December 2013

iPhones Dominate Sales at All Four Major US Carriers

iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c have been among the top three sellers at all four major U.S. carriers during the past three months, according to Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley.

“Our surveys indicated continued strong sales of the iPhone 5s, as it was by far the top selling smartphone at all four tier-1 U.S. carriers and at most channels where the smartphone launched globally,” Walkley explained. “Our surveys also indicated steady iPhone 5c sales with the smartphone’s color options and more affordable price point proving popular with its intended audience.” Prior to the launch of the iPhone 5s and 5c, the iPhone 5 was Apple’s sole Top 3 entrant at the big four carriers, and it held the top spot at AT&T alone; it was the second-most popular handset at Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile, where Samsung’s Galaxy S4 led the pack.

Twitter reverses changes to blocking feature after mass protest

In a quick reversal, Twitter has rolled back most of the controversial changes it made to its “block” feature after a sharp outcry from users.

The mass protest on Twitter was the first for Twitter as a public company. Executives held an emergency meeting to deal with the escalating situation. Twitter users took to the service to protest under the hashtag #RestoreTheBlock. They said the changes to the block feature would encourage online abuse and harassment on the service. Many women in particular said they would no longer feel safe on Twitter, where they say they receive rape and other threats. Under the original system, users could prevent people who were harassing them from following them and interacting with their tweets. Under the new rules that Twitter rolled out Dec 12, a blocked user could view the person’s tweets and tweet at the person. Twitter said it was trying to protect victims of harassment from retaliation. But users did not see it that way.

US Supreme Court rules for Sprint in fees fight

The Supreme Court ruled for a Sprint Nextel subsidiary locked in a dispute with the utilities regulator in Iowa. The High Court said in a unanimous ruling that a federal district court can consider a lawsuit filed by subsidiary Sprint Communications challenging an Iowa Utilities Board decision even though the legal process in Iowa courts is not yet complete.

The dispute arose in 2009 when Sprint declined to pay access charges for its calls carried by Iowa Telecom - now Windstream Iowa Communications - that were transmitted over the Internet rather than the traditional phone network. The Iowa Utilities Board, which regulates telecommunications in the state, said Sprint was required to pay. Sprint maintains that under the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, VoIP calls are an "information service" not a "telecommunications service" and that therefore the company does not have to pay access charges.

Overtime work at Foxconn still beyond China’s legal limits

Apple supplier Foxconn has improved factory conditions since a series of worker suicides drew attention to the company’s labor practices in 2010, but workers still do more overtime than permitted by Chinese labor law, an audit of its operations has found.

Foxconn is “not in compliance” with Chinese law allowing only 36 hours of overtime a month, according to an inspection by the Fair Labor Association, a monitoring group brought in by Apple to help the company improve working conditions. FLA’s report is its final verification that Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industries, is adhering to earlier agreed upon plans to improve working conditions. Although overtime remains a problem, the company made progress reducing working hours and improved factory facilities by building additional exits and toilets. After this, FLA said it “expects . . . Apple will continue to monitor compliance at Foxconn.”

Copper theft leaves Londoners without broadband service

Tens of thousands of homes in London were left without broadband access after thieves lifted a manhole cover and stole a large quantity of copper cable. The “malicious attack” has affected about 37,000 Sky customers, as well as an unspecified number of BT and TalkTalk households. Copper theft continues to be a major problem for UK telecoms companies. Although the price of the metal has fallen about 30 percent from its 2011 peak, it is up threefold over the past decade.

China Denies Spying on European Diplomats

China denied allegations that it was responsible for computer breaches at the foreign ministries of five European countries. The denial came in response to a report from FireEye, a computer security company in California. FireEye said it had traced a series of computer attacks against foreign ministers since 2010 to Chinese hackers. “US computer security firms have been keen on playing up the so-called cyberthreat from China,” said Hong Lei, a Foreign Ministry spokesman. “But their so-called evidence is never solid but widely doubted by professionals.” Hong added, “They are trying to gain attention with fake facts, which will neither be conducive to international cybersecurity cooperation nor the professional qualifications and reputation of the firms involved.”

FCC Outlines IP Transition Trials

The Federal Communications Commission’s Technology Transitions Policy Task Force outlined its recommendations for trials, to be voted on in January by the full FCC, that would launch a wide-ranging effort to test the transition to Internet Protocol delivery.

The January order, if adopted, would:

Invite service-based experiments with short timelines for submission, establishing criteria for experiments and creating a speedy process for public comment and commission evaluation. The focus will be on consumer impact
Recommend actions the commission should take to support targeted experiments and research
Describe structured observations and data collection initiatives
Establish a timeline for the adoption of a managerial framework to resolve important legal and policy questions raised by the TDM-to-IP transition

Research Pact Benefitting People With Hearing Disabilities Signed

Federal Communications Chairman Tom Wheeler and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Deputy Director Dr. Marie A. Bernard signed an agreement to partner on research into the use of modern IP technology to improve and make more accessible phone service to Americans who are deaf, deaf-blind, or hard of hearing.

Under the joint agreement, the FCC will collaborate with the NIA to develop and support research plans for assessing Internet Protocol (IP) technologies that can benefit older adults with hearing disabilities or deafness. Such benefits could be incorporated into the FCC’s Interstate Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) program, which enables people with disabilities to do what most Americans take for granted: make a simple phone call. The interagency Memorandum of Understanding establishes guidelines for the two agencies to work together on objective, rigorous research into the current and anticipated use of IP-based relay technologies to provide service to people who are deaf, deaf-blind and hard of hearing. Specifically, the research plans will assess and evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency and consumer response to current and future approaches to delivering TRS, including automated speech-to-text and video plus automated speech-to-text technologies.

Benton Foundation Welcomes FCC's IP Transition Presentation

The Benton Foundation commends the work of the Technology Transitions Policy Task Force. Today’s presentation is an important, positive step on a long road to transitioning to all-IP networks. We are glad to see the emphasis the FCC is placing on the universal deployment of broadband networks, promoting public safety, protecting consumers, and preserving and enhancing competition and interconnection. There’s strong consensus that the transition must embrace these core values. As the Commission considers the next steps in managing the transition, Benton asks that it also include in a new Network Compact additional values that are dear to consumers and crucial if vulnerable communities – children, seniors, low-income and minority households, and people and businesses in rural and remote areas – are to enjoy the full benefits of IP networks:

Affordability: Since enactment of the Communications Act of 1934, the availability of world-class networks at affordable rates has been a key policy goal.
Accessibility: The 54 million Americans with disabilities must be able to make full use of broadband networks and the video and voice services that run over these networks.
Diversity: In addition to ubiquitous availability, Americans must have the ability to access and distribute content that reflects the country’s diversity of viewpoints.
Openness: Consumers must retain their rights to utilize any legal applications, content, devices, and services of their choosing on the broadband networks to which they subscribe.
Speed: Consumers need fast networks that allow them access to, and choice of, a full range of services to meet their needs.
Innovation: For consumers, the promise of the IP transition is new services and ways to collaborate and communicate that are better and more advanced than current basic telephone communications.
While there’s no doubt that the nation is on the verge of a bold digital opportunity, smart policy decisions, not just capital investments, are needed if every American -- regardless of zip code, race, disability or income – is to get a chance to tap into a world where voice, video and information are available faster and in more and better ways than ever before. The Task Force advanced us on that path today; now is the time for the full Commission to act.

Public Knowledge Comments on the FCC's IP Transition Presentation

We are pleased to see that the FCC is taking a thorough and deliberative process that respects our fundamental values as well as the technology. This transition will impact everyone in the United States, whether they use traditional landline, a mobile phone or some sort of Internet based technology. This is a "network of networks," and every household and every business in America counts on all the pieces of this network working together smoothly. Those who keep claiming we can upgrade one-third of our communications network without any plan or oversight and have nothing go wrong are either fooling themselves or selling something. Those who express impatience with the FCC's deliberative approach need a healthy dose of humility about technology and an appreciation of what happens if people can't reach 9-1-1 because of glitch in the upgrade, or if people start to fall off the grid. If we want this to be an upgrade for everyone, not an upgrade for the lucky and a downgrade for the rest, we need a genuine public debate about the future of our phone system. Public Knowledge and the Center for Media Justice developed a toolkit to help Americans become active participants rather than passive spectators in the shaping of our digital future. We hope communities and businesses across America will take the opportunity created by this proceeding, as well as state and local government proceedings, to make their needs heard.

Benton

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