COOPERSTOWN, NY  - A new method for calculating broadband take rates reveals that demand for broadband is significantly higher than it was thought to be – a finding that changes the business case for service providers considering further buildouts.

Consulting firm Brian Webster Consulting published a revised methodology for calculating broadband take rates in the United States. Using the approach described in Webster’s new white paper, the broadband adoption rate in areas where broadband services are available is 72.9 percent, or about 10 percent higher than currently accepted industry estimates. The report has a breakdown for each state.

Based on these higher take rates, broadband deployments or expansions may be economically viable in areas once written off due to low household density. More accurate data and the ability to identify exactly where unserved homes are located leads to better-informed deployment strategies and more effective use of funding to address unserved households.

“Combining the enhanced broadband take rate with other economic data and trends as input to return-on-investment models and analysis,” notes Haig Sarkissian, principal consultant at Wireless 20/20 LLC, “builds additional confidence for investors on the merit of the broadband deployment business case.”

Brian Webster Consulting teamed with data provider Gadberry Group to design and prototype an approach that provides near address-level provision for broadband consumption and take rates.

“Earlier this year we provided several first-round [stimulus funding] applicants with block-level demographics, including consumer broadband usage,” explains Gadberry Group principal Larry Martin. “Combining these data with innovative analysis techniques has led to this new perspective on broadband take rate.”

“By leveraging our years of mapping experience, we help our clients strengthen their business case and go-to-market plans, allowing them to present their cases more clearly with images as well as with hard data,” says Brian Webster, principal consultant. “With the new insight provided by the census block take rate, business case analysis is further enhanced, thereby reducing the risk in the broadband investment and deployment.”

The complete white paper is available on the WirelessMapping Web site .

WirelessMapping.Com has been providing wireless and geospatial mapping services for seven years, both with and without accompanying demographic reports that show the number of households covered or passed. Most recently WirelessMapping has been involved in census block level mapping and demographic support services to clients developing applications to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus funding through the NTIA BTOP and RUS BIP. Past and current clients include Lockheed Martin, EarthLink, Covad, Federal Engineering, Sprint PCS, ExteNet Systems, Southern California Gas and Electric, Strix, Thunder Bay Telephone Company and BroadbandCensus.com.

NORTHFIELD, MINN. (December 3, 2009) — Broadband stimulus grant applicants can cut proposal prep time, dramatically reduce their risk to challenges and create more accurate statewide broadband maps to support a national broadband strategy using the first national broadband database. BroadBand Scout℠ from data and analytics company ID Insight reports broadband connectivity and usage down to the census block, also helping broadband service providers open new markets.

BroadBand Scout provides instant access to the data required to successfully apply for grant monies from the $7.2 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 broadband stimulus program. This same data also allows broadband and wireless carriers to cost-effectively target new areas for service expansion and better research competitors.

BroadBand Scout was developed by a unique analytical survey process of accessing the millions of records in ID Insight’s proprietary databases that were initially assembled to track retail activity. By combining known Internet access information with address-related data, BroadBand Scout allows clients to see connectivity and usage at the most granular level. For more information, visit www.IDInsight.com/broadband.asp.

“Communities, carriers and states have been starving for this data,” said ID Insight president Adam Elliott. “Understanding current broadband usage by geography is an ongoing need for stimulus applicants as well as for the broadband and wireless carrier community. By creating easy access to extensive data and sophisticated analytics, we see a phenomenal opportunity for service providers and communities to develop a data-driven approach to planning so they gain access to grant monies that may have otherwise been impossible to get.”

One of the biggest frustrations of stimulus grant applicants is compiling the necessary broadband usage data as required by the federal agencies awarding the funds. They are further frustrated by the difficulty in defending proposals from challengers who claim incumbents already cover the areas where applicants plan to provide broadband. With BroadBand Scout, communities and companies are able to accurately identify broadband access and usage when requesting grants from the broadband stimulus program.

ID Insight is partnering with broadband industry expert Craig Settles, president of Successful.com, to deliver professional services that assist stimulus grant applicants prepare and defend their proposals, and help state broadband mapping teams effectively execute their projects. “The key to effective broadband strategy, both locally and nationally, is to capture accurate connectivity data directly from consumers and businesses,” said Settles. “ID Insight offers an excellent combination of expediency and accuracy that broadband project leaders need.”

In October 2009, the first grant application to receive funding was for statewide broadband mapping projects to support the FCC’s efforts to develop a national broadband strategy. BroadBand Scout enables states to launch their projects faster and execute with greater accuracy to meet the FCC’s requirements. Other stimulus funding awards should be announced in January 2010. There is one additional round of stimulus funding with all funds distributed by September 30, 2010.

ID Insight is currently licensing the data and information to companies, states and communities. The data is available in reports summarized at the state, county, tract, block group or block number levels. Using its patent-pending analytics system, ID Insight can also provide case-by-case consulting services to predict additional high-potential expansion markets. Besides grant applicants, these services are valuable to broadband carriers looking for insights, validation and competitive advantage for their plans to open new markets.

Broadband Webinar
Broadband industry expert Craig Settles and ID Insight president Adam Elliott are co-hosting a free Webinar to discuss the vital role accurate broadband usage data and coverage maps play in implementing an effective national broadband strategy on Wednesday, December 16, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Eastern. To register, visit https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/212771379.

About ID Insight
ID Insight, the innovator in Access-Point Intelligence, knows more about people and their access points — physical addresses, IP addresses, phone numbers and other points where fraud occurs — than any other identity-fraud risk-assessment company. Based in Northfield, Minn., the company combines its massive collection of data on people and access points with patent-pending analytics to help companies prevent fraud, reduce costs and capture more business. ID Insight provides next-generation market research, verification, authentication, and fraud solutions to financial services companies, credit issuers, retailers, online merchants and wireless providers nationwide. For more information, visit www.IDInsight.com.

About Successful.com
Successful.com has delivered community broadband services since 2006, though it provided services to technology companies and end-user organizations beginning with its inception in 1986. Previous needs assessment clients include the City of Glendale, Calif., the Little Tokyo area of Los Angeles and several cities in Santa Clara County, Calif. For over 20 years the firm’s workshops, consulting services and books have helped government and other organizations worldwide use technology to cut costs, improve business operations and increase revenue.

NORTHFIELD, MN  – A new set of nationwide broadband maps is now available from analytics firm ID Insight. According to the company, these maps enable broadband stimulus grant applicants to cut their proposal preparation time, reduce their vulnerability to challenges and create more accurate statewide broadband maps to support a national broadband strategy. BroadBand Scout from ID Insight reports broadband connectivity and usage down to the census block, also helping broadband service providers open new markets.

BroadBand Scout provides instant access to the data required to successfully apply for grant monies from the broadband stimulus program. This data also allows broadband and wireless carriers to cost-effectively target new areas for service expansion and better research competitors.

Spinoff From Retail Databases

BroadBand Scout was developed by an analytical survey accessing the millions of records in ID Insight’s proprietary databases that were initially assembled to track retail activity. By combining known Internet access information with address-related data, BroadBand Scout allows clients to see connectivity and usage at the most granular level.

“Communities, carriers and states have been starving for this data,” says ID Insight president Adam Elliott. “Understanding current broadband usage by geography is an ongoing need for stimulus applicants as well as for the broadband and wireless carrier community. By creating easy access to extensive data and sophisticated analytics, we see a phenomenal opportunity for service providers and communities to develop a data-driven approach to planning so they gain access to grant monies that may have otherwise been impossible to get.”

One of the biggest frustrations of stimulus grant applicants is compiling the necessary broadband usage data as required by the federal agencies awarding the funds. They are further frustrated by the difficulty in defending proposals from challengers who claim incumbents already cover the areas where applicants plan to provide broadband. With BroadBand Scout, communities and companies are able to accurately identify broadband access and usage when requesting grants from the broadband stimulus program.

ID Insight is partnering with broadband industry expert Craig Settles, president of Successful.com, to deliver professional services that assist stimulus grant applicants prepare and defend their proposals, and help state broadband mapping teams effectively execute their projects. “The key to effective broadband strategy, both locally and nationally, is to capture accurate connectivity data directly from consumers and businesses,” says Settles. “ID Insight offers an excellent combination of expediency and accuracy that broadband project leaders need.”

In October 2009, the first grant application to receive funding was for statewide broadband mapping projects to support the FCC’s efforts to develop a national broadband strategy. BroadBand Scout enables states to launch their projects faster and execute with greater accuracy to meet the FCC’s requirements. Other stimulus funding awards should be announced in January 2010. There is one additional round of stimulus funding with all funds distributed by September 30, 2010.

ID Insight is currently licensing the data and information to companies, states and communities. The data is available in reports summarized at the state, county, tract, block group or block number levels. Using its patent-pending analytics system, ID Insight can also provide case-by-case consulting services to predict additional high-potential expansion markets. Besides grant applicants, these services are valuable to broadband carriers looking for insights, validation and competitive advantage for their plans to open new markets.

The Everything Channel Virtual Event SMBs: Ready For The Rebound allowed me to participate without leaving my office; I was able to join live seminars with the added value of knowing each session will be available for replay, visit each exhibitors booth, chat live with virtual sales agent, request information and chat with any participant in the event lounge by selecting individuals name from live listing of who is online based on people I may know, company they are with or information in their profile.

I have participated as a Virtual Sales Agent and Attendee in a few Virtual Events now and I wonder why more groups are using Virtual Events more. So I plan to look at the economics and update.

What do you think?

LAPTOP’s Guide to 4G from LAPTOP Magazine on Vimeo.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA – Customers are more satisfied with residential high-speed Internet this year than they were last year, mostly because of higher connection speeds and fewer service outages.

Every year, J.D. Power and Associates asks consumers to evaluate their Internet service providers based on performance and reliability; cost of service; customer service; billing; and offerings and promotions. This year, overall satisfaction reached 639 on a 1,000-point scale – 22 index points higher than in 2008. Satisfaction with performance and reliability now averages 687, a 43-point increase from 644 in 2008.

In many instances a household’s Internet connection acts as the backbone of its voice, video and information services, making the provider’s ability to provide a fast, reliable connection particularly critical,” says Frank Perazzini, director of telecommunications at J.D. Power and Associates. “As households become more dependent on services provided via the Internet, eliminating outages and providing consistent connection speeds will become necessities in Internet service providers’ business models.”

J.D. Power found that consumers are becoming more interested in bundled telecom services, with the proportion of customers saying they will probably or definitely bundle services in the next year increasing to 52 percent from 43 percent in 2008. The most popular telecom bundle is a video/Internet combination, selected by about a third of customers who bundle services. Triple-play (voice, video, data) bundles increased from 16 percent in 2008 to 19 percent in 2009.

“Internet service may be considered the linchpin of the bundled offering, serving to drive both customer loyalty and incremental sales opportunities,” said Perazzini. “As competition for new customers increases among Internet service providers, retaining the existing customer base while promoting additional voice and video will continue to be critical.”

The highest-rated ISPs included Verizon in the East, Bright House Networks in the South, WOW! in the North Central region and EarthLink in the West.

The study findings include the following key trends:

The proportion of high-speed Internet service customers loyal to their provider has increased by two percentage points from 2008, to 32 percent in 2009. Additionally, 66 percent of customers state they “definitely will” or “probably will” recommend their provider to others in 2009-an increase of four percentage points, compared with 2008.

Among customers who contacted their service provider to resolve a problem or question, average hold times have decreased by nearly 30 seconds in 2009, compared with 2008.

While Hispanics trail other U.S. populations in overall access to the Internet, they also are among the most avid users of mobile broadband, a new report finds.

In fact, 53 percent of Hispanics use mobile broadband, compared to 33 percent of whites, according to the report, published Wednesday by the nonprofit Hispanic Institute.

Hispanics also outpace the general population when it comes to digital media consumption, with 42 percent accessing and downloading digital media, compared to 35 percent of those in the general population.

The report notes that there are 48 million Hispanics living in the U.S. with 81 percent of them concentrated in 10 states, including Florida, which has 20 percent of the Hispanic population.

The report suggests that policymakers consider Hispanics’ concerns as they develop a national broadband strategy.

It recommends, among other things, that broadband access be expanded, and that consumer-friendly tax policies be implemented to ensure that not only Hispanics, but other minority and lower-income populations, can continue to afford wireless broadband services.

In addition, the report recommends that Lifeline/Link-Up programs continue to offer discounts to qualified, low-income wireless customers. “These policies are essential to help Hispanics make a complete transition to mobile participation in the new American innovation economy,” the report states.

Click here to read the full report.

Yesterday, the Feds awarded $3.4 billion to 100 smart grid projects across the U.S. There were about 400 total proposals. Since these are 50-50 matching grants, that means total dollars being queued up by these entities for smart grids is quite substantial.

For public and private sector organizations seeking broadband ARRA grants or planning to build networks without these grants, this smart grid investment could have stimulating effect. Those who stand to really benefit are urban areas submitting broadband adoption and public computer center proposals, and urban areas that may have given up on ARRA altogether after seeing the NOFA rules.

Big picture view

The best way to describe things so you see why yesterday’s news is important is to break down a smart grid into its main components.

There is the smart meter device that’s attached to (or built into) water, gas and electric utility meters at commercial and residential buildings to collect data on energy usage. The data collected can help utility companies manage their energy resources more effectively. Utilities can also communicate with these meters, sending data, commands to turn down air conditioners, queries to find the source of water leaks, etc.

Smart meter devices generally have their data aggregated to another computing device mounted at some point in the neighborhood, maybe one aggregation point per 100 dwellings (a hypothetical number). Then all of the aggregation points have to traffic their data back to the utility or wherever else it needs to go.

Overall, the smart grid can also be tapped to manage mobile utility workforces who can communicate with office staff and smart meters, as well as access office computer networks, via wireless mesh built into the grid and handheld mobile devices. The grid is also envision as a cost effective way to move energy such as that collected on windmill farms from one point of the country to another.

A primary intersection between smart grid and broadband potentially exists through the data backhaul infrastructure of the grid. A community’s fiber network can provide the backhaul for this aggregated data. Or a utility can build its own fiber backhaul and determine how to make that fiber available for local government and other institutions for their use. These stimulus grants went to public utilities, so local government and the community can have some influence in a discussion on the matter.

The mechanics of this whole smart grid are complex, but you get the big picture view. All of the things people are talking about doing with smart grid, such as moving “green” energy from windmill farms and proactively managing energy usage, require at some point a fast data connection. That means fiber (the ideal) or possibly super-fast fixed wireless.

How to leverage the opportunity

Community broadband projects that survive the first phase of cuts in the NOFA round 1 funding process will soon go into a due diligence phase where NTIA/RUS will ask applicants to clarify and fine-tune their proposals. If an applicant is in an area that won one of these smart grid grants, they need to get with the smart grid winner ASAP and determine how the broadband proposal can be tweaked to incorporate, or integrate with, aspects of the smart grid project.

The end goal for NOFA applicants would be to strengthen the business case or the technology strategy of the broadband proposal. For the smart grid grant winners, this collaboration can lead to a better overall infrastructure that moves their data more efficiently. You can even contact the 300 applicants that didn’t win a grant. Smart grid is pretty important in utilities’ future plans, so they should at least listen to what you have to say.

Urban areas definitely need to jump on this opportunity with both feet. Public utilities in Philadelphia and Baltimore are just two major cities that won big grants, and these are areas that have little or no chance at getting an infrastructure grant. But if big cities have broadband adoption and/or public computer center proposals in the queue as Philly does, they possibly can work out a way to tap into aspects of the smart grids wireless network or backhaul. Because the network infrastructure would already be paid for, NOFA applicants can make a stronger case for financial sustainability of the project.

The devilish details

When contemplating the details of making this work, the first thing I always consider is the politics. Big utility companies in big cities mean potentially big political headaches trying to integrate the efforts needed to make this whole vision work. On the other hand, no risk, no reward, no pain, no gain.

There are a number of technology and potentially complex standards issues at play that have to be worked out. Different smart grid companies use different technologies for the devices that sit on meters, and this can play havoc with getting the data to a standard backhaul pipe such as a fiber or a WiMAX network. Not all of those devices are built around IP-based technology.

While those who understand WiFi networks’ potential to improve utility meter management praise the use of wireless mesh by some smart grid companies, some of these companies use different wireless than 802.11. Looking at which smart grid projects receive funding will help determine what standards should start to shake out. Did the IP-based projects get the lion’s share of the awards?

Bottom line? It’s clear where there is the potential for an intersect, and why it behooves broadband stimulus applicants to meet with utilities winning smart grid grants. But everyone involved must be prepared for a lot of work to make the integration happen.

Following criticism about slow progress, two U.S. agencies charged with distributing federal stimulus money for broadband infrastructure projects say they will streamline the process by cutting the number of funding rounds from three to two.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration outlined the new plan for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s broadband grant and loan programs in a statement issued Tuesday.

The two agencies have authority to fund a total of $7.2 billion for projects that will expand access to and adoption of broadband services. Of that funding, NTIA will use $4.7 billion for grants to deploy broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas in the U.S., expand public computer center capacity and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service, of which RUS will use $2.5 billion in budget authority to support grants and loans to help broadband deployment in primarily rural communities.

The first round of funding – about $4 billion – produced about 2,200 applications requesting nearly $28 billion – almost seven times the amount of funding available in the round – for proposed projects touching all 50 states, five territories and the District of Columbia.

The agencies expect to start making awards in December.

For the next round, the federal agencies are seeking recommendations on how to improve and speed the application process, and better achieve the stimulus program’s goals. The agencies plan to announce the rules for applying for available funds early next year.

May 19, 2009

Anti-Trust Class Action Filed by Huntington Subscriber Against Comcast Cable
Judge Chambers Steps Aside as He Subscribes to Comcast

By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter

Huntington, WV (HNN) – Gordon Ramey II, a Huntington cable television customer has filed a federal anti-trust complaint against Comcast Cable Communications (et. al.) due to mandatory rental fees for “cable box” or “set-top-boxes,” which are mandatory to view premium and/or digital cable. Since Comcast commands more than 50% of the United States cable market, the requested class action complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, alleges that the company’s actions “constitute an unlawful tying arrangement resulting in an impermissible restraint of trade” that violates federal and West Virginia laws.

The case had been assigned to Judge Robert Chambers, but Chambers, himself a subscriber to Comcast Cable, disqualified himself.

“Although I am not a named plaintiff, I assume I am a putative member of the class as I am a current subscriber of cable services from Comcast,” Judge Chamber wrote in an April 30, 2009 ruling. He “out of an abundance of caution” voluntarily recused himself from the case. He cited Canon 3 of the Code of Conduct for Judges that “implies that even membership in a putative class may disqualify a judge who has a contractual relationship linked to the proceeding.”

As a result, U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin has been assigned to hear the case.

As explained in the complaint, subscribers to the digital and/or premium can at their discretion purchase their own cable box; in fact, Comcast has a policy that allows it to occur:

Comcast has a published policy that states: “If you plan to purchase cable services that we scramble or encrypt, such as premium, pay per view or digital services, you should make sure that any set-top converter or navigation device or digital cable ready television … that you purchase from a retail outlet is compatible with our system… Upon your request, we will provide you with the necessary technical parameters necessary for any set-top converter rented or acquired from retail outlets to operate with our cable system.”

However, the complaint alleges that “customers are instructed that they cannot use set-top cable boxes purchased or rented from retail outlets to view Comcast’s premium channels and/or digital cable services. By doing so, Comcast “requires, forces and/or coerces members of the Class who wish to have more than one cable box, to rent the cable box directly from it even though cable boxes are available on the open market.

The complaint is not an attempt to obtain reduced fees for the channels as it states that “members of the class could purchase a cable box from a manufacturer of their choice and use it to view the digital and/or premium cable channels paying Comcast only for the digital/premium channel service and not the additional cable box charge.”

Rental charges, according to the complaint filed April 10, 2009, suggest that the company provides one free set top cable box but “for each additional cable box charges $8.90 for rental of a basic set-top cable box, $15.40 for a High Definition-capable set-top cable box and $20.90 for a High Definition-capable set-top cable box with DVR functions.”

Under the plaintiff’s class action claim, it alleges a violation of the Sherman Anti Trust Act by “improperly tying and bundling its digital and/or premium service with the required rental of a set-top cable box.” Due to a monopoly in cable markets and its dominance in the industry, the company’s “sufficiently strong economic power” , cable box competitors have “little motivation” or are “foreclosed” from entering the market, since Comcast which has more than 50% of the cable market.

Ramey’s attorneys allege that the cable provider purchases the boxes from Motorola or Scientific Atlanta “at a fixed and low cost… only to turn around and rent the same boxes to the class with full knowledge that members of the Class have no choice but to pay the rental fees.”

In addition, the complaint maintains that the Federal Communications Commission has “a regulation requiring the cable industry to separate the descrambling and other security capabilities of a cable box and place the capabilities in a separate device, which is called a CableCARD.”

The complaint admits that Comcast has the cards available, but describes it as inferior to the rental boxes. On its website, the cable provider states that customers who opt for the credit card size plastic in a “small one-way Digital Cable decoder” (which fits inside an expansion port in newer televisions) does not allow those customers to take advantage of interactive services, such as On Demand and Pay Per View offerings. It too is “a piece of equipment that the customers rent from Comcast just like a digital set-top box.”

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD A PDF COPY OF THE SUIT BY CLICKING HERE.

Editor’s Note: Although the complaint alleges a monopoly by Comcast, it should be noted that subscribers could elect to purchase satellite provided service i.e. Direct TV and/or Dish Network, which do compete with Comcast. Further, it is the understanding of HNN that the City of Huntington’s franchise agreement with the company has expired and it has been extended, much like the city employee collective bargaining agreements, on a month by month basis. A class action request and civil complaint outline grievances of a party or parties (“plaintiffs”) against the defendant. Under the litigation process, the company must now “answer” (give its version of the issue) after which the Court will assign a scheduling order so that the parties attorney’s can work through the legal and/or factual issues. If not settled, the plaintiff has requested a jury trial.