A Colorado bill (SB-129) to address a broadband gap in the state is making its way through the Senate. The bill would require the state’s Public Utilities Commission and Office of Information Technology (OIT), using existing broadband data and mapping, to identify “noncompetitive unserved and underserved” areas of the state. It also requires the PUC, in collaboration with the OIT and broadband providers, to make recommendations for a strategy to better connect Coloradans, no later than Jan. 1. The bill has passed second reading in the Senate. The third reading is scheduled on April 9.
OPASTCO agrees with the American Cable Association (CD March 7 p4) that the FCC should attribute under ownership limits deals where separately owned TV stations within a market jointly negotiate retransmission consent agreements. “These arrangements undermine competition,” OPASTCO said in early reply comments, on a media ownership rulemaking notice, posted Wednesday in docket 09-182 (http://xrl.us/bm2udu). It backed the ACA’s proposal that any one of several retrans practices by two or more stations within a designated market area affiliated with a major broadcast network would mean it’s subject to attribution rules, could bar such alliances.
Broadband stimulus fund winners “benefitted from unseasonably mild winter weather” from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, NTIA said Thursday in a quarterly report to Congress (http://xrl.us/bm2uca) on the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. The $4.7 billion program was established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In the quarter, BTOP recipients deployed more than 16,000 network miles of plant, bringing the total to 45,196 miles, NTIA said. That means NTIA has already reached 90 percent of its FY2012 deployment goal of 50,000 new or upgraded miles across the country, the agency said. “NTIA expects the pace of network construction to remain strong in coming quarters as most recipients are fully submersed in the implementation phase of the project,” the agency said. “NTIA anticipates that recipients will increase the pace of deployment activities as they receive regular shipments of fiber from manufacturers and finalize make-ready work with utility pole owners.” Also in the quarter, BTOP recipients connected or improved service to 2,211 community anchor institutions, bringing the total number of institutions to 6,374, NTIA said. That’s nearly 64 percent of NTIA’s FY2012 goal of 10,000 institutions. In the quarter, BTOP recipients said their training and adoption programs increased the number of broadband subscriber households and businesses by 50,000, NTIA said. Through December, the recipients reported adoption by 259,446 households and 1,276 businesses, it said. NTIA reached 74 percent of its FY2012 goal to attain 350,000 new subscribers. BTOP recipients reported spending more than $415 million of federal grant funds in the quarter, matched by $145 million in recipient funds. The amount of federal spending in the quarter increased 55 percent from the previous quarter, NTIA said. Total federal spending has been $1.2 billion, the agency said. NTIA continues to review potential duplication of federally funded infrastructure, it said. As of Dec. 31, 92 percent of instances of potential overlap between a BTOP award and another BTOP, Broadband Initiatives Program or FCC award “were resolved or determined to be not applicable,” NTIA said.
Comcast Media Center said the NHL Network is using Comcast’s advertising distribution network to get promotional spots to its cable affiliates.
Sandvine said it got an order for more than $7 million in network policy control services from a tier-1 North American cable operator that has been a customer for more than five years. The services include Sandvine’s policy traffic switch and network analytics software, it said, not identifying the customer.
Former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has been enlisted by the Communications Workers of America to help in its fight against Verizon Wireless’s buy of AWS licenses from SpectrumCo and Cox. Martin is a partner at Patton Boggs. He filed acknowledgments of confidentiality (http://xrl.us/bm2ubf) giving him access to confidential documents and data filed as part of the FCC’s examination of the transactions. CWA supported AT&T’s proposed buy of T-Mobile but has been a strong opponent of the Verizon/cable deals.
Most U.S. and U.K. tablet and smartphone owners use those mobile devices while they're watching TV, Nielsen said a survey of connected device owners done in Q4 showed. In the U.S., 88 percent of tablet owners and 86 percent of smartphone owners polled said they used their mobile devices while viewing TV at least once during a 30-day period. Forty-five percent of tablet-owning Americans used their device daily while watching TV, Nielsen said. U.S. smartphone owners showed similar dual usage of TVs with their phones, with 41 percent saying they used their phones at least once a day while watching TV, it said. In the U.K., 80 percent of tablet owners and 78 percent of smartphone owners polled said they used the devices while watching TV. U.K. daily usage of smartphones and tablets while watching TV rivaled that of the U.S., with 24 percent of those surveyed claiming to use their mobile devices several times a day while watching TV, Nielsen said. Italians and Germans, however, were much less likely to use a mobile device while watching TV. In both those countries, 29 percent of users said they never used a tablet and TV together and 34 percent of Italians and 35 percent of Germans said they didn’t use their smartphones while watching TV. The most frequent tablet or smartphone activity across all countries while viewing TV was checking email, either during a commercial break or during a show, Nielsen said. It said 7,265 people were polled in the U.S., 1,762 in the U.K., 1,705 in Germany and 1,714 in Italy.
Alltel Communications can’t get access to tribal documents that could prove one of its former senior vice presidents breached a separation agreement, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday (http://xrl.us/bm2uai). Alltel argued that the former employee, Eugene DeJordy, had breached the agreement when he assisted the Oglala Sioux Tribe in a tribal court lawsuit to enjoin Alltel from a sale of assets that provide telecommunications services on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The 8th Circuit ruled unanimously that a third-party subpoena in private civil litigation is a “suit” for the purposes of a Tribe’s common law sovereign immunity, and the Tribe’s motion to quash based on tribal immunity, which the lower court denied, should have been granted.
Mobile Internet will make up 25 percent of China’s mobile revenue this year, up from less than 23 percent last year, ABI Research said Thursday. Mobile Internet will represent 19 percent of India’s service revenue in 2012, it said. The increases do show more demand for mobile data in the Asia-Pacific regions, but they're small compared to Japan’s 40 percent and Hong Kong’s 44 percent, the research firm said. “It’s in carriers’ interests to become part of the Internet value chain from early on,” said senior analyst Aapo Markkanen. “Strategic choices, such as those seen in Indonesia, can give operators a more integral role in defining the customer experience in a time when the local digital landscape is still being shaped up. Moreover, such moves also allow them to gain valuable mindshare among local content providers and app developers.” An example of this is Telkom offering music streaming services in Indonesia, ABI said.
Google’s fiber project in Kansas City, Kan. and Mo., reached its halfway mark, according to the official Google blog. Construction crews are installing fiber and building Google Fiber Huts, with half of the huts already complete, said John Toccalino, a manager with the project. Every home that has Google Fiber service is expected to have its own fiber cable that directly connects to the Internet backbone, he said.