Uncategorized

California broadband map opened to comments from customers

17 October 2013 by Steve Blum
, , ,

Not a lot of choice, but there’s room for a brief comment at the end.

If you don’t think your broadband provider is telling the truth, or if just want to say how happy you are with the service you’re getting, you can now add your comments to the California Broadband Availability map, published by the California Public Utilities Commission.

Initially restricted to regional broadband consortia, the public comment feature of the CPUC’s map is now open to anyone.… More

New mobile payment push by Verizon takes centerstage at MobileCon

16 October 2013 by Steve Blum
, , , , ,

As easy as looking in your wallet to see how much cash you have.

Credit cards are simple to use, easy to carry and accepted everywhere. That’s a tough combination to beat, which explains why mobile payment platforms are stalled in the U.S.

“You’ve got to make it incredibly simple,” said Michael Abbott, the CEO of Isis, a mobile payment platform that’s pulled together support from Verizon, American Express and Chase. “The competition is plastic, we’ve got to make plastic obsolete.”… More

MobileCon draws more people than purpose in San Jose

16 October 2013 by Steve Blum
,

Same booths, less booze, more schmooze than San Diego.

MobileCon’s last gasp is respectably windy, thanks to the decision to move it to San Jose. For the past few years, it’s bounced between San Francisco and San Diego as attendance, conference quality and buzz steadily spiraled downward. Following a dismal showing in San Diego last year, CTIA decided to combine MobileCon with its spring flagship show into a single event in Las Vegas next September, modestly called Super Mobility Week.… More

Sony sees but doesn't raise the mobile game

15 October 2013 by Steve Blum
, , , , ,

Coincidentally, it costs $200.

As the last MobileCon opens in San Jose, Sony announced today that it’s launching three mobile products in the US: the Xperia Z1 and Z Ultra smartphones and its new Smartwatch 2.

I don’t see any Wow! factor. The smart phones are standard, high-end Android devices and the smart watch seems more or less in line with Samsung’s Gear, although the fact that it can be used with any late model Android device (or so they say) and is a hundred bucks cheaper is a competitive advantage.… More

Verizon throws three more broadband subsidy tantrums


Can you hear me now?

To get a broadband construction subsidy from the California Advanced Services Fund (CPUC), you have to show that the area where you want to build is at least underserved, as defined by the California Public Utilities Commission speed standard of 6 Mbps down and 1.5 Mbps up. Incumbent carriers are then given a chance to prove you wrong.

In the current round of CASF grant and loan applications, submitted last February, some projects – particularly Golden Bear in north California and ViaSat all over the map – drew protests from a wide range of providers.… More

Gigabuzz without the bits in Austin and Vegas

13 October 2013 by Steve Blum
, , , , , , ,

Not the first time the marketing department has promised the moon.

AT&T and CenturyLink are pumping up the gigabit marketing machine, without much in the way of network infrastructure to back it up.

CenturyLink says it’ll deliver a gigabit to select locations in Las Vegas this fall, without specifics on price or location. The press release does say that its previously announced fiber-to-the-premise service in Omaha will be offering service by the end of the month, but only to “targeted homes and business” customers.… More

Fitness for Christmas is a mobile game

12 October 2013 by Steve Blum
, , , , ,

Old school only gets you so far.

About half of the annual sales of consumer electronics products will come between now and the end of the year, so manufacturers are feverishly trying to get their new products in front of consumers. Fitness applications, particularly ones built around smart phones, are getting an increasing amount of attention as the holiday selling season builds.

There’s no question that mobile phones are part of the standard kit for athletes (although hopefully not during races).… More

The world is getting smarter

11 October 2013 by Steve Blum
, ,

Out of 157 countries rated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 154 had a better information and communication technology (ICT) environment in 2012 than in 2011. Although some countries saw fluctuations in the usage and penetration of one technology or another, taken as a whole international and domestic connectivity is growing virtually everywhere.

The ITU publishes statistics on a range of telecoms and information technology metrics, from plain old telephone lines to home Internet subscriptions to adult literacy.… More

CPUC small business expo draws hundreds to Salinas

10 October 2013 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

Giving small business a lift in Salinas.

Rapidly changing business models and utility needs are providing opportunities for small businesses in the twenty-first century. That was Commissioner Catherine Sandoval’s message to several hundred entrepreneurs in Salinas yesterday, at a small business expo and matchmaking fair sponsored by the California Public Utilities Commission.

Sandoval pointed to new rules that were just adopted that allow online ride sharing companies, such as Lyft and Uber, to provide on demand service, despite vehement objections from entrenched – and protected – taxi companies.… More

Supreme Court clears way for lower fees, easier access to utility poles

9 October 2013 by Steve Blum
, ,

More competition for the communications zone.

A standard attachment fee of $7 per foot of vertical space and permission for wireless companies to install equipment on utility poles was blessed Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court. It declined to hear an appeal from a broad group of electric utilities that objected to new pole attachment rules adopted by the FCC in 2011.

The electric utilities claimed that the FCC and the lower appeals court that heard the case misinterpreted federal law, with the result…

The FCC’s one-sided regulation of the century-old ‘joint use’ or ‘joint ownership’ relationship will upset well established private contractual relationships to the unfair benefit of ILECs and the enormous detriment of the electric utility industry.

… More