The ITU-T study group on telecom economic and policy issues will start new work to compile information on measures that could be used to reduce the cost of international Internet connectivity, we've learned. The group will look at the impact of regulatory frameworks and arrangements on costs, a document said. The work may examine certain benchmark studies on the costs of international Internet connectivity, it said. Strategies that could help reduce costs include the setting up Internet exchange points, the development of local hosting and applications, access to landing points for submarine cables, mirror sites and caches, investment in networks and submarine cables, and implementation of a related ITU-T recommendation, it said. The recommendation suggests administrations involved in the provision of international Internet connections negotiate and agree to bilateral commercial arrangements that take into account the possible need for compensation between them “for the value of elements such as traffic flow, number of routes, geographical coverage and cost of international transmission amongst others.”
The ITU-T study group on telecom economic and policy issues will start new work to compile information on measures that could be used to reduce the cost of international Internet connectivity, we've learned. The group will look at the impact of regulatory frameworks and arrangements on costs, a document said. The work may examine certain benchmark studies on the costs of international Internet connectivity, it said. Strategies that could help reduce costs include the setting up Internet exchange points, the development of local hosting and applications, access to landing points for submarine cables, mirror sites and caches, investment in networks and submarine cables, and implementation of a related ITU-T recommendation, it said. The recommendation suggests administrations involved in the provision of international Internet connections negotiate and agree to bilateral commercial arrangements that take into account the possible need for compensation between them “for the value of elements such as traffic flow, number of routes, geographical coverage and cost of international transmission amongst others.”
Boomerang Wireless amended its application for designation as an eligible telecom carrier to add Florida to the list of states where it hopes to offer service under the Lifeline program, in a filing at the FCC. The carrier also defines its proposed service area by providing a list of study areas, revises Boomerang’s proposed Lifeline service offerings and “notes the approval of Boomerang’s Compliance Plan,” in the filing (http://xrl.us/bnqncc). “Boomerang seeks ETC designation in order to provide handsets and domestic voice services to low-income customers under the brand enTouch Wireless,” it said. “Boomerang also intends to provide Lifeline-only service to residents of Tribal lands. Boomerang has direct, network carrier contracts with Sprint and Verizon Wireless, and has a contract in place to resell service from GSM carriers. The multi-carrier wireless network platform provides robust wireless service coverage across the entire ETC footprint. Boomerang has direct, in-depth experience with building voice, data and broadband products directly with carriers.” Boomerang previously sought ETC designation in Washington, D.C., Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
Walmart confirmed Thursday it made “a business decision to not carry current Amazon products beyond our purchase commitments and existing inventory.” A Walmart spokeswoman told us: “Our customers trust us to provide a broad assortment of products at everyday low prices, and we approach every merchandising decision through this lens.” Questions whether Walmart plans to offer its own tablet or reader, or whether it has replaced the Kindle offerings with other brands, weren’t answered by our deadline. “We will continue to offer our customers a broad assortment of tablets, e-readers and accessories at a variety of great price points,” she said, a decision that’s “consistent with our overall merchandising strategy.” Target elected to drop the Kindle brand recently, too. A search for Kindle on the Target website Thursday brought up jackets from Speck and M-Edge along with a guide for using the Kindle. A Kindle search on Walmart.com brought up numerous tablets including models from Pandigital, Velocity Micro, Visual Land, Samsung, Maylong Mobility and Asus.
U.S. consumers looking to order a Wii U console ahead of its Nov. 18 launch in the market (CED Sept 14 p6) will already have a hard time tracking one down, especially if they want to buy the $349.99 “Deluxe Set” that Nintendo of America (NOA) will be fielding, our check of several major retailers’ websites Thursday showed.
Jonathan Adelstein, who took over this week as president of the Personal Communications Industry Association (CD Sept 17 p15), said in an interview his message will be the importance of building out infrastructure and how it offers a key solution to solving the expected spectrum crisis. “People are running around talking about the spectrum crunch, that there’s a need for spectrum,” he said. “I'd like to define it more broadly as a data crunch. The ultimate goal for consumers and the economy is to accommodate the need for more wireless data. More spectrum is sort of the effective means for getting there.” Just making spectrum available for broadband isn’t enough, Adelstein said. “As more spectrum comes online it will ultimately require new infrastructure to accomplish the ultimate goal of meeting the data crunch,” he said. “Infrastructure deployment addresses the data crunch with or without new spectrum, but new spectrum can’t help without new infrastructure.” Policymakers do recognize the importance of infrastructure, he said, with Congress approving a collocation by right provision as part of the February spectrum law, the FCC imposing a shot clock for wireless zoning decisions and the White House issuing an executive order on deployment of facilities on public lands. “I really think you are seeing policymakers get it that infrastructure is an essential element of a solution,” Adelstein said. Still, he said that “demand for wireless data is exploding and you can’t build infrastructure fast enough to keep pace with it.” Adelstein said local and state officials are important and one of his top focuses will be on “really energizing our state operations.” Companies that build out telecom infrastructure are getting lots of bipartisan support nationally and in the states, he said. “This industry is creating jobs,” he said. “You have people who want to hire people to build today, right now.” Adelstein, a Democrat, is a former FCC commissioner, who left his job as administrator of the Rural Utilities Service to take the top job at PCIA Monday.
The FTC shouldn’t find Google guilty of antitrust law violations, the company and its supporters said after an event last week organized by opponents of the company. Panelists there said Google violates antitrust laws and should face government intervention as a result of the FTC investigation (WID Sept 14 p3).
The FTC shouldn’t find Google guilty of antitrust law violations, the company and its supporters said after an event last week organized by opponents of the company. Panelists there said Google violates antitrust laws and should face government intervention as a result of the FTC investigation.
The FTC shouldn’t find Google guilty of antitrust law violations, the company and its supporters said after an event last week organized by opponents of the company. Panelists there said Google violates antitrust laws and should face government intervention as a result of the FTC investigation.
America's seaports and marine terminals must make combined investments of $46 billion over the next five years to maintain and improve their infrastructure, said American Association of Port Authorities Chairman Jerry Bridges in a Sept. 13 briefing. But he said the federal government "has not committed to matching this investment in improving the connections with our ports."