U.K. government thinking on broadband rollout has veered off course because of its focus on “superfast” services and a failure to consider broadband as a “major strategic asset” equal to roads, railways and energy networks, the House of Lords Communications Committee said in a report Tuesday (http://xrl.us/bnivqn). It recommended the creation of open-access fiber hubs to drive broadband as close as possible to users. It also said that at some point it may be better to move TV broadcasting to Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), to free spectrum for mobile uses. The government said it’s on the right track. One analyst called the report ambitious but inconsistent, while a former FCC official cheered lawmakers for starting a public debate on the issues.
Presentations from NARUC July 21-25 midyear Portland, Ore., meeting were posted online over the course of the last week (http://xrl.us/bnip2t). NARUC staff members have been adding the presentations throughout the conference and in the days since, and any not online by Monday will be soon, a spokesman told us. In Portland, a NARUC staffer estimated all presentations will likely be posted online by Tuesday. There are about a dozen presentations devoted to telecom, from a variety of sources, from the California Emerging Technology Fund to USTelecom to Connected Nation to NARUC’s National Regulatory Research Institute, and subjects include Lifeline reform, the barriers to broadband adoption and deregulation of telecom throughout the states. The NARUC website now also features the complete text (http://xrl.us/bnip29) of the new NARUC resolutions approved July 25, including three on telecom (CD July 26 p12).
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Cable operators are starting to introduce small digital terminal adapters (DTAs) that can bring HD TV channels to analog subscribers’ homes, almost two years after the FCC approved the use of HD-DTAs with integrated security and navigation functions. BendBroadband, a small Oregon cable provider, is one of the operators leading the way, rolling out a new “universal” HD-DTA from Evolution Digital that can work on the digital video platforms of both Motorola Mobility and Cisco. Evolution and Motorola Mobility have emerged as the two winners of a request-for-proposal (RFP) from the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) to produce both standard-definition and HD-DTAs for small and mid-sized operators seeking to convert systems to all-digital video.
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Themes of outreach and consumer access rang loudly at the midyear meeting of NARUC commissioners and staff. Telecom industry officials, regulators and advocates are struggling to connect people with broadband and teach digital literary skills as an extension of traditional access concerns, and voiced those challenges extensively on panels. Panelists and observers weighed in on the barriers to broadband adoption and how to give access and teach the value and understanding to the rural, the elderly, the low-income and those with disabilities.
Wireless carriers must be protected from interference if the FCC allows more deployment of balloon-mounted systems and other aerial base stations that could be quickly deployed to temporarily replace communications destroyed in a disaster, CTIA, AT&T and Sprint Nextel responded to a notice of inquiry. The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials was more bullish on the benefits offered by deployable aerial communications architecture (DACA). APCO said the systems also pose risks. The commission approved the NOI at its May meeting (CD May 25 p 3), with Chairman Julius Genachowski comparing DACA to a “cell tower that’s floating or flying in the sky.” Agency officials said then they'd drawn no conclusions on whether DACA should see broad use.
Several super-fast Internet initiatives were introduced this year to address the need for citizens to have access to broadband and benefit from emerging applications, backers of one such project said Wednesday. Backers of the White House-convened US Ignite Partnership cited Gig.U, the University Community Next Generation Innovation Project and Google’s fiber project in Kansas City, Kan. The need for more capacity and universal access stems in part from the use of wireless networks and developing applications, said Sue Spradley, US Ignite executive director. With all that’s happening in the wireless space, “it’s clear that there’s tons of innovation happening in the U.S.,” she said on a webinar organized by BroadbandUS.TV.
Several super-fast Internet initiatives were introduced this year to address the need for citizens to have access to broadband and benefit from emerging applications, backers of one such project said Wednesday. Backers of the White House-convened US Ignite Partnership cited Gig.U, the University Community Next Generation Innovation Project and Google’s fiber project in Kansas City, Kan. The need for more capacity and universal access stems in part from the use of wireless networks and developing applications, said Sue Spradley, US Ignite executive director. With all that’s happening in the wireless space, “it’s clear that there’s tons of innovation happening in the U.S.,” she said on a webinar organized by BroadbandUS.TV.
Debate on specifics of a proposed treaty limiting trade in small arms remained heated at the U.N. Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty, though a composite "working document" emerged. Delegates received their first comprehensive paper on treaty principles July 24, from the conference president. The document included some elements proposed to be incorporated into a legally binding text.
PORTLAND, Ore. -- The question of wither state regulation was a subtext on all the telecom panels in the initial days of the NARUC midyear meeting. State commissioners observed a declining regulatory role for years and enshrined quite clearly in legislation from the past year, as they said a recent report from the National Regulatory Research Institute (NRRI) made clear. The U.S. is in the midst of “deregulation fever,” concluded a June NRRI report on the various legislatures’ deregulation bills, which “will not subside” (CD June 19 p11). New services that draw on Internet Protocol create new challenges of definition, and regulation no longer covers them in the same way, said commissioners and staff who said they're trying to figure out their roles.
Consumers seeking to buy a 3D TV and see the 3D feature demonstrated at the retail point of sale are likely to face stiff challenges, if our trips in recent weeks to several retailers on Long Island and in New York City are any indication. That was especially the case when we attempted to look for specific models because most stores only have one model from each major TV maker on display in 3D. We also found that the glasses at demo kiosks set up for active-shutter 3D demonstrations were broken much of the time or the kiosks were not operational for other reasons.