3Q: NCTA President & CEO Michael Powell Talks Tech Policy Issues for 2020 and Beyond
As 2020 kicks off a new year and decade, will we see a new set of technology policy issues on the agenda? Or will the same issues continue to pop up from the past? We sat down with NCTA President & CEO Michael Powell to learn what policy issues he views as top of mind for the industry, how he sees the ever-changing streaming TV marketplace, and what is inspiring him as he looks at the issues of the day. What are the top policy issues or challenges facing the industry this year? I think 2020 is a year that is going to be driven by exponential changes in technology and business responses
Safer Internet Day–Together for a Better Internet
Screens are all over our daily lives, reminding us of meetings and appointments, serving up a friend’s vacation pictures, even helping our kids with homework. It’s gotten increasingly difficult to stay on top of our digital lives and data security, and that confusion is compounded when you add kids and tech into the equation. Shouldn’t this be easier? That’s where Safer Internet Day comes in. The advocacy event started in 2004 as an initiative of the EU SafeBorders project, but given the universal nature of its goals, #SID quickly became an international undertaking and today about 150
Wi-Fi 6 Devices Hit the Market
Officially launched last year, Wi-Fi 6 (the newest generation of Wi-Fi) is beginning to find its way onto the market with more and more devices announced. In short, Wi-Fi 6 is the latest update to Wi-Fi technology, and its key characteristic is next generation speeds, like those that will be offered with 10G. Without it, your smartphone, tablet, and laptop wouldn’t be able to take full advantage of the multi-gigabit speeds ISPs are poised to deliver to homes and businesses. At this year’s CES, consumers got the first look at some Wi-Fi 6 devices that were on display. Notably, Comcast announced
Primaries, Candidates and Everything in Between: How C-SPAN is Handling 2020
While the 2020 primaries and caucuses officially kick off this week, C-SPAN has been in campaign mode for over a year covering the many candidates as they visit towns large and small. It has been a busy time for C-SPAN both in and out of Washington as more people than ever before came to their website and watched more videos in 2019. In addition, many don't realize C-SPAN is not government funded, but rather was created by the cable industry 40 years ago and continues to be funded by the cable and satellite industries. To learn more about how C-SPAN covers the election and other political
How Technology and Content Define the Future of Television
Technology is everywhere. Today’s consumers experience it wherever they go, with smart assistants that sit on countertops to wearable devices that monitor heartrates, and so much more. For the media industry, the changing way Americans experience technology in their lives comes with tremendous opportunity. Gone are the days where a family would only crowd around the living room television. Now, it’s about marrying quality content to cutting edge innovations, and meeting consumers with what they want, wherever they are. NCTA connected with ViacomCBS to explore the future of television and how
A Robust Solution to Closing the Digital Divide
It’s 2020 and for most of us, the internet feels truly ubiquitous. From the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep, much of our daily routine depends on an internet connection. In fact, a 2019 Pew study found that 73% of Americans go online at least several times a day, with 28% describing themselves as online “almost constantly.” But even as internet technology continuously improves and becomes a more frequent part of daily life for most Americans, we remain mindful that for a small, but persistent group of Americans, the barriers to broadband adoption remain significant. The
3Q: How More Unlicensed Spectrum Could Impact America
America’s technological and data demands are growing. The explosion of use cases for Wi-Fi and the internet of things (IoT), in particular, has created a drive to open up more unlicensed spectrum. In December 2019, the FCC unanimously voted to consider a proposal that would dedicate a portion of the 5.9 GHz spectrum band to unlicensed use. Soon, it’s expected that the FCC will authorize unlicensed use in the 6 GHz band as well. As this important national conversation continues, NCTA sat down with our spectrum expert, Danielle Piñeres, Vice President and Associate General Counsel, to talk about
U.S. Ranked in Top 3 for Digital Readiness
Recently, Cisco published its Digital Readiness Index, a global ranking based on how likely an economy is to support new technologies and digital services. The index is made up of the following factors; basic needs, business & government investment, ease of doing business, human capital, start-up environment, technology adoption, and technology infrastructure. The United States came in at number three overall, closely behind Singapore and Luxembourg respectively. Digging into the sub-categories, the U.S. ranks number six in technology infrastructure, behind small European nations like Denmark
There Are More TV Shows Than Ever Before
Yesterday, FX CEO John Landgraf announced the annual tally of the number of original scripted TV series that aired in 2019. That number, which we’ve written about before, has steadily grown year after year as more players enter the TV space. A record 532 original scripted shows aired in 2019, a jump from the 495 shows that aired in 2018. To put that in perspective, there were 210 series in 2009. Flash forward to today, and new streaming services seem to launch every few weeks. In order to imitate the success of traditional cable networks like HBO and FX (who have historically invested heavily
The State of Play for Esports
"I would say, in its simplest definition, esports means competitive video games," said Kevin Lopes, director of business development at ESPN. At a recent panel held at NCTA, esports executives came together to talk about the fast-growing craze and what audiences have to look forward to. This rich and immersive form of entertainment is captivating not only hard core gamers, but casual viewers across the country as well. But it turns out that esports is more than meets the eye; Lopes and fellow panelists made sure to demonstrate the many facets that make up esports and the challenges the cable