Posted: 04/09/12 by Mobile Future Team
On Friday, Politico’s Kim Hart (subscription required) took a look at President Obama’s broadband agenda. With mobile innovation charging ahead, Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter urged the White House to lead on these critical issues and meet the goals of the National Broadband Plan to ensure the United States benefits from a bright mobile future.
To learn more, click here.
Posted: 02/22/12 by Mobile Future Team
In Part 2 of CNN Money’s series on spectrum today, author David Goldman discusses the options for wireless providers as they navigate the dangers of a spectrum crunch. The piece says that without action, millions of wireless consumers could face limited access to the high-speed mobile Internet they demand.
According to Goldman, these options include acquiring new spectrum, building thousands of new cell sites throughout our nation, and consolidation. All three options would cost billions of dollars to implement.
A combination of them may provide the answer to solving the spectrum crunch, but one thing is clear: all wireless providers need more spectrum to continue meeting the explosive growth in demand from more than 300 million American mobile consumers. With a potential spectrum deficit as early as 2013 according to the FCC, the time to act is now and everyone must be part of the solution.
To learn more, click here.
Posted: 11/18/10 by Mobile Future Team
Today, the White House’s Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, members of Congress, and representatives from top tech companies including Google and Dell gathered for Politico’s “What’s Next for Technology: How Washington Will Act on Key Policy Issues in 2011.” Discussions focused on the cross section of ideas and innovation in technology- and what we can expect to see policy-wise from the 112th congress.
Broadband played a key role in many of the discussions- among the White House’s top initiatives for next year is spectrum policy, namely solidifying a voluntary process for incentive auctions, according to Chopra. Members from both chambers of Congress had similar outlooks on the importance of broadband; Senator John Ensign (R-NV) explained that we should let the internet continue to flourish and stressed the importance of USF reform. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) stated that as mobile broadband growth continues to accelerate, we need to conduct spectrum inventory and evaluate opportunities to make more spectrum available to meet growing demand.
Click here to read more coverage.
Posted: 11/08/10 by Mobile Future Team
Today, NTIA released a new report, "Digital Nation II" that analyzes home broadband Internet access and adoption across the United States. Mobile Future responded to the report, pointing specifically to the strides taken by the wireless sector to expediently close the digital divide, made possible by a light touch regulatory environment that fosters innovation, investment and competition.
To read the full statement, click here.
Posted: 10/28/10 by Mobile Future Team
If you want to appreciate the extent of the mobile industry's benefit to today's economy, then all you need to read is the first sentence from this Wall Street Journal article:
"If there's one group of companies that isn't tied down by the slack economy, it's those that supply the wiring, chips, and services related to mobile Internet."
That's no accident. It's the result of billions in capital investment that mobile carriers are pouring into the economy. Even during the current economic difficulties, as Merrill Lynch reported this August, for the past three quarters, the national wireless carriers have ramped up their annual capital expenses by anywhere from 6 to 23 percent.
Posted: 10/21/10 by Mobile Future Team
Today, the FCC held a Spectrum Summit aimed at addressing the looming spectrum crunch by discussing novel approaches to meet the ever-growing demand for capacity across wireless networks. Key issues at the summit included formulating a spectrum inventory, incentive auctions, and the need for more robust spectrum management and flexibility. To read more information about the Spectrum Summit and to read the FCC’s recently released report, “Mobile Broadband: The Benefits of Additional Spectrum,” click here.
Posted: 08/05/10 by Mobile Future Team
Gone are the days when forgetting your cell phone was an insurmountable crisis. This faux-problem has been reduced to the now ubiquitous phrase, “There’s an app for that”. The app du-jour is from Vonage and allows users to call their facebook friends for free using the iPhone, Android devices, iPod touch and, in a few weeks, even the iPad. Users can contact any of their Facebook friends provided that both people have downloaded the app.
Concerned about getting a call from facebook “friends” you don’t actually know? A call-block feature is set to be added in future updates. Also in the future, Vonage plans to bring the app to Blackberry users and to add an SMS (texting) service!
Posted: 07/27/10 by Mobile Future Team
Birthdays and anniversaries are inherently times of reflection and celebration. Which is most likely why Mashable, a news site celebrating its 5th birthday this year, decided to take a quick jaunt down memory lane to show us just how far mobile technology has come over the last half-decade.
Suffice it to say that if the majority of human relationships were as successful as that of consumers and the wireless industry, the markets for chick-flicks and online dating may cease to exist-- because this romance is nothing short of a fairy tale.
The expansive and swift proliferation of mobile broadband. The shift from feature-based flip phones to smart mobile devices operated over user-friendly interfaces like the touchscreen. The real-time social capabilities offered through new media sites like Facebook and Twitter. The emergence of apps for, well, just about everything.
And thankfully, there is no end in sight for this climate of consumer-driven innovation. We appreciate Mashable for highlighting how wireless continues to serve as a true American success story, and, as always, we look forward to exploring new unchartered horizons in our mobile future.
Posted: 07/23/10 by Jonathan Spalter
Lost your home to flooding, a tornado or other disaster? If you have a smartphone and a wireless connection, help just got a lot easier.
This week, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) unveiled an addition to its mobile site allowing disaster victims to apply for assistance directly from their smartphone. FEMA's rationale is clear: In a life-threatening emergency, seconds count. Residents are more likely to have a mobile phone on their person, or may have just enough time to grab one before heading to safety.
"More and more, I think we are reorienting our focus... to really developing tools that are useful to you in a mobile environment," FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate told Politico's Morning Tech.
(You can watch him run a demo of the new mobile site on multiple PDAs here.)
Fugate added that FEMA is exploring additional ways to deliver services via mobile and GPS technology. The agency already processes an average of about 40 percent of disaster applications online; this seems like a common-sense way to further streamline FEMA's operations.
Furthermore, FEMA's announcement is a timely reminder of the lifesaving capabilities of mobile communications. Five years ago next month, Hurricane Katrina slammed into Louisiana. The government's disjointed response in assisting the maintenance and repair of mobile communication links contributed significantly to the extended chaos.
Three years later, look at the improvement: During Hurricane Gustav, wireless technology provided real-time communication links vital to the rescue efforts. Among the examples, Tulane University kept more than 10,000 students aware of storm developments through Twitter. Mobile users accessed Gustav-related pages on social network sites such as Ning for real-time news alerts, on-site posts, and videos.
Looking to the future, mobile platforms are already linking voice, video, IM, and other data for first responders at federal, state and local levels. Just think how first responders could use mobile phones and GPS to organize a large-scale rescue operation with a location-based networking application (example: BrightKite), which would allow authorities to divide a region into smaller areas, directing volunteers in each one as necessary.
This would be particularly helpful in the aftermath of a serious earthquake. As reported last week in The Orange County Register, a new early-alert system in the O.C. could give residents up to 70 seconds warning of a major San Andreas earthquake. Through the use of mobile apps, that would be enough time to slow high-speed trains, shut down power plant generators and take other precautionary steps.
The augmented incorporation of mobile technologies into government-led relief efforts is already saving lives and resources. In the five years since the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, wireless has grown up as an industry, with the government recognizing the powerful organizational capabilities immediate access to mobile technology affords Americans stuck in disaster areas. FEMA's recent addition to its mobile site is one of many demonstrations that the government takes seriously the positive ramifications of amplifying its use of mobile devices, which are now inextricably linked with the day-to-day lives of Americans.
This article was orginally published on Huffington Post.
Posted: 06/17/10 by Mobile Future Team
In today's monthly meeting, the FCC issued a Notice of Inquiry to begin the process of considering possible legal frameworks for regulating broadband Internet services. Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter responded to the FCC’s decision, noting the detrimental effects increased regulatory uncertainty will have on the industry’s marketplace.
“The astounding opportunities in the U.S. for Internet connectivity and services have depended significantly on the vision of innovators and the discerning choices of consumers. But today, with increasing regulatory uncertainty in the communications sector, the future of this success story hangs in the balance.
“Today’s wireless and broadband markets require significant capital investment to anticipate and meet growing consumer demand. Unfortunately, today’s FCC action puts future growth and investment at risk and creates unnecessary turmoil in one of the key drivers of the U.S. economy.
“We are disappointed with the Commission’s decision to pursue a path that could deter rather than incent broadband deployment. We urge the Commission to work in partnership with all stakeholders including Congress, entrepreneurs and innovators, and, of course, consumers in shaping a sustainable solution that will restore economic confidence in the communications sector and stimulate ingenuity, investment and American jobs.”
comments | Permalink
Tags: Broadband, Consumer Awareness, Consumer Benefits, Innovation, Mobile Future, Mobile Future Board, Jonathan Spalter, News, President Obama, Spectrum, White House, Wireless Innovation