tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85185385160941111512009-11-30T20:23:40.845-05:00A provocative, unsponsored assessment of current legal, regulatory, marketplace, and cultural issues affecting telecommunications and information policy presented by Rob Frieden, Pioneers Chair and Professor of Telecommunications and Law, Penn State UniversityRob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.comBlogger119125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-53929239193264651992009-10-23T12:01:00.003-04:002009-10-23T12:18:20.753-04:00

Consistent with President Obama’s campaign promise to support network neutrality, the FCC has issued a broad sweeping Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to codify the four Internet principles adopted by the Commission in 2005[1] along with two additional principles requiring nondiscrimination and transparency. [2] With the two Republican Commissioners dissenting in part and concurring in

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-28686531679132894352009-10-15T14:23:00.003-04:002009-10-15T14:27:12.604-04:00

The latest Berkeley Technology Law Journal (Vol. 24, No. 2 819-849 Spring, 2009) has published my work on wireless video regulatory issues.Here's the abstract:Wireless handsets increasingly offer subscribers a new option for accessing the Internet and video programming. The converging technologies and markets that make this possible present a major regulatory quandary, because the Federal

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-82814583616214406612009-10-14T13:31:00.001-04:002009-10-14T13:33:13.086-04:00

Year after year I read Wall Street Journal editorials and op eds on telecommunications with wonder. How can seemingly intelligent people—who generally write with great confidence bordering on arrogance—make such bold and wrong assertions nearly every time? Is there a News Corp./Murdoch agenda? Do these writers reflectively rail against any governmental intrusion? Are they leading the blocking

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-69413910271298523002009-10-12T09:19:00.000-04:002009-10-12T09:20:41.086-04:00

AT&T and others have noted that when a spectrum auction bidder must commit to using the bandwidth for an open and nondiscriminatory network, the bidder reduces its maximum monetary offer. From this discounting, opponents to open access and network neutrality would have you believe that such principles impose quantifiable financial burdens, a kind of regulatory canopy that results in lost

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-6571409286677390562009-10-01T14:56:00.003-04:002009-10-01T15:08:51.238-04:00

My day job, which includes finishing a book, updating a broadband law treatise, and trying to engage undergraduate students in the challenges of telecommunication and Internet policy, prevents me from weighing in each time I see yet another outrageous claim on such issues as network neutrality, broadband market penetration, and the competitiveness of U.S. telecoms markets. But I have to make time

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-76915682949141880342009-09-01T11:29:00.000-04:002009-09-01T11:31:00.641-04:00

As the FCC launches a number of inquiries into the wireless marketplace, some opponents to such scrutiny have raised the argument that the FCC has no legal basis for regulating wireless handsets, much less interfere with exclusive distribution agreements. This strategy does inject fear, uncertainty and doubt possibly leading to the argument that regulatory uncertainty constitutes the sole basis

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-64540409052326979882009-08-30T11:38:00.001-04:002009-08-30T11:40:09.025-04:00

With over thirty years experience in trying to influence U.S. federal telecommunications policy making, I can offer insights about the process that have passed the test of time. The 3PI Rule applies equally regardless of presidential administration and political party notwithstanding the wishful thinking of some about a “brand new day.” While I am using trite phrases, I might as well add this

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-79601002457436825912009-08-28T12:24:00.006-04:002009-08-28T21:18:26.710-04:00

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated the FCC's 30% cap on national market penetration by a single cable operator. Look for Comcast and Time Warner to acquire more operators and market share. Whether this consolidation will harm consumers depends on the cross-elasticity of alternative services including DBS, IPTV, and telephone company provided video services. It also depends on whether

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-11787492972823480252009-08-11T14:17:00.002-04:002009-08-11T14:28:17.183-04:00

Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics: Developing a Clearer Assessment of Market Penetration and Broadband Competition in the United States is available at:http://www.vjolt.net/vol14/issue2/v14i2_100%20-%20Frieden.pdf.Here's the abstract:This paper examines United States broadband penetration and pricing statistics with a critical eye, in light of other contradictory compilations by organizations other

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-31647313405503898512009-08-02T16:55:00.001-04:002009-08-02T16:57:39.947-04:00

The FCC has posed a number of provocative questions to AT&T regarding the fact that iPhone subscribers cannot download and use the Google Voice application. See http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/01/technology/companies/01google.html AT&T should stifle every motivation to play cute or clever with the FCC. Apple adopted such a strategy when it suggested to the Library of Congress and others that it

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-46269325970425857132009-07-31T14:33:00.000-04:002009-07-31T14:34:31.101-04:00

During a tortuous 10 hour family drive the ionosphere sparkled. More specifically a layer of the ionosphere became more agitated and dense than usual—matching my mental state. With density this part of the atmosphere, approximately 65 miles above earth, reflected certain radio signals that normally pass through it.The FM radio band became active with distant signals coming in strong from up to

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-89716189949292656522009-07-23T14:47:00.003-04:002009-07-23T14:54:04.299-04:00

Google has undertaken a beta-test of a telephony platform that includes the opportunity to route incoming calls to multiple devices and telephone numbers as well as free domestic long distance service. See http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html.Google offers a service that fits somewhere between computer-to-computer, Internet telephony and Voice over the Internet Protocol telephony with

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-4424312632080792482009-07-13T13:59:00.000-04:002009-07-13T14:00:05.502-04:00

Following up on the Senate Commerce Committee's hearing on wireless handset policy, Senator Tom Udall posed additional questions. My answers are available at: http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/r/m/rmf5/ (in the section entitled Testimony on the Consumer Wireless Experience).

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-85850692285371688902009-07-09T16:47:00.000-04:002009-07-09T16:48:26.105-04:00

Brian Caulfield of Forbes magazine wrote a short piece posing the question: Why Is Your Smart Phone Is So Stupid? See http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/08/iphone-ericsson-mobile-intelligent-technology-iphone.html?partner=telecom_newsletter. He answers the question by reporting that the carriers disable the handsets in an attempt to prevent revenue drainage which would occur, for example, if iPhone

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-6755278577807784802009-07-07T17:24:00.001-04:002009-07-08T12:17:22.109-04:00

The Wall Street Journal has extended its record for knee jerk corporate boosterism and extreme snarkiness, this time rejecting any need to scrutinize the wireless industry. Seehttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB124692981354203419.html. The Journal waxes poetic about the competitiveness and innovativeness of the industry, but surprisingly reports in its editorial that the top four wireless carriers

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-59191580470561471092009-06-30T14:02:00.002-04:002009-06-30T14:12:23.204-04:00

Following up on the Senate Commerce Committee's hearing on wireless handset policy, Senator Olympia Snowe posed additional questions. My answers are available at: http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/r/m/rmf5/ (in the section entitled Testimony on the Consumer Wireless Experience).

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-79950027211041033562009-06-24T14:52:00.003-04:002009-06-24T14:59:18.651-04:00

I have completed a draft of a paper that examines how Internet Service Providers claim First Amendment speaker rights even as they also claim to operate as neutral conduits. By claiming to operate as conduits, ISPs can secure “safe harbor” exemption from tort and copyright liability.I argue that current media models provide inconsistent and incomplete direction on how to consider ISPs’ joint

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-36662743574981540672009-06-19T09:41:00.006-04:002009-06-19T09:46:49.207-04:00

The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing that examined wireless handset exclusivity, as well as limitations on consumers' access to functions available from wireless devices, and downloadable software applications. While no one disputed the likelihood that smart phones will increasingly operate like small personal computers. However, wireless subscribers do not have the same freedom to attach

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-26825756556908608212009-06-10T15:17:00.002-04:002009-06-10T15:25:38.725-04:00

Set out below is the abstract for another work in progress that considers whether wireless carriers should evade regulation of their "third screen" video services. The paper will appear in a future edition of the Berkeley Technology Law Journal; a darft version is available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=102928Wireless handsets increasingly offer subscribers a new

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-8079683821663491852009-06-10T15:12:00.004-04:002009-06-10T15:17:30.441-04:00

Set out below is the abstract for a current work in progress on the dodgy world of broadband market penetration data collection. The work will appear in an upcoming edition of the Virginia Journal of Law and Technology. A current draft is available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=102928Depending on the source one can conclude that United States consumers enjoy access

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-21254161621551584692009-05-04T10:59:00.001-04:002009-05-05T09:03:12.420-04:00

In 1997, Frances Cairncross wrote a book entitled The Death of Distance (Harvard Business School Press) that heralded the Internet’s ability to transcend and mitigate much of the financial and logistical challenges posed by geography. Certainly the Internet enhances productivity and opportunities, particularly for people in remote places. But what make distance less significant is the product of

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-68630807997655347532009-04-14T14:23:00.000-04:002009-04-14T14:24:13.461-04:00

Recently several press accounts reported that AT&T will allow iPhone subscribers to access Skype’s Voice Over the Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) telephone service via wi-fi, but not using the AT&T wireless network. See, e.g., http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-04-01-att-skype-iphone_N.htm. Unlike some carriers that disable wi-fi access via cellphones, AT&T could not block Apple’s interest in

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-50382736766306627302009-03-31T09:08:00.000-04:002009-03-31T09:09:32.798-04:00

News of conditional iPhone Skype access has arrived; see http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/fring-for-the-iphone-all-skype-no-gripe/?pagemode=print. I use the word conditional, because iPhone users can access the service only via a Wi-Fi connection and not via the AT&T network.This announcement provides both good and bad news. On one hand, Apple the computer manufacturer recognizes

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-34638032458286691772009-03-18T13:14:00.001-04:002009-03-18T13:14:30.735-04:00

It appears that the incumbent wireline carriers in Canda use the same strategy as incumbent carriers in the U.S., i.e., play the investment disincentive card by threatening to delay or abandon infrastructure investment, coupled with a Constitutional claim of property confiscation. The current economic crisis supports an additional adverse impact to employment gambit. See Telecom TV, Can't share

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518538516094111151.post-67680454296384038602009-02-26T13:03:00.003-05:002009-02-26T13:06:57.302-05:00

By a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court has further reduced the opportunity for a carrier competitor of an incumbent to seek an FCC or judicial remedy to pricing strategies arguably designed to eliminate competition by offering wholesale prices below that charged to competitors for similar services. [1] In 2003 several Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) filed suit against Pacific Bell Telephone

Rob Friedenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906014390240946093noreply@blogger.com1