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  2. October 2015

October 2015

T-Mobile aims to buy enough low-band spectrum to cover whole US

T-Mobile US says it has more money than it needs as it gets ready for a major spectrum auction scheduled for 2016. The company wants to get enough low-band spectrum to cover the whole US, and will be able to achieve that with billions of dollars to spare, T-Mobile CFO Braxton Carter said. After consulting with the major credit rating agencies, T-Mobile found that it can spend up to $10 billion without harming its ratings. But T-Mobile will probably only need $1 billion or so to achieve its primary goal at the auction, Carter said.

Broadband Forum Announces Broadband 20/20 Vision

Faster digital network access, multi-user broadband infrastructure, the Internet of Things (IoT), NFV (network functions virtualization) and SDN (software-defined networking) for homes, businesses, government and public sector organizations are keystones of a new strategic plan announced by the Broadband Forum in Munich, Germany September 30. Dubbed Broadband 20/20, the global broadband industry association’s new strategic vision looks to emerging 5G wireless broadband as a key enabler in realizing its goal of delivering ultra-fast broadband services and distributed computing and storage everywhere and on any device used in homes and businesses, Broadband Forum said.

Elaborating further, Broadband Forum CEO Robin Mersh identified the five focal points of innovation for Broadband 20/20 as: ultra-fast infrastructure; intelligent home/small business; seamless converged wireline and wireless networks; performance-assured on-demand IP broadband services; and a personalized network experience.

Gov Cuomo Announces Next Step in Implementation of $500 Million New NY Broadband Program

Gov Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) announced the release of a Request for Information to help finalize guidelines for the New NY Broadband Program, which has undertaken the ambitious goal of substantially expanding high-speed broadband service in New York State by the end of 2018.

Earlier in 2015, Gov Cuomo made the Nation's largest and most aggressive state investment in broadband with the commitment of $500 million in capital for the Program. “High speed Internet access has become an essential ingredient of any strong economy and New York is leading the nation to close the broadband gap,” Governor Cuomo said. “With this action, we are engaging providers, municipal leaders and other stakeholders to help ensure the New NY Broadband Program leverages the State’s investment in the best way and fulfills its goal of providing access to high speed Internet to every New Yorker in every corner of this state." The Request for Information is one of the final steps in determining the program’s guidelines. It presents interested parties and stakeholders with an opportunity to contribute their ideas and recommendations for designing the Program, leveraging partnerships and identifying barriers and challenges to meeting broadband access demands.

Sinclair Brings Local Newscasts to Congress

Sinclair Broadcast Group introduced a news segment called Connect to Congress, a multimedia initiative that lets members of Congress in Sinclair news markets communicate with their constituents on a regular basis. Combining broadcast, Internet and social media technologies, Connect to Congress offers Sinclair’s local market viewers “new ways to get answers to questions about what matters most to them at home,” according to the company.

Connect to Congress was created by Scott Livingston, Sinclair’s VP of news, who is using Sinclair’s presence in Washington, through its acquisition of ABC affiliate WJLA in 2014, to create what the company calls “a more regular dialogue” between viewers in local markets nationwide and their members of Congress. The first step in this plan was establishing a national bureau on Capitol Hill. “When Congress is in session, we have cameras set up weekly in the Rotunda, connected via remote to our local stations. Local anchors conduct the interviews about the key issues constituents and lawmakers are passionate about and not just topics that everyone else is covering,” said Colleen Wordock, Sinclair’s Capitol Hill bureau chief.

Google's Nexus phones are just ads

[Commentary] I've spent the past couple of days desperately trying to puzzle out the purpose behind Google's newly announced Nexus 5X and 6P smartphones. Unlike predecessors such as the Nexus One and Nexus 5, these phones don't have a clear reason for being, and are not in themselves terribly unique. That's led me (and others) to question Google's overall aim with the Nexus line of pure Android smartphones, and I think I've finally arrived at an answer.

The Nexus program is not so much about carrier independence or purity of Android design as it is about presenting Google in an overwhelmingly positive light. In other words, Google, the ultimate ad seller, sells Nexus phones as ads for itself. I wish Google would recognize that and try to do more to support Android as a whole rather than just its own good name. Nexus devices have in the past and can still serve nobler purposes than just making Google look good.

Inclusion across Africa: Findings from five Financial and Digital Inclusion Project countries

This post highlights the 2015 Scorecard findings for five of Financial and Digital Inclusion Project’s nine African countries: Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Malawi.

Rwanda: Significant financial inclusion progress over time, but room for expansion remains -- FDIP scorecard: Tied for 4th
Uganda: Fairly robust mobile money adoption, but improvements regarding consumer protection and usage are key -- FDIP scorecard: Tied for 4th
Tanzania: Significant strides in regulatory environment and mobile money adoption, with further growth likely to follow -- FDIP scorecard: 12th
Zambia: Commitment to increasing equity in access to financial services, but usage of available services is limited -- FDIP scorecard: 14th
Malawi: Limited infrastructure constrains adoption, but forthcoming regulations may enhance digital financial ecosystem -- FDIP scorecard: 19th.

It's been 4 years since Stephen Colbert created a super PAC -- where did all that money go?

[Commentary] We were surprised to hear that no one had followed the money trail for Stephen Colbert's super PAC, "Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow". So, Colbert, we at the Sunlight Foundation would like to accept your challenge.

Sunlight's Senior Staff Writer Melissa Yeager went step-by-step down the Colbert super PAC money trail to demonstrate how complicated it really is to follow the money under our current campaign finance system. It's important to point out that following the money for Colbert's political finance groups was a long, long process. But despite the arduous amount of research we did, tracking the cash flow of Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow was actually much easier than it would be for almost every other case. Colbert flaunted his super PAC on cable television and left plenty of bread crumbs for journalists to follow; we knew where the money ended up and were able to fill in the gaps. Without these clues, it may have been simply impossible to track. Needless to say, few candidates for political office will be as generous -- leaving the public in the dark.

New approach needed to deliver on technology’s potential in schools

Schools have yet to take advantage of the potential of technology in the classroom to tackle the digital divide and give every student the skills they need in today’s connected world, according to the first Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Programme for International Student Assessment assessment of digital skills. “Students, Computers and Learning: Making The Connection” says that even countries which have invested heavily in information and communication technologies (ICT) for education have seen no noticeable improvement in their performances in PISA results for reading, mathematics or science.

Ensuring that every child reaches a baseline level of proficiency in reading and mathematics will do more to create equal opportunities in a digital world than solely expanding or subsidising access to high-tech devices and services, says the OECD. In 2012, 96 percent of 15-year-old students in OECD countries reported having a computer at home, but only 72 percent reported using one at school. Overall, students who use computers moderately at school tend to have somewhat better learning outcomes than students who use computers rarely. But students who use computers very frequently at school do much worse, even after accounting for social background and student demographics.

Legal War on Ad Blocking May Be a Loser, if Recent German Rulings Are Any Guide

The ad industry is looking into whether it has potential legal remedies against ad blockers in the US, but the issue is already playing out in German courts -- in favor of the blockers. The regional court in Cologne ruled during the week of Sept 28, for example, in favor of Adblock Plus and Eyeo, the company that makes it, rejecting arguments by German publisher Axel Springer. Adblock Plus and its Acceptable Ads program do not "breach laws on competition, copyright or market dominance," the court found. Adblock Plus uses Acceptable Ads to whitelists ads that it deems unintrusive, at no charge to small- and medium-sized sites but with fees to "some larger properties." That would presumably include Axel Springer, one of Europe's largest publishers.

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