The scope of the questions offered in the NOI are breath taking.  Even the discussion of how to define broadband is complex.  As a first step the questions,

…the Commission currently uses the terms “advanced telecommunications capability,” “broadband,” and “high-speed Internet.” Should these definitions be unified, or should they have separate meanings for different purposes, keeping in mind that current and future broadband platforms will increasingly support “high-speed Internet” as one of several offered services including voice, video, private data applications, and the like?

and these

…should a different set of standards be used to identify mobile broadband services which allow mobility or portability but may have lower throughputs – and fixed broadband services? Should the definitions vary depending on whether the broadband service is used to serve residential or business customers and if so, how?

hint the complexity of ensuring semantic precision as required for rule making or regulation. Most of us have a shared understanding based upon common knowledge or perhaps marketing definitions of what is meant by broadband or high-speed Internet.  Of course, no one will go to court over the phrases used in various articles or conservations.

The Plan lists 12 policy goals of a national strategy.

1. Advancing Consumer Welfare
2. Civic Participation
3. Public Safety and Homeland Securtiy
4. Community Development
5. Health Care Delivery
6. Energy Independence and Efficiency
7. Education
8. Worker Training
9. Private Sector Investment
10. Entrepreneurial Activity
11. Job Creation and Economic Growth
12. Other National Purposes

Beyond the policy goals the NOI addresses various network technologies including  satellite, WiMAX, LTE, and fiber along with the availability of the new white spaces spectrum.  The focus of questions concerning specific technologies and this new spectrum availability is the role these networks can play in “ensuring access” to broadband for rural areas or areas where competition is limited.

The FCC also announces in the NOI plans for a comprehensive data collection effort to assess the true availability of broadband in the US. Previous and current data relies upon service providers to provide the FCC with self-determined metrics on the availability of broadband and high-speed Internet access. The methods used by ISPs to measure access has come under fire from a number of consumer and public interest groups.  It is critical that astroturf organizations like Connected Nation are balanced by response and data efforts which are independent. Connected Nation is campaigning through the comments process at both the FCC and the NTIA which is responsible for a large portion of the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus outlay.

There are so many areas to contribute through the FCC’s comment process that everyone – especially those in the technology industry and the new media industry must participate.  Independents and entrepreneurs have a direct stake in helping the FCC meet it’s goals to provide Congress with a National Broadband Plan that recognizes new economic realities of innovation coming from the network’s edge rather than just being broadcast out to the edge. The Plan recognizes this in part by covering “Entrepreneurial Activity as one of the commission’s policy goals.

Below are examples of comments to the FCC.  Simple position statements like “We must have Net Neutrality” while can achieve weight is received from tens of thousands of individuals likely wouldn’t receive the same level of attention and consideration from the commissioners as a thoughtful and substantive response.  This point was made clear in a recent interview with Kevin Werbach who has been a recipient of these communications when he served at the FCC in the mid 1990s.

The full interview with Werbach will be posted as a podcast on mobilejones.com this weekend.  Other interviews are also coming from those with a unique perspective on the importance of the FCC’s work to establish the National Broadband Plan.

FCC Comment

Organization: New America Foundation

Leadership:  Eric Schmidt, CEO Google

Comments on Rural Broadband Strategy

FCC Comment

Organization: Connected Nation

Leadership: ATT, National Cable and Telecommunications Assoc., CTIA – The Wireless Assoc., United States Telecom Assoc., Verizon, Comcast and others.

Comments on Rural Broadband Strategy

Hopefully, these improvements will make mobilejones.com a better resource and enable some features that readers will love. Please be patient as these upgrades will be accomplished over time.

Looking forward in 2009 mobilejones.com will continue to grow with the same exciting pace as the industry, itself. Creativity and change is coming to the mobile industry at a frenetic pace. Time to get back to reporting on those developments and connecting with loyal past and new readers.

Tim Chang

 This is a great opportunity for mobile developers to achieve funding for projects that apply location services and the strengths of mobile devices for capturing and delivering media in real-time.  The core requirements for a winning application include the following.

1. Must be a digital innovation applied to journalism
2. Must apply to a specific geography which can be replicated to other geographies
3. Must be built on open source technologies 

For more information on how to apply for the News Challenge visit the web site.If you need assistance in framing your application or refining your idea, the News Challenge is also providing a virtual “Garage” where applicants can interact with mentors.

Not unlike the rest of the blogosphere and media of all types, the topics dominating conversation in the CoM this week are Twitter and the iPhone. Just last night CNN anchor, Rick Sanchez, asked his Sunday TV broadcast audience for patience, because his head was down as he updated his Twitter account. Sanchez went on to explain that he updates Twitter at various times during the program.

There is no doubt among us that the iPhone, or as some call it, the Jesus Phone, has had a significant impact on the mobile phone industry. Many have credited Nokia’s acquisition of the Symbian OS from their partners to a competitive response to the iPhone and its software stack. The mobile phone narrative before iPhone was dominated by the overwhelming global market share figures for Nokia and the focus was on the dance for #2 between Motorola and Samsung. No more.

Today’s narrative is all about loving or hating the iPhone and various iPhone killers, who often don’t even rise to the level of manslaughter much less killer. Every iPhone rumor is critiqued, anticipated and speculated. Apple has become a happening and all else in the mobile industry is somehow compared to it.

Likewise, every announcement that Twitter makes is reported, dissected and examined for it’s current and future impact on the communication network that has replaced blogging for many. Twitter has replaced Facebook as the social phenomenon crossing the chasm into the consciousness of mainstream media organizations, and through them, to the public.

This week’s Carnival of the Mobilists reflects the passion and obsession with these two mobile developments. And in addition, this week from the mobilejones.com point of view I’m adding microblogging from Twitter to the roster of writing about mobility. Let me know if you love it, hate it or don’t care below by leaving your comments. Now, on with the show.

This week’s Carnival leads off with the most recent and excellent quarterly report from Chetan Sharma on the performance of the US data market in his US Wireless Data Market Update. An always excellent resource, Sharma’s report keys in on how the iPhone is impacting non-texting data usage in the US. There’s plenty here to be excited about as the growth of data usage in the US means opportunity for developers and others in the value chain.

All Hail iPhone

From Igor Faletski at Mobscure we learn that Admob’s reliance on the separate “Mobile Web” and the iPhone’s “One Web” approaches may spell a threat to Admob’s survival. Faletski’s “The Uncertain Future of Admob” posits,

iPhone users are less likely to go to sites that use AdMob advertising, because they are unaware of existence of a separate “mobile web”.

In a counterpoint article, James Cooper of mjelly, presents his case in “Why better mobile browsers do not mean the end of mobile-specific websites.” Cooper provides plenty of screenshots to illustrate his point. And his basis of comparison? You guessed….the iPhone.

Kiran Bellubbi laments the possible hazards for Android in, “Google Android and the Perils of Software by Committee.” Bellubbi points to both Symbian and the iPhone and its software stack to make a case against Google’s OS strategy of partnerships. Interesting reading.

Twitter and more Twitter

Next Howard Rheingold from Smartmobs recounts the experience of a Twittering protester who was expelled from the anti-social media country, China, during the Olympics. In “Twitterer/streaming video broadcaster evicted from Olympics” Rheingold shares the post deportation report captured via Qik.

From the IMS company, Radvision, Tsahi Levent-Levi, delivers a communication transport death match featuring “SMS v. Mobile IM. ” Levent-Levi has a prespective on the winner, but I can’t but ask….what about Twitter?

From master mobile blogger and developer, C. Enrique Ortiz, “SMS is King, Heaven and Hell all at the Same Time.” Ortiz breaks down the cost of providing an SMS service from the developer’s point of view as he ponders the recent decision by the Twitter team to eliminate the service in the UK. Ortiz offers an alternative suggested approach and given the UK is the texting King of the world, Enrique is on target, as usual.

My offering for this week, also, highlights the use of Twitter in the yet to be produced GOP Unconventional site. “Conventions 2008 and GOP Unconventional” from mobilejones.com demonstrates how some are using Twitter to bypass Mainstream Media and how MSM is tapping into the Twitter enabled “news wire” for enriching their coverage of this year’s national political conventions, the DNC and RNC.

Sachendra Yadav writes more generally about mobile social networks and the communication they enable in “Understanding ‘User Needs’ a Mobile Social Network Can Satisfy.” Yadav advocates integration of the device’s phonebook application into the social network application, and outlines a list of requirements for the application.

Mobile Life Hacking
Handi Mobility provides a detailed tutorial in “Python S60: Syncing Contacts with a Webserver.” This very detailed tutorial provides all the code to create your own syncing application for S60 devices.

Also from the S60 platform, Dameon D. Welch-Abernathy in”JoikuSpot Now on Windows Mobile” announces the use of JoikuSpot for turning Wi-Fi transceiver in a Win Mobile device into a personal hotspot.

Martin Sauter helps international travelers stay connected to the Internet and celebrates the anniversary of his crowdsourced effort in “1st Anniversary of the Pre-paid Wireless Internet Wiki.” Now that’s cool.

Twitterlicious: Mobile in 140 chars

iPhone 2.0.2 Firmware Update

http://twitter.com/Forian/statuses/891530171

http://twitter.com/jrkac4/statuses/891532579

http://twitter.com/FearCake/statuses/891529125

http://twitter.com/RSS_Techmeme/statuses/891528524

Mobile Video

http://twitter.com/Android_News/statuses/891527530

http://twitter.com/BruceGAO/statuses/889872696

http://twitter.com/therefore/statuses/888730516

That’s it for this first test of adding Twitter (microblogging) to the Carnival of Mobilists. I’m sure there’s a better way to display these and hope to put more time into that in the future. There’s an amazing roundup this week.

Be sure to check back next week when the Carnival heads home to Mobhappy.

Watch for a new design along with a new approach and focus for mobilejones going live soon. Thanks for sticking around to those who have, and look forward to getting your feedback on the changes. Until then….

Check out the CoM this week for the best resource on media about mobile in the blogosphere. Also, check with the schedule to find the lastest host locations of the carnival. Great job, Xen! And see you at next week’s show.