Congress at Odds Over Provisions in Payroll Tax Extenders Bill for Spectrum Auctions
Posted by Meagan Foster on Friday, February 3, 2012 · 
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Earlier this week, I attended The New America Foundation’s “Spectrum Auctions and Super Wi-Fi: A Win-Win for Consumers and Taxpayers,” a briefing for congressional staff and advocates. The event was a reaction to the language in the current version of the House Payroll Tax Extenders bill (Jumpstarting Opportunity with Broadband Spectrum Act – JOBS Act), which proposes to pay for the tax cut via incentive spectrum auctions. The spectrum in question is currently held by TV broadcasters.
The House bill contains language in Section 4105 that prevents the FCC from restricting who can bid in a spectrum auction, i.e. it states that the commission cannot set up auction parameters to prevent tier-one operators from winning the entire auction. The bill also restricts the commission’s authority to set aside spectrum for unlicensed uses.
Of note, the majority in the House has publicly stated that they believe the parameters they are imposing on the commission will generate more revenue for the U.S. Treasury. However, thus far they have refused to cap the amount of money that will be paid to broadcasters to incentivize their vacating their current spectrum holdings. Read more
The Promise of M2M
Posted by Jesse Ward on Friday, February 3, 2012 · ·
Imagine a typical workday in the not-too-distant future. Your cell phone alarm goes off. Thirty minutes earlier it communicated with your thermostat, requesting your preferred temperature. Ten minutes prior it started your coffeemaker and it now turns on your TV to your favorite news channel as you wake up.
You’re surprised that your alarm went off 20 minutes earlier than you expected. That’s because it retrieved weather and traffic information and understood that you needed to leave the house earlier due to a snowstorm. It also communicated with your car to ensure that the electric engine re-charged itself overnight, as planned.
As you finish getting ready, it beeps again to inform you that it’s starting your car to de-ice the windows. It contacts your GPS to send the most updated directions based on road closures and information. As you leave the house to drive away, your car signals your home automation system to lock all doors, change the thermostat to save energy and arm your security system.
This automation is possible thanks in large part to machine-to-machine (M2M) technology. In its most basic form, M2M involves devices that communicate autonomously, without human involvement. M2M indicates that everyday objects are readable, recognizable, locatable, addressable and controllable through the Internet. In fact, M2M is now synonymous with the “Internet of things.” Read more
Dakota Central Telecommunications Selects APMAX Middleware
Posted by Steve Fravel on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 · ·
“The ability to run the middleware on the same platform that we are currently using for our voice services was an advantage both technically and economically,” commented Keith Larson, general manager of Dakota Central Telecommunications Cooperative. “The final piece that made sense for DCT was the Virtual Remote®, that lets our service center take control of the customer’s set-top-box (STB) without having to send a truck out, in some cases fifty miles or more. We believe this functionality will save us a lot of money over the long haul.”
DCT, faced with changing out its IPTV middleware platform elected to go with APMAX® from Innovative Systems to serve nearly 5000 subscribers in South Central North Dakota. Larson added, “Finding qualified people to maintain your system, especially in the head end and picking a stable middleware provider should be two of your high ranking considerations.” Read more
Consumer Protection Matters to the VON Coalition…Sometimes
Posted by Michael Romano on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 · ·
If it’s an information service, no blocking. If it’s a telecom service, no blocking. But if it’s something in between, well not so fast . . .
More than 20 appeals of the FCC’s recent USF/ICC reform order have been filed, and it will be fascinating to see the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit sort through all of the concerns raised. Of course, many of the appellants raise common issues, such as challenges to retroactive caps on cost recovery and/or the mandatory drive toward a default zero ICC rate for all switched services. (NTCA teed up both of these issues, among others, in its docketing statement filed with the court.)
But one party’s filing jumped out at me the other day. A docketing statement filed by the VON Coalition presents one straightforward – but quite astounding – issue:
The VON Coalition seeks review of the portions of the Report and Order . . . that impose a “No Blocking” obligation on providers of interconnected Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and one-way VoIP services . . . . Read more
NetAmerica Begins Testing Newly Installed SuperCenter
Posted by Steve Fravel on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 · ·
Last week NetAmerica Alliance announced that it would begin testing its recently completed SuperCenter and Network Operations Center (NOC) in Dallas, Texas.
The SuperCenter is home to the alliance’s IP Multimedia System (IMS) framework. A recent press release to announce completion of the SuperCenter describes the IMS as the key element in the delivery of a “full range of integrated Internet Protocol (IP) based multimedia services.” The IMS core allows the independent carriers who make up the alliance to offer high-quality features and applications and a 4G LTE service to their customers in each member’s license area. Read more
AT&T and Dish: Rumor or Cage Rattling?
Posted by Steve Fravel on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 · ·
According to Credit Suisse analyst Stefan Anninger, a seven-page FCC exparte AT&T penned may be a strong indicator of the carrier’s interest in buying up the 40Mhz S-band spectrum currently controlled by Dish Network.
After separate bankruptcy proceedings last year, Dish Network now holds DBSD North America, Inc. and TerreStar Networks, Inc. and their satellite spectrum licenses. Dish recently petitioned the FCC for an ancillary terrestrial component waiver that it says it will use to provide a wireless-hybrid 4G LTE network. Read more
Do Consumers Need to Understand Wireless Technologies?
Posted by Jesse Ward on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 · ·
Last week in Wilmington, N.C., database operator Spectrum Bridge launched the first commercial wireless network using unlicensed spectrum that was freed up in the shift from analog to digital television. In essence, the network operates in the white spaces between TV channels.
The technology is particularly useful for serving less densely populated areas, such as rural areas, where most vacant TV channels can be found. The low frequencies used by the white spaces travel well through buildings and varied terrain and can operate in a 50-mile radius with a single access point. Read more