Action by Allies

The National Broadband Plan has put the spotlight squarely on getting broadband service to the roughly 35% of U.S. households that don’t subscribe.  I don’t think anyone can disagree with this overarching goal, and it’s clear that it will take a multi-pronged approach to bridge this gap.

We often discuss the use of technology for purposes of entertainment, but it’s important to recognize that it can also be used for educational purposes. Our sister organization Cable in the Classroom, the U.S.

Kyle posted a few weeks ago about his interview with Robert Scoble of FastCompany.tv. Scoble’s video of the interview is online now and embedded below. Enjoy!

The cable industry has consistently demonstrated its commitment to policies that ensure all Americans have access to affordable broadband. This includes: Proposals to create a fund tailored to expanding broadband into unserved areas.

You’ve heard about those DTV converter boxes that you can get a coupon for. News today that the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has partnered with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) on an upgrade of the nine-year-old site AntennaWeb.org, “an online antenna mapping program designed to help users determine the proper outdoor antenna to use in order to receive free local broadcast channels.” In other news, the DTV Transition Coalition, of which NCTA is a founding member, put out a media release on Friday pointing out their tremendous growth in membership.

CTAM, the marketing association for the cable industry, released a study this week that looked at different consumer segments (particularly ones that are influential in the spread of hi-tech), their technology adoption, the decision-making process, and content viewing behavior.

It’s official as of this morning. CableLabs announced that the “tru2way™” brand will replace use of the term “OpenCable Platform.” You may recall that the initiative, which began back in ’97 with the goal of helping the cable industry deploy interactive services, was previous known as OCAP.

With the DTV transition just over a year away, a lot of talk here at CES is focused on the impact of that change. Analog broadcasting ends on February 17, 2009.