Archive for: Government

Government Officials Propose Wireless Internet Regulations To Stop Misleading 4G Ads

Broadband speed is a funny thing – what gets advertised by Internet service providers isn’t always what ends up being delivered by the copper cable, fiber optic line or wireless signals that make it into your home. ISPs usually find a number of different scapegoats for the differences between advertised speeds and real-world performance, including gems like line quality, signal interference and network congestion, but with the advent of new data transmission technologies that are hitting the market, federal lawmakers are zeroing in on ensuring that providers won’t be able to hide behind these excuses indefinitely.

The reason the U.S. government has gotten involved in the potential regulation of wireless data transfer speeds is because next-generation 4G network providers have become notorious for their inconsistent bandwidth. The term “4G” has unfortunately transformed into a catch-all term that actually encompasses a wide variety of different data standards, with at least three different technologies having been adopted by major players in the American market. This has led to a divergence between the data speeds promised by the international 4G standard and what is actually being labeled as 4G in the United States.

Legislation has been introduced by U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo that would force wireless Internet service providers to clearly define the details of what their 4G service packages actually offer consumers. Called the Next Generation Wireless Disclosure Act, the guidelines would establish a requirement for clear labeling of transmission speed, network coverage and service reliability with each 4G product. This would eliminate the blanket “4G = fast” marketing mantra that has so far saturated wireless provider advertising. The pending pack of rules would also establish an FCC evaluation of actual data transmission speeds in order to give consumers an impartial yardstick against which to compare their options.

There are some free market advocates who would argue that federal involvement in the wireless data network business is an unwelcome intrusion. However, given the fact that 4G services are positioned as premium products that come with equally premium pricing, it is definitely in the best interests of consumers to have a clear idea of what they are actually paying for.

In many ways, the decision to regulate wireless speeds is similar to government policies which establish standards for the different grades of gasoline at the fuel pump, or the quality of various building and renovation materials – a set of guidelines against which each service provider can be fairly judged, and a tool to help wireless users choose the best ISP for their particular needs.

Author Jason Lancaster writes for InternetServiceProviders.org, a website that helps consumers find internet service in Utah and across the US and Canada.

Official White House iPhone App: Download Free

Next week, the president of the United States Barak Obama will be addressing the nation in the annual ‘State of the Union’ speech. Many people will watch it live on TV, others from the White House’s website – some, from the official iPhone app.

The White House have just announced their official app which has been released onto the App Store. There have been other similar apps on the app store (mainly just fancy skins of the White House website) but this one is free and much, much better.

There is a feed to the White House blog, videos, newsroom topics and photos as well as quick updates about national situations and policies. However, the best feature is the video streaming (or ‘Live Content’ as it’s labelled in the app). This enables you to watch news conferences, events and speeches at the White House. So next week, make sure to watch the presidents speech from you cool new, free, White House iPhone app which can be downloaded here.

Twitter Goes Political with Election 08′

If you’ve been on Twitter for the last few months, you’ve probably noticed a few of your stateside followers in deep conversation about the upcoming election to replace President Bush. While we all have our own opinion on how the country has been managed, the good news is that finally some change is coming and this election will determine the course of our future. Even our friends overseas are watching closely to see just what will happen, for better or worse.

Twitter has gone the extra mile and included a “Twad” (Twitter ad) at the top of their site to keep users up to date on the election, fundamentally calling it Election.Twitter. At midnight last night, Election.Twitter went live, finally acknowledging just how popular, if not important, this topic has been on their micro-blogging service. The site will be very familiar to long time Twitter users, except for one big difference. “What are you doing?” is being replaced with “What do you think?”, opening the floor for debate, discussion, disagreement, and speculation.

To get the low down on what is going on, stop by get involved, and get informed!