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HOT SPECTRUM DRAWS CASH, AND IDEALS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Markoff]
It is referred to as the last beachfront property in the wireless world -- a prized swath of spectrum that is about to be sold at federal auction. And it has touched off an intense lobbying effort pitting cellular companies against a variety of new players interested in the potential of a next-generation mobile Internet. The Federal Communications Commission will set the rules for the auction, possibly as soon as next month. Depending on that ruling, the spectrum could be used for voice services for cellular carriers, new frequencies for emergency responders, or a commercial high-speed broadband multimedia network. Among those trying to influence the outcome are three of the nation’s four largest cellular providers, rural and regional wireless carriers, cable and satellite television companies and a range of technology companies -- including Google and Yahoo. Along with other wireless technology proposals, the auction could reshape the debate over who controls access to the networks that deliver digital content to consumers. Opening the door to more network competition nationally could have a tremendous economic impact.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/technology/26spectrum.html
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FCC MEDIA OWNERSHIP DEBATE GETTING SNARLY
[SOURCE: Lasar's Letter on the FCC, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
[Commentary] It has been over five years since the FCC issued its Third Biennial Review of its broadcast ownership rules, limits on how many radio, TV stations, and newspapers a single entity can own in the United States. After a long, tumultuous debate, the FCC in 2003 issued an Order relaxing many of those rules, only to see the decision struck down by the courts a year later. Now a new proceeding on the same issue has passed its seventh month. Hearings have been held across the country, with more in the offing. New studies on the problem have been promised, with controversies over suppressed studies still raging. Not surprisingly, public patience has worn a bit thin.
http://www.lasarletter.net/drupal/node/383

BASEBALL, IN DEMAND HEADING TO THE HILL
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: R. Thomas Umstead]
In Demand and Major League Baseball will take their battle over carriage of the “MLB Extra Innings” out-of-market package to the nation's capital this week, as executives from both sides pitch Congress on what to do about baseball's controversial $700 million exclusive deal with satellite service DirecTV. Meanwhile, the clock ticks down toward baseball's March 31 deadline for cable to secure rights to the Extra Innings subscription package. If In Demand doesn't reach a deal with baseball by the deadline, DirecTV will gain exclusive rights to Extra Innings for seven years. Representatives from baseball and In Demand will take questions from the Senate Commerce Committee during a March 27 hearing to examine the viewer implications of the MLB/DirecTV Extra Innings deal, which would exclude cable operators from offering the $179 out-of-market game package to its subscribers. The hearing was called after several lawmakers -- including Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) -- questioned whether baseball's exclusive deal with DirecTV was anti-consumer, particularly since cable has offered the package since 2001. The industry generated around 200,000 buys from the package last year.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6427572.html?display=Top+Stories

MANY AMERICANS SEE LITTLE POINT TO WEB
[SOURCE: Reuters]
A little under one-third of U.S. households have no Internet access and do not plan to get it, with most of the holdouts seeing little use for it in their lives, according to a survey released on Friday. Park Associates, a Dallas-based technology market research firm, said 29 percent of U.S. households, or 31 million homes, do not have Internet access and do not intend to subscribe to an Internet service over the next 12 months. The second annual National Technology Scan conducted by Park found the main reason potential customers say they do not subscribe to the Internet is because of the low value to their daily lives they perceive rather than concerns over cost. Forty-four percent of these households say they are not interested in anything on the Internet. The study found U.S. broadband adoption grew to 52 percent over 2006, up from 42 percent in 2005. Roughly half of new subscribers converted from slower-speed, dial-up Internet access while the other half of households had no prior access.
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN2323460320070323