FCC To Propose New Privacy Rules for Internet Service Providers

Personal privacy continues to be a hot button item for many of us as we embrace new digital communication technologies.  Most recently, the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission, Thomas Wheeler, announced plans to propose new rules limiting what personal information can be sold by Internet Service Providers. (ISPs)   An ISP is your connection to the Internet.  These companies provide the wire or fiber coming into you house or business. In our area the leading ISPs are Cincinnati Bell, Comcast and Time Warner Cable.  In most cases, other than supplying email accounts, ISPs serve only as the intermediary between you and the plethora of online services like Facebook, Netflix, Skype, Pandora and thousands of thousands of other apps.

Currently most all of these ISPs capture copious information about which sites you visit and even what information or product you are searching for.  This information is extremely valuable to companies who want to sell you something and, as such, a source of significant revenue to the ISPs when they sell this information to those companies.  It is no coincidence that an hour after you search for some item or service on line that often you will see a slick advertisement on your Facebook page for that very item.

Chairman Wheeler is proposing that this practice of selling usage information should be better communicated by the ISPs to the consumer and that the consumer must “opt in” to allow their information to be shared.

When signing up for most any service or app, before downloading or using it we are faced with “accepting” the terms of an agreement written in legal and technical terms which would befuddle even the most educated among us.  Since they are almost biblical in length, most of us just click the box and go on our merry digital way.  Buried deep in your ISP agreement is your permission to allow the sale of your information to third parties.

The proposed rules would change this permission process requiring you to click a specific box allowing the sale of your usage information rather than having this permission buried in the agreement text. 

ISP’s contend that the revenue from the sale of this information helps keep their monthly fees low.  This may be the case and the rules would allow for some flexibility in pricing if you allow your information to be sold.

These new rules are still in the development phase and would need to go through the process of public comment before being considered by the entire commission.  This normally takes several months.  I will stay on top of it.

TV Options Still Limited … Change May Be Coming

Whenever the local cable company makes a change or raises monthly rates, many look at their monthly bill and ask if there is a less expensive alternative.  We hear about other people “cutting the cord” and opting for a combination of receiving local channels via an antenna and using one of the many internet-based streaming services for the other channels.  Like so many purchase decisions, there is no one right answer.

As long as there is a single cable provider in our area and only two satellite services available your choices remain limited.  Both the cable and satellite companies force you into bundles of channels.  So if you want to watch some of the most popular channels like ESPN, History, DIY, etc. you are required to purchase a bundle of hundreds of other channels that you will most likely seldom watch.  For example those who are not avid sports fans are irritated that they pay about $5.00 per month for ESPN even if they never watch it because it is part of the “bundle.”

Before you decide to cut your cable you should do an inventory over a two or three week period.  Write down what you actually watch.  Once you have that list you can check if these programs are available using some other service.  For example, Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon TV offer many of the same programs found on cable.  Services like the History Channel, Smithsonian Channel and HGTV offer some complete episodes of series on their respective webpages.

Once you do the research you need to then do the math.  Right now you can’t cut the cord completely.  You still need to have a robust internet connection and install a TV antenna to get local stations.  The former will come with a monthly fee and the cost of the antenna will depend on where you live.  Some can use simple rabbit ears while others with require a more expensive outside-mounted antenna.

The streaming services like Netflix and Hulu Plus have monthly fees.  These fees need to be added to the cost of your internet connection.  Once you add up all these costs you will be able to make an informed decision if cutting the cord will save money and if it is for you.

Looking ahead, services like MyTV from Cincinnati Bell are beginning to offer ala carte channels, promising that you will only pay for the channels you watch.  Since this service is not yet available in most of the local area, it is too early to say if it will save significant money.  For sure, if MyTV becomes an option look for the Time Warner to begin to offer an ala carte service to compete.

A Visit from the Geeks

… with sincere apologies to Clement Clarke Moore

’Twas the week before Christmas, when all through the land
Not a computer was working as there was no broadband.
The software was loaded and wires connected with care,
In hopes that Cincinnati Bell or Time Warner soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of an Nintendo Wii danced in their heads;
Unable to Google or log on to Amazon.com
We found neither the Wii or even a new Tom Tom.

When out on the driveway two trucks pulled in,
We sprang to our windows to investigate the din.

The LED lights reflecting on the new-fallen snow
Gave the luster of high-tech to everything below.
When, what should appear to my wondering eye,
But one rep from Bell and the other, a cable guy,

More punctual that most times with tool belts they came,
Both knocked on the door and asked for our name:
“No Smith, Jones or Johnson do we have on our lists
Are you sure that dispatch might not have missed?”

A quick call to the office confirmed our plight
and they both said they could set things right.

They spoke no more, but went straight to their work,
One checked the phone line the other gave a smirk,
“That’s old tech” he explained,
“Cable is better for the internet to be sustained.”

Back and forth they argued well into the night
While my wife and I saw that finding a Wii was getting out of sight.
And then, in a twinkling, we heard up above
The clanking of a ladder and someone shout “Shove!”

As we drew in our heads, and were turning around,
Down the chimney the DirectTV man came with a bound.

He was dressed all in blue, from head to toe,
And his face indicated that he was someone in the know
A bundle of tools he had flung on his back,
A drill and saw and of course a spare battery pack.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work
And installed a new dish, receiver and one added perk
A new satellite modem was part of the deal
For only $150 a month, what a steal.

This will bring your internet back he inferred;
It not too late to order on line he assured.
So we logged on to Shopzilla and a Wii we did find
Compete with free shipping from UPS, oh how kind.

With our broadband back we were both in awe
And bought most everything on line that we saw.
There were Blackberries, iPods and an new HDTV,
A Laptop, cell phone and of course a DVD.

As the three went to their trucks and were driving away
“Don’t forget the extra batteries” we heard them all say.

Blu-Ray May Be Blue Sky for Holiday Retailers

Now that the battle between the new High Definition DVD formats is over, some executives at Sony may feel they may have won the battle but are losing the war.

I wrote a year ago about the two competing HD DVD formats and how the industry may be headed for another stalemate similar to the Betamax™ vs VHS wars of the 1970s. There were large companies lining up behind each format with Apple, Panasonic and Sony in the Blu-Ray™ camp and Microsoft, Toshiba and NEC siding with HD-DVD™. The good news is that the HD-DVD™ camp threw in the towel and now only Blu-Ray™ remains. Good for the consumer.

Like many new electronic gadgets coming to market the first models of the Blu-Ray™ DVD players were expensive and only the early adopters purchased them. Manufacturers like Sony were looking to this upcoming holiday season to firmly establish the format as the new “must have” Christmas gift. They figured that with more and more households buying new high definition TV sets, it was only logical that these same households would want to see DVD programming displayed on those sets with the same clarity and wide screen impact that only a new Blu-Ray™ player could provide.

Seems that someone forgot to tell the consumer. The sales of Blu-Ray™ DVD players have been well behind projections forcing retailers to deeply discount the price as we head into the holiday shopping season. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal predicted that some stores may offer sub $150 models right after Thanksgiving.

So is this the time to buy? There is no question that the Blu-Ray™ DVD played on a large High Definition TV set is awesome. You must keep in mind however that the current pricing of Blu-Ray™ DVDs is about double of the standard DVD. So a movie could set you back more than $30. And that is without the popcorn!

Even if you have a new HD TV, you might want to consider a standard DVD player that has “up conversion.” Using “electronic magic” these machines make a standard DVD movie look more like a HD movie. These players can be found for about $100.

If you have not purchased a HD set then there is no reason to buy a Blu-Ray™ player or an up converting DVD player right now. The quality of picture from a Blu-Ray™ DVD on your standard definition TV will not be noticeably better. Save your money and wait until they drop in price so that they are displayed next to the chewing gum at the check out counter.

For those who are considering a Blu-Ray™ player you will find that the format offers much more than just better pictures and sound. Some Blu-Ray™ programming is enhanced by connecting the DVD player with the Internet and thus making the program interactive. This experience is similar to playing online or using devices like the Xbox™ or Wii™. Of course, to use these features you must have a high speed Internet connection like RoadRunner™ or Cincinnati Bell DSL.

All Phone Services Can Fail

Well, it didn’t take Cincinnati Bell long to call attention to the fact that Time Warner’s Digital Phone service was more prone to failure than good old Ma Bell’s hard wired service. While both services require some sort of wire either on poles or underground, digital phone service provided by a cable company like Time Warner requires each household to have electric power in order for the system to work. While Cincinnati Bell’s service also requires electric power, the power is provided by the phone company.

What the Cincinnati Bell advertisement didn’t mention is that during the recent wind storm both services had problems with downed lines. It makes little difference if you don’t have electricity if the wire connecting you to the phone system goes down. Standard “Ma Bell” phone systems or cable delivered services can be put out of service by a big tree falling across the wires or wind felling utility poles.

Many people found out the hard way that even if they had a regular Cincinnati Bell line their phone did not work. Many of the new phones used in homes have tons of features like caller ID, call holding, integrated answering machines and more. Many of these new phones require electric power in order to work. Many of us also have cordless phones. These too need electricity to work.

If you maintain Cincinnati Bell service, it is a good idea to have at least one “old fashion” phone that has a cord which plugs into the telephone jack and requires no other source of power. You can get one for about 15 bucks at most discount stores. Sometimes simpler is better.

I heard from some readers that they lost cell service during the recent wind storm. I did not have any problem with my Verizon service but it understandable how there could have been some interruptions. Cell towers can be buffeted by the wind, and while most have back up power, these back up systems can fail. Also many of the cell towers are interconnected with line-of-sight microwave radio systems. High winds can cause the dishes to go out of alignment thus making connection to the telephone network difficult or impossible. Some cell towers use the same hard wired circuits that you use in your home. Again, if the lines are down they don’t work.

Those with cell phones found that they had no way to charge the battery. Remember, you can use your car to charge up the battery and since the chargers take so little current, you won’t harm a good car battery even if the car is not running.

Internet access is another casualty of power failures and downed wires. Even if you use Cincinnati Bells DSL service, you need to have a DSL modem in your house and that requires electricity. Same for Time Warner’s Road Runner. About the only Internet service that can work with power out is a lap top running one of the Internet services provided by the cell phone companies.

The good news is that the recent storm was a once in a 100 year phenomenon. We are fortunate that our phones, internet and TV really do work most of the time no matter if they are delivered by Ma Bell, Time Warner or though the air.