PowerTalk (investing, economics,technology, interview)

Joining me on PowerTalk to peel the onion on a number of issues that we face in our broadband centric lives is former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell. He recently left the FCC after 7 years, and while his is not a household name Broadcasting & Cable magazine said he “gained a reputation of a statesmanlike conservative who can find common ground with his opposition without compromising his principles.” He was kind enough to spend some time with me as he heads to Hudson Institute’s Center for Economics of the Internet as a visiting fellow.

If your the average American, I’m sure you enjoy your cell phone, smartphone, high speed internet, cable programming and so on. In fact, you probably semi-addicted to it. What you probably don’t enjoy is stroking that ever increasing check each month when you pay your bill to AT&T, Verizon, Comcast or some other service provider. 

While we tend to think of the device we are using -- smartphone or set top box --  and the network that enables it, there’s far more going on behind the scenes not only at those companies, but in Washington, D.C. 

In this edition of PowerTalk, Robert McDowell and I discuss issues facing broadcasters, such as Aereo; the impact of rising smartphone competition, particularly from Huawei; the future of wireless - for those who think the smartphone and tablets are it you have a rude awakening coming. We also talk about some of the pain points facing the industry, including the spectrum shortage, which is interesting considering the government is sitting on a ton of it. 

Direct download: 09-09-13_FCCPOWERTALK.mp3
Category:investing, economics,technology, interview -- posted at: 12:42pm EDT

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