Is "Ancillary Jurisdiction" Exercised by FCC Legal?

The Federal Communications Commission network neutrality rules were promulgated using a concept known as "ancillary jurisdiction," essentially the notion that the Commission has authority to institute such rules because it is "ancillary" to other authority it has expressly been given by Congress.

But many would argue that the FCC exceeds its authority. Congress has never explicitly given the FCC the authority to enforce network neutrality, but the FCC contends that the power to mandate Internet openness is implicit in other powers Congress has granted to the agency.

This ancillary jurisdiction argument therefore is destined to remain controversial until the lawfulness of the authority has been settled.

Is Private Cloud a Business Opportunity for Public Cloud Providers?

There are five common misconceptions about “private cloud,” which sometimes is seen as server virtualization at existing enterprise computing facilities, or simply the adoption of infrastructure as a service, according to Gartner analysts. The implications are important for some service providers supplying enterprise cloud services.

To be sure, virtualization and cloud computing are driving private cloud computing, says Tom Bittman, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. But virtualization and virtualization management are not, by themselves, private cloud computing.

Virtualization makes it easier to dynamically and granularly pool and reallocate infrastructure resources, Gartner says. The point is that some form of virtualization is used to create a cloud computing service.

Private cloud computing is a form of cloud computing that is used by only one organization, or that ensures that an organization is completely isolated from others. Sometimes that leads to the notion that private cloud computing is another way of conducting computing operations

Private cloud computing is defined by privacy, not location, ownership or management responsibility, says Gartner. That’s an important distinction for providers of cloud computing services, as it does not mean private cloud “only” is operated from an enterprise’s own facilities. Private cloud computing can be hosted from a third-party cloud computing center, in other words.

Though the majority of private clouds likely will be on-premises (based on the evolution of existing virtualization investments), Gartner says, a growing percentage of private clouds will be outsourced and supported off-premises. That means private cloud is as much a business opportunity as public cloud.

Private cloud includes both infrastructure as a service and platform as a service, especially for enterprises that want to foster faster software development, or routinely work with lots of third-party app developers.

Over time, some private clouds will be moved completely to the public cloud. The majority of private cloud services will evolve to enable hybrid cloud computing, blending public cloud services and third-party resources.

The bottom line is that private cloud computing often will represent a sales opportunity for cloud service providers and some hosting operations.

Mobile and Cable Companies Try to Profit from Over the Top Apps

Mobile operator 3 Hong Kong will offer its subscribers a WhatsApp Roaming Pass for $8 ($1 USD) a month that gives them unlimited access to WhatsApp services without counting it against their data caps, or a $48 ($6.19 USD) daily pass offering unlimited WhatsApp use and 5MB of service in 78 destinations around the world.

You might wonder why a mobile service provider would promote a service that competes directly with its own messaging service. The answer is that so many people are doing so that 3 might as well try and extract some revenue from the service in an indirect way, namely by allowing usage of WhatsApp without counting the usage against a customer's data cap.

Time Warner Cable, for its part, is currently sending a mailer to internet-only customers, suggesting that they should upgrade their broadband speeds for a better Netflix experience and offering to throw in a whole year of free TV as a bonus.

That's one example of a service provider trying to generate revenue indirectly from an over the top application. 

PreCash Thinks Instant Check Deposit, Instant Bill Payment More Significant for Unbanked than "Mobile Wallet"

What's more important to a consumer without a bank account: a mobile wallet that stores loyalty credentials, or check deposit? Answer: check deposit.

"Current mobile check solutions can take up to six days before somebody gets their money," says Steve Taylor, PreCash CEO. "That does not work for someone living from paycheck to paycheck. They need their money immediately."

FlipMoney will offer instant mobile check deposit and instant bill payment, features that Taylor says matter a lot more to the underbanked than to the banked. 

With FlipMoney, for the first time, people without a bank account or credit card can do instant remote check deposits and perform free expedited bill payments with their smart phone. 

FlipMoney combines instant remote check deposit and free expedited bill payments in a single mobile wallet that works with a prepaid card.

Flip is currently being field tested. Large scale deployment will begin this fall, the company says. 

For instant check deposits, PreCash plans to charge $1 plus one percent of the deposit amount for a payroll or government check and $1 plus three percent of the amount for personal checks. 

There is also a standard-speed option for a flat $3 fee per item. PreCash does not plan to charge for expedited bill-payment.  

Apple iPods No Longer Drive Revenue for Apple, But Get Updated, Anyway

The iPod no longer drives key business results for Apple; that role is currently reserved for the iPhone. But Apple has updated the iPod Nano and iPod touch, anyway.

Apple iPods No Longer Drive Revenue for Apple, But Get Updated, Anyway

The iPod no longer drives key business results for Apple; that role is currently reserved for the iPhone. But Apple has updated the iPod Nano and iPod touch, anyway.

Apple has 435 Million iTunes Accounts

Apple says it now has 435 million accounts for iTunes. That also implies that Apple has active credit card information for all or most of those accounts. Think e-commerce.