This Bill and a related Bill (S.2880) introduced in the Senate late last year and also referred to Committee are important because they consolidate authority in the Under Secretary of Rural Broadband Initiatives to foster the development of rural broadband, to assess broadband strategies, and to oversee broadband projects. But don’t hold your breath waiting for this legislation to become law based on recent history, given the death of previous rural broadband development bills on the Hill during the last few years. Moreover, companies with deep pockets that are adverse to competing with publicly-funded broadband projects may have a vested interest in opposing this legislation.

Proponents of this legislation will argue that consolidated oversight of rural broadband development, and the commitment of public funds, are long overdue. Critics will likely oppose the expenditure of $20M of taxpayer dollars during these tough times for rural broadband projects that may never bear fruit. Most broadband companies would prefer to develop and compete for these projects themselves, but will they do so in sparsely populated rural areas where the need is greatest but where the return on investment is significantly less than in urban and suburban areas? If passed, how will this Bill dovetail with the FCC’s National Broadband Plan? Also, does the Bill go far enough to promote rural broadband in the face of continuous legislative challenges in many states to stop or curtail municipal broadband projects?

We welcome your thoughts.

© 2010 Technology Law Group. Craig Dingwall is an attorney with the Technology Law Group, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm specializing in telecommunications transactional matters, complex litigation and intellectual property issues. Craig can be reached at dingwall@tlgdc.com, at 202-895-1707, or at our website: www.tlgdc.com. The views in this article are those of the author, and do not necessary represent those of the Technology Law Group.

Greenpacket, a leading Malaysian wireless equipment developer, announced yesterday it would work in collaboration with Augere Holdings following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two wireless companies. The agreement calls for the sharing of knowledge and expertise on a long term basis, a mere exchange of mutual commendation tacked onto the back of their business arrangement.

As part of the pact Augere will be sending USD $7.2 million Greenpacket’s way for the provision of UH Shuttle USB modems, specifically for usage in South Asian regions. Augere already has broadband service operations in the area, but chose to tap into Greenpacket for the quality of their equipment, experience in state-of-the-art technologies and innovative products.

Kelvin Lee, Senior General Manager of Greenpacket, said his company is “…very excited to be partnering with Augere to deliver broadband access in emerging economies.” He further cited the two developers’ “common vision…to realize a future of wireless freedom and broadband for all.” Given the ability of Greenpacket’s “high performance modems” and the harvesting of a mutually beneficial relationship, Lee foresees a near future in which “Augere will be able to provide a fast, game-changing wireless broadband experience to its end users.”

Greenpacket’s Packet One Networks, otherwise known as P1, is a global leading 4G WiMAX provider. They currently rank as one of the top three suppliers of WiMAX modems, the range of which are extensive enough to cater to both emerging and already developed markets.

New Opportunities in the Mobile Revolution
Date: 20 – 21 January 2011
Venue: SouthernSun Cape Sun, Cape Town, South Africa

Join us at this inaugural 3.9G International Summit in Cape Town. Discuss the hottest issues of the African Mobile & Wireless world with your colleagues, meet investors, and strike new deals with current and future business partners. We are expecting top Regulators as well as senior telecom executives from Mobile Operators from Africa, 3G/4G Experts from Europe, Asia, Middle East and North America.

Early Bird ending on 1 December 2010.

For more details/To Register:
Phone: +65 6391 2555/52
Email: patricia.chong@magenta-global.com.sg
Website: http://www.magenta-global.com.sg/3g4g/index.php

I had the honor of joining with Cbeyond’s Brooks Robinson, Chief Marketing Officer (and CO Founder), and Vince Zappa, Senior Director of Mobile Operations. Cbeyond started in late 1999 with the strategy to target the small business market for Dedicated Voice and Data services over T1. They quickly pioneered impressive cutting edge services, such as providing privately managed VoIP services and dynamic allocation of bandwidth for improved QoS. Over the last few years however, their product offering has been evolving, identifying cost effective ways to integrate an entire software suite of services to their customers for a wide range of pro SMB applications.

In addition to hosted services, Cbeyond entered into an agreement with a CDMA provider to offer mobile voice, mobile data (via blackberry and android devices), as well as mobile broadband via 3G USB dongles and so forth as a true-to-life MVNO. Cbeyond has been very successful with this model; so much in fact that they have achieved over 30% penetration of mobile products into their client portfolio. This means over 1/3 of their customers not only purchase landline services but also mobile as well – very impressive indeed. “[The Clearwire agreement] is really an evolution of our business” added Robinson “we’ve been providing 3G laptop cards and we also provide a wireless backup service as well, essentially used for three components of our customers business,
• Backing up the data of their servers and PC’s
• Backing up (redundancy) for the T1 failover
• Cloud based Automated Attendant
It’s in the wireless backup service that the real experimentation is taking place. They have not worked (from an engineering perspective) with point to multi-point microwave devices such as those required on the Clearwire WiMax network. Cbeyond purchases “white label” (non-branded) devices that will be WiMax enabled to use not only for the backup business model, but also for their mobile products as well. “We have been in mobile since ’06, we are confident that we can penetrate our mobile market with our 4G products” Said Robinson.

Initially they will offer these non-branded devices to their customers; USB’s and RSU’s, similar to Clears own consumer RSU. Mr. Zappa took the opportunity to comment on the ecosystem of devices

“Our model around 4G will evolve – we aren’t constraining ourselves to any particular devices or product offerings, and frankly we will evolve just as quickly as the macro model of the WiMax world evolves.”

Cbeyond does business in 14 tier 1 markets, all of which will be lit with Clearwire’s WiMax network by the end of the 4th quarter 2010. Brooks Robinson is excited about the opportunity ahead
“We are excited about the potential of our relationship with Clearwire – I think what Clearwire saw with Cbeyond was a company that understood technology and has a firm grip on the small business [telecom space] and more importantly, distribution. These kinds of technologies can be somewhat underserved to the SMB customer, but with Cbeyond our value is in bringing this product with our trusted brand to the busy small business owner.”

No doubt they understand their customers – Cbeyond, now a publicly traded company (CBEY) has revenues expected to top $450 million in 2010 alone. Certainly their account executives will deliver world class distribution to serve customers with a new blend of connectivity, WiMAX, brought directly to them with the Cbeyond label on their modem. Stay tuned for reports following up with Cbeyond’s progress, both in engineering and marketing, in the coming months!

All kidding aside, there is a method to the madness of quirky marketing executives. There is significant money to be made from those that fall within the criteria for Generation Y- born between the mid-1970s to early 2000s. A recent report from the Financial Brand came out discussing the market research statistics of Generation Y, and it paints an entirely different picture than the one the media depicts of our recession. A majority of Generation Yers wouldn’t consider their situation to be “bad”, more than 60% of them don’t think that their financial situation has worsened and 89% of them don’t think that they will be worse off than their parents. That makes them the ideal customer in this unsteady economy.

Clearwire, a WiMAX company, has finally come to terms with their customer base. Most middle-aged people wouldn’t know the first thing about 4G, not that there is anything wrong with that, of course. They are content with the Internet connection that they pay a little bit extra for with their cable service. And it works quite well for most purposes, believe it or not. So, why should they switch now and disturb the relationship they have with their current provider? A few seconds extra spent surfing the web isn’t worth it. These people understand the value of life, not the substitute used these days in terms of social connections found online.

The current generation, however, is much different. We find friends in other countries with just a few clicks. We need to watch that video NOW. G-d forbid we don’t see overnight Internet celebrity Antoine Dodson’s infamous rant within the next minute. We live in the 21st century and we are entitled, aren’t we? The word buffering will soon be just as foreign as music sharing program Napster.

Clearwire has found a way to put money into this sorry phenomenon. They have done research and marketed this group of obnoxious young adults. Clear understands how this newer generation, like most immature individuals, is scared of the word commitment. They get married later, and Clear is sensitive to their lack of responsibility. That’s why, in a press release issued yesterday, they came out with a new product that is “pay-as-you-go 4G mobile broadband service for tech-savvy Gen Y customers.” Yes, this new Rover is “designed for digitally addicted youth who refuse to settle for long-term contracts, overpriced Internet service, or speeds slower than what they've become accustomed to at home.”

It may turn out to be a great product; but please, stop talking down to us. This is slightly embarrassing; especially when Clear mentions that “devices signify status.” Vanity isn’t a trait especially designated to any age group; that affects individuals on all ends of the age spectrum. If you’re going to target us as your typical customer, a little respect would be nice. K? Thnx

Today, Clearwire and Rover, in a much anticipated web conference, confirmed their partnership on the ROVER brand pay-as-you-go 4G internet service. The service, which utilizes the Clearwire WiMAX network, is available for sale online immediately and in retail stores in select WiMAX markets (Houston and St. Louis). What makes Rover different than the traditional Clear market or Clear product? 
 
On the webcast this morning we were able to gain some insight from Clearwire Chief Commercial Officer Mike Sievert and Rover General Manager Seth Cummings. "Rover is a brand aimed at a new market", says Sievert, "We are aiming to appeal towards a segment of the market that has been traditionally under-served in the mobile internet arena." So who exactly makes up the "pay-as-you-go" customer base that they speak of? Sievert quips "The 18 to 24 year old city dwelling youth", typically urban, who are not fond of counting their minutes or megabytes. There is definitely sound reasoning to attack the market in this way. There are many individuals who love "Truly Unlimited", like myself, for example. There are however, many customers who enjoy prepay for the simplicity of the billing and, of course, the lack of the 2 year contract. "Generation Y addicts who have grown up only knowing a true all digital lifestyle, who want to cut the cord and don't like two year contracts" are the target market for the new Rover brand. 
 
The "Network of Networks" title was touted yet again as the sound reasoning for the branding of the new pre-paid flavor service. According to Sievert, over 80% of their CLEAR (retail brand) customer base is tied into a 2 year agreement, no doubt the goal of an aggressive internal sales department in Seattle. Though Clear retail offers a no contract option as well, it is more-than-evident that they are in no way interested in growing their interest through that market base.  
 
In fact, there is no way that Clear wants to deal with the "Cricket Crowd" as a means of growing their overall business. Many of this "market" that Sievert speaks of did not qualify for 2 year contracts in the first place. As someone who has owned businesses both in the "traditional post-pay" and "pay-as-you-go" wireless retail sector, I can say that the "Cricket or Boost" crowd requires a certain stomach to deal with on a day to day basis. There are many challenges to face when operating such retail locations. The first and foremost is that you are not operating on commission or residual from the carrier; it’s strictly cash. This is a great business model for the scum of the netherworld, but for those of us who like a steady flow of GAAP approved business models, deductions and cash flow, it's tricks will make you duck and dodge customers who can in smelling straight from the garbage can demanding world class service for pennies on the dollar, world class customer support and billing, unmatched product reliability and ALWAYS think you owe them something free. I say good luck to Rover in general and the authorized resellers and dealers in particular that resell the service. Hopefully the bottom-feeder crowd I just described don't own computers and won't have a use for this service, reserving it more for the other segment of the prepay market; people who qualify for two year contracts, but simply refuse to sign one. 
 
Anyways, when is Clear going to make an announcement to the 2 year contract crowd and let us know when phones and tablets are coming out?

What is cybersecurity, and why is it important? Cybersecurity essentially means protecting the Internet infrastructure and information that passes over it from security threats. As its name suggests, cybersecurity protects data and control systems designed to ensure the functioning of our critical infrastructure. Domestic and foreign bad actors have demonstrated the ability to steal, alter, or destroy data. Cybersecurity is important because customers will not use broadband services if they don’t believe that they are secure. Moreover, unchecked vulnerabilities in the broadband communications infrastructure could threaten life, safety and privacy.

To address cybersecurity, the FCC in the NBP recommends

1. the creation of a nationwide interoperable public safety wireless broadband communications network
2. surveying public safety broadband wireless infrastructure and devices
   
3. ensuring that broadband satellite service is part of any emergency preparedness program
   
4. preserving broadband communications during emergencies
   

The FCC in the NBP asked Congress to consider providing funding of $3.75 million per year for three years (for a total of $11.3 million) to allow FEMA to expand its data collection and survey efforts with states and territories.

One of the critical challenges to cybersecurity is lack of access to broadband services. For example, some Public Service Access Points (“PSAPs”) are located in areas where broadband communications are unavailable, and many PSAPs cannot afford broadband connectivity. Further, regulatory roadblocks have hindered next generation, so called NG911, which will enable the public to access 911 through text messaging (SMS) and other formats.

Through the Cybersecurity Roadmap, the FCC seeks to address vulnerabilities to core Internet protocols and technologies and threats to end-users, including consumers, businesses and public safety. The FCC anticipates completion of the Cybersecurity Roadmap by November 2010. The FCC raised the following questions for public comments:

• What are the most vital cybersecurity vulnerabilities for communications networks or users?
  
• How can these vulnerabilities be addressed? What role should the FCC play in addressing them?
  
• What steps should the FCC take, if any, to remediate them?
  
• If the FCC does not play a role in addressing these vulnerabilities and problems, what agency or entity would fill that role?
  
• How should the FCC coordinate its efforts with other agencies of government?

Is a Cybersecurity Roadmap a worthwhile? Is it worth the cost? Will it address the FCC’s goals of addressing vulnerabilities to core Internet protocols and technologies, as well as threats to end-users? Can it keep up with technology changes? Will it saddle the Internet and broadband with unnecessary regulations? Have all the necessary players been identified and involved to make this work?

We welcome your thoughts.

Comments are due September 23, 2010.

© 2010 Technology Law Group. Craig Dingwall is an attorney with the Technology Law Group, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm specializing in telecommunications transactional matters, complex litigation and intellectual property issues. Craig can be reached at cdingwall@tlgdc.com, at 202-895-1707, or at our website: www.tlgdc.com. The views in this article are those of the author, and do not necessary represent those of the Technology Law Group.

Clearwire has been getting plenty of criticism for coming out last month with intentions to test out LTE technology, most likely because WiMAX isn’t a technology the mobile industry has any interest in furthering its advancement in the mobile field. With a combination of WiMAX and LTE, Clearwire might have the security to move forward in the mobile sector. Maybe Clearwire will finally come forward as a leader in mobile technology, taking the initiative and monetizing on their precedence in the 4G market.

Other possibilities floating around include partnerships and advancements in the emerging M2M/smart grid space. The company has said in the past that it intends to pursue other wholesale customers aside from its core investors like Sprint, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable. They already signed contracts last month with Best Buy, giving Best Buy the opportunity to market Clear service under their own branding, Best Buy Connect.

Another possibility is that Clear might be introducing a prepaid mobile WiMAX approach like the kinds Sprint/Nextel CEO Dan Hesse has mentioned numerous times in the last couple of months. Sprint is the majority shareholder of Clearwire and they are selling Clear’s WiMAX technology under their own branding. Maybe Clear will begin marketing their services just like Sprint does.

One thing remains certain though, is that no matter what they do, Clear can capitalize on their early placement in the 4G market just by lowering their prices to rates that newcomers Verizon and MetroPCS can’t compete with. If they start off the cut-throat competition with low rates, then their adversaries wouldn’t be viable options until they have launched in enough markets and/or raised enough capital to sell their services and sustain low margins.

Whatever the case, Monday is bound to be a big deal. When Clear announced their wholesale arrangement with Best Buy, they didn’t hold anything close to a webcast. (They wrote a press release and sent it out.) The fact that members of the press and industry analysts are invited to stream it live appears to make it a bigger event than the release of information of a major upcoming profit gain in the form of a partnership with Best Buy. What they actually plan on informing the public is something we will have to wait until Monday to find out.

Bostonians are excited to hear that they are going be some of the first testers of “4G” service (see article here) from various providers by the end of the year. They are the only city that is going to be privileged enough to have a taste of “4G” speed services from four different service providers, two offering WiMAX technology, the other two being LTE. An article in the Boston Globe happily describes the faster data services that are going to be available for the city starting in the upcoming month.

There is no question as to which companies are unrolling “4G” services this year; there are only four companies releasing what they are calling fourth generation wireless service within the next few months and they are Clearwire, Sprint, Verizon, and MetroPCS. Clearwire and Sprint utilize WiMAX technology, and Verizon and MetroPCS make use of LTE technology. Luckily for Boston, they are all scheduled for deployment in that one city in 2010.

Clearwire and Sprint are, for all intents and purposes, the same thing. Sprint is the majority shareholder of Clearwire and they share the same WiMAX network.
“We should launch sometime during the month of September,’’ said Sprint CEO Dan Hesse in a speech while in Boston last week.This will please many Sprint customers, especially those who have the first “4G” compatible smartphone, the HTC EVO 4G, that is currently sold out in many stores all over the country. Sprint has another “4G” phone due to come out next week, the Samsung Epic 4G, which will probably also sell out, especially in cities like Boston that get “4G”. Clear, however, will be launching within the next week, according to Matthew Drinkhahn, Clearwire’s general manager for Boston. Data service will be available under the brand name Clear with plans starting from $30 a month.

Verizon and MetroPCS also have launching plans in Boston for the current year using LTE technology. They will likely be offering similar services. MetroPCS already has a LTE-enabled phone, the Samsung Craft. Verizon is sure to follow, but their cell phone services won’t be available until they create their own LTE-enabled phone. Until then, Verizon will be releasing dongles to expand coverage. Those two LTE carriers still have a long way to go before they release “4G” services that are even comparable to the WiMAX services that Sprint and Clear are going to be providing.

Metro PCS currently offers some of the most aggressively priced voice and data plans in the country. If they are able to get a jump could start in the 4G market, they could push other major carriers to develop 4G technology and infrastructure of their own. Currently Sprint is the only carrier offering 4G plans, which utilize WiMAX technology instead of LTE. If Metro PCS is able to move into this market ahead of AT&T and Verizon, it could accelerate the downward trend in data plan pricing, all the while forcing those companies to invest more heavily in their own high-speed infrastructure.