---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <97d11bd0-c896-4cd5-b0ce-6243cf505f78@googlegroups.com> Date: 2 May 2019 13:03:02 -0700 From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> Subject: Re: Waiting game: Will blocking of conservative ad content cease? On Thursday, May 2, 2019 at 2:13:57 PM UTC-4, Bill Horne wrote: > A conservative activist is taking the head of AT&T at his word when he > says his employees need to stop blocking conservatives from > advertising platforms. This is a tricky issue. First off, news organizations have always had rules for ads they would not accept, some based on good taste, some based on extreme political stances of either side. Mainstream newspapers tended not to accept ads from extremists groups. Publications with a point of view (such as the publication cited in this thread) might not be so open minded. Also, while generally news media are pretty flexible about printing ads with questionable honesty--it's not for them to judge ad claims--in extreme cases of blatant fraud or propaganda they won't run an ad. Needless to say, a private news organization should have the freedom to decide for itself what ads to run and not to run. In my own opinion, I don't think communications carriers should be venturing in certain lines of businesses where they could be excused of conflicts of interest. IMHO, AT&T should not have purchased AppNexus in the first place. But those days are gone. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <9dfc7564-31d5-4bab-b236-b7968be2e8c6@googlegroups.com> Date: 2 May 2019 13:14:38 -0700 From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> Subject: Re: Guest column: Why we oppose the Incline Village cell tower (opinion) On Thursday, May 2, 2019 at 2:13:57 PM UTC-4, Bill Horne wrote: > Moderator Note: Not-in-my-oh-so-perfect-Stepford-clockwork-department ... > > Incline Village residents are protesting the proposed cell tower on > Village Boulevard. > > Although we're not against enhanced cell coverage, we are against the > eyesore of a 117-foot monopole in the middle of Incline towering 30 or > more feet above surrounding trees and buildings, sitting within a few > hundred feet of high-density residences (including six homeowner > associations), on an 1,800-square-foot cement pad with four large > equipment boxes, a huge propane gas container, and a noisy emergency > generator behind a 6-foot fence, all less than 50 feet from the Tahoe > Regional Planning Agency Class 1 biking/walking path on Village > Boulevard, which is one of Incline's most highly trafficked streets. > > For these reasons - and others having to do with the faulty > application of Incline Partners - we're appealing the April 4 Board of > Adjustment approval of the tower (a 2 to 1 decision), which the Board > of Commissioners will hear in May. > https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/opinion/guest-column-why-we-oppose-the-incline-village-cell-tower-opinion/ Many towns and cities have zoning ordinances that prohibit high towers in certain sections. When a communication carrier seeks to build a radio tower, they often claim they are federally regulated and as such they can override local rules. That often works (along with a high powered legal team that outguns a small town.) Personally, it irked me that communications sought to have it both ways. When it favored them, they were a regulated company with powers granted by being regulated. But when it favored them, they were suddenly in a free market and old regulations didn't apply to them. > ***** Moderator's Other Note ***** > > No, it doesn't matter if it's in this or that state or even this or > that country. If someone chooses to live in a manufactured version of > the "perfect" little town, then they have to take what comes with it. > > I suppose this is the same thing as the well-tended four-square-feet > patches of grass that adorn city sidewalks, or the pretend fireplaces > some computer users have as screensavers - but it's dangerous. The > "benefits" of one-microscopic-size-fits-all insular developments come > with physical /and/ psychological costs, and we ignore them at our > peril. I respectfully have to disagree with this. If a town chooses to have restrictive zoning to maintain an attractive character, that is its choice. Generally, that yields nice well maintained buildings, good property values, and a nice community. If someone doesn't like that style, there are plenty of unregulated communities. I've seen cell phone towers shoved into highly inappropriate places and they look like hell. The support equipment, like generators and service trucks are noisy and a nuisance to nearby residences. In one location, the service trucks illegally park on nearby properties; the carriers don't give a damn and in practice there's little that can be done even if on paper it is illegal. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20190502130723.GA500@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 2 May 2019 13:07:23 +0000 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: FCC Commissioner Demands Answers from AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon on Phone Location Data The demands are the latest move to pressure telecom companies, who said they would stop the sale of location data to third parties after Motherboard's coverage. On Wednesday, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel demanded answers from AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon on their sale of customers' phone location information to data aggregators. As Motherboard has shown in multiple investigations, this data, which sometimes included highly precise assisted-GPS data, ended up in the hands of bounty hunters, bail bondsmen, or private investigators. The demands are the latest move to pressure telcom companies, who said they would stop the sale of location data to third parties after Motherboard's coverage. AT&T and T-Mobile previously told Motherboard that sale has ended, and Sprint said it would stop at the end of May. https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/j5wmzg/fcc-commissioner-demands-answers-from-atandt-t-mobile-sprint-verizon-on-phone-location-data -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Sat, 04 May 2019