Just a few short years ago,Research In Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry was the industry leader in smartphone technology. It enjoyed near-monopoly status within some key workforce sectors such as Capitol Hill and federal agencies. Today, after just a few short years, and the relentless introduction of newer, faster, smarter (and, many think, cooler) devices that offer Blackberry functionality plus new tools and a preferred interface, many now speculate on RIM’s survival. This provides all of us an important market study on the speed of innovation.

Needless to say, the pace of new technology is astounding. The industry gold standard bearer, Apple, continues to push the envelope – having announced within the last year significant upgrades to both of their flagship product lines, the iPhone 4s and the third-generation iPad.

In the meantime, BlackBerry’s “numbers are plummeting. A National Journal survey found that 41 percent of Capitol Hill workers have iPhones – compared to just 13 percent two years earlier. Meanwhile, BlackBerrys are down from 93 percent to 77 percent, implying that some percentage of people who would rather not are being forced to carry around BlackBerrys for work.” As one Washington Post writer astutely surmises: “Nothing consigns a technology to the Has-Bin faster than being forced to carry it around for work.”

While RIM products may be out of vogue, our national desire for smart mobile technology is only growing. According to the new study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project: “Nearly half (46%) of Americans aged 18 and older own a smartphone as of February, 2012, up from 36% in May, 2011.”

However, the same survey had some bad news for RIM: “An analysis of the platforms being used reveals around 20% of all American mobile phone users own an Android OS-based phone, slightly more than the 19% of iOS users. Just 6% used Blackberry RIM, down from 10% in May last year.”

With all of this movement in market share, the state of innovation balanced by industry regulation and policy deserves some attention. Today’s regulatory and policy ceiling can be tomorrow’s floor – meaning that what policymakers and legislators determine to be the rules that companies live by while leaving room for growth today, could some day become restraining and stifle innovation, simply because one can not know where the market lands tomorrow.

As we’ve seen, technological innovation has the power to address societal challenges. Investment and innovation in Health IT , for example is only now beginning to gain momentum. This sea change in healthcare can improve and even save lives –especially within the most at-risk communities that have difficulty accessing healthcare and struggle with more chronic disease.

While the future of the BlackBerry is uncertain, the potential within advancing mobile technology is bright indeed – with the warning that our policymakers have a key responsibility to make sure the path is cleared for that future to become areality.

Jason A. Llorenz, Esq. is Executive Director, the Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership (HTTP). Follow on Twitter: @hispanicttp.  www.httponline.org.

LISTA, HTTP and our members often discuss the transformative potential of technology. We promote technology, innovation and broadband connectivity because it empowers communities, reveals new possibilities, and changes lives. But technology can also improve health, quality of care – and save lives while saving the health care system dollars. Health IT has had a dramatic impact on patient care and telemedicine, with endless future possibilities.

That’s why the National Latino Alliance on Health Information Technology (Latino HIT), an initiative of LISTA that focuses on advancing health care delivery to Latino communities, kicked off our “EHR Insights 2015: Latinos and Health Care Information Technology”, a conference discussing ideas and applications of health IT, along with HTTP last week. Our conference encouraged the implementation of health IT and electronic medical records in the primary care physician’s practice, paving the way for additional exciting health care technologies and increased adoption of mobile health (mHealth) and telemedicine that in turn will help address health disparities in the Latino community.

Yes, the digital revolution has the potential to improve Latino health. It must be stated that with roughly 50.5 million Hispanics living in the United States and representing 16 percent of the U.S. total population, Latino health and thedisparities we face have national implications. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and stroke are some of the leading causes of illness and death among Hispanics. As of 2006 CDC data, Latinos were 1.5% more likely to die from diabetes than the general population.

The leading cause of death for Latinos is heart disease. One of the most critical contributing factors to heart disease is hypertension (or high blood pressure), which can be related to obesity. The CDC notes that Latinos are less likely than non-Hispanic whites to effectively manage their hypertension and pursue preventive care. Latinas particularly, have high levels of hypertension and are more likely to have heart complications as a result.

Communities who struggle the most with life-challenging diseases and illnesses could greatly benefit from new health IT applications that include remote health monitoring and remote medical consultations – opportunities to allow patients to participate in their own healthcare, communicate more regularly with medical professionals regardless of location, and see a more cost-efficient and convenient form of care. But the healthcare innovations that can deliver treatment, care, and expertise in new ways depend on the availability of a robust network infrastructure, including the ubiquitous deployment of high-speed wireless broadband.

The increased demand and use of wireless devices has created a “spectrum crunch” that threatens the long-term evolution of these life-saving innovations. This increased strain on capacity not only affects customer experience and causes dropped calls and slow data speeds, prompting the need for additional spectrum. Health IT applications run on these same airwaves. In order to fully realize the benefits and exciting potential of health IT, additional spectrum is needed, STAT.

Luckily, spectrum reform has happened: Congress recently passed legislation that will make underutilized spectrum available at auction, where carriers can bid for the rights to use it to expand their wireless broadband networks. Swift action to move new swaths of spectrum to use will power continued innovation and investment in the space, and create new applications that could save lives. As Peter Rysavy notes in his piece, re-purposing high-quality spectrum across the bands, and investment in the new capacity it allows, will be needed to advance the deployment of valuable, high-capacity networks.

The spectrum issue is a dense, obscure subject to communicate, even to our most tech-savvy stakeholder. But the bottom line is that Congress’ and the FCC’s role in moving spectrum quickly to advance wireless network capacity is of incredible value to all communities. In the health IT space, technology will drive new ways to address health disparities, drive efficiency, and save money – all of which stands to benefit Latino communities. But only with the continued evolution of 21st century broadband networks – both wire line, and high capacity wireless.

Jason A. Llorenz, Esq. is Executive Director, the Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership (HTTP). Follow on Twitter: @hispanicttp.

Jose Marquez-Leon is President and CEO of Latinos in Information Sciences and Technology Association (LISTA), which created the National Latino Alliance on Health Information Technology. Follow on twitter: @Lista1

Yesterday, Apple unveiled the latest and greatest of it’s amazing devices – its iPad 3.  While the reviews are still rolling in, the third-generation in the tablet series, adding 4G LTE capabilities, is expected by all accounts to be another blockbuster for a company that continues to be on the bleeding edge of innovation and design.  But most exciting, is what the continued evolution of tablet products, powered by high- capacity networks can mean for access.

Few imagined five years ago the impact Apple would have on the way we access information, play, and work on the web.  First with the introduction of the iPhone, then followed by the iPad, Apple has been revolutionizing the way the world accesses information online and on the go. We also can not overstate the significance of smartphones and tablets to making the web mobile and accessible – and the revolutionary, multi- billion dollar application or “app” market they have inspired.

The innovation and creativity to package a pocket-sized computer with a cell phone has spurred unprecedented competition, investment and further innovation from wireless carriers and device manufacturers alike. The “app” market itself, which will be a 15 billion dollar marketplace at the end of this year, has driven a new industry, jobs, and widespread  entrepreneurial activity.

Smart devices have lowered the barriers to broadband access and mobile computing for all consumers – especially Hispanics, who trail in home broadband adoption, but remain leading adopters of wireless and tablet devices. In fact, according to data from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, Hispanics are among the most prolific users of mobile broadband, far outpacing white and African American wireless users.

Now the iPad 3 brings new functionality to a wondrous window to the digital world — with a 4G option. This is good news for Hispanics and others looking for affordability and accessibility in the mobile broadband space, with greater capabilities.  What was not possible with smartphones, the tablet now delivers with its larger screen and ample processing power — combined with a wireless keyboard and some other options, we wonder if the iPad should join the category of digital divide killer.

The entire conversation about broadband adoption begins and ends with a business, an individual, or a family’s willingness to invest in digital tools. What the ipad 3 really accomplishes is a furtherance of excitement about what can be done online. Excitement about the app market as a marketplace for emerging entrepreneurs, excitement about the games that a young high schooler could learn to design, and the opportunities provided by emerging healthcare applications are all intrinsic to the conversation about closing the digital divide.

Once we figure out how every k-12 student can access books online, in  a web- enabled environment, we will revolutionize the education system as well.

Needless to say, the iPad 3 is a welcome addition to a stellar lineup of mobile computing devices. As we have seen with the adoption of smartphones, the hope is that as the tablet market matures, Latinos continue to leverage this new technology and  help close the gap in digital skills that will really make wireless technology the great equalizer.

Jason A. Llorenz, Esq. is Executive Director of the Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership (HTTP). Follow on Twitter: @hispanicttp.www.httponline.org.

February 27, 2012

Last Friday morning, The Today Show ran a report that underscores the importance of enacting effective federal web piracy legislation.  The report, which investigates the role of search engines and other web sites in counterfeiting Rosetta Stone products, sheds light on a problem with consequences for Hispanic entrepreneurs, consumers and families. Online piracy affects jobs and economic activity flowing from many sectors of the American economy – and threatens our goals for broadband adoption and digital literacy.

The story, “Are Top Websites In Business With Counterfeiters?”, exposes how counterfeiters target ad space on large, trustworthy sites in order to dupe buyers into thinking they are purchasing genuine Rosetta Stone products.  Such scams are bad for both consumers and businesses, costing thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in losses.  But they should be particularly concerning for Hispanics.

We should be concerned that less affluent Hispanics, who are both more cost-sensitive, and less likely than other communities to be able to defend from online theft and related identity crimes are more vulnerable to such online scams. In communities where we fervently advocate for broadband adoption and investment in digital literacy, we must also work torealize safety and security online. The Internet should not be a tool for scamming away a family of new digital adopters’ hard-earned dollars.

Take students, for example.  The Today Show report covers a high school senior cheated out of $200 for wrongly assuming she had purchased legitimate Rosetta Stone software that teaches Spanish.  The scam product didn’t even install.

Unfortunately, educational software is just the tipping point. Websites are selling counterfeit consumer products such as perfumes, clothing, baby cribs, automobile parts, and even medicines at Mach-speed. These products are sometimes defective and dangerous, and can expose consumers to identity theft and computer viruses.

It’s time to act.  Counterfeiters and scammers threaten meaningful adoption of technology and resources that are crucial to the socioeconomic advancement of all Americans.  Piracy threatens broadband adoption, and advancement of digital communities, especially for those just emerging online. It is time for Congress to come back to the table to address this issue in a bipartisan way, with the advice of all of the industries involved in the Internet ecosystem.

Jason A. Llorenz, Esq. is Executive Director of the Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership (HTTP). www.httponline.org. Follow on twitter: @hispanicttp.

February 8, 2012

Six months into the program, Comcast released a progress report on its Internet Essentials program – the low-cost Internet and training offering that Comcast led the pack with as a condition to its merger with NBC Universal. The program provides low-cost broadband service for $9.95 a month; the option to purchase a full-service, Internet ready computer for under $150; and multiple options for digital literacy training in print, online and in person.

In a blog post, Comcast listed a litany of achievements in the first six months of the program including:

·      Publicized the program across more than 4,000 school districts and over 30,000 schools, which have approximately 3.5 million National School Lunch Program (NSLP) families, of which 2 million qualify for free meals under the NSLP and, therefore, are eligible for Internet Essentials;

·      Worked with more than 3,000 partners, including governors; mayors; local, state, and federal legislators, and community-based organizations, including churches, libraries, and PTAs, to promote Internet Essentials and engage eligible families in their communities;

·      By the end of 2011, over 10,000 individuals and organizations had registered for the Partner Portal, the portal had experienced over 100,000 unique visits, and partners had requested 11.5 million pieces of promotional collateral —all at no charge to the partner organizations.

·      Offered approximately 300 in-person digital literacy training sessions with more than 1,250 individual attendees;

·      Empowered nearly 100,000 Comcast employees to directly connect eligible families in their communities;

·      Connected over 41,000 families (an estimated 160,000 Americans) to the power of the Internet in their homes, some for the very first time; and

·      Distributed over 5,500 computers at less than $150 each.

At a community event this month at Comcast’s Washington offices, Comcast Executive Vice President, David Cohen noted Comcast’s early success in getting the program up and running – and commented on Comcast’s early learnings. “…We learned that, in the early months of the program, we may have signed up some of the more digitally literate of the unconnected – those who may have had a computer already, but chose not to connect to the Internet…we realized that our connection to schools are among the top keys to success…and we are studying our participants to understand how to make the program more effective.”

Cohen went on to talk about the upgrades to the program, including an increase in speed, expanded eligibility to families eligible for reduced-price lunch, which expands availability to an additional 300,000 homes, thereby making it available to 2.3 million low-income homes nationwide. Cohen suggested future efforts would include partnering with the Connect2Compete program that the remainder of the cable systems are rolling out.

“We hope that, by partnering with Connect2Compete, we can cross-refer families outside of each other’s footprints, perhaps get more scale in the purchase of hardware…there is much more to be learned during our commitment to this program…”said Cohen.

One of the most interesting facts from this initial report is that a much lower than expected number of families opted for the discounted computer system – only about 1 in 7 families decided they needed a computer when signing up for the home Internet service.

The program is in its infancy, but these numbers suggest the possibility that the expense of hardware may not be as big an issue as previously thought.  It is possible that computer ownership may be high or it is possible that the first to sign up were the most computer literate — only time will tell the difference.

The Digital Divide represents a myriad of entrenched cultural barriers and thinking that are not easily overcome.  The first months of the program provides powerful learning for Comcast, its partners and other program operators. Much work is to be done in expanding participation and driving awareness, but this is a very good start.

Cohen went on to say “the Internet Essential program received more than 750,000 media impressions in 2011…compare that to our launch of a high-speed business Internet product in the same year, which received about 250,000 impressions, and you know that Comcast is pushing hard to get this program noticed and to get families to sign up.”

Comcast announced it is doubling the speed of service for Internet Essentials.  The proposed increase is a nod to the savvynature of this particular consumer segment – they know good value and will spend their hard-earned dollars only when necessary.  One hopes that increasing the value of the program will go a long way to increasing its penetration across the communities it serves.

Jason A. Llorenz, Esq. is Executive Director, the Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership (HTTP). Follow on Twitter: @hispanicttp.

Feb. 7, 2012

First the good news: The Federal Communications Commission is gearing up to auction portions of the nation’s airwaves for wireless use.  This is the Commission’s first auction since 2008 and its success is vital.  What’s at stake is nothing short of our ability to continue the social and economic progress made possible by our mobile revolution.

Now the bad news: with much at stake in these auctions, we may face poor policy making that could jeopardize their success. Whatever legislation the Congress passes must accomplish a few goals:

1)   Auction authority should be sufficiently tailored to avoid further delay resulting from judicial review; and

2)   The auctions must actually help Latino businesses by spurring investment and innovation, and address the spectrum crunch that threatens Latinos and other communities who have most benefited from the expansion of wireless services.

As background, these auctions will include portions of wireless spectrum being vacated by TV broadcasters.  The FCC’s goal is to allocate more spectrum to mobile communication so our webpages load faster and our calls go through the first time.  So far, so good.

But here’s the issue: Instead of opening the auctions to all companies that can afford to participate, some seem to favor “auctions” which limit who bids and who doesn’t.

Remember, the proceeds of winning bids go to the U.S. Treasury– needed revenue to address America’s hefty budget deficit and fund our national priorities.  Conducting auctions deliberately structured to bring in less revenue to the American treasury may not be a good place to start.

The FCC has treated spectrum similarly in the past to mixed results.

Back in 2008, for example, the FCC succumbed to pressure from Google and a host of self-styled “consumer” groups and decided to impose conditions on the use of a portion of the airwaves called C Block.  That action drove away potential bidders and resulted in a loss of billions of dollars to taxpayers.  The uncertainty associated with the FCC’s C Block “open handset” conditions devalued the spectrum and reduced the proceeds of auction.[1]

Even more depressing were the mid-1990s PCS C Block auctions in which only companies cherry-picked by the FCC were allowed to bid.  If a company wasn’t on the list, they couldn’t bid (For background on the FCC’s “designated entity” program, click here).

What happened?  More than half of the nearly 500 airwave licenses in that “auction” were returned for non-payment. Meanwhile, licenses held by that year’s big winner, NextWave, wound up in years of bankruptcy litigation that went all the way to the Supreme Court, ultimately costing taxpayers additional billions.

Now look at the potential human cost.  The Digital Divide is still with us.  For many, especially Latinos, wireless is helping to bridge that divide.  (For more about that, click here.)  But no one will be helped if this auctioned spectrum lies unused for years because the winning company doesn’t use it.

We’ve become a nation that revels in smartphones.  More than 30 percent of America’s households have only wireless phones, according to a federal report last December.  Among the 25-29 age group, that figure is an eye-popping 58%.

These wireless auctions, likely to take place in 2013, are tooimportant to be poorly designed.  There is far too much at stake — for Latinos, for the nation as a whole and for anyone depending on wireless to close the Digital Divide.

Jason A. Llorenz, Esq. is Executive Director of the Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership (HTTP)www.httponline.org Twitter: @hispanicttp.

January 26, 2012

The Latino mobile adoption story is well told. We know Latinos lead in using mobile, including social networking applications via their handheld devices. This week, a new study by noted economists Rob Shapiro and Kevin Hassettdocuments some interesting developments about job creation in the United States that connect to this overarching narrative.

Shapiro and Hassett show how the money spent by U.S. wireless companies to buy spectrum and build faster and bigger wireless broadband networks has created more than 1.5 million new jobs across the U.S. economy.  The study, released last week by NDN, a progressive think tank, documents the direct link between investing in wireless broadband networks and job creation.  Many economists have discussed the theoretical possibility of investments creating jobs (in studies from Deloitte, Ovum / CTIA, and the Phoenix Center), but this study is the first time anyone has actually looked backwards and proved a direct connection between investment in mobile build-out and jobs.

Study after study shows that Hispanics are key drivers of the demand for more and better wireless broadband. This community is a key part of the driver of private investment which has created the jobs documented in the new study.

So, a few takeaways here.  The new study proves that jobs can be created regardless of a slumping economy.  The study also proves that American ingenuity and innovation can have tangible benefits beyond cool apps and faster networks.  Of most relevance to Hispanic communities is the fact that we have played a leadership role in driving companies to invest – which has driven the job creation Shapiro and Hasset capture.

Jason A. Llorenz, Esq. is Executive Director of the Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership (HTTP). Twitter: @hispanicttp