Tech Bytes: 01.25.2017

January 25th, 2017

Topics: AI & Machine Learning Infrastructure Internet of Things

Tech Bytes

Net Neutrality in Danger from New Administration – Current FCC Commissioner, and vocal net neutrality critic, Ajit Pai has been nominated by Donald Trump to be the next chairman of the Federal Communication Commission. The nomination elevates the chief FCC critical of the Obama Administration’s efforts to regulate ISPs in the same manner as other utility providers. Pai is a former lawyer for Verizon, who is one of the ISPs likely the benefit greatly from any dismantling of net neutrality.

Will Amazon’s Best Picture Oscar Nomination Help in the Coming Net Neutrality War? – The power of traditional cable networks to bring the best content into living rooms has been a significant component of their success. With Amazon grabbing a Best Picture Academy Award nomination for “Manchester by the Sea”, Amazon is pushing up against that strength. The streaming giant now has content partnerships, original programming and production of high-quality feature films. Will that content provide leverage against ISPs looking forward to a roll back of net neutrality rules once Ajit Pai becomes the FCC Chair?

Pai’s nomination is a big deal for companies like Netflix and Amazon. They now have content consumers want, but rely on the ISPs for distribution of that content. Those ISPs are frequently in direct competition for customers with Amazon and Netflix and now has even more areas of overlap with the big two in streaming. That conflict is most visible with Comcast/NBCUniversal, who not only competes for cable subscribers, but also on the content production side. Can premium content give Amazon enough leverage to avoid a fight with ISPs? I guess we’ll find out after Pai is confirmed at FCC.

Increased Focus on Improving Wi-Fi Critical – The explosion of streaming media, IoT devices and personal voice assistants (Alexa) means more and more of our internet consumption is happening inside our homes and on our wireless routers. All that connectivity and increasing load has really stressed the current spectrum allotted to devices and especially to Wi-Fi. A lot of attention this year is expected to be on improving Wi-Fi speeds and performance, as well as opening up new parts of the spectrum. In particular, 5G is expected to be increasingly used for Wi-Fi, despite its limitations with interference from physical objects (it doesn’t travel through walls all that well). Other companies are working to make the routers themselves better, faster, and even more attractive (by making the box prettier, you are more likely to show it off and get a better signal, or so the thinking goes).

Google Taking Steps to Battle Fake News – Google has reportedly banned almost 200 publishers from its lucrative AdSense platform for peddling fake news stories. Google further noted that it removed 1.7 billion ads in 2016 for violating its terms and conditions, or promoting prohibited products and services, such as gambling and payday loan service advertisements. While fake news still permeates the web and social platforms, Google is taking the first step to rectify its lapses in the past regarding fake news.

Featured CXOTalk Video of the Week: AI and the Digital Healthcare Revolution

Artificial intelligence is disrupting healthcare, from the largest institutions to the most intimate doctor-patient interactions. What’s driving digital medicine, and what challenges might get in the way? Hear insights from our panel including Shari Langmak, editorial director of the physician network Medscape in Germany, Singularity University’s faculty chair Daniel Kraft, a scientist and inventor and David Bray, Chief Information Officer of the Federal Communications Commission.