The biggest growth in the Internet is yet to come, said Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, referring to the 5 billion people, mostly in Third World countries, who he said are not connected. Speaking at a National Press Foundation dinner Wednesday in Washington, he said the vast majority of those still to come to Internet will do so via mobile devices. The result, Schmidt said, will be a “digital watering hole” that will result in vastly increased international knowledge. But he said the Internet “is not a utopia,” despite the goals of those, including himself, who helped develop it. Schmidt said, for example, the Internet “was not built with criminals in mind.” One of his biggest worries, Schmidt said, is government “filtering” of the Internet. He said government technologies to limit the Internet content that reach their citizens “will only get better,” but Internet content is “like water” and will seep through to everyone eventually. Asked about China’s Internet censorship, Schmidt said “we don’t know China’s Internet plans. They don’t tell anyone, and they certainly don’t tell Google."
Cox Communications submitted to the FCC the organizational chart and list of document custodians the cable operator gave the Justice Department, as part of the government review of Verizon Wireless’ deal to buy AWS licenses from Cox. The documents are “proprietary, nonpublic information that is commercially valuable and the public disclosure of which would subject Cox to competitive harm,” an FCC filing posted Wednesday in docket 12-3 said. It reported on a meeting between executives of the cable operator and officials in the Media, Wireline and Wireless bureaus and in the offices of General Counsel and of Strategic Planning, where they discussed what types of data Cox may have available if the commission requests it. The other three cable operators also selling AWS licenses to Verizon Wireless had similar meetings with FCC officials (CD March 5 p17), as telecom companies and nonprofits seek access to confidential data as part of the agency’s review of the deals.
Both initial comments backed News Corp.’s Fox request for an FCC waiver to represent in non-network spot ad sales its new Spanish-language network. Both broadcasters filing in docket 12-31 are slated to become affiliates of MundoFox, to start operating this year (CD Feb 9 p23). “MundoFox responds directly to the FCC’s longstanding goals of increasing diversity and competition on our nation’s airwaves,” said Meruelo Media (http://xrl.us/bmxhij), whose KWHY-TV Los Angeles is a charter affiliate. “As the Commission knows all too well, launching a new Spanish-language broadcast network requires an enormous commitment of financial resources -- by both the network and its affiliates. In order to justify making that commitment, Meruelo will need a strong partner to help it sell spot advertising.” Hero Licenseco -- whose KMOH-TV Kingman, Ariz., is a charter affiliate -- made similarly phrased comments (http://xrl.us/bmxhim), saying KMOH lacks “resources to engage in the upfront process independently."
The FCC’s top radio staffer got it wrong when he told the National Religious Broadcasters conference last month that low-power FM seekers want stations with 250 watts power, not 10w and aren’t satisfied with 100w, an LPFM group said. The “depiction” by Audio Division Chief Peter Doyle of the Media Bureau about “the views of LPFM advocates is absolutely, unequivocally untrue,” the Amherst Alliance said in a Wednesday filing in docket 99-25 (http://xrl.us/bmxg9k). It has sought “licensing of 10 watt LPFM stations, in urban areas, since 1999,” and Prometheus Radio Project and Common Frequency have backed that, the alliance said. A bureau spokeswoman declined to comment. FCC members are expected to vote this week or next on two LPFM-related items (CD March 8 p12).
The FCC for a second time this week proposed to fine an unauthorized radio station more than a $10,000 base penalty (CD March 7 p13) because of repeatedly not stopping broadcasting. An Enforcement Bureau forfeiture order (http://xrl.us/bmxg39) for $25,000 went to Gabriel Garcia for operating an unlicensed station “on various FM broadcast band frequencies” in San Jose, Calif. A separate bureau notice of apparent liability for $8,000 (http://xrl.us/bmxg4m) went to Hoosier Public Radio for operating a transmitter for noncommercial educational station WRFM(FM) Wilkinson, Ind., about three miles away from where the commission authorized it. Proposed FCC fines Wednesday of $13,000 apiece to four Class A stations (CD March 8 p13) offer a “reprieve” of sorts from recent Media Bureau orders to others of that class of TV station saying they'd face a downgrade to regular low-power status for not filing reports, a broadcast lawyer wrote. Scott Flick of Pillsbury was “at least somewhat relieved to see a trio of decisions ... that are largely identical to the February decisions with one big exception -- the FCC proposed fining the stations for failing to file all of their children’s television reports rather than seeking to revoke their Class A status,” he wrote Wednesday on the law firm’s blog (http://xrl.us/bmxg42). “Unlike the licensees in the February decisions, the licensees named in today’s decisions promptly responded to the letters of inquiry sent by the FCC, and upon realizing that they had failed to file all of their children’s television reports, belatedly completed and submitted those reports to the FCC."
The CDMA segment of Sprint Nextel is “holding its own” against Verizon Wireless and AT&T, though the iDEN segment continues to see losses, Wells Fargo Securities said in a research note. “We believe investors should begin to look at Sprint as two distinct companies per se -- iDEN (old) and CDMA (new),” it said. “While we believe iDEN losses will accelerate at a faster clip, our sense is the CDMA growth continues to be fairly solid (in light of normal lighter Q1 seasonality trends).” The note said Sprint also “has the most to gain in terms of T-Mobile’s continued struggles -- given the fact both carriers are targeting the more value seeking consumer."
Regulatory “holidays” won’t spur investment in new broadband networks, European Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said Thursday at the European Cable Communications Association congress in Brussels. Some say reversing regulatory successes of the past decade -- by allowing dominant players to become monopolies again or letting mobile operators charge excessive termination or roaming rates unrelated to costs -- will give big telcos a break from trying to innovate in a competitive market, she said. But the answer is to give consumers more choice, not less, by unblocking broadband bottlenecks, she said. Markets must be as open as possible and competition stimulated in every link of the value chain, she said. That applies to the fixed networks of dominant players, where alternative operators should be allowed to deploy their own equipment in order to offer competitive new services, she said. That requires effective unbundled access at fair prices and non-discriminatory terms, she said. It’s “ironic” that some criticize EU pro-competitive regulation, caricaturing it as enabling resellers to free-ride on others’ investment, she said. Those same people often push for removal of unbundling obligations on major players, limiting competition in the broadband value chain to bitstream “resellers,” she said. “I don’t believe in ‘managed competition,'” Kroes said. The same goes for mobile termination rates, she said. They should reflect the real costs of efficient operators and promote consumer welfare, she said. Those who oppose a pro-competitive approach claim it takes away investment incentives, but it doesn’t, she said. Instead, if such networks are open to new players, consumers will be willing to pay a fair price for enhanced services, she said. It’s that increased demand for more innovative services that will sustain investment in new networks, she said. But “I don’t believe in regulation for the sake of it,” she said. In some areas a lighter touch is better, which is why the European Commission is reviewing the current list of regulated e-communications markets to see if anticipatory rules are no longer needed, she said. Meeting EU goals for higher-speed broadband by 2020 requires competition via a mix of technologies, and here the cable industry has already shown its versatility, she said. Upgrading cable networks has already boosted broadband speeds for relatively little cost and has helped get more consumers online with faster access, she said. With cable, more than 60 million households can already get speeds of 100 Mbps or higher, she said. But the EU is doing more to spark investment by trying to reduce the risk associated with broadband projects; reviewing state aid laws to make it easier to support broadband investment with public funding; and supporting content proposals such as Connected TV, which will let consumers combine TV programs with Internet and online services, she said. Kroes urged the cable sector to support cloud computing, “because it’s where the future will be."
No significant satellite disruptions were reported by major satellite operators despite large solar storms that reached the Earth early Thursday. Solar storms, which can bombard a satellite with highly-charged particles, have occasionally disrupted, at least briefly, communications via satellites, especially those in geostationary orbit. But officials at Intelsat and NASA, among others, said they had seen no impact Thursday.
CenturyLink, Frontier, Windstream and the Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance proposed modifications to the Connect America Fund Phase I incremental support mechanism (http://xrl.us/bmxeke). Because of problems with eligibility criteria, many unserved consumers are “precluded from the benefits of this program,” their letter said. To remedy the situation, they proposed certain modifications: In census blocks where an incumbent LEC is the only fixed broadband provider, it should be permitted to use Phase I support to serve locations it doesn’t currently serve; in census blocks identified on the National Broadband Map as “partially-served,” Phase I support recipients should be permitted to use their support to deploy broadband. Recipients should provide a written certification indicating the areas they planned to serve, the letter said. Combined with reform that replaces the $775 per served location deployment requirement with an “appropriately targeted accountability mechanism,” the benefits to consumers would be “greatly increased,” the letter said.
The next iPad will include 4G LTE connections on the Verizon Wireless and AT&T networks in the U.S., Apple said Wednesday at an event introducing the new device. The service will be contract free, according to Apple’s website (http://www.apple.com/ipad/4g/). The new device also sports a higher-resolution screen, a 5 megapixel camera and a faster processor. Apple will sell two versions of the device -- one that will work on AT&T’s network, the other on Verizon’s. It urged potential customers to choose which carrier it preferred up front, even though new iPad users don’t have to activate 4G service right away. Spokespeople for Verizon Wireless and AT&T didn’t immediately comment. On AT&T’s network, 4G pricing will start at $15 a month for 250 MB of data, $30 for 2 GB and $50 for 5 GB. On Verizon Wireless data plans will start at $30 a month for 2 GB, $50 for 5 GB and $80 for 10 GB, according to information from the online Apple Store. The new devices will also feature global roaming on GSM/UMTS networks with a local SIM card, regardless of which domestic carrier they were built for, Apple’s website said. The site said the devices include two antennas tuned to 12 different bands. Apple also announced a new Apple TV device with support for 1080p HD video purchased from the iTunes Store. However, expectations that Apple might introduce a new TV set went unfulfilled. IHS (formerly iSuppli) analysts expect Apple’s display spending to nearly double this year compared to 2011. Its displays are getting more expensive and it will probably need more of them, said Vinita Jakhanwal, a senior manager for IHS. “Apple is likely to incur a significant price premium for using the higher resolution display in the new iPad,” he said. But the company may get some discounts because it has invested in display makers such as LG, Sharp and Toshiba, he said. With those investments, “Apple not only can mitigate those costs to a degree, but it can also be assured of the availability and quality of the displays."