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| Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 15:07:49 -0800 (PST)
From: Neal McLain <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com>
To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: FCC proposes OTT companies get MVPD status
Message-ID: <2ed8a9d6-f0bb-4988-96dc-b11ff854e09b@googlegroups.com>
By Brian Santo, CED, 12/22/2014
As expected, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is opening the door
to a redefinition of who qualifies as a multichannel video programming
distributor (MVPD). A new definition that is inclusive of online-only
services, such as those already provided by Netflix or proposed by the likes
of Sony and Dish could have profound ramifications for competition in the
video market.
The question is coming up with increasing frequency, and cannot be ignored.
Sky Angel continues to press its case. More recently, the Supreme Court
confused the issue immensely by likening Aereo to an MVPD, even though
absolutely nobody else agrees, a conundrum that helped drive Aereo into
bankruptcy.
http://www.cedmagazine.com/news/2014/12/fcc-proposes-ott-companies-get-mvpd-status
-or-
http://tinyurl.com/kazddbh
My answers to the questions raised in this article:
> Is a channel a consistent stream of programming from a single
> ultimate source (ESPN, Disney)? Or is it a physical channel
> that brings that carries that stream? That's the difference
> between an Internet provider and a facilities-based provider.
For the purpose of the issue at hand here, it's a "consistent stream of
programming..." transmitted simultaneously with the original broadcast. But
that does not preclude use of a DVR, either built into Customer Premises
Equipment or online.
> ...linear versus on demand...
Linear, not on-demand. But that does not preclude online DVR services as long
as the subscriber selects programming to be recorded from the linear streams
of channels to which he/she must subscribe.
> ...how a redefinition of "MVPD" might also affect how programming is sold.
Assuming the linear stream arriving by internet and the linear stream arriving
from a CATV/SatTV company are identical, it should make no difference.
> In other words, the discussion will lead into another argument
> loaded with its own landmines: retransmission agreements.
Assuming the linear stream retransmitted over the internet and the linear
stream retransmitted by a CATV/sat company are identical, the identical
retrans mechanism should apply. Subject of course to discrepancies at DMA
boundaries resulting from discrepancies between DMA boundaries and zip code
boundaries.
Neal McLain
12-16-14 1707 CST
|
| Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 21:32:18 -0800
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Risks in Using Social Media to Spot Signs of Mental Distress
Message-ID: <9F6121DE-D92F-4275-90CE-76E688C0388C@roscom.com>
Risks in Using Social Media to Spot Signs of Mental Distress
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/27/technology/risks-in-using-social-posts-to-spot-signs-of-distress.html
The ill-fated introduction in Britain of an app to detect predictors
of suicide shows what may happen when social media posts are
scrutinized for cues about a person's mental health.
|
| Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 22:36:41 -0800
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: At Store After Store, a Pitch by Phone
Message-ID: <B87CB3B3-E039-4065-9C47-BED29BFCB39E@roscom.com>
More than 130 stores on London's Regent Street link to shoppers'
mobile devices through an app and sensor combination.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/fashion/regent-street-london-uses-app-and-beacons-to-reach-shoppers.html
|
| Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 17:46:13 -0500
From: danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com>
To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: nationwide settlement with T-Mobile re: "Cramming"
Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.4.64.1412261741090.4922@panix5.panix.com>
This is the final step, more or less, of the case brought
a year or two ago.
- a combined action by all 50 (!!!) States Attornies General
along with DC, the FTC, and the FCC. whew. Someone
was pissed. Or they all saw an easy press release...
[NYS's AG press release]
NY - Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a $90 million
multi-state settlement with T-Mobile to resolve charges that the company
engaged in cramming. Cramming is a practice where cell phone providers
place unauthorized third-party charges on consumers' bills. One common
cramming charge is a $9.99-per-month premium text messaging subscription
service (also known as PSMS) for horoscopes, trivia, sports scores or
other information that consumers often never requested.
.....
T-Mobile is the second mobile telephone provider to enter into a
nationwide settlement to resolve allegations regarding cramming; Attorney
General Schneiderman announced a similar, $105 million settlement with
AT&T in October of this year. T-Mobile and AT&T were among the four major
mobile carriers - in addition to Verizon and Sprint - that announced they
would cease billing customers for commercial PSMS in the fall of 2013.
....
T-Mobile must provide full refunds to consumers charged for unauthorized
PSMS charges paid after January 1, 2010, either in the form of a payment
or as forgiveness of a debt, amounting no less than $67.5 million - it
is estimated that nearly 700,000 New Yorkers are eligible for a refund;
=====
rest:
http://oag.state.ny.us/press-release/ag-schneiderman-announces-90-million-multi-state-settlement-t-mobile-over-practice
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]
|
| Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 22:32:33 -0800
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Message to Self: In 2015, Stop Texting While Walking
Message-ID: <28473D21-6C90-4686-BABD-08C0E033EC87@roscom.com>
A New Year's resolution for 2015: end a habit that's inconsiderate and unsafe.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/25/fashion/in-2015-resolve-to-stop-texting-while-walking.html
|
| Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 23:02:43 -0800
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Why Sony's Breach Matters
Message-ID: <4F432B3E-0B75-4FFD-A0B0-6F45C9A33CDA@roscom.com>
Why Sony's Breach Matters
This past year has seen more wide-spread, massive-scale, and damaging
computer system breaches than any time in history. The Sony breach is
just the latest - not the first or most creative or even the most
destructive computer system breach. It matters because it is a
defining moment and turning point to significant and disruptive
changes to enterprise and business computing.
The dramatic nature of today's breaches impacts the enterprise
computing infrastructure at both the endpoint and server
infrastructure points. This is a good news and bad news situation.
The bad news is that we have likely reached the limits as to how much
the existing infrastructure can be protected. One should not dismiss
the Sony breach because of their simplistic security architecture (a
file Personal passwords.xls with passwords in it is entertaining but
not the real issue). The bad news continues with the reality of the
FBI assertion of the role of a nation state in the attack or at the
very least a level of sophistication that exceeded that of a
multi-national corporation.
The good news is that several billion people are already actively
using cloud services and mobile devices. With these new approaches to
computing, we have new mechanisms for security and the next generation
of enterprise computing. Unlike previous transitions, we already have
the next generation handy and a cleaner start available. It is
important to consider that no one was "training" on using a smartphone
- no courses, no videos, no tutorials. People are just using phones
and tablets to do work. That's a strong foundation.
In order to better understand why this breach and this moment in time
is so important, I think it is worth taking a trip through some
personal history of breaches and reactions. This provides context as
to why today we are at a moment of disruption.
...
http://blog.learningbyshipping.com/2014/12/21/why-sonys-breach-matters/
***** Moderator's Note *****
"The bad news is that we have likely reached the limits as to how
much the existing infrastructure can be protected. ..."
Bzzzt! Wrong answer!
We may have reached the limits of how much IT managers are willing to
enforce security standards, but that is not the limits of the
protection which is available. End-to-end email encryption would have
prevented this hack.
This was a feature available off-the-shelf in Lotus Notes (Does anyone
remember Lotus?), and it's built-in to every major email client right
now. And that's just ONE common-sense measure that could be used RIGHT
NOW to improve security.
The limit is not in the technology - it's in the short-sighted "It
can't happen here" attitudes of the Buzzword Babies who infest too
many IT organizations.
Bill Horne
Moderator
|
| Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 22:50:26 -0800
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: How the Sony Corporation Hack Revived the Lost Art of the Call
Message-ID: <BE62FE6A-5403-4165-873A-94F2B364A1A3@roscom.com>
Sony's devastating breach, as well as cyberattacks on big companies like
Home Depot and JPMorgan Chase, earn 2014's tech moniker "The Year of
the Hack".
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/style/how-the-sony-corporation-hack-revived-the-lost-art-of-the-phone-call.html
-or-
http://goo.gl/CTJQH6
|
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecom-
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