Uncategorized

Five teams compete for cash and honors at Watsonville agtech hackathon

16 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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It’s more complicated than you realise.

An application that farmers can use to manage the hundreds of tasks they have to work through every day was the winner at the third Apps for Ag hackathon, held in Watsonville on Sunday. The two-person Central Coast Coordinate team took top honors with a web application that uses calendar and map technology to schedule individual jobs for specific locations in the fields.

A total of fifteen competitors representing five teams took part in the competition, hosted by Cabrillo College at the Solari Green Technology Center in downtown Watsonville.… More

You're not one of us, California cable tells Google

15 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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Not welcome.

Google probably thought its problems getting access to utility poles in California were safely astern. After all, the California Public Utilities Commission declared that Google is a cable company and has the same right as any other cable (or telephone) company to use utility poles. Turns out, other cable operators, via their Sacramento lobbying front, are claiming that Google Fiber isn’t a member of their tribe and shouldn’t be allowed on poles that they jointly control with electric and telephone utilities.… More

FCC broadband lifeline proposal is slow and slower

13 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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Low aspirations.

The broadband lifeline plan under consideration by the Federal Communications Commission would perpetuate the gap between people who have access to wireline broadband at home, and those who rely solely on mobile service. Floated last week by FCC chair Tom Wheeler, the new program would allow low income consumers to opt for subsidised broadband service, instead of or in addition to lifeline telephone service.

But it sets one standard for wireline (and fixed wireless) subscriptions, and another for mobile.… More

Self-driving cars coming sooner than you expect

12 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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The Consumer Technology Association – the sponsor of CES (don’t dare call it the Consumer Electronics Show) – says even though we’ll see the first fully autonomous cars by 2020, by 2030 there only be 1 million sold per year. By 2045 – all but 30 years from now – maybe half the cars sold will be self driving.

I don’t think so. My prediction is that by 2020 more than half the cars sold in California will include self-driving features, and you’ll be able to buy a fully autonomous vehicle for less than $25,000.… More

Fast mobile broadband decisions forced on California cities

11 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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California cities (and counties) need to overhaul the way wireless broadband permits are processed. That’s the plain message that the California legislature sent last year, when it passed assembly bill 57. The new law put teeth in the Federal Communication Commission’s wireless shot clocks: if decisions – yes or no – on permit applications for new towers or other facilities aren’t made within 150 days, then the answer is yes. Permits are “deemed approved”.… More

Broadband subsidies break down barriers to competition and incumbents don't like that

10 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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Broadband service uptake is primarily a function of cost – that’s the clear conclusion of three separate studies last year. When providers offer fast service at competitive prices, more people buy it. It’s not complicated. On the other hand, when monopoly providers control an area, service quality is low and prices are high – sometimes by any standard ($150 per month for 3 Mbps!) and always in comparison to costs in competitive areas.… More

ISPs and real estate developers should tango in public

9 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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It’s more fun when people watch.

Installing modern broadband infrastructure in newly built housing developments often involves a dance between developers, who increasingly want reimbursement for what they believe to be the full cost, and service providers, who want it as cheap as possible and might not be very interested in the first place.

It’s usually a private negotiation, with the results becoming apparent only after people start moving in. In Gonzales, California for example (full disclosure: the City of Gonzales is a client of mine) new housing developments have been left with conduit installed for cable broadband service but never used.… More

Charter agrees to digital upgrade for Salinas Valley

8 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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Work in progress.

More than 100,000 people living in and around the Salinas Valley are on track for a digital upgrade from Charter Communications within the next three years. If Charter is allowed to buy Time Warner and Bright House cable systems in California and elsewhere.

Charter is the incumbent cable company in most of the Salinas Valley – the major exception is the City of Salinas, which is Comcast territory. Its Monterey County video franchise areas are stuck in the analog era, with 36 channels of old school, standard definition television that costs an eye-watering $106 per month.… More

Where's the value in broadband service subsidies?

6 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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Network effects.

When you subscribe to broadband service, you enjoy its benefits. But your purchase also benefits everybody else on the Internet: the more connections a network has, the more useful – and more valuable – it can be. In an analysis of a ban on Internet access taxes, the non-partisan congressional research service (CRS) discussed the rationale for subsidising broadband access…

When an individual is making a decision about whether to purchase Internet access…they will consider only their personal benefits from accessing the Internet and may not consider the external benefits they will create by purchasing Internet access.

… More

Broadband development game revealed to U.K. home buyers and local councils

5 March 2016 by Steve Blum
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British Telecom is putting its cards on the table for real estate developers (and prospective home buyers) to see. The company has been criticised for not providing fast broadband service to new housing developments. There’s been plenty of finger pointing and blame shifting along the way, with no easy way to tell why some homes get service and some don’t. That’s changing now.

If developers disclose their plans at least nine months (ideally, more) before the first residents are expected to move in, BT will provide…

  • Confirmation of whether or not the site is covered by existing [fiber to the cabinet/node] infrastructure, which will be connected for free.
… More