Blog Archives
Feds pressing forward with broadband stimulus plans
By Kenneth Corbin | February 27, 2009So what's going to happen with all that stimulus money, anyway?
You remember -- the $7.2 billion for broadband deployment Congress [cleared](/infra/article.php/3802981/Stimulus+Endgame+House+and+Senate+OK+Billions+for+.htm) a couple weeks ago -- minus a couple hundred million here and there for things like consumer education and public computing facilities.
Well, the agencies in charge of the dispersal are getting on that. On Monday, the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA), the agency in charge of the bulk of the broadband stimulus funding, will start meeting with ISPs and other groups interested in grabbing a slice of the grant money.
The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), a division of the Agriculture Department not known for its transparency, will be administering the remainder of the money, $2.5 billion, for broadband in the more sparsely populated areas. No word yet on when RUS will begin meeting with interested ISPs.
However, the following week, March 10, NTIA, RUS and the Federal Communications Commission are planning a joint public meeting to discuss their respective roles in executing the broadband provisions under the stimulus bill. For the former two, that entails the new broadband programs under their purview the bill created; for the FCC it involves formulating a national broadband strategy and reporting back to Congress in a year.
When you're talking about $787 billion, the total size of the bill, keeping track of the money is a pretty important part of the equation. The Obama team and his congressional backers promised that they would make sure we could easily find out where the money goes -- unprecedented transparency, they said. They've set up a Web site for that very process.
In the case of the NTIA money, the meetings with ISPs and others interested in the grants are to be a matter of public record, with summaries available in the Federal Register, and written and video transcripts available upon request.
So on the accountability front, I feel the onset of a very cautious optimism that some of the money will actually net a material improvement to our digital infrastructure ... if you're into that sort of thing.
Google, groups launching members-only security forum
By Kenneth Corbin | February 26, 2009**UPDATED:** WASHINGTON -- In the next couple weeks, security researchers, representatives from government agencies and major tech firms such as Google are planning to launch a collaborative security forum to combat malware and fraud on the Web.
The only catch? It's members only.
"This is closed community -- membership needs to be approved by existing members," said Google's Eric Davis, who holds the title of head of anti-malvertising with the search giant.
In addition to Google, the Internet Security Community will draw participation from Microsoft, Cisco, Xerox PARC, representatives of the Federal Trade Commission and others.
Davis made the announcement Wednesday at the FTC's fraud forum, where representatives from Microsoft, eBay and Verizon all stressed the need for partnerships -- both within the IT industry and with law enforcement, associations and others -- in the fight against Internet security threats.
In that spirit, the Internet Security Community aims "to enable people in the private sector, public sector, law enforcement, government security vendors to easily find and share information with trusted contacts," Davis said.
Davis was not a member of the panel discussion at the FTC, but made the announcement as a plant in the audience.
Google is part of the core group developing the site, but the project is launching under the auspices of the Fighting Modern Malware Working Group, an annual security gathering organized by the Santa Fe Institute.
Davis invited interested parties to request membership at iSecComm.org, which redirects to a Google spreadsheet.
*Update clarifies Google's role as one of the core members of the group, rather than its leader. From Eric Davis:*
"To be clear, this is a joint effort, not a Google project. The Internet Security Community is a project of the Fighting Modern Malware Working Group, a cross-industry group which includes representatives from government agencies like the FTC as well as technology companies like Google, Microsoft, Cisco, and others. Google is contributing to the development of the site, but ultimately it is a collaborative effort."
What's next for white spaces after DTV delay?
By Kenneth Corbin | February 06, 2009With the DTV conversion [tabled](http://blog.internetnews.com/kcorbin/2009/02/major-broadcasters-wont-drop-a.html) for four months, the hopes for innovative new uses of wireless spectrum have been pushed back apace.
That means that Verizon Wireless and AT&T will have to put their 4G network build-outs on hold. It also means that the dream of a nationwide, interoperable communications network for first responders and other public-safety personnel will also have to wait.
But what about white spaces? Remember that [great debate](/mobility/article.php/3782836) from last year? The vacant spectrum television spectrum that lies in between broadcast channels, known as white spaces, was set to be available for unlicensed use after the all-digital switchover.
The real effect of the DTV delay on white space devices -- not much. The battle that Google and many others fought so hard to win wasn't going to bring devices to market on Feb. 18 anyway. When the FCC voted in November to open the white space spectrum, it attached conditions to ensure the new devices would not interfere with television broadcasts. (Recall that the most vocal opponent of freeing the white space spectrum was the National Association of Broadcasters.)
But technology companies advocating for the devices as a low-cost path to expanding Internet connectivity are already moving toward their goal.
Earlier this week, unlikely bedfellows Google and Microsoft joined forces with five other technology firms in a coalition to develop a database to oversee the use of white space spectrum per the FCC requirements.
The database is a mandatory precursor to bringing devices to market. Because broadcasters use different areas of the spectrum in different markets (channel 5, 8, 13 etc.), the FCC wants to make sure that mobile devices using white space spectrum don't interfere with television broadcasts as they travel from one area to another.
"We don't plan to become a database administrator ourselves, but do want to work with the FCC to make sure that a white spaces database gets up and running," Google Telecom Counsel Rick Whitt wrote in a [blog post](http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2009/02/introducing-white-spaces-database-group.html) announcing the initiative. "We hope that this will unfold in a matter of months, not years."
Joining Google and Microsoft in the database effort are Dell, HP, Motorola, Commsearch and NeuStar.
Major broadcasters won't drop analog signals early
By Kenneth Corbin | February 05, 2009Now that shrill debate in Congress over the digital television transition has subsided, the Federal Communications Commission has four more months to ensure that Americans are ready for the switch. And with bipartisan assurances that the delay to June 12 will be the only time the transition is postponed, the commissioners know they have to get it right.
The bill that Obama is expected to sign into law shortly delays the mandatory switchover, but allows broadcasters to shut off their analog transmissions early, provided they meet certain FCC conditions.
At a marathon meeting of the FCC this afternoon, Interim Chairman Michael Copps praised several major broadcasters for pledging to continue to broadcast in analog until June. The four major networks, along with Telemundo and Gannett, have all agreed to delay their transition.
Many local broadcasters that transition early will continue to use analog signals to broadcast informational messages about the switchover and emergency announcements.
The three commissioners heard testimony from a variety of people involved in the transition about how they plan to smooth the many bumps that have arisen on the road to all-digital service.
And there are many. For starters, the government's coupon program to help subsidize the cost of the converter boxes required to keep analog TV sets running has been anything but a success. The agency administering the coupon program has run out of money. The waiting list for coupons has swelled to 3.7 million.
The economic stimulus package that could pass the Senate tonight (or early tomorrow morning) would allocate $650 million to refund the coupon program, but the commissioners heard today that it could be several weeks or months before that money starts to flow into the National Telecommunications Information Administration.
Then there's the matter of getting those converter boxes into stores. Michael Petricone, senior vice president government affairs of the Consumer Electronics Association, estimated that there are between 3 million and 6 million converter boxes in stores today. But in anticipation of the original Feb. 17 date, manufacturers stopped production, and have only recently fired up the assembly lines again. That means it will be a month or two before more boxes start rolling into stores, and Petricone admitted that he was uncertain whether retailers might run out of inventory in the meantime.
The commissioners agreed that the challenges ahead are many, and that no matter what steps they take or what date Congress sets, some consumers will still see their TVs go dark in June.
"Never have we asked consumers to jump through so many hoops to pick up a broadcast signal," Copps said. "We have the most solemn obligation to inform and assist them."
Google Earth dives into the deep blue with v 5.0
By Kenneth Corbin | February 02, 2009Taking a look at Google Earth yesterday, you might have thought the product offered a pretty comprehensive look at the planet. You could find your house, your neighbor's house, and, only recently, you could even see a satellite image of the Naval Observatory, home of the vice president.
But, to the oceanographically inclined, it was lacking.
With today's release of Google Earth 5.0, the search giant has added detailed imaging of the ocean floor.
The so-called bathymetric map allows you to "drop below the surface and explore the nooks and crannies of the seafloor in 3D," Google Earth Director John Hanke wrote in a [blog post](http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/dive-into-new-google-earth.html). "While you're there you can explore thousands of data points including videos and images of ocean life, details on the best surf spots, logs of real ocean expeditions and much more."
Until today's release, Google's images of the ocean had been limited to what Hanke described as blue patches with "low-resolution shading to suggest depth."
The update also adds a historical imagery tool, where certain areas of the map now have a clock feature, allowing you to recalibrate the image to see what a region looked like years or decades ago. Google points to its own backyard -- Silicon Valley -- blew up over the last 50 years.
Google has also rolled out a Touring tool with features aimed at simplifying the process of adding layers to annotate the information that appears alongside different regions.
Finally, through a partnership with NASA, Google is expanding its interstellar view with detailed imagery of Mars.
More details about the features are available at the [LatLong blog](http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/).
