On December 6, 2016, the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) issued a report highlighting the economic impact copyright industries have on the economy. These industries include producers and distributors of books, journals, movies, music, software, and video games. The study measures the economic contribution of various industries that are primarily responsible for creating and distributing […]
FCC Moves Headlong into Free Data Investigation
In the latest net neutrality salvo, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Wireless Bureau has upped the ante on its investigation into free data plans offered by wireless providers on December 1, 2016. At the core of the investigation is whether free data services offered to consumers violate net neutrality rules. The investigation has been ongoing since […]
The Turducken of Broadband
A turducken is the epitome of overbuild. One takes a deboned chicken, covers it in stuffing, wraps it with a deboned duck, adds some more stuffing on top of the duck, and wraps it again with a deboned turkey. That may be all well and good for a hearty Thanksgiving, but it is no feast when a city or town decides to spend taxpayer dollars to build a government-run broadband network. The thick layers of government control over easements, pole attachments, permitting requirements, and the local tax base that are slapped together to directly compete against private internet providers make a turducken look like a simple endeavor.
FedRAMP Four Years Later
On June 6, 2012, the Federal Risk Assessment Management Program (FedRAMP) began accepting applications from cloud service providers and federal agencies to obtain authorization to operate (ATO) cloud services within the federal government. On October 27, 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced it will begin an audit of the program to measure its progress, […]
The Long Musical Road Home
As a preview to the 50th Anniversary of the Country Music Awards on November 2, 2016, the Country Music Association released a mashup video of three of its most popular songs. Entitled “Forever Country,” the revisited songs were “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” written by John Denver, Bill Danoff, and Taffy Nivert; “On The Road […]
Wireless Tax Burdens Continue to Grow
In December 2005, there were 207.9 million wireless subscriber connections in the U.S. As of the end of December 2015, that number had grown to 377.9 million wireless subscribers, a gain of more than 170 million over the ten-year period. Today’s mobile devices and services provide much more than just the ability to make a […]
Transparency Needed at the FCC
There is a problem with transparency at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) relating to the sharing of information with the public on critical regulatory matters under consideration. The most recent issue to arise relates to the proposed mandates being considered by the agency regarding set-top boxes. The notice of proposed rule-making was issued on February […]
Set-Top Box Proposal Takes Center Stage
Technology innovations are great, and the advancement of the electronics industry over the past 20 years has been astounding. However, when the federal government steps in to mandate technology, typically progress comes to a halt. Such is the case with the set-top box. The cable industry has been in the process of moving away from […]
Government Should Not Restrict Free-Data Plans
One only needs to look at the mobile phone bill of a connected teenager’s parent to know that mobile data use is on the rise. Often driven by homework and school expectations, teenagers consume large amounts of mobile data performing classroom internet searches, video messaging their fellow students working on team assignments, as well as […]
A Pathway to Change at the IRS
Because of the delicate, private, and proprietary nature of information provided by individuals and businesses to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on tax returns, audits are an inherently governmental function that should be conducted solely by government employees. This confidential process should not be handed over to outside individuals or organizations. However, that is exactly the situation that Microsoft Corporation found itself in May 2014, when the IRS decided to hire an outside litigation firm to conduct an audit of the company’s international division, and then proscriptively issued regulations allowing the agency to take such action.