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The Telecom Digest for January 5, 2014
Volume 33 : Issue 3 : "text" Format
====== 32 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======
|
Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
Internet. All contents here are copyrighted by Bill Horne and
the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other
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We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we
are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because
we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands
against crime. - Geoffrey Welsh
See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details
and the name of our lawyer, and other stuff of interest.
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Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2014 03:11:47 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: State Police hone ways to catch drivers texting behind the wheel
Message-ID: <p06240868ceec222a83e4@[10.0.1.11]>
State Police hone ways to catch drivers texting behind the wheel
3 years after distracted driving ban, police start to get hang of enforcement
By Martine Powers | GLOBE STAFF
SEPTEMBER 27, 2013
State Police have launched an aggressive new attempt to ticket
drivers who text, the second wave of an experiment seeking the most
effective way to detect illicit behind-the-wheel cellphone activity.
Some troopers stay in unmarked cars on the side of the road to catch
texting drivers. Others slowly cruise the middle lane to watch as
people pull out their phones. Still other troopers may try standing
in plain clothes at intersections, watching people text, then
radioing ahead to other officers who pull the driver over.
The troopers are hoping to deter distracted driving by ticketing as
many people as possible. During the first wave of the enforcement
effort, conducted during a three-week period in June, police cited
440 drivers in the Merrimack Valley for sending electronic messages
while driving, and another 509 drivers for the vaguer offense of
"impeded operation."
Collectively, it amounted to almost four times as many citations as
were handed out in the entire state in June 2012. The current wave of
enforcement, also in Merrimack Valley towns, runs into mid-October.
...
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/09/27/three-years-after-distracted-driving-ban-police-start-get-hang-enforcement/ohMVHIIEDBYuxp4YhBZ4VK/story.html?s_campaign=8315
-or-
http://goo.gl/sK71Jj
Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2014 03:11:47 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Study documents dangers of texting, dialing while driving
Message-ID: <p06240867ceec21a965c5@[10.0.1.11]>
Study documents dangers of texting, dialing while driving
By Marilynn Marchione | AP CHIEF MEDICAL WRITER
JANUARY 02, 2014
A sophisticated, real-world study confirms that dialing, texting or
reaching for a cellphone while driving raises the risk of a crash or
near-miss, especially for younger drivers. But the research also
produced a surprise: Simply talking on the phone did not prove
dangerous, as it has in other studies.
This one did not distinguish between handheld and hands-free devices
- a major weakness.
And even though talking doesn't require drivers to take their eyes
off the road, it's hard to talk on a phone without first reaching for
it or dialing a number -things that raise the risk of a crash,
researchers note.
Earlier work with simulators, test-tracks and cellphone records
suggests that risky driving increases when people are on cellphones,
especially teens. The 15-to-20-year-old age group accounts for 6
percent of all drivers but 10 percent of traffic deaths and 14
percent of police-reported crashes with injuries.
For the new study, researchers at the Virginia Tech Transportation
Institute installed video cameras, global positioning systems, lane
trackers, gadgets to measure speed and acceleration, and other
sensors in the cars of 42 newly licensed drivers 16 or 17 years old,
and 109 adults with an average of 20 years behind the wheel.
...
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2014/01/01/study-documents-dangers-texting-dialing-while-driving/vf6KfSfRwFGRIIXNRIcviM/story.html?s_campaign=8315
-or-
http://goo.gl/JHfJd4
Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2014 12:31:57 -0800 (PST)
From: Neal McLain <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: CRB Opens the Door on Web IV: The Future of Webcasting Royalty Rates for 2016-2020 Starts Now
Message-ID: <48b834e9-a47b-47d2-9fec-663893958ede@googlegroups.com>
Posted on CommLawBlog on January 3, 2014 by Kevin Goldberg
| CRB notice suggests possible shift in royalty rate calculation
| method, replacing per-performance mechanism with percentage-
| of-revenue approach.
|
| The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has started on its
| quinquennial chore of establishing copyright royalty rates
| applicable to various non-interactive webcasters. While the
| to-be-determined rates won't kick in for another two years -
| they will apply to the period January 1, 2016-December 31,
| 2020 - the CRB is required by Congress to get the ball rolling
| by January 5, 2014, and the CRB has gotten itself in under the
| wire with a notice in the January 3 Federal Register inviting
| public participation in a new proceeding (dubbed "Web IV" by
| the CRB).
|
| Web IV will set the rates for eligible nonsubscription and new
| subscription services (most of our readers, including just
| about all broadcasters engaged in webcasting, fall into the
| former). And while the rate structure currently in place for
| the 2011-2015 term has been relatively complaint- and
| controversy-free, the CRB's notice suggests that the CRB may
| be looking to take rate calculations in a different direction.
| Rather than simply hit "repeat" and stick with the per-
| performance basis for rates all players have lived with for
| more than five years already, the CRB appears to have a
| percentage-of-revenue model in mind. At least that's one
| possible reading of the questions laid out for comment by the
| CRB.
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/pdl2rp3
Yep, it's that same Copyright Royalty Board I mentioned in my
December 30 post "D.C. Circuit Rejects Challenge to Sunsetting
of Viewability Rule" linked here:
http://tinyurl.com/pfysz3q
Neal McLain
Date: Thu, 2 Jan 2014 19:04:13 -0800 (PST)
From: Neal McLain <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Cable TV Copyright
Message-ID: <9bfb88a2-9e5c-4220-b9ce-9d187bb17d7f@googlegroups.com>
In the previous post, I wrote:
> During the Clinton Administration, the CRT was abolished as
> part of the "Reinventing Government" effort, and was replaced
> by a system that utilized a three-member Copyright Arbitration
> Royalty Panel (CARP). CARPs are convened on an ad-hoc basis
> when needed to set royalty fees and/or distribute royalties
> to claimants. This procedure is still in place today.
In 2004, CARPs were phased out and replaced with the Copyright
Royalty Board (CRB).
Details:
http://www.copyright.gov/carp/
Neal McLain
Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2014 12:14:35 -0800 (PST)
From: Neal McLain <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Sports Blackout Rules on the Ropes?
Message-ID: <d96361cb-eda3-42a8-8e3a-c32582ab2868@googlegroups.com>
Posted on CommLawBlog on December 29, 2013 by Dan Kirkpatrick
| FCC proposes to eliminate rules designed primarily to enforce
| NFL blackout decisions.
|
| Looks like the clock is running out for the sports blackout
| rules.
|
| In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) the FCC has proposed
| their elimination, although the NFL, MLB, NAB and a number of
| network TV affiliates appear poised to mount a late-game
| defensive surge to try to save them. The outlook for the
| rules, however, isn't brilliant.
|
| The sports blackout rules as they currently stand generally
| prohibit certain multichannel video program distributors
| (MVPDs - think cable systems, broadcast satellite services,
| open video systems) from carrying, within a protected
| geographical area, a live sporting event not available live on
| a local over-the-air (OTA) TV station in that area. You can
| find the rules themselves in Sections ... [snip]
|
| Importantly, the rules themselves are not the source of sports
| blackouts; rather, the respective professional leagues
| determine the availability of OTA game broadcasts. The FCC's
| rules effectively impose league-initiated blackouts across the
| various MVPD services.
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/pl4ml5z
And even if ESPN or some other sports network carried it, cable
TV still had to black it out if no local station carried it.
Try explaining that to a half-drunk irate caller.
Neal McLain
Date: Thu, 2 Jan 2014 11:59:52 -0800 (PST)
From: Neal McLain <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: ABC to block DirecTV, TWC, Dish subs from watching TV series online
Message-ID: <a1e65b58-ef10-4ffe-a12d-9390555505c0@googlegroups.com>
By Steve Donohue, Fierce Cable, January 2, 2014
| ABC said that on Monday it will begin restricting access to
| complete episodes of new TV shows to customers of pay TV
| providers that it has signed to TV Everywhere authentication
| deals.
|
| The move will prevent subscribers from DirecTV, Time Warner
| Cable and Dish Network from watching new episodes of "Modern
| Family," "The Bachelor" and other ABC series on ABC.com in the
| week after their premiere. Only subscribers from AT&T,
| Cablevision, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox
| Communications, Midcontinent and Verizon will be able to watch
| new episodes on WatchABC.com or through the Watch ABC mobile
| video app the day after their premiere, according to a notice
| ABC posted online late last month.
|
| While ABC said it will also stop offering free, ad-supported
| versions of new episodes through Hulu, the network will allow
| premium Hulu Plus subscribers to watch new programs the day
| after their initial broadcast. Web surfers will also be able
| to pay per episode to download high-definition programs
| from Apple's iTunes store or Amazon Instant Video.
Continued:
http://www.fiercecable.com/story/abc-block-directv-twc-dish-subs-watching-tv-series-online/2014-01-02?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal
-or-
http://tinyurl.com/n9n8jp9
Neal McLain
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