1. Monthly archive
  2. October 2015

October 2015

ISPs to NY State Speed Probe: Bring It On

Cablevision Systems, Time Warner Cable and Verizon all say they will cooperate with New York state attorney general Eric Schneiderman as he opens a probe into whether they are providing the speeds for which subscribers are paying. The investigation’s focus will include interconnection arrangements between Internet service providers and content providers such as Netflix.

Each ISP has been requested to provide disclosures made to customers with respect to broadband service and to provide data on any speed tests they’ve conducted. The letter also asks for documentation on last-mile broadband speeds, divided by classes of customers and to provide data on the speeds experienced during various times of day. The ISPs said they will comply with the requests, which are seeking written responses, along with supported documentation, by Nov 8, 2015.

The $24 Billion Data Business That Telecommunication Companies Don't Want to Talk About

UK grocer Morrisons, ad-buying behemoth GroupM and other marketers and agencies are testing never-before-available data from cellphone carriers that connects device location and other information with telecommunication company's real-world files on subscribers. Some services offer real-time heat maps showing the neighborhoods where store visitors go home at night, lists the sites they visited on mobile browsers recently and more. Under the radar, Verizon, Sprint, Telefonica and other carriers have partnered with firms including SAP, IBM, HP and AirSage to manage, package and sell various levels of data to marketers and other clients.

It's all part of a push by the world's largest phone operators to counteract diminishing subscriber growth through new business ventures that tap into the data that showers from consumers' mobile web surfing, text messaging and phone calls. The global market for telecom company data as a service is potentially worth $24.1 billion in 2015, on its way to $79 billion in 2020, according to estimates by 451 Research based on a survey of likely customers. "Challenges and constraints" mean operators are scraping just 10 percent of the possible market right now, though that will rise to 30 percent by 2020, 451 Research said. Insiders say phone carriers exploring data-sharing businesses are tight-lipped because they don't want to reveal too many details to competitors, but fear of consumer complaints is always lurking in the background.

AT&T launches new sponsored data program with Aquto to give subcribers data for looking at ads

AT&T Mobility is partnering with data monetization firm Aquto on a new sponsored data program that offers customers the ability to get free mobile data if they look at advertising and surveys from marketers and in some cases, by buying products. The program, called "Data Perks," was first disclosed by Aquto in June, but at the time AT&T said it was not officially part of any new program, suggesting that Aquto jumped the gun. Data Perks will be a free app customers can download from Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store, though only consumer postpaid customers will be eligible for the program.

According to Aquto, customers who use the app can accumulate data and transfer up to 1,000 MB per bill period -- roughly 1 GB of data -- to their AT&T account through the Data Perks app. They can then use their transferred data during that billing period while using AT&T's wireless networks, though according to AT&T, the earned data needs to be transferred in 25 MB increments. Unused transferred data expires at the end of the billing period in which customers transferred it.

Verizon says it has invested $22.2 Billion in New York, encourages regulatory reforms

Following a study made by New York Public Service Commission about the state of telecommunications, Verizon has asked the regulator to implement a series of reforms that it says will promote innovation and investment. This was at the heart of the service provider's response to the PSC's "Assessment of Telecommunications Services" in New York, which it released in June. It also asked the PSC to apply the same rules to any service provider that operates in the same state and that those rules reflect today's competitive marketplace realities.

In making its argument, Verizon said that it has invested more than $22.2 billion in its wireline network in New York State since 2000. In 2014, the service provider invested over $1 billion on the network. The service provider cited an economic analysis of the state of telecommunications in New York, prepared by Georgetown University economist John W. Mayo. Mayo's study focused on how current wireline regulations were put in place during a time when voice was the only telecom service consumers used.

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