Municipal Telecommunications

Bradley & Guzzetta Blog Has Moved

2011-01-25T13:41:00.001-06:00

You might have noticed this blog is a bit stale. Please go to the Bradley & Guzzetta Blog for our current news and insights.Bradley & Guzzetta is also on Facebook.Use Twitter? Find Mike Bradley or Laura Bergus, there, too. Thanks for reading!

Cities Don't Need to Shy Away From Social Media, They Just Need To Consider Legal Issues Upfront

2010-08-25T09:10:00.004-05:00

I was disappointed to read that a city in California plans to abandon its Facebook page due to legal concerns. While it's true that a municipal attorney's job is to spot potential problems and help head them off before they strike, it's unfortunate when that advice hampers a very useful communication tool for citizens.None of the legal issues raised in the above-linked story are insurmountable,

Federal Govt. Wary of Social Media's Records and Privacy Implications

2010-07-23T15:46:00.000-05:00

The Government Accountability Office released a report on July 22 entitled Challenges in Federal Agencies' Use of Web 2.0 Technologies. The report highlights concerns with how data is submitted, stored, used, and shared via third-party social media sites, often outside agencies' control. Federal agencies, and their state counterparts in most states, are subject to broad mandates relating to how

Comcast Customer Service: Finally Seeing the Light?

2010-07-13T09:44:00.002-05:00

Multichannel News reports that Comcast's recent efforts in improving customer service are paying off. Basically, Comcast is using customer service supervisors to train customer service representatives (CSRs), teaching improved time management, and giving CSRs authority to give customer credits and deal with issues more directly. These sound like very fundamental pieces of any common-sense

Detroit Challenges Statewide Cable Franchise Law

2010-06-24T13:37:00.003-05:00

The City of Detroit is taking a stand against Michigan's statewide cable franchising law, according to a complaint filed against Comcast in US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Monday.Detroit's primary issue is that Federal Law (here, the Federal Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, 47 U.S.C. Section 521 and after) and Michigan's constitution both give local governments

City Saves Money by Abandoning Servers, Focusing on Service

2010-06-21T12:08:00.002-05:00

The City of Los Angeles is reportedly saving millions of dollars in information technology costs by handing over some of its network infrastructure to "the cloud." It takes a leap of faith to entrust city documents to a third-party host, but LA's CTO, Randi Levin, knows that a city should focus on what it does best: serving its residents, not serving data. Many cities, especially smaller ones,

Government Communications and Transparency

2010-06-16T10:39:00.002-05:00

Two recent articles raise important issues about how government entities are using, or should be using, new technologies to deliver information to citizens. Joe Moye over at Government Technology explains that governments would do well to seek out private sector solutions to data sharing and effective communication with end users. This point is nothing new [pdf], but it seems many government

Announcement - B&G's Jon Koebrick Graduates from Iowa

2010-06-03T11:22:00.000-05:00

Jon Koebrick, Bradley & Guzzetta’s Telecommunications Consultant, Graduated Iowa Law in May 2010<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Bradley & Guzzetta, LLC, is pleased to announce the May 2010 graduation of Jon Koebrick from the University of Iowa College of Law. Jon joined the St. Paul,

Chairmen Announce Process to Update Communications Act

2010-05-24T15:50:00.000-05:00

Chairmen Announce Process to Update Communications Act

Announcing Google TV: TV meets web. Web meets TV.

2010-05-21T08:05:00.000-05:00

Big announcement from Google.Official Google Blog: Announcing Google TV: TV meets web. Web meets TV.

Announcement - Laura Bergus Joins Bradley & Guzzetta

2010-04-28T10:26:00.000-05:00

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Laura Bergus Joins Bradley & Guzzetta as Technology and Social Media Policy Consultant Bradley & Guzzetta, LLC, is pleased to announce the newest member of our team, Laura Bergus. Given the recent explosion in social media and Internet use for

Busy Day at the FCC

2010-04-22T11:58:00.001-05:00

FCC started action on a number of issues today. NEWS RELEASES------------------------------------------------------------------------FCC TAKES ACTION TO UNLEASH VIDEO INNOVATION AND CONSUMER CHOICE. NewsRelease. (Dkt No 00-67 10-91 97-80 ). Adopted: 04/21/2010. News MediaContact: Janice Wise at (202) 418-8165, email: Janice.Wise@fcc.gov MB .Contact Brendan Murray at (202-418-1573, email

Minnesota broadband plans aim higher as rules change

2010-04-12T08:39:00.001-05:00

From today's Star Tribune Minnesota broadband plans aim higher as rules change By STEVE ALEXANDER, Star Tribune Last update: April 11, 2010 - 3:29 PM Apr 11, 2010 Hoping to hit the jackpot, Minnesota counties, schools and telephone companies are dreaming big as they seek some of the billions the federal government will give out for high-speed Internet projects by September.In Little Falls

FCC Announces Broadband Action Agenda

2010-04-09T12:01:00.001-05:00

NEWS RELEASES-------------------------------------------------------------------------- FCC ANNOUNCES BROADBAND ACTION AGENDA. News Release. News MediaContact: Jen Howard at (202) 418-0506, email: Jen.Howard@fcc.gov OCHhttp://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-297402A1.dochttp://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-297402A1.pdfhttp://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/

Big Net Neutrality Setback For The FCC: Court Rules It Doesn’t Have Authority To Set Or Enforce Rules � Forbes.com's Velocity

2010-04-08T23:15:00.000-05:00

Big Net Neutrality Setback For The FCC: Court Rules It Doesn’t Have Authority To Set Or Enforce Rules � Forbes.com's Velocity

Tom Steward: Not every city should take on broadband | StarTribune.com

2010-04-02T22:54:00.000-05:00

Tom Steward: Not every city should take on broadband | StarTribune.com

Google, Verizon tell FCC to ease off on broadband regulation

2010-03-31T22:41:00.000-05:00

Post Tech - Google, Verizon tell FCC to ease off on broadband regulation

Comcast demos live 3D TV | Signal Strength - CNET News

2010-03-31T22:39:00.000-05:00

And you thought you were done buying TVs when you bought your HD TV!Comcast demos live 3D TV | Signal Strength - CNET News

Google fiber winners to be announced by end of year; 1,100 apply

2010-03-29T23:37:00.000-05:00

Post Tech- Google fiber winners to be announced by end of year; 1,100 apply

Rob Pegoraro - Even with Comcast's Fancast Xfinity Web site, 'TV Everywhere' still isn't - washingtonpost.com

2010-03-29T09:05:00.000-05:00

Rob Pegoraro - Even with Comcast's Fancast Xfinity Web site, 'TV Everywhere' still isn't - washingtonpost.com

Court of Appeals hears Mediacom’s suit against city | Prior Lake American

2010-03-24T22:02:00.000-05:00

Court of Appeals hears Mediacom’s suit against city | Prior Lake American

Comcast - 100-MEG Residential Service Coming

2010-03-22T10:26:00.000-05:00

Comcast: 100-Meg Residential Service Coming This Year MSO Sees Doubling Max Broadband Tier Over Next 12 to 18 Months Todd Spangler, Multichannel News / 3/17/10 Comcast starting this year plans to roll out 100-Megabit-per-second downstream service for residential customers -- twice its fastest Internet tier today. Currently, Comcast has deployed DOCSIS 3.0, the next-generation

FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Launches new web page: Broadband and Public Safety and Homeland Security

2010-03-18T13:19:00.000-05:00

From: Deandrea Wilson [mailto:Deandrea.Wilson@fcc.gov]Sent: Thu 3/18/2010 12:51 PM Today, the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau launched anew web page: Broadband and Public Safety and Homeland Security tobetter ensure that the public safety community, the general public,government agencies and communications providers have access to thelatest news and information on the FCC's

FCC Seeks Comment on Comcast/NBCU Deal

2010-03-18T10:15:00.000-05:00

Released: 03/18/2010. COMMISSION SEEKS COMMENT ON APPLICATIONS OFCOMCAST CORPORATION, GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, AND NBC UNIVERSAL, INC.,TO ASSIGN AND TRANSFER CONTROL OF FCC LICENSES. (DA No. 10-457). (DktNo 10-56 ). Comments Due: 05/03/2010. Reply Comments Due: 06/02/2010.OGC MB . Contact: William Freedman at (202) 418-1415, Jennifer Tatel at(202) 418-1817, Marcia Glauberman at (202) 418-

Music Licensing for Public Performances

2010-03-17T10:36:00.000-05:00

Many cities and counties play music at various public events and public venues. Does your city have a license to play that music? The use of a simple and cost-effective license agreement provides protection from possible legal exposure from the playing of unlicensed performances of copyrighted music.