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  2. August 2017

August 2017

The End of Typing: The Next Billion Mobile Users Will Rely on Video and Voice

The internet’s global expansion is entering a new phase, and it looks decidedly unlike the last one. Instead of typing searches and e-mails, a wave of newcomers—“the next billion,” the tech industry calls them—is avoiding text, using voice activation and communicating with images. They are a swath of the world’s less-educated, online for the first time thanks to low-end smartphones, cheap data plans and intuitive apps that let them navigate despite poor literacy. Incumbent tech companies are finding they must rethink their products for these newcomers and face local competitors that have been quicker to figure them out.

Mr. Singh, 36, balances suitcases on his head in New Delhi, earning less than $8 a day as a porter in one of India’s biggest railway stations. He isn’t comfortable reading or using a keyboard. That doesn’t stop him from checking train schedules, messaging family and downloading movies. “We don’t know anything about e-mails or even how to send one,” said Mr. Singh, who went online only in the past year. “But we are enjoying the internet to the fullest.”

House GOP unveils website criticizing media coverage

House Republicans have launched a new website that slams the media for focusing on "chaos" instead of what they see as a productive first 200 days. The website, "Did You Know," claims that media coverage doesn’t focus on the issues important to Americans. It also calls out the press for not writing more about the legislative achievements of the House GOP.

“House Republicans aren't distracted by the newest countdown clock on cable news or partisan sniping in Washington, D.C.,” the website reads. “You don’t care about those things. You care about finding a good job, taking care of your family, and achieving the American Dream, and so do we.” It comes as President Donald Trump hits his 200th day in office. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) had set the 200th day as a bigger marker for Republicans than Trump's first 100 days.

Secrecy and Suspicion Surround President Trump’s Deregulation Teams

When President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to form teams to dismantle government regulations, the Transportation Department turned to people with deep industry ties. The lack of transparency has concerned several top Democratic members of Congress who serve on committees that oversee regulatory matters.

In a letter to the White House on Aug 7, they called on the administration to release the names of all regulatory team members as well as documents relating to their potential conflicts of interest. The congressmen cited a recent investigation by ProPublica and The New York Times revealing that members of the deregulation teams have included lawyers who represented businesses in cases against government regulators, staff members of political dark money groups and employees of industry-funded organizations opposed to environmental rules. Since the publication of that investigation in July, the news organizations have identified more than a dozen other appointees through interviews, public records and reader tips — including the three appointees to the deregulation team at the Transportation Department. In all, there are now 85 known current and former team members, including 34 with potential conflicts. At least two of the appointees may be positioned to profit if certain regulations are undone and at least four were registered to lobby the agencies they now work for.

Kayleigh McEnany named RNC spokesperson

Kayleigh McEnany, who recently departed CNN as a contributor, will be the next spokesperson for the Republican National Committee. McEnany frequently defended President Donald Trump during her tenure at CNN. She began as a paid contributor in 2016. The 29-year-old Georgetown and Harvard Law School graduate began her career in television as a producer for former Gov Mike Huckabee's (R-AR) Fox News program. On Aug 6, McEnany debuted a Trump TV segment that she labeled the “real news", which was shown on Trump's Facebook page.

Data cap analysis found almost 200 ISPs imposing data limits in the US

A company that tracks Internet service providers and data caps in the US has identified 196 home Internet providers that impose monthly caps on Internet users. Not all of them are enforced, but customers of many ISPs must pay overage fees when they use too much data.

BroadbandNow, a broadband provider search site that gets referral fees from some ISPs, has more than 2,500 home Internet providers in its database. This list includes telecommunications providers that are registered to provide service under the government's Lifeline program, which subsidizes access for poor people. BroadbandNow's team looked through the ISPs' websites to generate a list of those with data caps. The data cap information was "pulled directly from ISP websites," said BroadbandNow Director of Content Jameson Zimmer. "For those that have multiple caps, we include the lowest one and an asterisk to show that they have regional variation." BroadbandNow, which is operated by a company called Microbrand Media, plans to keep tracking the data caps over time in order to examine trends, he said.

Sprint Resumes Preliminary Talks on T-Mobile Merger

Sprint’s resumed talks about a potential merger with T-Mobile, being held at the same time as discussions with cable companies, shows the lengths billionaire Masayoshi Son is taking to build scale for a wireless carrier facing increasing competition in the US. The two mobile operators restarted discussions after Sprint’s exclusive negotiating period with Comcast and Charter Communications expired at the end of July, apparently. Son, who leads Sprint’s largest shareholder SoftBank Group Corp., is pursuing all options for industry consolidation as he continues to weigh a potential offer for Charter. SoftBank has been considering making a formal takeover bid for the cable company and combining it with Sprint.

Diverse Groups, Including ACA, Combine to Oppose Sinclair-Tribune

A diverse group of associations, including the American Cable Association, as well as media consolidation opponents and conservative news outlets, are getting together to formally oppose the merger of Sinclair and Tribune, which would result in the nation's largest broadcast TV group. That group includes a big critic of conservative media and a conservative media outlet, united in their strong opposition to the deal. Initial comments on the merger were due Aug 7.

Joining ACA president Matt Polka on a conference call to announce their Federal Communications Comission filings in opposition to the deal were former FCC chairman and Common Cause special adviser Michael Copps, One America News Network president Charles Herring, Computer & Communications Industry Association president Ed Black and Competitive Carriers Association SVP Tim Donovan. Copps said the deal would eviscerate local TV news and help inflict "irreparable damage." He called Sinclair the "most dangerous company most Americans have never heard of." He said the company wants to skirt ownership regulations with more "joint evasion agreements." He said the company comes with an ideology more focused on conservative points of view than "any sense of balance of deep-dive journalism."

[Michael Copps is a regular contribution to the Benton Foundation's Digital Beat blog]

Is Fox Threatened By Sinclair's Reach?

Sinclair Broadcast Group may have federal regulators on its side about a possible mega TV-station-group merger. But its business partners -- and competitors -- may give it a harder time. Cue 21st Century Fox. The Fox Broadcasting Network reportedly wants to change its affiliate associations with 26 Sinclair TV stations -- and strike a deal with a smaller TV station group, ION Media Networks.

Why? Insiders say a potential $3.9 billion merger between Sinclair and Tribune Media could be competitive trouble for Fox-owned TV stations -- as well as other Fox affiliates where Sinclair has other network affiliate deals. Is Fox short-sighted? Fox -- like all TV networks -- depends on the steady local TV promotion, which Sinclair provides. Dealing with ION could just be a negotiation ploy with Sinclair, perhaps to extract a far better Fox affiliation agreement. But if that doesn’t work, Fox might do what Sinclair is doing: Buy more TV stations. Perhaps ION stations.

AT&T To Sunset 'Time Warner' Brand, Bests It In Consumer Credibility

AT&T, gearing up to take charge of Time Warner, reportedly plans to dump the media company’s corporate name. It’s not the first time a major brand has gone away as the result of a merger. Amoco disappeared when BP acquired the company, as did US Airways when the company merged with American Airlines. MCI took a hike when the telecommunication company was purchased by Verizon.

While the Time Warner brand likely has a stronger positioning in the entertainment and branded-content space than the AT&T brand, which is still seen as a communications brand, consolidating under a single brand makes some sense, says Ted Marzilli, CEO of YouGov’s BrandIndex. “It is more clear to consumers (and less confusing) that the range of services now provided is coming from a single company,” Marzilli says. “From a business perspective, it is less expensive to maintain a single brand. And it also a signal to all employees that AT&T is now running the show.”

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