New America Foundation is hosting a Q&A with Eric Schmidt in DC on November 18, 2008 at 1pm. Thought some of my readers might be interested in attending (and hopefully asking some good questions). If you're not in town, it will also be webcast live. More info and RSVP at: http://www.newamerica.net/events/2008/eric_schmidt

Here's the brief blurb:

Eric Schmidt -- Chairman and CEO of Google, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the New America Foundation, and a member of President-Elect Barack Obama's Transition Economic Advisory Board -- will be in Washington Tuesday, Nov. 18, to discuss the intersection between technology and the economy.

Schmidt will explore the ways in which technology can help the new administration and Congress address two of the biggest challenges ahead: generating the kind of short- and long-term economic and job growth that can help pull the nation out of financial distress, and restoring public trust in government. He will offer specifics on such topics as the need to build a 21st Century Infrastructure, support for research and innovation, repairs for our education system, and ways to make the government more open and responsive.

Schmidt's remarks will be followed by a Q&A session. Space is limited for this event; please RSVP if you plan to attend. This event will also be webcast live.

Start: 11/18/2008 - 1:00pm
End: 11/18/2008 - 2:30pm
Ronald Reagan Building Amphitheater
1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, 20004
United States

Yesterday will go down in history as a bellwether moment. Few among us will soon forget the excitement of Obama's election. But there was an equally historic vote yesterday that for geeks, policy analysts, and technologists represents an entirely new trajectory in telecommunications. In essence, the FCC has begun the transition from command-and-control, single-user spectrum licensure to a more distributed system that holds the potential to eliminate the artificial scarcity that prevented widespread access to the public airwaves since 1927.

Yesterday, the FCC ruled that unlicensed white space devices would be allowed to operate on unused television channels -- allowing an entirely new generation of technological innovation to begin. While the official order has not been release, here's the information that's been gleaned thus far (please note that this is tentative information and until the official Report and Order is issued by the FCC, while unlikely, is subject to change):

• Both fixed and personal portable devices will be allowed. So look for base stations on cell towers as well as next generation PDAs and multi-media devices.
• Personal portable devices will be allowed to operate at power levels up to 40mW.
• On non-adjacent channels (i.e., where you have three unoccupied TV channels in a row, this would be the middle channel), higher power levels will be allowed (up to 100mW -- though I've also heard that up to 4-5W may be possible).
• Unlicensed wireless microphones will not receive priority status except, potentially, on channels 2-4. On all other channels (through to channel 51), all devices will share secondary status to primary broadcasters (e.g., television stations and licensed microphones).
• A geolocational database will back up spectrum sensing capabilities to ensure WSDs do not operate in restricted areas. Left unclear is whether licensed wireless microphone users will be allowed to exempt their venue from WSD use and whether this would also allow for unlicensed wireless microphone users to do likewise.
• A Notice of Inquiry will be launched by the FCC to investigate higher-powered use as an additional service in areas with few digital TV stations. This would facilitate backhaul capabilities for WISPs and other service providers.

I first started working on this proceeding back in 2004. After years of work, and an ever-increasing amount of time and energy spent on this battle, I can honestly say that I'm amazed by how successful this work has proven. At the same time, much like the presidential election, this win provides only the opportunity for amazing new innovations and services and much work remains. We need to work with performing arts groups to ensure that they have access to the technologies they need to carry out their work. And we need to work with wireless ISPs and allied organizations to ensure that they have the resources they need to continue spreading connectivity to underserved communities across the country. Finally, though the foundation has been set, the most important battle is yet to come -- opening up all underutilized bands for opportunistic spectrum reuse.

I expect a multi-pronged approach to what lies ahead. I've already begun talks with WISP allies to follow up on the FCC's announced NOI. Likewise, I'm hopeful that folks I've been talking with for months within the performing arts community will see the FCC's decision as a good reason to collaborate on future joint efforts. In the interim, I am working with my colleague, Victor Pickard, on opening up debate on opportunistic spectrum reuse -- starting with government spectrum. Our revamped working paper should be out in the near future, laying out a policy agenda for what needs to be done at the down of the age of opportunistic spectrum reuse.

Here's the FCC's press release as well as Commissionerss statements:

11/4/08

FCC Adopts Rules For Unlicensed Use of Television White Spaces.
News Release: Word | Acrobat
Martin Statement: Word | Acrobat
Copps Statement: Word | Acrobat
Adelstein Statement: Word | Acrobat
Tate Statement: Word | Acrobat
McDowell Statement: Word | Acrobat

An interesting thing has been happening -- people are actually reading McCain's technology plan. The reviews are coming in (and they're not pretty).

Here's a synopsis (click on the author's names to read the full analysis):

"[McCain's Tech Plan] reads like some crotchety technophobe knocked over the bumper sticker wrack at an Ayn Rand Reading Revival and tried to rearrange them so it made a policy." -- Harold Feld

"Seriously, this is approaching Chuck Norris-level aggrandizement. How delusional does this guy have to be to imagine himself the hero of every situation he's in, to the point that he has to frame himself as a white knight on regulating packet shaping over the internet? I'm actually kind of impressed. Here are the rest of the sub-headings. They are of course not about technology, they are about John McCain." -- Matt Stoller

"The McCain worldview scares the hell out of me. Technology is complicated -- and the solutions we need are fairly complex -- they require an in depth understanding of the problem if you're going to formulate a solution. And McCain clearly doesn't understand some of the core problems... I'm still waiting for McCain to release a real technology plan -- one that helps consumers and addresses the problems we're facing instead of protecting corporations and ignoring technology market failings." -- Sascha Meinrath

"McCain has delivered his tech policy. And it’s clear: This election will determine whether America willfully becomes a third-world participant in the online economy and culture." -- David Weinberger

"In summary, the McCain plan says, "What's good for AT&T and Comcast and Cisco and the RIAA is good for America." It's about their Internet, nor ours." -- David Isenberg

"We have already had 16 months of no policy in the technology realm and an admitted lack of knowledge by the candidate himself. Now the campaign can’t even get the basics straight on something they absolutely should know — the candidate’s own record." -- Peter Swire

"McCain declines to put net neutrality into law. Indeed, he declines to guarantee all Americans the right to obtain the information they want, communicate to everyone they want, send non-obscene and lawful information to anyone they want, over the Internet. Why? What's the hold-up? Why not assure this paradigm?" -- Reed Hundt

"We see that millions of Americans are using the Internet to help each other out, and to improve the way government works. The Obama technology plan encourages civic engagement and openness. Unfortunately, the McCain plan adopts the Bush/Cheney approach, which promotes privileges for big companies at the expense of democracy." -- Craig Newmark

"Where Obama has specifics and new ideas, McCain has old ideas and positions that would be taken for granted in any Administration other than the one now ending. The reason is that McCain has a problem: he’s out of step with the real world." -- Kevin Werbach

"McCain fails to understand that net neutrality only regulates the internet in the same way the First Amendment to the US Constitution regulates speech!! There are many different kinds of regulation, and this is one that protects the rights of individuals and an entire public good from being victimized by giant corporations." -- Jon Bartholomew

"The policy statement starts by addressing McCain's economic policies, which emphasize perpetuation of Bush's low tax on capital gains and reduction of the corporate tax rate...The fact that tax cuts landed at the top of the list reflects the prominent role that the Republican take on fiscal conservatism will play in McCain's policy decisions." -- Ryan Paul/Ars Technica

"The computing-challenged McCain, who said that he needs his wife to cut on the computer and check email for him ("I am an illiterate that has to rely on my wife for all the assistance that I can get."), has released his technology "policy". It sounds like another handout to corporations and a screw you to the rest of us." -- Pam Spaulding

"McCain’s tech policy is one big giveaway to big corporations, an incoherent, muddled mess that does nothing to address the challenges America faces in vaulting our technological development into the 21st Century. Not only is he against net neutrality, he barely addresses things like wireless spectrum, broadband development, copyright law reform–and when he does, it’s invariably in favor of the big business interests to which his campaign is utterly beholden." -- Martin Bosworth

"It’s been widely reported that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is a self-admitted 'illiterate' when it comes to computers. But some have suggested that he could still put forward sound technology policy because he surrounds himself with tech-savvy advisers, such as former Hewlett-Packard chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina and former eBay president and CEO Meg Whitman. But it’s unclear how much he is listening to them. Yesterday, McCain finally released his technology platform. (Until this time, 'technology' was not even listed in the Issues section of his campaign website.) His plan supposedly focuses on innovation, but in reality, it often repeats McCain’s previous non-innovative positions, such as his opposition to net neutrality. -- Amanda/Think Progress

"In outlining his policy, McCain reiterated his opposition to net neutrality, a hot-button issue for many bloggers and technology advocates...

John McCain does not believe in prescriptive regulation like "net-neutrality," but rather he believes that an open marketplace with a variety of consumer choices is the best deterrent against unfair practices.

He also believes that if you put the internet in neutral, it'll stall." -- Mary Phillips-Sandy/Comedy Central

I've finished reading through McCain's Technology Plan -- it's a quick read, about 50% as large as Obama's Technology Plan but with even less actual content. One telecommunications expert told me, "The fact that it's so thin and fluffy speaks for itself."

That said, there were some good points in McCain's plan (e.g., supporting research and development, increasing H1-B Visas, tax breaks for R&D, supporting national broadband buildout, increasing government transparency, reforming the patent system) -- of course they were all points that were already in Obama's plan, released last fall. In fact, the parallels are fairly substantial (to a point).

But it's in the discrepancies where the two candidates are thrown into stark relief...

Network Neutrality

Obama's says: "A key reason the Internet has been such a success is because it is the most open network in history. It needs to stay that way. Barack Obama strongly supports the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet."

McCain's says: "John McCain does not believe in prescriptive regulation like 'net-neutrality,' but rather he believes that an open marketplace with a variety of consumer choices is the best deterrent against unfair practices."

Diversity of Media Ownership

Obama's says: "Barack Obama believes that providing opportunities for minority-owned businesses to own radio and television stations is fundamental to creating the diverse media environment that federal law requires and the country deserves and demands. As president, he will encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation’s spectrum."

McCain's says: [Nothing -- there's nothing about diversity or media ownership in his technology plan.]

Lowering the Corporate Tax Rate

Obama's says: [Specific tax breaks for R&D and broadband buildouts, but no cross the board tax cut for major corporations.]

McCain's says: "John McCain will lower the corporate tax rate to 25 percent."

General Worldview Towards Technology

Obama's says: "Obama is also opening up the campaign and giving average Americans a chance to offer opinions and information on important policy issues and Americans have responded: over 15,000 policy ideas have been submitted through the web site."

McCain's says: "Offering simple common sense solutions to real problems is at the core of the McCain’s innovation agenda."

A lot of McCain's plan looks good (a lot of it also looks identical to Obama's plan), but it's this last one -- this McCain worldview that scares the hell out of me. Technology is complicated -- and the solutions we need are fairly complex -- they require an in depth understanding of the problem if you're going to formulate a solution. And McCain clearly doesn't understand some of the core problems.

Take competition, for example. McCain's tech plan states, "Competition has been a great strength for America — offering opportunity, low prices, and increased choice for our citizens. Markets work best when there is robust competition. Competition means that any new devices invented cost less because there are more choices. This ensures more Americans can afford to be part of the digital economy." Yet, when it comes to things like broadband services, the US is paying more for services and has fewer service options than a growing host of other countries. If you can't identify the problem of lack of competition in the first place, how can you possibly solve the problem. Platitudes about competition aren't going to cut it.

A technology plan has to address the massive market conglomerization that's been happening in technology -- from Microsoft to Google, Apple to AT&T. McCain's plan completely sidesteps this issue -- Obama's plan addresses it head-on:

"An Obama administration will look carefully at key industries to ensure that the benefits of competition are fully realized by consumers. Obama will strengthen the antitrust authorities’ competition advocacy programs to ensure that special interests do not use regulation to insulate themselves from the competitive process. Obama will also strengthen competition advocacy in the international community as well as domestically. He will take steps to ensure that antitrust law is not used as a tool to interfere with robust competition or undermine efficiency to the detriment of U.S. consumers and businesses. He will do so by improving the administration of those laws in the U.S. and by working with foreign governments to change unsound competition laws and to avoid needless duplication and conflict in multinational enforcement of those laws. In short, an Obama administration will take seriously its responsibility to enforce the antitrust laws so that all Americans benefit from a growing and healthy competitive free-market economy."

However you come down on these issues, I'd love to hear more about your take on the McCain and Obama plans (either on blog or off). Personally, I'm still waiting for McCain to release a real technology plan -- one that helps consumers and addresses the problems we're facing instead of protecting corporations and ignoring technology market failings.

When McCain states, "

Hopefully, it will be out soon. I look forward to reading it over and seeing what he plans to do to support 21st century technology development. In particular, I'm hoping he's put together a concrete strategy for spreading broadband connectivity in the United States. Thus far, George Bush has completely punted on this issue, which has caused the US to fall behind a growing list of other countries... stay tuned!

Today and tomorrow you can catch me at the Politics Online Conference. Politics online is equal parts politics, technology and geekery. Reading through the program, it seems like folks have just discovered Web2.0 -- I'm hoping the actual presentations and discussions will go far beyond the cliche. One of the problems in these sorts of conferences is that the tech parts are watered down for the wonks and the policy oversimplified for the geeks. It sure would be a breath of fresh air to attend a gathering that managed to solve the problem.

[UPDATE1] Well, we're off to a roaring start -- spending time to talk about and briefly explain such "new" technologies as RFID, IPv6, and UWB. I hate it when my fears of oversimplification are realized (that said, the speakers did do a good job of making the technological explanation accessible to folks who'd never heard of them before). My favorite myth thus far has been that hackers will be able to hack RFID tags to extract data from them that doesn't actually exist (e.g., that a hacker could figure out whether a product with an RFID tag was made using sweatshop labor -- as if there's some sort of "sweatshop" bit embedded on RFID tags). Obviously folks will hack these things (they already are), but not in those ways.

I've been telling folks for some time that 1 gigabit wireless was just around the corner. iTWire is reporting on a new wireless chip prototype that will broadcast at throughput rates of 5 gigs per second. These chips, operating way up in the 60GHz unlicensed band, will be great for PANs and LANs, but probably won't be as useful for community networking (since they'll absolutely need line of sight). But with 7GHz of spectrum to work with (57-64GHz), these devices are showing the power of spread spectrum wireless.

Hoo-ray for open tech! Anne Eisenberg over at the New York Times featured the Neuros OSD -- an open source video recorder. The Neuros OSD is a pretty slick looking piece of hardware, but more importantly, everything about it is open -- all the way down to the circuitry. For those of us who've been advocating for open tech, this is an extremely interesting development (certain to rankle the RIAA, MPAA, and other entities fighting against our fair use rights.

Here's the NYTimes article:

Read more...