December 2014

[Commentary] This is a great time for anyone looking for a new smartphone or tablet -- or to switch from one wireless carrier to another. That's because the big four US telecom companies are pummeling each other silly with price wars and discounts on new products. The wireless companies are now starting to behave like the airlines used to do. Remember when the airlines were all unprofitable messes moving in and out of bankruptcy? As long as Sprint and T-Mobile are cutting prices, that puts pressure on industry leaders Verizon and AT&T to do the same. Because let's be honest: Price is really the only major differentiating factor between the four.

That AT&T just won an eight-figure contract to provide the federal government’s General Services Administration with new mobile devices isn’t itself particularly notable. What is: Casey Coleman, an AT&T executive responsible for “delivering IT and professional services to federal government customers,” oversaw the GSA’s information technology division and its $600 million IT budget as recently as January.

Officials both at the GSA and AT&T say all federal rules and regulations limiting former government officials’ interactions with current government employees have been followed during the contract bidding process. “We won the contract on the merits," AT&T spokesman Jim Greer said. "GSA has been a customer of ours for decades. As in the past, our work on the [request for proposal] adhered to all GSA and federal guidelines.” While there’s no evidence anything illegal took place, the public still should be aware of, and potentially worried about, Coleman’s spin through the revolving door between government and companies that profit from government.

[Commentary] Economic studies show the tech industry grew twice as fast in New York over the past decade as it did in Silicon Valley. A force behind all this growth is Sen Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who meets with tech business leaders three to four times a year and has become a quiet but reliable Washington ally to the industry. A Senate veteran with a reputation for brokering deals, Sen Schumer courts start-ups even as he grapples with broader concerns such as health care and the federal budget.

Senate Republicans are throwing up obstacles to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) plans to confirm a batch of executive and judicial branch nominees. Sen Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said if Sen Reid wants to confirm 12 pending federal district judges, he will have to run them through the regular floor process, which could take days. Sen Grassley noted that Republicans don’t have enough votes to block the judicial nominees but they can drag out the process, which may force Reid to bring the Senate in next week if he wants to get the job done.