September 2015

GCI Revs Up 1-Gig Service

GCI has booted up a residential 1-Gig broadband service in parts of Anchorage (AK) that will run on DOCSIS 3.0 and require a Hitron-made modem that’s capable of bonding 32 downstream channels. GCI’s new service called 1 GIG red, pumps out a max downstream of 1 Gbps. Pricing for the service and the capabilities of the tier’s upstream were not immediately known.

GCI, an official said via e-mail, is selling 1 GIG red for $174.99 per month, the same price as the MSO’s prior 250 Mbps service. The 1-Gig downstream is paired with an upstream that maxes at 50 Mbps, up from 10 Mbps with the prior red service ("red" is the brand assigned to GCI’s top Internet service tier. It also offers 100 Mbps, 50 Mbps and 10 Mbps services).

Here's How You Can Find Out If You Were Spied On By the UK and US Governments

Want to know if the British and American government are spying on you? You don’t need to go through a lengthy court battle to find out -- now you just need to fill out an online form. Privacy International are offering a new online tool to help people find out whether the Britain’s intelligence agency, GCHQ, was spying on them using data from the US National Security Agency -- the two collaborated on a massive spying program called PRISM, as revealed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

To find out what information about you the NSA shared with GCHQ, you will have to file a claim to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT). Privacy International’s online tool files the claim on your behalf. Those interested in finding out will need to submit their claim before Dec. 5, 2015.

BBC to launch Netflix-style US streaming service

The BBC will launch a Netflix-style video subscription service for American audiences in 2016, the head of the United Kingdom’s public broadcaster said. Lord Hall of Birkenhead, the BBC’s director-general, said the new Internet-based service will allow US audiences to access BBC programs that aren’t already screened on TV channels or available on existing streaming services. The new service is one of several initiatives the broadcaster is planning in order to raise more revenue internationally at a time when its public funding in Britain is under intense pressure. “We need to raise commercial income to supplement the license fee so we can invest as much as possible in content for UK audiences,” Lord Hall said.

PatentsView: Driving Open Government Through Data

Bureaus within the Department of Commerce (DOC) create collaborative opportunities with other federal agencies and the public to foster an open government. Our open data initiatives help us make strides in this direction. For the last 225 years, data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has documented inventive ideas, and in turn has served as a source of continuing, follow-on innovation. This data has become a cornerstone of economic opportunity for businesses and entrepreneurs, and a foundation of greater prosperity. Making USPTO data available is at the heart of USPTO and DOC efforts to provide transparency and synergy with the public we serve.

In collaboration with the Center for the Science of Science and Innovation Policy, the USPTO is launching a prototype web tool called PatentsView in September. Individuals will be able to explore nearly 40 years of data on patenting activity in the United States. Users can search data as far back as 1976 by patent titles and types, inventors, assignees, patent classes, locations, and dates. Each search includes graphic illustrations such as charts and maps. These data visualizations quickly reveal concentrations of patent activity and trends. Using the results, a previously unseen spider web of interconnected information can emerge.

Fashion, politics, and feminism: The women’s magazines for a new generation

Broadly, a new women’s vertical from Vice that might best be described as macho-feminist, was announced in early 2015 and launched in August, joining several recent media sites for millennial women that are making some interesting moves. Examples include The Skimm, a daily e-mail news brief, and Refinery29, a fashion blog-turned-media company that’s expanding into news. Earlier women’s sites like Jezebel, xoJane, and Bustle share a model inspired by the pre-2010 blogosphere: lots of confessional “It happened to me” posts, celebrity gossip, and personal takes on social issues. The more recent crop of sites seem to be getting increasingly serious: They’re paying more attention to news and politics, especially on women’s and social issues, but packaged with the right amount of edge (Broadly), twee (Refinery29), and Sex and the City references (The Skimm) to be taken seriously by the savvy millennial woman.

Lawmakers Send Letter to FCC Regarding Tower Workers' Radiofrequency Exposure

Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo (D-CA) are accusing the Federal Communications Commission of failing to enforce safety guidelines on cell tower worker exposure to radiofrequency radiation, saying they are putting the health and safety of a quarter of a million workers at risk. In a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, the lawmakers said that "even though the FCC recommends that wireless carriers control exposure to harmful RF radiation using safety protocols such as signs, barricades, and training, it has come to our attention that these recommendations have not consistently been implemented to protect workers."

They said beyond the hazards to cell tower workers of free-standing structures, the towers are now found atop all kinds of buildings from apartments and schools to hospitals, churches and fire stations, "putting RF technicians but also roofers, water proofers, electricians, carpenters, building maintenance personnel, HVAC technicians, painters, firefighters" and others at risk from the radiation. The lawmakers want the FCC to finalize a notice of proposed rulemaking and to consult with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to make sure it has teeth.

Apple wins ruling to end Samsung’s smartphone infringement

Samsung should have been forced to stop using three of Apple’s smartphone patents when they were found to be infringing, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Sept 17. The decision is a major victory for Apple over its largest manufacturing rival -- and could have broader implications for the use of smartphone patents.

In a 2-1 decision, the three-judge panel ruled Apple was entitled to injunctive relief against Samsung, in addition to the nearly $120 million that a lower court already awarded the iPhone maker in the case. The case dates back to Apple’s lawsuit in 2012 alleging Samsung infringed on multiple patents for new touchscreen smartphones, including slide lock, autocorrect and the process in which iPhones can detect phone numbers or addresses in text and automatically create a hyperlink. The case will now go back to the district court to be resolved.

CNN breaks ratings record with GOP debate

CNN’s primetime GOP debate on Sept 16 was the most-watched program in network history. Nearly 23 million people tuned in to the three-hour debate, easily surpassing the network’s previous pinnacle of 16.8 million viewers, a broadcast of "Larry King Live" in 1993. CNN’s most-watched presidential primary debate, in 2008, drew 8.3 million viewers. CNN anticipated the ratings bonanza, selling ad spots during the debate at a rate more than 40 times their normal fare.

Mobile Video High on Comcast's Wi-Fi Agenda

Comcast dropped impressive hints that it plans to leverage its fast-growing Wi-Fi capability and its extensive Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreements to plunge into the increasingly competitive world of mobile video.

Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts stopped short of providing any specific timetable but said, "We're thinking we are very much part of this conversation on a go-forward basis." Roberts acknowledged that Comcast has added about a million public Wi-Fi hotspots around the country in the past few months, an increase of 10 percent over the 10 million hotspots in place at the end of the second quarter in June. He called the established Wi-Fi base "an asset of the company." "We are working on ways to take our Wi-Fi, our 11 million hotspots, our MVNO relationships" into the "competitive space" of mobile video, Roberts said.

Online Ad Research: Half of Impressions Now From Mobile Devices

Mobile video viewing continues to grow in popularity, and mobile ad spending is rising along with it. Half of advertising publishers’ overall online impressions (49 percent) originated from mobile devices during 2Q 2015, an 11 percent rise on a sequential quarterly basis, according to Ooyala’s Q2 2015 Global Video Index.

Further testament to mobile video viewing’s rising popularity, more than 4 in 10 of all online video views took place via mobile devices. Taken together, these statistics indicate that advertisers are shifting their ad spending to mobile platforms in order to reach a new generation of TV viewers, Ooyala said.

Benton

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