The National Broadband Plan will recommend that the 700 MHz D-block be sold at auction without the strings attached in a failed 2009 auction, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski told reporters Thursday. Genachowski said the plan will also recommend to Congress that it allocate $12 billion to $16 billion in grants over 10 years to pay for the network.
The FCC should consider how TV providers would handle customer service, digital rights, management agreements, closed captioning, parental controls and emergency alert system messages if security and navigation were divided between two set-top boxes, EchoStar told Chief William Lake of the FCC Media Bureau and aides. The company also discussed challenges in encouraging video-device innovation through the National Broadband Plan, said an ex parte filing.
The National Broadband Plan will call for re-allocating 500 MHz of spectrum to mobile broadband over the next 10 years, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Wednesday in a speech at the New America Foundation. Genachowski said the plan includes a voluntary auction to get broadcasters to give up some of their airwaves. Meanwhile, the FCC indicated Tuesday evening that FCC commissioners will be asked to vote on a “Broadband Mission Statement, containing goals for U.S. broadband policy,” but not on the plan itself.
The National Broadband Plan will call for re-allocating 500 MHz of spectrum to mobile broadband over the next 10 years, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Wednesday in a speech at the New America Foundation. Genachowski said the plan includes a voluntary auction to get broadcasters to give up some of their airwaves. Meanwhile, the FCC indicated Tuesday evening that FCC commissioners will be asked to vote on a “Broadband Mission Statement, containing goals for U.S. broadband policy,” but not on the plan itself.
The FCC should consider how TV providers would handle customer service, digital rights, management agreements, closed captioning, parental controls and emergency alert system messages if security and navigation were divided between two set-top boxes, EchoStar told Chief William Lake of the FCC Media Bureau and aides. The company also discussed challenges in encouraging video-device innovation through the National Broadband Plan, said an ex parte filing.
The National Broadband Plan will call for re-allocating 500 MHz of spectrum to mobile broadband over the next 10 years, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Wednesday in a speech at the New America Foundation. Genachowski said the plan includes a voluntary auction to get broadcasters to give up some of their airwaves. Meanwhile, the FCC indicated Tuesday evening that FCC commissioners will be asked to vote on a “Broadband Mission Statement, containing goals for U.S. broadband policy,” but not on the plan itself.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski circulated parts of the National Broadband Plan to the other commissioner offices Tuesday. Commissioners still don’t have a full text of the plan, but sections are supposed to be circulated as they're completed by staff, we learned. Meanwhile, Genachowski continued a series of speeches on broadband Tuesday, formally releasing the results of a new survey on “Broadband Adoption and Use in America” that’s expected to get prominent mention in the plan. But industry groups warned the agency that reclassifying broadband as a Title II service, subject to stricter regulation, a proposal reportedly under consideration at the FCC, would push money away from investment in broadband lines.
The U.S. must be careful not to make the same mistake as foreign courts who enter libel judgments against U.S. authors for Internet publication of First Amendment-protected speech, lawyers told the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday. They went back and forth with lawmakers on limits that could be written into pending House and Senate bills to deter such lawsuits without punishing foreign plaintiffs lacking “minimum contacts” with the U.S., or trampling states’ jurisdiction. Lawsuits often are filed in the U.K., where courts have the power to order a “declaration of falsity” against authors as part of a default judgment.
The U.S. Department of Transportation released model legislation for states seeking to ban texting while driving. The proposal, developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, provides exceptions for first responders doing their official duties and for members of the public reporting emergencies or criminal or other suspicious activity to law enforcement authorities. A first offense would be treated as a traffic infraction with a minimum fine of $75 and action against driving privileges. Felony charges could apply if an offense results in a death or serious injury. “Texting while driving, like talking on cellphones while driving, is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening practice,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “One reason this new language should prove effective is that we worked with a variety of safety organizations to get it right. We also have the support of both the wireless and automobile industries. … Am I on a rampage? Yes, I am, and why shouldn’t I be? When you've met the loved ones of victims killed by a texting driver, or heard them tell their tragic stories, you'll know what I'm talking about.” CTIA was pleased to work with the government in creating the law, said President Steve Largent. “For more than twelve years, the wireless industry has been focused on educating consumers about the dangers of distracted driving and we remain committed to reminding drivers that safety should always be their number one priority.” NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said “our top priority is safety, and we are determined to help the states eradicate this dangerous practice.”
Nexon America is “keeping an eye on” platforms including the iPhone and consoles, but “our focus right now is on PC online games,” CEO Daniel Kim told us at the Design Innovate Communicate Entertain (D.I.C.E.) Summit in Las Vegas last week. “The infrastructure isn’t quite there” on the other platforms to support the company’s strategy of free play plus micro-transactions, he said. The U.S. division of Nexon, a South Korean online-game company, is coming off “a very strong year” thanks to strong usage of its games Maple Story, Combat Arms and Mabinogi, Kim said. “Strong growth across all those games” was in the double digits for revenue and profit, he said. The side-scrolling, massively multiplayer online role-playing game Maple Story is the company’s oldest active title in the market, introduced in North America in 2005. The game attracted 30,000 users at the same time last summe, setting a record, and it has about 6 million registered users in North America and about 92 million total, Kim said. It’s available in 60 countries, he said. The first-person shooter Combat Arms, launched in September 2008 and had “explosive growth” last year, hitting 3 million registered users, he said. The role-playing game Mabinogi also has grown strongly since its release just over a year ago, he said. Nexon America “doubled” its game portfolio for 2010, Kim said. Its Dungeon Fighter Online has been in beta testing since November in the U.S. An official launch date will come “in the next few months,” he said. That title launched in South Korea in 2006 and China in late 2008. Also in beta in the U.S., since last month, is Maple Story iTCG, for “interactive Trading Card Game.” The multiplayer action puzzle game Pop Tag launched in the U.S. last month. It’s already a flagship game for Nexon in South Korea, having attracted 15-20 percent of the country’s population since its launch there in 2002, Kim said. “One of the big initiatives” by Nexon America this year will be the launch of a rebranded online game portal in the first half, Kim said. The name is changing from Nexon.net to BlockParty and the company will introduce social networking features, he told us. The company is “looking at applications on mobile platforms,” Kim said, adding that Nexon is “aware of the power of the social networks.” The company doesn’t seek to start a site like Facebook, he said, but will look for ways to link players to current social networks. The new portal will also give players customizable profile pages and a real-time news update that announces player accomplishments through a new Play Feed feature, he said. The feature will be available at the time of the rebranded portal’s launch, he said.