November 2014

Wikipedia’s ‘complicated’ relationship with network neutrality

Wikipedia, the Internet's biggest encyclopedia, is a lot like other major sites on the Web: It's been a little hesitant to weigh in on network neutrality, the idea that all Web traffic should be treated equally by Internet service providers such as Comcast or Time Warner Cable. That's because the folks behind Wikipedia actually see a non-neutral Internet as one way to spread information cheaply to users in developing countries.

With Wikipedia Zero, users in places like Pakistan and Malaysia can browse the site without it counting it counting against the data caps on their cellphones or tablets. This preferential treatment for Wikipedia's site helps those who can't afford to pay for pricey data -- but it sets the precedent for deals that cut against the net neutrality principle.

Google And Facebook Rewire The Internet As FCC Dithers

[Commentary] In their earliest years, Google and Facebook tolerated the same Internet architecture that suffices for all the rest of us. But as Google and Facebook got bigger, they began to develop their own proprietary workarounds -- so they could get unimaginably big volumes of data to individual users as quickly, reliably and cheaply as possible.

Think of Henry Ford, in the 1920s, building his own steel mills and buying up his own iron-ore reserves, so that he could achieve fuller control of everything needed to make his cars. For the Internet’s biggest content companies, the modern-day version of controlling the whole value chain involves creating an Internet backbone of sorts, installing thousands of servers in locations closer to customers, and, in Google’s case, rolling out direct-to-customers Internet service. Right now, Google and Facebook are focused mostly on making the Internet work better for their own services. But it wouldn’t surprise me if, a few years from now, one or both companies aggressively marketed their Internet-infrastructure expertise to others, for a price. Articles have expressed surprise that Google and Facebook are saying almost nothing about net neutrality these days. Is that really so surprising? While everyone else is shouting about last decade’s problems, the big guys are quietly creating the next decade’s solutions.

Netflix and YouTube Now Consume 50% Of The Internet As The Argument For Network Neutrality Weakens

[Commentary] Netflix consumed approximately 35% of all broadband traffic in the US and Canada. In fact, Netflix and YouTube combined take up half of the Internet’s bandwidth. Half! So wait…these companies shouldn’t pay more? In a world of network neutrality, this would all be OK.

They would not be charged any more for faster lanes or special access. Our largest Internet service providers, like Comcast and Verizon, would be required to let them consume as much as they want for the same price that you and I pay. And so the argument for net neutrality weakens. For two big reasons. Net neutrality will curtail our Internet access, speed and performance. Net neutrality will increase our costs. Netflix and YouTube love net neutrality. I’m not a fan.

Google Fiber files franchise application with state

Google Fiber has applied for a franchise authority certificate in Tennessee, signaling the company is moving forward with plans for gigabit speed Internet in Nashville. The filing comes nearly two weeks after AT&T announced it was holding off on its fiber plans for Nashville, giving Google Fiber a competitive edge for its own rollout of fiber should the company move forward officially.

Medical and tech researchers see smartphones as health's next frontier

By some estimates, 90% of adults in the United States have access to cellphones, which makes mobile health, sometimes called m-health, promising terrain for innovation -- particularly when it comes to targeting hard-to-reach groups such as young, gay black men.

“History will show that the mobile phone will be one of the most profound influences for improving public health ever invented,” said Dr. Kevin Patrick, director of UC San Diego's Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems. “The potential is huge.” But for that promise to pan out, researchers, medical providers and technology companies need to find a sweet spot combining user appeal with tools that deliver valuable information and clear medical benefits. That's no simple task.

Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger is a win for program diversity

[Commentary] Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Lee (R-UT) wrote the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission, asking them to consider how the proposed combination of Comcast and Time Warner Cable would impact independent programmers and our choices on TV. As the CEO of one of the leading independent programmers and someone who has been in the indy business for many years, I can say the transaction is an unequivocal win for anyone who values diversity and new perspectives on TV. Here’s why.

First, the proposed deal will bring more quality options to more viewers, on better, faster networks. Second, Comcast’s technological leadership has also bolstered our network – and those of the many other independents that it carries. Third, while Comcast is a tough negotiator who demands that anyone seeking carriage prove their value and present a workable business model that makes sense, it is also a fair partner, paying competitive rates and expanding distribution when warranted. And unlike other MPVD’s, Comcast doesn’t make a practice of dropping networks in carriage fee disputes.

[Segars is chief executive officer of Ovation.]

California Research & Education Network Gets 100-Gigabit Upgrade

A broadband network used by California’s research universities and schools has been upgraded to 100 gigabits per second (Gbps).

The California Research & Education Network (CalREN) has almost 10,000 connection sites among K-12, community colleges, the California State University, University of California campuses and private universities such as Caltech and Stanford. The Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) manages and operates CalREN. Officials with the participating institutions said the new 100-Gbps network backbone will help California remain on the leading edge and bring additional capacity needed to expand the network to public libraries and other organizations.

Eric Holder’s lasting damage to press freedom

The fact that outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder has prosecuted more people under the Espionage Act than all previous attorneys general combined is an inescapable legacy of his time in office. All of those cases were brought against government workers or contractors accused of leaking classified information to the media, which led Trevor Timm, co-founder of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, to call AG Holder “the worst Attorney General for the press in a generation.”

[O'Brien is a freelance journalist based in Boston]

Netflix Chief Downplays Nielsen Plans to Measure Streaming Service Viewership

What does Netflix CEO Reed Hastings think about reported plans by Nielsen to measure viewership? "It's not very relevant," he said. "There's so much viewing that happens on a mobile phone or an iPad that [Nielsen won't] capture."

As for free-to-air TV, Hastings believes its days are numbered. "It's kind of like the horse, you know, the horse was good until we had the car," he said. "The age of broadcast TV will probably last until 2030."

Lamest lame duck

Congress left for Thanksgiving without checking anything big off its to-do list during the lame duck, leaving just 10 days to fund the government when they come back in December and likely pushing big items like authorizing force against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants and the confirmation of an attorney general into 2015.

As Republicans take the reins of both chambers of Congress for the first time in nearly a decade, their new agenda will be consumed with leftover business, a reality check for many in the party who had hoped to come out swinging in the new year on tax reform, trade deals, energy legislation and changes to Obamacare. When Congress returns in December, not only will lawmakers have to figure out the length of a government funding bill, they must decide whether to extend a package of expiring corporate and individual tax breaks and reauthorize a terrorism insurance program. If those items slip into next year, they’ll just be added onto the pile.

Benton

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