Congressmen look to resolve expected DTV problems [CNET News]
Two more members of Congress are expressing concerns that the FCC, broadcasters and the federal agency responsible for the digital converter box coupon program need to do more to prepare the public for the digital transition. House Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell have written letters to broadcasters and the federal agencies asking them to detail plans to remedy concerns that arose during the September digital transition test in Wilmington, NC.
The letters noted that the FCC's trial conversion in Wilmington, N.C., this September "revealed many problems related to the transition, including consumers who did not know they needed to rescan their boxes to search for new channels after the switch, needed to obtain or adjust antennas to receive digital signals, or were no longer able to receive a station's signal because the station's digital signal contour differs from its analog coverage area."
While a majority of Americans are well aware of the digital transition, primarily because of a public service campaign by cable operators and broadcasters, there are still lingering issues for many over-the-air television viewers. It's critical that the FCC continue to focus on solving these issues prior to Februrary 17 of next year.
Remember, if all the televisions in your house are connected to cable, you're already prepared for the digital transition. If you choose to use an over-the-air digital converter, you will need
to determine if your antenna is receiving the digital signals and that
the converter is properly programmed to the frequencies in your local
area. Come next February, your televisions will continue to work normally during the switch from analog to digital broadcasts as long as they are connected to cable.
Light Reading asks the question whether Internet video is a threat to traditional cable video delivery at the Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing Summit. One of the better responses to the question comes from the founder of Next New Networks:
Fred Siebert, creative director and a founder of Next New Networks, a developer of niche, "micro-television networks" for the Internet, said assumptions that tried-and-true TV distribution models will die out anytime soon is foolish. "It's just stupid. Nothing is going away," he said, noting that cable did not kill off broadcast television in the 1980s, and, before that, broadcast TV did not plunge a dagger into the heart of radio.
AT&T has rolled out a new tier of DSL service in some areas based on a press release from the company last week, but, as Richard Bennett points out, AT&T is telling consumers that they're required to purchase AT&T's television service if they want to get the new DSL speed tier. I'm all for bundling services to provide a better deal for customers, but forcing customers into a take-it-or-leave-it deal for a group of bundled services isn't an appropriate way to treat customers. Bundling of different services should be an offer for a discount, not a requirement.
Furthermore, this new tier's speeds sound fairly sketchy. Because AT&T is using the same pipe to deliver the DSL as the TV service (which consumers are required to buy), a subscriber's actual DSL speed is dependent upon how much television content is being delivered. So, don't turn on too many televisions if you've got AT&T's new DSL tier, or you could slow down your Internet download speed.
It's come from a glint in the eye of Steve Jobs two years ago to the best selling mobile phone in the U.S. According to the NPD Group, Apple sold nearly 7 million iPhones during the third quarter of 2008. As other phone manufacturers introduce their own models designed to compete with the iPhone, the way we use the web is quickly changing. It's a must have feature for new smartphones to have a full web browser, and more and more people are using them for their web browsing. Even this blog gets hits everyday from mobile devices.
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