Red Bank TV

I have an intel mac mini hooked up to my sony hdtv in my living room.  So I was interested to hear the latest rumors that Apple will soon be renting movies via their iTunes service.  I’ve never bought a Video On Demand movie before, mainly because I use a CableCard instead of a cable box and that precludes me from using Comcast’s VOD services.

I also don’t subscribe to many premium movie channels. I only subscribe to HBO (Sopranos/Entourage).  I use a subscription to NetFlix to keep movies on hand.

So how would Apple VOD affect me?  Well for starters, I think I would be able to drop the Netflix subscription.  Second it would allow me to use VOD on my TV, something I haven’t been able to do with Comcast.  Third, when we do get FiOS TV I will have a direct competitor to Verizon’s VOD services, in fact I might just stick with the CableCard model I have and not install a Verizon box at all.  And if Apple does High Def downloads then I won’t have to get caught up in the HD-DVD format wars, I won’t need HD-DVD or Blue-Ray, I’ll already be downloading and playing HD movies on the mac.

Posted by Tom at 07:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Mitch Ratcliffe on his blog Rational Rants at ZDNet titled “Verizon treads into the realm of The Prince” in which he covers some recent developments regarding Verizon’s wireless data services.  I am a heavy user of Verizon’s EVDO service.  It is the wireless broadband connection I use while taking the train to and from New York, so Mitch’s article is of particular interest to me.  It is Mitch’s coverage of the Net Neutrality angle however; that I am most interested in.

I’ve written before that I believe that if Verizon had a choice it would restructure (from a business model point of view) the internet so that it more closely resembles its wireless network.  Mitch helps point out some of the problems with Verizon’s wireless broadband network.

For example, Verizon’s says that user’s are not allowed to stream video over their EVDO network unless it is their VCast brand of video streaming.  Why is that?  I have the technical capacity to turn on my slingplayer and view streaming television to my laptop, I’ve tried it and it works every bit as good as the VCast service.  The reason why Verizon does not want me to do this is: quite simply, because Verizon does not generate any additional revenue from that slingbox, Verizon only makes money off of my monthly subscription fee.  Verizon has partnered up with select media providers to provide video streaming via their VCast service and through those partnerships they generate revenue from the content provider.   So not only do they make money off of my monthly subscription fee they also make money by effectively charging content providers to gain access to their network.

Does anybody disagree that in Verizon’s perfect world they would like to expand this model to the internet as well?  Let’s set aside technical and regulator barriers for a second.  Given its druthers, don’t you think that Verizon prefers their Wireless model to their landline ISP model?  I do.  That’s why I am concerned that the very smart people at Verizon are looking at very creative ways to slowly change the model of the internet to more closely resemble their Wireless paradigm.

Posted by Tom at 07:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Via Engadget:

Verizon and Actiontec bring 100Mbps FiOS to homes

My question is, how much of that 100Mbps is Verizon going to consider public internet and how much of it will be cordoned off for their partners?

Posted by Tom at 04:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I met Juan, the guy who runs BlueJersey.net at the Personal Democracy Forum in NYC a couple of weeks ago.  We exchanged a few e-mails about Net Neutrality and he invited me to post on his web site.  I try to reach out to anyone in New Jersey that might be an audience for NN and Juan’s community is tuned in to politics in New Jersey as well as issues relating to the Internet; so I’ve had several posts over there.

Yesterday I cross posted a version of a post I put up here; the one that talks about Verizon’s hypocritical press release.

After posting to BlueJersey I noticed that right next to my post was an advertisement from a telco Astroturf operation.

To me this is just another clear example of why the telcos can not be trusted with the future of the internet.  Look at how they talk out of both sides of their mouths.

The follow image is a screen shot I took after posting to BlueJerset.net

Click on the picture for a higher quality look at the post.  The image is compressed slightly here to fit on the page. 

Posted by Tom at 06:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This comes via engadget: via RCR Wireless news

EarthLink to build Wi-Fi network for New Orleans

And EarthLink’s strategy paid off, as the New Orleans City Council approved an ordinance for the company to build a 15 square-mile Wi-Fi network to replace the city-owned network.

The telcos just don't get it. -- Tom

Posted by Tom at 06:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Tom at 11:50 AM | Permalink

This morning I’ve seen several references to a blog in Phoenix that lists the available broadband options in the area.

The poster, Jim Lippard, lists several DSLs, a cable company, a satellite provider, a couple of celluar providers and the municipal wifi network as options.

The problem with Jim’s list is that out of all of the options that he lists there is only one that could have a chance to deliver the same kind of bandwidth that Verizon’s FiOS can.  That would be the municipal wifi network.  Verizon knows this; that’s why they’ve fought to block municipal wifi’s around the country.  That’s why we need to keep muni-wifi as an option here in Red Bank.

I subscribe to Verizon’s FiOS service.  I’ve had dial-up, isdn, dsl and cable internet service.  Jim let me tell you, nothing touches what Verizon is providing over their fiber to the home network.  As the only fiber provider in my town I predict that they will become the defacto internet service provider in my area.  Their service is that much better.

That’s why I am concerned about Verizon’s statements about Net Neutrality.  I think their “slow” tier will still be faster than the other options we have in town so there would be no reason for consumers to switch to competitors once Verizon starts putting preferred providers on their “fast” tier and leaving the rest on their “slow” tier.

The only possible competition from Verizon would come from someone buying up “dark” fiber and creating their own internet backbone and providing the last mile via WiMax.

That is why we need to push Verizon in our town to respect Net Netruality and to not oppose a municipal wifi.

Posted by Tom at 06:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

During a break out session at the Personal Democracy Forum someone mentioned the forums at NJ.com as an active area for NJ discussions.

Well, on the train ride home I whipped up a post for their forums.  It can be accessed (I think) by following this link.  Hopefully people in their Hardball Politics forum will respond to my post.

Here is the text of what I posted:

Stop Verizon’s anti-competitive future internet plans

New Jersey has a unique opportunity to take an advanced step to protect the internet by making sure it remains a level playing field; free and open so that competition can continue to drive innovation the way it has for the last 15 years.  The threat to free market competition comes from Verizon and its plans for the future of the internet.

Verizon executives have been speaking lately about their future plans for the internet and the bottom line is their vision is bad for New Jersey.  It’s bad for New Jersey’s small businesses, independent artists and just plain web surfers.

Verizon wants to change the internet from a level playing field into a tiered network where they pick and choose who has access to their high speed pipes.

The way the internet currently works we all pay for access to the internet, this allows us to surf to any web site that we choose to, in essence we are paying Verizon for admission to the web.  On the other side of the coin there are the businesses and people who run web-sites, like NJ.com, they pay their own internet provider to gain access to the internet. 

There are no additional road blocks between consumers and providers.  Verizon wants to change that.

In Verizon’s anti-competition vision of the future internet they want to build roadblocks between the provider and consumer; or you can think of it this way: Verizon wants to have two lanes over their network, a high speed lane and a slow speed lane.  Verizon would pick and choose who would have access to their high speed lane.  If someone wanted for example to compete with Verizon by offering on-demand movies over the internet then Verizon would choose to put them on their slow speed lane.

Verizon has said time and time again when asking for cable TV franchises that they are for more competition.  Don’t believe them.  They are only for more competition when it is in their interest.

The State Board of Public Utilities will now be tasked with deciding whether or not to approve Verizon’s application for a state wide cable TV franchise.  Verizon is using the same fiber optic connection that they use to deliver internet service that they will be using to deliver cable TV.  In fact they are using a technology called Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) to deliver cable TV.  It is absolutely appropriate for the BPU to question Verizon’s future plans for the internet when it comes time to deciding what is best for the future of New Jersey.  The BPU should make keeping the internet open and a level playing field when it evaluates Verizon’s cable TV franchise application.

Let the BPU know that you are concerned about Verizon’s vision of an anti-competitive internet; tell them Verizon must promise to keep the internet a level playing field or they should turn down the application.

Posted by Tom at 04:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sorry for the lack of posts over the weekend.  Big personal weekend for me, as I proposed to Eileen Saturday morning at sunrise on the beach at 14^th street in Surf City NJ, the beach I used to lifeguard at.  Lucky for me she said Yes.

I’ll be catching up on the normal issues that this blog covers today.  But before I do I hope you caught CBS’s Sunday news this weekend.  CBS had a story that featured a couple of friends of mine Vince and Vance Moss.  You can watch their story by following this link: Army Twins on a Unique Tour of Duty . Keep an eye out for these guys; I’m sure you’ll be seeing more of them.

BTW I’m trying to follow up on a comment that someone posted on my blog giving me a heads up that some of the comments I have been receiving on the blog are not from who the appear to be from.

Posted by Tom at 06:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There wasn't much in the news this morning. So I spent my time on the train posting to blogs around the web.  I find using google blog searches and rss feeds of those searches make an effective way to keep up on what is being said around the web.

I have links to the RSS feeds that I subscribe to and use to keep up with web discussions in the right side column of this page.

Posted by Tom at 06:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (27)

Wow, big thank you to Liz Strauss for her post about my efforts here at RedBankTv.org.  Liz had previously posted about me on the portion of her blog devoted to Net Neutrality, but this post is a bit different.  Liz’s new post looks at how I am using the internet to get the word out about issues that are of import in my small town.  Liz says I’ve taken on the role of 21^st century Town Crier for the cause of Net Neutrality.  I’ll have to talk to Eileen to see if she can rent a Town Crier costume for me, at least a big ole tri-corner hat.

 Thanks again Liz.

Posted by Tom at 07:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Since it is a topic that doesn't seem to be getting as much press as Net Neutrality lately, I figured I'd post a link to Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam's column published yesterday.

 Here is a snippit from Mr. Beam's column:

''A la carte" is an interesting issue, because it aligns right-wing ''family-friendly" religious nuts with cranky, cheeseparing pseudo-libertarians like myself. The ''family" types want to buy just the channels that show ''Herbie the Love Bug: Fast and Spurious"; I just want to save a buck. Who's helping us fight the power? Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin has made noises about favoring a la carte but seems reluctant to push the pedal to the metal. Populist presidential aspirant Senator John McCain is said to be cooking up some legislation that would impose some a la carte pricing on Big Cable, but it hasn't appeared yet.

Here is a link to his column on boston.com: I don't want my MTV 

Posted by Tom at 06:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)

Here is a short list of weekend mentions from around the web:

• Doc Searls
  
• MyDD
• ME Strauss
• Blog Bites
• Zmetro
• Blue Jersey
  

Posted by Tom at 06:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A big thank you to ME 'Liz' Strauss over at Successful Blog for the write-up on my efforts here at the Red Bank TV blog.  I hope that people who read her post and follow her links over to here get interested in getting involved in their own community.

You can read Liz’s write-up by clicking here

Here is a snippit of what she had to say:

Blogs used well are transparent to the purpose they are used for. No one will be wrapping fish in Tom’s blog tomorrow, or the next day for that matter. There’s so much to talk about in what Tom is doing.

Posted by Tom at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

There are two audiences I try to keep in mind as I post to this blog in my inelegant Jersey Shore writing style. 

1. The residents, business owners and local officials in Red Bank, New Jersey.  The town that I call home.
2. People beyond Red Bank who have concerns about emerging telecommunications issues and are looking for ways to do something about those issues.

To those of you from beyond Red Bank let me try to summarize my message to you:

If you are concerned about keeping the internet a level playing field, aka Net Neutrality, then talk to your neighbors, fellow community business owners and local political officials about your concerns.  The best way for big picture issues to gain traction is to start at the local, grass roots, level.

You may be in favor of federal legislation and you may sign big internet petitions but I think the best way to get you concerns heard is by starting at the local level.  The telcos need to start hearing from the local communities that they might not be welcome if they don’t change their business practices.

Right now in high profile communities all across the country Verizon and AT&T are applying for local cable TV franchises.  That means there are public hearings taking place, probably in a town near you, at which you can voice your concerns.  If enough people start asking questions at a local level then the telcos will start to hear those questions in business terms; it could signal to them that the market has concerns and it could cost us money if we don’t listen to those concerns.

There is legislation working its way up through state and federal levels of government that may change the landscape and remove the need for these local hearings.  The telcos will then be able to apply for State or National cable TV franchises.  At the hearings that will go along with those franchise applications there will be heavy reliance on precedent established at the local level.  If the question of Net Neutrality does not come up at the local hearings then how can it be brought up at the national level?  The telcos will say: “These issues were never brought up in the communities that approved our cable franchises, why should Washington tell local communities how to do their business?” and they will be right.

So, bring up these issues in your town.  Start a blog, let us know about it, write a letter to your local newspaper, contact your local town officials and attend the telco Dog and Pony show when it comes to town and ask questions.  Act Locally.

Posted by Tom at 07:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Om Malik has a post looking for people who are making broad telcom issues more of a local issue.  I think that is what we are doing here on this blog.  Hopefully we’ll get his attention.

Here is a snippet: 

It is time to add coverage of the hyper local problems of broadband, video franchising, and other issues such as problems faced by municipalities. Patrick Hynes focuses on the battle between Cablevision and Verizon in the New York’s Long Island region. And if somewhere along the way, we find a success story, brilliant. Since I cannot be everywhere, it would need some help from the readers/community. If you are a citizen reporter, and can shed light to the issues involved, drop me a line, or a link. Any suggestions on how best to track it all would be welcome. - Om

Posted by Tom at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Just wanted to drop in a couple of links to some very useful forums that discuss all things Verizon FiOS.

I came across the BroadBand Reports forums a couple of years ago.  I found it when reading up on Verizon’s DSL service and how they had just upgraded their service to 1.5mbs downstream.  Now my FiOS service beats that upstream.   You’ll find some of the most knowledgeable BroadBand geeks around on their forums.  Their FiOS discussions are particularly pertinent.

Then just today I was invited to another forum.  Jonathan Kramer runs the CableTV.com forums and I am really looking forward to some interesting discussions over there.

If you want the geeks perspective on FiOS and all things related to Verizon’s service (including some great tech support) I advise you to check out those forums.

Posted by Tom at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nate Anderson over at the highly respected geek web site Ars Technica has been consistently putting out some of the best stuff on Keeping the Internet a Level Playing Field.

His latest post talks about just how much money the big telecoms are spending fighting the cable companies.  If you are interested in this topic I recommend keeping an eye out for Nate’s posts.

Posted by Tom at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)