal."

Sprint Sets June 12 as Tentative Date for SoftBank Deal Vote

Sprint Nextel has tentatively set June 12 as the date for a shareholder vote on selling a 70% stake to Japan's SoftBank for $20.1 billion.

A Sprint spokesman said the proxy related to the vote hasn't been approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the date may change. Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier, is intertwined in a series of deals that aim to remake the long-struggling company. After striking a deal with SoftBank last fall, Dish Network made a competing $25.5 billion proposal to buy Sprint last week. Sprint's board has formed a special committee to evaluate the Dish offer and it has also requested additional information from Dish. A number of major Sprint shareholders have voiced their endorsement of the Dish offer. Sprint itself is in the process of buying the portion of mobile-broadband company Clearwire that it doesn't already own. Dish had made an offer for Clearwire prior to its proposal for all of Sprint. Dish has said it would be able to sign a definitive agreement to buy Sprint shortly after Sprint grants access to its financial details.

Panel seeks to fine tech companies for noncompliance with wiretap orders

A government task force is preparing legislation that would pressure companies such as Facebook and Google to enable law enforcement officials to intercept online communications as they occur, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with the effort.

Driven by Federal Bureau of Investigation concerns that it is unable to tap the Internet communications of terrorists and other criminals, the task force’s proposal would penalize companies that failed to heed wiretap orders — court authorizations for the government to intercept suspects’ communications. Rather than antagonizing companies whose cooperation they need, federal officials typically back off when a company is resistant, industry and former officials said. But law enforcement officials say the cloak drawn on suspects’ online activities — what the FBI calls the “going dark” problem — means that critical evidence can be missed.

Google Buys Startup that Summarizes Online Content

Google has bought Wavii, a Seattle startup behind an application that condenses online content for time-pressed Web surfers. Wavii's technology grasps the context of language so it can summarize the main points in news stories and other content. Although Wavii's app is shutting down, CEO Adrian Aoun says the startup's technology will be used in other Google products.

Benton

Search