Wheeler Sets New Course for Set-Tops (Broadcasting & Cable)
FCC chair Tom Wheeler is proposing a one-stop shopping approach to “choice and competition” in the set-top market that will unite all video, online and traditional, through a single box, billing it as an attempt to “tear down anti-competitive barriers and pave the way for software, devices and other innovative solutions.”
Latta Lays Into FCC Set-Top Proposal (Broadcasting & Cable)
Rep. Bob Latta is no fan of FCC Chair Tom Wheeler’s proposal to require MVPDs to “unlock” their set-tops and share information with third parties. The FCC was under a congressional mandate to come up with recommendations for a software solution to separating surfing and security functions in set-tops.
Future of TV Coalition Formed to Fight ‘AllVid’ (Broadcasting & Cable)
Even as the FCC was unveiling Wheeler’s proposal to bring competition to the set-top, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, American Cable Association, Motion Picture Association of America and a host of others were unveiling the Future of TV Coalition to beat the commission to the consumer video choice punch.
The real digital divide in educational technology (Commentary by Stuart Brotman)
The supply and demand sides for US educational technology deserve closer scrutiny in light of the release of the 2016 National Education Technology Plan by the Department of Education. That plan, the fifth in a series, was preceded by the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) 2014 comprehensive reform of its E-rate program.
Want to be the first to have 5G? Better move to Stockholm (Network World)
Stockholm, Sweden and Tallinn, Estonia, will be the first two cities where 5G wireless technology will be available. Swedish telecom operator TeliaSonera and telecom giant Ericsson have announced plans to roll out the high-speed network in those two cities in 2018.
Facebook’s Q4 Earnings: You’re More Valuable to Facebook Than Ever (Network World)
Facebook reported its Q4 and full year 2015 earnings. The key numbers: Facebook reported profits of 79 cents per share on $5.8 billion in revenue for Q4, a jump in sales of roughly 52 percent over the same period last year. That was above analyst estimates of 68 cents per share on revenue of $5.37 billion.
Netflix global growth hits Indonesia hitch; shares fall 6% (USA Today)
Netflix’s plan for global domination has hit a snag in one of its biggest international targets: Indonesia. Netflix expanded the countries it is available in to 190. But state-owned Telkom Indonesia, the country’s largest telcom, blocked Netflix for its lack of a provider permit and because some of its content is violent and objectionable.
ENSURING DHS IS PREPARED TO FIGHT CYBERATTACKS (Bloomberg- Commentary)
Every day, our enemies are waging war against the US, but those attacks are no longer confined to the physical battlefield in faraway lands. Instead, the constant barrage of cyberattacks from countries such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea — not to mention cyberterrorists — threaten our economic, digital and national security.
Verizon FiOS default speed now 50Mbps—double FCC’s broadband definition (ARS Technica)
Despite claiming that the government’s definition of “broadband” shouldn’t have been increased to 25Mbps, Verizon is now phasing out its 25Mbps fiber service and making 50Mbps the default minimum. A year ago, the FCC voted to boost the definition of broadband from 4Mbps downstream/1Mbps upstream to 25Mbps/3Mbps.
An Unprecedented Threat to Privacy (The Atlantic)
Throughout the United States—outside private houses, apartment complexes, shopping centers, and businesses with large employee parking lots—a private corporation, Vigilant Solutions, is taking photos of cars and trucks with its vast network of unobtrusive cameras. It retains location data on each of those pictures, and sells it.
Byron Allen Sues FCC, Charter For $10B (Deadline)
Less than a month after Byron Allen got AT&T and DirecTV carriage deals after charging them with racial discrimination in a $10 billion lawsuit, he’s got some new targets. Both the FCC and Charter Communications were sued for $10 billion in federal court by Allan’s Entertainment Studios.
Bestselling Author Says Amazon’s the Darth Vader of the Literary World (Inside Sources)
Authors big and small, publishers, lawyers and regulators gathered in Washington to discuss the growing influence and monopoly power in the book publishing and selling market wielded by Amazon, described by those in attendance as “the Darth Vader of the literary world.”
Pew: Crowdfunded Journalism Growing, But Still a Drop in the Bucket (Media Shift)
Crowdfunded journalism continued its growth trend in 2015, but it remains a small slice of the bigger picture, according to a report released last week by the Pew Research Center. The report detailed the growth of journalism-specific Kickstarter campaigns since the crowdfunding site launched in April 2009.