California broadband consortia try for second round of grants

23 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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Click for the big picture.

Funding for the regional broadband consortia that the California Public Utilities Commission approved four years ago has either expired or soon will. For most, that’ll mean a gap in funding while proposals for new consortia grants are processed. A total of fifteen applications were filed by last month’s deadline.

The San Diego consortium did not reapply, but it’s been inactive for some time. The One Million New Internet Users consortium in Los Angeles County didn’t come back either, which is no surprise given the way it was ripped by a state audit.… More

FCC approves, publishes draft set top box rules

22 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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As expected, the Federal Communications Commission moved ahead last week with a plan to rewrite the rules for network operators – cable, telephone and satellite – that deliver television channels to consumers, requiring them to allow third parties such as consumer electronics manufacturers and software developers to access their programming streams. The shorthand way of explaining it is to say that the set top box market will be open to competition – anyone would be able to license the necessary technology, build a box and sell it to consumers.… More

U.S. senate looks at conduit requirements for federal highway projects

21 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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The “Mobile Now” bill that was introduced in the U.S. senate is mostly about freeing up more government-reserved spectrum for broadband purposes, but it also includes an endorsement, if not a full-on commitment, to a dig once policy. It expresses a desire for federal transportation officials to include conduit in highway projects…

It is the sense of Congress that Federal agencies should endeavor to create policy that–

  1. evaluates and provides for the inclusion of broadband conduit installation in federally funded highway construction projects;
  2. provides for such inclusion without negatively impacting the safety, operations, and maintenance of the highway facility, its users, or others;
  3. promotes investment and competition by ensuring that communications providers may access such conduit on a nondiscriminatory basis; and
  4. limits any burden on State departments of transportation incurred by the inclusion of broadband conduit in such projects.
… More

FBI shouldn't ask Apple for a backdoor into iPhones

20 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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No problem making a front door.

The legal standoff between the FBI and Apple over a judge’s order to write and turnover a more hackable version of the iOS operating system raises a lot of questions about civil liberties and the U.S. government’s power to 1. dive into any data it wants and 2. force private companies and individuals to help. But it also poses a question about the technical abilities of U.S. investigators.

According to an open letter signed by Apple CEO Tim Cook and posted its website…

The U.S.

… More

Another welcome push for more broadband spectrum

19 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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The text of a bill to free up more spectrum for broadband purposes has finally been published. It’s called the “Mobile Now” bill and one of its main objectives is prod the federal bureaucracy into transferring frequencies that have been reserved for government agencies – in some cases since the dawn of time – to broadband companies and, potentially, for use as unlicensed spectrum. It also targets non-federal spectrum that’s under used now.

The bill sets a deadline of 2020 to make “a total of at least 255 megahertz of Federal and non-Federal spectrum below the frequency of 6000 megahertz for mobile and fixed wireless broadband use”, with an eventual goal of 500 MHz.… More

San Benito streets aren't complete without broadband

18 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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Fiber marker.

What travels below roadways is as important to street and highway planning as what travels upon them. That’s the simple message in a complete streets policy developed and adopted in San Benito County, which is both the southernmost extension of Silicon Valley (reckoning by census bureau designations) and part of the Monterey Bay region in California.

Streets are more than just a place to drive a car…

San Benito County recognizes that roadways provide mobility and access for travelers, and serve other functions that are important to the community.

… More

AT&T tries to stop video bleeding with DirecTv tourniquet

17 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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AT&T is cutting off its Uverse video service, according to a story on Bloomberg.com. It’s no longer making Uverse set top boxes and new video customers will be hooked up to DirecTv’s satellite service. With video customers fleeing to cable, AT&T’s move comes not a moment too soon…

The shift to DirecTV was reflected in fourth-quarter results. U-verse subscribers fell 4 percent, the worst loss ever, as 240,000 customers canceled service, the company said. And while DirecTV gains of 214,000 customers almost offset the loss, U-verse defectors helped pump up cable TV growth.

… More

Network ownership will no longer mean content control with new STB rules

16 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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It’ll all look the same.

Opening up the currently closed set top box market will disrupt, and perhaps kill, the network business models that rely on it. On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission is set to launch a process that to write new rules requiring cable, satellite and other flavors of multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) to give third party manufacturers direct access to their television transmission streams, including on-screen guide data. With all due respect for license limitations, such as recording rights, of course.… More

Gigabit competition upsets cozy pricing equilibrium

15 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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It will come back up, eventually.

Big incumbents are cranking up the marketing volume on a gigabit services in urban areas with high revenue potential, but there’s very little, if any, gigabit-capable infrastructure actually deployed yet, except for Verizon’s FiOS systems. So pricing for some is still conceptual, and high, while others are already fighting it out on the ground.

Comcast is talking about charging $299 a month and a $1,000 installation fee for its 2 Gbps service.… More

Broadband service gets permanent state, local tax exemption

14 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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It’s blurry when you bundle, though.

A permanent ban on state and local taxes on Internet access was approved by the U.S. congress on Thursday, and sent on to the president, who said he will sign it. It’s a permanent extension of an existing law that says that states and local governments may not impose “taxes on Internet access” or “multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce”. The measure – which was tacked onto the end of an international trade bill – also phases out an exception for seven states that taxed Internet access before congress enacted the original ban.… More