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BATTLE FOR THE WEB
[SOURCE: Toronto Star, AUTHOR: Tyler Hamilton]
Tim Berners-Lee, chief architect of the World Wide Web, says his world-changing invention would no longer be an "open information space" if broadband providers abandoned the principle of Net neutrality. In an interview with the Toronto Star, Berners-Lee said he's "very concerned" about talk from major North America phone and cable giants about their desire to collect so-called Web tolls from content suppliers and e-commerce companies that want assured access to broadband subscribers. "It stops being the Net if a supplier of downloaded video pays to connect to a particular set of consumers who are connected to a particular cable company. It would no longer be an open information space," Berners-Lee said. "The whole point of the Web is when you arrive it's more or less the same for everybody. That integrity is really essential. ... I'm very concerned." His comments come as a major public-policy debate on net neutrality rages in the United States and, in Canada, is just beginning to heat up.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/A...
WHY NETWORK OPERATORS ARE FLEXING THEIR MUSCLES
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Richard Waters and Mark Odell]
[Commentary] Currently, everyone can count on unfettered access to communications networks that reach anyone with an Internet connection -- at the last count, more than 1 billion people. With that sort of reach, any amateur podcaster, video-blogger or software developer can dream of attracting an instant global audience -- even if, in truth, only three other people are paying attention. Some of the companies that control those networks, however, want to change the rules of the game. Starting in the US, but now also spreading to Europe, telecommunications companies have started to argue that they should have the right to charge Internet companies for delivering their videos, e-mails or search results -- or, at least, for guaranteeing them a certain level of service quality. The unspoken threat, critics say, is that non-payers will see the quality of their services degraded, or risk being shut out of the broadband Internet altogether. From being a wide-open medium, the Internet would instead come to look more like the closed networks run by cable or satellite television companies. This amounts to nothing less than a fight over the soul of the Internet. Created as a network to link academics, its basic architecture was founded on openness. Limiting the ability of users to ride the network could amount to the first serious challenge to that principle, a fencing-in of the intellectual commons.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/aa67497c-be8d-11da-b10f-0000779e2340.html
(requires subscription)
* Move to levy new online charges
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/f0f2e74a-be9a-11da-b10f-0000779e2340.html
(requires subscription)
Why Network Operators are Flexing their Muscles
AN EXAMINATION OF THE ECONOMICS OF 'WHITACRE TIERING'
[SOURCE: Tales of the Sausage Factory, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
[Commentary] Why "Whitacre tiering" produces really, really awful results from an economic perspective. It gives actors all the wrong incentives, adds new layers of uncertainty and inefficiency to the market generally, and discourages investment in bandwidth capacity at every stage of the network (thus aggravating the broadband incentives problem you may have read about recently, rather than solving it, as some defenders of Whitacre tiering maintain).
http://www.wetmachine.com/item/441
An Examination of the Economics of Whitacre Tiering
GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Richard Notebaert, CEO Qwest]
[Commentary] According to the FCC, Net neutrality means that providers of Internet services must allow unfettered consumer access to the Internet. No one should deny or impede access to lawful sites on the Web. Everyone supports that position. But some very big corporations are trying to redefine Net neutrality away from a focus on access, and toward something far more nebulous and self-serving. Case in point -- assume an online movie provider negotiates a commercial agreement with a company like Qwest to guarantee download speeds of, say, five megabits per second, for all its customers. That's a pretty good idea in a world where every company is trying to differentiate itself from its competitors. "Not so fast," cry the naysayers. They claim that the idea of a premium level of service violates Net neutrality because that online movie company's competitors may not want to offer their customers the same benefits. Essentially, they argue that doing this would give some content providers an advantage over those that choose not to provide this service. Well, yes it would. As an industry, we've always sold bigger pipes and faster service to those who wish to buy them. And yes, I suspect much of that enhanced capacity has been bought to give the purchaser an edge. That's how a competitive marketplace works. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and the commission have already made positive moves away from over-regulation of broadband service. They have deliberately moved toward open and fully competitive markets to the benefit of customers and the prosperity of the Internet. It's essential that all decision makers continue to support true Net neutrality, as interpreted by the FCC. This will enable companies to compete, thrive and meet the needs of their customers. And it will put an end to the distortion of this admirable objective into a self-serving concept that was never intended.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114360648777910921.html?mod=todays_us_op...
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114360648777910921.html?mod=todays_us_opinion
NEW ORLEANS' FREE WI-FI IN DISPUTE
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Leslie Cauley]
More than half of New Orleans still doesn't have phone or Internet access. But that isn't stopping BellSouth from campaigning to shut down a free Wi-Fi service that has become a lifeline for thousands of residents, the city's top technology officer says. State laws ban municipalities from giving away broadband services. The city got around the ban because the governor declared a state of emergency after Hurricane Katrina. The state of emergency is expected to be lifted this year. When that happens, the broadband network would have to shut down. BellSouth has opposed proposed legislation that would allow New Orleans to keep its Wi-Fi network running. The carrier, which provides phone service in Louisiana, stands to lose phone and wireless customers if other cities follow New Orleans' lead.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20060329/1b_nowifi29.art.htm
New Orleans' free Wi-Fi in dispute
5 YEARS FOR NATION WIDE WIFI
[SOURCE: Om Malik's Blog]
[Commentary] In five years, most major metros and suburbs will have ubiquitous Wi-Fi based broadband coverage says Chuck Haas, the co-founder and chief executive officer of MetroFi, a Mountain View, Calif.,-based start-up that is rolling out metro wireless networks. He thinks most metros and suburban areas in the US will be WiFi hot-zones, by end of the decade.
http://gigaom.com/2006/03/27/5-years-for-nation-wide-wifi/
5 Years For Nation Wide WiFi
BILL COULD SOLIDIFY POWER OF 2 MEXICAN TV GIANTS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Marla Dickerson]
Mexican lawmakers are poised to overhaul the nation's broadcasting laws this week, a move that opponents say will ensure that two dominant companies retain their lock on the country's airwaves. The legislation would in effect grant new broadcasting spectrum to media giants Grupo Televisa and TV Azteca to launch high-definition television and other digital services without expressly requiring them to pay for it. Experts describe the proposed move as a massive giveaway of public assets that will cost the Mexican treasury billions and block new players from the market. In the midst of a heated presidential race, the bill has provoked accusations of backroom dealing by the two corporations. And it has underscored the enduring power of Mexico's business oligarchies, which critics say are shortchanging Mexican consumers, retarding economic growth and stunting the nation's democracy.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fi-mextv29mar29,1,4...
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Bill Could Solidify Power of 2 Mexican TV Giants
SHOWTIME, ANYTIME
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] Always looking out for its customers, particularly when it could generate new fees, the cable TV industry unveiled two initiatives this week to help viewers catch up with shows they missed. Its efforts highlight the gap between what technology can do and what the TV industry is prepared to try. These proposals are, at best, halfway steps toward the nirvana of complete viewer control. The spread of digital video recorders, high-speed Internet connections and entertainment-oriented computers with massive hard drives has laid the foundation for viewers to watch whatever shows they want to watch, whenever and wherever they wish. Video jukebox services could store umpteen hours of TV and deliver it on demand, either through a coaxial cable or the Internet. Given the industry's complex economics, networks may spend years positioning themselves to compete in the emerging world of on-demand entertainment. Still, the ultimate destination is clear: Viewers will control when and where they watch their favorite shows. The only question is how long it will take to get there.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-vcr29mar29,1,1520...
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Showtime, anytime
CRITICS SAY BEER SPOTS EXPLOIT LOOPHOLES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Melanie Warner]
Gone are the days of bikini-clad women and mud wrestling, but beer advertising still draw lots of criticism. Several consumer groups say that the voluntary standards set up by the Beer Institute, an industry trade group, are little more than a public relations ploy and do not go far enough in trying to cut down on beer ads seen by people under 21. "The beer ad code has loopholes that are big enough to drive a team of Clydesdales through," said Laurie Leiber, director for media advocacy at the Marin Institute, an organization that keeps watch over the alcoholic beverage industry. The Beer Institute's code was made weaker, not stronger, by changes in January, Ms. Leiber said. One loophole, she said, allows for the portrayal of illegal activity in ads as long as it "is a basic element or feature of a parody or spoof and is readily identifiable as such." "They're writing guidelines to allow themselves to do what they've been doing all along," Ms. Leiber said. She said the parody stipulation was added in response to complaints about a Bud Light ad showing referees stealing beer and running from the police.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/29/business/media/29adco.html
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Critics Say Beer Spots Exploit Loopholes
KNIGHT RIDDER PAPERS DRAW AT LEAST 3 BIDS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Joseph Menn and James Rainey]
McClatchy Co.'s planned sale of a dozen Knight Ridder Inc. newspapers drew bids from at least three potential buyers Tuesday — including an offer for all 12 from Los Angeles investment firm Yucaipa Cos. Yucaipa, controlled by billionaire Ron Burkle, is allied with the Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America, the union that represents employees at eight of the papers. Robert Hall, an advisor to Yucaipa and the union, described the bid as "very competitive and aggressive." Denver-based MediaNews Group Inc., which owns the Denver Post and Daily News in Los Angeles, bid for at least some of the papers, people involved in the process said. In addition, wire services reported that a group led by Bruce Toll, vice chairman of home builder Toll Bros. Inc., bid for the two Philadelphia papers -- the Inquirer and Daily News. Gannett Co., owner of USA Today and considered a potential bidder, apparently didn't submit an offer. All told, the 12 papers are expected to fetch more than $1 billion.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-mcclatchy29mar29,1,24...
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Knight Ridder Papers Draw at Least 3 Bids