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The Telecom Digest for March 27, 2014
Volume 33 : Issue 47 : "text" Format
====== 32 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======
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Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
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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: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 11:41:37 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Police Keep Quiet About Cell-Tracking Technology
Message-ID: <p0624084fcf56e2a9ccc1@[10.0.1.11]>
Police Keep Quiet About Cell-Tracking Technology
WASHINGTON March 22, 2014 (AP)
By JACK GILLUM Associated Press
Police across the country may be intercepting phone calls or text
messages to find suspects using a technology tool known as Stingray.
But they're refusing to turn over details about its use or heavily
censoring files when they do.
Police say Stingray, a suitcase-size device that pretends it's a cell
tower, is useful for catching criminals, but that's about all they'll
say.
For example, they won't disclose details about contracts with the
device's manufacturer, Harris Corp., insisting they are protecting
both police tactics and commercial secrets. The secrecy - at times
imposed by nondisclosure agreements signed by police - is pitting
obligations under private contracts against government transparency
laws.
Even in states with strong open records laws, including Florida and
Arizona, little is known about police use of Stingray and any rules
governing it.
A Stingray device tricks all cellphones in an area into
electronically identifying themselves and transmitting data to police
rather than the nearest phone company's tower. Because documents
about Stingrays are regularly censored, it's not immediately clear
what information the devices could capture, such as the contents of
phone conversations and text messages, what they routinely do capture
based on how they're configured or how often they might be used.
...
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/police-quiet-cell-tracking-technology-23016515
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 11:41:37 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Obama to Call for End to N.S.A.'s Bulk Data Collection
Message-ID: <p0624084acf56df921368@[10.0.1.11]>
Obama to Call for End to N.S.A.'s Bulk Data Collection
By CHARLIE SAVAGE
MARCH 24, 2014
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is preparing to unveil a
legislative proposal for a far-reaching overhaul of the National
Security Agency's once-secret bulk phone records program in a way
that - if approved by Congress - would end the aspect that has most
alarmed privacy advocates since its existence was leaked last year,
according to senior administration officials.
Under the proposal, they said, the N.S.A. would end its systematic
collection of data about Americans' calling habits. The bulk records
would stay in the hands of phone companies, which would not be
required to retain the data for any longer than they normally would.
And the N.S.A. could obtain specific records only with permission
from a judge, using a new kind of court order.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/25/us/obama-to-seek-nsa-curb-on-call-data.html
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 15:54:34 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Object of Interest: Aereo's Tiny Antennas
Message-ID: <p06240843cf54e9ed7fe4@[10.0.1.11]>
Object of Interest: Aereo's Tiny Antennas
Posted by Matt Buchanan and Nate Lavey
March 15, 2014
The New Yorker
At first glance, the only merit of the Brooklyn office of the
television startup Aereo-a relatively austere space located on the
ninth floor of an oppressively bland, grey building in Clinton
Hill-is the sweeping view of the skyline, from eastern Brooklyn to
Manhattan. But the clear line of sight-straight to midtown-from its
north-facing windows isn't meant for the enjoyment of its employees:
it serves Aereo's thousands of tiny antennas, which are pressed
against the glass to capture broadcast television signals beamed
primarily from the top of the Empire State Building.
...
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2014/03/object-of-interest-aereos-tiny-antennas.html
A STARTUP, THE SUPREME COURT, AND THE FUTURE OF TV
Posted by Michael Phillips
The New Yorker
January 15, 2014
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2014/01/aereo-supreme-court-future-of-television-internet.html
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 21:26:45 -0700 (PDT)
From: Neal McLain <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Aereo's Kanojia: We either win or disappear
Message-ID: <5573285a-4a72-465e-aa3f-2f7cb5deb304@googlegroups.com>
By Jim Barthold, FierceCable, March 25, 2014
There's no "Plan B" for Aereo: It either wins its copyright battle
with broadcasters in the Supreme Court battle or it disappears from
the video landscape, CEO Chet Kanojia said in an interview with
Bloomberg TV.
"There is no plan," Kanojia said when asked about an alternate plan
during the interview. "If we don't succeed, despite our best efforts
and the good law being on our side, it would be a tragedy. But it is
what it is."
While Kanojia has held out an olive branch in terms of a potential
industry partnership of some sort, that would probably have to wait
until the court rulings play out. And it seems unlikely that a
cash-strapped Aereo could afford it anyway.
The deck seems stacked against Aereo, which, if it wins, could alter
the entire broadcasting model of charging for retransmission of
broadcast signals. Earlier this month the Justice Department threw
its support behind broadcast networks and noted the reversal of a
lower court's decision in favor of the startup, saying that the
decision "need not call into question the legitimacy of innovative
technologies that allow consumers to use the Internet to store,
hear, and view their own lawfully acquired copies of copyrighted
works."
Continue:
http://www.fiercecable.com/story/aereos-kanojia-we-either-win-or-disappear/2014-03-25?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal
-or-
http://tinyurl.com/phtxht7
Neal McLain
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