July 2014

The GOP’s digital dilemma

Republicans are in a technology pickle this November. Win in the midterms and create a narrative that the party is finally on par with President Barack Obama and the Democratic data machine headed into the 2016 cycle. But leading GOP techies warn that any success connected to gains in the House and Senate could bring a dangerous sense of overconfidence. They argue that there’s really much ground left to cover in creating the technological skills and gadgetry needed for future elections, especially a winning White House campaign.

Senate Commerce Committee
July 30, 2014
2:30 pm

Over two decades ago, phone companies began allowing third-party vendors to place charges on consumer phone bills for products unrelated to phone service such as photo storage. From the early days of this practice, industry representatives have promised to protect consumers against unauthorized third party charges. However, the Committee’s 2010-11 review of third-party billing on landline phones found that “cramming” – where fraudulent charges are placed on consumers’ phone bills – had been occurring for several decades and was estimated to have cost consumers billions of dollars.

In light of increasing consumer use of mobile phones and emerging evidence of cramming in this context, Chairman Rockefeller in 2012 opened an inquiry to examine the scope of wireless cramming and industry practices to protect consumers against unauthorized charges on their wireless bills. The hearing will review findings of the Chairman’s wireless cramming inquiry and examine consumer protections as carrier billing technologies and practices continue to evolve.

Read more about Cramming on Wireless Phone Bills: A Review of Consumer Protection Practices and Gaps

Speedy gigabit Internet may arrive in LA, but don't hold your breath

Seeing little competition and questionable demand, Internet service providers have shrugged at spending the billions of dollars needed to boost US Internet speeds to match other parts of the world. But efforts by Googleand a few cities including Los Angeles are provoking an about-face.

Time Warner Cable and AT&T have eagerly responded that they too are capable of delivering lightning-fast speeds in Los Angeles and other big, lucrative markets. Though analysts see more posturing than certainty in the announcements, it's clear that online video watchers, technology start-ups and financial companies might see a dramatic upgrade in Internet speeds by the end of the decade.

Feds clash with T-Mobile, Amazon over mobile charges

Major companies are coming into conflict with federal regulators over the charges made on cellphones, tablets and other devices.

In recent months, the Federal Trade Commission has gone after T-Mobile and Amazon, claiming that the companies didn’t properly notify customers about certain charges or refund those charges when customers complained. In both cases, the companies have fired back in public, claiming that the FTC is blaming them for problems that they either never had or have already fixed.

Rev Jackson Backs FCC's Grain Management Waiver

Rev Jesse Jackson is among those who supports the Federal Communications Commission's decision to grant a waiver to minority-run private equity firm, Grain Management, of rules that could have prevented it from getting FCC auction bidding credits for the upcoming AWS- 3 spectrum auction due to leases it had with major telecoms.

House Republicans were critical of the waiver, but Rev Jackson said he did not want politics to "engulf" the FCC's approval of the waiver for Grain, and presumably for similarly situated entities who sought a similar waiver. Rev Jackson has been critical of the impact of consolidation on minority participation in the broadcast media, saying it is a civil rights issue. He signaled he does not want access to broadband spectrum to follow the same script.

Data privacy isn’t political -- it’s personal

[Commentary] Average consumers now worry much more about data security than they once did. Service providers are encountering new questions and can fill a new role. Service providers cannot and should not become political organizations; instead, they should be the enablers for unleashing the true potential of the Internet. Right now, that means advocating for customers by protecting their data and keeping them fully informed of where their data is and how it’s being used. It’s the pragmatic business strategy -- but it’s also the right thing to do.

[Ben Young is VP and general counsel at Peer 1 Hosting]

Google Triples Deal Spending to $4.2B in 2014 First Half

Google more than tripled spending on acquisitions in the first half of the year to $4.2 billion, as the company ramps up investments to expand its services.

Google spent $3.2 billion for thermostat company Nest Labs in February and an additional $1 billion on other purchases in the first six months of 2014. That’s up from $1.3 billion for the same period a year ago, according to a previous filing. The 2014 numbers exclude the more than $1 billion that Google has announced it’s paying for home-camera company DropCam and satellite service Skybox Imaging; those deals didn’t close in the first half. Google’s scale of deal spending is climbing as it works to bolster its core search-advertising business and extend its reach into new markets such as mobile, telecommunications and driverless cars. The company’s smaller acquisitions this year have covered everything from drones to video advertising.

T-Mobile: 92% of MetroPCS CDMA subs moved onto GSM network amid shutdown in 3 markets

T-Mobile US said 92 percent of MetroPCS' customers on its legacy code division multiple access (CDMA) network in Boston, Hartford (CT) and Las Vegas moved onto T-Mobile's network after T-Mobile shut off MetroPCS CDMA service in those markets.

The carrier next plans to shut down MetroPCS' CDMA network in Philadelphia by late 2014.

Broadcasters Defend “Local” News By Running Same Story Nationwide

[Commentary] A Fox affiliate station in Baltimore, owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, released a news story on “retransmission consent.” The story was a one-sided defense of the retransmission consent using numerous quotes from the National Association of Broadcasters and one from the American Television Alliance.

It’s unsurprising broadcasters would pass self-serving content as “news.” They’re desperate to save the billions they charge for the “free” TV they claim to defend.

Privacy fears as Australian surveillance laws are dragged into the digital era

One of Australia’s key laws governing surveillance -- the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) (TIA) Act of 1979 -- is desperately in need of an overhaul.

Under the TIA Act there are three ways authorities can gain access to private information.

The first is access to the content and substance of telecommunications in real time, for which they need a warrant. This provides access to the content of emails, text messages, phone calls and Internet use.

Second, there is access to stored telecommunications and their contents, which also requires a warrant. For this, authorities must suspect the person of an offence that carries a minimum three-year sentence.

Then there is access to metadata, the shell details of communications -- calls and emails sent and received, the location of a phone, Internet browsing activity. There is no access to the content of the communication, just how, to or from whom, when and where. A warrant is not required for this, and under the current law organisations other than police or security agencies can get access to it.

Benton

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