[Commentary] On June 2, 2015, the Senate passed and President Barack Obama signed into law the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015. This week’s actions have been both celebrated and damned by all sides, it seems, of the political spectrum. Is it time to celebrate? Or move to Canada?
Charter Communications President Tom Rutledge sat down with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler in what appears to be the first publicly disclosed meeting since the company announced its proposed merger with Time Warner Cable. The FCC, along with the Justice Department, must give the go-ahead for the merger to go through. Comcast's attempt to merge with Time Warner Cable fell through earlier this year after regulatory concerns about harm to competition in the online video market. The one-page disclosure filing released Friday is brief and written with the knowledge it will be made public. But Charter argued the merger would be good for consumers and not harm competition. "Mr. Rutledge explained that the transactions will bring substantial consumer benefits, including providing a better Internet experience for watching on-line video, gaming, and using other data-hungry apps at more competitive prices, and that the mergers will not harm competition," according to the filing. Aside from merger talks, the two sides also discussed the FCC's controversial new netwoork neutrality order. In the meeting, Rutledge agreed that the new rules would not harm Charter's investment in building out its network.
“This call may be recorded for quality and training purposes.” It’s a familiar phrase, and one that people likely don’t even notice anymore when they phone a call center. But companies are listening carefully to these recordings, trying to glean insights that can help them run their businesses more effectively. Sifting through hours upon hours of audio recordings is a laborious task. One company that helps automate the process is Santa Barbara (CA)-based Invoca. With its technology, the marketing firm has analyzed more than 100 million calls since 2008 and provides its clients with a trove of data. Here’s how companies are using data that Invoca extracts from phone calls:
Sell, sell, sell: One of Invoca’s clients, an unnamed satellite TV company, listens carefully for certain keywords. When someone calls in and mentions “sports package,” for example, the company makes a note in the customer’s file and tailors its marketing for that person accordingly.
Keep tabs on the competition: When sales reps lose a deal, they usually just chalk it up to the price and move on. But by scanning audio recordings, companies can track how often a competitor is mentioned in calls, and amend their strategies accordingly.
Connect the dots: For some companies, internal communication can be difficult, especially when departments, such as finance, IT, marketing, and customer service, operate independently. Some companies are using Invoca to listen for specific keywords, such as confirmation number or email receipt, mentioned by the caller. The system can then tie in purchasing data, so customer service representatives don’t have to wait for other departments to pull this information for them.
According to the Low-Power Television (LPTV) Spectrum Rights Coalition, the Federal Communications Commission has denied its complaint about the lack of published details on a meeting between FCC officials and broadcasters and wireless company stakeholders in the upcoming incentive auction. The coalition complained that the ex parte notice of the meeting contained insufficient details about what was discussed or potentially decided. The ex parte did say the parties had talked about collaborating on as expeditious a transition as possible. Broadcasters and wireless operators will have to share some spectrum according to the FCC's current auction framework, and do some coordinating as broadcasters move off of spectrum and wireless onto it in the repack.
But the coalition wondered whether the collaboration discussed might rise to the level of collusion between sellers and buyers and just what constituted the "expeditious" the parties were talking about. It also pointed out that the coalition and its LPTV members were not represented, even though some 400-plus LPTVs have auction eligible class A licenses. The coalition sought a more detailed filing, but the FCC said no, though it did say the meeting was about the challenges of repacking after the auction. In the response, the FCC said, "Based on our review, we conclude that, given the nature of the meeting, the notice filed by NAB is adequate," the FCC said. Actually, more than adequate, since it later added: "Arguably, under these circumstances, there was no need to file an ex parte notice of the meeting at all."
Iowa state legislative leaders reached agreement on a plan to expand broadband service in Iowa that's been a top priority of Gov Terry Branstad (R-IA). House File 655 was approved by the Iowa Senate on a 48-2 vote and was sent to the House, where it passed 82-12. The goal is to provide high-speed Internet service to underserved areas in Iowa, particularly in rural communities.
State Sen. Steve Sodders (D-State Center), said the Senate agreed to support a version of a bill approved by the House earlier this session that provides property tax abatements to companies installing equipment to build out the broadband infrastructure. The measure also provides a framework for a grants program, but there is no state appropriation to fund it, he said. The idea is to fund the grants program in the future with state, federal or private money to provide an incentive for companies to expand broadband service, State Sen Sodders said. The bill defines high-speed Internet service as offering a minimum of 25 megabits per second for downloads and 3 megabits per second for uploads.
Delaware County (PA) officials and a state representative disagree about a key piece of state legislation that may play a crucial role in a lawsuit filed by the county. On June 2, county officials publicly announced a $41.4 million lawsuit against 19 telecommunication carriers, alleging that the providers violated state law by undercharging customers -- particularly medium-size to large businesses -- for the number of phone lines they operate. The under-billings are significant, the county alleges, because 911 fees -- charged to customers as $1 per month on every line they operate -- are not collected and remitted to fund the county's emergency services. But as threats of a lawsuit have emerged in recent weeks, state law has come into play: Discounts are provided on a sliding scale to businesses that operate multiple lines with voice-over-IP capabilities, defined as telephone services that require the use of the Internet.
State Rep. Steve Barrar (R- Delaware), the lead sponsor on a bill to modernize Pennsylvania's 911 system, maintained again that the discounts stipulated in the law are relevant. "I don't see that [the discounts] aren't applicable here," State Rep Barrar said. "The state law says they are." But county officials and experts involved in the suit said that the discounts do not apply. When businesses are undercharged from the onset -- for example, if a business with hundreds of lines is only charged for three -- the business would not qualify for the discount, said lawyer Joshua Wolson of Dilworth Paxson, who filed the suit.
Camden-based Redzone Wireless launched its wireless Internet service in Greater Portland (ME) and Waterville (ME), marking the start of service Gov. Paul LePage (R-ME) and state officials said could be a “game changer” for expanding broadband Internet in the state. The service uses a specific range of the wireless spectrum the Federal Communications Commission set aside for educational institutions, which Redzone uses through a 30-year agreement with the University of Maine. Jim McKenna, president of the Camden-based Redzone, said the company planned to set up service at 15 towers in 2015, including in Lewiston and parts of Bangor. Four of those first 15 towers will serve the Greater Portland region, McKenna said. Whether that initial effort allows the company to break even will determine how quickly the company may expand to rural areas of the state, McKenna said. “If we do that and are successful, then we enter 2016 and we immediately start looking to rapidly expand to more rural areas of the state,” McKenna said, noting that timeline remains uncertain. But the potential is large as the company seeks to build its network on top of existing cell tower and fiber-optic cable infrastructure.
McKenna said there are 600 cell towers in the state connected to fiber-optic cables. Setting up a new site involves connecting its radio heads to that fiber-optic cable and using 4G LTE, or long-term evolution, radio technology similar to what phone companies use to send data to smartphones to connect with a router in a customer’s home or business. The wireless model is similar to what existing cable providers do in the state, extending a fiber connection from a local “node” out to specific households using coaxial cables. Redzone instead provides what’s called “last-mile” service over the air using the type of technology cell phone providers use for data service.
It took five years and a significant change in plans, but first responders in Charlotte (NC) finally have a fourth-generation broadband network at their disposal. The new high-end wireless network runs off of commercially available 4G provided by Verizon that was formally introduced late in May.
The original project -- where Charlotte would own and operate its own private LTE network -- kicked-off in 2010, but fell through in 2013. The new 4G network cost approximately $11.2 million overall, with Charlotte putting in about $2.4 million. The project's main benefits include enabling fire and police agencies to share data with units in the field at a much more secure and faster rate. It also gives responders the ability to use several high-end applications, such as GIS mapping systems and crime analytics programs, which were previously problematic on slower speeds.
Comcast has agreed to buy Visible World, a New York ad-tech firm that helps marketers tailor commercials to specific audiences and geographies, the companies confirmed. The move would help the Philadelphia media company, best known for its large cable business and its NBCUniversal operations, extends its reach into the burgeoning world of helping advertisers navigate a better-defined path to consumers using data and technology. A Comcast spokesman did not respond immediately to an e-mail seeking comment.
A Visible World executive, Bill Katz, confirmed the transaction and referred a query to the companies’ statements. Comcast has been making more noise about using its vast stores of viewership data culled from viewers set-top boxes to help advertisers place ads in front of discrete batches of audience. During a recent “upfront” presentation in May, Linda Yaccarino, who oversees ad sales at NBCUniversal, told marketers the company would be able to use Comcast set-top box data to help them tailor ad placements and mine better-defined audiences. Visible World also uses set-top box data, among other sources, to help place commercials. Terms of the transaction could not be immediately learned.
Sprint committed to building and managing a free, intelligent Wi-Fi network along a 2.2-mile streetcar line under construction in Kansas City (MO). The project will be part of one of the largest smart city projects in North America, according to earlier statements by city officials and Cisco, which is providing the Wi-Fi hardware for the project as well as software components for the smart city.
Sprint claimed it is the first mobile service provider in the US to play such a large role in a smart and connected city project. The free, intelligent Wi-Fi will connect city services to help ease traffic and parking problems, control street lights and water and waste management systems, and offer maps and information on kiosks along new the streetcar line, Sprint said. Sprint compared the project to similar efforts in the European cities of Barcelona, Copenhagen and Hamburg. Sprint CTO Stephen Bye, in a statement, called the project a "groundbreaking initiative.” Sprint expects to spend $7 million on the project. A Sprint subsidiary, Pinsight Media+, will operate the data analytics and advertising platform built atop the Wi-Fi infrastructure.
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