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News of the movement for July 18, 2012 |
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AT&T Charging for FaceTime Would Breach Net Neutrality, Groups Say
AT&T will almost certainly violate Net Neutrality rules if it begins charging for the use of FaceTime over its cellular network when Apple's newest mobile operating system debuts in September. Free Press Concerned About AT&T’s Plan to Charge for FaceTime
According to press reports, AT&T may begin charging customers an additional fee to use the FaceTime app over the carrier's cellular network. Until now, users have been able to access the application only on Wi-Fi networks. If AT&T forces its customers to pay an additional fee to access this feature, that could be a violation of the FCC's Open Internet rules. AT&T May Try to Charge FaceTime Users, Raising Net Neutrality Questions
One of the main concerns of those who worry about Net Neutrality is how a network provider might block or charge extra for competing services. So it's interesting to see a report suggesting that AT&T may be planning to charge customers extra to use FaceTime over its cellular network. AT&T's New Sharing Plans Optional, Undercut Verizon on Price
AT&T revealed the shared-data plans it's been hinting at for so long. The new pricing structure looks very similar to the shared tiers Verizon announced last month: They charge a per-line rate for each device, bundle in unlimited voice and SMS and offer a flat fee for buckets of common data. There are two key differences, though: AT&T's plans are optional for new and existing customers, and they're slightly cheaper. AT&T's New Shared-Data Plans Are Ridiculously Expensive
With AT&T desperately trying to move away from unlimited data plans, it only makes sense for the company to follow Verizon's lead in creating ridiculously priced shared-data plans. Shared-data plans let users pool together their data plan for use on multiple devices like their phone, tablet, MiFis and more but for a more ridiculous price than it should be.
Cybersecurity Bill Shows Signs of Life in Senate
Key lawmakers are racing to broker a compromise on a Senate cybersecurity bill, insisting that floor action is still possible as early as next week.
If you wanted to use your garage for a high-tech startup, one that was going to require a gig of connectivity, where would be the best possible place for that garage to be located? Silicon Valley? Raleigh-Durham's Research Triangle? The Twin Cities? Wrong, wrong and wrong. The fastest, cheapest and most reliable broadband service in the U.S., the kind that high-tech companies demand, is currently located in Chattanooga, Tenn.
The Iranian government, which presides over one of the most educated and connected populations in the Middle East, is building an Internet all its own. Observers expect it will be fully operational as soon as next year. Iran's so-called national or halal Internet will be a kind of anti-Internet— -- a self-contained loop within Iran's borders featuring only regime-approved Iranian sites, and cut off from the World Wide Web. 75 Percent of World Has Access to Mobile Phones
Approximately three-quarters of the world's population now has access to a mobile phone, according to a new study from the World Bank. LightSquared Judge Prepared to Approve $51.4 Million Loan
LightSquared's bankruptcy judge is prepared to approve a loan of as much as $51.4 million that will allow Philip A. Falcone's bankrupt wireless broadband venture to operate while under court protection from creditors.
Hey, Tribune and Hearst: Local Means Local
Free Press volunteers visited Tribune Tower in Chicago, delivering over 20,000 signatures with a simple message for Tribune and other media giants: Don't sell out local journalism. Stop outsourcing local news and put out-of-work local journalists back on local beats. Twitter, reddit and the Newsroom of the Future
By now, many people are becoming used to Twitter as a source of breaking news, whether it's a report about the death of Osama bin Laden or details about the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt. But it's still fascinating to come across new examples of how the real-time information network can be used to report on a breaking news story, whether from professional journalists or those committing what Andy Carvin of NPR has called "random acts of journalism." The New Yorker Acquires the Borowitz Report
After 11 years of writing nothing but fake news at the Borowitz Report, I have to tell you something that actually happened. I'm excited to announce that New Yorker has acquired the Borowitz Report. The column will be moving to its new home at newyorker.com. ProPublica Gets $1.9 Million from Knight to Expand Its Efforts in Data Journalism
ProPublica is getting a $1.9 million data journalism grant from the Knight Foundation, the nonprofits jointly announced. Kate Middleton Said No to Your Cover? No Problem, There's Photoshop!
So let's say you're Marie Claire. Being a fashion magazine, you'd really, really love to feature Kate Middleton -- princess, trend setter, beloved meme -- on your cover. But let's further say that Kate Middleton, being Kate Middleton, declines your request. Were you a less determined publication you might give up right there. But you are Marie Claire, and you are made of stronger stuff than that! You are Marie Claire, and you are determined! You are Marie Claire, and you will not be denied. In Egypt, New Newspapers and Old Problems
Although overt government censorship was ousted along with Mubarak, Egypt's burgeoning independent press is facing a new and more complex set of challenges. A lack of government transparency coupled with questions about the political and business interests controlling privately owned newspapers are adding to public skepticism of the mainstream press at the precise moment journalists are needed to cover the country's difficult, delicate transition from military to civilian rule.
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The Media Reform Daily will not publish on Thursday, July 19. We'll be back Friday with the important media news of the day.
Think you have the right to speak freely via cellphones, websites and social media? Well, Verizon doesn't. Tthe telecom giant is now claiming that the First Amendment gives it the right to "edit" the Internet. Tell Verizon: Don't edit me!
Want to help start a radio station? The FCC is about to open a rare window for nonprofits to apply for Low Power FM station licenses. Sign up here to get more information about the process. Help get more community radio on the air!
In Other News..House Subcommittee Proposes Zeroing Out Noncom Funding Free Press Staffer Josh Stearns Wins Media Ally Award Memo to DoJ: Drop the Apple e-Books Suit Covert FBI Power to Obtain Phone Data Faces Rare Test Megaupload Judge Quits Case After Inflammatory Comment A Return to Music for Two Big-City Radio Stations About Two in Ten Americans Own Tablet Computers The Future of TV Is Two Screens, One Held Firmly in Your Hands Yes, Video of Obama Belting Out 'I'm So in Love with You' Is Fair Use Washington State Will Enable Voter Registration via Facebook
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