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Is the proposed purchase of T-Mobile by AT&T legal? Probably not. News of the proposed merger was immediately met with concerns that it violates antitrust laws that are supposed to prevent monopolies from leaving consumers with raw deals. Industry insiders told Politico that even if the deal is approved by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice, it will likely be met with a “laundry list of conditions” that could include: net neutrality guarantees, lower early termination and text messaging fees, and improved service for low-income communities. Yet what some analysts seemed even more disturbed by is the company’s apparent disregard for the sins of its founders. David Lazarus reminded us on Monday at the Los Angeles Times that when the Bell telephone system — i.e., AT&T — was broken up back in 1984, the general consensus was that it was a good move that could increase competition in a market that, until then, had only truly known one national carrier. And then everything changed.
What does the deal mean for users of color? In December, after months of intense scrutiny, the FCC passed a set of lukewarm rules that were supposed to keep the Internet’s playing field equal. Those rules, known as net neutrality provisions, prevented carriers from playing favorites and charging users extra fees for Internet fast lanes on home-based broadband networks. But the mandate was noticeably missing any mention of how mobile carriers can conduct their business. Mobile broadband is fast becoming the future of the Internet, and it’s already an important way in which communities of color are helping to close the digital divide. A Pew study released last year found that blacks and Latinos are among the biggest users of mobile technology, and in many cases, it’s the primary way that they surf the Web.
Understanding the AT&T Takeover of T-Mobile AT&T, T-Mobile merger faces tough antitrust hurdle (Politico) AT&T merger with T-Mobile doesn't look good for consumers (LATimes)
There are four major wireless carriers in the U.S. (for now) and they each have a slightly different definition of what it means to be 4G. Most of the confusion stems from the fact that there is no true recognized standard for the use of the 4G term, only an initial recommendation from the International Telecommunications Union that such networks be capable of providing 1Gbps (gigabits per second) download speeds to a person standing still holding a phone and 100Mbps to someone traveling on a train or in a car. An awful lot of hot air was spilled this week about the wireless industry’s role in creating innovation, but it’s true to a certain extent. Better, faster tools allow talented people to create things that have never been attempted and make existing things with promise but challenges finally make sense. The only word spoken more than 4G at CTIA was spectrum. It’s one thing to build out a network of fast cell towers, but it’s another to actually make sure they can transmit their signals. It’s one of the primary drivers behind the AT&T/T-Mobile deal and was a key talking point from both industry representatives like the CTIA’s Steve Largent and FCC Commissioner Julius Genachowski: more spectrum needs to be opened up to the wireless industry to continue this growth.
Ask the people at your carrier two or three times to show you exactly where their 4G coverage extends, and how fast their average—not peak—download and upload speeds are at the moment. There’s perhaps something to be said for future-proofing your phone or tablet, but it might be easier to wait until you know 4G coverage is strong in your area before taking the plunge. And start thinking about things you can't do on your mobile phone but can do on your PC because of the network connection, then figure out how to make them possible on a smaller screen with constrained battery life.
What The Road To 4G Will Look Like
The cellphone has been more than a cellphone for years, but soon it could take on an entirely new role — standing in for all of the credit and debit cards crammed into wallets. Instead of swiping a plastic card at the checkout counter, consumers would merely wave their phones. There’s just one hitch: While the technology is already being installed in millions of phones — and is used overseas — wide adoption of the so-called mobile wallets is being slowed by a major behind-the-scenes battle among corporate giants. Mobile phone carriers, banks, credit card issuers, payment networks and technology companies are all vying to control these wallets. But first, they need to sort out what role each will play and how each will get paid. The stakes are enormous because small, hidden fees that are generated every time consumers swipe their cards add up to tens of billions of dollars annually in the United States alone.
Swiping Is the Easy Part
The cost of embedding wireless into electronic gizmos is rapidly falling, but don't expect wireless carriers to come to a consensus anytime soon on how they report the metrics of their resulting machine-to-machine businesses. Representatives from Sprint Nextel, AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile, nPhase and Synchronoss generally agree that the embedded and M2M market has officially taken off, but that the tumultuous nature of the business makes analyzing and comparing metrics difficult -- if not impossible.
Carriers disagree over definition, metrics for embedded wireless
We’re beginning to see hints that mobile-device makers may be prepared to start weaning themselves off carriers handouts and pricing their products based on what they actually cost. What’s less clear is whether everyone -- not just Apple -- can be truly competitive and make enough money in the market without those juicy subsidies.
So now, as challengers get ready to try and dent Apple’s runaway lead, do they need to accept heavy subsidies on 3G and 4G products in order to compete? The real question is what type of gross margin are those competitors willing to accept as they acknowledge that the amazing mobile growth of the past several years simply would not have happened without generous carrier subsidies that reduced the opening price of their wares, not to mention the heavy promotion as those carriers went about recouping their investment.
Are Mobile Device Makers Finally Ready To Swear Off Carrier Subsidies
Drugstore operator Walgreen said it will spend about $429 million to buy online retailer drugstore.com in a deal that gives it access to 3 million online customers.
The largest U.S. drugstore operator will give drugstore.com shareholders $3.80 in cash for each share of stock — more than double the $1.79 closing price of drugstore.com’s stock on Wednesday. In early trading Thursday, the stock jumped $2 to $3.79. The acquisition will add about 60,000 products to Walgreen’s online offerings, and the Deerfield (IL) company said it will significantly speed up its online strategy. Drugstore.com’s websites include Beauty.com, SkinStore.com and VisionDirect.com. Walgreen, like most retailers, is trying to develop an online presence, something that is imperative going forward, said Scotia Capital analyst Patricia A. Baker.
Walgreen to acquire online retailer drugstore.com for about $429 million
A Q&A with the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Services Administrator Jonathan Adelstein.
RUS recently announced they’re hoping to make $700 million available for broadband projects through the agency’s Farm Bill Broadband Program. While not as substantial as the BIP program, nevertheless this is a sizeable enough payload to make a big difference in a fair number of communities. However, the actual money hasn't been appropriated yet, so RUS is doing a Notice of Solicitations of Applications (NOSA). NOSA = send us an application to hold your place in the queue so you get money when we get money. This is strictly a loan program, no grants involved. Big plus – it’s open to everyone including communities and public private partnerships. Other good news is that the baseline for what constitutes broadband is 5 Mbps symmetrical for wireline networks, and 3 Mbps symmetrical for wireless.
Interview with Jonathan Adelstein on New $700 Million Broadband Program
USA Today, a newspaper created nearly 30 years ago to appeal to people who grew up watching television, is revising its formula to try to counter the Internet's threat to its survival.
The nation's second-largest newspaper is expanding its coverage of advertising-friendly topics, designing content for smartphones and tablet computers and refreshing the look of its print edition, whose circulation has fallen by 20 percent over the past three years. For readers, it means lots of travel tips, gadget reviews, sports features, financial advice and lifestyle recommendations. Top editors say investigative journalism will also be emphasized. A new design of USA Today's front page was unveiled in late January. The rest of the newspaper will be filled with more of the colorful graphics that made USA Today stand out when Gannett Co. started it in September 1982. The print edition also now includes a few barcodes that can be scanned by a mobile device to view videos and other digital content related to certain stories. USA Today Publisher Dave Hunke is so confident these changes will pay off that he expects the newspaper in 2011 to boost revenue and circulation, which stands at 1.8 million. That would be the first time both categories have gained in four years.
USA Today rewrites strategy to cope with Internet
Tribune Company Chairman Sam Zell is battling to avoid legal liability for leading what he called “the deal from hell,” the $8.2 billion buyout of the bankrupt newspaper and television company.
In court papers filed March 22, Zell asked the judge overseeing Tribune’s bankruptcy for permission to challenge a lawsuit filed against him by creditors. The lawsuit seeks to recover money from him, and other Tribune managers, whom creditors blame for the company’s inability to repay about $13 billion in debt, most of which is tied to the 2007 buyout. “He is the one person who did nothing wrong,” David Bradford, Zell’s bankruptcy attorney, said in court, a few hours before filing the latest round of court papers in which the Chicago real estate billionaire denied responsibility for Tribune’s insolvency.
Zell Fights to Avoid Legal Claims Over Tribune Buyout
Age and sex don't matter when it comes to TV ad effectiveness, said CBS Corp. Chief Research Officer David Poltrack, who has teamed with Nielsen to create what he called a historic move to replace demographics with a new model for TV planning and buying, based on viewer behavior and attitudes.
The proposed model is a better predictor of what people buy and what makes them buy than demographics ever were, Poltrack said in a speech to the Advertising Research Foundation's Re:Think 2011 conference in New York. A growing amount of data that matches audience measurement with purchase information shows that using demographics to target commercials is "essentially invalid," he said, "resulting in a misallocation of television advertising investments." Although CBS paid for the extensive research and analysis used to create the new model, the data and analytics surrounding it will be available to all Nielsen clients, including CBS rivals, Poltrack said, "in the spirit of open source." Various parts of Nielsen pitched in, including recently acquired consulting firm Cambridge Group and Nielsen Catalina Solutions, a joint venture that combines data from Nielsen's TV, set-top box, consumer and online panels with Catalina Marketing's shopper loyalty-card purchase data. CBS is also running a series of experiments with advertisers to fine-tune the system, Poltrack said. CBS purchased Nielsen Catalina data for 20 categories in health and beauty, household, pet and food products and has studied 15 of them in depth so far. The data confirmed what other smaller studies have shown in the past, according to Mr. Poltrack: "There is no link, none, between the age of the specified demographic delivery of the campaign and the sales generated by that campaign."
CBS Proposes New Model for TV Planning and Buying Based on Viewer Behavior and Attitudes Instead Age and Sex