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 There is no question that the amount of information created in the information age is overwhelming. From banking transactions to Fitbits, we are all generating incredible amounts of information every single day whether we realize it or not. As should no longer be surprising, this data—this information about us as individuals--is vulnerable. Consequently, issues of data security and privacy have moved to the mainstream in a quick and powerful way. And that’s before we even whisper the name “Snowden.”
February 5, 2016 | tagged Bulletin of the Bar Association of Erie County | in Consumer Issues, Privacy While the number of traditional landlines in the U.S. and North America is decreasing, the fact remains that they’re not totally disappearing. And as much as an aggressive sales person may tell you that the time for traditional landline service also known as TDM (for “time division multiplexing”) has come and gone and that it’s going the way of the—(hmmm…vinyl record? (no they’re back) cheap gas (no, that’s back too), the empty plane flying to your destination ( I fear that’s NEVER coming back)), the sales person who pushes a newer and very capable technology called “SIP” (for “session initiated protocol”) is overselling if he/she tells the customer that it will be the only way going forward.
January 4, 2016