AcidPenguin9873 - Slashdot User

Submission + - Google Fiber in Austin Hits a Snag: Incumbent AT&T

Submitted by AcidPenguin9873 on Wednesday December 11, 2013 @12:25AM

AcidPenguin9873 writes: Earlier this year, Google announced that it would build its next fiber network in Austin, TX. Construction is slated to start in 2014, but there's a hitch: AT&T owns 20% of the utility poles in Austin. The City of Austin is considering a rules change that would allow Google to pay AT&T to use its utility poles, but AT&T isn't happy about it. The debate appears to hinge on a technicality that specifies what types of companies can attach to the utility poles that AT&T owns. From the news story: "Google 'would be happy to pay for access (to utility poles) at reasonable rates, just as we did in our initial buildout in Kansas City,' she said, referring to Google Fiber’s pilot project in Kansas City...Tracy King, AT&T’s vice president for public affairs, said in a written statement that Google 'appears to be demanding concessions never provided any other entity before.' 'Google has the right to attach to our poles, under federal law, as long as it qualifies as a telecom or cable provider, as they themselves acknowledge. We will work with Google when they become qualified, as we do with all such qualified providers,' she said."

Submission + - Senator Ted Stevens Indicted For Corruption

Submitted by AcidPenguin9873 on Tuesday July 29, 2008 @02:37PM

AcidPenguin9873 writes: Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), most famous to Slashdotters for his 2006 metaphor comparing the internet to a "series of tubes", has been brought up on corruption charges. From today's NY Times article: "Mr. Stevens, 84, was indicted on seven counts of falsely reporting income. The charges are related to renovations on his home and to gifts he has received." Today's indictment raises the broader issue of lobbyists, gifts, and campaign contributions to politicians. Will the charges have any effect on the upcoming November election?

Submission + - Eavesdropping Helpful Against Terrorist Plot (nytimes.com)

Submitted by AcidPenguin9873 on Monday September 10, 2007 @09:56PM

AcidPenguin9873 writes: The New York Times reports that the U.S. government's ability to eavesdrop on personal communications helped break up a terrorist plot in Germany. The intercepted phone calls and emails revealed a connection between the plotters and a breakaway cell of the terrorist group Islamic Jihad Union. What does this mean for the future of privacy in personal communications? From the article:

[McConnell's] remarks also represent part of intensifying effort by Bush administration officials to make permanent a law that is scheduled to expire in about five months. Without the law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Mr. McConnell said the nation would lose "50 percent of our ability to track, understand and know about these terrorists, what they're doing to train, what they're doing to recruit and what they're doing to try to get into this country."

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