Brad on Broadcast

Just as Genachowski launches his sprint toward net neutrality, House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee ranking member Cliff Stearns, R-FL, has introduced legislation that would put an immediate stop, or at least a pause, to the chairman’s plans. more

Tom Kenny, editorial director of Broadcast Engineering sister publications Mix, EM and Remix recently talked with Tom Sahara, senior director of remote operations and IT at Turner Networks. The two discussed how the Turner Network handles multichannel audio and the importance of good education for operators and engineers. more

Harmonic announced on Thursday, May 6 an agreement to acquire video server and storage infrastructure company Omneon in a stock-and-cash deal worth $274 million. Harmonic has agreed to pay $190 million in cash and approximately 17.1 million shares of its common stock as part of the transaction. The acquisition, which must still be approved by regulators and shareholders, is expected to close in the third quarter. more

According to the Daily Tech Blog, the FCC announced the formation of its spectrum task force to drive the implementation of the agency’s National Broadband Plan (NBP). A key component of that plan is to claw back some 120MHz of TV spectrum and reassign it for use as wireless delivery. Broadcasters will be invited to participate in “incentive auctions,” which could result in stations getting some portion of the auction revenue. The remainder of that money would be used by the FCC to fund its NBP. The NAB responded by saying, “We cannot endorse this proposal.” more

The “Wall Street Journal” has said that Google will introduce Android-based television software to developers at its I/O conference this month. This is Google’s open platform operating system it hopes will be widely used to drive set-top boxes (STBs), mobile phones and other Internet devices. Companies apparently looking at the software include Sony, Intel and Logitech. more

On May 4, Verizon began supplying Internet content to FiOS subscribers. Verizon FiOS subscribers can now watch Internet videos and listen to Internet radio via their cable remote controls and electronic program guide. The radio service is being provided by iHeartRadio. The new service, which adds to an ever-growing list of Internet content through FiOS TV, is free and automatically available for all subscribers. more

A recent article in Scientific American was discussing the FCC’s National Broadband Plan and that the commission had determined 100Mb/s was the minimum acceptable Internet speed for much of America. The author’s conclusion was that the FCC’s goal of providing 100Mb/s to 100 million rural, underprivileged and otherwise underserved households across the United States was basically bogus. Who really needs 100Mb/s anyway? more

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has decided to ignore the Washington, D.C., Circuit Court ruling and announced Wednesday that he’s going to regulate the Internet despite being told he has no authority to do so. Emboldened by a regulation-supportive Congress, including Democrats like Henry Waxman, D-CA; John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-WV; and John Kerry, D-MA; Genachowski confirmed to sources that the FCC would re-establish regulation over Internet services. more

When in a political battle, overwhelm your opposition with bureaucrats, committees and task forces. That’s what Genachowski’s gang announced on April 26 when it created a “spectrum task force.” The task force is charged with advancing the FCC’s agenda to claw back spectrum to support broadband. Said the commission, “The group will play a big role in the execution of the spectrum recommendations in the National Broadband Plan, including long-term spectrum planning.” What is significant about this committee is that it has already issued a timetable for taking back 120MHz from broadcasters. (See Figure 1 to the right. The FCC’s task force on clearing spectrum issued this timetable on April 26.) more