Characterizing and Improving the Reliability of Broadband Internet Access

In this paper, we empirically demonstrate the growing importance of reliability by measuring its effect on user behavior. We present an approach for broadband reliability characterization using data collected by many emerging national initiatives to study broadband and apply it to the data gathered by the Federal Communications Commission's Measuring Broadband America project. Motivated by our findings, we present the design, implementation, and evaluation of a practical approach for improving the reliability of broadband Internet access with multihoming.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, 6 table

Technological Determinism and Its Discontents

This book review takes a critical review of the claim advanced by Susan Crawford in Captive Audience that the merger between Comcast and NBC Universal would harm consumers and that policymakers should instead promote common carriage regulation and subsidize municipal symmetrical gigabit fiber-to-the-home (FTTH). First it evaluates the extent to which next-generation digital subscriber lines (DSL) and wireless broadband technologies can serve as effective substitutes for cable modem service, identifying FCC data showing that the market has become increasingly competitive and likely to continue to do so. Furthermore, the market is not structured in a way that would permit the combination between content and conduit to harm competition. Furthermore, past attempts to recalibrate the balance between content producers and distribution channels have had the unintended consequence of reducing incentives to invest in network infrastructure. It can also deter technical leadership and innovation within the communications platform itself

Technological Determinism and Its Discontents

This book review takes a critical review of the claim advanced by Susan Crawford in Captive Audience that the merger between Comcast and NBC Universal would harm consumers and that policymakers should instead promote common carriage regulation and subsidize municipal symmetrical gigabit fiber-to-the-home (FTTH). First it evaluates the extent to which next-generation digital subscriber lines (DSL) and wireless broadband technologies can serve as effective substitutes for cable modem service, identifying FCC data showing that the market has become increasingly competitive and likely to continue to do so. Furthermore, the market is not structured in a way that would permit the combination between content and conduit to harm competition. Furthermore, past attempts to recalibrate the balance between content producers and distribution channels have had the unintended consequence of reducing incentives to invest in network infrastructure. It can also deter technical leadership and innovation within the communications platform itself

Gigabit Internet in Seattle

On December 13, 2012 then-Mayor Mike McGinn announced a partnership between the City of Seattle, the University of Washington, and a company called Gigabit Squared that was to bring ultra high speed Internet connections to twelve neighborhoods within Seattle.1 Called Gigabit Seattle, the plan promised a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network to 50,000 city households and businesses, serving over 100,000 residents.2 The letter of intent between the city and Gigabit Squared stated the company would seek $25 million in capital with the network built and operational within 24 months that would provide connection speeds to customers of up to 1000 megabits per second (Mbps).3 The announcements were high-profile and grandiose, with eruptions of applause and whistles at Mayor McGinn’s announcement of the project to a standing-room only crowd at Seattle Tech Meetup.4 But barely a year after the announcement, on January 7, 2014, the project had apparently entirely fallen apart, with the newly elected Mayor Ed Murray declaring the project dead and Gigabit Squared owing the city$52,250 in unpaid bills for work the city did for the company. What happened? Were the initial promises too good to be true? Had the parties grossly underestimated the massive scope of the project? Had Gigabit Squared misrepresented its position to the city, over-promising and under-performing as the project stumbled? While definitive answers are hard to come by, it seems the answers to all of these questions are yes. But that does not mean ultra high speed Internet connections cannot come to Seattle. The desire from both the city government and residents seems to be present, and some individuals are picking up the pieces to see another project come to fruition. But it must be understood just how important the project is for Seattle to continue as a leader in technology, medicine, and business.https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/techclinic/1009/thumbnail.jp

Strategy in the era of digitalization and industry convergence: the case of the media and telecommunications industries

The media and telecommunications industries have witnessed significant transformations due to digitalization. New players entered their market with over-the-top (OTT)services like WhatsApp disrupting the telecommunications industry and Netflix disrupting the media industry. But how did we get there? Strictly speaking, by means of industry convergence. Boundaries between industries are blurring, increasing the competition. An extensive research of the phenomenon is combined with practical examples from the media and telecommunications industries. Strategies chosen by companies from both industries point out the importance of staying competitive against OTT services

Lowering Legal Barriers to RPKI Adoption

Across the Internet, mistaken and malicious routing announcements impose significant costs on users and network operators. To make routing announcements more reliable and secure, Internet coordination bodies have encouraged network operators to adopt the Resource Public Key Infrastructure (“RPKI”) framework. Despite this encouragement, RPKI’s adoption rates are low, especially in North America.This report presents the results of a year-long investigation into the hypothesis—widespread within the network operator community—that legal issues pose barriers to RPKI adoption and are one cause of the disparities between North America and other regions of the world. On the basis of interviews and analysis of the legal framework governing RPKI, the report evaluates the issues raised by community members and proposes a number of strategies to reduce or circumvent the barriers that are material. The report also describes substantial action taken this year by the American Registry for Internet Numbers (“ARIN”) and other private organizations in light of public dialogue about RPKI

Inside the Internet

Conventional wisdom—particularly in the legal literatures—suggests that competition reigns the inside of the internet. This common understanding has shaped regulatory approaches to questions of network security and competition policy among service providers. But the original research presented here undermines that long-held assumption. Where the markets for internet traffic exchange (and related services) have long been thought to be characterized by robust competition among various network services providers, our findings suggest that these markets have consolidated. These trends raise a host of concerns for network reliability, online speech, and consumer choice, among other matters. Indeed, some recent high-profile internet outages reflect some of these concerns. And so we consider how the internet’s regulatory infrastructure might respond to these new revelations about the internet’s interior network infrastructure. Specifically, we call for regulation to enhance visibility of the internet’s interior and to assure a regime of fair carriage for all the internet’s users

Corporate venturing in the media & entertainment industry: contextual factors that influence corporate venture decision making

This research study focuses on Corporate Venturing (CV) within the Media and Entertainment(M&E) industry and investigates factors that influence CV decision-making. CV provides a viable strategy to facilitate innovation and organizational change within companies; however, this area is understudied within the M&E industry. Companies that make up the entertainment industry may not have specific insight into how best to exploit this opportunity. Specifically, this study looks at the influence of firm characteristics, industry characteristics, and other outside factors using the PESTLE strategy model characteristics impacting the parent or venture unit\u27s CV decision-making within the M&E industry. In terms of this research project, the focus is on the CV activity of the firm. Activity is defined as the decision to engage in corporate venturing, as well as the mode of CV to engage in. CV modes include, but are not limited to, corporate venture capital (CVC), venture alliances, and transformation arrangements. Additionally, in terms of M&E, this research focuses on television, film, and streaming with a specific emphasis on innovation and growth strategies. This research is a descriptive study and provides propositions to contribute to the emerging convergent literature on the topic. This research makes a relevant contribution to the fields of CV and strategy and to the entertainment and technology industries

Enhancing fan experience during live sports broadcasts through second screen applications

When sports fans attend live sports events, they usually engage in social experiences with friends, family members and other fans at the venue sharing the same affiliation. However, fans watching the same event through a live television broadcast end up not feeling so emotionally connected with the athletes and other fans as they would if they were watching it live, together with thousands of other fans. With this in mind, we seek to create mobile applications that deliver engaging social experiences involving remote fans watching live broadcasted sports events. Taking into account the growing use of mobile devices when watching TV broadcasts, these mobile applications explore the second screen concept, which allows users to interact with content that complements the TV broadcast. Within this context, we present a set of second screen application prototypes developed to test our concepts, the corresponding user studies and results, as well as suggestions on how to apply the prototypes’ concepts not only in different sports, but also during TV shows and electronic sports. Finally, we also present the challenges we faced and the guidelines we followed during the development and evaluation phases, which may give a considerable contribution to the development of future second screen applications for live broadcasted events