Sigh. I am in an industry filled with jellyfish.
It is unbelievably depressing. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ <insert witty tagline here> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brian Webster" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org> Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 12:37 PM Subject: Re: [WISPA]FCC approves new method for tracking broadband’s reach > There are ways to do this in GIS software and I thought I heard mention > that the FCC was going to provide a site to do this as well. The census > block is the smallest sized geographic polygon that they use as a unit of > study at the Census Bureau. You can download the raw data and create them > yourself. The process will be to geocode (address to lat-long match) your > customer address list then overlay that with the census block data. Most > GIS > tools will then be able to add a column with the census block ID each > customer falls within. The exceptions to this will be PO boxes since they > will not geocode properly to the actual customer location. > If the FCC can not provide a tool to do this I am sure I can figure > something out that we could provide to paid WISPA members. > > > > Thank You, > Brian Webster > www.wirelessmapping.com <http://www.wirelessmapping.com> > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 3:00 PM > To: WISPA General List > Subject: Re: [WISPA]FCC approves new method for tracking broadband’s reach > > > I'm curious to know WISPA's official position on this is. > > Looking back in the archives, I see little discussion about this, but the > only way this information is going to be obtained, is if ISP's are > required > to determine the location of each census unit and then plot on maps of the > census unit each customer and count them up. At this moment, I have no > idea what a "census unit" is, how it is determined, or even how to find > out > that information, much less plot hundreds of customers spread over > thousands > of square miles. Frankly, I haven't the time. > > Unless software exists to automate this, this is going to be rather > man-hour > intensive for anyone with more than 20 broadband customers. > > Is WISPA going to lobby to defend us from this big pile of free labor the > FCC wants us to do so they can claim political credit, or are they going > to > sell us down the river by lobbying for it? It seemed that no organized > resistance existed for the first mandate to report, and unless we start > defending ourselves from the do-gooders in DC, we're going to end up with > mountains of work and nothing but a headache and some legal papers from > bankruptcy court to show for it. > > Every industry I know of is VEHEMENT in telling the federal goverment to > back off from mandates... Why does the ISP industry just keep rolling over > and getting reamed? > > > > > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > <insert witty tagline here> > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Rick Harnish" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "'WISPA General List'" <wireless@wispa.org> > Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2008 6:03 AM > Subject: [WISPA] FCC approves new method for tracking broadband’s reach > > >> >> HYPERLINK "http://www.wispa.org/?p=215"FCC approves new method for >> tracking >> broadband’s reach >> >> >> Filed under: HYPERLINK "http://www.wispa.org/?cat=1"General at 7:02 am >> HYPERLINK "http://www.wispa.org/?p=215#respond";(no comments) HYPERLINK >> "http://www.wispa.org/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=215";(e) >> >> WASHINGTON–As expected, federal regulators on Wednesday voted to overhaul >> the way they measure how widely broadband is available across the United >> States. >> >> For years, the Federal Communications Commission has been drawing up >> reports >> on the state of U.S. Internet access availability based on methodology >> that >> considers 200 kilobits per second (Kbps) service to be “high speed”–and >> such >> access to be widely available even in ZIP codes that may, in reality, >> house >> only one connection. >> >> The decision to move away from that methodology is potentially >> significant. >> Critics, both inside and outside the agency, have charged that the >> inadequacy of data that the FCC collects semiannually from Internet >> service >> providers hinders both the government’s ability to set smart >> pro-broadband >> policies and could slow investment on the technology side. It could also >> help federal regulators determine whether HYPERLINK >> "http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9897103-7.html"the United States is >> really >> as far behind in broadband penetration as some international studies have >> suggested during the past few years. >> >> If not for good government data, “our economy would come to a screeching >> halt,” said Commissioner Michael Copps, a Democrat. For example, >> manufacturers depend on unemployment and gross domestic product figures >> to >> set their production targets, and schools and hospitals rely on U.S. >> Census >> numbers to project demand for their services, he said. >> >> “When companies and investors put money into e-commerce or voice over >> Internet Protocol or Internet video…they need to know what kind of >> broadband >> infrastructure America actually has,” Copps said. >> >> Democratic Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said, “This is really the >> first >> step toward the national broadband strategy that we so desperately need.” >> >> Despite his support for the new data collection method, FCC Chairman >> Kevin >> Martin said he believes the United States has made incredible strides in >> broadband deployment since he joined the commission in 2001, with the >> number >> of lines growing from 9 million to more than 100 million. Still, he >> acknowledged, “there is certainly more work to be done.” >> >> The FCC, as is typical, won’t release the full text of the changes it >> adopted for a few weeks, but here’s a rundown of major components >> described >> at Wednesday’s meeting: >> >> • 200Kbps speeds are no longer considered “broadband.” Until this point, >> the >> FCC has considered any service that produces 200Kbps speeds in the upload >> or >> download direction to be “high speed.” With Wednesday’s vote, that >> methodology is no more. Now, 768Kbps, which is the entry-level speed >> offered >> by major DSL providers like Verizon, will be considered the low end of >> “basic broadband,” a range that extends to under 1.5Mbps. >> • Broadband service speeds will have to be reported both for uploads and >> downloads. Previously the FCC had six big categories of broadband speeds, >> and they effectively only tracked download speeds. Now the agency says it >> will require reporting on upload speeds. Pro-regulatory advocacy groups >> like >> Free Press say that’s a necessary step in part because of HYPERLINK >> "http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9872464-38.html"Comcast’s admitted >> throttling of peer-to-peer file-sharing uploads. >> • Upload and download speeds will have to be reported in a more specific >> way. At the moment, the broadband speeds most commonly offered by cable >> and >> telephone companies are lumped into two major categories: those between >> 200Kbps and 2.5Mbps, and those between 2.5Mbps and 10Mbps. The FCC’s new >> rules would require them to be broken down further, in an attempt to >> address >> charges that the current buckets have the potential to overstate the >> number >> of high-end subscriptions and understate the number of low-end >> subscriptions. Those new tiers will be: 1) 200Kbps to 768Kbps (”first >> generation data”); 2) 768Kbps to 1.5Mbps (”basic broadband”); 3) 1.5Mbps >> to >> 3Mbps; 4) 3Mbps to 6Mbps; and 5) 6Mbps and above. >> • ISPs will be required to report numbers of subscribers, and at the >> census-block level. Under the current methodology, ISPs report only the >> number of ZIP codes in which they have at least one subscriber, and they >> report numbers of lines nationwide. Now they’ll have to report the number >> of >> subscribers in each census tract they serve, broken down by speed tier. >> The >> FCC decided to use census tracts because researchers may be able to use >> other demographic statistics collected by the U.S. Census, such as age >> and >> income level, to gain insight about what drives broadband penetration >> rates. >> • ISPs will not have to report the prices they charge….yet. Democratic >> commissioners and liberal consumer advocacy groups had argued such a step >> is >> necessary to give consumers an idea of the value they’re getting for >> their >> money–and to compare U.S. prices to those for comparable services abroad. >> Copps said on Wednesday that he continues to believe it’s a “mistake” to >> omit that requirement, and Adelstein also voiced concern. But a majority >> of >> the commissioners opted to push that decision off until another time and >> gather more comments. >> >> Each of the five commissioners voted in favor of adopting the order, >> although some attached reservations about some portions of the rules. >> Adelstein said he would have liked to see the commission require that >> ISPs >> distinguish between residential and business customers when doing their >> reporting. Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell said he was concerned >> that some of the definitions contained in the rules–particularly that of >> broadband–could have negative long-term effects. >> >> “Government cannot outguess the genius of free markets, nor should it >> try,” >> McDowell said. >> >> Representatives from the cable and telephone industry had advised the >> commission against making major changes to its data collection methods. >> They >> said they would not be able to comment on the FCC’s vote Wednesday until >> after reviewing the full text of the order. >> >> The old method’s last gasp >> In an ironic twist, at the same meeting, the commissioners narrowly voted >> to >> adopt the FCC’s latest report about the state of American broadband >> deployment–except based on the old methodology that they went on to >> revamp. >> Because of that, Copps and Adelstein ripped apart the report and said >> they >> couldn’t support its conclusions. (Martin, McDowell, and Republican >> Deborah >> Tate voted for adoption of the document.) >> >> The HYPERLINK >> "http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-280906A1.pdf"report >> (PDF), which covers the first half of 2007, concluded that “broadband >> services are currently being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable >> and >> timely fashion.” >> >> High-speed lines–meaning, mind you, capable of 200Kbps or greater data >> transfer speeds–grew from 82 million to 100 million lines during that >> time, >> the FCC said. Its report also found that an Internet service provider >> reported having at least one connection in 99 percent of the country’s >> ZIP >> codes, and that 99 percent of the American population lives in those ZIP >> codes. >> >> Copps, for one, called the ZIP code methodology “stunningly meaningless.” >> >> “I’m happy we’re starting to change our benchmarks,” he said, “but my >> goodness, how late in the day it is.” >> >> The FCC’s actions drew mixed reviews from groups who have been pressing >> for >> better broadband data and Net neutrality rules. >> >> Gigi Sohn, the president of Public Knowledge, one such group, commended >> the >> FCC’s new data collection plan, although she said she would have >> preferred >> to see price data included and information about residential and >> commercial >> customers separated. She also deemed it a “mystery” that the FCC also >> chose >> to issue the broadband availability report “when, mere moments later, the >> Commission admitted the inadequacy of the information.” >> >> WASHINGTON–As expected, federal regulators on Wednesday voted to overhaul >> the way they measure how widely broadband is available across the United >> States. >> >> >> >> >> No virus found in this outgoing message. >> Checked by AVG. >> Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.10/1421 - Release Date: >> 5/7/2008 >> 5:23 PM >> >> >> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > ------ >> WISPA Wants You! 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