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  Thursday Evening Links -

  Posted: January 26th, 2012, 4:43pm MST

  
  Hawaii make keep track of all websites visited cnet.com
  For the good of the nation, broadband for all cio.com
  Cheap internet: The poor's new civil right nypost.com
  Google, Bing, other search engines "overwhelmingly" direct users to illegal copies of copyrighted tracks: Coalition of entertainment industry groups guardian.co.uk
  MegaUpload Users Plan to Sue the FBI over Lost Files torrentfreak.com
  European Parliament Official In Charge Of ACTA Quits, And Denounces The 'Masquerade' Behind ACTA techdirt.com
  North Korea threatens to punish mobile-phone users as 'war criminals' telegraph.co.uk
  AT&T blames FCC for price hikes lightreading.com
  Survey: consumers confused on cellular network generations telecomengine.com
  RealNetworks to sell patents, software to Intel for $120m totaltele.com
  Take Your Wi-Fi Broadband Router On The Road cable360.net
  1% of all smartphones activated by AT&T in Q4 were iPhone 4S's thenextweb.com
  iPhone 4S helps Apple edge Android in US cnet.com
  Android tablets finally catching on networkworld.com
  Leaked RIM roadmap hints at Paybook 3G+ technologytell.com
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  Cable is Eating DSL's Lunch in Un-Upgraded Markets - Telco Investors Get What They Were Willing to Pay For

  Posted: January 26th, 2012, 3:23pm MST

  
  Both AT&T and Verizon saw continued strong growth in wireless in this week's earnings reports, but took a bit of a beating in terms of DSL subscriber counts in their un-upgraded markets and overall broadband growth. Verizon lost 103,000 DSL lines during the fourth quarter of 2011, while AT&T lost 636,000 DSL lines. In AT&T's case the company wound up posting a net loss of 49,000 broadband customers thanks to the addition of 587,000 U-Verse Internet customers. Neither company is keeping pace with cable industry additions, however.
  
  Where are the DSL users going? Neither company breaks down market or subscriber specific defection paths. Some are obviously migrating to the faster FiOS or U-Verse options being offered by the telcos. However, many are signing up for faster cable services in markets neither AT&T or Verizon wanted to spend money to upgrade.
  
  Last summer, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson went so far as to call DSL "obsolete" -- a problem when that's the only broadband product you're selling.
  
  As we noted earlier this week, despite Verizon's $24 billion FTTH FiOS investment, there's still 30% of their footprint that won't be joining the modern broadband age anytime soon. AT&T's initial investment in U-Verse was significantly less aggressive and costly, but the number of customers not upgraded to U-Verse sits around 50% of their footprint. Even when upgraded to U-Verse, AT&T's not matching cable when it comes to speeds. The reasons for the AT&T DSL departures and slow broadband growth are clear: AT&T didn't put enough money back into the last mile network.
  
  Both cable companies and customers stuck on slow DSL can thank telco investors for the stagnation. Investors whined, griped and complained ceaselessly over the last few years about any attempt by AT&T and Verizon to put money back into the network -- even when cash was clearly on hand. Now neither company can seriously compete with cable in the markets investors never wanted upgraded in the first place, which will result in a subscriber hit -- that investors will then complain about.
  
  Annoyed customers stuck on slower DSL may eventually see faster speeds, but right now both U-Verse and FiOS expansion plans are frozen, meaning cable broadband will rule the roost for the foreseeable future. While there are a variety of new DSL technologies that bond lines and quell crosstalk pushing last mile DSL speeds higher, they've not yet been seriously deployed and still face distance constraints. Right now the focus is on wireless, with the telcos pretty clearly not caring what happens in a large number of landline markets where millions of users are still clodding along at 1.5 to 3 Mbps.
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  Wilmington First to Deploy White Space Broadband - Wilmington Park Deploys Improved Range 'Super Wi-Fi'

  Posted: January 26th, 2012, 1:18pm MST

  
  User uid://1421422 directs our attention to the fact that New Hanover County, North Carolina this week became the first county in the United States to deploy a "Super Wi-Fi" network. Also known as white space broadband, the technology makes use of unlicensed wireless spectrum freed from the migration to digital television. FCC rules governing such devices were approved in 2010, with the FCC creating new databases used by devices to confirm that they won't create interference to nearby devices.
  
  There have been trials of the technology elsewhere, but Wilmington, North Carolina today became the first city to see practical deployment. A press statement by the Wireless Innovation Alliance (whose members include Microsoft, Google and Dell) notes Wilmington was chosen because of their quick digital TV transition:

  Wilmington was the first city in 2008 to make the successful transition from Analog to Digital Television. As a result of this transition, the city had early access to the broadcast spectrum "white spaces" that emerged from the shift. These white spaces are ideal for Super Wi-Fi deployment since their physical properties allow for stronger signals that provide better penetration and allow Wi-Fi to travel further distances than more common, traditional Wi-Fi networks. A subsequent trial of the Super Wi-Fi network took place in 2011.

  The press release offers absolutely no quality details on the launch, probably because the actual details are a little less thrilling than the release's claim that the deployment helps "drive innovation in the American economy." Forbes notes that the network will be used to offer Wi-Fi and connect a few video cameras in a few parks. White Space broadband was selected because its longer range meant a simpler installation, and the city "didn't want to cut trees or put in a ton of hardware."
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  AT&T CEO Stephenson Pouts About T-Mobile Deal - Hints Hikes Are Due to T-Mobile Deal Being Blocked

  Posted: January 26th, 2012, 11:25am MST

  
  AT&T last week raised rates on all their wireless data plans, users now having the option of a $20, 300 MB plan or a $30, 3GB plan (up from $15, 200MB and $25, 2GB, respectively). Speaking during their earnings call today, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson tried to suggest that the rate hikes were because the government opposed AT&T's planned T-Mobile acquisition. The deal collapse, according to Stephenson, left them capacity constrained -- which then forced the company to raise rates and throttle wireless users. Kevin Fitchard at GigaOM points out how the only problem with that article is that it's not true:

  If AT&T were really that constrained by network capacity, it wouldn t be lowering the price it charges to deliver each byte. AT&T s price hikes are simply a revenue play. By raising the prices of its data plan tiers, it s guaranteeing it will get $5 more a month on each new smartphone customer, but it won t be limiting their usage. Instead it s actually encouraging its customers to consume more.

  There's really only so many times we can point out that AT&T's claims of spectrum crunch and capacity constraints are completely contradicted by AT&T's own publicly-available data, and that if AT&T is suffering any such limitations with their current resources -- it's due to poor network design and implementation. The truth is AT&T's raising rates because they can in an uncompetitive market they dominate. Stephenson's just pouting because for one of the first times in a generation, his company wasn't able to buy government help in keeping it that way.
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  The EU Starts Looking At Tough Online Privacy Protections - U.S. Government, Ad/Software/Content/Telecom Industries Immediately Whine

  Posted: January 26th, 2012, 9:32am MST

  
  Here in the United States the press and politicians pay a lot of lip service to caring about privacy, but given that the modern zeitgeist is that all-regulation-is-evil-no-matter-what -- lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have refused to actually implement privacy protections for the modern age. The result has been an avalanche of new barrier-pushing tracking technology with absolutely no consumer protection lines drawn. The result? AT&T works for the NSA, ISPs lie about the sale of clickstream data, supercookies are undeletable, and both your location and interests are tracked constantly -- down to the second -- without you really having much of a say about it.
  
  EULAs only cryptically inform users of what's tracked and sold, and opt-out mechanisms may or may not work -- if they even exist. Good consumer protection laws would at least give some power back to consumers in terms of what data is collected, how long, and who it gets sold to. Instead, we've seen a total government logjam on this front punctuated by hollow lip service, courtesy of the lobbying muscle of the telecom, advertising/marketing, and content industries.
  
  Interestingly in the UK the government has managed to stand up to this lobbying onslaught and is now considering new privacy protection rules that would give some power back to the consumer. According to a European Commission statement, a new overhaul to 1995 privacy rules would give consumers a slew of additional rights, including the "right to be forgotten" (having your collected data deleted) and making data collection opt in.
  
  As you might expect, editorials galore sponsored by the content, software and marketing industries (some clearly disclosed, some not) are popping up Internet wide arguing that any privacy rules that actually work would "chill innovation and digital progress." The United States government (of the people?) meanwhile is threatening Europe on industry's behalf, arguing that protecting the privacy of consumers might actually cost some money.
  
  There's no doubt the initial EU proposal has problems when it comes to nailing down moving targets, holes will be punched through the rules at the behest of intelligence organizations, and the very idea you can fully delete online activity is likely naieve. Getting privacy protection modernized in the age of deep packet inspection certainly won't be easy.
  
  While the industries impacted are arguing that they'd like to "have serious conversations" on the "right" kinds of rules, these claims have proven repeatedly disingenuous. The "conversation" so far has consisted of lobbyists battling tirelessly to derail any real privacy law creation. All of the industries impacted have made it abundantly clear they do not want real protections of any kind hampering the billions to be made from new ad technologies -- particularly if the rules are of the opt in variety.
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  Time Warner Cable Net Profit Jumps 44% - Guess Metered Billing Wasn't Necessary After All?

  Posted: January 26th, 2012, 7:38am MST

  
  A few years ago you might recall that Time Warner Cable executives claimed they wouldn't be able to survive financially if they weren't allowed to start billing users by the byte. Several years after that proposal was shot dead by public outrage, and flat-rate broadband pricing continues to treat the company very well. Time Warner Cable's fourth quarter earnings show a 44% jump in fourth quarter net profit, with double-digit gains in broadband, VoIP and wholesale transport services revenue. Though the company stoically continues to deny the impact of Internet video, they're seeing continued pressure from cord cutting and telcoTV, resulting in a loss of 129,000 video subscribers. Those losses were countered however by the addition of 130,000 broadband subscribers.
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  'Jailbreaking' Exemption to DMCA Expires Soon - EFF Pushes to Ensure Jailbreaking Remains Legal

  Posted: January 26th, 2012, 6:32am MST

  
  As it stands, the often empowering act of jailbreaking your device remains perfectly legal thanks to an exemption embedded in the DMCA. In July of 2010 the government created an exemption, ruling that such tinkering perfectly legal as long as the intent wasn't to bypass copy protection. With the exemption set to expire, user uid://656685 writes in to note the Electronic Freedom Foundation is waging a campaign to convince the U.S. Copyright Office to extend the exemption and expand it to ensure it covers tablets. The USCO is fielding comments via this link until February 10 at 5 PM Eastern Time. If you actually like having full control over the devices you pay hundreds of dollars for, it might be worth making your voices heard.
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  Hawaii Pushing Major New ISP Surveillance Laws - All User Behavior Recorded, With No Pesky Privacy Protections

  Posted: January 26th, 2012, 6:15am MST

  
  As we noted earlier this week, Senator Lamar Smith not only drafted SOPA, but he also is pushing a law that would require that ISPs track the personal online behavior of users for up to 18 months. Smith's pushing the law under the pretense of waging a tougher war against child porn, when in reality it's simply yet another in a long line of expansions of domestic surveillance capabilities. The push was a priority for the Bush/Gonzales Justice Department, and is also now being championed by the Obama Administration Justice Department.
  
  User uid://1122567 writes in to note that Hawaii is getting a running start toward the mandatory ISP tracking age. Hawaii's HN 2288 requires that "Internet destination history information" and "subscriber's information" such as name and address must be saved for two years by ISPs. Bill sponsor Democratic Rep. John Mizuno of Oahu isn't saying who pushed him to draft the bill (read: entertainment industry, intelligence/law enforcement), but he apparently didn't see fit to ensure that the bill include any privacy protections for consumer data whatsoever:

  Mizuno's proposal currently specifies no privacy protections, such as placing restrictions on what Internet providers can do with this information (like selling user profiles to advertisers) or requiring that police obtain a court order before perusing the virtual dossiers of Hawaiian citizens. Also absent are security requirements such as the use of encryption. Because the wording is so broad and applies to any company that "provides access to the Internet," Mizuno's legislation could sweep in far more than AT&T, Verizon, and Hawaii's local Internet providers. It could also impose sweeping new requirements on coffee shops, bookstores, and hotels frequented by the over 6 million tourists who visit the islands each year.

  As we, and at least one ISP CEO have pointed out, the biggest problem with these laws is they're creating a treasure trove of personal data that hackers will most certainly lust after.
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  AT&T Posts Quarterly Loss Due to T-Mobile Deal Implosion - Posted a Net Loss in Broadband Users Due to DSL Defections

  Posted: January 26th, 2012, 5:46am MST

  
  AT&T released their fourth quarter earnings, posting a fourth quarter net loss of $6.7 billion, or $1.12 a share, on revenue of $32.5 billion Don't feel too badly for AT&T, as $4 billion of that quarterly hit was due to their $4 billion T-Mobile break up fee, which the company admitted was probably only closer to $1.5 billion after tax deductions. AT&T sold a record 9.4 million smartphones on the quarter and added 717,000 new wireless subscribers to bring wireless sub totals to 2.5 million. The company added 208,000 AT&T U-verse TV and 587,000 U-Verse Internet customers, but posted a net loss of 49,000 broadband customers due to users in un-upgraded markets leaving for faster alternatives.
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  Thursday Morning Links -

  Posted: January 26th, 2012, 3:29am MST

  
  The human cost built into iPads nytimes.com
  RapidShare Attorney: If We're Shut Down Like Megaupload, Then YouTube, Dropbox, Apple's iCloud Are Next fastcompany.com
  Should the Fifth Amendment Cover Your Encrypted Data? time.com
  Sprint 4G rollout will be very Texas-centric initially lightreading.com
  UK ISP's BT and C&W fined for basically ripping up roads where ever and whenever they damn well wanted to ispreview.co.uk
  Netflix subs rebound in Q4, regains 600000 of 800000 subs lost in Q3 price hike fiasco lightreading.com
  Symantec: Anonymous stole source code, users should disable pcAnywhere arstechnica.com
  UK ISP O2 fixes leak that gave personal info to websites zdnet.co.uk
  EU warns five member states on telecoms rules; France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Hungary risk court referral unless new rules pass into national law totaltele.com
  Company claims new routing will breath life back into SMS, make it more profitable gomonews.com
  Sprint vs. Verizon vs. AT&T wireless plans yahoo.com
  Microsoft, not Apple, holds the key to smartTV success? thenextweb.com
  Is iMessage Starting to Take a Bite Out of Standard Texting? nytimes.com
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