Uncategorized

LG and Samsung give Apple a case of the bends

8 October 2013 by Steve Blum
, , , ,

LG and Samsung muscle their flex.

LG and Samsung are firing press releases at each other, each claiming to have the first flexible OLED smartphone screen. Samsung teased their new technology at CES earlier this year, while LG unveiled its flex screen yesterday. Regardless of who is first, it’ll create marketing buzz for both companies as they build speed through the fall selling season.

A flexible screen means you can do cool things with design, like offering more useable screen real estate in more interesting ways.… More

No quick changes for Californian broadband subsidy program

7 October 2013 by Steve Blum
, , , , , ,

Glaciers are slow, but reliably arrive.

Because it was tagged as urgency legislation and then approved by a two-thirds vote of the California legislature, senate bill 740 took effect the moment it was signed by Governor Brown. Even so, don’t expect any immediate changes to the way the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) is managed or broadband construction subsidies are given out.

Eleven months ago, the California Public Utilities Commission began the lengthy process of changing CASF eligibility rules, under the assumption that the legislature would allow it.… More

Sunk costs support sinking gigabit prices

6 October 2013 by Steve Blum
, , , , ,

Nowhere to go but up.

Fiber-to-the-home system operators are falling in behind Google’s idea that market share counts more than marginal revenue gains (or cost controls). Both Chattanooga’s municipal FTTH network and the Utopia system serving several Utah communities are following Google’s lead in Kansas City and Provo, and offering residential gigabit service for monthly fees in the $65 to $70 range.

At $350 per month, Chattanooga was attracting only a few dozen gigabit-level subscribers. At $70 per month, it should shortly have tens of thousands.… More

Linux kernels find fertile ground in Inyo County

5 October 2013 by Steve Blum
, ,

Opening eyes to open source.

Inyo County, in remote eastern California, might be the first in the country where every student, from kindergartener to high school senior, is given a personal computing device in the public schools.

Terry McAteer, Inyo County superintendent of schools, made that claim last month at a forum organised by the Eastern Sierra Connect Regional Broadband Consortium. Every student in the county’s school system has an Acer Travelmate, a $320 netbook-class machine.… More

Santa Cruz culture gives tech start ups a competitive edge

Santa Cruz inspires Tomfoolery.

“The culture of community is Santa Cruz’s greatest export,” said Sol Lipman, one of three local entrepreneurs speaking at an event Thursday evening celebrating the growth and innovation of the local tech scene.
Sol is the founder of Tomfoolery, a start up that’s targeting the corporate sector with mobile apps that grow social networks within companies organically. He pointed out that the top three social networking platforms used for business are actually well known consumer market apps: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, in that order.… More

Governor Brown signs California broadband subsidy bills into law

3 October 2013 by Steve Blum
, , , , , ,

According to the sponsors of the legislation, Governor Brown has showered affection and money on Californian broadband backers, signing senate bill 740 and assembly bill 1299 into law. We’re all feeling the love now.

“Congratulations everyone, SB 740 has been signed by the Governor”, said SB 740 author senator Alex Padilla (D- Los Angeles). “I know a lot of hard work, dedication, and patience went into the bill, but it’s great to know that all the work has paid off.”… More

CPUC approves $4 million for broadband projects, but tougher decisions are ahead

In a unanimous vote this morning, the California Public Utilities Commission approved $4 million in grants from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) for three projects: $2 million for Winterhaven in Imperial County and $1.8 million for Olinda in Shasta County – both DSL upgrades – and $117,000 for fixed wireless service in Foresthill in Placer County.
These are the first three projects approved from the batch of thirty two applications submitted back in February.… More

The art of estimating broadband subsidy costs by households in rural California

2 October 2013 by Steve Blum
, , , , ,

It’s one house, but how many homes?

Maybe 800 homes on the western side of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains will get upgraded broadband service, many via fiber to the home connections, if a pair of draft resolutions is approved by the California Public Utilities Commission.

CPUC staff is recommending giving Ponderosa Telephone Company a total of $2.7 million from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF). About $1.8 million would go to an FTTH build in two small Madera County communities, Beasore and Central Camp, and $900,000 would help pay for a DSL upgrade and limited FTTH service in the Big Creek area of Fresno County.… More

Santa Cruz County supervisors move forward with comprehensive broadband policy


Plenty of coverage, but it’s not much good without the capacity to go with it.

After being duly warned about the World Bank’s global domination conspiracy, the danger of fluoridating water and the threat to honey bees posed by mobile phones, the Santa Cruz County, California board of supervisors approved recommendations for encouraging and assisting the deployment of new and upgraded broadband infrastructure.

County staff presented the findings of a report on barriers to construction of broadband facilities in general, including fiber optic lines, rural terminal boxes and, yes, wireless facilities.… More

City of Benicia releases RFP for industrial broadband

30 September 2013 by Steve Blum
, , ,

Major California long haul fiber routes converge underneath the Benicia bridge, in the northern San Francisco Bay Area.

In July, the Benicia, California city council decided to revitalise a major industrial park and surrounding areas by upgrading broadband infrastructure. Today, the City began the project by releasing a Request for Proposal that asks prospective participants to offer solutions, in terms of both the technology and business model to be used.

As stated in the RFP…

The City of Benicia has earmarked $750,000 for investment in the Project.

… More