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Skyping in Ethiopia Could Result in Stiff Jail Term June 18, 2012 Ethiopia has passed a draconian new law criminalizing the use of Voice over Internet Protocol services such as Skype or Google Talk. People who violate the ban will find themselves facing 10-to-15 years in prison. The government has cited national security as a reason.

DoJ May Put Kibosh on Cable Cos.' Data Caps June 14, 2012 The Department of Justice reportedly is investigating whether cable companies such as Comcast and Time Warner are violating antitrust rules through practices that limit their broadband customers' access to online video. The Justice Department apparently has questioned these companies, as well as other cable providers and online video sites Netflix and Hulu.

The End of the Social Age May 30, 2012 I was so looking forward to getting the Facebook IPO out of the way, and then splat, like a ripe tomato in the kisser, we have to learn that the underwriters might not have shared some pre-IPO information transparently. Enough already! Bankers appear to be tone deaf to the fallout from their gross behavior.

Networks Hammer Dish Over Ad-Skipping DVR May 25, 2012 Fox, CBS and NBC filed lawsuits against Dish Network Thursday over a feature found in a new digital video recorder that lets subscribers automatically skip the advertisements on recorded shows from major networks. Dish countered by asking a judge to declare that the feature does not infringe on any copyrights as claimed by the networks.

Cable ISPs Form Fellowship of the WiFi May 21, 2012 Five major cable service providers in the United States are teaming up to allow their high-speed Internet customers access each other's metro WiFi networks. The five are Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable. The agreement will create a chain of more than 50,000 hotspots.

How Industry Analysts View the Changing Tech Marketplace April 19, 2012 Just like 10 years ago, and then again five years ago, the technology industry is changing. That means companies are enjoying new opportunities and wrestling with new challenges. Only some will win. I'll offer my perspective as an analyst on who is winning, who is losing and why. I believe you will find this column both interesting and valuable.

Customer Relationship Metrics Takes On the Unstructured Data Challenge April 02, 2012 Customer Relationship Metrics has launched Text BI, its latest offering in its suite of managed analytics solutions. Text BI enables companies to take unstructured text-based data from surveys, emails, social media, CRM systems and other applications, and organize it into a format that makes it easier to analyze.

Another iThing, Another iTempest March 24, 2012 The debut of the latest iPad was once again an orgy of revenue for Apple. The company claims 3 million were sold in the opening weekend, and that certainly does sound like a lot. But just as iPad sales are running hot, apparently so are the iPads themselves. Some users claim the devices are growing alarmingly warm in their hands during heavy use.

AT&T Let Scammers Overrun Calling Service, Feds Charge March 23, 2012 The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against telecommunications giant AT&T, claiming that the carrier allowed scammers to use a calling service for the hearing-impaired and then stuck U.S. taxpayers with the bill. While many Internet scams have originated from Nigeria, this case reportedly involves scammers using a free Internet-based calling system for hearing-impaired users.

CDNs: New Channels, New Demands, New Opportunities March 23, 2012 The ecosystem for digital distribution is complex, with unique nuances for each category of content. In a broad sense, the ecosystem includes the creation of content, the availability of services that deliver content and services to consumers, and the deployment of technologies that enable delivery to connected consumer electronics platforms that are capable of receiving and displaying content.

Congressional Hearing Pits Small Fries Against Comm Giants on Spectrum Buy March 22, 2012 Executives from Verizon and Comcast went before a U.S. Senate judiciary subcommittee Wednesday to defend Verizon's plan to purchase $3.6 billion worth of spectrum from cable industry joint venture SpectrumCo. They were met with opposition from other wireless providers and consumer advocacy groups.

New Avaya Service Allows Selective Outsourcing of Communications Ops March 16, 2012 Avaya is formalizing an outsourcing service it has been offering select clients for the past year. The service, Avaya Communications Outsourcing Solutions, manages all of a company's communications operations, regardless of age, location or vendor. It is part of the company's portfolio of Managed Services. "This is a custom managed service targeted at companies in the enterprise space as opposed to the mid- sized space," said Avaya's Ed Nalbandian.

Cable TV, Wireless Phones and the Great Spectrum Hunt March 15, 2012 Comcast has grown from a small cable television company in the 1990s to the largest conglomerate in the space, all thanks to Brian Roberts and his father Ralph Roberts. It was a real bootstrapping, entrepreneurial, family-run company that did many great things over the years and helped to transform the industry. Has it now grown too large? Will Comcast's current growth plans help or hurt the wireless and television industry?

Has Intel Been Bitten by the Pay-TV Bug? March 13, 2012 Intel is rumored to be considering entering the pay-television service market. The chipmaker reportedly has reached out to media companies and cable channels as part of its research. The service would be based on a Web-connected set-top box that could offer both streaming TV and video-on-demand programming.

iPad: What's in a Name? March 10, 2012 Apple finally drew the curtain on its next-generation iPad, revealing a device that looks a whole lot like last year's model but is definitely packing some heavier guts. First of all the screen is now a super-sharp Retina display, so named because theoretically you shouldn't be able to spot the individual pixels with a naked eye.

Kansas City May Become Epicenter of Google's Big TV Disruption February 24, 2012 Speculation that Google is going to disrupt yet another industry -- this time cable television -- is circulating, prompted by an application the search engine giant filed with the Missouri Public Service Commission, seeking a franchise to provide video service in Kansas City, Mo. A similar application was filed in Kansas City, Kan.

Continental Divide: The Forces Shaping Broadband in Western and Eastern Europe February 24, 2012 The global marketplace for broadband services is dynamic and growing. At the end of 2011, approximately 660 million households subscribed to an Internet service, and about 580 million -- 32 percent of all global households -- received broadband service. The populous countries in Western Europe have high broadband penetration, but predictably, they are showing signs of slowing growth.

New Player Enters Field of Streams February 06, 2012 Look out Netflix, a new video service has swaggered into town. Rumored since December, Verizon's partnership with Coinstar, the parent company of Redbox video rental kiosks, became official on Monday. As with Netflix, customers will be able to choose between physical discs and streaming. The physical discs, however, will need to be picked up and returned to a Redbox kiosk.

FCC and ISPs Join to Get Low-Income Families Online November 10, 2011 Several cable companies and the U.S. FCC have launched a program that will assist low-income families in getting access to broadband and low-cost computers. The initiative is part of the FCC's push to increase broadband adoption across the U.S.

Will Google Upend Moldy Cable-TV Business Model? November 07, 2011 Google may be taking aim at one of the few digital screens and content sources it doesn't dominate -- paid television. The search engine provider is reportedly considering offering paid cable-TV services to leverage its high-speed Internet access project under way in Kansas City, where it is planning to distribute stations over fiber optic lines.