Mobile 'Net Neutrality' Faces New Day of Reckoning at FCC

As reported by Reuters: A surge in mobile Internet usage has U.S. regulators considering whether to apply the same rules to fixed and wireless Internet traffic, and large technology firms are siding with consumer advocates to call for such a change.

The Federal Communications Commission is now rewriting the so-called "net neutrality" rules, aimed at ensuring that Internet providers do not unfairly block or slow down users' access to content on the web, after their 2010 version was rejected in January by an appeals court. As part of that process, the agency is seeking comments on whether it should take a fresh look at distinctions now drawn between wireless and wireline networks.

Consumer groups have long advocated stricter anti-blocking and anti-discrimination rules for mobile web traffic. This year, they have powerful allies in Internet companies like Google and Facebook, who see mobile as an increasingly popular platform.

"The distinction between wireless and wireline is certainly not the same as it was... The enforceable net neutrality rules should apply equally, whether you use the Internet on your mobile or home broadband," said Michael Beckerman, head of the Internet Association, which represents three dozen web companies including Amazon.com and Netflix.

"There will be differences in terms of network management, but at the end of the day, the same fundamental principles ... need to apply to the mobile world."

The new look at the rules comes as Americans routinely use smartphones to watch videos and browse websites. A growing number of U.S. consumers, many of them low income, non-white and young, rely on such devices as their primary means of Internet access.

The lines between fixed and broadband continue to blur as mobile carriers develop fixed broadband businesses of their own and use Wi-Fi to offload wireless data traffic, and cable broadband providers create Wi-Fi hotspots for their customers.

Under the 2010 rules, both fixed and wireless Internet providers were banned from blocking users' access to legal websites, with exclusions for reasonable network management.

But wireline carriers also couldn't block legal applications or "unreasonably discriminate" against any legal web traffic or apps, while wireless providers were only banned from blocking applications that competed with their own voice or video calling services.

Wireless carriers say it would be unwise to impede their customers' freedom to roam the web, and that stricter rules would hurt how they manage their dynamic shared networks, leading to slower Internet speeds for everyone.

"The FCC already acknowledged the unique nature of wireless, specifically the technical and operational challenges our industry faces, including the need to ... actively manage networks to provide high quality service to a customer base that is constantly on the go," said Meredith Attwell Baker, CEO of CTIA, the wireless trade group.

Both sides plan to lobby the FCC as the agency collects public comments on its proposed rules until Sept. 10. Scrutiny on the wireless space promises to be more intense than before.

"It'll be a topic that will have big resonance among the commissioners: why should wireless be treated differently than wireline in terms of net neutrality," said one senior FCC official, who spoke anonymously to discuss the ongoing review.

New Airport Passenger Location Technology to be Rolled Out

As reported by GulfNews: SITA, air transport IT and communications specialists, is set to roll out mobile phone friendly beacons at 10 global airports, including airports in the Middle East, over the next 12 months that will streamline passenger airport experiences.

SITA is in talks with “major hubs in Europe, United States, Asia and the Middle East,” said Kevin O’Sullivan, Lead Engineer at SITA Lab, an innovation division.

O’Sullivan was speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the SITA Air Transport IT Summit in Brussels on Wednesday. 

The beacons use Bluetooth low energy technology (BlE) that transmit signals that can be received by iPhone IOS 7 and later software and newer Android models.

Passengers will be able to download airline specific mobile applications that connect with the beacons. The application will provide passengers with directions, walk times to gates, lounge access and boarding alerts by using the beacon signals to locate where the passenger is in the airport.

The beacons can transmit signals to mobile devices that are up to a kilometer away.

SITA also announced on Wednesday it is launching the Common-use Beacon Registry that will set an industry standard by defining data sets and beacon types to be positioned at airports.

Six-month trial
American Airlines is spearheading the rollout of the technology with a 180-day trial in conjunction with SITA at Dallas Forth Worth International where beacons have been placed throughout Terminal D.

American and SITA have been testing beacons for the past nine months and is using a brand called StickNFind that is slightly larger than a Dh1 coin. SITA and American Airlines did not disclose the costs of the trial. However, Phil Easter, American Airlines Director of Mobile Apps, said that each device, with a battery lifespan of up to five years, costs about $10.

American is confident the beacons will improve passenger experiences and lower costs and will roll it out to the general public in the next quarter through an integrated application, Easter said.

He added, that 65% of American Airlines’ passengers arrive at the gate early because they are “scared” of missing their flight. He also said that many complaints from passengers are because they did not hear that the boarding gate had changed.

Airlines have to unload passenger baggage if the passenger misses the flight, which can cause roll on delays that disrupt the networking and ultimately increase costs.

Privacy

The beacon passenger location technology raises concerns over passenger privacy. The beacons do not transmit data, just a signal to the passengers mobile device, however, airlines will be able to collect data through the application.

It is unlikely there will be an airline beacon app, rather the feature will be tied into a passengers existing airline application that they use to track membership points, flight details and to make bookings.

However, Easter dismissed concerns and said that American will not be tracking passenger movement. He added that it is “opt-in” technology that passengers elect to use. The feature will not work unless the passenger has downloaded the application.

Google's 'Auto Link' to Rival Apple's CarPlay

As reported by MotorAuthority: It was only a matter of time: Following the launch of Apple's CarPlay in-car operating system at this year's Geneva Motor Show, Google is set to reveal its own automotive operating system. Known internally as Google Auto Link, the company will reveal its system at a software developer conference this month.

As Automotive News reports, Auto Link is the first product developed in conjunction with the Open Automotive Alliance, a group of companies including Audi, General Motors Company [NYSE:GM], Honda, Hyundai, chipmaker NVIDIA Corp and Google itself. Just like CarPlay, it's not an "embedded" system but a "projected" one—an operating system that uses a driver's own smartphone operating system. In this case, that's Google's Android OS, available on a multitude of hand-held devices.

The interface hasn't yet been revealed, nor has any announcement been made as to which automaker will use the system first. When the Open Automotive Alliance was formed, the group said it would bring Android to cars "starting in 2014". By contrast, Apple's system was demonstrated at Geneva in conjunction with Volvo, whose new touchscreen infotainment system will feature CarPlay in the next-generation XC90 SUV. 

Other automakers set to use CarPlay include Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz.

Apple's CarPlay interface closely resembles that familiar to iPhone and iPad users, and handles several in-car functions—as well as letting users bring up certain smartphone apps in their vehicles. Google itself is familiar to many drivers from existing interfaces. Audi uses Google Earth satellite images for its GPS maps, while some Hyundai drivers can use a built-in Google search engine and voice commands to find nearby destinations.




In addition to Auto Link, Google is also making noise regarding new Android platform features which, in Google's own words, "enable the car itself to become a connected Android device". More details of this are expected soon.

Russia Launches Single GLONASS Satellite

As reported by GPS World: A single GLONASS-M satellite was launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Saturday, June 14, at 17:16 UTC. The satellite, GLONASS-M 55 (with designation 755 once operational and also known as Kosmos 2500), was inserted into the GLONASS constellation’s Plane 3 and will occupy orbital slot 21, according to ISS Reshetnev, the manufacturer of the satellite.

Reshetnev also reported that the satellite is equipped with an experimental payload capable of transmitting signals in the L3 frequency band. The L3 signal, centered at 1202.025 MHz , is CDMA unlike the GLONASS legacy FDMA signals. The experiment will include flight testing of the new equipment and evaluation of its accuracy characteristics. The GLONASS-K1 test satellite also transmits an L3 signal.  

A video of the launch can be viewed on the Zvezda (meaning “Star”) TV network run by the Russian Ministry of Defense.