Here's a snapshot of what's making waves in the cable world.
Verizon Wireless , the SpectrumCo LLC MSOs and Cox Communications Inc. are fighting a request by consumer pressure groups and several service providers, including Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S), DirecTV Group Inc. (NYSE: DTV) and T-Mobile US Inc. , to provide non-redacted details of their mobile/cable service bundling agreements. The group says they need data as they prepare to comment on Verizon Wireless's proposed purchase of Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum from the MSOs. In a
letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) late last week, the Verizon Wireless/cable group argued that the commercial deal and the spectrum agreement are separate and that the Sprint/DirecTV contingent is merely trying "to gain access to proprietary pricing and marketing information" that they would never have access to in the normal course of business. They also point out that the commercial bundling agreements will remain intact even if license purchase deals are not approved. Verizon Wireless and the MSOs have submitted the full text of the agreements to the U.S. Department of Justice and have agreed to do the same for the FCC. Petitions to deny the AWS spectrum sale are due Feb. 21. (See Sparks Start to Fly in VZ Wireless-MSO Deal.)
Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) disclosed in an 8-K document that it agreed to pony up US$9 million to settle claims that it retained customer rental history and personal data illegally. The settlement, which still requires the court's blessing, stems from a 2011 lawsuit alleging that Netflix violated the Video Privacy Protection Act and California consumer laws. (See Netflix Privacy Concerns May Spark Lawsuit.)
Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is looking to bring an Apple Store-like experience to its retail locations. The MSO is testing out a new Xfinity Store concept in Katy, Texas, where visitors are met by iPad-toting greeters who feed customer data into a queue system so customers can browse the store and use service kiosks while they wait. The MSO plans to bring the concept to new or refurbished stores, reports Houston CultureMap.
Boxee may ask users to pay up to $15 per month for a DVR subscription service, NewTeeVee reports, citing a survey issued to Boxee users over the weekend. Boxee's been non-committal about such an addition, but company CEO Avner Ronen said Friday on a "fireside chat" streamed on the Web that Boxee will see how its new live TV dongle performs before making any decisions about adding a DVR option. "We'll probably do it hopefully this year to support some form of recording or another," he said. (See Boxee Tees Up Live TV Cord-Cutting Tool .)
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T)'s AdWorks LLC unit has agreed to let TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO) mine anonymous data from U-verse TV subs to help the DVR pioneer generate a better sampling of U.S. television habits. AdWorks is looking to link advertisers with viewership data across mobile, online and traditional TV platforms.
YouTube Inc. channel pages and smoother navigation are among the features Google TV is promising in its latest YouTube app update via the Android Market.
What's making this confusing is that the bundling deals and the spectrum deals are being sorta tied together in this proceeding even though VZ Wireless and the MSOs have insisted that they shouldn't be.
They have agreed to give the details of the commercial agreements (the service bundling piece) to the DoJ and the FCC just to keep the spectrum approval process moving along, but now Sprint, DirecTV, et al, think they need to see all the details of the commercial agreements as well in order to comment on the spectrum sale proceeding.
By arguing that the spectrum deals are separate yet still allowing the DoJ and the FCC to look at the bundling agreements, I think the VZ Wireless/cable side has opened themselves up for this sort of request for access to the unredacted documents, though I'd be surprised if they are successful in getting them. JB
The 'gleaming city on a hill,' Steve Saunders calls it. But who is going to take us from today's NFV componentry to the grand future of a self-driving network? Here's a look at the vendors hoping to make it happen.
With the mobile ecosystem becoming increasingly vulnerable to security threats, AdaptiveMobile has laid out some of the key considerations for the wireless community.
Understanding the full experience of women in technology requires starting at the collegiate level (or sooner) and studying the technologies women are involved with, company cultures they're part of and personal experiences of individuals.
During this WiC radio show, we will talk with Nicole Engelbert, the director of Research & Analysis for Ovum Technology and a 23-year telecom industry veteran, about her experiences and perspectives on women in tech. Engelbert covers infrastructure, applications and industries for Ovum, but she is also involved in the research firm's higher education team and has helped colleges and universities globally leverage technology as a strategy for improving recruitment, retention and graduation performance.
She will share her unique insight into the collegiate level, where women pursuing engineering and STEM-related degrees is dwindling. Engelbert will also reveal new, original Ovum research on the topics of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, security and augmented reality, as well as discuss what each of those technologies might mean for women in our field. As always, we'll also leave plenty of time to answer all your questions live on the air and chat board.
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The 'gleaming city on a hill,' Steve Saunders calls it. But who is going to take us from today's NFV componentry to the grand future of a self-driving network? Here's a look at the vendors hoping to make it happen.
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