Tag Archives: Internet of Things

Technology, Privacy, And Data Security

Feds trump states to help provide Internet to rural areas

 
Chris Spiers
March 30, 2015

How do farmers get involved in the Internet of Things without the Internet?  It helps to get the FCC involved.

In a recent 3-2 vote, the Federal Communication Commission (“FCC”) decided that federal authority preempts state laws preventing public utility broadband networks from expanding to rural areas.  Prior to the ruling, large Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) lobbied state legislatures in 22 states to pass laws that limited how far a city’s broadband service could stretch.

Why would large ISPs care if rural areas had access to the Internet?  Essentially, because it has been more economical for ISPs to block the expansion of municipal broadband by their competitors, local utilities, than to provide these areas with high-speed Internet service themselves.

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Technology, Privacy, And Data Security

The Internet of Things: Expanding Everywhere And Growing Faster Daily

 
Merton Howard
March 12, 2015

Over the last week, I participated in three very different events featuring discussion about the growth of the Internet of Things (IOT).  The presentations confirmed that the IOT is expanding into all areas of our lives, at a rate faster than most can track. The first two instances were professional conferences about the IOT and legal risk.  Not surprisingly, the speakers raised many questions about liability, duty, and risk, but they provided few solutions.

The third presentation was more practical and inspiring.  The Marin School of Environmental Leadership’s Business Leader’s Breakfast featured Gordon Feller from Cisco Systems, who explained that connected devices play a crucial role in meeting sustainability goals for his company and its customers.  Cisco aims to build environmental sustainability into each business function and process through the use of information and communications technology designed to improve the world’s standard of living, use of resources, and energy efficiency, while delivering new value to customers and society.

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Technology, Privacy, And Data Security

The Internet of Things is Here — Are You Ready?

 
Chris Spiers
February 17, 2015

As we’ve been told, 2015 will be the year of the “Internet of Things.”  (Or was it 2013? Or 2014?)  For those not yet in the know, the Internet of Things (“IoT”) is a web of personal, household, and office devices that collect, share, and store data via an Internet connection.  After registering the device and connecting it to the Internet, users can access the device from their tablet or smartphone.

Currently, there are more than 1.9 billion devices connected through the IoT—a number that some estimate will grow to 9 billion by 2018.  Other projections estimate that by 2020, the global market for IoT devices and services will exceed $7 trillion.  This trend is not going unnoticed by the FTC.

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