March 2015

Broadband as an Essential Component of Sustainable Development

[Commentary] The Broadband Commission was established by the International Telecommunication Union and UNESCO in May 2010, with the aim of boosting the importance of broadband on the international policy agenda. This mission is based on a belief that broadband is an essential ingredient of economic and social well-being in every country. To date, the Commission has had a great impact in terms of raising awareness of the importance of broadband for sustainable development.

There is no question in my mind that it has made a big difference in building consensus that broadband is becoming a critical infrastructure, just like water and electricity. Still, we have so much work to do: more than 4 billion people remain unconnected to the Internet and 90 percent of these individuals are in the developing world. In the 49 least-developed countries, less than 10 percent of the population is connected. Broadband can reduce poverty and inequality, help ensure access to health and education, help to mitigate climate change, promote peace and international cooperation, and ensure sustainable development in the decades to come. Broadband and information and communication technologies are key ingredients in efforts to ensure that no society, and no individual is left behind.

[Michel Combes is the CEO of Alcatel-Lucent]

Taming the Beast: The White House and FCC Throw Down the Gauntlet

[Commentary] The release by the White House of its long-anticipated Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights Act (CPBR), together with the historic decision by the Federal Communication Commission to classify Internet service providers as public utilities, are the latest attempt by the US government to tame the online beast. In both cases, government sides with individual consumers trying to rebalance a playing field that many view as tilted in favor of a consolidated corporate power.

In this sense, I have recently written that privacy is the new antitrust. The role that antitrust played in the wake of the Industrial Revolution is being captured by privacy in the Digital Age. Privacy has become the boundary, the limiting principle, the litmus test for the delicate balance between the tremendous benefits and formidable risks of a dizzying array of technological innovations.

Op-ed

Victory

Chairman Tom Wheeler said it best at last week’s historic FCC meeting: “The Internet is simply too important to allow broadband providers to be the ones making the rules.” Amen.

FCC probes whether Comcast restricted online video

Federal regulators overseeing Comcast's proposed merger with Time Warner Cable want to know if the cable giants put limits on companies' streaming video options. The Federal Communications Commission asked eight major programmers including Walt Disney Co., Viacom and CBS whether or not the companies placed any "restrictions or limitations" on their ability to distribute TV shows over the Internet.

FCC Committee To Seek CableCard's Successor

The Federal Communications Commission-appointed Downloadable Security Technology Advisory Committee (DSTAC) held their first meeting. DSTAC is tasked with investigating the successor to the CableCard, a removable security module that failed to create a vibrant retail market for cable-read retail video devices, and file its recommendations in a report by September 4.

The committee is tackling the idea of a uniform solution even as other multichannel video programming distributors (pay-tv), including Charter and Cablevision Systems, have already developed and deployed downloadable security systems. Comcast and TiVo, meanwhile, are also pursuing a non-CableCard solution. The initial meeting focused on the scope of the report, including which types of navigation devices and types of content and services -- including linear TV and on-demand video -- should fit inside it. The notion of an all-MVPD “black box” outfitted with downloadable security dominated the early discussions, though what form it will take remains an item that still needs to be clearly defined.

FCC Chairman Wheeler’s Response to Members of Congress Regarding Access to Local and Rural Video Content

On Feb. 11, 2015, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler responded to several members of Congress regarding their support for access to video programming, including programming specific to rural communities. Chairman Wheeler responded by noting that rural channels and viewers have been filing comments in the pending transactions between Comcast and Time Warner Cable, and AT&T and DirecTV. Chairman Wheeler added that the FCC is working to expand broadband access in rural America, noting specific work being done through the Connect America Fund and E-rate services.

FCC Chairman Wheeler's Response to Rep. Coleman Regarding Rates for Inmate Telephone Calls

On Jan. 13, 2015, Rep Bonnie Coleman (D-NJ) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to express her support for the FCC's efforts to regulate private companies that provide interstate telephone service for prison and jail inmates, specifically the FCC's efforts to cap interstate calls and require companies to base charges on the actual costs of providing service.

On Feb. 6, 2015, Chairman Wheeler responded by noting the success of the FCC's interim reforms of interstate inmate calling services. The Chairman mentions that unfortunately, intrastate rates have increased in many states, and that FCC Commissioner Clyburn is spearheading the effort on the issue, issuing a Further Notice which seeks comment on permanent rate caps on all services: local, intrastate long distance, and interstate long distance telephone services.

Blackphone Announces New Privacy-Oriented Phone and Tablet

The phone maker Blackphone and the security communications company Silent Circle, whose partnership created the first privacy-oriented smartphone, announced two new devices at Mobile World Congress, along with a suite of software and services intended to lock down both private and work communications. The Blackphone 2 is scheduled to be released in July and will, like its predecessor, cost just over $600. The company said the phone would offer faster performance, longer battery life and would be easier for company technology managers to configure. A tablet called the Blackphone+ will be released in the fall, but its price has not been specified. The company strongly positioned both devices for enterprise: phones and tablets intended to be used at work.

H-P to Buy Aruba Networks for $2.7 Billion

Hewlett-Packard agreed to acquire wireless-networking company Aruba Networks Inc. in a deal valued at roughly $2.7 billion, expanding H-P’s capabilities in the mobile market. H-P is offering $24.67 a share, a 1 percent discount to Aruba Network’s close on Feb 27, when the stock reached the highest level in nearly two years following a report about a possible deal. Including cash and debt, the companies valued the deal at roughly $3 billion. H-P Chairman and Chief Executive Meg Whitman said the deal will combines Aruba’s wireless mobility solutions with H-P’s switching portfolio, allowing the company to offer most secure networking solutions to help enterprises easily deploy next-generation mobile networks.

Google Plans to Be a Wireless Carrier, but at Small Scale

Google confirmed it plans to start offering its own brand of wireless service later in 2015, but said it will do so only at a small scale to show carriers new possibilities. “We don’t intend to be network operator at scale,” Google’s Sundar Pichai said in a speech at Mobile World Congress. Rather, Pichai likened what Google is doing as akin to its Nexus hardware program, where it also dabbles but leaves the mass market to the larger players.

Google has also taken a similar approach in home broadband, where it offers ultra-high-speed Google Fiber service, but only in a handful of cities. To offer wireless service, Google will need to lease capacity from one or more existing carriers, with Google acting as what is known as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator, or MVNO. Pichai said that the company has already reached out to several.

Benton

Search