The consumer electronics and wireless industries are concerned that a potential settlement of a disagreement over whether terrestrial stations ought to pay royalties when they air music could include requirements of chips to allow cellphones to get radio broadcasts, executives favoring and opposing a deal told us. The pact on the table (CD Aug 5 p6) would bypass the Performance Rights Act -- which broadcasters worry could pass over their opposition in the waning days of this Congress -- but it isn’t a done deal, broadcast industry officials said. There appears to be wide support among broadcasters for the pact, our survey found.
The NAB Radio Board agreed to continue talks with MusicFirst on a compromise to avoid performance royalties legislation (CD Aug 6 p11), an NAB spokesman said after a board meeting Friday. But no votes were taken, he said. “The NAB Radio Board had a full and productive exchange of ideas today on the status of discussions with MusicFirst representatives,” he said. “The talks are part of an ongoing dialogue with the Board and NAB membership on possible alternatives to pending legislation that would be devastating to the future of free and local radio.” Terms under discussion by the industry include a tiered rate of 1 percent or less for all net revenue, which is about $100 million, NAB said. The proposed deal would permanently remove the Copyright Royalty Board’s jurisdiction for terrestrial and streaming. It would also reduce rates for streaming, require radio chips on all mobile phones, and resolve American Federation of Television and Radio Artists issues regarding agency commercial replacement on webcasts. Under the proposed tiered rate, commercial and nonprofit stations with revenue less than $50,000 per year would pay the lesser of $100 or 1 percent revenue annually. Stations with revenue between $50,000 and $100,000 would pay $500 annually. Nonprofit stations with annual revenue more than $100,000 would pay $1,000 annually. Commercial stations with annual revenue from $100,000 to $500,000 would pay the lesser of $2,500 or 1 percent. Commercial stations with revenue between $500,000 and $1.25 million would pay $5,000 annually. And commercial stations with revenue more than $1.25 million would pay 1 percent annually. News, talk and sports radio would not pay for “incidental” music under the proposal, and religious talk stations would be exempt from music fees.
Talks over performance royalties for broadcasters have intensified recently, with a deal between radio and music labels on both terrestrial and streaming payments seeming more likely, industry officials said Wednesday. Such a deal has been expected by some (CD July 23 p15). The sides have held on-again, off-again conversations at the behest of members of Congress who want industry to come to an agreement about the performance royalties. Although an agreement seems closer, it’s far from certain that individual labels and owners of radio stations, which would need to approve any agreement, will sign on, industry officials said.
FCC indecency rules that led to censures for broadcasters that aired unscripted expletives are unconstitutionally vague, the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals in New York said in a decision released Tuesday. “If the FCC cannot anticipate what will be considered indecent under its policy, then it can hardly expect broadcasters to do so,” Chief Judge Rosemary Pooler wrote in the decision in Fox v. FCC on behalf of herself and Judges Peter Hall and Pierre Leval. The loss for the commission was expected, based on oral argument in January (CD Jan 14 p4).
Small cell base stations -- femtocells, picocells and microcells -- will have a large role in 4G deployment strategy, research firm In-Stat said. “A new class of base station, the compact base station, will enable pico and micro base stations to be smaller, cheaper and more power-efficient than ever,” said analyst Allen Nogee. Compact devices like indoor picocells and microcells have been around for years but are finding new roles, he said. Others, like enterprise femtocells and outdoor metropolitan picocells, are a new class of base station made possible only in the past year because of semiconductors developed by companies like Freescale, Qualcomm, Percello, Design Art Networks and PicoChip, he said. In-Stat forecast that annual femtocell shipments will reach 31.8 million by 2014. By that year, several million metropolitan picocells will be shipped to operators around the world, it said.
Nokia will sell its wireless modem business to Japan’s Renesas Technology for $200 million, the companies said. The modem unit to be transferred to the Japanese advanced semiconductor supplier includes Nokia’s wireless modem technologies for LTE, HSPA and GSM standards. Nokia also will transfer to Renesas patents related to the transferred technology asset. The deal also includes about 1,100 Nokia R&D professionals, the vast majority in Finland, India, the U.K. and Denmark. The companies plan to form a joint research initiative for future radio technologies. “The alliance enables us to continue to focus on our own core businesses,” said Nokia Executive Vice President Kai Oistamo. The deal is expected to close in Q4. The move is positive for Nokia, which is exiting a non-core business that has a lot of competitors, analysts said. The transaction effectively lets Nokia outsource a component required for its phones that has become increasingly commoditized, said Rethink Research analyst Caroline Gabriel. Huawei has 53 percent of the global market for standalone wireless modems and ZTE 30 percent, according to research from Berg Insight.
To properly establish and enforce laws against copyright infringement, there must be a balance between allowing innovation to thrive and ensuring that piracy is deterred, speakers said at a copyright policy symposium sponsored by NTIA and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Policy makers must ensure “that online creative works generate benefits to rights holders in the broader economy and not for those who infringe on those rights,” NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling said. “The Internet must continue to be a platform for innovation and the introduction of new and dynamic services that will continue to drive e-commerce.” Policies must be “flexible enough to adapt to rapid evolution in Internet technologies, applications and content forums."
A prototype set-top box chip capable of decoding two separate 3D 1080p streams simultaneously may be available this summer, Panasonic Chief Technology Officer Eisuke Tsuyuzaki told us at a New York media briefing Thursday. It won’t likely find its way into products for about two years, he said.
Broadcast mobile video network operators could benefit if more wireless carriers adopt mobile broadband usage limits as AT&T has, industry executives said. That’s because services like Qualcomm’s MediaFLO and the TV broadcasters’ mobile DTV don’t consume any bandwidth on the carriers’ network. But some are concerned consumers might avoid mobile video altogether if they're worried about exceeding the limits and don’t understand the distinctions between various mobile video services.
Europe must speed development of applications for its global navigation satellite systems, the European Commission said Monday. With the worldwide downstream market for space applications worth around $123 billion, European industry must be in position to take full advantage by using satellite navigation systems Galileo and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System, the EC said. EGNOS, which paves the way for Galileo, has been in service since October, offering enhanced satellite navigation signals up to 10 times more precise than GPS, it said. The EC’s 2010-2013 action plan adopted Monday calls for additional funding for a range of research proposals on GNSS applications, promoting Galileo- and EGNOS-enabled chips and handsets, and starting an application forum where users, developers, infrastructure managers and systems providers can exchange ideas on the evolution of the GNSS project, it said. Uptake of GNSS applications has been slow in Europe, an EC spokesman told us. One reason is that the GNSS market originates from the U.S., giving American companies an advantage, he said. Galileo and EGNOS have been restricted to civil use, but one of Galileo’s five services will be the “public regulated service” based on encrypted signals, the spokesman said. The Galileo project remains controversial because of questions about its costs and funding and the need for another GPS system. Three of the six key contracts for construction of the system have been awarded, and work under them has started, the spokesman said. The other three will be awarded later this year, he said. The first four satellites that are to form a mini test constellation will be sent into orbit in 2011, he said. The next 14 will arrive at a steady pace, beginning in 2012, until the initial constellation of 18 is completed by 2014, when the first services will be made available, he said.