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Posted: 10/27/11 by Mobile Future Team
Today, the Federal Communications Commission approved a plan to modernize the universal service and inter-carrier compensation systems and transition Universal Service Fund support from voice service to broadband.
Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter commented on the plan, stating:
“We appreciate the FCC’s initiative to reform Universal Service and its clear recognition of the critical role mobile broadband plays in reaching the Commission's broadband deployment goals. We look forward to reviewing the details, but appreciate Chairman Genachowski’s leadership and the dedication of the other Commissioners to establish a sustainable framework that helps ensure access to broadband for citizens in all corners of the nation.”
To read the full statement, click here.
Posted: 07/15/11 by Jonathan Spalter
Official Washington already is slugging-it out in the inside-baseball of the next presidential election. But tech policy circles are pouring over the details of another closely watched horserace--the Federal Communications Commission's annual analysis of the competitive nature of the U.S. wireless market. With every manner of mobile device now bursting from our pockets and the airwaves awash in ads from a range of companies competing for our wireless dollars, the answer is fairly obvious. Nevertheless, the Commission this year provided a thoughtful and nuanced exploration of the many yardsticks that combine to deliver a thriving, innovative and competitive mobile marketplace.
The report comes not a moment too soon as both Congress and the White House take up the urgent need to make more spectrum available to support U.S. consumers' fast-expanding appetite for wireless connectivity. With spectrum legislation circulating in both the House and Senate, tomorrow in the latest in a series of hearings, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, will examine long-term spectrum solutions for our nation.
As it does so, the 300-plus page FCC report makes a powerful case for continuing the rapid progress of the mobile Internet--and the perils for policymakers who don't keep pace with their connected constituents.
Among the highlights:
- 9 out of 10 Americans Have Mobile Internet Choice. 92% of Americans have a choice of wireless broadband providers and 82% have at least three options for mobile Internet, according to the FCC report. And, we're choosing to connect. A majority of U.S. mobile device sales are now smartphones, and a recent analysis forecasts that our country will be the first where a majority of citizens own smartphones. We're at 38% today.
- Device Options Abound. Another key metric is the number of devices consumers have to choose from here in the U.S. In four years, the number of wireless handset makers in the U.S. market rose from 8 to 21, according to the FCC. In June 2010, just 10 device makers offered 144 smartphones, nearly triple the number available just one year before. Next up? All the tablets we're now adding into the mix. Already they're in 13% of American households.
- Rivalries Spark Vigorous CAPEX. Over the past five years, investment in U.S. wireless networks has held steady in the $20-$25 billion range annually--despite a challenging economy. This is a strong indicator that competitors are feeling the need for ever-stronger networks to keep and attract customers. Last December, according to the FCC report, MetroPCS became the first U.S. provider to launch an LTE network, followed by Verizon Wireless. AT&T has plans to launch this year. If the FCC is successful in making more spectrum available, this investment is likely to continue at a vigorous pace to the benefit of consumers and our recovering economy.
- A Crowded Field. Today, there are nearly 100 national, regional and niche wireless providers competing for U.S. customers, the report finds. And more choices are on the way. Last July, Harbinger Capital Partners announced plans to build an LTE network under the name LightSquared that could provide coverage to at least 100 million Americans by the end of 2012. By 2015, LightSquared hopes to provide coverage to at least 260 million, just behind Verizon, AT&T and Sprint-Nextel. Even with the AT&T-T-Mobile merger, Americans will have 5 national competing wireless providers to choose from, not to mention regional carriers throughout the country.
- Apps Competition Powers Growth. According to the FCC's report, U.S. consumers can now access nearly 1 million mobile apps from 26 competing app stores. In fact, Americans now spend more time using apps than surfing the Internet. A few years ago, the apps market didn't exist. By 2015, the "apps economy" is projected to generate $38 billion in sales, with real jobs and economic opportunities flowing primarily to the U.S.
Competition, choice, innovation and growth all rely on the same thing--more spectrum and more infrastructure. As Washington seeks to close the budget gap, the public revenues that would be generated by making more spectrum available to support mobile Internet expansion are a win-win for consumers and our economy, and for America's competitive position in the world. While consumers vote in the marketplace today--soon they will vote for the policymakers who have a big say in what the next chapter of mobile innovation will look like for our nation. Rest assured that connected consumers--90% of whom reportedly sleep with their mobile device--will vote early and vote often.
This article was originally published on Huffington Post.
Posted: 05/11/11 by Mobile Future Team
On Tuesday, the FCC announced a new alert network which will notify citizens of local emergency situations via mobile phones. The Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN) will send text messages to citizens alerting them of natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes or floods and even of terrorist threats.
As reported in USA Today, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski explained:
"The traditional alerts on radio and TV are still important, and they will continue, but more and more, mobile devices are becoming essential. You have them with you. In the event of a major disaster, government authorities can get lifesaving information to you quickly."
To learn more, click here.
Posted: 04/04/11 by Jonathan Spalter
As Americans across the country turn to their mobile devices to track the final brackets of the NCAA college basketball tournament, technology policy circles are turning to a high-stakes game of their own: The need to move quickly and decisively to unlock additional spectrum to meet the fast-growing demands of our connected society and economy.
At stake is the rapid innovation, economic growth and huge quality of life leaps being made at the intersection of mobile connectivity and the increasingly diverse ways we put it to use. Modern life is being transformed by the power of the Internet in the palms of our hands.
The trajectory of our mobile usage is advancing at warp speed. Cell phones have advanced to smartphones, which are now diversifying to tablets. Many of us choose an ‘all-of-the-above’ strategy, incorporating an array of beloved and increasingly essential connected gadgetry into our personal and professional lives.
As consumers, we take this uber-connectivity for granted. But tough decisions and timely leadership are needed right now in Washington to ensure quality connectivity remains the case.
The nation’s airwaves support various types of wireless connectivity, from smartphones and iPads to baby monitors, ham radios and non-digital television. In geek speak, we call this resource spectrum, ‘invisible infrastructure’. Over the years, spectrum use has dramatically evolved, with hundreds of millions of new mobile consumers craving faster, robust wireless services that connect virtually every device they touch. Unfortunately, while consumer demand is increasing, the amount of spectrum available to deliver mobile broadband is not.
When more spectrum needed for one use, inevitably various interests will throw a few elbows as they jostle for precious real estate. Policymakers must step in as the referees to determine how best to put this limited resource to its most public-spirited use.
Today, the White House and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski are leading the charge to free up more spectrum for mobile broadband. The Chairman is also rightly conveying a growing sense of urgency, warning that ‘the clock is ticking on our mobile future.’
Here’s why: As consumers trade up from basic feature cell phones to smart phones, their mobile Internet usage increases 30-fold. As millions of us add iPads and other tablets into the mix, these video-friendly devices use five times the data of today’s smartphones. Consumer demand for mobile Internet shows no sign of abating, which means more spectrum must be made available soon to meet their growing needs.
Politically, the issue currently pits broadcasters, who were given vast spectrum assets decades ago, against the mobile innovation community, which urgently needs more capacity today. Broadcasters claim as their base the 42 million Americans who continue to use over-the-air television. The innovation community claims 300 million wireless consumers—90% of whom are so devoted to their mobile device that they keep it within arms' reach 24 hours a day.
Chairman Genachowski is challenging all sides to rise above the fray by championing the idea of ‘incentive auctions.’ Under this approach, broadcasters would voluntarily hand over their spectrum assets to the government or move to another channel more efficiently using the spectrum, in exchange for a share of the auction proceeds. Broadcasters would get compensated, alongside the federal treasury, which desperately needs the revenues to close the current budget gap. And, those who pay top-dollar for the spectrum would face powerful market pressures to put it quickly to its greatest public use.
In the parlance of March Madness, the shot clock is running on our mobile connectivity. According to a new report released by Rysavy Research, rising consumer demand for mobile Internet could outstrip existing, allocated spectrum capacity in as little as four years. Most of us have had the occasional experience of a dropped call or missed connection. It’s not something we want to see become a routine occurrence. The good news? The wireless community stands ready to make the massive investment needed to put additional spectrum to use for consumers and our economy. We simply need to push now to get the process underway.
This puts the ball squarely in Washington’s court. Consumers should be able to take mobile connectivity for granted. But policymakers cannot. Over the coming weeks and months, Washington technology policy circles will be consumed by the details of the playbook. But on the quiet of the FCC’s eighth floor and in the halls of Congress, what can’t be lost in the debate is the roar of the crowd. We can’t afford to run down the clock on our mobile future. Policymakers must make their move now to unlock more spectrum for the wireless web and, with it, the next wave of American innovation.
This article was originally posted on Huffington Post.
Posted: 03/28/11 by Jonathan Spalter
I am truly amazed by the mobile technology that has been unveiled at this year's CTIA Wireless show in Orlando, Florida. It seems only fitting that in such close proximity to the Magic Kingdom, the innovation on display in the convention center has made a trip around the exhibit floor a futuristic and magical experience.
Check out some of our team's favorite emerging wireless technologies and apps:
- Software technology that recognizes faces and automatically tags your friends.
- A wireless fertility monitor that indicates optimal fertility based on body temperature.
- An app that promotes safe driving by automatically silencing cell phones when the car is moving over 10mph.
- Remote physiological monitoring that measures key vitals and sends to the cloud for medical monitoring via cell phone or computer.
Augmented reality is the new reality for next generation mobility. This is just taking-off, and it is an exciting moment for the future of mobile user experience and interface. Ericsson's "Connected Tree" -- a live, mobilized orange tree which is now turbo-charged with augmented reality pop-ups viewable on your handset.
Speaking of taking off, Key Ring Reward Cards by Mobestream Media won first place at the CTIA Emerging Technology Awards in the Mobile Applications -- Mobile Commerce category. Key Ring is a handy app that consolidates consumers' plastic loyalty cards onto their smartphone to make saving more convenient and it helps retailers communicate real-time with their customers.
Bill2Mobile received second place honors in the Mobile Applications -- Mobile Commerce category. Its iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch app allows customers to opt for paperless bills and makes it more convenient to monitor statements and accounts with a mobile device.
In addition to perusing a seemingly endless exhibit floor hosting infinite apps, smartphones, tablets, and other handheld devices -- one very hot topic weighing on everyone's mind is spectrum.
In the conference keynote, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski explained:
"This explosion in demand for mobile services places unsustainable demands on our invisible infrastructure -- spectrum. Spectrum is the oxygen that allows all of these mobile innovations to breathe. Whether or not most Americans know the physics of spectrum, they know what it feels like to have a dropped call or a slow connection or cranky Wi Fi...
It is essential that we move quickly -- not because of the benefits of action, but because of the costs of inaction. If we do nothing in the face of the looming spectrum crunch, many consumers will face higher prices -- as the market is forced to respond to supply and demand -- and frustrating service -- connections that drop, apps that run unreliably or too slowly."
As we continue to take huge leaps forward into the exciting and futuristic realm of mobile, the message is clear: we must have more spectrum in order to keep pace with innovation and consumer demand for the products we just can't live without.
This article was originally posted on Huffington Post.
Posted: 12/21/10 by Mobile Future Team
The FCC held its monthly Open Commission Meeting today and voted to adopt Chairman Genachowski’s Open Internet Order. Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter responded to the Order, stating:
“We are encouraged that the FCC has voted today to move forward on the open Internet rules but we will need to review the fine print closely in the coming days to ensure the Commission has "walked its talk" in structuring a compromise that will ensure a measured, forward-looking policy framework that recognizes the dynamic nature of the wireless ecosystem and the importance of maintaining an environment that fosters investment, job creation and innovation in the communications sector."
To read the full statement, click here.
Posted: 12/20/10 by Jonathan Spalter
As the clock continues to tick towards tomorrow's all-hands meeting of the Federal Communications Commission, at which a common-sense solution to preserve the open Internet may finally be agreed upon, some very thoughtful and unexpected voices are weighing in to the debate, urging that we "be done, and move forward."
What is most surprising, and refreshing, is that these voices are coming not only from inside the Beltway, but also from very far outside of it. And they - rightly - are urging the FCC to sign-on to the reasonable compromise that has been fashioned by its Chairman, Julius Genachowski, so that our nation and our economy at last can put this vexing (and very Washington, D.C.-focused) debate behind us, and get on with the important work of innovating, creating jobs, and investing in our communications ecosystem.
So, for anybody who cares about this debate, a quick scan through the following short articles, which come from a diverse group including a start-up tech leader in Silicon Valley, progressive political voices in South Carolina, a leader in the American labor movement as well as a leading voice in the U.S. minority community, would be very enlightening.
These voices are among the many that want to stand-up and be counted as supporting the FCC Chairman's common-sense plan to preserve and protect an open Internet. What distinguishes these perspectives is that they include new, passionate but reasonable, and decidedly non-Washington viewpoints. These perspectives, to put it mildly, are needed now more than ever before.
• The Hill, "The Myth of 'Real' Net Neutrality" by Manolo Espinosa, co-founder of hosted website search firm IndexTank
• The State, "Riley, Rivers: Ending net-neutrality debate will spur growth in SC" by Richard Riley, the former governor of South Carolina and former secretary of education under President Bill Clinton; and David Rivers, a Charleston native and board member of the Alliance for Digital Equality.
• "Consensus Today: Broadband Tomorrow" by Larry Cohen, President of the Communications Workers of America; and Marc Morial, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Urban League.
This article was originally published on Huffington Post.
Posted: 12/03/10 by Jonathan Spalter
As many Americans look to policymakers to avoid gridlock in the coming months, a potential model for meaningful progress is emerging in an unlikely place. After years of confrontation and high bombast, the technology community, consumer groups and key policymakers appear to be coalescing around a reasonable resolution to the infamous 'net neutrality' debate. The initial elements were announced this week by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski.
Though all of the details have yet to be released, early indications suggest that this may be the best shot all stakeholders have had in years to turn swords into plowshares and get on with the important work of advancing innovation and, with it, our nation's economic recovery and growth.
The compromise is now the subject of furious lobbying on the FCC's eighth floor in anticipation of a December 21 vote. It's modeled off legislation drafted in September by Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
It would codify into regulation the net neutrality principles that the broadband industry has lived under voluntarily for the past five years, adding heft and clear enforcement authority to these key consumer protections and solidifying the open Internet we all enjoy today.
The plan would advance this core objective under the FCC's existing authority under Title I of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. This is the dealmaker on the investment side, easing off more extreme, early proposals--highly questionable in their legal standing--that would impose onto broadband networks the Title II regulatory regime written for a bygone era of monopoly telephone service.
The plan would make the essential engineering acknowledgement that wireless networks operate in a fundamentally different manner from wired networks and must be carefully managed to ensure a robust, positive consumer experience.
As with all compromises, this one will never satisfy all parties. To reasonable observers, that is a healthy sign of the give-and-take on all sides that went into reaching this potentially game-changing moment. Consumers will have fortified protections. And, the innovation and financial communities will have a more stable and certain climate in which to create jobs and continue massive, ongoing investment in next-generation infrastructure.
If successful, this would be a much-needed win for sound policymaking, too. In engineering this new framework, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski wisely recognized that an ideologically rigid approach is rarely the hallmark of good governance.
His proposal represents a significant evolution from early and more polarizing ideas. Along the way, there was extremely rigorous, transparent and tenacious consultation with key stakeholders--industry, labor and consumer groups, as well as legislators. If embraced, the plan would break a years-long logjam and open a path to constructive engagement on other pressing matters where there is broad potential for further consensus--chief among them the identification and allocation of new spectrum to keep pace with exponentially growing mobile data traffic.
At first blush, net neutrality seems an unlikely contender as a model for consensus-building in our nation's capital, one that takes into account not just the views of politicians, but of all stakeholders. But, perhaps it is precisely the issue's history of conflict that makes it so ripe with potential. All sides are battle weary. All sides have legitimate points. And, much of the passion behind this debate comes from a shared belief in the stakes--the vast potential of broadband to improve people's lives and our nation's economy.
Sustained conflict was, and continues to be, the worst of all options for everyone.
Leading voices from across the debate have shown a tentative openness to détente. Chairman Genachowski has put the possibility tantalizingly within reach, recognizing though that much work still needs to be done. For better or for worse, the rest is politics, and all who engage in it should seize the moment.
This article was orginially published on Huffington Post.
Posted: 11/17/10 by Mobile Future Team
“The Mobile Revolution has spawned the ‘apps economy,’” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski stated at last month’s Spectrum Summit. Thanks to the explosive growth of innovation technology in the apps market, consumers can choose from over 250,000 applications that accomplish everything from saving time to keeping you healthy.
To help sort through the expansive iPhone App Store, Bob Tedeschi has identified the “Top 10 Must-Have Apps for the iPhone, and Some Runners-Up” and “The Best Free Apps for the iPhone” in the NYTimes.
Tedeschi qualifies his list, stating:
To make my Top 10, an app must deliver an experience you couldn’t find on your computer — something, in other words, that exemplifies the smartphone at its best.
Among the featured apps: a personal digital assistant, a guide to the constellations and a faster way to identify songs- even by humming.
Posted: 11/12/10 by Mobile Future Team
The FCC held its first open developer day on Monday, November 8th.
Greg Elin, the FCC's Chief Data Officer, presided over the day's sessions attended by more than 100 developers, executives and federal agency personnel.
The focus for the day was accessibility and innovation. The FCC began by outlining its objectives for implementing the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act.
Yahoo, AOL and IBM were some of the companies represented. Yahoo presented a set of developer tools (YQL and YUI Libraries) for working with APIs, accessibility components and feeds to prototype apps quickly.
An NCR funded startup, apps4android, demoed a number of applications that improved accessibility for people with disabilities. The apps included readers, magnifiers and scanners.
Befitting the occasion, there was no lack of hacking during the day. Three groups produced applications from FCC, census track and other open source data:
- App 1, led by Yahoo, used geolocation to identify min/max download speeds to display on a web page
- App 2, led by CompuTech, used an input location and latitute/ longitude to return FCC license data in an iPhone app
- App 3 used GIS data and map tiles to build views of broadband and wireless coverage across the world
It was great to see Chairman Genachowski and Managing Director Steven VanRoekel actively participate in the hacking process by probing the teams of developers, contributing to their specs and observing their collaborative work on creating these apps. They listened carefully, asked questions and offered input. Hands on indeed.
A developer wiki was launched at the conference. Visit and contribute here.
Full video proceedings are available here.
We learned at the conference that the FCC, practicing what they preach, will be re-launching its website and XML feeds some time in the new year. Accessibility for all is the goal. Certainly good news.
Congrats FCC on an informative and productive event. May the hacking continue!
Greg Fawcett, Politics-360
Greg Fawcett currently serves as founder and CEO of Politics-360 and was responsible for developing the Mobile Future application. Politics-360 is a Mobile Future coalition member whose mission is to develop mobile applications and social networks for membership organizations, Labor, elected officials, candidates and corporations with a public interest. For more information, click here.
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