FCC squeezes the AT&T GigaWeasel

17 November 2014 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Sneak peak at AT&T’s response.

The FCC slapped back at AT&T on Friday, demanding it turn over information describing exactly what it means when it says it’s going to build fiber to 2 million more homes if its deal to buy DirecTv is approved, but will otherwise stop upgrading systems while the FCC decides whether to regulate broadband as a common carrier service.

That was the gist of comments made on Wednesday by AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson (h/t to Fred Pilot at Eldo Telecom for the heads up).… More

FCC commissioners surf a common carrier wave

16 November 2014 by Steve Blum
, , ,

As detailed yesterday, an article in the the Washington Post describes well the split between U.S. president Barack Obama and FCC chair Tom Wheeler over common carrier regulation of Internet infrastructure and service. But it’s not a game of equals, which is why the safe bet is on adoption of Title II common carrier rules.

Even though the Post article puts Wheeler on an even footing with Obama as an independent policy maker, the reality is far different.… More

Wheeler missed the point of the story: you can't split a baby

15 November 2014 by Steve Blum
, , ,

Ex parte pleading for an ex partitio solution.

Although FCC chairman Tom Wheeler continues to play his cherished Beltway bandit game behind closed doors, the likelihood of Internet service coming largely, if not completely, under common carrier regulation is growing.

An excellent article by Brian Fung and Nancy Scola in the Washington Post clearly lays out the problem: U.S. president Barack Obama wants full on common carrier regulation, while lobbyist-in-chief Wheeler wants to cut a deal that pleases everyone, at least everyone who counts, which in Wheeler’s world is deep-pocketed lobbyists.… More

Comcast believes in the power of competition, so it avoids any

14 November 2014 by Steve Blum
,

Have I got a deal for you.

A credible threat is all it takes to convince Comcast to upgrade its current service or extend it to new customers. That’s the only conclusion I can draw from the announcement that it will double the speed of its Internet service in Colorado (h/t to the Baller-Herbst list for the pointer).

The cause seems obvious: last week, seven Colorado communities voted to allow the development of municipal broadband projects.… More

Heat maps point the way to California broadband gold

13 November 2014 by Steve Blum
, , ,

Maps and raw data showing broadband availability correlated to demographic and economic statistics are now available for 36 northern California counties, thanks to the California Emerging Technology Fund. It was developed for CETF by the City of Watsonville and Tellus Venture Associates, for a two day meeting in Redding that’s aimed at identifying a short list of feasible broadband infrastructure projects that can be paid for, in part, by the California Advanced Services Fund.

The center piece of the analysis is a heat map that shows areas that are eligible for CASF subsidies, color coded by housing density.… More

CETF zeros in on Californian broadband subsidy priorities

12 November 2014 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

About 200 broadband-starved communities in California have been identified as priority areas for subsidised infrastructure builds. The list was put together by regional broadband consortia funded through the California Advanced Services Fund, which is also intended to be the source of the money to do the construction work.

Even though there’s something like $160 million available in CASF to spend on broadband upgrades, that’s not anything like enough to pay for 200 projects. Even if Internet service providers were interested in picking up their share of the cost, which is nominally something like 30% to 40% of the construction budget.… More

Uncommon advocacy for common carrier broadband rules

11 November 2014 by Steve Blum
, , ,


Entering the network neutral zone.

Consumer broadband service will be regulated as a common carrier service. Either that, or U.S. president Barack Obama is so detached from reality that he records a video pronouncement to that effect and leaves for a summit meeting in China without first making sure that his appointee – FCC chairman Tom Wheeler – has his back. In an accompanying written statement, Obama explained yesterday…

So the time has come for the FCC to recognize that broadband service is of the same importance and must carry the same obligations as so many of the other vital services do.

… More

Colorado cities vote for muni broadband, in concept

10 November 2014 by Steve Blum
, , ,

If you had to choose a single issue, broadband would have been better.

Besides confounding conventional political wisdom by turfing out an incumbent democrat in favor of a hard-to-pin-down republican, Colorado voters said yes to repatriating municipal broadband decisions in a big way.

Colorado state law requires voters to approve municipal broadband systems – a simple vote by the city council isn’t enough. According to the Washington Post, voters in 7 cities and counties voted to approve it…

In Boulder, locals voted on whether the city should be “authorized to provide high-speed Internet services (advanced services), telecommunications services, and/or cable television services to residents, businesses, schools, libraries, nonprofit entities and other users of such services.”

… More

Mars needs wearables

9 November 2014 by Steve Blum
, , ,

How’s your heart rate?

Thinking in terms of long space voyages can be a useful product development exercise. The work Salutron did on physiological tracking technology for NASA’s Mars program has turned into a useful, inexpensive and adaptable range of wrist monitors.

If you’re sealing yourself into a tin can the size of a VW bus for a couple of years and leaving Earth, whatever you take with you has to be durable, simple and fit for purpose.… More

Cooking moves from the stovetop to the desktop

8 November 2014 by Steve Blum
, ,

I was about to say that food is the new killer app for 3D printing, but maybe that’s not the best way to put it. It does look like a Mac Plus, though.

How about printing out your dinner? That’s what Natural Machines wants you to do with the Foodini, a 3D printer designed to handle food ingredients and turn out complex meals.

Assuming the Foodini works – which includes being easy to clean – it’s something that could find an eager market.… More