January 2009

Obama Picks Critic of Warrantless Wiretapping to lead DoJ's national security division

President Barack Obama tapped David Kris to lead the Justice Department's national security division. Kris has been a critic of the legal rationale for the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program. He as a senior Justice Department official in both the Clinton and Bush administrations from 2000 to 2003, and is widely respected in Washington for his knowledge of intelligence law. He is deputy counsel for Time Warner Inc. and adjunct law professor at Georgetown University, and he worked on the Obama transition team at the Justice Department. The selection offers yet another indication of sharp changes in policy at the Justice Department by the incoming leadership.

Varney To Head DOJ's Antitrust Division

President Barack Obama announced Thursday that he intends to nominate former Federal Trade Commissioner Christine Varney, an expert in Internet regulation, to serve as the Department of Justice's top antitrust law enforcer. As chief of the Antitrust Division, Varney will have a key role in reviewing mergers. Varney is partner at Hogan & Hartson, heading the firm's Internet practice group. She was an FTC member from 1994 to 1997, appointed by President Bill Clinton.

Obama's got cred in Silicon Valley

Now that the inaugural balls are over, folks in techland are focused on just one item: The BlackBerry. Obama's attachment to his e-mail has a particular resonance in Silicon Valley, where these days creativity seems to be fueled by mobile gadgets and instant communication as much as anything else. Intel Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner zeroed in on the significance of the new commander-in-chief's desire to stay connected. "Barack Obama is clearly a child of the Information Age, and the fact that he's comfortable and natural with that technology -- there are so many messages tied up in that, not the least of which is, this is a different generation," Rattner said. "It's so frustrating when you hear about some senior government official don't use computers, they have their staff print it all out. That's when you get government officials saying things like 'The Google' and 'The Internets.'"

Rockefeller, Hutchison Compromise On DTV Delay

Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller and ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) have stuck a compromise on a bill to move the digital television transition to June 12, 2009. The bill will include a fix for the digital-to-analog converter box coupon program, allow TV stations to switch early to airing only a digital signal without penalty, allow the Federal Communications Commission to recoup some of the costs of delay through sales of spectrum, and allow the FCC to award some spectrum to public safety officials. A Rockefeller aide says the aim is to try and get the bill finished and passed by unanimous consent by the end of the week with the help of Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).

Digital Transition Could Bring Significant Audience Loss, Nielsen Says

The pace of homes getting ready for the digital TV changeover is quickening, but with the Feb. 17 transition date approaching, the potential is growing for a significant loss of TV audience for advertisers. There is still the possibility that the switchover date will be postponed, probably to June 12. Nielsen today reported that 6.5 million households—5.7% of the nation—are still totally unready, but that the numbers are higher in some locations and in some demographics. Nielsen said 9.9% of African-American households and 9.7% of Hispanic households are totally unready. Nielsen defines as totally unready households without digital TV sets or converter boxes that aren't hooked up to cable or satellite. Nielsen's numbers suggest a number of big markets—among them Los Angeles, Phoenix and Houston—could temporarily lose more than 10% of Hispanic or African-American households with the digital changeover.

Qualcomm May Be Stung By Delay In Digital TV Transition

Qualcomm could be one of the big losers if lawmakers succeed in delaying the move to digital television signals from analog transmissions. A delay would be costly to Qualcomm, which has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in equipment and wireless licenses. MediaFLO, while available on Verizon Wireless and AT&T services, has struggled to add customers. The limited availability is one reason Qualcomm believes the service has received little marketing support from the carriers and, thus, sparse interest from consumers. The biggest expense comes from fees Qualcomm is paying to broadcasters to vacate the analog signals early, allowing them to operate in those regions. The fees were supposed to stop once the transition occurs, but if it gets pushed back to June, Qualcomm has to keep paying them out. It's the biggest expense, which Lauer described as "tens of millions of dollars."

Younger Americans More Likely to Use Internet TV Than DVR, Study Says

Internet television is trumping digital video recorders as an on-demand device for the younger generation, according to the latest findings from research firm Solutions Research Group. The study found that 70% of online Americans in the 18- to 34-year-old demographic have watched TV online at some point, compared to 36% who have viewed a show on a DVR or a TiVo. That suggests the young Web users will increasingly watch their shows on the Web rather than via traditional means. In fact, the number of online Americans watching television shows on the Web has doubled in the last two years. Half of Internet users in the U.S. have watched a TV show on the Web, up from one-quarter in the fall of 2006.

Recession hits mobile-phone market

The global recession is hitting the handset market hard, as the biggest supplier in the market, Nokia, is seeing its sales plunge. The Finnish handset maker said Thursday that fourth-quarter sales dropped 19 percent to $16.5 billion compared with the same period a year earlier. And its profit fell about 69 percent.

Building a 21st Century Broadband Superhighway

A long-term approach to broadband investment seeking to leverage federal spending on traditional infrastructure (road, bridges and possibly railways) to create a fully interconnected, public access fiber infrastructure to bring high-speed connectivity to nearly every community. The hundreds of billions that will be spent over the next few years to rebuild the nation's crumbling transportation infrastructure provide a unique opportunity for the U.S. to extend critical middle-mile fiber connections, at an incremental cost to taxpayers. The paper calls for the federal government to fund and mandate the installation of conduit and high-capacity, dark fiber bundles along all federally-subsidized and direct federal highway projects. The approach offers a cost-effective and sustainable means to build the middle-mile wholesale fiber links necessary to facilitate high-speed broadband deployment by all providers; creating a foundation for universal and affordable broadband access, improving competition, increasing speeds and lowering prices.

Verizon and Free Press Agree that Remote Broadband Requires Monopolies

Verizon Communications and Free Press agreed that bringing high-speed Internet technology to unserved areas of western Massachusetts may result in a monopoly, or a single local telecommunications provider. In separate comments made last month in a state broadband inquiry, the telecommunications giant and the advocacy group both said that economic factors are likely to tilt toward a single broadband provider. But they disagreed about whether Net neutrality or other open access rules should be imposed upon such a monopoly. Verizon and Free Press were among 29 organizations that filed comments as part of the "call for solutions" to the problem of bringing broadband to the Berkshires and other areas of western Massachusetts.

Benton

Search