September 2009

How the iPhone Is Driving a Wireless Bandwidth Boom

The mobile Internet is one of the most dynamic parts of today's technology ecosystem. But most of the mobile companies are using older-generation technologies — a handful of T-1 connections that pump 6-10 megabits per second of bandwidth capacity into cell towers that turn around and share it with tens of thousands of users. But the popularity of new 3G devices such as the iPhone and BlackBerry 3G has increased the use of data, putting the backend networks under strain. And from that perspective, today's 3G networks are like glittering skyscrapers built on a foundation of matchsticks. The current buildout of wireless networks is mirroring that of the wired Internet in the late 1990s and early part of this decade. Back in the day, every time you pulled down a track from Napster, you put an enormous strain on the network, which, in turn, led to the rise of bandwidth providers such as Qwest and Level 3, along with a series of hardware makers. Today that problem is magnified manifold, mostly because the number of mobile users is so much higher than PC users accessing the Internet.

Stimulus offers messy test of public/private telecom models

[Commentary] As broadband stimulus funds flow into public/private partnerships, they are sure to reveal cracks that still exist in our understanding of how to balance public and private interests in telecom successfully. The city council in Provo, Utah is considering whether to grant a request to reduce monthly payment obligations from Broadweave Networks, which acquired the city's struggling fiber-to-the-home network last year. Broadweave argued it could turn the fiber operations around by replacing its open, wholesale-only model with one in which it played both the role of service provider and network operator. It's not clear yet that the strategy will be successful. Now Broadweave wants to merge with one of the service providers on the network, Veracity Communications, using the temporary break in payments to the city — $1.5 million over two years - to get the combined operation up to speed. And that plea for financial help is raising concerns.

Broadband Plan Shaking Up Communications at FCC

The Federal Communications Commission is using the power of the Internet to boost public participation in devising a National Broadband Plan. Inside the agency, we are hard at work processing the public input we are getting from our many workshops. The hours of discussion by workshop participants, along with comments that have already been filed at the FCC, have prompted us to draft new Public Notices about the plan. Over the coming weeks, you will see several of them issued. The new comments we receive will be filed in the official record for the plan. And of course, the transcripts that are being made of each workshop will also be part of the record.

Experts debate expansion of president's cybersecurity powers

Existing laws already give the president broad discretion on how to respond to cyberattacks, despite language in a Senate bill that proposes giving the president specific powers during such events, according to experts. "The president already has emergency powers to take any action necessary to act in a national emergency," said Jeffrey Addicott, director of the Center for Terrorism Law at St. Mary's University School of Law. "This includes cyberspace." The president has that power under the National Security Strategy, Addicott said. The most recent National Security Strategy was published in 2006.

Why Not Merge TV And Internet?

[Commentary] Internet video distribution today seems like the inevitable path media companies are going to take in order to ensure their content gets to consumers. But big media needs to figure out a way to operate (for at least the next five to seven years) with one foot firmly planted in today's TV distribution platform, while incubating their Internet audiences. Once the digital transition fog lifts and the industry looks at the current distribution ecosystem, we might find that TV Everywhere and Hulu (to just name two) should technically be integrated with the digital spectrum and cable distribution. We, for instance, should probably be concentrating our efforts on how to combine the Internet and the digital television experience so consumers get content delivered through one seamless "platform." Cross-platform technologies could satisfy everyone, including the consumer, while also building revenue streams that are integrated across both TV and the Internet. After all, wouldn't you like to be able to click your TV remote control and move the TV show you are watching to the Internet without missing a punch line?

Nielsen: Viewers hunger for Web and TV at same time

US television viewers are increasingly turning on the Web, tuning into television and not missing a beat on either, as simultaneous TV and Internet use continues to rise, research firm Nielsen said on Wednesday. Nielsen said in a report that 57 percent of TV viewers in the U.S. who have Internet access use both mediums at the same time at least once a month. That translates to more than 128 million U.S. consumers. As the heightened importance of the Web changes the way Americans watch TV, industry executives and marketers are considering ways to adjust their broadcast shows and play into viewers' simultaneous use of the Internet.

FCC Asked To Examine 'TV Everywhere'

Public Knowledge said today that it intends to ask the Federal Communications Commission to scrutinize TV Everywhere as well as limits on bandwidth consumption that could limit people's ability to watch video on the Web. "The commission should closely examine any practice that discourages users from viewing Internet video, to the advantage of an ISP's own video offerings," Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, said. She adds that TV Everywhere "could discourage innovation if it requires, encourages or allows programmers and content providers to sign exclusive deals with cable companies."
Public Knowledge Calls For Openness on Net Video Suppliers

Studios Want Decision From FCC On Cable Waiver For HD Movies

Movie studios are pushing the Federal Communications Commission to make a decision on granting them a waiver that would allow them to deliver high-definition, digital versions of movies to cable subscribers in advance of their DVD release, a move that concerns independent producers and fair use activists. Fair use fans Public Knowledge and other public-interest groups early on asked the FCC to deny the waiver, saying it would "frustrate consumer expectations regarding their home-theater equipment and will give movie studios unprecedented and undesirable control over the design and use of home electronics equipment." Also opposed is the Independent Film & Television Alliance, which said not long after the waiver request was made that allowing the major studios to "remotely shut off a particular output on a program-by-program basis" would harm program diversity by diminishing access to independent films like those of their members. Theater owners are also concerned that the studios are shortening their distribution windows and migrating their movies to other distribution platforms -- like cable and satellite--that they can more easily control.

US, Mexico Sign Telecomm Agreement

The Departments of Homeland Security and State announced Wednesday that senior officials on the U.S.-Mexico High-Level Consultative Commission on Telecommunications signed a bilateral telecommunications agreement to support a cross border communications network that will provide cross-border voice, data and video channels to strengthen border security and incident response. According to a press release from DHS, the agreement also provides radio interference protection for the network's infrastructure.

Government 2.0: Under the Hood

The frenzy to deliver Web 2.0 services oftentimes means the hard development work goes overlooked. The public audience sees only the finished project, but examining what goes on behind the scenes can be just as worthwhile. Williams looks at Myidea4ca, a new Web service Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office launched last week, which indexes ideas for California's state government.

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