The Broadband Commission for Digital Development, in partnership with ITU, has released its first country case studies looking in-depth at the state of broadband development in four economies and examining links between broadband and the UN... 
The AT&T ads proudly announce: "4G is up to 10 Times Faster than 3G."
Intrigued, I call the number in one of the ads, which is, of course, a badly designed string of endless prompts and no human being. With persistence, I finally get a customer service rep on the phone and I say: "Excuse me. Your ad says that 4G is 10 times faster than 3G. How fast is 3G?"
A bit stunned, the rep says: "That's a new one... please hold." When he comes back, he explains: "Well, because there are so many variations in speed, based on your phone and location, and other issues, we can't give you an exact speed for 3G."
I say: "Then how can you say that 4G is 10 times faster than 3G?"
I was going to ask for a supervisor but since I knew he was just reading off of a script I decided to write this article instead.
The sad truth is that 4G is more a new marketing campaign than an actual major change in technologies, though you wouldn't know it from all the hype.
And here's why this is a really big problem: If Americans believe the phone company hype -- and are seduced into believing that a slow and expensive wireless infrastructure is better than a fast wireline infrastructure -- the economic consequences could be grave.
Click headline to read more-- Via Chuck Sherwood, Senior Associate, TeleDimensions, Inc 
I recently had the opportunity to participate in a Community Broadband Summit held by the District of Columbia to explore the many ways that broadband drives economic growth, spurs community development and opens up new possibilities in jobs, education, healthcare and other areas.
A high-speed Internet connection and digital literacy skills can provide access to up-to-date job listings and new career paths, to specialized online classes and advanced educational content, to valuable healthcare resources and cutting-edge medical expertise. But even in the nation’s capital, there are still too many residents cut off from these opportunities because they are not online.
The D.C. Office of the Chief Technology Officer, or OCTO, which hosted the recent summit, is working to close this divide. And it is the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, or BTOP, a Recovery Act program administered by NTIA, that makes OCTO’s digital inclusion work possible.
The District of Columbia is one of the few BTOP grantees across the country administering grant projects in all three categories of the program: network infrastructure, public computing centers and sustainable broadband adoption projects. Via Chuck Sherwood, Senior Associate, TeleDimensions, Inc Telecom companies, industry groups, and consumer advocates all agree that the pair of Federal Communications Commission nominees confirmed by the Senate on Monday are well prepared for the job, but observers are waiting to see where the new commissioners come down on policy issues.
After months of delay, the Senate confirmed Jessica Rosenworcel, a former Senate Commerce Committee senior communications counsel, to fill a Democratic seat on the FCC and Ajit Pai, a former FCC aide, to fill a Republican seat.
In general Rosenworcel and Pai are expected to largely approach issues from their various political views: Rosenworcel from the left with a more supportive view of an active government role; and Pai from the right with a more deregulatory standpoint.
Click headline to read more-- Via Chuck Sherwood, Senior Associate, TeleDimensions, Inc 
MasterCard's PayPass wallet will start with online purchases before moving to the physical world.
The No. 2 payments processor today unveiled PayPass Wallet Services, its own take on the digital wallet. Initially, it will pop up in the form of a payment icon at merchant Web sites.
The move is an attempt to broaden PayPass beyond contactless payments and into something more ubiquitous.
Click headline to read more-- 
The FBI's top cyber cop offered a grim appraisal of the nation's efforts to keep computer hackers from plundering corporate data networks: We're not winning, he said.
Click headline to read more-- 
While Internet speeds are sure to differ greatly from country to country, one might expect speeds to be more consistent from state to state within a single country. Alas, as cloud platform provider Akamai shows in its latest "The State of the Internet" report for the fourth quarter of 2011, such is not the case in America.
The annual report shows that, just like countries, Internet connectivity speeds vary from region to region and from state to state, with some states outperforming others by wide margins. Along with a list of states with the highest average Internet connection speeds -- such as Rhode Island, New Hampshire and, at the top, Delaware -- Akamai also examined the states that had the slowest average connection speeds and where the most people experienced slow speeds.
Click headline to read more and access hot links-- Via Chuck Sherwood, Senior Associate, TeleDimensions, Inc 
As smartphone and tablet usage soars, the giant cell towers that mobile devices communicate with are getting overloaded. As a result, cell phone companies have begun to get behind the idea of "small cells": tiny antennas that you can hold in your hand. Today, Americans are spending more time online and across may different platforms -- with Internet advertising on the rise as well. In fact, according to a recent study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), U.S. online advertising reached $31 billion in 2011 – jumping 22% since 2010. This marks the biggest increase in Internet advertising history, and shows the growing importance of this medium as a part of an effective marketing mix.
Here are a few highlights from the report:
Click headline to read more and access hot link to report-- Via Chuck Sherwood, Senior Associate, TeleDimensions, Inc 
Building on last year's successful program on Broadband, Economic Development, and Job Creation, Broadband Communities is presenting a more extensive multi-disciplinary program this year. BroadbandUS.TV will video webcast the entire day-and-a half event live, including several special interviews and videos of other key events at the Broadband Summit. Jim Baller will participate in most of the program, which he organized, and Marty Stern will emcee the webcast.
Click headline to access link to register to watch the archived interviews and conference coverage-- Via Chuck Sherwood, Senior Associate, TeleDimensions, Inc 
The western and southeastern areas of North Carolina have most of their anchor institutions connected to a fiber-based broadband network. Today, the Golden LEAF Rural Broadband Initiative has finished the first part of their project ahead of schedule.
The $144 million phase has installed the entire fiber infrastructure. In addition to this they have activated the network and are now providing high-speed fiber-based broadband services to CAIs (Community Anchor Institutions).
Schools from kindergarten to senior high, community colleges and universities are now using the broadband connections. Healthcare facilities, public safety and other institutions also received connections.
Funding for the project was primarily through the BTOP (Broadband Technologies Opportunities Project. The Golden LEAF Rural Broadband Initiative contributed $24 million and FRC LLC, the primary installer for the first phase provided a $4 million investment. Some of the financing came from private donations.
Click headline to read more-- Via Chuck Sherwood, Senior Associate, TeleDimensions, Inc Online employment platform Elance has released its quarterly Global Online Employment Report, and highlights include record numbers of 193,000 new job posts and contractor earnings of $43 million for the first quarter of 2012.
Information technology remains the top category on the Elance platform in Q1 led by PHP (+33 percent) and HTML (+29 percent). Demand for mobile app developers continues... 
The invention of the tablet PC has created a new medium for book publishing. Interactive books are everywhere, and have revolutionized the way people consume the printed word. With the recent software available to allow easy creation of interactive books and with the race to bring these products to market, there seems to be a more and more dilution of quality and a loss for the meaning of interactivity. When publishers create new eBook titles or convert a traditional printed book to a digital interactive eBook, they often miss the added value this new medium can provide.
It’s important to understand the distinction between apps and eBooks, as it's something that often confuses both publishers and consumers. It basically comes down to formats; apps are mostly native iOS or Android software, whereas eBooks are documents of a particular format, such as the open standards EPUB and Mobipocket (.mobi). And eBooks can be further distinguished from “enhanced eBooks,” which use formats such as ePUB3 for iBooks (Apple) and Kindle Format 8 (KF8) for Kindle Fire (Amazon).
Click headline to read more-- Via Chuck Sherwood, Senior Associate, TeleDimensions, Inc |
Several authoritarian regimes have proposed prohibiting anonymity on the Web, making it easier to find and arrest dissidents.
Subscription required to read full article. According to a new report, the wireless industry added $195.5 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011, and could lead to nearly $1.5 trillion in productivity gains over the next ten years.
Most impressive about the report was the undeniable economic impact of industry on the U.S. through jobs, GDP and productivity.
Here are some of the highlights:
- Wireless directly or indirectly supports 3.8 million jobs, or 2.6% of all U.S. employment.
Click headline to read more and access hot link to report-- The House Subcommittee on Communications & Technology has scheduled a hearing May 16 on "broadband loans and grants."
Republican House leaders have expressed concerns about how the BTOP loans and grants created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are being spent, including to what degree they are being used to subsidize competition to existing service, and how the spending is being monitored by the government for waste fraud and abuse. Those are the same issues that have concerned cable operators facing potential overbuilding with government dollars.
Click headline to read more-- Via Chuck Sherwood, Senior Associate, TeleDimensions, Inc 
Tech pundits like to frame any sort of mobile or digital competition as a war between devices and brands. Android vs. iPhone. iPad vs. Kindle Fire. HP vs. Dell. In many cases, the competition for market share is cutthroat and the hyperbole applies.
But this argument loses relevance when it’s applied to students’ use of technology. In education, the success of any product depends on how well the device maker or platform provider can overcome the rules inherent to our education system.
Click headline to read more-- Via Dave Brown 
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has begun the process to get competitive bids for new mobile broadband subsidies designed to bring 3G or 4G service to areas in the country that do not have it.
The FCC on Wednesday released a map of areas eligible for Mobility Fund service. The map includes large areas if the U.S. Mountain West, including Arizona.
The Mobility Fund will award up to $300 million to mobile providers that bring service to new areas.
With the launch of the Mobility Fund, the FCC has recognized mobile service as a universal service priority for the first time, said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.
Click headline to read more and access hot link to the map-- Via Chuck Sherwood, Senior Associate, TeleDimensions, Inc ![A History of Hacktivism [INFOGRAPHIC] | National Broadband News | Scoop.it](http://img.scoop.it/3BJcRsUfnXsNNqJdPIz_1jl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBVaiQDB_Rd1H6kmuBWtceBJ)
Learn how hacktivism evolved to become a powerful virtual weapon in today's digital age.
Hacktivism has hit its tipping point. The year 2011 had the most hacktivism-related crimes in history.
Hacktivists use digital tools to breach security systems to protest or take a stand on political issues. The New Age hacker is motivated by the pursuit of justice, and is often hard to stop.
On Tuesday, Shawn Henry, an FBI agent who will soon leave his post, told the Wall Street Journal that cyber criminals are too powerful for the government to stop. He also said the U.S.’s current methods for preventing hacks are “unsustainable.”
Hacktivism accounted for the majority of cybercrimes committed in the U.S. last year, according to the 2012 Verzion Data Breach Investigation [PDF]. The report said hacktivism represented 100 million of the 174 million cybercrimes in 2011. Via Jonha Revesencio USDA Invites Applications for Grants to Provide Broadband Service to Remote Rural Communities | USDA
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is accepting applications through the Community Connect Broadband program for grants to provide broadband service to residents of remote, rural communities.
"Ensuring that all Americans have access to reliable broadband is a key part of the Obama Administration's effort to help create jobs and expand economic opportunities in rural areas," Vilsack said. "These grants not only are critical for businesses and residents, they also help first responders, educators and health care professionals by providing them with access to broadband service."
Community Connect grants are made available to the most rural, unserved and economically challenged areas. The funds are used to build broadband infrastructure. Awardees are also required to establish community centers that offer free public access to broadband.
Click headline to read more and access hot links-- Via Chuck Sherwood, Senior Associate, TeleDimensions, Inc 
Mobile operators to begin sending free alerts to customers notifying them before and after they reach or exceed their data plan.
The FCC launched a website to keep them on track and keep consumers informed of their progress.
After one out of six wireless users in the U.S., about 30 million, experienced bill shock – a sudden and unexpected increase in monthly wireless bills due to consumers’ unknowingly exceeding plan limits for voice, data and text – operators and the FCC agreed to voluntary measures to solve the problem. 
The content presented in BTOP's Connecting America's Communities Map includes data provided by grant recipients, which was submitted during the annual and quarterly report process and is available on the BTOP website. The Map is updated annually and therefore, does not reflect current project status. The Map also contains certain information about planned project progress, and such information is subject to change. It does not include data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utilities Service's (RUS) Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP), although a list of BIP-funded projects is available on the State Dashboard.
Click headline to access maps based on state and zip code-- Via Chuck Sherwood, Senior Associate, TeleDimensions, Inc According to the National Stroke Association, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. resulting in $73.7 billion being spent on stroke related healthcare costs. During a stroke, 1.9 million irreplaceable brain cells are lost every minute—so time is of the essence. However, new developments in the telemedicine field have opened up opportunities for hospitals to save stroke patients brought to the hospital for treatment.
New telestroke programs are not only starting but also expanding. For example, C3O Telemedicine formerly C30 Medical Group is currently partnering with Community Memorial Health System in Ventura California. Both the medical group and health system are using telemedicine so stroke patients now have immediate connectivity to highly skilled neurologists and neurointensivists.
C3O Telemedicine offers not only telestroke care but also neurocritical care, telepsychiatry, critical care, and teleICU and other telemedicine solutions.
Click headline to read more-- Via Chuck Sherwood, Senior Associate, TeleDimensions, Inc 
By putting an office in Nevada, where there is a zero percent corporate tax rate, Apple avoids paying the millions of dollars in taxes that would be levied in California, the home of its headquarters.
The company is set to make $41.4 billion this year, which would mean lots of revenue for the various countries where it does business if it didn’t exploit tax loopholes.
Without such loopholes, Apple’s U.S. federal tax bill would have been $2.4 billion higher last year, according to Treasury Department economist Martin A. Sullivan. In total, the company paid $3.3 billion in international taxes on profits of $34.2 billion. Wal-Mart paid $5.9 billion on profits of $24.4 billion.
Click headline to read more-- Via Chuck Sherwood, Senior Associate, TeleDimensions, Inc 
As AT&T joins Verizon selling off its Yellow Pages publishing unit and payphones keep disappearing from street corners, the media is writing the landline obituary once again.
CNN Money asks today whether we’re witnessing the death of the landline.
In as little as 20 years, the concept of a wired phone line may become the novelty a rotary-dial phone represents today. Yes, traditional phone lines will still be found in businesses and in the homes of those uncomfortable dealing with a mobile phone, but America’s largest phone companies are well aware the traditional telephone line is in decline.
Click headline to read more and watch video clip-- Via Chuck Sherwood, Senior Associate, TeleDimensions, Inc |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |  |
21 |
|
Next |
