Set-Top With Integrated Antenna Intended to End-Run Retrans Fees
Posted by Steve Pastorkovich on Monday, May 20, 2013 · 
Move over, Aereo. Another media storm on the battles between video providers and broadcasters emerged last week when DirecTV’s chief financial officer mentioned that the satellite company was considering integrating an over-the-air antenna into its set-top boxes. This would allow consumers to seamlessly view locally broadcast signals along with other content provided through DirecTV. If this were done, it would permit DirecTV to avoid paying the massive retransmission consent fees that are increasingly problematic in the video services market.
Years ago, DirecTV’s set-tops used a similar feature to make it easier for customers to view local over-the-air channels using DirecTV’s equipment. The integrated antenna was no longer needed after legislation allowed satellite providers to deliver local stations’ broadcasts to customers within the appropriate Designated Market Area (DMA). This law must be reauthorized periodically, leading many to wonder if DirecTV’s consideration of a return to integrated antennas is serious, or a ploy for leverage in its retransmission consent negotiations with broadcasters against the backdrop of Congress considering which, if any, video laws it might want to re-examine. Read more
Toll-Free Data Plans for Viewers of Online Content?
Posted by Brian Ford on Monday, May 20, 2013 ·
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that ESPN is looking into toll-free data plans for mobile broadband users viewing its content online. If it comes to fruition, a consumer using their mobile wireless device to stream ESPN content would not have that data usage count towards their broadband data cap. ESPN would pay the mobile wireless provider a fee under this arrangement.
According to the report, ESPN is already in negotiations with one nationwide U.S. wireless carrier. However, ESPN has refused to comment, and the Journal article states that an agreement is not imminent.
Arrangements such as this have recently been a topic of discussion by the heads of the major U.S. wireless carriers. Speculation on the topic has encompassed all sorts of content providers. Read more
NTIA Report: U.S. Broadband Availability Nearly Ubiquitous
Posted by Rick Schadelbauer on Monday, May 20, 2013 ·
According to a newly-released NTIA report, in 2012 98% of all Americans had access to basic broadband availability, defined as service of at least 3 Mbps downstream/768 kbps upstream.
The NTIA report, entitled “U.S. Broadband Availability: June 2010-June 2012,” is the first in a series of Broadband Briefs that uses publicly available data collected by the Department of Commerce to examine broadband availability in greater detail.
The report also finds that just over 93% of Americans have access to wireline broadband at advertised speeds of at least 3 Mbps/768 kbps, and nearly 93% have access to at least 6 Mbps. Ninety-one percent have access to 10 Mbps, and 78% to 25 Mbps. Read more
Neither Common Sense Nor Broadband Access Should Stop at Town Boundaries
Posted by Michael Romano on Monday, May 20, 2013 ·
In this update, I wanted to talk about how providers who do not operate much in rural areas attack programs that help to stimulate and sustain broadband investment in rural areas. While such opponents tend to dress their claims up in terms like “avoiding overbuilding,” these claims don’t hold much water once you check the facts about where they serve and what these programs actually enable in terms of much broader, wider investment.
Stepping back, NTCA has been no big fan of the National Broadband Map. It is riddled with errors that we’ve noted time and again. But at least at a macro level in terms of assessing who generally tends to serve where, it can certainly provide some value. And, boy, what a story it tells when it comes to who really serves most of rural America—and who really doesn’t.
Let’s start at the 50,000-foot level—the continental United States. The National Broadband Map tells a story of two countries when it comes to nationwide cable broadband coverage. At first glance, it sort of reminds me of that old New Yorker magazine cover where everything more or less stops at the Hudson River and then you end up right in the Pacific Ocean. It’s not quite that bad, of course. If you happen to live in Dallas or Houston or Chicago, or other metropolitan areas like Santa Fe or Salt Lake City or Boise, or even a scattering of smaller cities and larger towns between the coasts, you might be lucky enough to have the choice of getting broadband from a cable company. But get outside of the more densely populated areas, and you’re largely out of luck. Read more
APCO Broadband Summit Focuses on FirstNet and Next-Gen Apps
Posted by Jesse Ward on Friday, May 17, 2013 ·
Earlier this week, I attended the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Broadband Summit & Expo, an annual gathering of internal public safety communicators and industry personnel in Washington, D.C.
With the presence of FirstNet — the congressionally mandated independent operating authority housed within NTIA responsible for developing our country’s first interoperable, nationwide, public safety broadband network — the event has grown, reaching a sold-out capacity of more than 275 attendees.
About half of the sessions at the summit focused on the nuts and bolts of the network, including LTE technology, cybersecurity, and the launch requirements for the nationwide public safety broadband network. Read more
Study Foreshadows Growth in Tech Support Services
Posted by Rick Schadelbauer on Monday, May 13, 2013 ·
Seventy-eight percent of U.S. broadband households have a home network, according to a study recently conducted by Parks Associates and Support.com, Inc. Parks expects that number to grow to 95% by 2016. The company concludes that these numbers will ultimately result in increased demand for home tech support services.
The Parks white paper, entitled “Expanding to the Home Network: The Evolution of Premium Tech Support,” looks at the market for premium tech support, market conditions driving future adoption of subscription-based support services, and strategies to bundle premium support services with product and service sales to achieve brand differentiation and revenue growth. Read more
Roomba Creator Signs Seven to New Medical Robot
Posted by Josh Seidemann on Monday, May 13, 2013 ·
Several months after receiving FDA approval for a medical device earlier this year, iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT) announced last week that seven medical centers and health systems will purchase the firm’s new medical robot. The announcement was made last week at the American Telemedicine Association’s International Conference in Austin, Texas.
iRobot may be familiar to many consumers as the creators of Roomba (robotic vacuum cleaner), Scooba (robotic floor washer), and Looj (robotic gutter cleaner). The company’s latest device, RP-VITA is not intended for home use, but rather clinical facilities where it will enable physicians to interact with patients and, according to the firm “remotely take command of the clinical environment without need for any on-site setup, coordination or assistance from nurses or technical staff.” Physicians will be able to interact with the robot through, for example, a tablet; the robot is not sedentary, but can be directed to move throughout a building. Read more