Is There a Need for Economic Regulation of the Internet

Two necessary preconditions must be satisfied to justify market intervention in the form of economic regulation on the part of the government, says Dennis Weisman, Professor of Economics at Kansas State University and an editor of the Review of Network Economics and a member of the Free State Foundation's Board of Academic Advisors.

The first one inquires as to whether there is a problem and the second one inquires as to whether there is a solution? Only if both questions can be answered in the affirmative can such intervention be justified.

He says the case for economic regulation of broadband markets is weak at best. The Federal Communications Commission can point to, at most, two cases where things went awry — Madison River and Comcast.

Madison River was resolved with dispatch; and in the case of Comcast, the supposed cover-up was arguably worse than the alleged crime, Weisman says. "There is no offense in reasonable network management practices designed to prevent congestion and maintain service quality," he adds.

Nor is there evidence that the major incumbent telecommunications carriers or the cable companies were earning supra-normal returns that might be suggestive of market power," which might imply there is a problem waiting to be solved. http://ssrn.com/abstract_id=1525568

The structure of broadband prices is a problem in the economics of two-sided markets, though. The issue is that it is difficult to determine how the price structure should be changed to enhance economic welfare. "In other words, there can be no reasonable assurance that regulatory intervention to alter the price structure would not do more harm than good," says Weisman.

Google Caffeine Boosts Content Refresh Rate 50%

Google's new indexing engine, Caffeine, is said to provide 50 percent fresher results for web searches than Google's last index.

Google's older index had several layers, some of which were refreshed at a faster rate than others. The main layer would update every couple of weeks, for example. To refresh a layer of the old index, Google would analyze the entire web.

With Caffeine, Google analyzes the web in small portions and updates its search index on a continuous basis, globally. That means fresher information.

Official Google Blog: Our new search index: Caffeine

Apple Bans Google Mobile App Ads

Apple has changed the terms of its application developer agreement to block apps from using competitive ad networks operated by rivals such as Google.

That's ironic in light of "network neutrality" debates that some claim involve packet blocking, in the "restraint of trade" sense. Others point out that network management and grooming, as well as ability to create value-added services and features, are more the issue.

What is striking are the many ways packets are being groomed, blocked and shaped by application and device providers. Apple blocking Google ad network ads, or Apple refusing to share analytics with some third-party ad networks, are new examples.

Blunt instruments do not work well in a business and an ecosystem that changes this fast, especially when content pay walls, app stores, even operating systems and browsers can favor or deny access to "Internet bits."

Apple bans Google mobile app ads | News | New Media Age:

UC is Changing Channel Requirements

Channel organizations have faced change ever since IP communications began to displace older voice technologies, principally by increasing technology skills requirements.

The complexity of UC implementations, especially in multi-vendor environments, requires a significant vendor or channel partner implementation and integration expertise, notes Melanie Turek, Frost & Sullivan principal analyst.

Most companies with more than a few dozen employees will deploy UC across technology from at least two vendors. That will involve integration, and since it's unlikely those two vendors are plug-and-play today, that integration will require services, she says.

The nature of channel partnerships also is changing as IT and telecom staffs converge with the shift to software-centric solutions, and with businesses increasingly virtualizing their data centers and communications infrastructures.

http://www.nojitter.com/blog/archives/2010/06/the_channel_is.html

T-Mobile May Offer All Phones Free for Father's Day

T-Mobile might be gearing up to offer free phones for Father’s Day.

According to the copy of the script TmoNews apparently obtained, a voice-over says, “Starting early 8 a.m. this Saturday, T-Mobile is putting families first with another first. We’re making every single phone in the store free.”"

T-Mobile May Offer All Phones Free for Father's Day

http://www.tmonews.com/2010/06/june-19th-the-mother-of-all-fathers-day-sales/

Apple Will Bar Google (AdMob) From iPhones, iPads, iTouch Devices

Says AdMob CEO: Apple proposed new developer terms on Monday that, if enforced as written, would prohibit app developers from using AdMob and Google’s advertising solutions on the iPhone.  These advertising related terms both target companies with competitive mobile technologies (such as Google), as well as any company whose primary business is not serving mobile ads. This change threatens to decrease – or even eliminate – revenue that helps to support tens of thousands of developers. The terms hurt both large and small developers by severely limiting their choice of how best to make money.  And because advertising funds a huge number of free and low cost apps, these terms are bad for consumers as well.

Let’s be clear. This change is not in the best interests of users or developers. In the history of technology and innovation, it’s clear that competition delivers the best outcome. Artificial barriers to competition hurt users and developers and, in the long run, stall technological progress.

Since I started AdMob in 2006, I have watched competition in mobile advertising help drive incredible growth and innovation in the overall ecosystem.  We’ve worked to help developers make money, regardless of platform – iPhone, Android, Palm Pre, Blackberry, Windows, and others. In the past four years, AdMob has helped tens of thousands of developers make money and build real businesses across multiple operating systems.

I’ve personally worked with many iPhone app developers around the world, including one who created a fun and simple game in the early days of the App Store. He built the app because he was interested in the challenge. He built this single app into a multi-million dollar advertising revenue stream with AdMob, hired a whole team, and turned a hobby into a real business.

We see these stories all the time.  We want to help make more of them, so we’ll be speaking to Apple to express our concerns about the impact of these terms.

Google Voice to Integrate with Gmail

Google apparently is testing a new feature that makes Gmail chat more useful: users are able to make and receive Google Voice calls from inside the Gmail application, as they would using Skype on a PC.

A new phone icon opens a Gmail chat window with a dialpad, an option to find contacts, a credit balance and a call button.

Google Voice to Integrate with Gmail as a VoIP Service: