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[Commentary] As Americans have become more aware of the dangers of using cellphones while driving, the makers of cars and mobile devices have increasingly sold hands-free and speech-recognition technologies as safer alternatives. But a new report presents compelling evidence that drivers who use such tools are as distracted as people who hold their phone to their ear. Even when drivers keep both hands on the wheel, the report says, a lot of mental energy is required to hold two-way conversations or talk coherently into speech-recognition devices. A spokeswoman for the auto industry said that “people want to be connected in their car just as they are in their home or wherever they may be.” They may, however, place far greater value on getting to their destination without killing themselves or anyone else.
Hands-Free Distractions
Europe's leading telecoms executives have called for a fundamental rethink of proposed market reforms, advocating deregulation of the market to secure future investment.
In a strongly worded letter to José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, they call for the relaxation of regulations stopping mergers; the removal of fixed broadband network access at a wholesale level to rivals; and the end of “unequal treatment” of technology companies that have been able to exploit tax loopholes. Signed by the heads of the region’s former telecoms incumbents including France Telecom, Telecom Italia, Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica of Spain, the letter adds that reform of the telecoms framework is urgently needed in light of the fact that up to a third of mobile operators have become “unsustainable.” The letter emphasizes intensifying disquiet within the recession-hit industry that the need to support future investments in fiber and 4G networks is being ignored by Brussels’ pro-consumer agenda.
Telecoms chiefs urge rethink of reforms
The board of Kabel Deutschland has agreed to a €7.7 billion cash bid from Vodafone, the mobile phone group, in a move by the UK group to go beyond its traditional mobile telephony business into consumer broadband and television services.
The offer values each Kabel Deutschland share. The offer also includes €3 billion of net debt, taking the proposed enterprise value for the deal to €10.7 billion. Kabel Deutschland was valued at €5 billion in an initial public offering in 2010. Kabel Deutschland is Germany’s leading cable provider of television, telephony and broadband services to approximately 8.5 million households in 13 of Germany’s 16 federal states.
Kabel Deutschland board agrees to Vodafone’s €7.7bn cash offer Vodafone Bids for German Cable TV Firm (Wall Street Journal)
Google’s latest pet project, called Loon, is meant to deliver the Internet to new parts of the world via solar-powered balloons soaring through the stratosphere. Yet some technologists in Africa say the project may be unrealistic as a competitive networking solution for their continent.
For one thing, the service would only provide 3G connectivity, meaning that it would need to compete with cellular networks that are expanding and becoming ever cheaper to use. “In Kenya, most parts of the country have 3G access,” says Phares Kariuki, previously a technology consultant to the World Bank, who now leads an effort to build a supercomputing cluster at iHub, the tech startup space in Nairobi. And even if Google managed to deliver faster speeds from future balloon fleets, they’d be solving the wrong problem, Kariuki adds: “The barrier to Internet adoption is not so much the lack of connectivity. It’s the high cost of the equipment.” People in poor areas simply can’t afford laptops and smartphones, Kariuki says, and generally prefer cheap feature phones.
African Entrepreneurs Deflate Google’s Internet Balloon Idea
Google’s $1.1 billion acquisition of the mapping company Waze has drawn regulatory scrutiny.
Google confirmed that it has been contacted by the Federal Trade Commission regarding the acquisition. The company and the FTC both declined to comment on the nature of the inquiry, but it’s pretty obvious what’s going on here. Google Maps is a leading mapping and navigation service. Waze was a rising rival. Google’s acquisition of Waze could be problematic. Not only does it remove a potential competitor from the mapping space, it consolidates a ton of mapping data in Google’s hands, further extending the company’s dominance. Could that be harmful to competition and consumers? That’s what the FTC hopes to determine.
FTC Reviewing Google’s Waze Acquisition
Edward Snowden, the fugitive former contract worker accused of leaking classified U.S. National Security Agency documents, traveled from Hong Kong to Moscow and aims to seek asylum in Ecuador, the foreign minister of Ecuador and WikiLeaks indicated in separate statements. Meantime, U.S. authorities pledged to continue pursuing Snowden. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino, was quoted on his official Twitter account as saying Mr. Snowden had requested asylum. Mr. Patino is on a trip to Vietnam.
Snowden Exits Hong Kong; Ecuador Says He Seeks Asylum
[Commentary] President Barack Obama promised to try to declassify more about two electronic surveillance programs at the center of a renewed national debate on security and privacy. He should.
Over the past week, that debate has been enriched by congressional hearings and the slow release of new information, clarifying how these programs operate. The government collection of Americans’ phone metadata — which numbers are calling which others and when — remains surprising in the vast amount of information that is sopped up. But the National Security Agency (NSA) claims that it is using only a tiny fraction of the information, querying the database for links to fewer than 300 numbers last year. If so, that raises two questions. First, couldn’t the public have known about the data collection before? No terrorist would have been surprised that the U.S. government is looking for and tracking a limited set of suspect phone numbers. Second, does the government even need to maintain its own vast database of phone records?
Could the program work about as well with telecommunications firms keeping the data? If so, why didn’t the NSA work with Congress to pursue that policy in the first place? Though there’s no guarantee that these companies will be strong advocates for their customers when proceedings are secret, at least there would be some opportunity for outside pushback against any overly broad or otherwise unjustified data demands. We don’t see an argument for anti-government hysteria in these considerations. We do, however, want as informed a debate as possible about how the government is balancing security and privacy.
Debate over government’s use of electronic data has been helpful
[Commentary] Steven Spielberg and George Lucas made a big commotion at a talk recently when the two predicted the imminent “implosion” of the film industry due to the changing nature of theatrical distribution. I believe a similar phenomenon awaits the broadcast TV industry, unless companies start making aggressive moves.
Rather than fighting cord-cutting and unbundling and making a weak effort with TV Everywhere, the top brass should be looking at putting their full broadcast TV channels online – with no restrictions. Certainly they have done a decent job offering their shows on demand via Netflix and Hulu. But outside of a recent ABC trial and certain sports broadcasts, watching live broadcast channels online still requires that you have a paid cable TV subscription in order to view. Not only does the data show that huge audiences are streaming video online, the broadcast channels are missing a unique chance to use their live channels on the internet to take their business to the next level.
Here are three game-changing benefits TV content producers and broadcasters could realize by finally putting live channels online:
- Much better social integration
- Big data on the fly
- New business models
[Salmi is CEO of live video education platform creativeLIVE.]
Broadcasters are missing out on a ton of data–it’s time to take TV online
US prosecutors have filed criminal charges against National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden and asked Hong Kong authorities for his provisional arrest, kicking off what is expected to be a lengthy process to seek his transfer to the US.
A one-page criminal complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria (VA) accused Snowden of theft of government property and willful communication of classified communications intelligence to an unauthorized person. Snowden has said he leaked documents exposing NSA surveillance programs, sparking a world-wide debate about U.S. antiterrorism tactics. He is believed to be in hiding in Hong Kong. A US official said that Washington has sent Hong Kong a formal request for Snowden's provisional arrest, which will start the legal process in the Chinese territory to transfer him to the US.
US Charges Snowden in Security-Leak Case
Having abandoned efforts to buy Sprint Nextel, Dish Network's next move may be to resurrect merger talks with satellite rival DirecTV or re-engage wireless carrier T-Mobile US, analysts said.
Dish earlier this year held preliminary discussions about a possible merger with the wireless phone company, which is majority owned by Deutsche Telekom, according to people familiar with the matter. Dish disclosed its decision on Sprint on June 21 in a regulatory filing, which also said the company would buy back $2.6 billion in debt that it had raised specifically to finance the Sprint bid.
Dish May Cast a Wider Net