Public Safety Broadband: Creative Partnerships Needed
Posted by Jesse Ward on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 · 
Earlier this week, I attended the Public Safety Broadband Summit & Expo, an event produced by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials – International.
The second annual summit was an opportunity for state and regional public safety communicators, international representatives, equipment vendors and other interested parties to discuss the status of public safety communications.
It’s widely anticipated that with the recent passage of H.R. 3630, a nationwide, interoperable public safety broadband network may finally come to fruition. Congress approved the landmark legislation in February 2012. Formally known as The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, H.R. 3630 contains comprehensive spectrum and public safety legislation.
The Act directed NTIA to establish a First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), a 15-member independent agency housed within NTIA that will oversee the design, construction, deployment and sustainment of the nationwide public safety broadband network based on a single network architecture. Read more
Rural Wireless Carriers Offer iPhone
Posted by Jesse Ward on Friday, May 11, 2012 ·
For rural carriers, access to handsets is one of the chief hurdles to offering a competitive service. In fact, 61% of respondents to NTCA’s 2011 Wireless Survey indicated that access to handsets and other necessary equipment was their greatest concern, illustrating that it could prove an impediment to their ability to maintain their current operations or expand their offerings in the future.
However, in the last few weeks rural wireless carriers Bluegrass Cellular, Nex-Tech Wireless, Pioneer Cellular and Golden State Cellular announced that they all will offer the coveted Apple iPhone to their subscribers. Bluegrass Cellular is based in Elizabethtown, Kentucky; Nex-Tech is in Hays, Kansas; Pioneer Cellular is located in Kingfisher, Oklahoma; and Golden State Cellular is based out of Jamestown, California. Read more
Wireless Providers Investigate Priority Access for Data
Posted by Jesse Ward on Friday, May 11, 2012 ·
While speaking on a panel at the CTIA trade show in New Orleans this week, Verizon CTO Tony Melone revealed that the service provider is interested in offering priority service for select over-the-top media providers. Melone said that carriers such as Verizon are interested in charging application providers, such as Google or Netflix, for fast access to customers, describing the service as “toll-free data” which would allow content providers to pick up the cost of the traffic so it wouldn’t count against users’ data plans.
“As we move away from flat rate pricing, there is room for an 1-800-type of service where certain destinations could offset the cost of the network to get customers to those destinations,” Melone said. “There are net neutrality issues that have to be addressed, too.”
Indeed, the idea that broadband providers of any kind could legally prioritize traffic from a particular service or website is a controversial subject. Opponents of the concept argue that large companies will be able to negotiate and pay for priority traffic, creating a divide between their services and those of other companies, who will then find themselves at a disadvantage in the consumer marketplace. However, service providers see this as an opportunity to create a new revenue stream. Read more
Cisco Enables Partners to Help Fight Call Fraud
Posted by Steve Fravel on Friday, May 11, 2012 ·
A May 8 Cisco press release describes a new application programming interface (API) the company released at InterOp 2012. The API, called Cisco® UC Gateway Services API, is designed to enlist third-party developers in writing enhanced telephone call security applications for Cisco’s branch routers. Strategic utilization of the Web-based API is one possible solution to the growing problem of voice fraud and other malicious telephone messaging activity. Read more
AT&T Family Data Plan Coming Soon
Posted by Steve Fravel on Thursday, May 10, 2012 ·
According to a May 8 article in CNET, the AT&T version of a data plan designed for families may be just around the corner. In an interview for the article, Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T’s Mobile Business said, “The company has a firm hold on what type of plan it will offer and intends to offer one soon.”
The family plan concept would allow a single pre-set monthly allotment of data that would be shared among several mobile devices. “I am very comfortable with the plan that will be offered to our customers,” de la Vega said. According to CNET, this statement is contrary to a position de la Vega took as recently as this past January. “We want to make sure we get it right,” he said at that time. Of concern is how the cost for devices offered in the plan might be subsidized and still provide some return to AT&T.
The article mentions that Verizon is planning a similar data plan aimed at families that is rumored to be ready for launch later this year.
Deutsche Telekom Gives a Thumbs Down on the Verizon-Cable Deal
Posted by Steve Fravel on Thursday, May 10, 2012 ·
A May 7 article in The Hill discussed a telephone conversation between FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Rene Obermann, the German CEO of Deutsche Telekom, the parent company to T-Mobile USA. In the course of the conversation, which took place the week of May 1, Obermann pulled no punches, telling Genachowski that the Verizon-cable spectrum deal should be blocked.
The deal between Verizon and SpectrumCo LLC – a joint venture of Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks – and a similar arrangement between Verizon and Cox Communications, would allow Verizon to purchase large blocks of wireless spectrum from the cable companies. The arrangements also call for marketing and cross selling each other’s products and services. Read more
The Wi-Fi Alliance Introduces Wi-Fi Certified Passpoint™
Posted by Steve Fravel on Thursday, May 10, 2012 ·
The Wi-Fi Alliance issued a press release May 8 that unveils a new certification for high-density Wi-Fi Hotspots called the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Passpoint™. The release cites data collected in a study commissioned from market research and polling company Wakefield Research to reinforce the importance of the new certification.
Smartphone and tablet users have begun to rely on Wi-Fi as an economical way to stretch their wireless data plans by shifting data traffic from direct 4G or 3G connections to Wi-Fi when at home or in high-density areas like coffee shops, libraries and airport waiting areas. The study says that of those who own smartphones or tablets, 90% would prefer to stay with their primary service provider if a seamless and automatic method of shifting to Wi-Fi service was available. Read more