June 25, 2013 (Wireless)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2013
Today -- Disappearing off the Dial: The Future of Low Power TV http://benton.org/calendar/2013-06-25/
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
T-Mobile Proposes Sliding Screen for Incentive Auctions
Wireless Substitution Report from CDC - research
In-Flight Wi-Fi Still Costly, but More Available [links to web]
Big data: How cellphones help track diseases [links to web]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Hey Seattle, want a gigabit connection? That’ll be $80
Lowell McAdam's Error In The NY Times - analysis
CHILDREN AND MEDIA
Privacy Groups Mobilize to Monitor Kids Sites and Apps
Connected Nation Pilot Highlights Potential of Mobile Learning
TELEVISION
ACA to FCC: Levy Regulatory Fees on IPTV [links to web]
CONTENT
Bitcoin draws attention of California regulators
Why does everyone except Google want to build a reader? - analysis [links to web]
Why Some Videogame Characters Get Toys, and Others Don’t [links to web]
PRIVACY
Huge traffic spike hits ‘private’ search engines after NSA leaks [links to web]
JOURNALISM
The newspaper plunge slows [links to web]
OPEN GOVERNMENT
Open Government projects receive more than $3.2 million as winners of Knight News Challenge - press release [links to web]
COMPANY NEWS
Oracle, Microsoft Strike Deal to Make Core Software Work Easily Together [links to web]
POLICYMAKERS
FTC, CPB Nominees - press release [links to web]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Vodafone seals €7.7bn union with Kabel Deutschland
Antitrust watchdog likely to scrutinize Kabel Deutschland deal
Google May Get Win in Case Over Privacy Data on Other Websites
Google says tighter EU search regulations would ‘hurt’ innovation
Can Silicon Valley Save the World?
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
T-MOBILE PROPOSES SPECTRUM SCREEN
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
T-Mobile has a plan for part of the broadcast incentive auctions -- the one where, presumably, wireless companies primarily bid for reclaimed spectrum -- and it involves a sliding spectrum screen depending on how the bidding goes. T-Mobile is recommending that FCC auction rules include a built-in sliding screen, which it pitches as a way to provide a real-world test of such a screen applied to auctions in general. "By relying on actual bids rather than predictions of bidder behavior, the Dynamic Market Rule helps remove any risk that revenue targets for clearing broadcasters and funding the FirstNet public safety network will not be met," the company says. T-Mobile calls it a "Dynamic Market Rule billed as a "seamless" way to ensure against "excessive concentration" of low-band spectrum. Under the rule, bidding would begin with "spectrum aggregation" limits, with a carve-out that would allow AT&T and Verizon, the two largest carriers, to bid on a block of 5 MHz in markets where they exceed the screen -- which would be one-third of the low-band spectrum in a market. If the FCC meets its revenue target, that auction could close. But if not, the screen would be gradually relaxed, and ultimately lifted altogether.
benton.org/node/154429 | Broadcasting&Cable
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WIRELESS SUBSTITUTION
[SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AUTHOR: Stephen Blumberg, Julian Luke]
Preliminary results from the July–December 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) indicate that the number of American homes with only wireless telephones continues to grow. Nearly two in every five American homes (38.2%) had only wireless telephones (also known as cellular telephones, cell phones, or mobile phones) during the second half of 2012—an increase of 2.4 percentage points since the first half of 2012. In addition, nearly one of every six American homes (15.9%) received all or almost all calls on wireless telephones despite also having a landline telephone. This report presents the most up-to-date estimates available from the federal government concerning the size and characteristics of these populations.
benton.org/node/154425 | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
GIGABIT SEATTLE
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
Gigabit Squared, the company that’s working with the city of Seattle to light up the city’s dark fiber, announced availability (next year) and pricing. A gigabit connection will cost $80 plus a $350 connection fee (unless you sign up for a full year of service). That’s $10 more than Google charges in Kansas City. The company will offer three service plans:
Free service at speeds of 5 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream (its comparable to traditional DSL speeds) for five years. After 60 months renters or owners can convert to a 10 Mbps download/10 Mbps upload service plan for only $10 per month. However, there is a $350 installation charge, but it transfers to new home owners or renters.
A medium tier offer symmetrical 100 Mbps service for $45 per month. As with the gigabit service, the $350 connection fee is waived if people sign a one-year contract.
A superfast gigabit tier with symmetrical gigabit per second speeds for $80 per month.
benton.org/node/154428 | GigaOm
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MCADAM CORRECTION
[SOURCE: Fast Net News, AUTHOR: Dave Burstein]
[Commentary] In a recent New York Times op-ed, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam claimed in "the European Union ... today only about 2 percent of households have access to broadband networks with 100-megabit-plus speeds." The actual figure is more than twenty times higher than that, according to a report by Point-Topic for the European Union. Fact-checkers may have also missed recent mistakes including a claim that European broadband providers are four times more profitable than their American peers and that U.S. entry level prices are among the lowest in the world. I've checked the profitability by several measures (% of sales, return on assets) and the U.S. and European carriers are similar. I've also surveyed the actual prices of low end services in the U.S. at the major carriers and they are typically $25-$52. You can get a complete triple play with much faster broadband in several European countries for that range and basic service for less.
benton.org/node/154426 | Fast Net News
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CHILDREN AND MEDIA
MOBILIZING TO MONITOR SITES AND APPS
[SOURCE: AdWeek, AUTHOR: Katy Bachman]
Stricter children's online privacy rules go into effect July 1 and privacy groups are getting ready to make sure websites and mobile apps targeting kids under 12 toe those newly drawn lines. The Center for Digital Democracy, a privacy group that lobbied hard for the updates, is seeking help from more than 60 children's civil rights, advocacy and medical groups in monitoring websites and apps. "We'll be focused initially on the major kids sites—Disney, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network—to make sure they respect the new rules and empower parents with the information and control they deserve," said Jeff Chester, executive director of the CDD. In advance of the new school season, the group also intends to step up public education and launch an online campaign. In an 18-page letter, the CDD gives groups a backgrounder on the new rules and provides a step-by-step legal guide of what to look for on children's sites and mobile apps to make sure they are in compliance with the new rules. The CDD singled out a few potential violations in particular: asking children to take or upload pictures of themselves; collecting location information; and sending push notifications from an app that pop up on the device even when the app is not in use. If any of the groups find a violation, the CDD is asking that group to notify them and the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces the rules.
benton.org/node/154434 | AdWeek
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K-12 MOBILE LEARNING PILOT
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
AT&T, Edmodo, Kno and Samsung Mobile recently completed a pilot-test of a K-12 mobile learning platform “that combined mobile devices, connectivity and educational content with the ambition to make ‘anywhere education’ easier than ever.” Working under the banner of Connected Nation, the partners pilot-tested a hybrid shared and one-to-one mobile learning model in two high school classes over an eight-week period. Reaching 100 students, the results were encouraging, according to the pilot-test partners:
Most students, teachers and parents agreed the mobile learning solution enhanced the learning experience and would like to have continued using it after the trial
Participating students using the one-to-one model reported higher levels of satisfaction by about 10 percentage points
Participating students said the solution was easy to use, made reading more interesting, and featured helpful functions
Participating teachers agreed the solution made them more effective and teaching more interesting.
benton.org/node/154432 | telecompetitor | press release
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CONTENT
BITCOIN REGULATION?
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Dan Nakaso]
Even the state of California can't quite figure out what the bitcoin Internet currency phenomenon is all about -- or whether it's legal in California. The state Department of Financial Institutions sent a letter to the Washington (DC)-based BitCoin Foundation that warns it "to cease and desist from conducting the business of money transmission in this state." But Alana Golden, spokeswoman for the department, said that the May 30 letter is merely "a routine warning letter. ... There is no enforcement order." Even though the letter to the BitCoin Foundation outlines severe jail and financial penalties, it was merely intended to get the BitCoin Foundation to communicate with California officials about what bitcoin is -- and whether it's legal in California.
benton.org/node/154444 | San Jose Mercury News
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
VODAFONE-KABEL
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Daniel Thomas]
Vodafone has finally arrived at the altar with Kabel Deutschland, having secured the hand of the management with a €7.7bn takeover offer three years after it first flirted with the German cable company. The company is no cheap date – the Kabel’s valuation has increased fourfold from an IPO value of €22 a share in 2010 to the take-out bid of €87, underscoring the rampant increase in valuations in the cable sector in the period. But the price of the deal – described by Vodafone as “full, but fair” – is still less than its worth to the British company’s long-term future, according to Vodafone chief’s executive Vittorio Colao. The acquisition shows the importance of a strategy designed to turn the mobile operator into a combined TV, internet and telecoms group based on fixed-line as well as mobile networks across Europe. Some analysts also say that the transaction makes the long mooted sale of its US stake in Verizon Wireless more likely, as it would raise funds that could go towards strengthening Vodafone’s core European operations. Colao, however, would not be drawn on the question. There is nothing new to say on any US discussion, he says, with his attention for now fixed on Germany.
benton.org/node/154438 | Financial Times | NYTimes | WSJ
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ANTITRUST SCRUTINY LIKELY
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Robert Budden]
With 28 million German households having access to cable broadband, Germany is by far Europe’s biggest cable TV market, according to ANGA, the country’s industry association. Kabel Deutschland, with household coverage approaching 40 percent, is Germany’s biggest cable operator, closely followed by Unitymedia Kabel, owned by Liberty Global, itself the product of a merger of smaller regional operators. Unitymedia generates similar revenues to Kabel Deutschland but has fewer subscribers, around 7.1 million next to 8.5 million for Kabel Deutschland. The country’s total cable reach is significantly higher than other established markets: household cable coverage in Germany is in excess of 70 percent, above the UK, for example, where coverage is closer to 50 percent. But Germany is also one of the Europe’s more fragmented cable markets with smaller regional operators in many areas. An acquisition of Kabel Deutschland is therefore likely to command close scrutiny from the Bundeskartellamt, Germany’s competition watchdog, which is expected to request permission from Brussels to rule on any deal.
benton.org/node/154437 | Financial Times
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GOOGLE PRIVACY CASE
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Stephanie Bodoni]
Google can’t be forced to remove material from its search engine that was legally posted on other websites, an adviser to the European Union’s top court said in a case that may set boundaries between free speech and data-protection rights. Google can’t be considered “the controller” of personal data from other websites, Advocate General Niilo Jaeaeskinen of the EU Court of Justice said in a non-binding opinion. “A national data protection authority cannot require an Internet search engine service provider to withdraw information from its index,” Jaeaeskinen said. The Luxembourg-based court follows this legal advice in a majority of cases. The dispute before the EU’s top court raises questions about the scope of EU privacy rules related to personal data on the Internet and the rights of search engines to use any online data to remain commercially successful. The case was triggered by about 200 instances of Spain’s data-protection authority ordering Google to remove information on people.
benton.org/node/154436 | Bloomberg
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GOOGLE SAYS REGULATION WOULD HURT INNOVATION
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Richard Waters]
Tightening the proposed regulations on Google to resolve competition concerns in Europe would risk stunting advances in online search just as a wave of innovation is set to transform the industry, the US company’s top search engineer has warned. The warning from Amit Singhal, a Google senior vice-president, comes as the European Commission’s efforts to agree a set of voluntary concessions come to a head. Some Google critics have called for tougher sanctions than the proposed settlement the company reached with Brussels earlier this year. Final responses from Google’s rivals to the draft terms are due to be submitted by June 27.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1699932e-dcf0-11e2-9700-00144feab7de.html
Google: Our EU antitrust proposals should be enough (Reuters)
benton.org/node/154435 | Financial Times | Reuters
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CAN SILICON VALLEY SAVE THE WORLD
[SOURCE: Foreign Policy, AUTHOR: Charles Kenny, Justin Sandefur]
Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are taking their can-do, failure-conquering, technology-enabled tactics to the challenge of global poverty. And why not? If we can look up free Khan Academy math lectures using the cheap, kid-friendly computers handed out by the folks at One Laptop per Child, who needs to worry about the complexities of education reform? With a lamp lit up by an electricity-generating soccer ball in every hut, who needs coal-fired power stations and transmission lines? And if even people in refugee camps can make money transcribing outsourced first-world dental records, who needs manufacturing or the roads and port systems required to export physical goods? No wonder the trendiest subject these days for TED talks is cracking the code on digital-era do-gooding, with 100 recent talks and counting just on the subjects of Africa and development.
benton.org/node/154420 | Foreign Policy
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