&t North Country Consulting: July 2008

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Senator Sanders Objects

Senator Sanders raises concerns in a letter to the FCC. He would like the FCC to condition approval on a commitment to increasing cell service in rural Vermont, certainly a laudable concern.

Likewise, there are many people who are concerned about the lack of cell phone coverage in much of the Adirondack Park in New York State--not merely rural but wilderness in many places.

The FCC's disclosure of meetings on its Web site is an invaluable aid to people who believe in open government and who are following a particular transaction.

Senator Sanders, in Footnote 1, writes
Over the last few months, my office, various State of Vermont officials, and Verizon Wireless have been engaged in detailed discussions about the need to expand wireless coverage in Vermont. Wireless service in Vermont, particularly in rural areas, is often unreliable and sometimes non-existent. It was my hope that such discussions would result in a heightened commitment on the part of Verizon Wireless and AT&T to provide service to all of Vermont's communities. Those discussions continued until just a few days ago. At the request of one of the other parties I agreed, as a gesture of good faith, to withhold this filing until these discussions were concluded one way or another. Because of the FCC's announcement that it would consider WT Docket No. 07-208 on August 1, 2008, and with discussions not having yet yielded an understanding, I am submitting these comments now.


I feel certain that there must be some record or reporting of this back-channel process, and I'd appreciate anyone who can point me to a URL or even hard-copy information on the matter.

By the way, it's time to plug a book (not by me). I grew up in Washington, which probably accounts for my interest in government. Many years ago I read Allen Drury's great political novel, Advise and Consent. I reread it recently, and it is still the best guide to what really happens in Washington. The only things that are dated are a line at a cocktail party where one senator offers to fetch another senator a drink from the bar--"What are you drinking? Scotch or Bourbon?" No spritzers, white wines, or even--gasp--vodka. And the reporters have no names as in, The Washington Post was talking to the Chicago Times as they walked down a corridor in the Capitol. [I haven't verified these quotes because Someone Who Shall Remain Nameless never returned my copy.]

posted by Jesse at 7/29/2008 0 Comments

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

APA Looking at AT&T Cell Tower Request

From today's Press-Republican, in an article about the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) and a request for approval of new cell towers:

Independent Tower, LLC is looking to erect a new tower on a stretch of Adirondack Northway in Lewis, on the western side of the road between Exits 32 and 33, McKeever said.

"That's going to accommodate up to four different cell carriers. AT&T Mobile is co-applicant on that site."


They also approved an application by T-Mobile near exit 34.

posted by Jesse at 7/23/2008 1 Comments

Friday, July 18, 2008

August 1

The Verizon/Rural Cellular (Unicel) issue is on the agenda for the FCC's August 1 meeting. One assumes that the spate of meetings this week was to wrap things up. If there are more documents posted in advance of the meeting, we'll link to them here.

posted by Jesse at 7/18/2008 1 Comments

Things definitely are happening. (See Michael's comment below.) We know about meetings and basically what ground they covered, but along with Verizon, we're still waiting for the FCC to act one way or another.

Here are the meetings we know about this week (for comparison purposes, the previous meeting was June 27, and the one before that two weeks previous.

7/15: Verizon with representatives of FCC Chairman Martin
7/15: Verizon phone conference call with FCC Commissioner McDowell and staff
7/16: Verizon and Rural Cellular (Unicel) with Renee Crittendon, legal advisor to FCC Commissioner Adelstein
7/16: Verizon and Rural Cellular with Wayne Leighton, special advisor to FCC Commissioner Tate.

Note to Verizon, Rural Cellular, and FCC: Please feel free to use any postings on this blog in considering public interest in the transaction and its timely completion.

posted by Jesse at 7/18/2008 4 Comments

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Just got a message on my Mac to run Software Update to install MobileMe. My guess is they're turning it on gradually.

posted by Jesse at 7/12/2008 1 Comments

iPhone, MobileMe, Google Apps and Clouds

The glitches with iPhone activation, MobileMe, and Google apps this week bring up some general issues about cloud computing summarized in this CNET article. The article talks about service level agreements (SLAs) and the issues involved in using someone else's computers for your work. In some cases, that is unavoidable--Facebook has to function on the Web, but in other cases such as a cloud-based word processor, the desktop is an alternative. In the iPhone/MobileMe world, the lack of synchronization is just that--you can still access contacts on your other devices (if you can get to them).

There are two lessons to be learned from this. The first one is that when cloud computing fails, it fails in different ways than desktop computing fails. The most obvious distinction is that cloud computing can fail or degrade with slowdowns that don't happen on the desktop (and if they do happen, you can probably figure out that InDesign is slow at rendering your yard sale flyer because you happen to be editing a video at the same time). Transparency--letting people know what's happening in the cloud--is a big help, but doesn't prevent the problem. One way is to design for speed issues. MobileMe may be having some trouble getting its sea legs, but the benefit in that is that some people have seen a message that says Safari is becoming unresponsive because a script is running slowly. That's a good start.

The second lesson is more interesting. One of the virtues of cloud computing is that it shares resources and should actually improve performance for many people because large resources can temporarily be made available to a multitude of users. Configuring cloud computing allows for peaks and valleys, but in general, the larger the pool of users and the larger the pool of resources, the more stable it should be. The flip side of this is that enormous spikes in use are not what cloud computing handles best. Once MobileMe settles down to a relatively consistent level of use, and once the flood of Day 1 iPhone G3 activations is over, things should be better.

These global one day extravaganzas for iPhones, new operating systems, Harry Potter books, and movies get lots of publicity at the cost of stressing support and distribution networks. Still we know how to do them, and the media knows how to cover them. And there's always the risk that the one-day nature of the product launch can cause problems that are not intrinsic to the product. Maybe it's time to come up with a new marketing technique other than the global one-day launch. Something more interesting, more effective, and with less risk. Global one-day launches are getting to be passe. It's time for some innovative company to Think Different.

P.S. Thanks to Ginny and Michael for pointing out ongoing iPod Touch upgrade issues.

posted by Jesse at 7/12/2008 2 Comments

Friday, July 11, 2008

After a bit of delay, MobileMe is up. iPhone 2.0 installs perfectly well on the original iPhone, and provides great new functionality. The App Store is up with an interesting array of apps. Browse Lifestyle to see perhaps the most peculiar collection: bible apps, tip computers, and car maintenance. I think there's a thread there, but I haven't figured it out.

The Apple servers are obviously swamped, but they are functioning. MobileMe took a while to be available (and the Web apps were timing out on Safari when last checked). At one point (a very long point), iTunes couldn't access the iTunes Store from my computer, but things seem to be shaking down.

Software Update here is still not showing MobileMe (and the URLs posted yesterday for other downloads from Apple seem to be blocked now).

All told, it seems like a successful roll-out.

posted by Jesse at 7/11/2008 5 Comments

Sunday, July 6, 2008

iPhone 3G Pricing and Comparison to original iPhone

This page and its linked pages from AT&T provide the greatest details so far about features and pricing, including absolutely crystal-clear comparisons.

Towards the bottom of the page, there's a chart that compares the original iPhone to the iPhone 3G. It's a one-page chart (in PDF), and the differences are shown in red. (For some reason, we usually have to work backward to find out what vendors are trying to tell or not tell us, but this is as clear as can be.)

To me, big news is iPhone 2.0 software, which will be a free download to original iPhone users as well as coming pre-installed on iPhone 3G. The features of the new software are on Page 2 of the comparison chart. That's where push email and contacts, integration with MobileMe, additional email attachment viewers, and more are described.

The even bigger news is in this link-"What do I do with my current iPhone?" This PDF file shows you how to a erase data and how a new user can activate your old iPhone. This means that the upgrade doesn't require you to get rid of your old phone. If you are in an area without 3G service, the comparison may suggest that you keep your old iPhone. (And by keeping your existing contract, you should save $15/month--the basic plan is $10 more for iPhone 3G, and the minimum text messaging level is $5 on iPhone 3G rather than free.) Also, if you're in an area without 3G service, an upgrader in an area with 3G service might give you the old phone (or sell it to you).

Because the iPhone 2.0 runs on both, being able to keep the old iPhone seems a good deal. (And, gosh, it's an awfully easy way for Apple and AT&T to increase the user base--every upgrader may generate a new iPhone user by handing off the old iPhone.)

posted by Jesse at 7/06/2008 2 Comments

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

AT&T New iPhone Pricing & Availability

The press release provides the definitive AT&T pricing and a link to further info. For a $400 additional fee, you can get the new iPhone without a contract (that is, no long-term commitment, but you still are tied to AT&T--this is not an unlocked phone).

For customers who have bought an iPhone before the launch date of July 11, you can upgrade to the new iPhone for the same $199(8GB)/$299(16GB) you would get with a new contract. Thus, it seems as if the upgrade is preferable to a new contract (if indeed this is what they mean). And they are silent on whether there is an option to cancel your old contract and replace it with a new one. The new monthly fee for basic service (450 minutes/5,000 night-weekend, unlimited data) is $69.95, $10 more than the previous plan.

These seem to be the choices:

1. Do nothing and download iPhone 2.0 (which will be available free to all iPhone customers). Keep the contract, keep the phone, and benefit from the new software but not 3G or GPS. If you're not in a 3G service area, this may be the best option. If you bought your iPhone at the beginning last year, you have 12 months left on your contract. Will it automatically renew at the same terms? If so, you can keep your original iPhone and the contract until you need the new iPhone.

2. Upgrade. For the 8GB, that's $199. If that indeed means that you keep your existing contract and if--big if--the contract automatically renews at the same level, that's not a bad deal. (And we need to know more about renewal--many cell phone vendors do this).

posted by Jesse at 7/02/2008 0 Comments

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Yesterday, Verizon and the FCC met to discuss divestiture issues. As devotees of this soap opera may recall, the Department of Justice required Verizon to divest itself of certain cell licenses in order to complete its purchase of Rural Cellular/Unicel. (From the 6/11 letter: "Verizon Wireless has agreed to divest certain cellular licenses and related network assets and subscribers in six markets: Burlington, VT MSA; New York RSA 2 – Franklin; Vermont RSA 1- Franklin; Vermont RSA 2 – Addison; Washington RSA 2 –
Okanogan; and Washington RSA 3 – Ferry. These assets will be transferred to a court-appointed management trustee upon consummation of the transaction.")

Are we coming to the end? Will there be cheers from one end of Lake Champlain to another when July 11 comes and the iPhone is for sale in the North Country? (July 11, of course, is the date for the release of the new iPhone and Apple's MobileMe.)

posted by Jesse at 7/01/2008 6 Comments

The new data to be reported and disclosed via the 990 can usher in a new era of transparency for non-profits, but this grand scheme relies in part on the media actually using that data. So far, the track record is not so hot, particularly for traditional media.

For example, here we are at the end of another quarter, and fund-raising numbers will be released through the Federal Election Commission. What will local media report? Will they pick up a wire service story on the top 10/50/100 contributors to various campaigns? Or will they click their way through the data so that they can report the top 10/50/100 contributors in their market? (It doesn't take long--I described the process in great detail in the mashups book.)

The end-of-quarter data should be out soon, so let's take a look at the 2008 cycle through the end of April. What was going on in Plattsburgh? A total of $22,832 had been raised. At the national level, Hillary Clinton raised $3,300 to Barack Obama's $1,250 and $250 for Bill Richardson.

But the candidate action (at least looking at the money) is in the House race. Kirsten Gillibrand raised $800, and challenger Sandy Treadwell weighed in with $8,650.

All told, candidates raised $15,320, but PACs (including party committees) raised almost half that again--$7,512.

Obviously the numbers are different for each locality--here's where the combination of easily available data and local media can really shine. (And, of course, there's another story--who are the big givers, year after year? Are these the people who really run Plattsburgh?)

Gosh, I can't wait to read the Press-Republican's reporting on this topic.

posted by Jesse at 7/01/2008 0 Comments