Internet TV without the Internet: from those nice people at D-Telekom

Here's the ultimate anti-NN solution: offer people Internet TV and phone service but no Internet connection. Avoid Internet TV, avoid VOIP, but make them pay through the nose for video and voice. Genius. Wonder who's stoopid enough to subscribe?
‘With Entertain Pur we offer telephone and TV from a single source, reaching new user groups for our Entertain service,’ noted Christian P. Illek, T-Home board member, adding, ‘Customers who are not interested in internet services do not have to miss out on the innovative possibilities of Entertain any longer.’ The package includes over 120 TV channels, as well as access to an online video store, TV archive, time-shift function and HD content.

UK ISP landscape changing

Ofcom's latest market research (yes, 3 months ago! I'm slowly catching up) shows that the SMS texting market is almost as big as the fixed-mobile broadband market. That's really quite stunning, but shows where margins can be made - on 160 character texts. Fixed and wholesale revenues, and fixed lines, continue to decline, as does cable market share, and mobile voice is finally ceasing its growth.
So what happens next? Figure 4.6 shows TalkTalk has 25% market share, BT 26%, Orange (formerly mighty Freeserve) only 5% and cable 22% (down by half in the five years of mergers). Sky has taken its market share of about 13% mainly from cable and the TalkTalk partners.
Well, that means that infrastructure players control over 60% of the retail market - Sky with its satellite infrastructure has plenty of incentive to stop free video jacking up its BT backhaul costs. There is only really one competitive player in the UK: TalkTalk.
Notice who has been the most vocal consumer rights champion in the 'Three Strikes' debate? Yes, that single big  competitive player, the only game in town against the throttlers? But why should TalkTalk be such a consumer advocate - does it make sense? Only if that keeps regulatory costs down, otherwise it might as well throw its lot in with the oligopoly.
This is not an attractive market structure for net neutrality. Competition solves all problems, claims Ofcom...

Co-regulation by law: affected stakeholders all opposed...

Pesky constituents don't want the government's new plan! Both ISPs, who claim they were misrepresented by the minister when they decidedly oppose the 'Three Strikes' proposals, and domain name registrars, are highly critical of the Digital Economy Bill.
The former say its expensive, unworkable and of course inimical to consumer rights, the latter have been in the government's sights for some time and just don't buy any argument for an emergency government takeover threat...

Paid peering gets discovered by anti-NN lobbyists....

Sigh, a wonderfully flamed commentary that appears to almost entirely miss the point - lucky that the FCC has Jon Peha and Sharon Gillett to sort the wheat from the chaff...

Rupert and the enemies of openness...

News Corp. and Microsoft is one thing - bada-Bing - but its Murdoch's combination of Hollywood copyright and main street newspapers that makes his influence so critical - particularly in the UK prior to the 2010 Election, but also in the US leading up to the midterms...
Note also that opposing Google is opposing the Democrat White House, but its less certain here. Which way will policy swing? Will Mandelson bend towards copyright industries to prove his love for Rupert's products? How deep is Jeremy Hunt's debt to the Murdoch papers and Sky?

Digital Economy Bill - co-regulation by order

The new Bill was just published and its details will be fascinating to observe - I won't make detailed comments at this stage given that the Three Strikes law may be substantially amended and I won't follow Parliamentary debate in detail (just too busy elsewhere). It will have to shift fast to be finished before Parliament breaks before Easter to hold a General Election.

800lb gorillas of the Internet: Google and China?

Two very interesting pieces on strategy by the biggest players on the Internet - first Google working its 'less than free' strategy, actually subsidising software and hardware developers who work with Google Maps, Chrome OS etc., all based on a split of advertising, notably geo-locational ads. Its a massive challenge to Microsoft, Apple, Nokia.
Secondly, China has both bitch-slapped the IGF and properly rejoined ICANN - so its playing a more insider role in Internet governance discussions.
Watch both gorillas carefully, they could be game-changers.