Microsoft Hopes Its Blogs Will Hunt

Tech Nirvana

Technology companies continue to gravitate toward India, which has become the Silicon Valley of Asia. Microsoft this week announced plans to open a research facility in Bangalore in January, focusing "on ways to create, store and search information in multiple languages, as well as technology for use in emerging markets and other specialties. Microsoft already operates research campuses in Beijing; Cambridge, England; Redmond; San Francisco and Silicon Valley," the AP reported.
• The Associated Press via washingtonpost.com: Microsoft to Open Research Center in India (Registration required)

Cell phone maker Nokia is joining the Tech India club too, with plans "to invest as much as $150 million ... during the next four years to set up a manufacturing facility to tap into the South Asian country's booming mobile-phone market. The Finnish company's announcement comes as an increasing number of foreign multinational companies are showing interest in manufacturing in India. LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea announced plans to begin making telecommunications gear in India. Car makers such as General Motors Corp. of the U.S. and Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. also have begun expanding their production bases in India," the Wall Street Journal reported. Bloomberg picked up on both announcements, noting they are "underscoring the country's increasing allure for high-technology companies."
• The Wall Street Journal: Nokia Plans Factory in India in Bid to Tap Booming Market (Subscription required)
• Bloomberg via the International Herald Tribune: Nokia and Microsoft Bet on India

A Bronx Cheer for Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania's decision to give telephone companies the upper hand in deciding if its local governments can offer Internet and communications services is a victory for telecom firms, but not great news for consumers or others seeking low-cost or free Internet access. That's the consensus of some day-after coverage of Tuesday night's 11th-hour decision by the governor to sign a bill pushed by the telecommunications lobby (see yesterday's column for the blow-by-blow).

Telecom firms don't want local governments to play their game. The Washington Post explained more: "The companies are lobbying furiously to block such plans, fearful that their businesses would be hurt. Their efforts most recently paid off Tuesday night in Pennsylvania, where a new law bans local governments from creating their own networks without first giving the primary local phone company the chance to provide service. Consumer advocates denounce the new Pennsylvania law. They say it amounts to governments now needing a permission slip from entrenched monopolies to put a vital economic and educational tool within everyone's reach."
• The Washington Post: Fast Internet Service for the People (Registration required)

The New York Times gave some ink to Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D) and his spin machine. "Rendell ... signed the law despite his objections to the municipal Internet provision, said David Myers, the governor's deputy chief of staff. Mr. Myers said the governor, while generally favoring the overall legislation, thought the provision could hamper the ability of residents to have high-speed Internet access and, in turn, could make those cities less economically competitive. 'We've got municipalities that are not being served by broadband,' Mr. Myers said. 'This precludes them from one option' for obtaining it. But Verizon, by far the state's dominant telephone company, asserted that the provision was essential for it to compete." Match point, telco lobbyists.

Gerard L. Lederer, a lawyer for the National League of Cities, according to the paper "said telecommunications companies were using political influence to block municipalities' efforts, typically at a state level. 'We've seen a significant increase in the last year to outright ban or place prohibitions on the municipal efforts,' Mr. Lederer said."
• The New York Times: Pennsylvania Limits Cities In Offering Net Access (Registration required)

Miguel Helft of the San Jose Mercury News thinks cities should be given the chance to compete. "In fact, the ability of cities to succeed against private telecom firms is not guaranteed, and some have already failed. But they should be allowed to compete. Hundreds of communities have chosen to do so, in many cases with great results: high-quality networks at low prices, increased competition and a stronger local economy. Policy-makers should encourage them, not thwart them. In many cities, public broadband initiatives have spurred slow-moving telecom firms to upgrade their networks, lest they lose important customers. In others, such as Cedar Falls, Iowa, the city-owned broadband network has been key to attracting businesses that have created thousands of jobs. And unlike most privately owned networks, many cities have opened their networks to competing providers, creating the thriving, open markets that regulators have been unable or unwilling to foster."
• The San Jose Mercury News: Despite Lip Service, Telecom Execs Hate Competition (Registration required)

Feed the iPod

Apple's iPod digital music player is so popular, it is sparking the creation of companion services from enterprising fans. Too time-crunched or tech-phobic to load your player with tunes? There's a new service to fill the gap, the New York Times reported today. Catherine Keane, 23, has a service called HungryPod that "converts CDs to MP3 format and loads them into an iPod or any other digital music player," the article said. "For prices starting at $1.50 per CD (and a $15 delivery fee, which is waived for more than 100 CDs), Ms. Keane will go to a customer's home or office, pick up CDs and take them back to her office on Seventh Avenue near Penn Station. Ms. Keane's service is one of a few enterprises formed to serve iPod owners. Another New York company, RipDigital ... started offering its services nationwide late last year to convert music libraries to MP3. RipDigital does not load music onto iPods directly, but burns it to DVD; for an additional fee it will load an external hard drive with music."
• The New York Times: Using iPod Savvy to Mine a Niche (Registration required)

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