Ms. Buyer is a regular columnist for the THE BULLETIN of the Bar Association of Erie County and is a contributor to No Jitter. Previously, she has written numerous commentaries on telecommunications law for other legal and telecommunications publications including, among others, The Daily Record, Communications Convergence and Computer Telephony. Her articles cover a broad range of topics highlighting current telecommunications issues including federal and state telecommunications policy, litigation, wireless technologies, spectrum policy, FCC initiatives, and industry consolidation. Martha Buyer has also contributed to the ABA Journal Report.
The last five weeks have been very important in the world of 911 policy. So big, in fact, that 911 policy issues actually crossed the line into the mainstream (and away from the rarified space of policy nerds, first responders, and those who support them).
Raises possibility that consumers, including enterprises as consumers, could take telecom providers to court for failure to meet service promises.
For a number of years, I did a lot of work for a company that owned off-site airport parking lots. The company prided itself on doing a great job in multiple markets by picking up and dropping off customers at their vehicles on their way in and out of town. I overheard the principal of the company explaining the business to an outsider. He said, "We're not in the parking business. We're not even in the real estate business. We're in the service business, and if we don't provide better services than our competitors, we shouldn't be here." In fact, he's more than right. His statement applies to every business, regardless of the nature of the work.
The Safe Harbor is No Longer Safe
Context is incredibly important in all things. As I have been preparing for a conversation about information security and privacy at a major international event, I decided that by means of introduction, I should come up with a (totally unscientific) list of people who have changed the contemporary world. Other than leaving off mass murderers and war criminals, I was open to just about anyone, and that’s what I got. Although the list is long, some obvious choices were, in no particular order, Bill, Steve, Andy, Gordon and Sergey and Larry (no last names needed). Among the less traditional choices were David Bowie, Billie Jean King, Magic Johnson, Robert Oppenheimer, the Pope and Elvis. If nothing else, it’s been a very interesting exercise.
February 18, 2016 | tagged Bulletin of the Bar Association of Erie County, No Jitter | in Consumer Issues, Privacy Can’t get your hotspot to work in a hotel or conference center? That’s a problem the FCC’s interested in hearing about. Willful or malicious interference with Wi-Fi hot spots is illegal. Often known as “jamming,” such actions are illegal and perpetrators of these bad acts—regardless of purpose--will pay dearly. Period.
As is the case for most contracts, the challenges lie not in the costs but in the terms. Maybe this is even more critical when the contracts being reviewed involve technology where customers tend to focus on costs and NOT terms, and where the terms can be way, way, way more nefarious than any pricing model appears.