1. Monthly archive
  2. January 2014

January 2014

Tech catches holiday shoppers in their tracks

Hundreds of retail stores now have software that tracks smartphones and knows when you entered a store, where you went, whether you bought something or if you stopped at another shop across town. It’s the next frontier for online tracking that lets companies analyze browsing habits and send you an ad for the Hawaii vacation you just researched. And it’s just the latest in a string of burgeoning technologies that extend data crunching to where you went or what you look like -- leaving Washington’s traditional privacy debate with a whole new set of questions.

Most tracking technology works like this: A shopper walks into a store, cellphone in hand, purse or pocket. The phone, likely with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth turned on, sends out a signal when looking for a connection. That signal includes a sort of ID number, called a MAC address. Retailers have software that can determine the phone’s location based on how strong the signal is when it bounces off a few receivers in the store. Right now, most data is used to measure impersonal trends like how customers flow through a store or how long wait times are at the checkout line. But other technologies, like Apple’s iBeacon, are more personal and let stores ping individual consumers with a coupon or store map when they walk in the door.

[Dec 23]

As critics gain, ALEC gives ground

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative group of state lawmakers and corporations, is putting 2013 in its rearview mirror.

Among other things, the group drafts model legislation. But it saw an exodus of members and a sharp decline in fundraising after it was tied to controversial “stand your ground laws” like the one made infamous following the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin. ALEC has denied being the source of Florida’s law and says it has no model policy today bearing resemblance to it. But the group says its practice of keeping draft bills secret has allowed opponents to pin the organization unfairly to such measures. So now, ALEC’s leaders say they are putting in place a key change that will make sure that never happens again. As part of what it calls a move toward more transparency, the group has decided to post online all the “model legislation” it develops so that lawmakers, the public and the press will be able to see exactly where ALEC stands.

[Dec 27]

Apple Renews Request for Sales Ban on Samsung Products

Apple is again seeking to ban sales in the US of Samsung products that were at issue in the companies’ first patent trial in California and are now no longer on the market.

Apple asked US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose to bar sales of more than 20 smartphones and tablets, such as the Galaxy S 4G and Galaxy Tab 10.1, that a jury found to infringe Apple’s patents. While Judge Koh rejected Apple’s bid for a sales ban on the infringing Samsung devices after the 2012 verdict, a federal appeals court on Nov. 18 cleared the way for Apple to pursue an injunction targeting some of its rival’s products. “Samsung’s claim that it has discontinued selling the particular models found to infringe or design around Apple’s patents in no way diminishes Apple’s need for injunctive relief,” Apple argued in a court filing. “Because Samsung frequently brings new products to market, an injunction is important to providing Apple the relief it needs to combat any future infringement by Samsung through products not more than colorably different from those already found to infringe.” (Dec 27)

Tribune Company Closes $2.73 Billion Acquisition of Local TV

The Tribune Company said that it has completed its $2.73 billion acquisition of Local TV Holdings.

As a result of the transaction, Tribune now owns 39 television stations across the country. In addition, Tribune will provide certain services to support the operations of three former Local TV stations owned by Dreamcatcher Broadcasting LLC. The combined broadcast portfolios include 14 Fox affiliates, 14 CW affiliates, 5 CBS affiliates, 3 ABC affiliates and 2 NBC affiliates. Tribune owns 14 stations in top-20 markets and the company is now the No. 1 Fox affiliate group and the No. 1 CW affiliate group in the country. The transaction added market-leading stations in prime cities such as Denver, Cleveland, St. Louis, Kansas City, Salt Lake City and Milwaukee to the Tribune line-up

[Dec 27]

How a failed Supreme Court bid is still causing headaches for Hulu and Netflix

A San Francisco Judge rejected a bid to dismiss a lawsuit against video streaming company Hulu that alleges that the company shared subscribers’ viewing habits with third parties in violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). But Hulu is not the only online service that has had issues with the 1988 law -- Netflix has had similar run-ins.

And they can all blame one enterprising reporter and a failed Supreme Court nomination. In 1987, then-DC District Court Judge Robert Bork was nominated for the Supreme Court. Bork was a strict constitutionalist -- and on the subject of privacy, he generally believed that Americans only were guaranteed the privacy protections specifically conferred by legislation. While Judge Bork never made it to the highest court in the land, the video privacy law enacted as a result of his nomination has increasingly become a thorn in the side of online video rental and streaming services.

[Dec 27]

What to expect from mobile networks in 2014: The 4G car, LTE Broadcast and small cells

2013 was largely a year of entrenchment in the US mobile industry. Carriers expanded their 4G footprints geographically and added new capacity to meet the demands of an increasing number of LTE devices. But in 2014, we’re going to see carriers get a bit more experimental with their networks and their services. Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile all have varying projects in the works that will result will result in faster, better performing networks, change the way services like voice and video are delivered to the handset and bring vehicles into the 4G fold. Here’s a look at what’s in store for our mobile networks in 2014.

At Super Bowl XLVIII in Newark (NJ), Verizon will convert some of its LTE systems from two-way to one-way streets. We’re going to see the first LTE-connected vehicles in 2014, and right now it seems like a race between Audi, General Motors and Tesla to see who can get a 4G car on US roads first. Operators spent the last few years building LTE coverage, but with their initial 4G rollouts complete or near completion they’re now starting to focus on capacity. We’re already seeing all four nationwide operators soup up their LTE speeds and capacity with new spectrum, but in 2014, they’ll start using a different tool: the small cell. Next year both Verizon and AT&T will be finally ready to make their first moves toward all-IP communications. AT&T has said it would seed the network with the first VoLTE-capable handsets this year and launch an IP-phone service in 2014.

[Dec 27]

TV blackout wars in a quiet period

The TV industry has a holiday tradition straight out of "How The Grinch Stole Christmas:" End of year feuds that lead to channel blackouts for viewers. But this year, everybody is playing nice. (It's almost as if the hearts of television executives have collectively grown three sizes.)

At issue are the carriage fees that distributors like Comcast and DirecTV (the biggest cable and satellite providers in the United States, respectively) have to pay to carry cable channels. They regularly have to re-negotiate fees with programmers like The Walt Disney Company, which controls ESPN and ABC Family, and Viacom, which owns MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. Talks tend to get heated toward the end of the year -- but evidently not in 2013. Come Jan 1, there could be scattered blackouts of local television stations due to what are known as retransmission consent negotiations. Distributors have to pay local stations for the right to carry them, and occasionally the negotiations get so testy that the stations go dark for a period of time. The CBS affiliate in Hartford, Connecticut is warning of a possible blackout in Cablevision homes and the Fox affiliate in Oakland (CA) is warning of the same in Charter homes, to name two examples. But these disputes usually get settled before the self-imposed deadlines.

[Dec 27]

Why long-form journalism is everywhere these days

[Commentary] Long-form journalism is trendy, but isn't new. (Think magazine writing.) Today, we've given it an earnest name. And, saddled it with a collective hope -- that'll it'll save our brains from the viral videos and snarky commentary that dominate the Internet. When we talk "long-form journalism,” we're talking, often, about narrative story telling. Craft-journalism. Online, you’ll find sites dedicated to long-form journalism, like the Atavist. And sites like Buzzfeed and Politico, mixing longer journalism with quick hits and snappy headlines.

[Dec 27]

New York City Losing Its Last Commercial Progressive Talk Radio Station

When WWRL 1600 AM turns into a Spanish-language music and talk radio station, New York City will lose its only remaining commercial progressive talk radio outlet.

Station employees first learned about the news in mid-December, with low advertising revenues blamed for the change, according to the New York Amsterdam News. WWRL is owned by Access.1 Communications, a black-owned radio broadcasting company. The station has been around for 86 years and switched to its progressive programming format in 2006, increasing its presence as a forum for the LGBT community in the years since. “It was a business decision,” John Campanario, host of the LGBT talk forum Out And About and a digital marketing executive for the station, told GBM News. "The antics of people like [right-wing talk show hosts] Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have put advertisers off talk radio, across the spectrum. This is happening nationally.”

[Dec 27]

LightSquared Proposes New Financing as Way to Emerge From Bankruptcy

Wireless communications company LightSquared may have a path out of bankruptcy that lets its biggest shareholder, the billionaire hedge fund manager Philip Falcone, retain some of the control he has sought.

Lawyers for LightSquared filed documents in a New York bankruptcy court, outlining a plan to bring in at least $1.25 billion in new equity and $2.75 billion in loans. The plan is backed by Fortress Investment Group, Harbinger Capital Partners, JPMorgan Chase and Melody Capital Partners. The move caps a tumultuous year for LightSquared. The company has been at the center of a continued feud between Falcone, who runs Harbinger, and Charles Ergen, the satellite television mogul and the chairman of Dish Network. A federal bankruptcy judge, Shelley Chapman, will review the proposed financing plan.

[Dec 26]

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