The Los Angeles Times (called the Los Angeles Dog Trainer by Harry Shearer) published an article today entitled, “Listen: Is this the all-time most horrible cable service call, ever?”
It recounts the audio-recorded efforts of one Ryan Block, former editor of Edgadget trying to get disconnected from Comcast. He almost got disconnected from reality.
Then go here to read more and listen to the audio.
If infinity means forever, does xfinity mean there are limits on forever? I’m just ask’n.
UPDATE: Seems like the voters in the 33rd were not looking for rolls of tin foil. Mr. Mottus received just 2.4% of the votes cast. He came in 7th. The 6th place candidate had a hair shy of 3-times as many votes compared with Mr. Mottus.
Meet Mr. Kevin Mottus. He is running for Congress to fill the 33rd Congressional Seat here in Los Angeles being vacated by 40-year veteran congressional Henry Waxman.
I don’t think Mr. Mottus will be getting any campaign donations from the PCIA, CTIA, or the California Wireless Association.
Mr. Mottus seems to think of brain cancer as his chief opponent in the race for the 33rd District seat, and that cancer is from only one possible source. Yup. You guessed it.
The campaign website of Mr. Mottus makes clear his big issue — the one that populates the majority of his front page, and is reenforced by an entire page devoted to scare videos. He asserts that “[w]ithout any actual Safety Standards in place for this Technology, we are being used as a Massive Human Experiment on the long term Health Effects from RF Radiation Exposure from Wireless.”
Gee, I thought 47 C.F.R. 1.1307 et seq were those actual Safety Standards.
Listen to the recorded message Mr. Mottus bombarding via autodialers to 33rd District residents:
“Telecommunications: The Governmental Role in Managing the Connected Community”I’m very pleased to share with you that Christina Sansone, Esq. and I have been signed by Solano Press to update, revise, and substantially expand Paul Valle-Riestra’s book, “Telecommunications: The Governmental Role in Managing the Connected Community.”
First published in 2002, Paul’s book remains a standard desk reference for planners and attorneys in the U.S. for all phases of governmental involvement in telecom law and policy.
Here is a link to the front/back covers of Paul’s book: http://solano.com/pdf/TE_FrontAndBack_01.pdf
Paul was also one of the national deans of municipal telecom law lawyers, never shying away from a juicy telecom law or policy battle. A true giant among municipal attorneys, Paul rose through the ranks ultimately serving as the City Attorney of the City of Walnut Creek, California (where he was born and raised) until his untimely death in 2011 at the far-too-young age of 52.
Paul was also one of the national deans of municipal telecom law lawyers, never shying away from a juicy telecom law or policy battle. Material portions of 9th Circuit judge-made law can be traced to Paul’s cases, and the influence he exerted in cases argued by others.
I had the very real privilege of being a principal reviewer and contributor to Paul’s book, so you’ll understand why I am so proud to be following in his footsteps.
I especially thank his widow, Alice (known to some as “Honey Sponge Cake”) for making it possible for a new edition to come about.
Paul was my friend, mentor, teacher, and critic. I could not have asked for more from him.
I know that Chris and I will do him and his memory real honor as we take on our task to continue his work.
Jonathan
The FCC’s State and Local Government webinar today touched on the pending Wireless NPRM. I recorded the audio of the lecture and have provided it via the live link below. The running time is about 19 minutes and 11 seconds.
If you’d like to download the MP3 audio (about 3 MB) you can right click below and save the file to your local computer.
I am very pleased to announce that I received word today that I have been officially accepted into the Northeastern University School of Professional Studies Doctor of Law and Policy program. I will commence my cohort studies in July, 2014. I’ll be traveling to Boston every month for two years to complete in-class coursework, which will be supplemented by studying between the in-class sessions.
Having completed my Masters of Law degree in Information Technology and Telecommunications Law at Strathclyde University just last year, this next step will be my final and terminal academic degree.
I want to thank three people in particular for supporting me in my next life endeavor: Fred Polner, Associate Master of Trumbull College at Yale University; Ken Fellman of Kissinger & Fellman in Denver; and Dr. Konstantinos Komaitis of the Internet Society and Strathclyde University, all of whom were kind enough to write strong letters of recommendation on my behalf.
John Pestle and I will once again present an updated version of our very popular lease buy-out lecture, “Selling Your Cell Tower Lease.” This time we’ll present on April 9th, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. EDT/10:00 a.m. PDT. Lorman Education Services hosts many of the lectures John and I present, and they do an outstanding job at it.
Here’s the updated lecture description:
Property owners with a cell tower or cell antennas on their property routinely receive six-figure offers to buy the cell tower lease and future leasing rights. While very attractive, those offers-typically structured as perpetual easements-pose unusual legal, financial, and technical risks that the property owner and its regular attorney typically are not familiar with. This live webinar will guide property owners and their attorneys as they evaluate and respond to such offers. It includes covering what drives the offers, typical prices, how to evaluate financial terms to determine whether selling makes sense (and when it doesn’t). Those who attend will be better able to evaluate purchase offers, identify and modify the very one-sided documents offered by purchasers, and address some of the risks involved in a sale. Risks include making sure the property owner is not hindered in developing or using its property, ensuring that future sums promised by the purchaser in fact are paid and the contract honored (and the sale terminated if they are not), insurance and bankruptcy protections, as well as questions as to the financial solvency of the buyer. These risks increase as the easement term increases (typically from 50 years to perpetual) given that the property owner continues to own the underlying property. Government agencies face all of the preceding issues, plus special and fundamental questions of municipal authority, compliance with municipal finance/procurement statutes, prohibitions on waste, and risks of accidentally triggering property reverters.
– You will be able to know when a sale does and does not make sense for you.
– You will be able to discuss revising documents to protect property owner and address the preceding issues.
– You will be able to recognize sales terms preventing the property owner’s future use or development of its property.
– You will be able to define the major legal risks involved in selling cell tower leases and easements.
CLE, AIA, AICP, ENG, and PMI professional credits are available for this lecture. For more information, please visit http://www.lorman.com/live-webinar/393475
April 2, 2014 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. EDT – Telecommunications – Event Code: T50
Cell Tower Leasing
Cell Tower site leasing/licensing for local governments is an excellent way to produce new long term non-tax revenues, but crafting the right terms and drafting the proper documents are fraught with potential legal landmines. John Pestle, Esq. and Jonathan Kramer, Esq. are both deeply experienced with crafting and enforcing municipal cell tower site agreements. In this 90-minute webinar, they will identify those legal landmines, discuss industry boilerplate provisions, and offer useful practice pointers to guide you through the process. The program will cover both key aspects of cell leases, and the potential sale by municipalities of such leases and long-term leasing rights. Extensive handouts in PDF format will be provided to participants.
Speakers: John Pestle and Jonathan Kramer
Cost: $99 for IMLA Members; $199 for non-members.
CLEs: Available for an additional processing charge of $65.
Here is a link to download the registration form: http://imla.org/images/2014Webinar/2014WebRF2.pdf
Does it strike anyone as being just a bit strange the Intel is promoting a wireless technology pronounced as “Why Die”? See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiDi
Some marketing ‘genius’ should be taken down a few pegs…quite a few pegs, actually. It’s like 1985 and “New Coke.”
If history is a guide, then soon we’ll start hearing annoying Intel TV and radio commercials for this technology sung to the jingle heard on every PC commercial:
Over the objections of local governments in Missouri, Governor Jay Nixon signed SB 650 into law on Thursday. At the same time, Governor Nixon signed into law three additional telecom bills: SB 649, SB 651, and SB 653.
SBs 649 and 653 regulate how the public rights-of-way are managed and also how utility poles are accessed. SB 650 places hard limits on the wireless approval process in Missouri ostensibly to encourage investment in wireless/broadband services. SB 651 provides legal immunity for telecommunications providers during emergencies and requires disclosure of user location information to public safety officers.
The four bills singed into law yesterday contained various provisions of former telecommunications bills enacted in 2013 in violation of the state Constitution, and enjoined from enforcement by the Cole County Circuit Court.
Interestingly for those of us outside of Missouri, SB 649 includes “every cable television service provider” as a “public utility” under that state’s law.
Taken together, the bulk of the Senate Bills take away substantial planning powers that were formerly and traditionally in the hands of local governments to protect community aesthetics. The likely result will be the industrialization of wireless facilities in zones previously protected from that type of industrialization.
I have grouped together all four laws into a single PDF file (about 1 MB in size) which you can immediately download from here by filling out the following request form. Once you submit the form, the PDF will be automatically emailed to you.
Discovery Channel premiers tonight a special on tower climbers who build and maintain communications/cell towers.
From the preview trailer, this looks to be a scary look at the business. Frankly, there’s no other way to look at the business.