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News
July
World's Largest Commercial Satellite Launched to Space
The largest commercial satellite ever built - the massive TerreStar-1 - launched into space on Wednesday, riding a European-built rocket into orbit.
Weighing in at 15,233 pounds (6,910 kg), TerreStar-1 lifted off atop an Ariane 5 ECA rocket at 1:52 p.m. EDT (1752 GMT) from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana.
The launch was the third of seven Ariane 5 ECA launches planned for 2009 by the European launch firm Arianespace. Because of its size, TerreStar-1 was the sole payload onboard the vehicle, which is typically used to place two telecommunications satellites at a time into geostationary transfer orbit.
In addition to its mass, TerreStar-1 is distinguished by a giant, 60-foot (18-meter) wide S-band antenna that will be unfurled in the coming weeks. Once the satellite's two solar wings are deployed, TerreStar-1 is expected to have a wingspan of about 106 feet (32.4 meters).
Space.com , July 02, 2009
State now taxing digital downloads
Did you pay to download a song, book or movie this week? You may have to pay sales tax on it.
Vermont became one of a growing number of states to target digital downloads as a new source of tax revenue. Starting July 1, many purchases from iTunes and other on-line download retailers became subject to the state's sales tax.
Residents of Vermont are already expected to pay sales tax for purchases over the Internet, but the new digital download tax targets forms of entertainment that don't necessarily have a tangible product attached.
The new tax was proposed as a way to boost the state's coffers during an economic downturn, according to Rep. Jim Condon, D-Colchester, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. It also recognizes that the buying habits of Vermonters are changing, he said.
Barre Times Argus , July 02, 2009
State's cell-phone hopes high in the sky
Vermont's infamously spotty cell-phone coverage might improve a few bars if a high-risk, high-dollar technology venture takes flight.
On Tuesday, in French Guiana, a Virginia-based telecommunications company launched a $300 million satellite 23 miles into outer space. The orbiting satellite, which aims to replace terrestrial cell towers, could one day offer cell service to remote outposts, and towns in the Northeast Kingdom will serve as a testing ground for the world's first fourth-generation cell-phone technology.
"We call it a creative sandbox for the company," says Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, who was on hand for the launch Wednesday. "If you can solve rural wireless capability issues in Vermont, you're really addressing them for much of the nation."
Barre Times Argus , July 02, 2009
Dubie witnesses satellite launch
Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie had a front-row seat Wednesday in French Guiana for the launch of a satellite that could enable new mobile communication systems in rural areas or emergency situations such as ice storms when land-based cellular service is inadequate.
The Northeast Kingdom in Vermont will be a test site for the service that the TerreStar-1 satellite will eventually provide once its giant reflector opens.
If the experimental system works, satellite phones the size of cellular phones will be able to connect users with both available towers and the TerreStar-1.
"Isn't it great Vermont is involved in a cutting edge project?" Dubie said in a telephone interview several hours after the successful launch.
Burlingtion Free Press , July 02, 2009
New FairPoint CEO assumes duties amid money problems
The new head of FairPoint Communications is assuming his duties amid growing concerns that the company could file for bankruptcy protection if it can't delay its debt obligations.
Effective Wednesday, David Hauser (HOO'-zer) replaces FairPoint co-founder Eugene Johnson as the company's chairman and CEO.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last week, the company said it's seeking to delay an interest payment to bondholders due in October. If the payment can't be put off, the company said it might seek alternative debt restructuring plans, which could include bankruptcy.
Bangor Daily News , July 02, 2009
Satellite launch brings hopes of better cell service to rural Vermont
The successful launching of the world's largest commercial satellite could bring vastly improved wireless cell phone coverage to rural parts of Vermont.
Lt. Governor Brian Dubie says this new technology could also provide critical services for first responders in the northern part of the state.
VPRs Bob Kinzel reports.
The launch of the satellite by Terrastar Networks was in doubt because of inclement weather at Arianespace headquarters along the coast of French Guiana. The European space company has built a huge facility in this location because it's easier to launch heavier satellites closer to the equator.
It's the world's largest antennae ever designed. It's 18 meters, about 60 feet across, the size of this antennae on this satellite that's going to be 22,300 miles above Newport Vermont - above the state of Vermont - all that distance and the size of the antennae translates into capability for allowing a conventional cell phone device - the size of a conventional cell phone - to be able to not have a dropped call. Or if you're in a place that doesn't have a cell tower, this satellite would provide capability."
Vermont Public Radio , July 01, 2009
New FairPoint CEO seeks to avoid bankruptcy filing
The new head of FairPoint Communications said Wednesday the company will have to make some big changes to get out of its financial pinch, but he's optimistic it won't have to file for bankruptcy reorganization.
In his first day on the job, David Hauser acknowledged that FairPoint's reputation has been damaged by operational problems it has had since it took over Verizon Communications Inc.'s landline telephone and Internet business in northern New England.
He said fixing the company's problems requires restructuring debt, getting operations to run smoothly, cutting costs and listening to customers.
"I firmly believe I have a good shot at righting the ship," Hauser said in a phone interview from company headquarters in Charlotte, N.C.
Seattle Times , July 01, 2009
Bankruptcy firm will advise state on FairPoint case
The state of Vermont hired a law firm with experience in corporate bankruptcy cases this week as FairPoint Communications, one of its largest telephone and Internet companies, flounders financially.
The Vermont Department of Public Service retained Burlington law firm Paul Frank and Collins just days after FairPoint Communications, in financial filings with the federal government, suggested it could file for bankruptcy this year.
Public Service Commissioner David O'Brien said Tuesday that the department needed experts to guide it on bankruptcy proceedings for corporate telecommunications companies as it keeps a close eye on FairPoint and its finances.
Barre Times Argus , July 01, 2009
FairPoint bankruptcy a possibility
Telephone and Internet customers in northern New England who rely on FairPoint Communications would notice little immediate change if the company were to file for bankruptcy, according to Maine regulators, consumer advocates and labor leaders.
Any bankruptcy filing likely would take the form of a court-supervised financial reorganization, they said, which would allow the company to continue normal operations. Several airlines have followed this course, but perhaps more relevant is the experience of Hawaiian Telecom, a landline carrier that filed for bankruptcy protection last year and continues to operate statewide on the islands.
Kennebec Journal , July 01, 2009
June
Outlook for more stimulus money improves
The Douglas Administration says there's a good chance that construction could begin this year on a variety of smart grid and broadband projects, financed with new federal stimulus money. Vermont is seeking more than $200 million for the high tech proposals. Federal stimulus money comes to the state in two different ways. One program provides funds to every state. Vermont is expected to receive over $700 million from this source. The rules for these funds were put into place very quickly and the money is already flowing to Vermont.
The second category requires states to apply for competitive grants - Vermont is hoping to get about $200 million from this program.
Tom Evslin is the director of the state's Economic Recovery office - a department that coordinates all requests for the federal money.
Vermont Public Radio , June 30, 2009
FairPoint Filing for Bankruptcy?
More troubles for FairPoint. The company that took over Verizon's old landline and internet operations in Vermont last year now says it may have to file for bankruptcy.
"It's certainly not where we would like to be," said Dave O'Brien, the Vermont Public Service Commissioner. "It's not where we wanted to be a year ago when the transaction was approved, but we have to deal with circumstances we're in today."
O'Brien says FairPoint could not have known when it began its quest to take over Verizon's landline and internet service that the economy would be in recession and many people would see their old landline phones as a luxury, or foresee the challenges of transitioning from Verizon's systems to FairPoint's. But now revenues are down, expenses are up-- and that means finances are in trouble.
WCAX TV , June 30, 2009
State hires advisor in case FairPoint files for bankruptcy
The state of Vermont has hired a bankruptcy expert to prepare for the possibility that the region's dominant land-line phone company will default on its debt.
Fairpoint Communications says it may be forced to file for bankruptcy if it can't reach a new agreement with creditors.
VPR's John Dillon reports: FairPoint concedes it's had troubles since it took over Verizon's northern New England land line business in January.
Melissa Bailey knows the problems first hand.
She wanted to get FairPoint's D-S-L Internet service connected to her home in Duxbury. She asked for the service last December, and it took the company five months to deliver.
Vermont Public Radio , June 30, 2009
FairPoint’s recent filing with SEC mentions likely bankruptcy by 2009-end
According to a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the North Carolina-based telecommunications firm, FairPoint Communications, would likely file for bankruptcy by 2009-end, in case its debt holders refuse to allow the company to defer its interest payments.
In its Wednesday filing with the SEC, Fairpoint said that bankruptcy might be the only resort left before the cash-strapped company, which struck a $2.3 billion deal last year for buying Verizon´s landlines and Internet services in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The company said that it has been experiencing persistent problems pertaining to its financial, service, and technical aspects.
TopNews.us , June 29, 2009
Fairpoint raises bankruptcy
Fairpoint Communications could file for bankruptcy before the end of the year, if its debt holders don't agree to allow the company to postpone interest payments, according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The North Carolina telecommunications company, which took over Verizon's landline phone network in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, has faced continual service, technical and financial problems. According to the filing, the company does not expect it will be able to pay the interest due in October on $530 million in loans. The SEC filing, submitted Wednesday, asks the company's lenders to exchange their notes for new loans that would give FairPoint more time to repay.
Concord Monitor , June 28, 2009
Hybrid cell and wind turbine tower may be in offing for Dorset
The Vermont Telecommunications Authority (VTA) is beginning an initiative that will see more than 200 wind turbine cell towers installed throughout the state and there is a small possibility that one of those towers could be located in Dorset.
Dorset Town Manager Rob Giaotti said the town registered a piece of property located in the town's fire district as a possible site to have a tower constructed and are waiting to hear back from the VTA.
"The goal is to provide service to that Route 30 corridor," said Gaiotti. "I think it's safe to say that the town will look at all reasonable methods to provide that new cell phone coverage on Route 30."
Gaiotti said the initiative most likely would open the door for area residents who were interested in having a wind turbine tower on their property that would not only help provide service to the Route 30 corridor, but reduce their electric bill as well.
Manchester Journal , June 25, 2009
FairPoint launches exchange offer
FairPoint Communications Inc. is launching a private exchange offer for its outstanding 13.125 percent senior notes due in 2018.
Charlotte-based FairPoint says the offer is designed primarily to reduce the company´s second- and third-quarter interest expenses. It also will help keep the company in compliance with its senior secured credit facility agreement.
FairPoint says it believes the exchange offer is critical to its continued viability. The telecommunications company says it is working with its financial adviser to evaluate its capital structure.
Charlotte Business Journal , June 24, 2009
New telecom laws give boards less pull
Abutting land owners and local zoning boards have fewer opportunities to weigh in on proposed cell towers under the state's new telecommunications law.
Passed Act 79
The 2007 General Assembly passed Act 79, which created the VermontTelecommunications Authority and put the state on the fast track to improve broadband Internet and cell phone service.
One of the provisions of that law authorizes the Public Service Board to make decisions on cell tower applications.
The provision was developed so phone companies would not have to go through multiple hearings when applying for the right to construct cell towers.
The law has not been tested yet, and T-Mobile's application to put up a tower in Putney will end up being one of the first in the state to go through the new process.
Bennington Banner , June 22, 2009
FairPoint still has promises to keep
Back in 2007, when FairPoint Communications was asking for permission to take over land-line telephone service in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, the small telecommunications company had two things going for it.
One was its promise that it would quickly bring broadband Internet service to northern New England, which by then had become Dial-Up Land. Broadband was no longer just a fun thing to play with; it had become essential for most businesses, big and small, and for the kinds of entrepreneurial activities that states thrive on.
Verizon, which was then providing phone service in these parts, used to explain the lack of broadband penetration as a technological matter. Customers, it explained, had to live within a half-mile of a telephone substation for broadband to work.
Nashua Telegraph , June 20, 2009
New regulations may shut locals out of cell tower decisions
Abutting land owners and local zoning boards have fewer opportunities to weigh in on proposed cell towers under the state's new telecommunications law.
The 2007 General Assembly passed Act 79, which created the Vermont Telecommunications Authority and put the state on the fast track to improve broadband Internet and cell phone service.
One of the provisions of that law authorizes the Public Service Board to make decisions on cell tower applications.
The provision was developed so phone companies would not have to go through multiple hearings when applying for the right to construct cell towers.
The law has not been tested yet, and T-Mobile's application to put up a tower in Putney will end up being one of the first in the state to go through the new process.
Brattleboro Reformer , June 20, 2009
FCC To Probe Carriers' Exclusive Handset Deals
Under pressure from Congress, acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps has ordered an investigation of the exclusive deals between wireless carriers and handset makers. AT&T has defended its exclusive deal for Apple, Inc.'s iPhone, saying it encourages innovation. But where the Big Four don't offer service, handsets are not available. Responding to concerns expressed on Capitol Hill this week concerning exclusive arrangements between the cellular industry's biggest carriers and handset manufacturers, acting Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Copps said Thursday that he has instructed the FCC's Communication Bureau to begin crafting an official investigation. "The commission as the expert agency should determine whether some of these arrangements adversely restrict consumer choice or harm the development of innovative devices, and it should take appropriate action if it finds harm," Copps said.
CIO Today , June 19, 2009
Smart grids and telecom
My dishwasher offers a handful of different options for wash cycles, one of which is called "smart wash." I don´t really know what the differences are between them, but I know that once you deem one option the "smart" one, there´s little point in offering the alternatives.
A similar sense of inevitability is at work in the smart-grid space, where the promise of massive buildouts of transformative new technologies — which Cisco says represents a $100 billion opportunity that ultimately will dwarf the Internet — is attracting everyone from equipment vendors to telecom carriers to Google.
While many utilities will build their own smart grids (and some already have), many others likely will be convinced that this is a job for the telecom industry, having learned in the previous decade that running large data networks is not as easy as it looks.
Telephony Online , June 19, 2009
Broadband saw big jump since 2008, new Pew study reveals
Despite the difficult economy, the number of adult Americans with broadband connectivity at home increased nearly 15% between 2008 and 2009, according to data released today from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, which has conducted an influential survey about broadband adoption for about 10 years.
Between May 2008 and April 2009, the percentage of American adults with broadband connectivity at home rose from 55% to 63%, said John Horrigan, associate research director for the Pew Internet and American Life Project, addressing attendees of a national broadband symposium organized by the Internet Innovation Alliance. That´s a particularly impressive growth rate, considering that the average monthly cost for broadband service rose from $34.50 to $39 during the same period.
Telephony Online , June 18, 2009
US subsidy fund for rural service reaches all-time high
New numbers from FCC mean consumers' phone bills will increase slightly on 1 July.
A subsidy fund designed to help phone carriers offer service in rural areas has mushroomed to an all-time high - 12.9% of interstate telecommunications revenue, up from 9.5% in the beginning of the year, the Federal Communications Commission announced Monday.
That means that consumers' phone bills will increase slightly on July 1, the start of the third quarter. The FCC's announcement forecasts a change that carriers will need to make to customers' phone bills effective on that date.
The subsidy fund is supported by a tax on the long-distance and regular phone-service bills paid by wireless, Internet and traditional phone customers. The amount is a separate line item dubbed "universal service," and it usually adds up to few dollars per month.
AT&T Inc. estimates that the increased customer payments from the first quarter to the third quarter of 2009 amount to roughly half a billion dollars.
Total Telecom , June 17, 2009
FCC chair nominee: Broadband deployment a major priority
Rolling out broadband to rural and other areas that lack service will be a major priority for the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, the man nominated to be chairman of the agency said Tuesday.
The FCC, tasked by the U.S. Congress with creating a national broadband plan, will focus on making broadband available and affordable to U.S. residents, said Julius Genachowski, nominated by President Barack Obama to become chairman of the FCC.
Congress, in requiring a national broadband plan in a huge economic stimulus package passed earlier this year, recognized that "we as a country are not where we need to be, with respect to our communications infrastructure," said Genachowski, who was a tech adviser to Obama's presidential campaign and a former special counsel at the FCC. "We should have, I believe, a communications infrastructure that is world-leading, a 21st-century infrastructure that generates economic growth, opportunity, prosperity."
ComputerWorld , June 17, 2009
Senators press FCC to examine exclusive cell phone deals
Are you annoyed that you can't get an iPhone on Verizon, or an Android G1 on Sprint? So are certain members of the US Senate, who have written a letter to the Federal Communications Commission asking it to review the legality of wireless exclusivity agreements. If the FCC finds that such agreements limit competition and choice, Congress may consider passing legislation to help balance things out. Several US senators are requesting that the Federal Communications Commission review the now-popular exclusivity agreements between wireless carriers and handset manufacturers. In a letter sent this week, four Senators voiced their concern over exclusivity agreements and their limitations on consumer choice, and asked the FCC to "examine this issue carefully" to determine whether such agreements should be allowed. The letter was signed by Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
ArsTechnica , June 16, 2009
Fairpoint Announces New CEO
Fairpoint has announced that a new CEO will take the helms of the troubled telecommunications company in July. David Hauser, CFO of Duke Energy and a Fairpoint board member, will take over as the company´s CEO on July 1.
Fairpoint had earlier announced that current chairman and CEO Eugene Johnson will retire.
Fairpoint has struggled to digest its $2.3 billion acquisition of Verizon´s landline operations in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.
Its customer service and billing problems have become notorious in the state.
By the end of March, the company had 13,000 unfilled orders for service and the Public Utility Commission had begun publicly discussing the possibility that it would ask Fairpoint for a change in management.
NHPR.com , June 16, 2009
Vermont Governor on ARRA Broadband Funding
Governor Douglas and Vermont´s Congressional Delegation Urge Vice President Biden to Expedite ARRA Broadband and SmartGrid Funding. Vermont Governor Jim Douglas, U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and U.S. Representative Peter Welch today released a letter sent to Vice President Joe Biden highlighting a proposal put forward by the Vermont Recovery Office and urging him to expedite ARRA broadband and SmartGrid funding.
The letter stems from concerns with the National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Service´s (RUS) recent announcement that ARRA broadband funding may not be awarded to states until December 2009. The timing will prevent northern states like Vermont from being able to use the money during this construction season.
AllAmericanPatriots.com , June 16, 2009
Compare Rates on Cellular in Vermont
Subscribers of Unicel's Vermont network have largely benefited from AT&T's acquisition of the network. Since the launching of Apple's iPhone, Vermonters were expecting to purchase the gadget. The excitement was sustained until AT&T acquired Unicel and started introducing products for the Green Mountain State.
Since the last week of 2008, Vermonters are able to use devices such as iPhone and the Blackberry Bold. This gives Unicel customers an added advantage when AT&T waived its activation fee for Unicel users switching to America's second largest provider of wireless service.
Vermont's cellular subscribers undoubtedly increased with AT&T's arrival. Unicel customers began switching to AT&T calling plan by mid-January. When it announced that it would heavily invest in Vermont's Unicel, AT&T opened a promising future for the cellular communications industry in Vermont.
Telecompricer.com , June 16, 2009
Vt top pols want Veep to release broadband bucks
Gov. Jim Douglas and Vermont's congressional delegation are urging the Obama administration to move faster to release money to promote the development of broadband and smart-grid technology.
In a letter to Vice President Joe Biden, Douglas, U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch say the current plan to release the money in December will miss this year's construction season in the state.
Vermont is seeking money that is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Vermont is working to make broadband computer access available everywhere in the state. Smart-grid is a system designed to use technology to make electric use more efficient.
FOX44.net , June 16, 2009
WiMax launch in Atlanta is biggest city so far in Clearwire roadmap
Clearwire Corp. officially celebrates the launch of its WiMax service in Atlanta on Tuesday, but the formal launch in its largest city so far still has experts wondering how the fast wireless Internet service will catch on around the nation.
Clearwire, based in Kirkland, Wash., has an ambitious plan to roll out WiMax service nationwide under the Clear brand over several years, with backing from major players such as Intel Corp., Google Inc., Sprint Nextel Inc. and cable providers such as Time Warner Cable.
The cities of Portland, Ore., and Baltimore have held official WiMax launches, but other cities such as Chicago have been provisioning the technology for more than a year without a formal launch party. Still, Clearwire in March said it plans to have WiMax rolled out in eight cities, including Atlanta, this year, and four more in 2010.
ComputerWorld , June 16, 2009
Internet Use Triples in Decade, Census Bureau Reports
New data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that 62 percent of households reported using Internet access in the home in 2007, an increase from 18 percent in 1997, the first year the bureau collected data on Internet use.
Sixty-four percent of individuals 18 and over used the Internet from any location in 2007, while only 22 percent did so in 1997.
Among households using the Internet in 2007, 82 percent reported using a high-speed connection, and 17 percent used a dial-up connection.
US Census Bureau , June 12, 2009
Douglas signs supplemental budget bill
Gov. Jim Douglas has signed into law a budget "companion bill" passed during last week's special session, despite his concerns that parts of it are unconstitutional.
The bill was passed during the special legislative session on June 3, after lawmakers overrode the governor's veto of the main budget bill a day earlier.
Douglas says he likes the bill's provisions calling for a sales tax holiday, and restoring a capital gains tax break for farmers, foresters and seniors. He also likes that it boosted funding for scholarships, job training and the Vermont Telecommunications Authority.
Vermont Public Radio , June 11, 2009
Phone line failure adds to VY drill
A phone-line failure in the town of Brattleboro added a "real-world element" to a Federal Emergency Management Agency graded drill of emergency preparedness in the area around Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon on Wednesday, said Barbara Sondag, Brattleboro's town manager.
"It allowed us to test how we would operate in a situation where we would have limited communication," she said. "It was a good eye opener for us."
The town's 251 exchange had been non-functional since Tuesday morning, when digital interface equipment failed. Shortly after the drill was concluded, service to the 251 exchange was restored.
Multiple modes of communication are in place to insure effective communication between towns in the emergency preparedness zone, Vermont Emergency Management and Vermont Yankee, said Sondag.
"During the drill we were relying more on our dispatch radios and on the amateur Ham radio operators," she said. The town's emergency personnel also relied on their mobile phones and their e-mail for communication.
Despite the phone-line failure, Sondag was happy with the drill results.
Brattleboro Reformer , June 11, 2009
Fiber-optic connections now available in some Richmond areas
Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) service is now available for a growing number of customers in Richmond, Vermont. Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom customers in parts of the East Main Street, Snipe Ireland Road and O´Neil Road area, are in the process of being converted to 100% fiber-optic service. Fiber-optic service allows even greater speeds and increased reliability. In addition, recent equipment upgrades now allow approximately 60% of its High-Speed DSL users to upgrade their Internet speeds to 12Mbps, or about twice the previously available speed via the new "Elite" service.
"Our work on the network never really stops," said Gregg Haskin, president and CEO. "It was only a few years ago that we became one of the first telecom companies in Vermont to make high-speed Internet service available to 100% of our customers. With FTTH, we´ll be bringing the network backbone right to people´s homes.
VermontBiz.com , June 10, 2009
Mobile Internet key to minority, low-income areas of US
New coalition of minority, civil rights groups backs mobile operators.
Cellphone companies may have an unexpected ally in a newly formed coalition of civil rights and minority groups asking federal regulators to prioritize disadvantaged communities in a national Internet plan.
The group on Monday echoed repeated statements from wireless companies like Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG, that mobile Internet access is a central part of any national broadband plan.
Smaller wireless firms including Leap Wireless International Inc. specialize in marketing wireless services to low-income and minority communities.
Internet applications for cellphones could be a particular boon to disadvantaged groups that are reluctant to invest in computers, members of the newly formed civil rights coalition said during a conference call.
Total Telecom , June 10, 2009
Vt recovery chief: stimulus grant projects moving too slowly
State officials say they expect millions of dollars to flow into Vermont in the coming weeks as part of the second phase of the federal stimulus plan.
But Economic Recovery director Tom Evslin says he's disappointed that the Obama Administration has been slow to establish rules for key broadband and energy grant projects. The federal stimulus money is divided into two categories. The first is known as formula funds - every state gets this money based on its population. Vermont is set to receive $720 million over the next two years in these funds.
The second category allocates money based on a competitive grant process. Vermont hopes to receive an additional $200 million in special broadband, energy, e- health and e - education grants.
Vermont Public Radio , June 10, 2009
From bad to worse for FairPoint in Vermont
FairPoint Communications, which already can be accused of offering customers in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine communications services Third World users might find subpar, ran into another glitch yesterday that left 12,000 of its customers in Vermont without Internet service for much of the day. Dial-up and high-speed customers lost service at 2:50 p.m. and couldn't connect again until almost 10:30 p.m. FairPoint blamed hardware issues and said only customers in Vermont were affected.
The company took over operations from Verizon in January and has had a miserable time debugging everything from Internet, to landline service, to local exchanges in the three states.
"Essentially FairPoint is suffering from difficulties in the market that have made it difficult for them to keep up with their promises," said Stephen Wark, a spokesman with the state Department of Public Service. "Nonetheless, Vermont consumers deserve to have quality service, and we're going to continue to fight to make sure that they get decent quality telecommunications."
FierceTelecom.com , June 09, 2009
National Broadband Stimulus Webcast Attracts Thousands
A June 4th National Broadband Stimulus Town Hall Meeting Webcast produced by the National League of Cities TV, (www.NLCTV.org), in cooperation with TV Worldwide and BroadbandCensus.com, attracted an on-line audience of thousands of city officials and industry professionals as experts engaged in interactive discussions on how broadband stimulus money will be deployed.
Sponsored by K&L Gates and Broadband Associates, the event led off with a provocative presentation from Jim Kohlenberger, Chief of Staff of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, who set the tone for an informative agenda featuring incisive commentary from experts on a variety of broadband stimulus topics. Governmental entities and industry are preparing for the upcoming Notice of Funds Availability (NoFA) from U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the U.S.
TCM.net , June 09, 2009
FairPoint customers blanked
As yet another sign of its ongoing problems, about 12,000 of FairPoint Communications customers in Vermont lost Internet service Monday.
FairPoint's Internet service in parts of the state went down at 2:50 p.m. The outage affected both high-speed and dial-up customers. A recorded message on the company's technical support line said there was no estimated time when service would be restored and advised customers to call back for an update.
Shortly before 10:30 p.m., service was restored to about 12,000 customers, according to Fairpoint spokeswoman Beth Fastiggi.
"We do have an issue that is affecting some customers in Vermont. However, it is not impacting all FairPoint Internet customers in the state," Fastiggi said in an e-mail late Monday afternoon.
Fastiggi confirmed that the outage was isolated to parts of Vermont and was related to a hardware issue. She said Maine and New Hampshire customers were not affected.
Rutland Herald , June 09, 2009
Favorable signals for Vermont broadband
Vermont could see between $30 million to $70 million in federal stimulus dollars boost its ambitious plan for universal high-speed Internet access by the end of next year, and companies are already lining up with possible projects.
Later this summer, the National Telecommunications and Information Agency and the Rural Utilities Services are expected to begin accepting proposals for billions of dollars in high-speed Internet and mobile data grant and loans.
And while the federal rules on how those funds will be allocated are not yet written, Vermont wants to be first in line to best take advantage of the money.
"We don't know what those final rules might say, but we are putting together a package of proposals under the wrapper of the state that we believe will meet the criteria," explained Tom Evslin, who is chief recovery officer for Vermont overseeing plans for federal stimulus money.
Rutland Herald , June 05, 2009
FairPoint wants to collect past due phone bills
FairPoint Communications wants to start collecting on customers' past due phone and Internet bills. New Hampshire officials want FairPoint to resolve its own billing problems first.
FairPoint, which bought the landline network in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont and has been dealing with numerous customer service complaints, suspended its collection practices after taking over in January.
FairPoint recently told the Public Service Commission it planned to reinstate the process to preserve badly needed cash reserves, the Concord Monitor reported.
The commission said it wants to review the plan. Commissioner Clifton Below said he's concerned about how customers with incorrect bills would be affected by a collection procedure, but FairPoint executive Jeffrey Allen said those cases wouldn't be affected.
WCAX TV , June 02, 2009
Phone company making progress
FairPoint Communications is ahead of its goals for whittling down pending requests for phone service, but continues to struggle with orders that are getting hung up in its computer system, according to the latest progress report from the company to the Maine Public Utilities Commission.
These and other assessments, from the week of May 22, suggest FairPoint is making headway -- but faces challenges -- in its pledge to return phone service in northern New England to "business as usual" levels by June 30.
Submitted weekly, the so-called milestone results provide an ongoing glimpse of FairPoint's efforts to meet a stabilization plan drawn up in March at the request of regulators in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Morning Sentinel , June 02, 2009
Should broadband connectivity be a right?
Is it possible to achieve 100% broadband availability and penetration? Should it be a right?
Vermonter, inventor, author and Fractals of Change blogger Tom Evslin recently wrote about the real-life challenge to bring broadband to the masses in the state of Vermont and the implications of such a system — namely, how such a system is intertwined with "the electrical system of tomorrow, the health care system of tomorrow, and the education system of today," not to mention communication, commerce, entertainment, e-government and research.
ZDnet.com , June 01, 2009
Broadband for EVERYbody
We used to think it was enough to make broadband accessible everywhere. That's no longer good enough. We now need to make sure that everyone actually has broadband in his or her residence and business. Everyone! (voluntary cave dweller excepted). Our goal in Vermont is to combine stimulus money with private investment and state bonding authority to move us quickly not only to 100% broadband availability but 100% broadband penetration.
The electrical system of tomorrow, the health care system of tomorrow, and the education system of today all depend on universal broadband penetration. Oh yeah, communication, commerce, and entertainment all need broadband too. So does e-government (coming soon) and research.
Fractals of Change , June 01, 2009
Roadmap for a Coordinated Vermont Broadband Stimulus Proposal
Many organizations in Vermont have been working diligently on the various elements of our broadband strategy, a great testament to the importance of broadband to the future of Vermont.
Those efforts have been redoubled in the last few months in order to be ready for the opportunity of broadband stimulus funding.
The Vermont Office of Economic Stimulus and Recovery (ESR) has been asked by the Governor and now the Legislature to coordinate, to the extent possible, stimulus funding, including broadband stimulus funding. We also appreciate the support and encouragement that the offices of Vermont´s Congressional delegation have provided to a coordinated approach to broadband stimulus funding. We continue to believe that a comprehensive coordinated strategy is the best way to maximize the benefit Vermont receives from this opportunity.
Vermont.gov , June 01, 2009
May
Funding may slow Internet expansion
With the help of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- otherwise known as the Obama stimulus package -- all Vermonters might soon have access to high-speed broadband.
The state plans on applying for at least $50 million for broadband expansion, said Tom Evslin, the chief recovery officer for the state's Office of Economic Stimulus and Recovery.
"If we had $50 million landing on our doorstep, we could make sure that every Vermont resident has good broadband," he said.
There's only one problem, said Evslin.
Release of the funds has been postponed from September to December 2009.
"This is, in fact, very bad news -- especially for Northern tier states where the ground will be frozen in December," said Evslin. "We are going to miss some of the summer construction season and the promised jobs won't be delivered when they're most needed."
The state's federal delegation and Gov. James Douglas are asking that the government free up the funds before December, he said.
Brattleboro Reformer , May 28, 2009
Will the Phone Industry Need a Bailout, Too?
Congress has asked the Federal Communication Commission to develop a national policy for broadband deployment. But it might be more important to think through how the country will handle the aging and increasingly less relevant copper phone network.
You can see the problem building every quarter, when the phone companies report they serve ever fewer landlines. They are mainly losing customers to cable companies, which offer competing broadband and voice services that make copper phone lines unnecessary. More people are also deciding to abandon landlines for cellphones.
AT&T lost 12 percent of its landlines over the last year. Verizon, which is converting some customers to fiber, lost 10 percent. The story is similar at smaller phone companies like Qwest, Embarq, Fairpoint and Frontier, but these companies don´t have the wireless business to help bail them out.
New York Times , May 27, 2009
Favorable signals for Vermont broadband
Vermont could see between $30 million to $70 million in federal stimulus dollars boost its ambitious plan for universal high-speed Internet access by the end of next year, and companies are already lining up with possible projects.
Later this summer, the National Telecommunications and Information Agency and the Rural Utilities Services are expected to begin accepting proposals for billions of dollars in high-speed Internet and mobile data grant and loans.
And while the federal rules on how those funds will be allocated are not yet written, Vermont wants to be first in line to best take advantage of the money.
"We don't know what those final rules might say, but we are putting together a package of proposals under the wrapper of the state that we believe will meet the criteria," explained Tom Evslin, who is chief recovery officer for Vermont overseeing plans for federal stimulus money.
Barre Times Argus , May 27, 2009
Ericsson Lights Up LTE Site
The company deploys the first commercial 4G cell site using Long Term Evolution technology, and the data network is capable of high-speed mobile services. Ericsson and TeliaSonera have flipped the switch on the world's first commercial Long Term Evolution cell site in Stockholm, Sweden.
The site will be part of a full-scale deployment that's scheduled for next year, and it's a milestone for the next generation of mobile broadband. LTE networks have shown a peak performance of 160 Mbps, which could enable a host of new mobile services like high-definition video streaming, Internet television, and mobile video blogging. While the average speeds likely will be lower, LTE networks still blow away modern 3G networks, which generally top out at about 7.2 Mbps.
"The unveiling of this site shows that LTE is no longer the story of the future; it is the story of today,"
Information Week , May 27, 2009
Build American And They Will Come
President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) on February 17th. Of the $787 billion appropriated by the ARRA, $7.2 billion will put in motion a plan and a program to extend broadband to reach all American communities, beginning with those that are deemed to be "un-served" and "under-served".
Since the ARRA was signed into law, the telecommunications industry's "field of dreams" has sprouted with webinars, seminars, whitepapers, commentary and suggestions about who should get the money, how to get it and how it should be spent.
There's been a lot of talk about the "Buy American" provision in the ARRA, and how it should be applied to the $7.2 billion appropriated for broadband. "Since U.S. taxpayers' dollars will be used to stimulate broadband, then they darn sure should be spent on American-made products, right?"
Telephony Online , May 26, 2009
FairPoint in Perspective
FairPoint Communications clearly has a lot of work to do to meet customer expectations, but it is worth remembering that its predecessor, Verizon, had little interest in retaining land line service in northern New England, let alone improving it. That doesn´t mean that regulators shouldn´t keep a close eye on FairPoint and ensure it meets the goals set out in its stabilization plan as well as its commitment to improve and expand broadband service... ...On high-speed Internet access, despite the problems, FairPoint is ahead of schedule in improving the region´s broadband network, which will include more capacity to more places. This will especially benefit business and education customers.
The PUC must still ensure that FairPoint quickly puts the service problems behind it and meets its broadband commitment, but the company must be compared to what existed in Maine before the takeover, not what many wished existed.
Bangor Daily News , May 26, 2009
Vt. said 3rd lowest in texting behind wheel
For the second year in a row, a national study has ranked Vermont third lowest in the country for cell phone texting while driving.
The Barre-Montpelier Times Argus reports that Vlingo Corp., of Cambridge, Mass., which makes hands-free mobile communication technology, says Vermont ranks lower than some states that have strong laws against texting while driving.
Nationally, about 26% of drivers use their cell phones to send and receive text messages while in traffic. Arizona ranked lowest at 18.8%, and Tennessee highest at 42%.
A bill banning cell phone use for drivers under 18 and requiring hands-free devices for older drivers passed the Vermont House this year but did not see action in the Senate.
WCAX TV , May 20, 2009
NH commission asks FairPoint for more info
New Hampshire's Public Utilities Commission wants FairPoint Communications to give more information about its management, financial health and the steps it plans to take to improve service. The Concord Monitor reports the commission wants FairPoint's policy on executive compensation, a quarter-by-quarter financial projection through 2010 and a status report on finding a replacement for CEO Gene Johnson, who plans to retire at the end of the year. FairPoint's deadline to provide the information is next Tuesday.
FairPoint has said it plans to return service to acceptable levels by the end of June.
FairPoint bought Verizon's landline network in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont last year. Since taking over operations in January, it has struggled to provide adequate service, prompting numerous complaints from frustrated customers.
Boston Globe , May 19, 2009
Net-neutrality advocates want FCC reg reviews, new broadband direction
FCC rulings that inhibit or don't promote open broadband competition and net neutrality should be subject to review, says Free Press. The open-Internet advocates also want broadband to be classed as a telecommunications service, effectively imposing open-access rules to ISPs. It's also calling for a morphing of the Universal Service Fund into a broadband service underwriter.
"America's broadband failures are the result of policy failures and the blame falls squarely on the FCC's shoulders," said Free Press research director S. Derek Turner, author of the report. "The FCC predicted a future of broadband competition, and then regulated as if it were already here. While promising consumer benefits, it tore down consumer protections. Digital deregulation reduced the broadband revolution to broadband mediocrity."
Acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps acknowledged the broadband issues facing the FCC saying they "were ignored for far too long."
FierceTelecom.com , May 18, 2009
FairPoint dips into state's cut
FairPoint Communications will use $50 million set aside for use only in New Hampshire to deal with its financial trouble company-wide, including in Vermont and Maine. The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday gave the company permission to use the money to boost liquidity and cope with financial instability. In return, the company has pledged to spend an additional $65 million on capital projects in the state by the end of 2012.
While the company cast the deal as one that would be good for the state in the long run, others said it was another sign of trouble for the company.
The approval letter, signed by the commission's general counsel, Anne Ross, said it is "reasonable" to release the money, given the company's first quarter results.
Concord Monitor , May 15, 2009
Governor Announces $22 Million in ARRA Funds for Vermont Renewable Energy Program
Governor Jim Douglas announced today that the Department of Public Service has filed the State´s application for $21,999,000 allocated for the State Energy Program under ARRA (the Federal stimulus bill). This money will added to $7 million dollars of State funds available to the Clean Energy Development Fund (CEDF) to provide grants and loans for renewable energy projects such as solar photovoltaic, wind turbines, methane digesters (cow power), and other biomass. Estimates are that this money will encourage $150,000,000 of total expenditure on renewable energy projects which will produce 3 million megawatt hours of electricity in the next twenty years at rates comparable to today´s cost of power generated from natural gas. Using renewables instead of natural gas to generate this electricity will prevent the release of an estimated 860 million pounds of CO2.
Vermont.gov , May 15, 2009
States eager for broadband stimulus funds
In what could arguably be called an infrastructure initiative, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes some $7.2 billion aimed at improving the nation´s broadband access, particularly in rural areas.
The allotment falls into two groups — $2.5 billion will be dispersed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, while $4.7 billion will be controlled by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Under both programs, the effort will be aimed at bringing broadband coverage and other Internet-based services to unserved and underserved regions of the country.
Masshightech.com , May 15, 2009
State says stimulus is slow coming
Tom Evslin watches the federal stimulus money flow down to Vermont, but for the state's chief recovery officer, some of those funds are not flowing fast enough.
Vermont's share of the $787 billion economic stimulus package signed into law by President Barack Obama this year started arriving months ago. Money has gone to shore up state services, such as health care plans and unemployment payments, and also to fund road and bridge construction projects.
But a second slice of that economic pot is moving much slower than expected, Evslin said this week. That slice amounts to $7.2 billion in available federal funds for Internet broadband expansion and energy distribution projects.
"We're ready to go," Evslin said Wednesday. "But until they write the rules on how this money will be awarded, we can't go anywhere."
Rutland Herald , May 14, 2009
Frontier to buy rural Verizon lines for $5.3B
Verizon Communications Inc. said Wednesday it reached a deal to sell scattered phone service areas outside its main Northeastern and Californian territories for $5.3 billion in stock.
The buyer is Frontier Communications Corp., based in Stamford, Conn. The company focuses on serving small towns and rural areas and will triple in size with the deal.
The deal continues Verizon's strategy of focusing on its core areas, where it is upgrading its phone lines to fiber optics, enabling it offer TV service and faster Internet access. It sold off its phone lines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont for $2.3 billion last year to Fairpoint Communications Inc.
Associated Press , May 13, 2009
Verizon to Divest Wireline Businesses in 14 States
In a move that will further accelerate the company's focus on wireless, broadband and global IP, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) today announced plans to divest its local wireline operations serving residential and small-business customers in predominantly rural areas in 14 states and that these operations will be acquired by Frontier Communications (NYSE:FTR).
The transaction is expected to strengthen Frontier's position as a premier rural communications provider and return a total value of $8.6 billion to Verizon and its shareholders, as Verizon continues to transform its growth profile and asset base around the fastest-growing parts of its business: wireless, fiber-based wireline (FiOS) and global IP (Internet protocol) networks.
Verizon.com , May 13, 2009
State is concerned about FairPoint's financial condition
State regulators made it clear Tuesday that the executives of FairPoint Communications have work to do to allay concerns about the company's viability.
FairPoint, which borrowed substantially to buy the assets and territory of Verizon's landline business in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine in March of 2008, has had difficulties during the transition and takeover. Its stock, now at about $1.40 a share, has dropped as low as 35 cents a share within the last year.
The company's revenue declined 2.4 percent from the final quarter of last year and FairPoint has lost about 8.8 percent of its telephone line customers over the last year, according to the company's filings. Verizon had around 1.3 million landline customers when the sale was announced.
Members of the Public Service Board and officials and consultants with the Department of Public Service, the two entities primarily responsible for regulating utilities in Vermont, questioned the company during a workshop Tuesday on everything from executive bonuses to whether the company will meet its debt repayment requirements and what it's doing about customer service and billing problems in Vermont.
Barre Times Argus , May 13, 2009
Vermont school frustrated with FairPoint
At Newton Elementary School, problems with FairPoint Communications have hit close to home.
The South Strafford elementary school is located adjacent to a FairPoint substation, but Principal Paul Lowe says the company hasn't made good on its promise to deliver high-speed Internet service to the school.
FairPoint continues to charge the school for the service, and Lowe says they've stopped returning his telephone calls, the Valley News reported.
Beth Fastiggi, a FairPoint spokeswoman in Vermont, says Lowe's troubles reaching FairPoint representatives may be because he was dealing with its regular customer service department, not one of the newly hired account managers who work directly with schools.
Burlingtion Free Press , May 12, 2009
U.S. mobile data revenues cross $10 billion milestone
The U.S. wireless data market grew 5 percent quarter-over-quarter in Q1, a year-over-year increase of 32 percent according to Chetan Sharma Consulting, adding that U.S. mobile data revenues for the first time crossed the $10 billion benchmark. Chetan Sharma contends that given overall data revenue growth, it appears the recession has registered as little more than a blip on U.S. operator service revenues despite the negative impact on the infrastructure and handset segments--the firm adds that the U.S. mobile market has so far weathered the economic downturn better than other nations, with capex spending expected to remain strong in 2009 thanks to increasing activity around 3G/4G deployments and trials. Chetan Sharma now forecasts overall data revenues for the remainder of 2009 will grow 24 percent compared to 2008 totals to $42 billion for the year.
FierceTelecom.com , May 11, 2009
Rural America not ready for broadband? Hogwash, say ISPs
Rural fiber developers are fed up with the line that folks in the heartland aren't ready for broadband. They gave Ars an earful at a conference in Washington, D.C. They came from across the country, invited by the Benton Foundation to extol the virtues of independent broadband at the National Press Club HQ in Washington, D.C. And a collegial bunch they were: crack developers from ISPs in Oregon, Vermont, and Minnesota, happy to talk up their achievements in building fiber and DSL networks for rural areas and small towns.
They all knew each other and seemed to be old pals, so Ars settled in for a pleasant afternoon of mutual self-congratulation. Then somebody from the audience spoke up.
"This is a question for the rural end of the table," he asked. "One of the studies that we see most frequently is one from Pew which contends that there isn't very much demand [for broadband] in rural areas, [which] is why it hasn't been built out." What did the panelists think of that?
Arstechnica , May 11, 2009
Broadband Data Collection Must Be Thorough and Transparent, Say Experts
Broadband data collection needs to be more thorough and more transparent than currently existing models, a range of academic experts, builders of telecommunications infrastructure, and a key senator said last week.
Speaking at conference hosted last Thursday by the Benton Foundation, and at a technology and communications gathering on Wednesday, these officials highlighted the importance of fine granularity, of including robust measures of broadband speeds and technologies, and greater comprehensiveness than has been typical within this field.
At the Computer and Communications Industry Association´s annual gathering with legislators, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said: "We have to make sure that broadband [calculation] is done in a comprehensive and systematic manner that hasn´t been done in the past."
BroadbandCensus.com , May 11, 2009
Europeans Are Eating Our Lunch; Our Broadband Plan Is Toast
For a couple of hours yesterday (May 7), there appeared a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, someone in the U.S. Senate was serious about a broadband policy. Everyone seems to agree that we need one. President Obama campaigned on one. The idea that the Internet is a necessity more than a luxury is rapidly taking hold. Yesterday at a discussion here in Washington, I heard a story about a man in rural Vermont who fixes engines. He needs a broadband Internet connection to order parts, to view diagrams and to download manuals - the kind of tasks you can't do on dial-up and which don't have materials available in print.
Huffington Post , May 08, 2009
FairPoint call centers unable to take calls
FairPoint Communications says an unknown problem is preventing customers from getting through to customer service call centers in northern New England.
The company said Friday technical problems are preventing business, residential and repair calls from getting through. North Carolina-based FairPoint is the dominant land telephone provider in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont after buying Verizon Communications ( VZ - news - people )' land phone and Internet network in the three states last year.
A spokesman said the company is troubleshooting the problem, but hasn't figured out the cause and doesn't know when service will be restored.
FairPoint has placed a recording on the toll-free numbers into the call centers informing customers of the problem and asking they call back later.
Forbes , May 08, 2009
FairPoint's credit ratings downgraded
FairPoint Communications' credit rating has been downgraded by three major ratings institutions after the company revealed it's considering hiring a financial adviser to explore a possible restructuring.
In a regulatory filing this week, North Carolina-based FairPoint says the adviser would evaluate the company's financial situation. The company also says any cash flow disruptions could put a strain on its ability to meet its financial obligations.
Fitch Ratings says it is concerned that a restructuring could lead to a bankruptcy filing or a forced restructuring of its debt obligations.
FairPoint last year bought Verizon Communications' landline telephone and Internet business in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont
Associated Press , May 08, 2009
Essex neighbors fight Fairpoint tower
A proposed tower at Bixby Hill in Essex would bring high-speed Internet to a rural swath of Chittenden County, but residents living near the potential site fear the tower will devalue their properties. FairPoint Communications expects Vermont´s Public Service Board to review its final application for the tower in the next two weeks. The tower would fit into a network with three other towers — one off Sleepy Hollow Road in Essex and two in Milton — and provide Internet service to 100 Essex households, as well as areas of Colchester, Jericho, Underhill, Westford and Williston, said Beth Fastiggi, a FairPoint spokeswoman.
Burlingtion Free Press , May 07, 2009
Wi-Fi to Go, No Cafe Needed
...imagine if you could get online anywhere you liked — in a taxi, on the beach, in a hotel with disgustingly overpriced Wi-Fi — without messing around with cellular modems. What if you had a personal Wi-Fi bubble, a private hot spot, that followed you everywhere you go?
Incredibly, there is such a thing. It´s the Novatel MiFi 2200, available from Verizon starting in mid-May ($100 with two-year contract, after rebate). It´s a little wisp of a thing, like a triple-thick credit card. It has one power button, one status light and a swappable battery that looks like the one in a cellphone. When you turn on your MiFi and wait 30 seconds, it provides a personal, portable, powerful, password-protected wireless hot spot.
New York Times , May 07, 2009
Verizon Wireless Customers in Vermont Enjoy 100% 3G Network Advantage
Verizon Wireless customers in Vermont have the advantage when it comes to network speed, mobility and security at home, in the office and on vacation, all due to Verizon Wireless' leading 3G high-speed wireless broadband network. Verizon Wireless broadcasts a 3G signal from every one of its cell sites in Vermont, allowing customers to wirelessly access and download data and multimedia content at broadband speeds. "Verizon Wireless' 3G network coverage across New England is unparalleled," said director for Network System Performance for Verizon Wireless, Richard Enright. "We've invested billions of dollars into our New England network, believing that even the most sophisticated cell phone is only as good as the network it runs on. Our continued, aggressive network investments provide customers with a 3G network advantage at home and on vacation."
Examiner.com , May 07, 2009
FairPoint says its rough start wasn't that bad
Nine million dollars seems like a lot of money to lose in three months of business.
But despite months of transition-related problems, FairPoint's future doesn't look as glum as some might have guessed, according to a conference call held with investors Wednesday.
The conference call was held to brief investors on its financial results for the first quarter of 2009.
Despite thousands of complaints about customer service, billing, outages and other issues, FairPoint lost fewer customers in the first three months of 2009 than Verizon did while operating the same system in the first three months of 2008.
The landline business is declining nationwide due to cell phone use, so telecom companies are expected to incur some line losses each quarter. FairPoint lost about 1.8 percent of its access line in the period, while Verizon lost about 2.7 percent of its Northern New England lines in the same period last year.
Nashua Telegraph , May 07, 2009
FairPoint surprises in Q1 with slower line loss, broadband gains
For a telco plagued by myriad transition problems and complaints from consumers, FairPoint Communications´ first quarter showed surprisingly strong subscriber results, with a slowing line loss and decent broadband gains.
In residential access lines, FairPoint´s line loss actually improved markedly, in contrast to most other telcos. FairPoint lost 22,645 residential lines compared to 31,714 in the first quarter and a whopping 113,454 lost on the prior first quarter, just as Verizon Communications Inc. closed the deal to sell off its Northern New England territory to FairPoint.
The data additions also held ground, with 5,522 net new subscribers added. That is up compared to 1,226 subscribers added in the fourth quarter and 5,001 added in the first quarter 2008.
OneTrak , May 06, 2009
FairPoint reports $8.8 million loss in first quarter
airPoint Communications, Inc. (NYSE: FRP) has announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2009. The landline telephone company reported a loss of $8.8 million on $311.6 million in revenues, compared to a pro forma loss of $9.5 million for the same period in 2008 on $349,418 in revenues. The first quarter loss is less than losses stretching back to the last profitable period in quarter two of 2008 of $23,114. The company lost $76,072 in quarter four of 2008, and lost $25,109 in quarter three of 2008. Revenues from the fourth quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009 fell $7.6 million, and have fallen every quarter over the last 12 months.
VermontBiz.com , May 06, 2009
FairPoint loses lines in northern New England
FairPoint Communications saw its number of phone access lines fall a relatively modest 1.8 percent in northern New England in the first three months of the year, even as subscribers experienced customer service, billing and e-mail problems.
In its quarterly earnings report Tuesday, FairPoint said the number of residential and business access lines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont fell by 20,315 to just under 1.1 million. The losses came as thousands of customers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont reported problems after FairPoint switched over from Verizon's computer systems. Last year, FairPoint paid $2.3 billion for Verizon's land lines in the three states.
For the quarter, FairPoint reported that it lost $8.8 million on $311.6 million in revenue.
North Carolina-based FairPoint operates phone companies in 18 states, with most of its access lines in northern New England.
Other telecommunications companies have also been seeing a decline in access lines as customers switch to cell phones and get rid of secondary phone lines.
Portland Press Herald , May 06, 2009
FairPoint's problems prove costly
FairPoint's problems over the last few months have cost the company more than just customers.
It turns out FairPoint has spent more than $19 million trying to fix the problems that came with taking over an operation five times its size.
Since breaking from Verizon systems in late January, FairPoint has been faced with thousands of complaints about prolonged e-mail and Internet outages, poor customer service, billing issues and other transition-related problems.
The company disclosed Tuesday in a quarterly financial report that it spent $19.4 million in the first three months of the year on extras like third-party contactor costs and overtime pay. It expects some of those costs to continue through the end of June.
Nashua Telegraph , May 06, 2009
Verizon to Offer Free Wi-Fi to Broadband Subscribers
Verizon Communications Inc. is preparing to offer free Wi-Fi access at hotspots to subscribers to its home broadband services, according to people familiar with the matter. The phone giant will partner with Boingo, a startup that counts former EarthLink founder Sky Dayton as chairman, to deliver the access.
Discussions are fluid, and Verizon is uncertain about particulars like whether users would have free access only in their regions or nationwide. The service may launch as soon as the summer, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The move comes as more users are turning to mobile devices like cell phones and laptops to connect to the Internet. Some Verizon rivals, meanwhile, already provide subscribers to their home broadband services free access at wifi hot spots.
Wall Street Journal , May 04, 2009
Pointing finger at FairPoint
Like so many other New Englanders, Eugene Schueller hasn´t had reliable e-mail service since the end of January.
In fact, Schueller, of Nashua, claims he has had no e-mail service at all, despite receiving double bills for his telephone and Internet service.
But instead of blaming FairPoint, he points the finger at the state regulators who allowed such a small telecom company to swallow up operations that were five times its size.
"I fault the Public Utilities Commission for allowing this to happen," Schueller said. "They could have said, ´We don´t think FairPoint is capable of doing this.´ "
It has been more than two weeks since the PUC imposed stricter requirements on FairPoint in the wake of public uproar. Yet, questions remain about who is to blame for myriad problems that have plagued FairPoint since January, when the company officially broke ties with Verizon.
Nashua Telegraph , May 03, 2009
Rural SPs minimize broadband, landline fluctuations
Rural telcos and other rural broadband service providers may be on the cusp of gaining new funding for broadband expansion through federal stimulus, but as a group they already are out-performing their larger urban brethren in a couple of key areas--broadband growth and curbing landline loss--according to a new report from Pivot Media.
The report, called "Rural Vs. Urban: Examining Residential Broadband and Access Line Trends, 2008," shows that while rural carriers are seeing the same trends as urban carriers when it comes slower broadband growth and ongoing landline loss, broadband growth is not slowing as much, and landline loss is not happening as quickly, for the rural carriers.
FierceTelecom.com , May 01, 2009
April
Stimulus Delayed Is Depressing
Some programs meant to be funded under ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act aka the stimulus bill) are dangerously delayed in getting under way. It is still not possible to submit applications for broadband or smart grid or e-health projects (just to name a few) because no final rules have been promulgated describing how grants for these programs will be awarded. The obvious problems caused by this delay are that we are going to miss some of the summer construction season and the promised jobs won't be delivered when they're most needed. Not so obvious but more serious is the danger that these promised but not delivered programs are helping to prolong the recession.
Fractals of Change , April 30, 2009
Rural Riddle: Do Jobs Follow Broadband Access?
In the southwest corner of Virginia, where tobacco farms meet the Appalachian Mountains, two towns desperately in need of an economic boost were given what many had hoped would be a kick-start: access to high-speed Internet.
But there the paths of Lebanon and Rose Hill diverged. One attracted two large companies that created 700 good-paying jobs for residents. In the other, only a few home-based businesses got off the ground.
President Obama has touted broadband as a means toward transforming rural and low-income areas, setting aside $7.2 billion in the stimulus plan to help create jobs and close the "digital divide." He has been joined in his support by a chorus of countries, including Australia, which recently said it would spend $31 billion laying fiber and other networks to get ahead in an emerging high-tech global economy.
Washington Post , April 28, 2009
White House signals support for airwaves inventory
U.S. government hopes to boost growth of wireless services by mapping spectrum use.
The White House supports efforts to catalogue how wireless airwaves are being used by their licensees, an adviser to President Barack Obama said Thursday.
Lack of available wireless spectrum is a barrier to broad mobile Internet availability, said National Economic Council member Susan Crawford, who spoke at a conference sponsored by the Congressional Internet Caucus.
"Spectrum is allocated and regulated in a way that makes it feel scarce," Crawford said."A good first step might be to map spectrum use throughout the country."
"We're in the very early stages of hugely transformative moment for mobile technology," Crawford said. High-speed mobile communications won't begin to reach their full potential until people stop thinking of mobile devices as cellphones and start using them for computing, she said.
Total Telecom , April 27, 2009
Burlington company sues FairPoint
Allegations contained in a lawsuit naming FairPoint Communications Corp. could be considered prophetic.
The federal lawsuit filed by Caleidoscope Communications Corp. of Burlington last year warned that "… FairPoint knew or had reason to know that it could not transition the business from the Verizon systems to its own, a process known as 'cutover,' within the time frame contemplated by the transaction, and it knew that the likelihood that customer service and satisfaction would decrease dramatically was very high."
The lawsuit was filed on Christmas Eve last year, a little more than three weeks before FairPoint cut the cord to the Verizon systems, beginning a transfer of data to its own network. It also marked the beginning of serious problems for FairPoint that have frustrated customers and regulators in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont for more than three months.
Burlingtion Free Press , April 27, 2009
PCs Under Fire
Since the Exchange Web Client which runs in a browser (officially Office Outlook Web Access) is now very good (formerly it was awful) and since I'm online so much of the time, I don't use the standalone Outlook client on my PC to do my State of Vermont email when I'm out of the office; I do it all in a browser window. That's great in an Internet café where I don't have my own machine. More important to the future, since I'm just working in a browser, I don't really need the PC; I could be on a netbook or some other connected device.
Fractals of Change , April 27, 2009
FairPoint looks to turn the corner
He's losing sleep over the 15,000 that are late.
He doesn't dwell on the 98 percent problem-free billing procedures the company has achieved since March 9, he's looking ahead.
"Ninety-eight percent is good," he said, "but it's a reasonable expectation to get under 1 percent pretty quickly." eed, FairPoint has had it's share of problems after it paid $2 billion for 1.6 million telephone and Internet access lines in three states from Verizon in 2008 -- slow service, no service and double-billing among them. It switched from 600 Verizon computing systems to 60 FairPoint systems on Jan. 30.
Union Leader , April 27, 2009
Vermont’s utilities consider developing “smart grid”
he American Recovery and ReinvestmentAct of 2009 includes billions of dollars for what's known as "smart grid" technology.
Vermont's utility industry hopes to take advantage of some of that money to revolutionize the way electricity is delivered and consumed.
Kerrick Johnson sees smart grid as nothing less than a transformation of the flow of power and information across the rural landscape. Essentially what you're talking about is that at every step of the energy chain you seek to implement information technology. ohnson is a spokesman for VELCO, the company that runs Vermont's electrical transmission system.
Smart grid is a computerized system that utilities can use to monitor how electricity is being used and where. It also gives consumers similar information - so they decide how and when to use power.
Vermont Public Radio , April 24, 2009
Research Shows Digital Divide Remains in Vermont
Despite a 57 percent increase in the number of Vermont households with high speed or broadband internet connections between 2001 and 2009, evidence of a "digital divide" remains, according to a recent poll conducted by UVM's Center for Rural Studies.
The "Vermonter Poll," a statistically representative, statewide telephone poll conducted annually by CRS, revealed that the proportion of Vermont households with high-speed or broadband internet has increased from 9 percent in 2001 to more than 66 percent in 2009. Among households making less than $25,000 a year, however, only 44 percent have computers compared to 83 percent of all households and 91 percent of households making more than $25,000.
University of Vermont , April 22, 2009
Broadband May Deliver for Law Firms
Lawyers are gearing up for what could be a significant amount of legal work tied to funds in the federal economic stimulus bill designed to expand and improve the nation's broadband infrastructure.
The stimulus bill, which was passed on Feb. 17 as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, allocates $7.2 billion for the development of broadband infrastructure, which provides high-speed Internet access. Public comments about the details of the funds ended on April 13, with applications for the first round of grants due in a few months.
Many law firms, particularly those with experience in federal government grants and telecommunications, are advising clients on what kinds of projects could attract funding. Lawyers at those firms anticipate considerable work helping clients prepare successful grant applications.
Law.com , April 21, 2009
Fairpoint Issues Top Secret, Self-Imposed Improvement Plan
As Fairpoint continues to struggle with taking ownership of Verizon's Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont DSL and landline networks, regulators have been pushing the carrier for a detailed timeline of planned improvements. Facing massive work backlogs of 40% and customers who sometimes spend hours on hold without ever reaching a human being, Fairpoint has announced a ten week plan to get things back on track.
The only problem? The company isn't letting the public see any part of the plan or how well they adhere to it. Regulators will of course see Fairpoint's self-administered plan, though one could easily wonder if their judgment has improved. Keep in mind these are the same regulators who rushed to approve the $2.3 billion deal last year against the warnings of consumer advocates, employees, unions and analysts.
Broadband Reports , April 21, 2009
Re-branding Vermont with high-tech jobs
While Vermont´s farming industry and rural atmosphere still plays a major part in attracting and retaining young families, Eva Sollberger, Seven Days videographer and author of the weekly online video series "Stuck in Vermont," said she found well over 1,000 tech-savvy Vermonters at the Vermont 3.0 Creative/Tech Career Jam – where students and job seekers got connected with local high-tech companies looking to hire.
At the Knight Center of Digital Excellence, we understand that some wonder why rural areas really need the bulk of broadband stimulus funding. Keep in mind that even the most rural areas of our country have high-speed needs – besides the obvious ones. Not only are these areas looking to bolster their existing economic strengths, but they´re also trying to retain and attract talent at new, tech-based businesses that many don´t even know exist.
Knight Center , April 18, 2009
FairPoint says customer service is improving
Two and a half months after taking over landline telephone and Internet service from Verizon, Fairpoint Communications says customer service is improving.
A deluge of complaints from unhappy customers has prompted state regulators to put the company on notice. In recent weeks Fairpoint officials have been grilled and admonished by regulators in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
Fairpoint Executive Vice President Jeff Allen acknowledges there have been serious problems, including long waits on hold for the company's call center, problems processing orders and delays and errors in billing.
But Allen says the situation is improving.
Vermont Public Radio , April 17, 2009
Do You Think Bandwidth Grows on Trees?
User-generated content may have changed the Internet, but sites like YouTube are suffocating under the costs of storing it. Everyone knows that print newspapers are our generation's horse-and-buggy; in the most wired cities, they've been pummeled by competition from the Web. But it might surprise you to learn that one of the largest and most-celebrated new-media ventures is burning through cash at a rate that makes newspapers look like wise investments. It's called YouTube:
http://www.slate.com/ , April 17, 2009
Time Warner shelves plan to cap Internet use
Capitulation doesn't bode well for the future of metered billing. Time Warner Cable Inc. is shelving its plan to bill customers based on how much Internet traffic they generate, following mounting public and political outcry.
Time Warner Cable's capitulation doesn't bode well for the future of metered billing of the Internet, in which people who use more bandwidth pay more.
Frontier Communications Corp., a Time Warner Cable rival in one key test market, Rochester, N.Y., also has dropped its plans for metering Internet use.
MSNBC.com , April 16, 2009
Mobile VoIP Model Must Change
Rather Than Seeing It as a Threat, Service Providers Should Leverage Mobile VoIP as a Smart IP Application in Bundles of Personalized Services. The use of Skype is being limited if not outright banned by operators ranging from AT&T Inc. to Deutsche Telecom AG. But rather than positioning mobile VoIP, and its toll bypass capabilities, as a blatant threat to operator revenue, some providers are positioning themselves as a carrier-friendly part of the ongoing trend toward personalized services.
"There´s an increasing level of confidence from traditional telecom players in IP telephony and IP services in general – it´s very relevant for 2009," said Paul Naphtali, vice president of global marketing at Web telephony company JAJAH, in an interview. As carriers begin to clarify their strategies around IP services, and as the popularity of the Apple App Store and other widget markets continues to explode, "customers have a demand for a new services mix that is microtargeted and highly customized, and operators know they can´t do it on their own, so there is an immense need to find partners that can give them value-added services they can offer quickly."
Von.com , April 15, 2009
Verizon Shares Broadband Stimulus Ideas
Verizon is weighing on the philosophy it believes the U.S. government should take when doling out $7 billion for the broadband stimulus program.
The telco giant says the program should focus on two key objectives: extending broadband Internet connections to unserved areas, and addressing demand-side factors that hamper growth of broadband subscriptions, such as the lack of a computer in many households.
In recommendations filed today with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), Verizon said 90 percent of U.S. households have access to broadband, and of the households that have computers, 80 percent of them subscribe to broadband services.
Von.com , April 15, 2009
The Wireless Industry’s Dirty Little Secret
The Looming Shortage of Backhaul Capacity Could Thwart the Grand Designs of Mobile and Wireless Carriers. Ethernet is seen as the answer to the backhaul dilemma, but there are drawbacks to it as well. Only in February did the Metro Ethernet Forum implement a blueprint, known as "MEF 22," for using the technology to hook up cellular networks. And LTE, the forthcoming "4G" standard for wireless broadband networks that will strain backhaul systems even further, is not even included in the new plan. "LTE will need to get folded in later;" reported Light Reading, and "it's still not even clear how difficult that will be."
And while Ethernet offers more capacity and reliability than existing T1 lines, it´s not a panacea.
Von.com , April 15, 2009
Australia to build $30 bln broadband network
The government launched an ambitious plan Tuesday to make Australia one of the world's most wired countries, shunning private bids and announcing that a new state-controlled company would build a 43 billion Australian dollar ($30 billion) network from scratch. The decision stunned observers, who said the plan was far more ambitious in scope and capacity than had previously been signaled, and could reshape Australia's telecommunications landscape.
Announcing the plan, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said it would deliver broadband speeds of 100 megabits per second to 90 percent of Australian homes, schools and businesses within eight years through fiber-optic cables connected directly to buildings. The other 10 percent of people would get a wireless upgrade.
Boston Globe , April 13, 2009
Space: The final frontier for cell phones?
The vast, thinly populated expanses of the country that still lack cell phone coverage could be getting an interesting option next year: ordinary-looking cell phones that connect to a satellite when there's no cell tower around. In June, a rocket is scheduled to lift the largest commercial satellite yet into space. In orbit 22,000 miles above the Earth, the satellite will unfurl an umbrella of gold mesh 60 feet across and aim it at the U.S. That gigantic antenna will let the satellite pick up signals from phones that are not much larger than regular cell phones.
That satellite, from TerreStar Corp., is due to be followed by two similar, even larger ones from SkyTerra Communications Inc. next year. SkyTerra puts the cost of its satellites at $1.2 billion.
Boston Globe , April 13, 2009
Fairpoint is in a race for its very survival
FairPoint Communications, the little company that said it could run Verizon's landline business in northern New England, is struggling. Complaints about service and billing pour in like arrows during a medieval siege. Earlier this month, some 13,000 FairPoint customers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont with service orders were still on hold - some for a month or more.
As politicians are wont to say when things go wrong, mistakes were made. Mistakes by the consultants who said FairPoint was ready to take over, mistakes by the company that developed its computer systems, mistakes by FairPoint management, and perhaps too, mistakes by the regulators in three states who gave FairPoint the go-ahead.
Concord Monitor , April 13, 2009
It’s The Netbook, Stupid
Personal computers are an obstacle to broadband use. They're complicated, expensive, heavy, take forever to boot up – and unnecessary. Ironically I'm writing this post on a computer because I'm on a plane, one of the few places (besides rural America and developing nations) where broadband isn't available.
Mary was thinking about how to achieve Vermont's new goal of making broadband available to everyone including those who can't afford or don't know how to use computers. Suddenly we realized that computers are a problem, not a solution. If you know you're going to have good broadband, you don't need a computer to browse the web or communicate; you don't even need a computer to create documents, use spreadsheets, store and analyze data. We need to compute but we don't need a computer.
Fractals of Change , April 10, 2009
Skype's iPhone App May Force FCC Hand on Wireless Net Neutrality
Skype's introduction of its VOIP service for the iPhone may well be the tipping point for wireless network neutrality. While the right of hardwired Internet users to use the applications and services of their choice has been established by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), network neutrality for wireless networks is still an unresolved issue.
Then came Skype's March 31 announcement that it is offering a free app that adds Skype calling and instant messaging to iPhones and second generation iPod touches with a compatible headset and microphone. More than 1 million Skype apps were downloaded in the first two days after the announcement. The service only works with a Wi-Fi connection as AT&T, the exclusive network carrier for the iPhone, blocks the competing voice service on its 3G cellular network.
eWeek.com , April 10, 2009
PUC's new rules require FairPoint to straighten up
Faced with serious and persistent complaints about FairPoint, public utilities officials have imposed a new set of strict requirements to more closely monitor the company's progress.
"It is imperative that FairPoint return to business as usual as soon as possible, and it is critical that it take immediate action to mitigate the ongoing, adverse impact on its retail and wholesale customers," said Debra Howland, executive director of New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, in a letter handed down Thursday to all parties in the case.
The new requirements came six days after a PUC hearing in which almost every aspect of FairPoint was criticized. Since cutover from Verizon systems began in late January, the company has faced a thousands of complaints about service outages, lost e-mails, billing and customer service issues.
Nashua Telegraph , April 10, 2009
FCC Broadband Proposal May Miss Out on Stimulus
The Federal Communications Commission will embark today on a nearly year-long project aimed at bringing high-speed Internet to every U.S. home, a process that many hope will bring an agency long focused on arcane telephone rules into the digital age.
But by the time the FCC creates its plan for broadband, it is likely that Internet service providers will have claimed much of the $7.2 billion in stimulus funds set aside to build high-speed networks without major input from the agency. And that has some worried that the Obama administration's call to wire the nation risks having taxpayer money going toward projects that are not needed and have been created without clear guidelines.
Washington Post , April 09, 2009
FCC moves toward national broadband policy
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission took the first step toward creating a strategy to roll out broadband to every corner of the country, with a vote today to seek public comment on how to write a national broadband plan.
Commissioners voted 3-0 to approve an effort to seek public comment on a national broadband plan, which is required by Congress in an economic stimulus package passed earlier this year. The plan, scheduled to be completed by next February, would supplement the $7.2 billion for broadband deployment in the stimulus package.
Most broadband experts suggest the $7.2 billion won't be nearly enough to cover the entire nation with broadband service. The U.S. needs a national broadband policy to realize the full economic benefits of the technology, said Michael Copps, the FCC's acting chairman.
ComputerWorld , April 09, 2009
LTE test drive: Watching wireless video while cruising through Vegas
Motorola Inc. conducted dozens of test-drives of LTE wireless technology near the Las Vegas Convention Center during the International CTIA Wireless show last week, displaying video data at speeds of more than 10Mbit/sec. to monitors inside a moving van with only a few minor disruptions.
The only technical problem during one 10-minute test-drive with two reporters occurred when the video data was handed off from one antenna to another as the van passed from one sector to another, each served by an antenna. In that instance, the live video feed from a Motorola booth inside the convention center broke up for about three seconds. (See video below.)
ComputerWorld , April 09, 2009
Capital project bill focuses on job creation
The House is expected to debate today a capital project bill that could push $116.6 million into the Vermont economy.
The bill combines $69.9 million in proposed borrowing with $46.2 million in cash directly and indirectly provided under this winter´s federal economic stimulus legislation. Another $408,000 was reallocated from a previous capital budget.
The projects include water-pollution cleanup, construction or renovation of state buildings and improvements to state parks, and they are scattered across the state...
There´s also $5 million earmarked for the Vermont Telecommunications Authority to help expand cellular telephone and computer broadband infrastructure.
Burlingtion Free Press , April 09, 2009
Bill Shuttleworth & Al Duey on broadband access in VT
Two years ago Governor Douglas outlined a goal of providing broadband service to every Vermonter by the end of 2010. New poll numbers from UVM's Center for Rural Studies show at least 35% of households still don't have access.
VPR's Jane Lindholm talks with Bill Shuttleworth, Executive Director of the Vermont Telecommunications Authority, and Al Duey from the Vermont Rural Broadband Project about the effort to connect every Vermont household to broadband.
Vermont Public Radio , April 08, 2009
Cell-only households complicating life for pollsters on everything from health surveys to political questions
And the pain has nothing to do with the brain-damage scares you read about on the Internet.
This problem relates to the fact that our growing penchant for talking on the run is making our opinions and our behavior far more difficult to track.
In 2004, just 5 percent of American households had given up landlines in favor of cell phones; last year, the count was 17.5 percent and growing.
Minnesota reflects the nation in phone preferences with 17.4 percent of households wireless only, according to new estimates by researchers at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health. That's the 15th highest in the nation. The highest state is Oklahoma with 26 percent. The lowest is Vermont with 5 percent.
MinnPost.com , April 08, 2009
GMP to build solar array in Berlin, largest in northern New England
Mon Apr 6 2009
Green Mountain Power customers will be especially happy to see the sun shine in Berlin, Vermont, where the Company will build the largest solar array in Northern New England. At 200 kilowatts, the new array will be the largest project in Vermont when it is built this summer.
"Building a large solar generator is an important step towards reaching our vision of supplying customers with power that has low carbon emissions, low cost and high reliability," said Mary Powell, president and chief executive officer of Green Mountain Power. "Solar power is extremely low in emissions, and perhaps best of all, with the help of declining solar costs, grants and tax credits, this project will be cost effective for our customers."
The solar generator will be located on Green Mountain Power property west of Montpelier on a site that is ideal for a solar installation, with open space and good sun.
http://vermontbiz.com/ , April 08, 2009
Australia Moves to Build High-Speed Internet Network
The Australian government said Tuesday that it would create a publicly owned company to build a national high-speed broadband network worth 43 billion Australian dollars in one of the largest state-sponsored Internet infrastructure upgrades in the world. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the eight-year, $31 billion project would create up to 37,000 jobs at the peak of construction, giving a lift to the economy as retail spending slumps and mining companies cut workers amid weakening demand for Australian metals.
The plan is "the most ambitious, far-reaching and long-term nation-building infrastructure project ever undertaken by an Australian government," Mr. Rudd told reporters.
New York Times , April 07, 2009
Broadband stimulus draws a wave of muni telecom bids
As major telcos ponder whether broadband stimulus funds are worth the strings attached, a diverse group of other grant applicants are moving forward with their own bids to win federal funds, including a large number of local and regional governments.
In northern New Mexico (Qwest and Windstream territory), a group of electric utilities, colleges, counties and municipalities (as well as possibly an Indian pueblo or two) are teaming up to propose a regional fiber network that would be publicly owned with capacity leased to private companies. Officials of Otsego County, New York, are looking for nearly $10 million for their own fiber network.
The New Mexico project is consistent with the advice federal administrators have given that grant applicants pool their resources to submit large-scale projects. In fact, those in New Mexico are wondering if a statewide proposal would be better than the regional one.
Telephony Online , April 07, 2009
Al Gore challenges wireless industry to think beyond profits
Gore said that in the future will judge the present on how it handles global warming today, and it will look favorably on the companies, institutions and individuals that devoted their resources to solve a seemingly impossible problem. Whichever solutions are ultimately developed and utilized, Gore said, wireless technology will be a critical component.
"Wireless is going to be one of the key tools we use to solve the climate crisis," Gore said. "The wireless communications industry is at the heart of the transition we need to make."
Telephony Online , April 03, 2009
Vermont regulators could seek "change of FairPoint management" if problems persist
The Vermont Public Service Department's draft plan to fix a litany of problems at FairPoint Communications calls for the removal of phone company executives if performance does not improve by early summer. "If in the Department's judgment FairPoint has failed by June 1 to meet the milestones in its Recovery and Mitigation Plans, FairPoint must take action to correct its operations up to and including a change of FairPoint management," the draft plan said.
The department, which represents Vermont's ratepayers, is primarily interested in the performance of the people running the New England operations, Special Counsel for the Public Service Department Jim Porter said Thursday. Vermont, he believes, is the only of the three New England states served by FairPoint to push for management-change if service does not improve.
Burlingtion Free Press , April 03, 2009
State regulators want FairPoint on short leash
The Vermont Public Service Department is finalizing a "stabilization plan" for FairPoint Communications this afternoon that is designed to keep a close eye on the financial performance and customer service of the stumbling phone company, according to the department´s special counsel.
The draft plan calls for the removal of FairPoint executives if performance does not improve by early summer.
Burlingtion Free Press , April 03, 2009
Coverage of F2C: Freedom to Connect
The question of the relative advantages of wireless and wireline broadband for unserved and underserved areas sparked heated debate during the Freedom to Connect (F2C) conference here this morning.
"Muni supersession" moderator Joanne Hovis, president of Columbia Telecommunications Corp., kicked off the debate by noting that unlike many conference panels, the panelists all agreed that municipal broadband networks were a good idea, and asked whether networks should be wired or wireless.
Telecommunications Reports , April 03, 2009
Power Shift sale could boost wireless service
The Stowe-based Internet service provider Power Shift has sold its wireless network to a Brattleboro company, Great Auk Wireless, also known as GAW. Both Power Shift and GAW say the move was largely strategic, as GAW has the resources to expand the northern Vermont wireless network Power Shift started years ago.
The deal closed February 2.
"I decided it was best for our wireless customers to join this company," Power Shift President Joe Allen said this week. "This is what they do."
Allen said Power Shift will focus on web hosting and web development, which is where he has thrown all of his company´s resources.
GreatAukWireless , April 02, 2009
Verizon Plans Rural Wireless Broadband
Verizon talks about expanding access to broadband in rural areas, wirelessly: Cnet's Marguerite Reardon interviews Verizon Wireless's CTO, who says that his company's plan for LTE will extend far beyond its current CDMA cellular footprint. The missing piece in this interview? The fact that Verizon is obligated to build out a significant footprint in the 700 MHz band about which the CTO is speaking... The 700 MHz band has so much bang for the buck, perhaps offering four times the coverage area with a single base station than an 1700-2500 MHz base station (3G or U.S. WiMax). And that's in urban areas. In rural locations without obstructions and with less dense usage, I would imagine a single base station could cover an enormous area.
WiFiNetNews , April 02, 2009
FairPoint promising fix; consultant skeptical
FairPoint Inc. is promising a short-term fix and long-term resolution to customer service problems that have dogged the company since it arrived in northern New England.
Customers are complaining of long delays to report problems by phone, e-mail troubles and billing errors. But the company said Thursday it hopes to significantly improve service by the end of June.
A consultant monitoring the company is skeptical, saying in a new report that FairPoint's early summer deadline is optimistic.
Forbes , April 02, 2009
States Likely to Have Extensive, Expanding Role in Communications Landscape
The role of states in the communications landscape were discussed in a Wednesday panel of state public utility commissioners at the Cable Show here.
Among the issues explored included: "network diversity," regulatory treatment of voice over internet protocol, or (VoIP), cable telephony, demand for broadband, universal service and inter-carrier compensation.
"From franchise authorization to telecom authorization, state policy makers have the power to shape the communications landscape on a range of issues," said Richard Cimerman, vice president for state government affairs at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association.
The panel of four all agreed on the supervisory and regulatory role of states, before delving into the experiences of their individual states.
BroadbandCensus.com , April 02, 2009
Telcos are shrinking, study says
The latest in an annual study of the bundled services market shows US telecom service providers are losing wireline voice customers at a faster pace and being transformed in the process into companies that will look very different from their traditional telecom roots. The Battle for the American Couch Potato: Bundling, TV, Internet, Telephone, Wireless, released this week by the Convergence Consulting Group, shows maintaining a broadband connection is increasingly important to telecom providers, as wireline voice services become much less important.
"Over the next couple of years, these companies will be born again in terms of upgrading their networks," said Brahm Eiley, an analyst with Convergence Consulting and an author of the report.
Telephony Online , April 01, 2009
Broadband for all?
Like building the railroads in the mid-1800s, or rural electrification in the 1930s, or building the interstate highway system in the 1950s and 1960s, the key economic development issue of our time is expanding broadband Internet access to every corner of Vermont.
And right now, Vermont -- and the United States -- is lagging behind other industrialized countries with telecommunication systems that make ours look like tin cans and string.
Fortunately, Vermont is now in a position to do something about this. The Obama administration's economic stimulus plan has $7.2 billion in it for expanding broadband to rural areas, and this state is expected to be at the front of the line to get some of this money.
We're also fortunate that the person Vermont Gov. James Douglas has put in charge of coordinating the use of this funding happens to be well-versed in telecommunications and technology,
Tom Evslin, who has a long and successful record starting up Internet businesses, is now Vermont's chief recovery officer. He stopped by the Reformer on Monday to talk about how the stimulus money might finally allow the Douglas administration to make good on its promise of creating an "e-state" by the end of 2010.
Brattleboro Reformer , April 01, 2009
Bridging the digital divide
The standard definition of high-speed Internet access is 768 kilobits per second transmission. That's 13 times faster than a good dial-up Internet connection and allows users to use Internet telephone programs; access basic email programs; stream music; watch low-quality video and browse simple Web sites. By that definition, 88 percent of Maine households have access to a high-speed Internet connection.
Yet consider this: South Korea has an average broadband speed of 15 megabits, which is about 20 times faster than the standard Maine is using to measure high-speed Internet access. The average U.S. broadband speed is 3.9 megabits and Japan is trying to increase its average broadband speed to an astonishing 100 megabits.
Morning Sentinel , April 01, 2009
Vt. poll finds digital divide
The number of Vermont households with a high-speed Internet connection has jumped to 66 percent over the past eight years but a digital divide remains, with low-income Vermonters less likely to have Internet access, according to a poll conducted by the University of Vermont Center for Rural Studies.
The Vermonter Poll found that the percentage of Vermont households with a high-speed Internet connection increased from 9 percent in 2001 to slightly more than 66 percent in 2009.
The UVM poll of 615 households found that at least 79 percent of households surveyed have broadband available to them. Of households that didn't have Internet or broadband, nearly 46 percent said they were aware high-speed Internet was available to them, while 17 percent were not sure.
Barre Times Argus , April 01, 2009
Vermont's recovery
Tom Evslin, the state's chief recovery officer, is encouraged by the willingness of government and business leaders in Vermont to take a leadership role in putting the federal stimulus program into effect.
Vermont's small size and programs already in place have put the state in a good position to make constructive use of up to $1 billion in federal money allocated for the economic recovery. Federal officials may view Vermont as a laboratory where innovation in advanced telecommunications, electric power, and health care technology can be advanced with federal money.
Vermont has already put in place the Vermont Telecommunications Authority, which has $40 million in bonding authority that can be used to leverage $100 million in federal money. Toward that end Evslin is working with telecommunications companies in Vermont to put together a unified application to enable Vermont to achieve 100 percent broadband coverage.
Barre Times Argus , April 01, 2009
March
More Vermonters have computers, many still lack broadband
Many more Vermonters have computers now than in the past, but many of them don't have high-speed access to the Internet.
The Center for Rural Studies at the University of Vermont has completed its annual Vermonter Poll and begun to release the results.
Vermont Public Radio , March 31, 2009
Households with high-speed Internet increase in Vermont, but digital divide remains
he proportion of Vermont households with high-speed or broadband Internet connections has increased from 9% in 2001 to slightly more than 66% in 2009, according to the statewide Vermonter Poll conducted by the Center for Rural Studies at the University of Vermont. Of households that did not have Internet or broadband, nearly 46% said that they knew broadband was available to them, while 17% were not sure.
Despite the overall increase in household broadband, there is still evidence of a digital divide. According to this year´s poll, 44% of responding households making less than $25,000/year have computers, compared to 83% of all households and 91% of households making more than $25,000.
Snelling Center , March 30, 2009
What’s a Smart Grid and Why Does It Matter?
We Vermonters have a huge opportunity to use federal stimulus funds to shape our near term energy future. The Vermont of three years from now will have both reduced its use of expensive and relatively dirty peak electricity AND begun to substantially reduce the use of oil in cars and homes. Energy policy is a key part of the SmartVermont plan announced Thursday by Governor Douglas and the Smart Grid is a key part of energy policy.
Fractals of Change , March 30, 2009
SmartVermont - Governor James Douglas
Even as Vermonters face the most challenging economic times in decades, we must seize
the opportunity to build a foundation for a prosperous future. Preserving Vermont values
and improving our state´s physical infrastructure and economic environment in the
competitive global marketplace requires building a SmartVermont.
Now is the time to make bold investments in both new and traditional businesses to
ensure that Vermont´s economy is one of the first to recover from the national recession.
Relatively low cost power, great connectivity, a well-educated and trained workforce, and
an e-government that is open and welcoming will create a favorable environment for
employers, employees and all residents to succeed.
Achieving the promise of SmartVermont will require using the one-time American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to support a physical and technological
infrastructure and existing and emerging businesses for the 21st century. If the state
places this money carefully, the state will continue to realize the benefits of this
investment long after the stimulus funds stop flowing.
Vermont.gov , March 30, 2009
Evslin: Recovery is like a startup
For decades, Tom Evslin made his mark on the technology world, working on startup enterprises. Now, he´s hoping his expertise will help Vermont make the best use of up to $1 billion.
"This is very much like a startup," said Evslin, who was recently named the state´s chief recovery officer, in charge of channeling federal stimulus money designed to jump-start the nation´s recession-plagued economy.
About $720 million of the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will come to the state in the next two years under predetermined formulas. But the state needs to compete to get additional funds that could be worth another $300 million to $400 million, he said.
"We have to make sure we´re going after it intelligently," Evslin said.
At the same time, he has to make sure the state properly manages the other money it receives.
BURlingtion Free Press , March 30, 2009
FairPoint Customer Wants Out
Vermont utility regulators are getting worried about the future of FairPoint Communications after receiving a flood of consumer complaints. We've told you about customers having trouble getting FairPoint service. Now, a man says he can't get rid of FairPoint.
John Martin held up his latest telephone bill. "That's how this all started," he explained. "My bill didn't get in on time so I tried to call them and say, Where's my bill?"
Martin lives in New Hampshire and works in Saint Johnsbury, both served by FairPoint. But since the North Carolina-based phone company took over Verizon's land line system, Martin -- and thousands of other customers -- have complained about multiple problems with billing, email and phone service connections.
WCAX TV , March 28, 2009
FairPoint's problems could lead to hefty fines
FairPoint Communications Inc. has been suffering lost revenue, lost customers and a tarnished image because of ongoing customer service problems the last couple of months. It also faces the prospect of hefty fines down the road.
State regulators in northern New England can hit FairPoint in the wallet with penalties totaling millions of dollars if it fails to improve customer service.
FairPoint stands by Johnson as chairman, CEO
Regulators say their primary focus now is to fix the problems that have plagued FairPoint since it switched to its own computer systems about two months ago, 10 months after buying Verizon's landline telephone and Internet network in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Seacoastonline.com , March 27, 2009
Vermont governor, lawmakers plan stimulus spending
Jim Douglas said he wants to use $17 million in federal economic stimulus money to expand broadband Internet access and strengthen a state business-loan program.
Douglas said he hopes the money added to the Vermont Economic Development Authority, which will use it to support $160 million of investments and low-interest loans that businesses can use to get started or expand.
The $17 million would come from the federal stimulus bill, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA. Most of the $787 billion stimulus package is designated for big, expensive programs such as education, transportation and Medicaid insurance.
MSN.com , March 27, 2009
Myriad of glitches spur regulators to turn up heat
With consumer complaints rising more than two months after FairPoint took over telephone and e-mail systems in Northern New England, regulators have begun publicly pressuring the company to fix its transition problems.
"If their plan is unsuccessful in a reasonable amount of time, we would push to have action taken . . . (such as) top-level management changes," said Kate Bailey, director of telecommunications for the state Public Utilities Commission.
The PUC has not set a public deadline for FairPoint to return to what the company calls "BAU," or Business As Usual, but regulators in Vermont and Maine have set a loose deadline of June.
Nashua Telegraph , March 27, 2009
Leaders split on spending federal cash
House leaders pulled back the curtain Thursday to show how they propose to use $94 million in State Fiscal Stabilization Funds — one of the many categories of federal stimulus dollars coming to the state.
Gov. Jim Douglas simultaneously released his plan for $17 million of the same pie. He and his staff weren´t ready Thursday to say how they would like to use the rest of the money.
Even without a complete plan, it was clear he and lawmakers had different ideas that will have to be reconciled in the coming weeks.
"We are at a good point to have that discussion," said Secretary of Administration Neale Lunderville.
House leaders, especially those trying to finalize a budget by Monday, said they would have preferred to exchange ideas earlier or even work together to decide how to use the money.
Burlingtion Free Press , March 27, 2009
FairPoint sets June deadline for normal operations
FairPoint Communications will focus on improving its call centers, billing and order processing as it looks to improve service that has frustrated thousands of customers.
FairPoint's plan includes improvement checkpoints and sets a June deadline for reaching normal operations.
"We're making incremental improvements," said FairPoint spokesman Jeff Nevins. "Things are getting better, but there are still some things that are causing customers to have problems that are not being addressed in a fashion they would consider timely. We're not meeting customers' expectations."
Kennebec Journal , March 26, 2009
Fiber Optics Planned For Transportation Along the Interstate in Vermont
According to a new Request for Information posted today, The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) and the Vermont Department of Information and Innovation are seeking to "develop a Shared Resources Program to facilitate the deployment of fiber optics facilities longitudinally along VTrans limited access highway rights-of-way" throughout the state.
Sounds great, but what does it mean?
What is the Shared Resources Program? The request says it would involve VTrans providing rights of way access for the installation of fiber optics facilities in exchange for barter compensation such as conduit, fiber and access points along the installation route.
iBrattleboro.com , March 26, 2009
FairPoint prepares "stabilization plan"
FairPoint Communications Inc. is expected to file a report to regulators detailing how it plans to address mounting customer service and billing problems.
The Maine Public Utilities Commission's request for a "stabilization plan" was prompted by consumer complaints about service orders not being filled, billing errors and long waits when calling FairPoint's customer service center.
Among the PUC's questions are how FairPoint plans to improve its ordering process, resolve billing errors and customer confusion, improve customer call center performance and repair deficiencies in its back-office systems. FairPoint planned to send the report to the PUC Tuesday evening after the PUC offices had closed for the day.
Forbes , March 25, 2009
T-Mobile USA unveils high-speed plans, new device
NEW YORK (Reuters) - T-Mobile USA plans to double its high-speed wireless network coverage to reach a potential 200 million wireless users by the end of 2009 as it looks to catch up with rival services.
The unit of Deutsche Telekom, which has trailed far behind rivals such as Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc and Sprint Nextel Corp in this service, said it currently offers high-speed services in about 130 U.S. cities.
www.telecommagazine.com , March 25, 2009
Broadband Stimulus May or May Not Focus on Rural
Last week, the federal agencies involved in the broadband stimulus program held four public meetings to solicit comments about the broadband initiative under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. (For more, click here.)
The $7.2 billion allocated for broadband stimulus will be distributed in the form of grants and loans, with the first round of distributions possibly coming as early as this summer. Originally, it was expected that the monies would be spent on expanding broadband service to rural areas. (For more, click here.)
Matt Polka, president and CEO of the American Cable Association, was on the panel at the March 18 meeting to discuss the definition of underserved and vulnerable populations.
"A lot of the language focuses on rural," Polka said. "But there are some legitimate points as to what underserved areas are. A lot of the interests were from urban groups."
Communications Technology , March 23, 2009
GAW High-Speed Internet acquires APC Services wireless network
On March 17th, GAW High-Speed Internet (GAW) of Brattleboro acquired the fixed wireless network of APC Services (All Pro Communications, Inc) of Rutland, Vermont. With coverage over much of Rutland County, the acquisition compliments GAW´s existing network, and offers enhancements for APC Service´s existing customers.
APC Services has been a trusted source for Rutland County companies for many years, specializing in a complete line of telecommunications products and services. Through their partnership with Go2Web Internet Services, APC Services became a local leader in complete advanced Internet solutions for home and business and implemented an extensive wireless network in Rutland County.
As Vermont´s largest Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP), GAW continually enhances its wireless network. Acquiring the APC network extends GAW´s wireless network into central Vermont. What is more, GAW will be increasing service offerings, including cost-effective high-speed data and voice combination plans for consumers and businesses.
Vermont Business Magazine , March 23, 2009
Verizon Wireless Ranks Highest in Call Quality in Northeast Region
Verizon Wireless, operator of the nation's largest and most reliable wireless network, announced today that the company has been recognized for the "Highest Call Quality Performance Among Wireless Cell Phone Users in the Northeast region," which includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, in the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Wireless Call Quality Performance Study(SM) Volume 1.
The semi-annual study measures wireless call quality based on seven problem areas that impact overall carrier performance: dropped calls; static/interference; failed connection on the first try; voice distortion; echoes; no immediate voicemail notification; and no immediate text message notification.
"Verizon Wireless' reputation as the provider with the most reliable wireless network is a result of our continued investment in the New England network -- more than $240 million last year and more than $2.4 billion regionally since 2000,"
PRNewswire.com , March 19, 2009
Stimulus Broadband Money Has Three Funding Windows
Stimulus money set aside for broadband will flow to local governments during three funding windows occurring between April 2009 and June 2010, say officials from the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS). Both agencies will distribute the $7.2 billion for broadband in President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The first opportunity to submit stimulus broadband applications will run from April 2009 to June 2009. Craig Settles, a municipal broadband analyst, said that opening will feature stiff competition from governments that already have municipal broadband plans that got shelved after the municipal Wi-Fi craze imploded.
"The thinking these communities have done is the kind of thinking many others need to do before the federal government hands them a check -- things such as, ´What do we really need? What are we trying to build this network to do? Are we the last mile or the middle mile? Where do we fit? How are we going to sustain this network in the future?'" Settles said.
GovTech.com , March 19, 2009
The Fallacy of Equating Broadband with High Speed Internet Access
The term broadband refers to a physical connection between a subscriber and a network operator point of presence. In the telco case, the physical connection is either DSL or fiber, for cable it´s coax, and for wireless it´s airwaves. The word broadband was adopted to distinguish the transmission medium from its narrowband forerunners. High speed internet (HSI) access, on the other hand, is simply one of the many things that can be done over broadband (just like driving to work is one of the things that can be done on the freeway). HSI is a service, or logical connection, between a subscriber and an internet service provider (ISP). The broadband network operator merely provides a high-speed conduit between the ISP and the subscriber.
Telephony Online , March 18, 2009
Ex-contractor sues FairPoint over customers
FairPoint Communications is being sued by a Burlington company that says it was abused and lied to in a battle over customer lists.
The suit, by Caleidoscope Communications Inc., says the Charlotte, N.C.,-based telecommunications provider tried to use Caleidoscope's confidential information to steal customers from it. FairPoint bought out Verizon Communications Inc.'s land lines in northern New England last year.
FairPoint disputes the claims. The company says it severed its relationship with Caleidoscope after the contractor sought to negotiate a more favorable contract.
Vermont Public Radio , March 16, 2009
3G Phones Exposing Networks’ Last-Gen Technology
Oh, the things modern mobile phones can do. They are music-playing, video-taking, direction-providing multimedia powerhouses. But many people have trouble getting them to perform their most basic functions, like making phone calls. The underlying problem, industry analysts say, is the complex quilt of the nation´s wireless networks. The major mobile carriers have spent tens of billions of dollars on new voice and data networks that they advertise as superfast wireless express lanes. But analysts say these upgrades present major engineering challenges, and the networks often underperform.
New York Times , March 14, 2009
Rise in cell phone-only homes could distort health tracking
Could your cell phone be bad for your health? Maybe. But not because it's zapping your brain.
More homes are using just the cell phones, which limits the CDC's ability to collect health data.
According to a report released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as one-quarter of homes in certain areas, such as Oklahoma and Utah, lack a landline and are completely reliant on cell phones.
While that's terrific news for reducing the cost of phone bills, it may not be so great in terms of health-- or at least health care in general.
The CDC often relies solely on landline phones when conducting large, state-based health surveys, conducted every year to determine sexual habits, childhood immunizations rates, and dozens of others factors related to American health.
CNNhealth.com , March 13, 2009
FairPoint Faces Challenges In Northeast
FairPoint Communications is continuing its epic battle to cut over its northern New England customers as its financial resources fade away. In recent days, FairPoint has suspended its quarterly dividend in the wake of switching over customers from Verizon Communications.
In recent months, FairPoint's stock has plunged from a high of nearly $16 a share to penny-stock status under 50 cents a share. Hundreds of users have complained that their e-mail and online services have been interrupted.
Information Week , March 13, 2009
Phone company asks payment delay
FairPoint Communications wants to delay a scheduled $11.25 million debt payment that´s due at the end of March.
FairPoint, which operates about 1.6 million customer lines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, is asking Maine´s Public Utilities Commission to approve the payment delay until June. It´s pledging to resume regular quarterly payments after that.
FairPoint made similar requests to regulators in New Hampshire and Vermont.
FairPoint Chairman Gene Johnson told the Portland Press Herald that the debt waiver is a one-time request and that operations will stabilize by summer. Johnson said a planned expansion of high-speed Internet service is ahead of schedule.
Rutland Herald , March 13, 2009
Fleeing customers haunt phone co. in New England
Phone companies fear that customers will increasingly switch off their landlines in favor of wireless phones or phone service from cable TV providers. So the last thing FairPoint Communications Inc. needed was to send subscribers fleeing with a botched technical transfer.
Now the company is trying to delay a debt payment and has seen its stock crater.
It all began when FairPoint swallowed an enormous acquisition.
North Carolina-based FairPoint owns and operates 32 phone companies in 18 states, with a total of 1.9 million access lines. Most of those came when FairPoint paid $2.3 billion a year ago for Verizon Communications Inc.'s 1.5 million phone and Internet lines in northern New England.
Associated Press , March 12, 2009
Cutting the Landline
Just another sign of the tumbling economy: people needing to cut down on expenses are hanging up on their landlines at home.
The results of the C.D.C.'s study are surprising. The state of Oklahoma leads the country with over 26-percent of households that rely solely on cell phones. California is on the opposite end of the spectrum with less than 10-percent of homes without landlines.
While landlines aren't obsolete. Getting rid of them has become a popular way to save money.
Kimberly Carrey is a working, single woman who uses her cell phone for all telecommunication. "I don't need a landline because I have a cell phone"
ABC news , March 12, 2009
Comcast Now the Third Largest Residential Phone Services Provider in the U.S.
Comcast the nation´s leading provider of entertainment, information and communication products and services, today announced that consumers switching to Comcast´s Digital Voice service have made Comcast the third-largest residential phone service provider in the country. Consumers are continuing to select Comcast´s low cost and rich features for phone service throughout its 39-state service area.
The news marks a major milestone for the company and reinforces its commitment to reinvent home phone service and offer consumers a way to cut household expenses during a difficult economic climate.
Comcast , March 12, 2009
Wireless-only households state-by-state
State-by-state prevalence of households and adults with cell phones only, according to estimates released Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ordered from highest to lowest prevalence of cell-only households.
Associated Press , March 11, 2009
Clearwire-Sprint WiMAX deal reborn
A $3.2 billion cash injection and new structure allows companies to move forward with buildout plans, invigorating the struggling technology
The deal that was lost has now been found. Sprint and Clearwire have resurrected their WiMAX joint venture, this time with the added bonus of a $3.2 billion investment from Google, Intel and three cable companies. The agreement not only gives Sprint and Clearwire the capital and the scale to push forward with their nationwide WiMAX rollout, but in one stroke it has revived WiMAX´s fortunes in North America.
The new deal is fundamentally different than the old spectrum-sharing agreement that collapsed last November. Sprint and Clearwire are merging their WiMAX businesses rather than partnering, creating a new company with Sprint and Clearwire´s spectral assets and existing network footprints. The new company will take the Clearwire name, though Sprint´s Xohm brand will transfer over.
Telephony Online , March 11, 2009
Was the Economic Stimulus Bill a Good Idea?
Last Friday Governor Jim Douglas (R-VT) and Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT) cosponsored and appeared at a workshop for Vermonters on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (aka ARRA aka "the stimulus bill"); 700 people came and more would have if there had been more room available at Champlain College. There were lots of questions, of course; some of which there were answers for and others which'll have to wait for answers.
The question which sticks in my mind is one a woman asked me in the hall: "was the economic stimulus bill a good idea?"
The answer is that it's up to us to make it a good idea so we really don't know yet. Spending this much money this quickly is an opportunity. If we do a good job with most of it, the bill will have been a good idea. If the money is spent unwisely or ineffectually, it will have been a very bad idea.
Fractals of Change , March 10, 2009
FCC Pick Draws Kudos, Concerns
The White House last week made formal its intent to nominate Julius Genachowski as the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, citing his "unparalleled experience in communications and technology."
The selection of Genachowski, who served as chief counsel to former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, was hailed by the NCTA as "excellent" and by the American Cable Association as a "good choice." But the undercurrent in the industry seems to be that anyone is better for cable than outgoing Chairman Kevin Martin.
Communications Technology , March 09, 2009
Verizon Customers - Just Say No!
It is easier to seek forgiveness than it is to get permission according to Verizon, which has once again shown us what large corporations should not be doing when it comes to customer service. David Weinberger, co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto and the more recent Everything is Miscellaneous received a letter today from Verizon. A "legalistic pamphlet" that informed him he has 45 days to opt out of 'agreeing' to let Verizon share his personal information.
Weinberger, unlike the majority of us who rarely read the associated paraphernalia that arrives with bills and the like, noticed that Verizon's modus operandi was to share Customer Proprietary Network Information - the data created as a result of your relationship with Verizon Wireless - unless you ask them to stop.
New York Times , March 09, 2009
State stimulus czar to work for peanuts, then return them
Tom Evslin, who will oversee how millions of dollars on federal stimulus money finds its way to Vermont, will be making minimum wage.
Evslin is not quite sure how much minimum wage is, but it doesn't really matter, since he won't be keeping the money anyway. He plans to return his $8.06 an hour back to the state.
"I retired so I could do stuff I was interested in, not stuff that I would get paid for," said the Stowe man, who retired four years ago. "It seemed somewhat contradictory to create a new, expensive position while there's all these layoffs."
Gov. Jim Douglas tapped Evslin this week as chief recovery officer, putting him in charge of sorting out how the state can make the most of the federal stimulus money being doled out.
Burlingtion Free Press , March 09, 2009
FairPoint has backlog for landlines
Customers frustrated at waits,some exceeding one month. FairPoint Communications´ help line for residential customer service is 866-984-2001 and for businesses is 866-984-3001. Those with e-mail problems can call 800-240-5019 and those with e-mail mitigation problems should call 888-740-0506. Information about the switchover also is available at myfairpoint.net.
Two Houlton women — one a new mother and another who is desperately searching for a job — are beyond frustrated with FairPoint Communications because the phone lines they ordered more than a month ago are still not connected.
"It´s crazy," Linda Ash said this week.
Ash called FairPoint to get a phone line set up at her apartment in mid-January and was given a phone number that has yet to work.
"I´ve already given that number out to people," she said. "I´m just waiting for it to be turned on."
Bangor Daily News , March 09, 2009
Obama nominates Genachowski to head FCC
President Obama today nominated Julius Genachowski as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
"I can think of no one better than Julius Genachowski to serve as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He will bring to the job diverse and unparalleled experience in communications and technology, with two decades of accomplishment in the private sector and public service," Obama said in a statement announcing the nomination.
Genachowski, who has been an adviser to Obama, was considered a leading contender to be tapped as the nation's next FCC chairman. He previously was chief counsel to former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt and was special counsel to FCC General Counsel William Kennard, who also later served as chairman. Genachowski, who is an advocate of Net neutrality, has a wide range of experience in legal circles and also in technology.
ComputerWorld , March 05, 2009
PUBLIC SAFETY COULD PLAY CRUCIAL ROLE IN BROADBAND GRANT AWARDS
The public-safety community may not have received the federal money it specifically asked for to build a nationwide broadband network, but it could play a valuable role in helping communities get a piece of the $7.2 billion in stimulus funds allocated for broadband deployments in underserved areas.
According to Craig Settles, founder of Successful.com, which helps municipalities develop strategies for deploying broadband technology, a public-safety agency could play an anchor position in the grant process. "The public-safety piece adds ultimate value because it´s top of mind," Settles said. "Communities would benefit to position this as being built to help public safety and also benefit others."
Moreover, the grants, which will be issued by both the National Telecommunication and Information Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will fund 80% of a network deployment, while a municipality or service provider must obtain funding for the other 20%. Settles said the public-safety angle has an advantage in that area too as cities typically can pass bonds when public-safety funding is at stake.
Urgent Communications , March 05, 2009
ARRA Stimulus Package: $20 Billion for Healthcare IT, $4.3 Billion for Smart Grid Technology
Mar 4, 2009, News Report
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), recently signed into law by President Obama, provides welcome news to technology suppliers who are facing a 0.1 percent 2009 U.S. growth rate, according to new research from IDC's Industry Insights Companies.
"With all the uncertainty surrounding the specifics of the new economic stimulus package, one thing is certain -- there will be a large amount of government money flowing towards technology spending," said IDC's Meredith Whalen. "This new government money will flow to both the private sector and directly to federal, state and local government."
http://www.govtech.com/ , March 05, 2009
What the broadband stimulus package means to rural telcos — UPDATE
About two weeks after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed into law, some additional details about the program to award $7.2 billion for broadband have emerged, underscoring the widely held belief that small rural telephone companies — initially at least — may have the most to gain.
A little more than a third of the money will be administered through the Rural Utilities Service, which, like other divisions of the Department of Agriculture, has until Sept. 30 of this year to award that money, a close reading of the act reveals. The remaining $4.7 billion will be administered through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a division of the Commerce Department, which has until Sept. 30, 2010, to award its funds.
Although rural telcos are not the only companies eligible to receive RUS money, they may be best positioned to receive it because many of them already are familiar with the process. The $2.5 billion that the RUS will administer — which may be in the form of grants, loans or loan guarantees — is essentially being added to an existing program, with a few additional stipulations.
Telephony Online , March 04, 2009
Fletcher Allen rolls out Wi-Fi access
Fletcher Allen has rolled out Wi-Fi Internet access at the hospitals three main campuses and about 20 clinical locations throughout Vermont, hospital spokesman Mike Noble said.
The service began with a soft launch last week, Noble said, and should be available in all of the hospitals patient care and public areas.
In addition to some of the clinical sites, visitors and patients will be able to access the Wi-Fi network at the main medical center campus and University Health Center campus in Burlington and the Fanny Allen campus in Colchester.
Fletcher Allen Medical Centers wireless network is part of the hospitals $57.2 million electronic health record project, known as Patient Record and Information Systems Management. The electronic record system requires wireless technology to operate mobile inpatient workstations.
Burlingtion Free Press , March 04, 2009
The Broadband Hot Potato
Tim Nulty is trying to raise $100 million to bring rural Vermonters into the Internet age.
A year ago, Mr. Nulty, a silver-bearded economist with 35 years of telecommunications experience, was tapped by a group of small towns here along the Green Mountains to build a fiber-optic network that would provide high-speed Web access to their citizens. Barreling through the credit crisis and then the recession, Mr. Nulty has struck out with state authorities, big investment banks and wealthy individual investors. Now he's turning to the federal government for help.
Slow Internet service is pushing a consortium of small business owners and residents in rural Vermont to ask the government for funding for a fiber-optic broadband network. WSJ's Amol Sharma reports.
The economic stimulus package, which sets aside $7.2 billion for broadband initiatives, could provide a crucial lifeline to municipalities struggling to bring broadband access to millions of Americans who don't have it -- a key initiative of President Barack Obama.
Wall Street Journal , March 04, 2009
TV White Space Could be a Boon to Rural Areas
Last week, online spectrum exchange company Spectrum Bridge unveiled a new web site that provides information regarding the unused spectrum between TV channels—better known as white spaces—that is available for unlicensed applications.
At the new web site, Spectrum Bridge lets users quickly see what white-space spectrum is available for use at any particular address across the nation. In most urban areas, there are little or no white-space frequencies available, so it will be of limited value in those areas of the United States.
However, in rural parts of the country, there is an abundance of this unlicensed spectrum available, said Rick Rotondo, vice president of marketing for Spectrum Bridge. Moreover, because the white-space spectrum is all below 698 MHz, signals will carry much further than they do in the familiar 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz unlicensed bands, he said.
Urgent Communications , March 03, 2009
AT&T’s de la Vega discusses the three-screens of the future
AT&T Mobility CEO lays out the evolution of wireless services in the near and not-so-near future and details the challenges for operators, particularly technical complexity. AT&T´s Three-Screen strategy isn´t a new concept, but it is certainly a futuristic one. While it is just beginning to integrate the functions and melding the content of the TV, PC and mobile phone, its eventual plans call for a connected home and office where those three devices aren´t mere static end-points used to interact their respective networks but highly versatile interactive nodes, between which content and applications seamlessly glide.
Telephony Online , March 03, 2009
February
AT&T Wireless will upgrade Vt. network
AT&T Wireless is quickly moving to upgrade its network in Vermont with added cell sites and the latest wireless and broadband technology.
The company announced the move Thursday, which comes just a month after AT&T's takeover of the Unicel network in the state.
The upgrade includes a robust "3G" mobile broadband network with faster speeds to handle interactive voice, video and data applications. The company said it will complete the 3G upgrade by the end of the year.
Before upgrading to 3G technology, AT&T will first integrate the existing Unicel network into its own network by the middle of the year. So-called 3G is the third generation of telecommunication standards and technology for mobile networking, superseding 2.5G.
AT&T spokeswoman Kate MacKinnon said AT&T inherited Unicel's 2.5G network but the next generation 3G network will offer broadband speeds for a variety of mobile devices and laptop computers for better access to e-mail and the Internet.
Barre Times Argus , February 27, 2009
AT&T Outlines Plan for Vermont Wireless Network Investments in 2009
To address the growing demand for advanced wireless data products and services, such as the BlackBerry(R) Bold(TM) and the Samsung Eternity(TM), AT&T* today unveiled its network expansion plans for Vermont in the coming year.
AT&T plans to roll out its third generation (3G) mobile broadband network in the state by the end of this year, bringing faster wireless speeds to communities including Burlington, Montpelier, Rutland, St. Albans, Hartford, West Wardsboro, Ludlow, Brownsville, Windsor, Vernon, White River Junction, West Wardsboro, Jamaica, Brattleboro, West Townshend, West Dover, Jeffersonville, Barre, Waitsfield, Essex Junction, South Burlington, Colchester, Williston, Winooski, Warren, Stowe, Killington, Northfield, Montgomery Center, Bennington, Middlebury and Pownal.
Stockhouse.com , February 26, 2009
What the broadband stimulus package means to rural telcos
Less than a week after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed into law, some additional details about the program to award $7.2 billion for broadband have emerged, underscoring the widely held belief that small rural telephone companies--initially at least—may have the most to gain.
A bit more than a third of the money will be administered through the Rural Utilities Service, which, like other divisions of the Department of Agriculture, has until Sept. 30 of this year to award that money, a close reading of the act reveals. Although rural telcos are not the only companies eligible to receive RUS money, they may be best positioned to receive it because many of them are already familiar with the process. The $2.5 billion that the RUS will administer—which may be in the form of grants, loans or loan guarantees--is essentially being added to an existing program, with a few additional stipulations.
Telephony Online , February 24, 2009
Surprise: America is No. 1 in Broadband
There is a constant refrain that the United States is falling behind in broadband, as if the speed of Internet service in Seoul represents a new Sputnik that is a challenge to national security.
It´s certainly true that in some countries, like South Korea, far more homes have broadband connections than in the United States. And the speeds in some countries are far higher than is typical here.
But there are many ways to measure the bandwidth wealth of nations. At the Columbia/Georgetown seminar on the broadband stimulus yesterday, I heard Leonard Waverman, the dean of the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, describe a measure he developed called the "Connectivity Scorecard." It´s meant to compare countries on the extent that consumers, businesses and government put communication technology to economically productive use.
New York Times , February 24, 2009
10,000 broadband jobs to be created from stimulus package
The billions of dollars set aside in the government´s stimulus bill to promote broadband access across the country may help create thousands of new jobs — and wireless firms are already evaluating the legislation for potential opportunities.
The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act sets aside $7.2 billion for telecom-related programs, with $6.39 billion to be doled out in grants and loans to promote broadband in rural areas that don't have access to the technology or are underserved. The legislation didn´t include tax credits for wireless carriers and other service providers, as some backers had hoped for.
RCR Wireless News , February 23, 2009
Obama Tech Adviser Says More to Come on Broadband Push
A tech adviser to President Obama said today that $7.2 billion in stimulus funds to bring broadband lines to rural areas is just the start of the administration's plan to bring high-speed Internet to the entire nation.
Alec Ross, a member of Obama's Technology, Innovation and Government Reform Team, said at the Mobile Learning Conference in Washington that the new administration has called on the Federal Communications Commission to create within one year a comprehensive strategy for broadband Internet.
The stimulus "is not the puzzle but just a piece of the puzzle," Ross said.
Washington Post , February 23, 2009
Consumer groups tell FCC exclusive handset deals limit competition
In the Obama era, the telecom and tech industries, consumer advocates, states and other stakeholders will be watching carefully for key policy tendencies emanating from a Federal Communications Commission apt to be headed by tech entrepreneur and former telecom policymaker Julius Genachowski.
Will Genachowski — still awaiting official nomination and Senate confirmation — lean more toward Internet-based companies over traditional telecom operators in considering net neutrality, open access and other issues that divide the two sectors? Will he heed cellular carriers´ call to expand federal pre-emption as part of a new national regulatory framework that addresses early termination fees and other wireless consumer issues?
RCR Wireless News , February 23, 2009
Skepticism arises over rural broadband stimulus
With the first concerted federal program to subsidize high-speed Internet services in rural areas, the new economic stimulus package will create some jobs and could get hundreds of thousands of households online.
Yet there's some question whether the economy would be more energized by spending that money on other things.
Because Internet access is already widespread and still being expanded even in a shrinking economy, injecting more money for broadband could simply equate to giving more coffee to someone who's already downed three cups.
"From the rural Vermont that we see, broadband is happening, happening fast," said Michel Guite, president of Vermont Telephone Co., which is based in Springfield.
Associated Press , February 23, 2009
Text messaging promises to alter 911 landscape
As text messaging continues to grow in popularity as a communications mode, 911 centers will need to be able to accept emergency text messages—a reality that is filled with life-saving potential and challenges for call-takers, panelists said during a session this week at the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Winter Summit.
For those reporting emergencies, the ability to communicate with 911 call takers via text messaging could be critical, said Nate Wilcox, chief technology officer for microDATA. Today, a 911 caller who cannot speak on the phone—for instance, someone who is trying to hide from a potential assailant—typically calls 911 and leaves the line open, which may not give the dispatcher much information. With text messaging, a 911 "caller" can provide vital descriptions, locations and other information while maintaining silence, Wilcox said.
Urgent Communications , February 22, 2009
Verizon expects 4G launch next year
Verizon Communications' chief technology officer dished out details Wednesday on the company's soon-to-be-built 4G wireless network that's set to go live in 2010.
Verizon will begin testing the service this year and launch it commercially in at least 25 to 30 markets in the U.S. in 2010, CTO Dick Lynch said during an interview with CNET News after his keynote speech Wednesday at the 2009 GSMA Mobile World Congress here.
"We are modeling the roll-out after our EV-DO deployment. So we expect to get to about the same level in the first year of deploying LTE that we got with EV-DO, which is about 25 or 30 markets. That is probably a reasonable estimate," he said, referring to the Long Term Evolution network.
Verizon will continue to build out the 4G wireless network and expects to blanket the continental U.S. and Hawaii with the new wireless network by 2015.
The network will use 700MHz wireless spectrum that Verizon acquired in the Federal Communications Commission's auction last year. The company announced in 2007 that it planned to use a technology call Long Term Evolution to build its next-generation wireless networks.
CNET , February 22, 2009
Stimulus package to expand Net's reach
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration will hand out $4.7 billion, while the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service will administer $2.5 billion in grants.
It's about time, said Simmonds, 68, a retired carpenter and glassworker, who said he would like to watch Internet video and look into remote health-monitoring tools.
"We've been trying to just get DSL, that'd be fantastic out here," he said. "We've been mainly a dial-up community."
Much like the Rural Electrification Administration in the 1930s lit up the countryside, the stimulus bill should help deliver an affordable and needed utility to many residents, some of whom don't even know what they're missing.
"Most people are begging for this,"
SFgate.com , February 22, 2009
Broadband stimulus puzzle
With the ink from Barack Obama´s signature still wet on an economic stimulus bill that includes billions for broadband deployment, IBM says it plans to use some of those funds to offer broadband-over-powerline services.
IBM said this week that it wants to use funds from the recently passed federal economic stimulus package to roll out more BPL — a technology with a history of false starts — in rural parts of Alabama, Indiana, Michigan and Virginia, according to Reuters.
Interestingly, the Reuters article states, "IBM said it did not know how much government funds it could receive, but that the venture would proceed regardless," which calls into question whether "stimulus" is the right word to use to this case.
Telephony Online , February 18, 2009
Stimulus bill includes $7.2 billion for broadband
President Obama signed into law on Tuesday the $787 billion stimulus package, which includes $7.2 billion for broadband grant and loan programs.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate on Friday approved a conference report that reconciled the two chambers' versions of the bill.
The bulk of the funds directed at broadband--$4.7 billion--will be distributed through a program run by the Commerce Department, while $2.5 billion will fall under the jurisdiction of the Agriculture Department, giving particular emphasis to broadband deployment in rural areas.
The final version of the bill maintains that projects funded by the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration must adhere to nondiscrimination and openness principles. The funds must also be distributed before September 30, 2010, to projects that can be completed within two years.
CNET , February 18, 2009
Verizon Wireless Fosters Global LTE Ecosystem as Verizon CTO Dick Lynch Announces Deployment Plans
In a move that will jump-start deployment of 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks globally, Dick Lynch, Verizon executive vice president and chief technology officer, detailed plans to build America's first next-generation Long Term Evolution (LTE) network during his keynote remarks at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today.
Lynch announced that Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone, has selected Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent as primary network vendors for its initial LTE network deployments in the United States. Verizon's announcement comes on the heels of industry-leading LTE network trials in the United States and Europe, carried out in conjunction with Vodafone.
Yahoo.com , February 18, 2009
Crafting the broadband provision of the stimulus involved plenty of networking
Interest groups worked to get their messages across as lawmakers jostled for turf. Some economic forecasts linked to expanded Web access in rural America may be overstated. Reporting from Washington -- A $7.2-billion provision in the economic stimulus bill to extend high-speed Internet service to the rural U.S. and other underserved areas has been hailed in Congress as the 21st century equivalent of government programs that brought electricity and modern highways to every corner of the country.
Others think the benefits may be overstated -- especially the notion that every dollar invested will produce a $10 boost to the economy.
Los Angeles Times , February 17, 2009
FairPoint continues to plod through email snafu
At two weeks and counting, northern New England customers continue to deal with transferring email addresses from their old verizon.com service to the new FairPoint Communications email system. Customers may get some compensation for their troubles, and local regulators have their hands tied when it came to email and Internet access, unlike phone services.
The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission has recommended FairPoint provide compensation to customers who have suffered through email problems, but did not make recommendations as to the form of compensation. FairPoint says it is "investigating" the possibility of compensation. A one-time reduction in bills for affected customers is the most likely scenario.
Local papers say FairPoint still is facing a "heavy load" of customer phone calls and online queries to handle problems resulting from its takeover of Verizon systems at the end of January.
FierceTelecom.com , February 16, 2009
Stimulus Stirs Debate Over Rural Broadband Access
Former FCC economist Michael Katz didn't hesitate to bash rural life last week when he addressed an American Enterprise Institute panel discussion on the broadband elements of President Obama's economic stimulus bill.
"Other people don't like to say bad things about rural areas," Katz began. "So I will."
The stimulus package includes $7.2 billion to expand broadband Internet access into "underserved" and rural areas. Katz listed ways that the $7.2 billion could be put to better use, including an effort to combat infant deaths. But he also spoke of rural places as environmentally hostile, energy inefficient and even weak in innovation, simply because rural people are spread out across the landscape.
"The notion that we should be helping people who live in rural areas avoid the costs that they impose on society … is misguided," Katz went on, "from an efficiency point of view and an equity one."
NPR , February 16, 2009
Will Bells hijack the broadband stimulus?
Bell companies are working to strip open access provisions from the $6 billion broadband component of the stimulus bill now being considered in Congress.
The issue is vital because without open access competition is limited to those large companies that can afford to build their own end-to-end networks. This is how the cellular world works, it´s how cable works, and it´s the opposite of the way the Internet works, where every network interconnects under a single standard.
The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), whose largest members are Verizon and AT&T, is leading the charge against open access, as well as network neutrality. They claim these provisions would discourage investment.
ZDnet.com , February 16, 2009
Broadband Program Oversight Questioned
Congress has targeted more than $6 billion to wire rural America with Internet service as part of the nearly $790 billion stimulus plan. But the bill would place much of those funds in an Agriculture Department program that has been criticized for its past management of grants, raising concerns among some public interest groups.
Under a deal House and Senate leaders negotiated yesterday, about $1.5 billion would fall under the oversight of the USDA's Rural Utilities Service, a program launched in 2002 to connect farming towns to high-speed, or broadband Internet, according to a Senate Commerce Committee aide.
Washington Post , February 16, 2009
Broadband Connection Highs and Lows Across Rural America
The highest percentage of rural broadband connections cluster in recreation counties and areas with large farms and ranches. The percentage of U.S. farms with high speed Internet access varies wildly from state to state and county to county, according to the recently released federal Census of Agriculture. Nearly 6 out of 10 farms in Connecticut had a high speed Internet connection in 2007, when the Census was taken. In Mississippi, only 2 out of 10 farms had a quick connection to the World Wide Web.
The Census found that farms in rural and exurban counties were less likely to have broadband connections than farms located in metro counties. Nationally, 31.3% of farms in rural counties had broadband connections. In urban counties, nearly 40% of farm operators had high speed Internet connections.
Daily Yonder , February 16, 2009
Stimulus fun has just begun
The broadband stimulus funding plan of about $7.2 billion accounts for less than 1 percent of the overall $787 billion national economic stimulus package. However, when it comes to allocating and spending all those billions of stimulus dollars, do not expect broadband activity to shrink into the background. How the broadband money is put to use ultimately will be one of the most closely-watched aspects of stimulus spending, largely because it remains one of the most controversial areas.
Though details of how the money will be allocated, spent and monitored remain sketchy, the broadband stimulus fund already is generating controversy for how it is being split between agencies affiliated with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
FierceTelecom.com , February 16, 2009
635 mln broadband users in 40 countries by 2013
As the total number of broadband lines in the world passes 400 mln, Point Topic forecasts that the total in the 40 biggest broadband countries in the world will grow from 393 mln by the end of 2008 to 635 mln by 2013. Broadband in the rest of the world will grow from 16 mln to 48 mln lines in the same period, so the world will add 273 mln lines to reach 683 mln in total. This represents a 10.8% per year compound growth rate, well down from 27.7% per year in the 2004 to 2008 period, but still substantial. One major reason for the slowdown in growth is that most of the richer countries are approaching saturation with broadband; new customers are becoming harder to find and sign up.
itFacts.biz , February 16, 2009
A Stimulating Experience
Cheer up, Vermont. You are being disproportionately stimulated.
No, not that way. This is just money, specifically the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or the stimulus package as it is more commonly known.
Vermont gets $1.34 billion, which is 5.4 percent of its Gross State Product.
Is that all?
No, actually, it isn´t. That´s just a pretty good estimate of the part of the $787 billion bill that gets apportioned according to the usual state-by-state formulas.
And while more money is more important than less money, in some ways it´s the parts of the bill that are not distributed according to those usual formulas that have the potential to make the bigger impact.
VermontNewsguy.com , February 16, 2009
Resolution on FCC Reform divides NARUC committee
State regulatory commissioners are split on how strongly to express longstanding grievances with Federal Communications Commission processes. A resolution on reform of FCC management and practices dominated the agenda as the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners continued its winter meeting Sunday.
The resolution, sponsored by Washington State Commissioner Phillip Jones, has been amended multiple times NARUC´s staff subcommittee on telecommunications since it was introducted late Friday.
BroadbandCensus.com , February 16, 2009
Broadband providers look for stimulus boost
The $787 billion-plus economic stimulus package hammered out by congressional negotiators may help the satellite communications industry by offering $7.2 billion dollars in grants to bring broadband Internet service to rural communities while dropping requirements that those grants be targeted to high-speed service providers.
A compromise plan approved Feb. 11 by House of Representative and Senate negotiators would provide $4.4 billion to extend broadband and wireless services to rural, suburban and urban areas through the U.S. Commerce Department´s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in addition to $2.8 billion to expand broadband access to rural areas through the Department of Agriculture´s Rural Utilities Service (RUS), according to a conference committee document.
Federal Times , February 16, 2009
Vermont experts comment on stimulus package
The House and Senate versions of the stimulus plan circulating the halls of Congress were reconciled Wednesday as a $790 billion package of tax cuts and government spending.
Over the past week, as the debate unfolded, we asked our panel of economic experts what part of the massive federal stimulus program would help Vermonters most.
The Green Mountain State needs a boost. Roughly 22,700 Vermonters were unemployed in December. That's up from 13,600 one year earlier, according to Labor Department data. Vermont's jobless rate jumped seven-tenths of a percentage point to 6.4 percent in December, the largest one-month increase in more than 18 years. January's rate has not yet been released.
Burlingtion Free Press , February 15, 2009
FairPoint problems reveal role of regulators
It's been a frustrating two weeks for many FairPoint Communications customers who found themselves without access to e-mail as the phone company was in the midst of a massive transfer of data to its new operating systems.
Thousands of FairPoint customers in the three northern New England states swamped the company's toll-free technical support line and chat line. Customers who called either got a busy signal or if they got through were placed on hold for hours in some cases.
Regulators in Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire didn't anticipate the e-mail breakdown or at least the magnitude of the problem when the states gave their approval for FairPoint to cut the cord to the Verizon network.
The potential for e-mail and Internet problems didn't come up because states have no regulatory authority over Internet service and as a consequence e-mail.
Barre Times Argus , February 15, 2009
Vt. Delegation on Stimulus Plan
Vermont is about to get a cash windfall from Washington.
The House passed the president's economic stimulus plan Friday with no Republican votes. And the Senate is poised to vote Friday night.
It's a $787 billion plan that combines spending and tax cuts aiming to jump-start the economy. Vermont stands to get hundreds of millions of dollars over the next two years, including $60 million for schools, $130 million for roads and bridges and about $250 million for Medicaid.
Marselis Parsons: We're joined live tonight by our two senators from Washington-- Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders. Let's begin with our senior senator, Pat Leahy. Senator, what's the best benefit for Vermont and the nation?
WCAX TV , February 14, 2009
Energy, Tech Cos Big Winners In $787 Billion US Stimulus Bill
A $787 billion economic recovery bill on its way to final passage Friday in the U.S. Senate is a boon for energy and technology companies but a disappointment for businesses generally.
The business tax cuts in the bill shrunk during negotiations to a tiny fraction of its overall cost. Broad-based tax cuts for businesses under the final agreement total only about $10 billion.
Pharmaceuticals, high-tech companies and other multinationals lost an early battle to add their top priority to the bill: bringing profits home from overseas at a reduced tax rate. This was killed in a lopsided Senate floor vote.
The biggest blow came in the final stages of negotiations. That's when lawmakers eliminated a tax refund for net operating losses for all firms except those with gross receipts of $15 million and below.
CNNMoney.com , February 13, 2009
Verizon to reveal LTE vendors next week
CTO says vendors will be required to deliver LTE gear by the end of the year; Verizon plans to use LTE for fixed wireless to the home. For the second year running, Long-term Evolution (LTE) once again will be the major buzz word at the Mobile World Congress, and once again Verizon Wireless will likely grab the headlines. VZW became the belle of the ball at last year´s Congress after it announced it would be the first CDMA operator to adopt the GSM community´s 4G standard. This year, Verizon Communications Chief Technology Officer Dick Lynch has been handed a keynote, which he plans to use to announce the vendors that will build one of the largest LTE networks in the world.
"We´re already engaged in multiple trials of LTE in partnership with Vodafone, and we´re actively planning on deploying a network that will co-exist with our existing 3G platform," Lynch said in the speech (part of which is viewable here, thanks to RCR Wireless). "We´re in the final stages, as I´ve said, of selecting our vendors, but more importantly, I´ve told our vendors to be up and running by the end of the year."
Telephony Online , February 12, 2009
Should telcos be worried about Twitter?
It hasn´t made a dime, but this communications service is flourishing and experimenting with all sorts of ideas that telcos and mobile operators should be watching closely. As telecom service providers race to build the next killer application – stealing ideas from Web 2.0, battling over-the-top-video and placing major IPTV bets – could the communications service to beat really be the humble, no-business-model, 140-character-limit, micro-blogging, pseudo-SMS service Twitter?
Events in the past week have only heightened hype around the service. News that Twitter might start charging businesses to send out messages and accumulate followers had the "twitterverse" a-flutter.
Telephony Online , February 11, 2009
Senate and House differ on funnel for broadband cash
The stimulus package has been dominating the news lately, but little attention has been paid to a key difference concerning broadband provisions in the Senate and House versions of the bill, writes Bill Bishop in the Daily Yonder. While the Senate bill requires approximately $500 million more of the broadband allocation to go to rural communities, the House bill would put the money in the control of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and gives priority to rural communities without high-speed access.
By contrast, the Senate would send its broadband money to the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, with half of the $6.65 billion allocation earmarked for rural service. (This is the same NTIA that has done a questionable job managing the digital TV transition for consumers.) The Commerce Department would then have the option of transferring funds to the USDA. The bill also requires a "comprehensive nationwide inventory map of existing broadband service capability and availability in the United States."
The Rural Blog , February 10, 2009
Google Taking a Step Into Power Metering
Google will announce its entry Tuesday into the small but growing business of "smart grid," digital technologies that seek to both keep the electrical system on an even keel and reduce electrical energy consumption. Google is one of a number of companies devising ways to control the demand for electric power as an alternative to building more power plants. The company has developed a free Web service called PowerMeter that consumers can use to track energy use in their house or business as it is consumed.
Google is counting on others to build devices to feed data into PowerMeter technology. While it hopes to begin introducing the service in the next few months, it has not yet lined up hardware manufacturers.
New York Times , February 10, 2009
FairPoint e-mail woes continue in region
FairPoint Communications' e-mail problems persisted Monday, frustrating customers and the state Department of Public Service.
"We continue to experience and hear from consumers of complaints about not being able to reach FairPoint for technical support on their Internet e-mail issues," Christopher Campbell, telecommunications director for the Vermont Department of Public Service, said Monday, "and that's a very frustrating problem for consumers."
Thousands of FairPoint customers throughout Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine began having e-mail problems last week when FairPoint cut its network data ties to Verizon. The transition included a change in e-mail domain names from Verizon to myfairpoint.net.
Barre Times Argus , February 10, 2009
Stimulus Bill Bears Imprint of Technology
To rally support for his administration´s economic recovery bill recently, President Obama invited about a dozen chief executives, seven of them from technology and energy companies, to the Oval Office.
Some of their industries´ top lobbyists, meanwhile, gathered in another office where Jason Furman, a top White House economic adviser, delivered a private briefing for groups expected to benefit most from the stimulus bill.
While much of the sprawling $800 billion legislation consists of tax cuts and broad spending increases for existing programs, like $27 billion on highways and $8.4 billion on public transit, the biggest outlay on new initiatives is essentially a technology industry wish list: in the Senate version, about $7 billion for expanding high-speed Internet access, some $20 billion for building a so-called smart grid power network and $20 billion for digitizing health records.
New York Times , February 10, 2009
Semantic Web Promises A Smarter Electricity Grid
Dispersed wind farms and solar panels on people´s homes are posing new challenges for managing power grids that were designed when all electricity was generated in centralised plants. A new semantic web technology promises a solution. Managing increasingly dispersed energy resources - from far-flung wind farms on remote mountaintops to racks of solar panels on suburban homes - is crucial if the electricity they produce is to be used as efficiently as possible.
Today, wind farms, solar and other renewable resources generate around 7 percent of the European Union´s electricity, a figure that is set to rise to 20 percent by 2020. But unlike conventional fossil-fuel burning or nuclear power plants, few of these dispersed energy generators feed information into grid management systems.
Physorg.com , February 10, 2009
Federal package seen as boon to Vt. energy firms
President Barack Obama says he wants to see the federal stimulus package create green jobs, and some Vermont companies say they expect that´s just what it will do.
Both House and Senate versions of the package up for a vote in the Senate on Tuesday contain $4.3 billion in tax credits to support home energy improvements. That´s just a piece of more than $50 billion in such credits, grants, loan guarantees and other measures designed to support energy conservation and renewables like wind and solar power.
"It´s an opportunity nationally, it´s an opportunity in every state ... offered by the fact that energy efficiency is something that creates jobs," Blair Hamilton, policy director at Vermont Energy Investment Corp., the Burlington-based nonprofit that operates Efficiency Vermont, said in a weekend interview.
Burlingtion Free Press , February 08, 2009
Stimulus compromise: much less for states, but still billions for broadband; Collins key player
The stimulus compromise negotiated by Democrats, two Republican senators and Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman has less money to expand broadband Internet service than the original version of the Senate bill, but still more than the House passed. And it has more for rural health centers, but less for electronic health data systems that could have particular benefits for rural residents.
The compromise has $7 billion to expand broadband in rural and other underserved areas. The Senate Finance Committee bill called for $9 billion; the House passed $6 billion. "One of the last decisions was to strike $5.8 billion in public health funds to fight preventable diseases," reports David Rogers of Politico.
The Rural Blog , February 08, 2009
State's TV stations keep Feb. 17 digital switch date
Vermont's television stations will end analog broadcasting next week and make the switch to all digital transmitting, despite a new federal deadline of June 12.
Jim Condon of the Vermont Association of Broadcasters said the state's television stations are making the transition to an all-digital format on Feb 17, the original date set by Congress
Condon said local outlets are going ahead because the large number of cable and satellite subscribers in Vermont are better prepared for the switch than any other state except Hawaii.
The House on Wednesday voted to postpone the shutdown of analog TV signals to June 12, to address concerns that too many Americans won't be ready by the Feb. 17 deadline. The Senate passed the measure last week and the bill now heads to President Barack Obama for his signature.
Barre Times Argus , February 07, 2009
Interview: David O'Brien on problems with FairPoint transition
The company that took over Verizon's phone and Internet Services last week in northern New England had problems that continue to affect customers.
FairPoint Communications says about 10 percent of its customers encountered problems switching to a FairPoint e-mail account, and some are still without access today. The company has been bombarded with calls since the cutover - FairPoint says it's still getting more than 4,000 calls a day - and that makes it hard for customers to get through to the tech support line.
David O'brien is Commissioner of the Department of Public Service. He spoke with VPR's Neal Charnoff.
Vermont Public Radio , February 07, 2009
Telecom Authority head: We're on track for 2010
The head of the Vermont Telecommunications Authority, which was created by the state Legislature to improve state access to mobile voice and Internet services, said on Thursday that the organization is on-track to meet its end-of-2010 deadline.
Bill Shuttleworth, the VTA's executive director, said the group still has a monumental task ahead of it, though.
"Act 79 gave us three primary objectives," Shuttleworth said. "Get mobile voice to everyone, provide mobile data for everyone and give every address in Vermont access to high-speed Internet by the end of 2010."
Shuttleworth said these goals required a deep comprehension of the technological and economic needs for the mobile phone and Internet businesses.
"What we've done is tried to understand today's business model, and how it would have to be transformed if we were to make this work," Shuttleworth said. "On the mobile side, we either had to increase revenue (which would mean we'd have to move more people into the state) or decrease costs."
Bennington Banner , February 07, 2009
FairPoint warns customers of possible e-mail scam
FairPoint Communications Inc. is warning customers of a possible scam connected to its takeover of Verizon Communications Inc. e-mail accounts in northern New England.
FairPoint said it is investigating reports of people presenting themselves as FairPoint representatives and contacting customers by e-mail asking for their passwords. The company said it does not make a practice of asking for that sort of information and that customers should not respond to the e-mails.
Associated Press , February 06, 2009
FairPoint e-mail troubles continue
E-mail problems related to the FairPoint transition continued Thursday and may not be solved until the end of the weekend, driving some customers to more frustration.
"They do need to compensate people for this, for lost business . . . for our costs," said Linda Gray, a Realtor and appraiser in Amherst.
She finally set up a separate Gmail account because her e-mail had been out since Sunday, and says she knows she lost at least $2,000 in business because she couldn't be contacted online earlier this week.
"They promised and promised and promised that this was going to be easy. . . . This is huge, this isn't a little thing – this is a big thing," said Gray, who said that e-mail has been the major communication route in her business for at least a decade.
Nashua Telegraph , February 06, 2009
Green Mountain Power Joins ESRI's Small Utility Enterprise License
perational Benefits of GIS Help Utilities Improve Service While Cutting Costs
Redlands, California—Green Mountain Power of Vermont can now rely on accurate asset data and respond quickly to outages with geographic information system (GIS) technology procured through ESRI's Small Utility Enterprise License Agreement (SU-ELA) program. GIS is a mission-critical tool proven to support dozens of business functions of a utility, extending from asset, vegetation, leak, and outage management to inspection, maintenance, and as-built record keeping. The SU-ELA program makes it easier and more affordable for utilities in the United States with 100,000 meters/connections or fewer to get started or expand their GIS.
PressReleasePoint.com , February 06, 2009
Broadband Build-Out: Who Will Run the Show?
Congress is debating which agency should dispense the stimulus package's $8.2 billion for broadband expansion. At issue: how best to serve rural areas
Add broadband to the list of controversial provisions of the $900 billion economic stimulus package being debated in Congress. Included in the legislation are plans to spend $8.2 billion on fast Internet connections around the country, but a political row is shaping up over how that money will be spent and by which agency.
The current version of the bill dictates that the sum be administered by the National Telecommunications & Information Administration, the agency principally responsible for advising President Obama on technology policy.
Business Week , February 06, 2009
Business feels pain of e-mail problems
Malcolm Sykes has had it with FairPoint Communications.
The Manchester businessman is losing business this week because he can't access his e-mail as FairPoint continues to have problems helping customers in Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire make the transition from the former Verizon domain e-mail to myfairpoint.net.
Sykes, who relies on e-mail for his imported wholesale seed business, said the problems started Monday and continued throughout the week.
He said when he called FairPoint's tech support hotline he kept getting a busy signal. The company's chat line was equally frustrating and failed to resolve his problem.
"The problem we have is that we take a lot of orders on the computer and we have a specific handle, gardeners@verizon.net, and if that's not coming up we can't take orders," said Sykes, who runs English Garden Emporium.
Rutland Herald , February 06, 2009
FairPoint grappling with e-mail
FairPoint continued to struggle Wednesday in its efforts to return e-mail to all its customers in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, with long waits still being reported for toll-free help lines and online "chat" service.
"I've been on hold for three hours," said one Hudson resident, who uses the fiber-optic service known as FAST, formerly FiOS. He said he had also tried using the online help at 1:30 a.m. Even then, he said, the wait was so long that he was eventually disconnected.
"The chat, that's a joke!" he said.
It's not clear how many people have been affected by the problem, which began after midnight Friday when FairPoint took over all of Verizon's systems as the final step of its $2.4 billion purchase of landlines in Northern New England. The company has 238,000 e-mail customers in the three states.
Nashua Telegraph , February 05, 2009
FairPoint: E-mail problems to be fixed by weekend
FairPoint Communications Inc. says customer problems with its e-mail and Internet service in northern New England should be fixed by the weekend.
FairPoint communications manager Jill Wurm, says about 10 percent of their customers had problems switching to a FairPoint e-mail account when the company took over phone and Internet service from Verizon Communications Inc. last week. She says some issues are simple, like retrieving a forgotten password, and can quickly be fixed over the phone. Other issues, like finding lost account information, could be resolved on Thursday when FairPoint transfers another round of digital files.
Associated Press , February 05, 2009
States Want More Say In Broadband Stimulus
Regulators from the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) will be in Washington later this month to urge that states be given the responsibility of using federal funds to be earmarked for broadband deployment.
The group, whose members come from state government agency regulators, will meet in Washington beginning Feb. 15, and the regulators are expected to press their requests at the time. The Obama administration has listed stepped-up deployment of broadband as an important part of its plan to help the economy.
NARUC president Frederick Butler of New Jersey has asked Congress to ensure that states "play a lead role" in the deployment of broadband infrastructure investments. Noting that "states have every incentive to make certain the money is not wasted," Butler added that "states can assure efficient utilization and targeting of stimulus monies."
Information Week , February 04, 2009
FairPoint e-mail swap still wreaking havoc
Many thousands of people in three states are continuing to grapple with lost e-mails and difficulty getting advice due to the switchover from Verizon to FairPoint – and it's not just individuals who are affected.
"We had one architect who called this morning and said she's gotten her e-mail kicked back to her," said Drew Carter, senior project manager with Pilot Construction Inc. in Portsmouth. "It's tough – what we've had to do is set up temporary e-mails through a different server so we can at least conduct business. But we have we have no idea of other people who may be trying to contact us and are getting kickbacks."
Pilot construction's old e-mail address ends in "verizon.net." All such addresses are supposed to be switched so they end in "myfairpoint.net" as part of FairPoint's purchase of Verizon's landlines in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. This process, which began at midnight Friday, has failed for many, however.
Nashua Telegraph , February 04, 2009
Broadband coming to rural Vermont, but technology still a question
High speed Internet service could be available in every part of Vermont by the end of next year with the infusion of millions of dollars of federal stimulus money.
But as VPRs Bob Kinzel reports, there may be a battle over the technology used to deliver the services.
(Kinzel) Although the final appropriation could change, it's likely that Vermont will receive at least 10 million dollars to expand broadband coverage to the most rural parts of the state.
Senator Patrick Leahy is a member of the Senate Appropriations committee and is a strong supporter of this provision of the stimulus bill.
Leahy compares the need to have high speed access to the Internet to the expansion of electricity in Vermont 75 years ago:
(Leahy) "I know a lot of companies that would like to create jobs in Vermont in rural areas but they need broadband connection to the Internet they don't have it we're going to help them bring that in the same way in my grandparents' time they brought rural electricity to Vermont."
Bill Shuttleworth is the director of the Vermont Telecommunications Authority - a group that was created in 2007 with the mandate of ensuring full cell phone and broadband access throughout the state by the end of 2010.
Shuttleworth says the new federal money will help the state reach this goal by providing subsidies to make these services more cost effective in rural areas:
Vermont Public Radio , February 04, 2009
FairPoint conversion hits a bump
Two years ago, Verizon announced a company few Vermonters had heard of would be buying its landlines and broadband system in northern New England. The twice-delayed switchover from Verizon to FairPoint Communications Inc. is now under way — and has hit a glitch.
Verizon´s digitized logs of customer data began to be transferred to FairPoint at the end of last week. The switch was not thought to have any direct impact on customers beyond a two-week moratorium on new installations. The switch was pushed back twice because a consultant, working at the behest of state regulators, determined the phone company wasn´t ready.
Burlingtion Free Press , February 04, 2009
FairPoint customers spend another day without e-mail
Tuesday was another frustrating day for northern New England customers of FairPoint Communications, who continued to have problems sending and receiving e-mail.
FairPoint's technical support hotline was tied up with customers getting a busy signal.
The company's 24-hour chat line, set up to alleviate some of the logjam, also experienced problems for a time Tuesday, according to the Vermont Department of Public Service.
Customers encountered problems over the weekend as FairPoint began a weeklong process of transferring systems and data from the Verizon network to its own network. The conversion includes changing the e-mail address domain name to myfairpoint.net.
Rutland Herald , February 04, 2009
Internet Money in Fiscal Plan: Wise or Waste?
At first glance, perhaps no line item in the nearly $900 billion stimulus program under consideration on Capitol Hill would seem to offer a more perfect way to jump-start the economy than the billions pegged to expand broadband Internet service to rural and underserved areas. Proponents say it will create jobs, build crucial infrastructure and begin to fulfill one of President Obama´s major campaign promises: to expand the information superhighway to every corner of the land, giving local businesses an electronic edge and offering residents a dazzling array of services like online health care and virtual college courses.
But experts warn that the rural broadband effort could just as easily become a $9 billion cyberbridge to nowhere, representing the worst kind of mistakes that lawmakers could make in rushing to approve one of the largest spending bills in history without considering unintended results.
New York Times , February 03, 2009
Douglas meets with Obama
One example of how the plan could help Vermont centers on extra funds to support broadband Internet efforts, Leahy said.
Douglas has vowed to bring universal high-speed Internet access to the state by the end of next year and Leahy said these funds will help Vermont move toward becoming the first state with a "smart grid" – Internet lines attached to electrical lines.
Leahy compared this with the rural electrification program that brought electricity to the countryside in Vermont in the early days of the 20th Century.
"Companies aren't going to settle in Vermont if this is not available," Leahy said.
Barre Times Argus , February 03, 2009
Citizens in a Connected Age
Ten suggestions for Vermonters who wish to stay informed and engaged in an e-state.
1. Get connected.
2. Join the media mavens.
3. Read a book.
4. Read a blog.
5. Test drive a tool.
6. Check out the library.
7. Be a leader.
8. Serve your community.
9. Get your dot gov.
10. Listen to a young person.
Snelling Center , February 03, 2009
Wind energy gathers steam, US biggest market: survey
Global wind energy capacity surged by 28.8 percent in 2008, as the United States became the world's leading market, an industry survey showed Monday.
The Global Wind Energy Council said the US and China showed the strongest growth in wind energy as the global electric-generating capacity rose to 120.8 gigawatts at the end of 2008.
"These figures speak for themselves: there is huge and growing global demand for emissions-free wind power, which can be installed quickly, virtually everywhere in the world," said Steve Sawyer, secretary general of GWEC.
"Wind energy is the only power-generation technology that can deliver the necessary cuts in carbon dioxide."
Yahoo News , February 03, 2009
Internet Money in Fiscal Plan: Wise or Waste?
At first glance, perhaps no line item in the nearly $900 billion stimulus program under consideration on Capitol Hill would seem to offer a more perfect way to jump-start the economy than the billions pegged to expand broadband Internet service to rural and underserved areas. Proponents say it will create jobs, build crucial infrastructure and begin to fulfill one of President Obama´s major campaign promises: to expand the information superhighway to every corner of the land, giving local businesses an electronic edge and offering residents a dazzling array of services like online health care and virtual college courses.
But experts warn that the rural broadband effort could just as easily become a $9 billion cyberbridge to nowhere, representing the worst kind of mistakes that lawmakers could make in rushing to approve one of the largest spending bills in history without considering unintended results.
New York Times , February 02, 2009
CVPS moves closer toward “SmartPower” metering plan
CVPS SmartPower™, Central Vermont Public Service´s planned meter program designed to reduce customer energy use, costs and environmental impacts while improving storm management and establishing a foundation for future grid automation, has taken a big step forward through an agreement on "the rules of the road."
Last August, CVPS, the Vermont Department of Public Service and other utilities kicked off collaboration intended to improve electricity metering, storm recovery and efficiency technology statewide. CVPS and the Department of Public Service also announced a new program (CVPS SmartPower™) at the state´s largest utility that could serve as a model for other Vermont utilities not already involved with meter and grid automation.
"Through that effort, we have now reached agreement on functional requirements, telecommunications, cost recovery and other elements of so-called smart metering technologies," CVPS President and CEO Bob Young said. "This will provide us with a clear view of the rules of the road."
VermontBiz.com , February 02, 2009
Achilles and broadband stimulus
Those at technology´s cutting edge will always be pushing for higher speeds to enable new bandwidth-rich applications, and if they are willing to pay for them, service providers will aim to deliver. But those out in front will always have much higher speeds than those whose broadband speeds aren´t driven by market dynamics, and the have-nots will always lack the bandwidth needed to use the apps created for the haves. This is especially relevant as we look to allocate finite resources within a federal economic stimulus effort because, as Feld put it, "We don't get to do a one-time investment and go away."
"A really good communications system is a matter of continuous non-stop upgrade," he wrote. "Even with fiber, you are not going to just pull glass and go away for 20 years with regular maintenance and easy-to-predict upgrades. It's going to be dynamic.
Telephony Online , February 02, 2009
FairPoint seeing problems with transition of e-mail addresses
FairPoint says it is looking into problems with some e-mail not being delivered, now that it has completely taken over Verizon's Internet access in New Hampshire, according to a spokeswoman. The company has added a Live Chat Support link on the right-hand side of its home page (www.myfairpoint.net) to handle the problem.
The extent of the issue is unclear at this time. At noon, Rivier College sent out an advisory, saying in part: "We have received numerous calls regarding problems with email not being received by folks with Verizon.net email addresses. Over the weekend, FairPoint began migrating to their own equipment Internet services that up until now were still on Verizon equipment. From what I can gather, this is not going as smoothly as I imagine the FairPoint people would have hoped."
Nashua Telegraph , February 02, 2009
FairPoint Communications Outlines Timeline Related to Northern New England Systems Cutover
FairPoint Communications, Inc. today outlined the timeline relating to its systems cutover in northern New England following last March's acquisition of Verizon Communications' wireline operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. The cutover process has commenced following extensive preparations with the assistance of Capgemini U.S. LLC, FairPoint's lead integration partner.
Commencing on Friday, January 30th, Verizon began to extract data from their 600-plus legacy systems and transfer that data to FairPoint to be imported into approximately 60 new, state-of-the-art, fully-integrated systems. FairPoint anticipates that the systems cutover process will take approximately nine days and that FairPoint will be independently operating on its new systems beginning on February 9th.
Market Watch , February 02, 2009
January
D-Day: Verizon dumps landline business on FairPoint
It's D-Day in New England. Today, FairPoint Communications takes over operations from Verizon for Northern New England - Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. It's a bleak picture for ratepayers in New England.
FairPoint inherits a neglected infrastructure, inadequate build-out of even basic DSL broadband service to the customer base and Verizon's reputation for poor customer service. (Just how bad is it? While an investigation was launched in New Hampshire Verizon successfully blocked public release of the report by getting an exception to the state's Right to Know law.) Not surprisingly, Verizon has been hemorrhaging customers at an alarming rate. When the deal started, Verizon had 1.7 million land-line customers. But it has been losing accounts at a faster clip than expected. Since the $2.3 billion sale was concluded on March 31 of last year, that pace has picked up. An AP report says the company lost 65,000 residential customers, 15,000 business customers and 6,000 high-speed Internet customers just between March 31 and September 30.
ComputerWorld , January 30, 2009
Union says FairPoint reneged on jobs
A union representing telecommunication workers complained to Vermont lawmakers Wednesday, saying FairPoint Communications Inc. is outsourcing 34 jobs it had promised to bring to Vermont.
A FairPoint representative testified that although the company intended to move the jobs to South Burlington, it's had a change of heart.
"The challenge is as we're looking at the economy and evaluating our processes we decided that rather than bringing more employees in for that function we would leave it as an outsourced function," said Pam Porell, FairPoint's vice president of government operations.
Don Trementozzi, representing Communications Workers of America, said FairPoint promised during April contract negotiations to move the credit collections jobs to Vermont.
Rutland Herald , January 29, 2009
Fairpoint to throw the switch, cut the cord
FairPoint Communications Inc.'s northern New England operation will break away completely from Verizon Communications tomorrow night to get started on its new business -- handling 1.6 million phone and data lines that it paid $2 billion for last year.
FairPoint will shed connections to 600 Verizon legacy IT systems in 80 locations nationwide beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
FairPoint plans to migrate millions of Verizon records to 60 new computer systems of its own, overseen primarily from FairPoint's data center in Manchester, in a process that is expected to take five to six days.
Union Leader , January 29, 2009
House vote keeps digital TV deadline, for now
Despite a unanimous vote by the U.S. Senate to delay the Feb. 17 deadline to transition to digital television, the changeover will proceed as planned after a vote Wednesday by the House of Representatives. The House voted 258-168 in favor of a four-month delay, but the measure fell 26 votes short of the necessary two-thirds margin for passage. The Senate voted Monday to delay the transition to June 12, fearing that an estimated 6.5 million TV households would be unprepared for the shift from analog TV.
Proponents of the delay, however, are hopeful that the House can take up the issue again next week and vote a second time with a simple majority decision.
SFgate.com , January 29, 2009
3G networks don't deliver speeds users expect, Gartner says
The 3G networks of all four major U.S. wireless carriers deliver slower speeds than customers expect, according to Gartner Inc., which said it has received the most complaints about AT&T's network.
The Gartner findings, summarized in a recent report by analyst Phillip Redman, point to many factors behind the less-than-satisfactory speeds.
The research firm urged companies and consumers to be realistic in their expectations and read the fine print of their agreements with carriers, and it urged companies to test products before investing in them. "Most providers market speeds as high as 1.8Mbit/sec. on their 3G networks, [but] the fine print doesn't guarantee such speeds," the report said.
ComputerWorld , January 29, 2009
Leahy says stimulus package will create thousands of jobs
Senator Patrick Leahy says a new federal economic stimulus package, drafted by the Senate, will help create thousands of new jobs in Vermont.
Leahy's a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He says he fought to include a number of provisions in the package that are targeted to help rural states like Vermont.
Over two years, Leahy says the stimulus bill would provide Vermont with:
· $250 million for Medicaid
· $135 million for transportation projects
· $125 million to prevent cuts in education and public safety programs
· $90 million in special education and school construction programs
· and several million dollars to expand broadband throughout Vermont.
Leahy says the layoffs at IBM highlight the need to create new jobs in the state.
Vermont Public Radio , January 28, 2009
Leahy: Vermont Items In Stimulus Package
Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy says the most important goal of President Obama's economic stimulus package must be rebuilding the nation's workforce. Leahy pointed to several items in the package that will directly help Vermont do that.
"We've got nearly $19 million for Vermont in special education and school construction funds, we have nearly $10 million for Vermont's law enforcement community, we have nearly $250 million over the next two years for the Medicaid shortfall in Vermont," Leahy said.
WCAX TV , January 28, 2009
Open access for wireless: inevitable, and everybody wins
...The concept of open wireless networks is not new....There is finally a realization that the explosion of the Internet was due, in large part, to its openness; to the fact that the applications and services that have made the Internet so valuable to us were created in a competitive environment that is friendly to entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. The Internet is truly open to everyone (perhaps too much so; one has to be really egregious to get disciplined), its protocols are standardized, and it´s available at low cost to virtually everyone. No wonder that the new appointee for chairman of the FCC is described as understanding "the importance of open networks and a regulatory environment that promotes innovation and competition to a robust democracy and a healthy economy." No wonder that, at the last CTIA conference, the CEOs of Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile all endorsed the concept of open...
RCR Wireless , January 28, 2009
Verizon Scores Again With Cellular, Broadband
Despite current economic conditions, Verizon´s 4Q08 financials showed a net of 1.2 million new wireless subscribers, compared with the 2 million it had picked up in the same quarter a year earlier....wireline data revenues, representing 43.6 percent of total wireline revenues, were $5.2 billion in 4Q08, an increase of 10.9 percent compared with 4Q07...Total broadband connections were 8.7 million, a net increase of 214,000 compared with 3Q08. As good as the growth in wireline data revenues was, the surge in wireless data was off the charts. ...
Telecomweb , January 28, 2009
A WISP model that actually seems to work
Not many companies can make a go of a wireless broadband strategy in sparsely populated areas...But ERF Wireless has found a way to make the business case work by using its massive wireless broadband network that covers territories specific to the oil and gas industry as a cornerstone. Its strategy has been to aggressively build and acquire new wireless broadband networks from existing wireless Internet service providers to specifically offer services to oil and gas companies in New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana. At the same time, the rural operator is one of the largest broadband suppliers to the regional banking industry, serving eight large banks in three states. Conveniently, this footprint happens to be shared by the oil and gas industry.
Urgent Communications , January 28, 2009
Copps takes over "demoralized" FCC
Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Copps has his work cut out for him while Julius Genachowski works his way through Capital Hill approval. Observers of the FCC say the agency is "largely demoralized" and has lost a lot of its career experts.
Copps is intent on starting a process of cultural and procedural changes at the agency likely to be continued by Genachowski when he assumes command. In remarks to FCC staff on Monday, he said the agency would focus on the digital television transition and improving the internal and external lines of communication at the agency.
FierceTelecom.com , January 27, 2009
Comcast's Congestion Catch-22
A deeper look at what Comcast is doing with the latest version of its congestion management system uncovers little ill intent, despite yet another FCC slam. But a Pandora´s Box of implications has been opened that in an increasingly IP-centric world may be hard to close up again.
When Comcast earlier this week received yet another admonition from the FCC about how it was managing traffic on its network, the groanswere heardfar and wide. Here we go again – the draconian Comcast taking a heavy hand with its users.
The FCC´s charge, delivered in a letter to Comcast was this: that Comcast was using the latest version of its congestion management system – the one it had just recently altered in response to an earlier FCC inquiry and demand – to improperly (and perhaps illegally) favor its own voice-over-IP (VoIP) service over competitors.
Telephony Online , January 27, 2009
Leahy Helps Steer Vermont Priorities Onto Legislative Track
The Senate Appropriations Committee will be meeting Tuesday morning to finish writing and to begin voting on the Senate's version of the economic stimulus spending package.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, the panel's third most senior member, has worked to include funding for a long list of investments important to Vermont. Leahy earlier this year released letters in which he spelled out his priorities for the package, which closely track the bill as now drafted.
On Monday evening Leahy released a list of several of his priorities now included in the bill ...
Broadband & Business
$9 billion for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program to improve access to broadband.
$4.5 billion for electric grid modernization.
$250 million to provide capital to qualified community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to invest in the development of underserved communities.
FOX44.net , January 27, 2009
Mountain town pursues speedier Web access
A mountainous town with only about 350 residents, Sandgate has struggled to find a provider for high-speed Internet. But with a grant from the Vermont Telecommunications Authority, progress, although sometimes slow and frustrating, is being made.
Sandgate is working with Rutland-based APC Services to bring high-speed Internet to homes in the town via a 25-foot-tall, solar-powered tower built on Minister Hill.
The first customers were connected in November, but only about 15 customers have been able to access the system to date.
Sandgate presents a challenge for residents looking for Internet service. With few residents, it isn't cost effective for a service provider to extend fiber wires throughout the town. But because of Sandgate's mountains, it is difficult to place a wireless provider tower in an area that can reach many homes.
Rutland Herald , January 27, 2009
Panel to approve tax credits for rural broadband rollout
The Senate Finance Committee later today is expected to make tax credits available to wireless carriers and others in the telecom industry that expand broadband networks to rural and low-income urban areas with little or no high-speed Internet access. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), a senior member of the finance panel and chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, plans to offer an amendment this afternoon that provides a 10% tax credit to service providers that invest in current generation broadband (defined as at least 5 Mbps downlink and 1Mbps uplink) infrastructure in unserved and underserved portions of the country A 20% tax credit would be available to carriers that bring next-generation broadband (100 Mbps downlink and 20 Mbps uplink) networks to those areas. However, commercial mobile wireless carriers would be eligible for the 20% tax credit if they offer broadband service at speeds of at least 3 Mbps downlink and 768 Kbps unlink in unserved and underserved locales.
RCR Wireless , January 27, 2009
Earth Turbines continues to rise and shine
The high ceilings contribute to an aircraft-hangar ambiance. So does the silk-screened hang glider suspended in the lobby of Earth Turbines´ Williston headquarters.
What appears to be a 1940s-era fighter engine sits idle on a forklift in the 10,000-square-foot shop space.
David Blittersdorf, 52, the company´s founder and CEO, says the market for small-scale wind generation is ready for takeoff.
He should know. Blittersdorf, a Charlotte resident, founded wind-power testing company NRG Systems 28 years ago. With his wife and business partner, Jan Blittersdorf, he weathered industry downdrafts — and eventually propelled Hinesburg-based NRG into profitable, global markets.
Burlingtion Free Press , January 26, 2009
Williston company could grow with wind-cell towers
A push to expand cellular phone service in Vermont by putting antennas atop wind turbine towers could be a boon to a growing wind power company in Williston.
Earth Turbines makes relatively small wind towers for the residential market, and has grown from two to 16 employees during the last two years.
Now the Vermont Telecommunications Authority, which has been looking to expand cellular service in rural parts of the state, is working on a plan to put the antennas on wind turbine towers.
That's expected to boost sales of the towers, which are expected to provide low-cost antenna opportunities for cell phone companies and free power to landowners who install the towers.
Rutland Herald , January 26, 2009
Verizon Wireless to sell $250 femtocell to boost indoor coverage
Looking to boost indoor coverage for customers, Verizon Wireless is rolling out its femtocell offering through its Network Extender base station that will be available for $250. The wireless provider unveiled its new product today. Existing customers can purchase the base stations online, by phone or at select Verizon Wireless stores. Verizon becomes the second carrier to offer femtocell technology to its customers....The device can support up to four users. It does not say what company is making the device.
RCR Wireless , January 26, 2009
Technology Gets a Piece of Stimulus
The $825 billion stimulus plan presented this month by House Democrats called for $37 billion in spending in three high-tech areas: $20 billion to computerize medical records, $11 billion to create smarter electrical grids and $6 billion to expand high-speed Internet access in rural and underserved communities.
A study published this month, which was prepared for the Obama transition team, concluded that putting $30 billion into those three fields could produce more than 900,000 jobs in the first year. The mix of proposed spending is different in the House plan, but the results would be similar, said Robert D. Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, which did the study.
New York Times , January 25, 2009
Luck O'The Irish
The government of Ireland has unveiled its plan to make broadband available to 100 percent of the residents of the Emerald Isle by September 2010. To accomplish this, it´s hired Hutchinson Whampoa subsidiary "3" to put together the infrastructure to do the job. Both wireless and a touch of satellite broadband will be included in what the government is calling its "National Broadband Scheme," detailed by Irish Communications Minister Eamon Ryan. As its part of the deal, "3" is to spend $286 million building the infrastructure needed to provide broadband to one and all, with the cash coming from a combination of Irish government funds, European Union co-financing and "3" itself.
TelecomWeb , January 25, 2009
Google and Intel on WiMax, LTE
Despite large writedowns, major investors in the Sprint/Clearwire WiMax venture like Google (GOOG) are sticking with WiMax for now.
From Intel´s Q408 conference call:...
Google´s Q408 conference call:...
From PC World:...
Google´s Q408 Q&A session:...
Seeking Alpha , January 25, 2009
FairPoint plans to complete work by Feb. 9
The Internet and phone service of many Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire residents, including their ability to call 911, is about to undergo the mother of all transfers.
The switchover of phone and Internet service from Verizon to FairPoint is under way. If things go well, all Verizon landline accounts should be transferred to FairPoint's new system by Feb. 9.
FairPoint completed the $2.3 billion purchase of Verizon's wired telephone and Internet business in northern New England in March 2008.
But, until now, FairPoint has been using Verizon's systems, and paying more than $16 million per month to do so.
While parts of the system have already been switched to the new systems FairPoint has assembled, the bulk of the switch is to take place between Jan. 23 and Feb. 9.
Kennebec Journal , January 24, 2009
Recession Strikes Cities Harder Than Rural Communities — So Far
In the first 11 months of this recession, the most dramatic decreases in employment have taken place in urban counties. Rural counties, however, still have higher rates of unemployment. The job losses that swept through the nation's economy in 2008 were largely confined to urban regions and the exurbs, a Daily Yonder analysis of jobs data has found. Rural counties lost jobs between December of 2007 and November, 2008 — but very few compared to the cities.
The Yonder used Bureau of Labor Statistics data to compare the number of people employed before the nation plunged into recession and November of '08. December of 2007 was a time of peak employment in the United States.
Daily Yonder , January 24, 2009
Broadband stimulus passes its first hurdle
he House Committee on Energy and Commerce has approved $2.8 billion for broadband infrastructure grants. The broadband components of the legislation which is over 200 pages give the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) authorization to allocate $2.85 billion for wireless and wireline broadband through a program of grants. he entire legislation is expected to come to a floor vote in mid-February.
Approximately $1 billion will be targeted for wireless service with a goal that 25 percent of the $1 billion go to unserved areas and the remaining 75 percent for the advancement of broadband in underserved areas of the country.
The provision requires those that receive grants to lay out a broadband infrastructure to do so in a way that is technologically neutral.
InfoWorld , January 23, 2009
Broadband's Cost Gives Non-Subscribers Pause, Poll Find
Even if high-speed Internet service was available to the entire nation, about one-third of Americans not currently using broadband still wouldn't because of the expense, according to a report released yesterday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
The report was based on two surveys of 4,254 people last year and illustrates a potential hang-up in President Obama's goal to bring broadband Internet to rural and other underserved areas: If they build it, it's not clear that people will come.
Washington Post , January 23, 2009
High-Speed Internet Grants Find Support in House
The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday approved rules for billions in government funds to spur high-speed Internet networks in unserved and underserved areas.
House Democrats have proposed $6 billion in Internet investments as part of a sweeping economic stimulus bill that the full House is expected to vote on next week.
The Internet funding portion of the stimulus bill -- a potential huge boon to phone, cable, and wireless companies -- bears the stamp of President Obama, who wants to blanket the country with high-speed connections. The $6 billion is considered a down payment on efforts Obama will make in this area over the next several years.
Wall Street Journal , January 23, 2009
Fitch cuts outlook for FairPoint Communications
Fitch Ratings lowered its outlook for FairPoint Communications Inc. and also cut some of the company's ratings, citing a higher-than-expected amount of access-line losses and stricter borrowing requirements.
The ratings agency reduced the Charlotte, N.C.-based FairPoint's outlook to "Negative" from "Stable." It also cut the company's issuer default rating and its $551 million senior unsecured notes due 2018 one notch further into junk status to "B+" from "BB-."
FairPoint has lost an unexpected number of access lines since it agreed in March to take over Verizon (nyse: VZ - news - people )'s land lines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Forbes , January 23, 2009
Powerline group sees 'smart' electrical grid in Vermont's future
The owners of Vermont's electrical transmission lines believe President Barack Obama's administration may help the state become the first in the country with a "smart grid" network.
Vermont Electric Power Company CEO John Donleavy told lawmakers Wednesday that the future of electricity transmission involves marrying the transmission lines to the Internet and other telecommunications technologies.
The result would be households with thermometer-like devices detailing exactly how much energy they are using right then and what type of energy source – for example, solar, nuclear, hydro or wind – is available to draw from.
Barre Times Argus , January 23, 2009
Vermont State Parks sets up Facebook page
Fans of the Vermont State Park system have a new place to share their enthusiasm: Facebook.
Officials set up the Facebook page where park users can share their favorite parks and their favorite locations and things to do in the parks.
Vermont Forest and Parks Commissioner Jason Gibbs says the Facebook friends are "Internet ambassadors" who help spread the word about the many opportunities that exist within Vermont's state parks and recruit new visitors.
Gibbs says the diversity of affordable recreational opportunities at the parks must be matched by a diversity of outreach activities.
FOX44.net , January 21, 2009
Supreme Court won't revive online content law
The government lost its final attempt Wednesday to revive a federal law intended to protect children from sexual material and other objectionable content on the Internet.
The Supreme Court said it won't consider reviving the Child Online Protection Act, which lower federal courts struck down as unconstitutional. The law has been embroiled in court challenges since it passed in 1998 and never took effect.
It would have barred Web sites from making harmful content available to minors over the Internet.
A federal appeals court in Philadelphia ruled that would violate the First Amendment, because filtering technologies and other parental control tools are a less restrictive way to protect children from inappropriate content online.
Associated Press , January 21, 2009
FCC’s Martin Leaves an Unfortunate Legacy
On a sunny, brisk day in Washington, D.C., when the nation´s first African-American president was sworn in, another transition also took place: Kevin Martin´s resignation as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission became official. Martin is expected to be replaced by Julius Genachowski, a venture capitalist and Harvard Law School classmate of President Obama.
While Martin´s four-year term as chairman (he spent a total of eight years as a commissioner) was not without accomplishment, it´s safe to say his tenure was mixed at best. Taking over as chairman in 2004, he had four primary tasks that would define his career: managing the transition to digital TV, distributing the valuable wireless spectrum in the 700MHz band, opening up telecom competition to new entrants including the so-called "competitive local exchange carriers," or CLECs, and increasing access to broadband Internet services across the country. None of those four has worked out for the best.
VON.com , January 21, 2009
FCC Questions Comcast's VOIP Policy
The Federal Communications Commission raises the possibility of further network neutrality violations by Comcast. The agency is investigating concerns that Comcast's new network management practices degrade the sound quality of VOIP services such as Vonage and Skype that compete with Comcast's own VOIP service.
Cable giant Comcast may again be in network neutrality hot water with the Federal Communications Commission. The agency is investigating concerns that Comcast's new network management practices degrade the sound quality of VOIP (voice over IP) services such as Vonage and Skype that compete with Comcast's own VOIP service.
Eweek.com , January 21, 2009
Twice delayed Verizon-FairPoint system switch-over scheduled
After two delays, FairPoint Communications Inc. said it is ready to switch Verizon's systems to its own network. The switch-over will stop all installations for two weeks.
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"We wanted to make sure the transition was as soon as possible and we wanted to make sure we were ready," FairPoint spokeswoman Beth Fastiggi said Tuesday.
FairPoint also needed to have Liberty Consulting Group of Quentin, Pa., sign off on the complex systems swap, a stipulation required by state regulators.
"Both in September and November, they essentially were not prepared enough to go forward," said Vermont Public Service Commissioner David O'Brien of FairPoint's readiness to take over Verizon's system, which includes records of roughly 1.5 million landline phone customers throughout northern New England, including 300,000 in Vermont.
Burlingtion Free Press , January 21, 2009
Obama's Broadband Challenge
Today we have a new president. While it´s probably unseemly to start taking shots at Barack Obama on the day of his inauguration, I believe it´s only fair to point out that our new president is starting his new administration´s broadband policy with a contradiction.
Obama wants to delay the Feb. 17 digital TV transition date in order to buy more time for millions of Americans who don´t yet have the conversion technology necessary to receive digital signals. Cutting off millions of constituents from their primary source of news and entertainment wouldn´t just be politically disastrous; it would be socially unconscionable, considering the majority of the people affected by the analog cutoff are those who can´t afford a fancy new digital TV, cable or satellite service.
Telephony Online , January 21, 2009
Buying universal broadband
...How important is universal broadband in 2009? According to UBS, the country´s top seven telcos as a group have made broadband available to more than 83% of their customers, and the top cable providers offer broadband to 95% of their base. Between the two of them, at most about 16 million U.S. homes are unable to get broadband, UBS said. According to some reports, the Obama administration may be prepared to spend up to $10 billion (the current House bill lists $6 billion) to reach those 16 million homes (in addition to other plans). So in rough numbers, the federal government could spend between $500 and $1000 per home to achieve universal broadband, albeit at sub-megabit speeds (that´s a whole other can of worms).
Telephony Online , January 21, 2009
Apple not interested in more wireless experimentation
Although Apple´s first wireless gamble paid off immensely, the company isn´t ready for more experimentation just yet. On Apple´s first quarter earnings call held this afternoon, Apple´s fill-in CEO Tim Cook shot down rumors of an iPhone Nano and a Mac version of the netbook, a mini-laptop made for mobile users.
Telephony Online , January 21, 2009
Inauguration Crowd Will Test Cellphone Networks
The cellphone industry has a plea for the throngs descending on the nation´s capital for the presidential inauguration: go easy on the mobile communications. The largest cellphone carriers, fearful that a communicative citizenry will overwhelm their networks, have taken the unusual step of asking people to limit their phone calls and to delay sending photos. The carriers are also spending millions of dollars to temporarily and substantially upgrade their networks in Washington. Dropped calls, lost photos or delayed text messages are always a risk during spikes from sporting events and concerts. People often feel compelled to share these events with others, and that takes bandwidth.
New York Times , January 20, 2009
Telecommunications officials consider pairing wind and cell towers
The Vermont Telecommunications Authority needs a lot more towers if it's going to meet its mandate of extending cell phone coverage to every corner of the state.
And now there may be an affordable way to do that. Officials are looking into putting cell phone transmitters on wind turbines.
VPR's Ross Sneyd reports. The Telecommunications Authority has formed a partnership with Earth Turbines, a Williston company that builds and installs residential wind turbines. The Authority has been given the goal of establishing universal cell phone coverage in the state by 2010. Officials say it's too expensive to build traditional cell towers in rural areas. So it's working with Earth Turbines to add cell antennas onto much smaller residential wind turbines. Bill Shuttleworth of the Telecommunications Authority says a pilot project will be built next week in Grafton.
Vermont Public Radio , January 19, 2009
Broadband Bill Disappoints Nearly Everyone
Critics say there's not enough money in the bill and that distributing funds through grants instead of tax credits will hamper job creation. The initial stab by the U.S. government to promote high-speed Internet access has something to disappoint nearly everyone.
Most communications companies and consumer advocacy groups say the $6 billion in broadband stimulus measures contained in the House Democrats' $825 billion economic recovery package are a good first step. But they warn that the money won't be nearly sufficient to meet incoming President Barack Obama's objective of providing affordable high-speed Internet access to all U.S. households.
Business Week , January 19, 2009
Vt. Can't Allow Status Quo to Rule
State governments are reacting to a declining economy the way most households are, which is to cut back to avoid deficits as far as the eye can see....The question is raised in Vermont as well. Why cut state government programs and jobs when the purpose of the economic stimulus plan is to get people back to work? Apparently, this guiding concern rests at the heart of some legislators´ desire to wait to see what the fed´s stimulus package brings before deciding what to cut, if anything. There are reports that Vermont might receive as much as $500 million over the two-year period covered by the stimulus package.
That´s a lot of money, and it would cover a lot of sins.
It would also be a travesty if the Legislature viewed this pot of money the way an asphalt crew views a pothole – fill what´s empty and then move ahead allowing traffic...
Vermont Tiger , January 19, 2009
Hybrid towers on telecom horizon
Vermonters starved for broadband and cellular-phone service have good reason to keep their eyes on the horizon.
Next week, technicians will erect a 112-foot hybrid wind-and-mobile tower in Grafton that authorities say will speed connectivity for the state's most rural residents.
The tower, topped with a Williston-made turbine, is the first of up to 200 that Vermont Telecommunications Authority has scheduled for completion before the end of 2010.
Burlingtion Free Press , January 17, 2009
Obama’s economic recovery plan won’t retrofit info superhighway
President-elect Barack Obama said last week that expanding broadband Internet access to underserved areas of the country would be a part of his American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, an economic stimulus package being promoted as a massive shot in the arm for the ailing U.S. economy.
But an adviser on Obama´s presidential transition team warned against unreasonable expectations of what the stimulus package could be expected to deliver.
Government Computer News , January 16, 2009
Telecom boss steps aside
Mary Evslin of Stowe, a key figure in the charge for statewide cellular and broadband access, Monday announced her resignation from the Vermont Telecommunications Authority.
She had served as the VTA board chairwoman since its founding in August 2007. Evslin helped craft legislation, signed two months before her appointment, that mandated base-level telecommunications for all Vermonters by the end of 2010.
"I lobbied for the bill´s passage, I helped set up the board´s infrastructure and got it operational," she said today. "I´m a start-up kind of gal. My real strength is what I did."
Evslin stepped down one day before the authority's director, Bill Shuttleworth, announced to Vermont senators a contract with Earth Turbines Inc. to construct wind-powered telecommunications towers across the state.
Burlingtion Free Press , January 16, 2009
Wind Power For Cell Service?
The Vermont Telecommunications Authority wants to use wind power to expand cell phone service to unserved areas.
The plan is to build up to 200 small-scale wind turbines around the state and put cellular antennas on them. The Authority has signed a contract with a manufacturer to construct the home-sized wind towers across Vermont over the next two years.
"The combination of a wind turbine and a cellular tower makes a great deal of sense from an economic standpoint," said VTA Executive Director Bill Shuttleworth. "It's significantly less expensive, it will provide the homeowner on the sites that are selected with net meter power so we have renewable energy."
WCAX-TV , January 15, 2009
Obama team lowers expectations on broadband stimulus
Speaking at an industry conference today, analyst Blair Levin, who is on leave from Stifel Nicolaus while aiding the Obama transition team on telecom policy "appeared to try to lower expectations about the magnitude and sweep of looming broadband stimulus efforts, which he said were just a ´subset´ of the incoming administration´s overall national broadband strategy." That´s according to a research note from his coworkers at Stifel Nicolaus, who added, "Mr. Levin´s comments suggest to us that the measures may not involve the several tens of billions of dollars floated in some reports." Obama´s national broadband goals are being improperly confused with — and won´t be limited to — imminent plans for economic stimulus, Levin said, adding, "Don´t confuse the piece with the puzzle.
Telephony Online , January 15, 2009
UBS: Details emerge on Obama's $40B broadband stimulus
UBS: Details emerge on Obama's $40B broadband stimulus
President-Elect Barack Obama is likely to direct up to $40 billion in grants and loans toward improving broadband availability and speeds as part of broader economic stimulus efforts, according to UBS analysts....they expect Obama´s economic stimulus plan to include two main provisions for broadband: $5 billion to $10 billion in grants to expand broadband to unserved areas (at a minimum speed of 768 kilobits per second) and $30 billion in interest-free loans for boosting broadband speeds – to 50 megabits per second downstream and 20 Mb/s upstream for wireline networks and 10 Mb/s downstream, 2 Mb/s upstream for wireless networks.
Telephony OnLine , January 15, 2009
New House telecom chair eyes USF, muni broadband
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Congressman Rick Boucher, who has just been named chairman of the House Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee, said he doesn´t consider net neutrality an issue of top priority. Instead, after attending to the digital TV transition, he is eager to focus on universal service fund reform (with an eye toward rural broadband) and municipal broadband.
Telephony Unfiltered , January 15, 2009
UBS: Details emerge on Obama's $40B broadband stimulus
Jan 15, 2009 11:20 AM, By Ed Gubbins
President-Elect Barack Obama is likely to direct up to $40 billion in grants and loans toward improving broadband availability and speeds as part of broader economic stimulus efforts, according to UBS analysts.
http://telephonyonline.com/ , January 15, 2009
Study sees no eye cancer risk from mobile phones
Regular mobile phone use does not appear to increase a person's risk of getting a type of cancer called melanoma of the eye, German researchers said on Tuesday. The study involving about 1,600 people detected no link between the time a person spent using a cell phone over about a decade and their chances of developing melanoma of the eye, they wrote in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
The findings contradicted an earlier, smaller study by the same researchers that had raised concern about such a link.
Telecomengine.com , January 14, 2009
A novel plan for cell service
The Vermont Telecommunications Authority plans to build up to 200 home-sized wind turbines across the state – each with a tiny antenna on it – in its quest to bring universal cell phone coverage by the end of 2010.
Executive Director Bill Shuttleworth told lawmakers Tuesday that the VTA has signed a contract with Earth Turbines, Inc. to construct and deploy the small-scale wind turbines at key locations in Vermont over the next two years.
"We essentially would like to go to a home and say, 'How would you like a free wind turbine?'" Shuttleworth told members of the Senate Economic Development Committee on Tuesday morning.
Barre Times Argus , January 14, 2009
FairPoint enters transition period
Some Vermont telephone customers may be affected by the transition from Verizon-owned systems to new systems owned and operated by FairPoint Communications, according to the Vermont Department of Public Service.
FairPoint, Vermont's largest telephone company, is scheduled to begin the process of switching over on Jan. 23. It plans to have it completed by the first week in February.
FairPoint spokeswoman Beth Fastiggi said there should be little disruption, but she's not ruling out the possibility for small hiccups during the transition.
"Insuring minimal disruption of our service and maintaining excellent customer service is our goal," said Fastiggi. "It is a complicated process to go through, and we expect there could be some bumps along the way, but employees are ready to solve any problems as they arise."
Brattleboro Reformer , January 14, 2009
Broadband Service Plan Raises Debate
Along with economic recovery and the war in Iraq, the new administration has another issue to tackle: speed. A Jan. 13 article in The Washington Post discussed President-elect Barack Obama's plan to supply the entire country with fast broadband service and create thousands of telecom jobs in the process.
http://www.govtech.com/gt/ , January 14, 2009
Stimulus package not designed to fund nationwide broadband
Blair Levin A top tech member of the Obama transition team today said the broadband component of the increasingly contentious economic stimulus package in Congress is not designed to completely meet the president-elect´s overarching goal of increasing the availability of high-speed Internet connections — in part through wireless technology — throughout the country.
RCR Wireless , January 14, 2009
Telecom experts: U.S. should target broadband stimulus spending
U.S. government funding aimed at bringing broadband to unserved areas should go beyond the current Universal Service Fund, which mainly supports traditional telephone service in rural areas, some telecom experts said Tuesday.
President-elect Barack Obama has called for a broadband rollout to be part of his approximately $800 billion economic stimulus package, and in recent years, several lawmakers and advocacy groups have called on the USF to shift its focus from traditional telephone service to broadband. But reforming the USF involves several sticky issues, and the nation's broadband needs may exceed the available funding for it, said speakers at a BroadbandCensus.com event in Washington, D.C.
ComputerWorld , January 13, 2009
FairPoint switch may mean phone change delays for Vermonters
Some Vermont telephone customers may be affected by the upcoming transition by FairPoint from Verizon-owned systems to new systems owned and operated by FairPoint, Vermont's largest telephone company.
Residential and business customers of FairPoint who are seeking new service or a change to their current service may experience delays in the completion of their orders. Some customers of other telephone carriers utilizing FairPoint's network may be affected as well. The cutover to new systems will take place at the end of January. On Jan. 23, FairPoint will begin holding most orders until cutover is complete, which may result in a delay of several days or weeks, depending on the service ordered.
Brattleboro Reformer , January 13, 2009
Defining 'broadband' key in stimulus plans
As information begins to emerge regarding President-Elect Barack Obama´s plans to include broadband in his sweeping economic stimulus proposals, a key question remains: At what speed will the new administration define "broadband" for the purpose of its goals?
According to Business Week magazine, Obama´s team is considering a $20-billion to $30-billion plan centered around tax breaks for companies that extend broadband availability or even boost its speed in areas where it is already available. The government may agree to subsidize 60% of the cost of the former and 40% of the cost of the latter. In the article, a Cisco executive echoed other analysts in suggesting Obama´s team could even set the tax breaks relative to the speed of the offerings, with higher subsidies for higher speeds.
Telephony Online , January 13, 2009
Obama chooses Genachowski to head FCC
President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Julius Genachowski, his former campaign technology adviser, to head the FCC, according to officials close to the transition team and to key lawmakers.
Genachowski, a former chief counsel to FCC Chairman Reed Hundt during the Clinton Administration, will be appointed to lead the agency, which has been marked this past year by both large decisions affecting the telecom and wireless industries as well as by tension between current FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Congress.
A former Harvard Law School classmate of Obama's, Genachowski, played a key role in shaping the president-elect's technology policy during the presidential campaign, especially in formulating Obama's stances on net-neutrality and expanded broadband access.
FierceWireless , January 13, 2009
A localvore answer to the broadband Internet question
hese days, it's virtually impossible for many people to live or do business in a town that does not have access to high speed Internet.
In Windham County, Mike Andreotta hopes he can start a local company that will be successful at wiring small towns, finally bringing them into the 21st century when it comes to telecommunications.
Andreotta first became involved as a member of the Marlboro Broadband committee.
"I got a little bit frustrated when, after two years, nothing was really happening in rural broadband," said Andreotta.
He decided to take action and founded Green Mountain Fiber, a company he hopes will be able to work with the towns in Windham County to bring broadband service to every single residence in towns that decide to participate.
Brattleboro Reformer , January 12, 2009
Verizon embraces VoIP future
Verizon Communications always seemed less enthusiastic about exploring the potential of VoIP than fellow big telco AT&T (and instead more interested in suing VoIP companies), but that has changed recently. The company has said it plans to launch FiOS Digital Voice this year, and last week, while everyone was checking about the Palm Pre and 3-D TVs at CES 2009, Verizon told the Los Angeles Times that it plans for all of its voice calling to be VoIP-based in seven years. Landline loss and broadband expansion have finally crossed a line for Verizon that only five years ago many people probably expected was decades away.
FierceTelecom.com , January 12, 2009
To Connect to the Internet, Just Turn on Your TV
If there was one overarching theme from the Consumer Electronics Show here last week, it was that absolutely every device in our lives is becoming a computer connected to the Internet.
"TV is interactive TV these days. You will use the same TV and the same remote control, but have completely different functionality," said Jong Woo Park, President of Samsung's digital media business.
"You ought to expect that to be more and more unified - three screens: TV, phone, PC - one cloud-based experience," said Steve Ballmer, chief executive of Microsoft.
New York Times , January 12, 2009
Mobile Devices Seen as Key to 21st-Century Learning
Children´s lives have been caught up in a tide of mobile digital technologies—games, cellphones, and smartphones—that if carefully managed could significantly boost their learning, concludes a report released today by a research center based at the Sesame Workshop.
"Mobile devices are part of the fabric of children´s lives today: They are here to stay," Michael H. Levine, the executive director of the New York City-based Joan Ganz Cooney Center, at Sesame Workshop, wrote in a statement accompanying the release of the report. "It is no longer a question of whether we should use these devices to support learning, but how and when to use them."
EdWeek.org , January 11, 2009
Home Health Technology Improves Access to Care
Veterans with chronic conditions can manage their health and avoid hospitalization by using special technology provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in their homes, according to a recent study. "The study showed that home telehealth makes health care more effective because it improves patients' access to care and is easy to use," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake.
Government Technology , January 11, 2009
Citizens in a Connected Age
Ten suggestions for Vermonters who wish to stay informed and engaged in an e-state.
1. Get connected. The Vermont Telecommunications Authority website has a wealth of information about the initiative to bring modern communications to all Vermonters by the end of 2010. The VTA is visiting many rural Vermont towns to discuss local Internet connectivity and mobile phone coverage.
2. Join the media mavens
3. Read a book.4. Read a blog
5. Test drive a tool
6. Check out the library
7. Be a leader
8. Serve your community
9. Get your dot gov. Does your town have a website?
10. Listen to a young person
Snelling Center Newsletter , January 11, 2009
Open, Schmopen: Wireless Networks Are Still Closed
Over the past year, there's been a lot of lip service in the mobile-phone industry about making our wireless networks "open." The idea, consumer and open network access advocates have argued, is that open networks would let consumers buy any mobile device from any source and run it on any network. This is especially important in the U.S., where handsets work on a particular network—CDMA from Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel (S) or GSM from AT&T (T). Under most circumstances, your device remains closely controlled by your carrier of choice.
But in recent months, carriers including Verizon Wireless and AT&T have announced their intention to make "openness" a part of their strategy going forward. It's a great idea in theory.
Yet the question remains whether we are achieving, or even moving toward, open wireless access. Are the carriers just creating a PR campaign, spinning their brand of openness for the benefit of consumers and regulators? Well, for right now at least, the claim of achieving openness is dubious at best.
Business Week , January 09, 2009
AT&T Mobility to Sell iPhone 3G in Vermont on January 15th
AT&T Mobility today announced that it will launch iPhone(TM) 3G at company-owned retail stores in Vermont.
The launch of iPhone 3G is made possible by AT&T Mobility´s December 2008 acquisition of Unicel assets in Vermont. The company has been installing its systems and training employees at its ten legacy Unicel stores across the state to begin offering the full slate of AT&T Mobility products and services -- including the highly anticipated iPhone 3G -- on January 15.
"iPhone 3G will arrive for AT&T Mobility customers in Vermont on January 15th," said Steve Krom, vice president and general manager of the company´s New England operations. "We are committed to offering the most innovative products and services to our customers, and we are pleased to be part of this great milestone in our market."
Money.CNN.com , January 09, 2009
Boucher Likely To Replace Markey As Telecom Subcommittee Chair
Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) will give up the chairmanship of the Telecommunications & Internet Subcommitee to concentrate on energy policy. The top telecom post will most likely go to Rick Boucher (D-VA).
That is according to an interview in the Boston Globe in which he said it was "time to create an energy-clean age." He is already chair of a new Select Committee on Energy & Independence created last year by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Markey is expected today to be named chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy & Air Quality, with the current chairman of that Subcommittee, Boucher, trading gavels to take over atop the subcommittee that oversees communications and media issues.
Broadcasting & Cable , January 08, 2009
Waxman Ready To Pick Telecom Panel Chairman
Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are planning to meet Thursday to elect the chairmen of the panel's five subcommittees, chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) announced in a memo Tuesday.
Waxman's memo, obtained by Multichannel News, also disclosed that he intends to rename the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Federal Communications Commission, which directly regulates media and telecommunications companies.
Waxman wants to name the panel the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet from the current Telecommunications and the Internet. Waxman's proposed name change suggests he might want to broaden the subcommittee's jurisdiction to include the computer software and hardware industry.
Multichannel News , January 07, 2009
A Broadband Stimulus Plan
As Barack Obama heads toward the Oval Office, demand is collapsing across most of the economy, and the job market is following. Manufacturers and stores are laying off workers as consumers cut back. Meanwhile, construction jobs are in the doldrums as fewer homes and offices are built.
But there's at least one sector where demand has continued to increase. Despite the financial crisis, the number of text messages, wireless phones, and Internet users still seems to be rising. More than ever, this is the Age of Communications, where people demand more and better connections to the global network.
Business Week , January 07, 2009
Are more ILEC bankruptcies on the way?
Late last year, the telecom industry experienced a relatively uncommon occurrence: the bankruptcy of an ILEC, Hawaii Telcom. Bankruptcies of CLECs were an everyday happening during the telecom bust earlier this decade, but incumbents usually have had larger, established customer bases generating sufficient revenue to keep them afloat. Will this be an isolated case or should we expect more ILEC bankruptcies? And what will happen now to the Hawaii Telcom business?
Telephony , January 07, 2009
Welch appointed to Energy committee
U.S. Rep. Peter Welch will start his second term in Washington, D.C., this month as a new member of the powerful House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Welch, who was sworn into office for his sophomore term in the U.S. House Tuesday afternoon, was appointed to the influential committee that same day by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
The move puts Welch front and center on a committee that oversees new legislation on energy policy, health care, telecommunications, the environment and trade. The committee also has jurisdiction over five Cabinet-level departments and seven other agencies.
"This committee has the broadest jurisdiction in Congress," Welch said during a phone interview Tuesday morning. "It covers a vast range of issues important to Vermonters, including health care, global warming, constructing a 21st Century energy policy and establishing universal broadband."
Rutland Herald , January 06, 2009
AT&T, Verizon facing 2009 slowdown
Both companies beat the market in the dismal closing months of 2008, but a reality check is needed heading into next year, research firm say. The deteriorating economy has US telecom stalwarts AT&T and Verizon looking at a much-tougher-than-expected 2009, with reduced growth in all segments, including fewer wireless net adds and weakness in enterprise sales, two areas that had been growing solidly, according to influential Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffett.
In a reconsideration of the telecom sector released this morning, Moffett detailed a "bottom-up reassessment" of his 2009 forecasts, resulting in "sharply cut" expectations for the new year. While not a surprise given current economic conditions, they follow relatively strong stretches for both companies, making it necessary to temper expectations AT&T and Verizon could withstand tough times and represent a defensive stock play. "We believe the telco stocks have come too far, too fast," Moffett wrote.
Telephony Online , January 06, 2009
FCC Chairman Martin dictates his legacy
In a scoop for Broadcasting & Cable, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin defends his record, Dick Cheney-style. As a counterpoint, one purple pundit blasts the outgoing Martin in his blog
The outgoing chairman is described as "adamant, even defiant" in his actions to pressure cable companies to unbundle programming and control pricing, but also fesses up that the FCC couldn't figure out if cable has reached a concentration level high enough to require regulation for programming access.
FierceTelecom.com , January 06, 2009
Can government investments in Internet and wireless communications technology ignite a new wave of job growth?
.....A new report from the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, to be released on Jan. 7, suggests that government fiscal stimulus, directed toward improving the broadband infrastructure, can go a long way toward boosting communications-related jobs. According to the report from the ITIF, a nonpartisan think tank, "a stimulus package that spurs or supports $10 billion of investment in one year in broadband networks will support approximately 510,000 new U.S. jobs for a year."
BusinessWeek , January 06, 2009
FCC’s Adelstein: National Broadband Needed ‘Urgently’
FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, whose name is in the running for the agency´s chairman position, in Phoenix on Dec. 29 to discuss how a national broadband strategy might work...."We´re seeing an increasing consensus by large providers, small providers ... for more of a public-private partnership to get this done. I have a pile of different proposals sitting on my desk as to how to implement a national broadband strategy. What we need now is the leadership and will to implement them.
xChange Magazine , January 06, 2009
Innovation should mean more jobs
Creating new jobs is a good way to get America's economy moving again. That's not the controversial part of President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus plans. As usual, the devil is in the details. And innovation advocates fear that if the devil runs amok, a short-sighted emphasis on jobs over long-term productivity may bog down the economic recovery. The problem, as they see it, is a centuries-old misconception that innovation is synonymous with automation, which in turn leads to the elimination of jobs.
New York Times , January 05, 2009
Doctors Will Make Web Calls in Hawaii
American Well, a Web service that puts patients face-to-face with doctors online, will be introduced in Hawaii on Jan 15. Its first customer, Hawaii Medical Service Association, the state´s Blue Cross-Blue Shield licensee, will make the Internet version of the house call available to everyone in the state, the company said. The service is for people who seek easier access to physicians because they are uninsured or do not want to wait for an appointment or spend time driving to a clinic
NY TImes , January 05, 2009
IP Wholesale ‘Bright Spot’ for ‘09
Juniper´s Ceuppens: Juniper´s Luc Ceuppens Says It´s More Evidence of Google´s Search for Information Superhighway Times are tough all over. But, in an effort to see where "bright spots" still exist for service providers, ....opportunity for telcos to wholesale their IP networks to companies like Google.....I think there´s an opportunity for people that have large networks to sell or lease these networks to other providers as their infrastructure. xchange: So it´s a wholesaling opportunity. But wholesaling what exactly?
xChange Magazine , January 05, 2009
Decision time for Unicel customers
In the wake of AT&T Corp.´s acquisition of Unicel, the tens of thousands of Vermonters with a Unicel plan have one year to decide what to do.
AT&T ended up with Unicel´s Vermont network after federal regulators determined Verizon Wireless´ $2.67 billion buyout of Unicel would give Verizon Wireless too much control of the cell phone market in the state. For the deal to proceed, Verizon Wireless was ordered to shed Unicel operations in Vermont, part of upstate New York and a small portion of Washington state. Unicel was operated by Rural Cellular Corp. in 15 states.
AT&T inherited 168,000 customers from Unicel in the deal, "the lion´s share" of which are in Vermont, MacKinnon said. She declined to disclose the specific number.
Burlington Free Press , January 04, 2009
U.S. Cellular Enhances E-911 Service in Vermont
TeleCommunication Systems, Inc., a leading provider of wireless location and messaging software and services, announced that it has partnered with U.S. Cellular (AMEX: USM) to successfully deploy the first statewide wireless E-911 location service throughout Vermont.
This service will enable Vermont Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), which answer wireless 911 calls, to receive the cell site location and 10-digit callback number for U.S. Cellular customers.
Under the agreement, TCS will provide the backbone wireless location technology and service components via its Xypoint(R) Location Platform. This technology platform uniquely integrates location, presence, and privacy technologies into one technical solution, thereby enabling U.S. Cellular to ensure the safety and security of its customers, as well as meet its Phase I and II regulatory obligations under the FCC's E9-1-1 order.
BNET , January 02, 2009
December
Martin drops porn filtering from FCC free wireless broadband plan
Kevin Martin, the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission, called Ars Technica today to let us know that he has revised his proposal to roll out a free (and smut-free) wireless broadband service. In an effort to corral more votes, Martin has already circulated a new version of the plan, one that removes the controversial smut filtering requirement. Why the change? "I'm saying if this is a problem for people, let's take it away," Martin said. "A lot of public interest advocates have said they would support this, but we're concerned about the filter. Well, now there's an item in front of the Commissioners and it no longer has the filter. And I've already voted for it without the filter now. So it's already got one vote."
Arstechnica , December 31, 2008
2009: The Year of the Ecosystem?
This year began and will end with eco-centric issues in the spotlight. As we moved in to 2008, eco-friendly efforts remained center stage...By ecosystems, we mean collaborations or partnerships involving telcos (or other network owners) and third-party application developers. The idea, of course, is to enable telcos to move away from the margin-shrinking business model of selling plain-old-transport and toward a paradigm that has them offering not only various qualities of bandwidth, but also the security, digital rights management, transcoding and settlement to go along with them.
xChange Magazine , December 31, 2008
Level 3 Hopes Buybacks, Other Help, Prevent Bankruptcy
If you´re signed up for Level 3 Communications Inc.´s financial alerts, you´ll have noticed in the past week a lot of activity targeted toward investors. Turns out, the unprofitable carrier – unprofitable to the tune of $6 billion in debt – is looking to shareholders and stock buybacks to help it get through the recession. It just raised $400 million from investors. But as part of that deal, the...company had to buy back some of its 2010 debt for 62 cents, up to 70 cents, on the dollar. This week, it just barely met those requirements. Level 3 also extended a third offer to buy back 2009 debt for another week. The Rocky Mountain News reports analysts see the financial maneuvering as efforts to stave off near-term bankruptcy even as Level 3 tries to cut costs through layoffs and other means.
xChange Magazine , December 31, 2008
Federal Broadband Money Should Go To States
The carriers and cablecos are hard at work trying to influence the broadband portion of the Obama stimulus package according to an article by Amol Sharma in today's Wall Street Journal. That's no surprise, of course, and their lobbyists are just doing what they're paid to do. But it would be a terrible mistake to have any of this money strengthen the duopoly whose uncompetitive nature has resulted in the US slipping from fourth to fifteenth place in broadband deployment since 2001.
The money should be given to the states with a requirement for state matching funds to assure that the states only spend federal dollars where they are willing to put some of their own very limited money.
Fractals of Change , December 30, 2008
Internet Providers Move to Shape Broadband Push
President-elect Barack Obama's call to improve the nation's broadband infrastructure has cable and phone company lobbyists maneuvering to get a leg up.
Lawmakers in Congress want a plan that will create jobs over the next two to three years while also tackling the longer-term goal of improving the availability and quality of high-speed Web access in the U.S. The U.S. has slipped to 15th from fourth place since 2001 in broadband penetration, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Advocates say broadband deployment is critical to the competitiveness of the U.S. economy.
Among the issues are what speed Congress should define as broadband and whether government money should be funneled only to areas that have no broadband access, or if it should also subsidize upgrades to existing networks.
Wall Street Journal , December 30, 2008
Internet Use Grows at Meetings, as Do Challenges
Until recently, travelers attending conferences or trade shows had simple Internet needs. They would check e-mail messages and maybe look up information on the Web or connect to the home office.
Now, meetings are likely to include streaming video and online interaction. And back in their rooms, travelers are downloading movies and logging onto peer-to-peer networks.
Event organizers and hotels and conference centers are struggling to keep up and prevent Internet gridlock. "We´ve known for a long time that bandwidth was going to be an issue in hotels," said Don O´Neal, a hotel technology consultant.
Erika Powell, a meeting planner for Global Knowledge, a company that provides software training to corporate clients, said she was recently forced to move an event because the hotel´s Internet connection could not keep up with her group´s demands.
New York Times , December 30, 2008
Internet Providers Move to Shape Broadband Push
President-elect Barack Obama's call to improve the nation's broadband infrastructure has cable and phone company lobbyists maneuvering to get a leg up. Lawmakers in Congress want a plan that will create jobs over the next two to three years while also tackling the longer-term goal of improving the availability and quality of high-speed Web access in the U.S...Among the issues are what speed Congress should define as broadband and whether government money should be funneled only to areas that have no broadband access, or if it should also subsidize upgrades to existing networks.
Wall Street Journal , December 30, 2008
Virgin Media ups broadband access ante to 50 Mbps
UK carrier Virgin Media....has launched a 50 Mbps broadband access service, the fastest to date in the UK. That speed breakthrough is enabled by EuroDOCSIS 3.0 cable technology, which is just starting to be deployed in Europe, and is capable of rates beyond those of ADSL+ and/or VDSL. According to CEO Neil Berkett, the channel-bonding technology, so far only applied to downstream traffic, can also be used to broaden upstream capacity up to overall speeds of 200 Mbps.
Telecommagazine , December 29, 2008
iPhone cell service available in Vt. next month
Vermonters waiting for the iPhone won't have to wait much longer.
AT&T announced Monday it has completed its acquisition of Unicel's Vermont network and will roll out its new products and calling plans next month and in the process add 75 jobs as AT&T expands staffing at the former Unicel stores.
"The former Unicel stores in Vermont will start transitioning to AT&T mid-January," AT&T Mobility spokeswoman Kate MacKinnon said.
She said it means "Unicel customers can take advantage of AT&T calling plans and exclusive devices like the Apple iPhone, the Blackberry Bold."
AT&T expects to complete re-branding the 10 former Unicel stores by the end of February.
Rutland Herald , December 28, 2008
Femtocells: Still late ’09 or 2010 before market grows
Research indicates that 2010 will be the year that femtocell technology will boom, and the major carriers are positioning themselves to take advantage by selling a product that boosts wireless signals in homes and offices that have spotty coverage...Now, Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility have plans to enter the femtocell market with launches in some markets next year. Officials from the nation´s two largest carriers said testing is under way.
RCR Wireless , December 28, 2008
Rural groups want FCC to reinstate spectrum cap at 110 MHz below 2.3 GHz band
Resurrection of the spectrum cap could prove tricky for the Federal Communications Commission next year when Democrats seize control of the agency, given President-elect Barack Obama´s call for expanded broadband deployment in a market dominated by telephone and cable TV giants and the promise of wireless technology to bring high-speed Internet access via cellphones, laptops and other devices to a highly mobile society that increasingly demands instant access to information...
RCR Wireless , December 28, 2008
FairPoint ready for final switch from Verizon
FairPoint Communication is cutting the cord to the Verizon telephone network next month and with it 1.5 million landlines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
The company is notifying phone and Internet customers by mail that it will cut over from the existing Verizon network to its own network Jan. 31.
FairPoint spokeswoman Beth Fastiggi said Friday that Internet customers will keep their existing user names and passwords but will use a different domain: myfairpoint.net.
Starting Jan. 31, users of e-mail software applications like Microsoft Outlook can begin adjusting their e-mail settings. The process can be automated by visiting www.activate.MyFairPoint.net/emailupdate and following the instructions. Users can also update their settings manually.
Rutland Herald , December 27, 2008
Why LTE Vs. WiMax Isn't Your Typical Standards Battle
Since both Verizon Wireless and AT&T have publicly shunned WiMax in favor of a cellular technology called Long Term Evolution, or LTE, the competitive clash is set as these fourth-generation offerings come to market. Their emergence, which once seemed safely several years off, is now around the corner. And with mobility at the center of change in business computing, CIOs should equip themselves with a clear sense of the rivalry that lies ahead between LTE and WiMax. Unlike other VHS/Betamax-type standards battles, the one for wireless data supremacy in the United States might not be a zero-sum game, given the widely divergent technology qualities, regional spectrum positions, and go-to-market plans of the various providers. Still, everyone loves a horse race.
Information Week , December 27, 2008
Clearwire and Sprint Nextel close the deal
Clearwire Corporation and Sprint Nextel Corporation announced today that they have completed the transaction to combine their next-generation wireless Internet businesses. With the closing, Sprint contributed all of its 2.5 GHz spectrum and its WiMAX-related assets, including its XOHM business, to Clearwire. In addition, Clearwire has received a $3.2 billion cash investment from Comcast, Intel, Time Warner Cable, Google and Bright House Networks. The transaction with Sprint and the new cash investment were completed on the terms originally announced on May 7, 2008. The new company retains the name Clearwire and remains headquartered in Kirkland, Washington.
MobilTechNews , December 24, 2008
Should the U.S. Spend $44 Billion on Broadband Infrastructure?
President-elect Barack Obama will have his hands full trying to get the economy back on track once he officially takes office next month, and if the media reform group Free Press has any say in the matter, a major investment in the nation's broadband infrastructure should be high on the list.
In a 30-page reported titled "Down Payment on Our Digital Future: Stimulus Policies for the 21st-Century Economy", the Free Press proposes spending $44 billion in broadband stimulus funds over the next three years. The vast amount of funds would be used to build next-generation broadband networks, connecting rural areas without broadband service, making high speed connections more affordable, providing PCs and training to low income users, promoting children's access to technology at school and at home, and ensuring clear standards of quality, affordability, and competition.
MaximumPC , December 24, 2008
Public safety group urges $15B broadband investment
President-elect Barack Obama should allocate $15 billion for a nationwide wireless broadband network, according to a federally designated organization that holds a license to create such a network for public safety.
The Public Safety Spectrum Trust wants Obama to include funding for a network that commercial users and first responders would share in an upcoming economic stimulus package, according to a Dec. 19 letter from Harlin McEwen, chairman of the corporation, which represents 15 national public safety groups.
"This would be a win-win-win decision by the president-elect and the Congress because it would create jobs," which is the main goal of the package, McEwen said in a news release today. "It would bring wireless broadband Internet access to the public that doesn´t have it, and it would result in a nationwide 700 MHz public safety wireless broadband network."
FCW.com , December 23, 2008
AT&T cell service, iPhone coming in January
Vermonters waiting for the iPhone won't have to wait much longer.
AT&T announced Monday it has completed its acquisition of Unicel's Vermont network and will roll out its new products and calling plans next month and in the process add 75 jobs as AT&T expands staffing at the former Unicel stores.
"The former Unicel stores in Vermont will start transitioning to AT&T mid-January," AT&T Mobility spokeswoman Kate MacKinnon said.
She said it means "Unicel customers can take advantage of AT&T calling plans and exclusive devices like the Apple iPhone, the Blackberry Bold."
AT&T expects to complete re-branding the 10 former Unicel stores by the end of February.
Details are still being worked out, but MacKinnon said current Unicel customers will be able to keep their current calling plans for approximately a year.
Barre Times Argus , December 23, 2008
The Story of 2009 Will Be 3G
Amid a Smartphone Explosion, WiMAX, LTE Set to Square Off, But HSPA Is Here Now. Is the coming 4G smackdown between LTE and WiMAX the biggest development in wireless broadband? Probably not, but it´s getting a lot of press. The real story is how the 3G business model will change in 2009...
xChange Magazine , December 23, 2008
Expanded cell, broadband coverage needed
...Many rural areas in Vermont lack access to cellphone and broadband Internet service. This includes many communities in Bennington and Windham counties. On Thursday, December 18, Sears and state senate pro tem Peter Shumlin, of Windham County, held a public forum at the Grand Summit Hotel to discuss plans for hooking up the hard-to-reach communities.The forum attracted local officials, nonprofits, and private businesses from around the area. They agreed the longer they go without universal coverage, the more business the area loses. Shumlin said now is the time for the state to develop the necessary infrastructure....
Deerfield Valley News , December 23, 2008
AT&T to add cell phone options in Vt.
AT&T plans to add jobs and cell phone options for consumers as it completes the takeover of a major cell phone provider in Vermont.
AT&T is acquiring the Vermont territory of Rural Cellular Corporation, which operates in Vermont as Unicel.
The transaction means Vermont consumers will soon be able to use the latest cell phone technology, such as the Apple iPhone.
AT&T spokeswoman Kate MacKinnon says the new services should be available in mid January.
(MacKinnon) "And that's when iPhone and other products like the Blackberry Bold will be available to Unicel customers in Vermont."
(Host) MacKinnon says customers shouldn't notice much difference as the Unicel network is folded into A T and T's system.
Vermont Public Radio , December 22, 2008
AT&T Mobility Hiring for Nearly 75 New Jobs in Vermont
AT&T Inc. today announced that AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets will add nearly 75 new jobs in Vermont as a result of its completed acquisition of the Vermont assets of Rural Cellular Communications, a provider of rural and suburban wireless communications services doing business in Vermont under the Unicel brand.
The two companies have a long-standing roaming relationship, and AT&T Mobility is committed to a smooth transition for its customers and employees. Part of this transition includes additional staffing and network support in the state. Candidates interested in a career with AT&T Mobility are invited to apply online (http://www.att.jobs/). Positions include (but are not limited to) wireless sales and sales management.
SOA World , December 22, 2008
AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless Complete Wireless Asset Swap
AT&T Inc. today announced that AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets has finalized its swap of wireless assets with Verizon Wireless, following regulatory approval from the FCC and Department of Justice.
Under the terms of the agreement, AT&T Mobility acquired some former Rural Cellular Corporation properties previously acquired by Verizon Wireless, including licenses, network assets and subscribers, in the Burlington, Vt. metropolitan service area and in rural service areas (RSAs) in New York (RSA-2), Vermont (RSA-1, RSA-2) and Washington (RSA-2, RSA-3). AT&T also acquired a cellular license from Verizon Wireless in portions of Kentucky RSA-6.
Market Watch , December 22, 2008
Qwest Cuts Internet Rates Across the Board
Qwest Communications..has cut prices across the board for its residential access offerings. Qwest cut its 1.5 mbps service Connect Silver with Windows Live from $29.99 per month to $14.99. Qwest Connect Platinum with Windows Live, which supports speeds of up to 7 mbps, has been cut from $36.99 to $24.99...Connect Titanium...which supports speeds of up to 12 mbps, now costs $46.99 and carries what Qwest calls a "Price for Life Guarantee." It applies to residential customers who don´t downgrade to another service or make other changes. And Qwest´s fastest Internet offering (20 mbps), Connect Quantum, has been cut from $99.99 to $59.99...
xChange Magazine , December 22, 2008
Telecommunications plan would provide coverage to Southern Vermont, create new jobs
...Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin, southern Vermont business leaders, and the Vermont Telecommunications Authority met Thursday at Mount Snow to discuss Vermont's telecommunications troubles and the VTA's plan to provide coverage to the entire state by 2010. "We can take this crisis and turn it into an opportunity," said Shumlin. "During the next economic boom, there will be more jobs and we can move with the technology. But we can't do it without a telecommunications plan."
Brattleboro Reformer , December 20, 2008
Can you hear me now? Cell service forum held
Legislators, business owners, state officials and townspeople discussed the quality of cell phone and broadband Internet coverage at a forum at Mount Snow on Thursday. State Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin, D-Windham, said the forum was created out of concern that the southern part of the state was being ignored.... 50 percent of the state lacks cell phone service, but added that 80 percent of the state's people have coverage. She said this is because most of the people living in Vermont live in concentrated areas. Evslin said, in order to provide service to those...
Bennington Banner , December 20, 2008
Mobile Market Expecting Decline In 2009
The mobile market will not be able to escape the looming global slowdown, and analysts said they expect sales to shrink next year.
According to a poll conducted by Reuters, analysts predict global shipments will dip on average 6.6% next year. Despite the release of high-profile devices like the BlackBerry Storm, analysts see a 5.7% decline for the fourth quarter 2008.
"A 5-10% decline is the best guess at the moment," Nordea analyst Martti Larjo told Reuters. "This can move either way: if the economy continues to go downward the number could be worse. But while growth is not impossible, it's unlikely."
Information Week , December 18, 2008
iPhone service in Vermont moves one step closer
The iPhone, the groundbreaking and heavily hyped cell phone available to most Americans since the summer of 2007, is one step -- and possibly days away -- from being available to Vermonters.
AT&T Corp. -- which provides the cell phone services required to operate Apples' iPhone -- has been cleared by the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice to take control of Unicel's Vermont network, AT&T and the Vermont Attorney General's Office said Wednesday. Unicel is now owned by Verizon Wireless.
"AT&T is pleased to have received FCC and DOJ approval to acquire Unicel's assets in Vermont, New York and Washington," said AT&T spokeswoman Kate MacKinnon. The rulings from the federal agencies were not immediately available.
Burlington Free Press , December 18, 2008
Broadband Stimulus Proposals Mushroom To $44B
Free Press, whose charter mandates "working to reform the media," has jumped on the broadband-stimulus bandwagon, calling on the government to spend $44 billion during the next three years to improve U.S. broadband connections. The Free Press proposal would be funded by taxpayer dollars that in part would be used to leverage far larger sums with a "Broadband Bonds" plan, under which corporations would get to borrow money for free and taxpayers picking up the interest cost. In theory, the $44 billion expenditure would generate many times that in returns in the coming decades.
TelecomWeb , December 18, 2008
Ahead of LTE, AT&T tests 7.2 Mbps speeds in Chicago
AT&T Mobility is in no hurry to transition to Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. In response to accelerated next-generation rollout schedules by Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility spokesman Mark Siegel said the carrier has plenty of room for upgrades before making the switch to LTE.
"We have some real advantages with our (GSM-based) technology path," Siegel said. "We still have plenty of room left to increase speeds" before moving to LTE.
Siegel said the carrier plans to first upgrade its current HSPA network to HSPA+, before moving to LTE. (Siegel would not offer a specific date for an LTE rollout by AT&T Mobility, noting only that it will begin some type of rollout within the new two years.) Further, Siegel declined to give any details related to the HSPA+ upgrade, including when it would happen and any possible benefits the upgrade would provide.
RCR Wireless , December 18, 2008
For the Web, Change All Sides Can Believe In
President-elect Barack Obama's call to bring high-speed Internet to all Americans has set off a scramble among service providers for a piece of the action.
Building out networks to rural and underserved urban areas -- with possible help from the economic stimulus plan being crafted by Congress -- could create hundreds of thousands of jobs and enrich telecom, wireless and cable companies whose businesses have suffered as households tighten spending.
Within the well-funded world of telecom lobbying, even fierce opponents are in rare agreement that Obama's plans to expand networks would boost the economy with jobs digging trenches for fiber lines and designing complex networks. But the interest groups differ on how that ambition should be executed, and that has sparked a race that one lobbyist calls a "telecom takefest."
Washington Post , December 17, 2008
Six Bidders for Australia's National Broadband Network Project
Australia's top two telecoms firms are among six bidders for building a national high-speed broadband network in Australia, according to Dow Jones. An expert panel will assess the bids and make a recommendation by the end of January 2009. "The stage is now set for an extremely competitive assessment process," Communications Minister Stephen Conroy told reporters, adding that four national bids and two state-based proposals had been lodged with the government...
CommunicationsDirect , December 17, 2008
FCC Cancels Vote on Free Wireless Broadband
Under pressure from Congress and telecom carriers, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin decides to drop a vote on a proposal to impose a free wireless broadband mandate on the FCC's next spectrum auction.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin finally gave in to pressure Dec. 12 from both Congress and the Bush administration to cancel a scheduled Dec. 18 agency vote on a controversial proposal to impose a free wireless broadband mandate on the FCC's next spectrum auction.
Martin's decision to cancel the vote came after Sen. John D. Rockefeller, D-W.Va., the incoming chairman of the Senate Commerce and Science Committee, and Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who will be heading the House Energy and Commerce Committee, co-signed a letter to Martin stating it would be "counterproductive" to vote on "complex and controversial items that the new Congress and new administration will have an interest in reviewing."
Pubish , December 16, 2008
Free broadband access is a right, not a privilege
"No one is in control anymore!"
That may sound like a dire call for help in an alien-filled sci-fi movie, but instead it was the happy pronouncement of Milo Medin, co-founder of M2Z Networks, one of the companies awaiting the FCC's decision on whether it will auction AWS-3 (Advanced Wireless Service-3) spectrum.
Should it go through, the auction would require the winner to roll out a free broadband service in a reasonable amount of time and over an area that includes more than just the major cities.
InfoWorld , December 16, 2008
$1 million grant seeks to transform schools
A grant from two of the world's largest philanthropic organizations will help Vermont better prepare its students for 21st century jobs, state education officials said Monday....$1 million grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The money will fund a four-state "New England Secondary School Consortium" that aims to transform school systems in the face of evolving technology and a new career landscape.
Times Argus , December 16, 2008
Sprint Survey on Mobile Value
Today Sprint released the findings of the Sprint Survey on Mobile Value, which evaluated how U.S. consumers are using their mobile phones and making financial decisions in today's challenging economic times.
Sprint , December 16, 2008
AT&T VDSL2 bonding trial slips into 2009
AT&T plans to conduct a trial early next year of bonded VDSL2, ...after having previously targeted late 2008 (and before that, late 2007) to start deploying the bandwidth-boosting technology...AT&T has repeatedly cited the promise of bonded VDSL2 when asked about the bandwidth limitations of its fiber-to-the-node architecture. The technique effectively combines the bandwidth of multiple copper pairs, treating them as a single line and boosting the capacity of those lines by an amount that depends on their length.
Telephony , December 16, 2008
Net Neutrality and the Obama Stimulus Package
Whatever portion of the Obama stimulus package is devoted to telecommunication should be directed away from the incumbent telcos and cablecos – whose lobbyists are indubitably doing their job and already lining up for the lion's share of federal funds – and used to create infrastructure on which competition can flourish (ideas to follow). It will be a huge squandered opportunity and a misuse of public funds if the telecom infrastructure project ends up reinforcing the telco-cableco duopoly which now controls most of our Internet access.
Fractals of Change , December 15, 2008
Google reaffirms commitment to net neutrality
Google on Monday reaffirmed its commitment to "net neutrality" after a newspaper reported the Internet giant was moving away from its support of the principle that all Web traffic should be treated equally.
"Google remains strongly committed to the principle of net neutrality, and we will continue to work with policymakers in the years ahead to keep the Internet free and open," Richard Whitt, Google's Washington-based counsel for telecom and media, wrote in a posting on the company blog.
Whitt was replying to a story in The Wall Street Journal which said Google had approached major cable and telecom companies that carry Internet traffic with a proposal to "create a fast lane for its own content."
Yahoo News , December 15, 2008
States Increasingly Put Criminal Records on Web
Worried your daughter's new boyfriend might have a nefarious past? Want to know whether the job applicant in front of you has a rap sheet?
Finding out can be a mouse click away, thanks to the growing crop of searchable online databases run directly by states. Vermont launched its service Monday, and now about 20 states have some form of them.
The Web sites provide a valuable and timesaving service to would-be employers and businesses by allowing them to look up criminal convictions without having to submit written requests and wait for the responses. And they're popular: Last month alone, Florida's site performed 38,755 record checks.
FOXNew.com , December 15, 2008
Most Will Access Net Via Phone By 2020
Most consumers will be accessing the Web through their mobile phones by 2020, according to new research from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Pew conducted surveys with about 1,200 online experts, journalists and technologists, and the majority predicted that the affordability, easy accessibility, widespread use and portability of mobile phones will make them the "primary" Internet connection.
Adotas.com , December 15, 2008
Free broadband plan stirs debate on filtering
M2Z Networks' proposal to build a free wireless broadband network is not the only controversial part of its business plan. Just as contentious is its intention to filter the content delivered over that network to block any material deemed inappropriate for children.
Free-speech advocates on the left and right have expressed alarm at M2Z's plans to build a family-friendly network that would weed out objectionable sites by blocking particular Internet domain names.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin took up that idea in his proposal to auction off a chunk of spectrum that would be used in part to deliver a basic broadband service over the nation's airwaves. It would ultimately be up to the FCC to decide exactly how any filtering mandate would work, including whether the filters would be located on the network or on user devices.
Washington Post , December 15, 2008
Startup banks on making money from free broadband
For the past three years, a startup called M2Z Networks has been figuring out a way to blanket the nation with a free wireless broadband network to ensure all Americans have access to basic high-speed Internet connections.
Along the way, the company has found support in powerful corners of Silicon Valley and Washington. It has attracted funding from several of the Valley's top venture capital firms. And it has captured the interest of Kevin Martin, the chairman of Federal Communications Commission, who is backing a plan essentially mirroring the M2Z proposal as a way to promote universal broadband.
washington Post , December 15, 2008
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