I attended the the CTIA wireless industry’s global show in New Orleans last week. It was a great opportunity to hear from all the leaders in the industry, and to walk the exhibit floor to see the great innovations in the mobile space. Wireless industry leaders from AT&T,... Read The Story...

Last week I attended the Family Online Safety Institute’s (FOSI) 2011 conference in Washington, D.C. The conference panels included a range of panel discussions on safety and privacy issues. I thought the highlight of the two-day program was a speech and conversation with AT&T’s Senior Vice President and Chief Security Office, Ed Amoroso.

Ed Amoroso is responsible for AT&T’s network security, a critically important job in today’s world of cyber threats, malware, and viruses. His remarks were informative, thought-provoking, and important. He spoke about how Internet Service Providers, such as AT&T, are working to improve the network, make it more secure, while at the same time enabling innovation. He spoke about the proliferation of technology in all our lives and how our online and mobile devices are no longer a convenience – but rather a necessity. With these great technologies and devices come a responsibility; to take the necessary steps to be secure and safe.

I agree that there is a responsibility to keep the network safe and secure – and it’s a shared responsibility of both the network provider and each and every consumer. Ed Amorosos remarks were inspiring. He reminded us not only about all the many benefits that our online devices offer, but also the importance of privacy, safety and security. Important protections for every consumer today!

I attended FCC Chairman Genachowski’s announcement last week when he unveiled a new initiative to help address low-income broadband adoption. The plan will bring low-cost broadband and computers to low-income families.

This new plan is another important element of the FCC’s “Connect to Compete” initiative to promote broadband adoption. This particular part of the plan is an effort to address the need for those with the greatest need – low-income kids – to get access to broadband in the home. Here are the components of the plan: 1) If you are a family with a child that qualifies for the National School Lunch Program, you can get broadband service for $9.95 a month (in collaboration with the cable industry), 2) Refurbished computers will be available for purchase for $150 and 3) Digital literacy training will be available, both online, at libraries, and with other partners.

I think this is a great new effort. It was exciting to hear the Chairman and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn speak about the opportunities this program will provide low-income kids. The event was held at a Washington, D.C. public school, with some of the students present who are the real beneficiaries of our efforts to expand broadband technology to everyone in America.

I had the opportunity to sit down last week and talk to one of the award winners, Jay Wilpon of AT&T, immediately following the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Chairman’s Awards for Advancement in Accessibility. The AT&T Research Executive Director accepted two awards on behalf of AT&T: one honorable mention and the “Lifted by the Cloud” award. I talked to Jay about the innovative technologies he helped to develop to assist consumers with disabilities.

The technology AT&T developed is called a “Speech Mashup,” which combines AT&T WATSON® speech recognition and AT&T Natural Voices text-to-speech synthesis.. It’s in the “cloud,” which makes it available to all developers and can be run on any internet connected device such as phones, televisions and computers Jay and I discussed how this technology could offer assistance to persons with disabilities. One example of how the technology is now used is as a prototype mapping application for the iPhone, called “iWalk” for those with low vision. The application enables someone with low vision to talk into the device and say they want to go to a certain location (such as a street address, or a movie theater) and then the device “talks” them through the directions to their location.

This is the first year that the FCC has recognized accessible technologies with these awards and they will continue to offer the awards next year. I asked Jay about his plans for innovations in accessible technologies going forward and he replied that, “[We] are now productizing the speech mash technology and building both prototype and market-ready services for our customers. We will continue to integrate speech technologies into more products and services with the goal of improving the quality of life for our customers with disabilities. So, hopefully for next generation awards some of our new products and services will be recognized.”

I know that we can expect great innovations from the AT&T team, and that all consumers will benefit.

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Consumer Resources

Below are additional resources to more information about online privacy.

Consumer Guide to Online Privacy (PDF)
What is 4G Wireless Service? (PDF)
Consumer Online Privacy Survey
2008 Online Safety Survey
bNetS@vvy
www.onguardonline.gov
www.ikeepsafe.org/
www.getnetwise.org
www.fosi.org
www.enough.org

Other Organizations

National Caucus and Center on Black Aged:
http://www.ncba-aged.org/

National Consumers League:
http://www.nclnet.org/