The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) held a great panel last week , “What’s on the Agenda for the new FCC?’ I had an opportunity to listen to the panel of experts share their thoughts on what issues they think will be high on the agenda for the... Read The Story...

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) held a great panel last week , “What’s on the Agenda for the new FCC?’ I had an opportunity to listen to the panel of experts share their thoughts on what issues they think will be high on the agenda for the next FCC Chair. Panelists included: Rick Chessen (NCTA), Blair Levin (Aspen and formerly with the FCC), Randy May (Free State Foundation), Scott Bergmann (CTIA), Gigi Sohn (Public Knowledge) and Richard Bennett (ITIF).

During their initial remarks, most on the panel mentioned the IP transition, spectrum and the implementation of the national broadband plan (and broadband adoption) as the priority issues for the FCC. The ability of the FCC to actually accomplish these priorities was the first question. Blair Levin said the FCC is capable of doing these things in a timely and capable way. The FCC has the authority, but the agency needs to be mission-driven. Gigi Sohn recommends that the new Chair announce his or her agenda within the first 30 days and let the public know “what you stand for and the agenda that you are planning to set.” Rich Chessen supports the FCC being a data-driven agency, producing facts to help guide any proceedings.

The panelists also discussed the challenge of broadband adoption. Blair Levin and others acknowledged that adoption isn’t just about price/cost. The challenge is helping consumers to realize the value of broadband. Scott Bergmann added that the FCC’s broadband pilot programs will help identify barriers and the data collected will be very helpful.

The IP transition was another key topic discussed by the panelists. Blair Levin expressed hope that the government comes to some sort of timetable for deadlines so that companies to no longer need to invest in old technology at some point. Gigi Sohn stated excitement about the transition and shared Public Knowledge’s fundamental principles for the transition. A few of these principles include service to all Americans, public safety, and reliability.

I think the panelists offered some great insights into the issues we can expect to see addressed at the FCC this next year. We know that no matter who the next FCC Chair may be, he or she will certainly have some significant challenges.

I attended an interesting panel on Capitol Hill last week on the topic of the IP transition. The speakers included several representatives of companies that are leading the IP transition for their customers, AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink, as well as the trade association for these companies USTA. John Horrigan, with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies moderated the panel.

Bob Quinn with AT&T, summarized the changes that have already taken place in consumers’ telecommunications services. Now, 35% are wireless only and in AT&T’s states served, only 25% connect using plain old telephone service. So, the transition is already underway. Melissa Newman of CenturyLink, spoke about the importance of the IP transition to the rural communities her company serves. David Young with Verizon focused on the difficulty of having many different state regulations while making the transition to IP.

The panelists discussed the proposed IP trials. AT&T’s Quinn stated that the trials will help figure out any of the problems that will need to be resolved to complete the IP transition. Consumers should be the focus. I found the discussion about the emphasis on consumers to be reassuring. I also heard that consumer education will be key during the IP transition and I agree that this will be important.

I just read about another amazing smartphone application: scientists in the U.K. have developed an app that turns your iPhone into a hearing aid device. The app, BioAid, is free and offers significant benefits over traditional hearing aids. The BioAid application has six different settings, while traditional hearing aids only have a single setting for sound manipulation.

BioAid is a special kind of hearing aid that allows the user to regulate loudness both by making quiet sounds louder and loud sounds quieter. After downloading the free app, the user just needs to connect headphones (those that form an acoustical seal are best). Smartphones are rapidly becoming tools for just about everything, from entertainment to health devices. Learn more about the BioAid app at http://bioaid.org.uk/