![]() |
|
Peer to Peer The 3rd millenium technology! |
![]() |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread | Display Modes |
![]() |
#1 | |||
Join Date: May 2001
Location: New England
Posts: 10,018
|
![]() Since 2002
![]() July 9th, 2022 ![]() New Denuvo DRM Technology Promises to Crack Down on DLC Pirating A new form of Denuvo DRM technology is apparently already in the wild, and it's meant to save developers money by preventing DLC theft Josh Broadwell A new type of Denuvo DRM technology promises to crack down on DLC pirating. Dubbed Denuvo SecureDLC, the software is already integrated for clients using Denuvo anti-tamper and refigures the platform’s API to block attacks and prevent unauthorized access. “Denuvo has become a one-stop shop for game developers to ensure the safety of their game against cheating, tampering, and piracy and to protect the gaming experience,” Reinhard Blaukovitsch, Denuvo’s managing director, said in a press release. “Our current clients, big and small, are ecstatic with the results and we are happy to help them maximize revenue and also enable new business models for these games they spent so much effort building.” The press release and website don’t mention which clients are using it, though it’s probably a safe bet that Sega, Capcom, and the other usual suspects have or will implement it in the future – especially as we get closer to major DLC launches for games like Resident Evil Village. Denuvo gets a bad reputation for making games unplayable, and it’s not entirely unearned. When Resident Evil Village launched on PC, it did so as a stuttering mess thanks to Denuvo DRM’s heavy CPU requirements, though the extent of Denuvo-related problems usually depends on the game in question. Resident Evil, for example, used Capcom’s proprietary DRM, which we speculated might have interacted poorly with Denuvo. Either way, Capcom fixed the issues promptly, and while extending the level of DRM protection to include add-on content sounds like it may create its own raft of potential problems, they probably – hopefully – won’t be game breaking. Often. If you’re in need of a new rig, whether to deal with Denuvo or just because, we’ve got you covered with a roundup of the best gaming PCs in 2022. https://www.pcgamesn.com/denuvo-drm-dlc-pirating ![]() Data Protection Laws Prevent Recording Industry From Sending Pirate Warning Letters Mike Masnick An increasingly important theme around here is how various laws to regulate the internet are often in conflict with each other. Privacy law is leading to less competition, for example. And from TorrentFreak, we have another, somewhat amusing example. The incredibly aggressive Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN has yet another hare-brained scheme to try to prevent copyright infringement: forcing ISPs to send threatening letters to those accused of large scale infringement. However, the large Dutch ISP, Ziggo, (which has a long history of protecting user rights) went to court to argue that it cannot pass along the warning letters, as it would be a violation of the GDPR. And the courts have now agreed. This time, a Ziggo subscriber was accused of offering over 200 e-books to the public through an open directory. BREIN hoped that the ISP would forward a notice to the associated account holder or share their personal details. This week, the Utrecht court ruled that the ISP is not required to cooperate with this request. Without a license from the Dutch Data Protection Authority, linking the IP-address to the subscriber information would violate privacy law. For the same reason, it can’t share the subscriber details directly with BREIN either. Even if Ziggo was allowed to process the data, BREIN wouldn’t have won the case. The court concluded that there’s insufficient evidence to show that the subscriber willingly made the books available for others to download. It’s possible that they were simply put online for personal use, without proper protection. “Contrary to what BREIN states, it is not certain that the IP address holder himself has infringed copyrights,” the court writes in a press release. There’s something quite amusing here, of course, since the legacy entertainment industry always seems to pop up in support of these kinds of laws, in the belief that it will somehow harm their mortal enemies in the internet industry… https://www.techdirt.com/2022/07/05/...rning-letters/ ![]() UEFA Welcomes Ruling on Anti-Piracy Godfrey Ivudria The lessons from the court ruling in Kenya should inform Ugandan ISPs on waters to stir clear of, such as sports pirating. Court in Kenya recently ordered internet service providers to block access to sports pirate websites infringing on copyright-protected material in Kenya. MultiChoice Kenya, with support from UEFA, obtained a ruling from the Kenya High Court that ordered a series of internet service providers (ISPs) in the country to permanently block access to sports pirate websites which contain materials which infringe copyright. Efforts in the fight against the pirate websites began in late 2019 when MultiChoice Kenya filed a lawsuit requesting that ISPs restrict live sports streaming services on their networks. Following an initial interim phase of the court process, the High Court, on 23 June 2022, imposed a permanent injunction compelling certain ISPs in Kenya to permanently block these sports pirate websites. UEFA welcomed the ruling and noted that the making available of footage of its competitions without authorization is an infringement of its intellectual property rights. “UEFA fully supports the injunction issued by the Kenya High Court to protect media rights owned by MultiChoice. It is a major step forward in the fight against audiovisual piracy in the region. The protection of our intellectual property and the legitimate interests of our rights holders is a top priority for our organization,” said UEFA marketing director, Guy-Laurent Epstein. “This is a red-letter day in the fight against piracy in Africa,” said MultiChoice Kenya Managing Director, Nancy Matimu. “We have been fighting for years to ensure that there are legal copyright protections and that those protections are enforced. The court has reaffirmed the stance of the law that copyright must be protected. With this verdict, Kenya is saying that any business looking to invest in Kenya can rest assured that their intellectual property will be protected.” While commenting on the ruling, Joan Semanda Kizza the PR and Communications manager MultiChoice Uganda said that this ruling should be an eye opener on matters pertaining to piracy of content. “We strongly believe in giving credit where it is due. As such pirating of content deals a negative blow to content creators and owners. The fight against piracy of content in Uganda is one that Uganda Registration Services Bureau and Uganda Communications Commission has in the past spearheaded bringing on board several Pay TV service providers who in turn together with fellow broadcasters were educated on the dangers and legal implications on copyright infringement. Cases like the one we see in Kenya bring forth the need to have mass awareness on the thin line between enjoying entertainment and content and blatantly pirating content. https://www.busiweek.com/uefa-welcom...n-anti-piracy/ ![]() PlayStation Store Will Remove Customers' Purchased Movies Rasmus Larsen In a move that will undoubtedly draw severe criticism, movies from Studio Canal that customers have purchased on the PlayStation Store will be completely removed next month. The legal notice is published on PlayStation's German and Austrian websites where it reads (translated): As of August 31, 2022, due to our evolving licensing agreements with content providers, you will no longer be able to view your previously purchased Studio Canal content and it will be removed from your video library. We greatly appreciate your continued support. Thank you PlayStation Store In other words, customers will lose access to movies such as Apocalypse Now, Django, John Wick, La La Land, Saw and The Hunger Games that they purchased on the PlayStation Store. Not rented, but purchased. PlayStation movie store closure In March 2021, Sony confirmed that the PlayStation Store would no longer offer new movie purchases or rentals on PS4 and PS5 as of August 31, 2021. However, at that time Sony assured its customers that "users can still access movie and TV content they have purchased through PlayStation Store for on-demand playback on their PS4, PS5 and mobile devices" after August 2021. The fact that Sony PlayStation is instead removing purchased movies is not only hugely problematic but also a broken promise. The company has not announced plans to refund customers. Do you really own digital movies? The development reignites the debate around digital movie purchases and naturally lead consumers to wonder what comes next? Will Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft and others similarly remove customers' purchased movies when the tech giants lose interest in their movie storefronts? So far, there are no indications that they will but Sony PlayStation's decision certainly serves as a grim example. In the US, customers have some protection through digital movie locker Movies Anywhere, but no such fallback option exists internationally. PlayStation: Affected Studio Canal titles Quote:
![]() Disney could Soon Lose Exclusive Rights to Mickey Mouse The beloved character was created in 1928 and will enter the public domain in 2024 Erum Salam As a consequence of US copyright law, entertainment giant Disney could soon lose the exclusive rights to some of the characters most responsible for the brand’s universal recognition, including the mouse that acts as its mascot. Mickey Mouse will enter the public domain in the year 2024, almost 95 years after his creation on 1 October 1928 – the length of time after which the copyright on an anonymous or pseudo-anonymous body of artistic work expires. Daniel Mayeda is the associate director of the Documentary Film Legal Clinic at UCLA School of Law, as well as a longtime media and entertainment lawyer. He said the copyright expiration does not come without limitations. “You can use the Mickey Mouse character as it was originally created to create your own Mickey Mouse stories or stories with this character. But if you do so in a way that people will think of Disney – which is kind of likely because they have been investing in this character for so long – then in theory, Disney could say you violated my trademark.” Mickey Mouse first appeared in the black and white cartoon Steamboat Willie. The cartoon was a pioneer in animation for its use of synchronized sound – where movements on screen correspond to the music and sound effects, launching one of the most recognizable images in film and television. According to the National Museum of American History: “Over the years, Mickey Mouse has gone through several transformations to his physical appearance and personality. In his early years, the impish and mischievous Mickey looked more rat-like, with a long pointy nose, black eyes, a smallish body with spindly legs and a long tail.” While this first rat-like iteration of Mickey will be stripped of its copyright, Mayeda said Disney retains its copyright on any subsequent variations in other films or artwork until they reach the 95-year mark. Other characters have already moved into the public domain: with unpredictable and somewhat shocking results. Honey-loving bear Winnie the Pooh from the Hundred-acre Woods and most of his animal friends entered public domain in January this year and some have wasted no time in capitalizing on the beloved characters. Actor Ryan Reynolds made a playful nod to the now free-to-use Winnie the Pooh in a Mint Mobile commercial. In the advertisement, Reynolds reads a children’s book about ‘Winnie the Screwed,’ a bear with a costly phone bill. More disturbingly, Pooh and his close pal Piglet are now the stars of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, a soon-to-be released horror film, written and directed by Rhys Waterfield, that sees the two go on a bloody rampage of killing after being abandoned by their old friend, Christopher Robin. Mayeda said it’s important for artists like Waterfield not to cross the line when it comes to creating new works based on the old characters. Certain aspects of a character that the general public recognizes as part of the Disney brand are off-limits for artists who wish to make use of the copyright expirations. If a particular work confuses the public into thinking it is actually affiliated with Disney, there could be major legal consequences. “Copyrights are time-limited,” Mayeda said. “Trademarks are not. So Disney could have a trademark essentially in perpetuity, as long as they keep using various things as they’re trademarked, whether they’re words, phrases, characters or whatever.” Disney may still maintain trademarks on certain catchphrases or signature outfits worn by the characters, such as Pooh’s red shirt, which Waterfield intentionally avoided using in his movie. In an interview with Variety, Waterfield said: “We’ve tried to be extremely careful. We knew there was this line between that and we knew what their copyright was and what they’ve done. So we did as much as we could to make sure [the film] was only based on the 1926 version of it. No one is going to mistake this [for Disney]. When you see the cover for this and you see the trailers and the stills and all that, there’s no way anyone is going to think this is a child’s version of it.” Disney still retains exclusive rights to the bouncing tiger, Tigger, for one more year since his first appearance wasn’t until 1929 in The House at Pooh Corner, the series of stories written by Winnie the Pooh creator AA Milne. Politicizing Pooh The Walt Disney Company has a long history with US copyright law. Suzanne Wilson, once deputy general counsel for the Walt Disney Company for nearly a decade, now heads the US Copyright Office, underscoring the company’s relationship with the government. In May 2022, Republican senator Josh Hawley of Missouri made headlines for threatening the corporate giant’s expansive list of copyrights after Disney publicly opposed Florida’s parental rights in education bill, commonly referred to as the “don’t say gay” bill. Hawley said: “The age of Republican handouts to big business is over. Thanks to special copyright protections from Congress, woke corporations like Disney have earned billions while increasingly pandering to woke activists. It’s time to take away Disney’s special privileges and open up a new era of creativity and innovation.” Mayeda called Hawley’s reaction “purely political”. “It has no chance of passing,” Mayeda said in reference to Hawley’s copyright clause restoration bill that seeks “to limit new copyright protections to 56 years and make the change retroactive for massive corporations like Disney that have been granted unnecessarily long copyright monopolies”. “Disney has been very active in trying to extend copyright terms,” Mayeda said. “Successfully, they have had their term for Mickey and so forth extended, but I doubt that they’re going to be able to get additional extensions. I think this is going to be the end of the line.” https://www.theguardian.com/film/202...pyright-expiry ![]() Songwriters Score Delayed Win in Streaming Royalties Battle Matthew Leimkuehler • Streaming royalties increase from 10.5% to 15.1%, according to a new ruling. • The ruling impacts royalties earned from 2018-2022. • But it's unclear when streaming services may pay backlogged royalties. Songwriters earned a stalled victory Friday in their ongoing battle for higher streaming royalty pay. After a lengthy appeal from a handful of digital powerhouses, the Copyright Royalty Board upheld a nearly 44% bump in streaming royalties for songwriters. The ruling increases streaming rates from 10.5% to 15.1% for a four-year period stretching 2018 to 2022, according to trade groups the National Music Publishers' Association and Nashville Songwriters Association International. The board initially ruled in favor of an increase in 2018, but leading music streaming companies Spotify, Amazon Music, Google-YouTube and Pandora pushed back against the decision via the U.S. Court of Appeals in 2019. Apple Music did not appeal the ruling. "Today the court reaffirmed the headline rate increase we earned four long years ago, confirming that songwriters need and deserve a significant raise from the digital streaming services who profit from their work," National Music Publishers' Association president and CEO David Israelite said in a statement. He added: “This process was protracted and expensive and though we are relieved with the outcome, years of litigation to uphold a rate increase we spent years fighting for is a broken system. Now, songwriters and music publishers finally can be made whole and receive the rightful royalty rates from streaming services that they should've been paid years ago." Still, it may be months before songwriters see retroactive royalty checks cut from streaming services. Nashville Songwriters Association International executive director Bart Herbison described the outcome as "mixed news" in a statement Friday afternoon. Per a finalized verdict, streaming services should pay backlogged royalties to songwriters in six months, but an exact timeline remains to-be-determined as the companies look for an extension, according to Herbison. "It is unbelievable that these tech companies who pay a myriad of rates across the globe have not figured this out when they realized four-and-a-half years ago they would have to," he said. “More and more songwriters continue to leave the business. Some may have been able to hold on had the streaming companies not appealed, Herbison said. "We do not want to see anyone else leave because arrearage payments cannot get to them in time." A statement from streaming service advocacy group Digital Media Association said that "streaming services are committed to working .. to facilitate the accurate distribution of royalties." And in a win for streaming services, the board ruled to cap the percentage of label revenue and adopt bundle package definitions — such as cross-content subscriptions and family plans — that favor the companies. “Looking ahead, streaming services believe it’s time for all stakeholders—labels, publishers, writers, artists and the services—to engage in comprehensive discussions to figure out the right royalty-sharing balance going forward," said the statement from Digital Media Association. A trial to determine rates for 2023-2027 begins later this year. https://www.tennessean.com/story/ent...se/7791288001/ ![]() Crosby, Stills & Nash’s Music Returns to Spotify Of the news, David Crosby said: “I don’t own it now and the people who do are in business to make money" Elizabeth Aubrey The music of Crosby, Stills and Nash is back on Spotify after the musicians initially removed all of their music earlier this year in solidarity with Neil Young. Back in February, Crosby, Stills & Nash joined a growing number of acts who demanded that their music be removed from Spotify amid the COVID controversy involving Joe Rogan. Members of the disbanded folk supergroup, which when joined by Neil Young were known as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, supported Young who in January said that he wanted all his music pulled from the streaming platform. Young took aim at controversial podcaster Joe Rogan – a prominent skeptic of the COVID vaccine who has a $100million exclusivity contract with Spotify – pointing out the widespread misinformation shared through his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience. In February, Crosby, Stills and Nash said: “We support Neil and we agree with him that there is dangerous disinformation being aired on Spotify’s Joe Rogan podcast. While we always value alternate points of view, knowingly spreading disinformation during this global pandemic has deadly consequences. Until real action is taken to show that a concern for humanity must be balanced with commerce, we don’t want our music — or the music we made together — to be on the same platform.” Others who sided with Young and removed their content from the platform included Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, Stewart Lee and cult alternative rockers Failure. Now, Crosby, Stills & Nash’s music is back on the streaming platform. In response to someone on Twitter who asked Crosby why their music had returned, he replied: “I don’t own it now and the people who do are in business to make money.” NME has reached out to representatives of Crosby, Stills and Nash for comment. Young’s music is still unavailable on Spotify, as is Joni Mitchell’s. Rogan responded to the backlash at the time, addressing in a video “some of the controversy that’s been going on over the past few days”. He told fans: “I don’t always get it right. I will do my best to try to balance out these more controversial viewpoints with other people perspectives so we can maybe find a better point of view. Admitting that it is a “strange responsibility to have this many views and listeners,” he promised “to do my best in the future to balance things out.” Of Young and Mitchell’s departure from Spotify, Rogan added: “I’m very sorry that they feel that way. I most certainly don’t want that. I’m a Neil Young fan, I’ve always have been a Neil Young fan.” Spotify later announced in a statement that it would add content advisories to all relevant podcast episodes. https://www.nme.com/news/music/crosb...potify-3261128 ![]() FCC Gets 90,000+ Comments from Starlink Users Protesting Dish Mobile Service FCC comments show Starlink's importance in rural areas neglected by wireline ISPs. Jon Brodkin The Federal Communications Commission has received more than 90,000 comments from Starlink users urging the agency to side with SpaceX in a spectrum battle against Dish Network. The comments were all submitted since last week when SpaceX asked Starlink customers to weigh in on an FCC proceeding that seeks public input on the "feasibility of allowing mobile services in the 12.2-12.7 GHz band while protecting incumbents from harmful interference." Dish wants to use the 12 GHz band for mobile service and says that sharing the spectrum wouldn't significantly degrade satellite broadband. SpaceX says the plan would cause "harmful interference [to Starlink users] more than 77 percent of the time and total outage of service 74 percent of the time, rendering Starlink unusable for most Americans." The satellite downlink band used by Starlink extends from 10.7 GHz to 12.7 GHz. SpaceX says it uses most of that but not the 10.7-10.95 GHz portion because it's adjacent to radio astronomy systems. The Starlink email was sent to users on June 28. There were a little more than 200 comments in the 18-month-old proceeding's docket at that time, mostly from satellite or telecom companies and lobbyist or advocacy groups. Since then, the comments appear to come almost entirely from people submitting SpaceX's pre-written message, in some cases unaltered and in others with the commenter's opinions or personal experiences using Starlink added in. Many Starlink users told the FCC they live in rural parts of the US and have no other viable broadband options. It's possible a single person can file multiple comments under different names, but it's clear that the SpaceX plea resulted in an outpouring of support from people who use Starlink. The pace of commenting hasn't slowed down in recent days. PCMag reported on Tuesday that the "SpaceX petition protesting Dish Network has resulted in 70,000 Starlink users bombarding the FCC with messages urging the US regulator to protect the satellite Internet system." There are now more than 95,700 comments in the docket. The official comment period on the 12 GHz question came and went last year, but the agency hasn't ruled on the proceeding yet. User comments show Starlink’s importance to rural areas SpaceX's email to users directed them to a webpage titled, "Don't Let Dish Disable Your Internet." It contains a form for submitting comments with a pre-written message that says in part, "Allowing an entirely new use of this spectrum would significantly interfere with my broadband Internet connection, which I have come to rely on. The FCC should be focused on expanding connectivity to Americans, especially those without service or with poor service. It should not be focused on changing the rules to satisfy speculative and poorly defined technologies and individuals who have no clear plans to help close the digital divide." Whether SpaceX's analysis is correct is a question that FCC staff will try to answer when they review all the data. Whatever the outcome, the large number of Starlink users who chose to add their own experiences to the pre-written comment help demonstrate the importance of SpaceX's low Earth orbit satellites in parts of the country neglected by cable and fiber ISPs. Here's a sampling of some of the comments that we found looking through the docket today: Quote:
Dish group accuses SpaceX of “misinformation campaign” The FCC has been urged to allow mobile use of the 12 GHz band by the 5Gfor12GHz Coalition, a group created to lobby on the issue. The group includes Dish and a variety of telecoms, tech companies, industry lobby groups, and consumer advocacy groups. The group accused SpaceX of running a "misinformation campaign" in a response posted today. "After failing to submit any expert technical input during the public comment and reply comment periods in the proceeding, Starlink has only now submitted a self-produced political document in the guise of a technical analysis," the group said. "This 'study,' which was not produced by an independent expert, is both scientifically and logically flawed." The 5Gfor12GHz Coalition said it "has worked with top experts, including RKF Engineering Solutions—a preeminent engineering firm with decades of experience in modeling Radio Frequency environments in collaboration with leading telecommunications companies and global regulators—to submit robust, data-driven technical analyses into the record." That data shows "coexistence is feasible in the band" with little risk of harmful interference to low Earth satellite networks, the group said. When SpaceX submitted its study on interference, it accused Dish and RS Access of "fil[ing] intentionally misleading reports." SpaceX also said its "analysis verifies what should be intuitive—that a high-power terrestrial network would blow out anyone using the high-sensitivity equipment satellite consumers must use to receive signals that comply with Commission and international power restrictions on satellite downlink transmissions." Starlink study’s focus on Vegas criticized The 5Gfor12GHz Coalition dismissed the SpaceX study as containing flawed assumptions, such as "a massive and unprecedented over-deployment of 5G towers that exceeds any realistic network build-out." The group also criticized SpaceX's decision to focus its interference study on the Las Vegas market instead of nationwide and challenged SpaceX's assumption that 54 percent of customers would be in urban or suburban areas (17 percent in urban areas and 37 percent in suburban areas). SpaceX said the 54 percent figure matches actual demand in its Las Vegas market and that it chose to analyze Vegas because that's where Dish launched its 5G network. But the 5Gfor12GHz Coalition pointed out that "Starlink has publicly stated that its service will serve a limited number of customers in high-density areas and is really targeted for sparsely populated regions." The group's statement continued: Quote:
The FCC last week authorized Starlink to provide Internet service on moving vehicles, ships, and airplanes. The FCC granted the license despite Dish claiming that an approval would make it hard for the commission to repurpose 12 GHz spectrum for terrestrial mobile use. But the FCC said it's keeping all its options open in 12 GHz. The ESIM (Earth stations in motion) use spectrum from 10.7 GHz to 12.7 GHz, and the FCC said SpaceX's ESIM authorization is "on a non-interference protected, i.e., unprotected, basis" in the 12.2-12.7 GHz portion that could also be used for mobile service if Dish gets its way. SpaceX must therefore "accept any interference received from both current and future services authorized in the band—even if such interference causes undesirable operations" in that spectrum, the FCC said. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...obile-service/ ![]() Starlink On Your Yacht, So Hot Andrew Mendez Having conquered orbit, SpaceX’s next venue seems to be the high seas, through a special yacht-focused sub-brand of its satellite internet service called Starlink Maritime. The idea of satellite internet on the water isn’t a new one, but the actual service generally isn’t great: you can expect to pay hundreds or thousands per month for DSL-era speeds, topping out at a few megabits. Starlink Maritime is taking on the speed problem at least, saying it can provide customers with up to 350 Mbps. But with a monthly price of $5,000 and a one-time hardware fee of $10,000 for the dual terminals you’ll need, it’s not exactly more accessible. Though consumers do have the option to pause and unpause the plan and only be billed for the months they use. The terminals are “performance dishes” about twice the size of a home dish, Starlink’s Joseph Scarantino noted on Twitter. “Two Perf Dishes quadruples performance — so that helps reduce latency, ping drops, or loss of signal at sea because of the wider FOV provided by the two Dishes,” he wrote. (The user’s profile has since been made private.) Of course, the device still needs to be installed where there’s a clear view of the sky. Consumers can download the Starlink phone application to make sure their device is placed in the ideal location. SpaceX claims Starlink Maritime “allows you to connect from some of the most remote waters in the world,” but currently their coverage area is limited to coastal waters in North America (primarily the U.S.), Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Chile. Not a problem if all you do is cruise the Mediterranean, but trans-ocean ships will lose connectivity pretty quickly after leaving port. Starlink claims they will expand their coverage to more waters — primarily across the Northern Hemisphere — by this year’s fourth quarter, and the Southern Hemisphere by the first quarter of 2023. Current maritime internet providers allow coverage across most ocean waters, depending on the coverage plan — but again, the speed is not great. High-speed service even just in local waters, even with that price tag, will probably attract plenty of high-end customers and commercial services like cruise ships. https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/07/st...-yacht-so-hot/ ![]() Rogers Network Outage Hits Millions of Canadians, Drawing Outrage Divya Rajagopal and Ismail Shakil • Rogers dominates Canada's telecom sector • Banking services down, transport disrupted • Outage renews criticism over telecom sector competition A major network outage at one of Canada's biggest telecom operators shut banking, transport and government access for millions all day on Friday, drawing outrage from customers and adding to criticism over Rogers Telecommunications' (RCIb.TO) industry dominance. Nearly every facet of life has been disrupted. Some callers could not reach emergency services via 911 calls, police across Canada said. Canadians who work from home crowded into cafes and public libraries that still had internet access and hovered outside hotels to catch a signal. Canada's border services agency said the outage affected its mobile app for incoming travelers. Retailers' cashless pay systems went down; banks reported issues with ATM services. The company said it would provide credits to affected customers. Its shares closed down 73 cents at $61.54 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday. Later on Friday, Kye Prigg, a senior vice president at Rogers, told the CBC the company does not "have an ETA of when the problem will be fixed" and was still working to identify a cause. "I wouldn't like to say whether it's going to be fully online today or not," he said. A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Friday evening the outage was not the result of a cyber-attack. The disruption also made transport and flight bookings more difficult at the height of the summer travel season. So far, Transport Canada has not received reports of direct safety or security impacts to any flights, marine or rail services as part of this outage, according to spokesperson Sau Sau Liu. The interruption was Rogers' second in 15 months. It began around 4:30 a.m. ET (0830 GMT) and knocked out a quarter of Canada's observable internet connectivity, said the NetBlocks monitoring group. "Today we have let you down. We are working to make this right as quickly as we can," Rogers said in a statement. With about 10 million wireless subscribers and 2.25 million retail internet subscribers, Rogers is the top provider in Ontario. Rogers, BCE Inc (BCE.TO) and Telus Corp (T.TO) control 90% of the market share in Canada. Canadian financial institutions and banks, including Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) and Bank Of Montreal (BMO.TO) said the outage disrupted services. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) said its ATM and online banking services were affected. A spokesperson for Vancouver International airport, among Canada's busiest, said travelers could not pay for parking, use terminal ATM machines or purchase items at airport retailers. Air Canada (AC.TO), the country's largest airline, said its call center had been affected. Airlines in Canada, like those in Europe and the United States, have been experiencing high call volume amid flight cancellations and delays due to pandemic staffing shortages. read more The Toronto Blue Jays Twitter account on Friday evening announced that singer the Weeknd's tour stop at the Rogers Centre stadium had been postponed due to service outages affecting venue operations. COMPETITION Critics said the outage demonstrated a need for more competition in telecom. Earlier this year, Canada's competition bureau blocked Rogers' attempt to take over rival Shaw Communications (SJRb.TO) in a C$20 billion deal, saying it would hamper competition in a country where telecom rates are some of the world's highest. The merger still awaits a final verdict. read more "Today's outage illustrates the need for more independent competition that will drive more network investment so outages are far less likely," said Anthony Lacavera, managing director of Globealive, an investment firm that had bid for a wireless provider involved in the Rogers/Shaw deal. On Friday, some government agencies canceled services after losing internet access, including Canada's passport offices and the telecoms regulator. The Canada Revenue Agency, the country's tax collection body, lost telephone service. Canada's Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said his team has been in contact with the company. "We expressed how important it is that this matter be resolved as soon as possible and for the company to provide prompt and clear communication directly to those impacted," he tweeted. 'CASH WILL BE KING' Shops and restaurants in Toronto put "Cash Only" signs on their doors. Residents crowded into and around a nearby Starbucks coffee shop offering free Wi-Fi on an unaffected network. "There's tons of people here with their laptops just working away ferociously, the same as they would at home, because they've got no service at home," said Starbucks customer Ken Rosenstein. In downtown Ottawa, cafes including Tim Hortons were not accepting debit and credit cards, and turning away customers who did not have cash. Michelle Wasylyshen, spokeswoman for the Retail Council of Canada, said outages will vary from one retailer to the next: "Cash will most certainly be king at many stores today." While the disruptions were widespread, several companies and transport points said their services were unaffected. The Port of Montreal reported no disruptions. The Calgary Airport Authority said it had "no major operational impacts." https://www.reuters.com/business/med...or-2022-07-08/ ![]() Julian Assange Appeals to UK Court Against Extradition to US Frank Griffiths WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has appealed against the British’s government decision last month to order his extradition to the U.S. The appeal was filed Friday at the High Court, the latest twist in a decade-long legal saga sparked by his website’s publication of classified U.S. documents. No further details about the appeal were immediately available. Assange’s supporters staged protests before his 51st birthday this weekend, with his wife Stella Assange among people who gathered outside the Home Office on Friday to call for his release from prison. Julian Assange has battled in British courts for years to avoid being sent to the U.S., where he faces 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse. American prosecutors say the Australian citizen helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk. To his supporters, Assange is a secrecy-busting journalist who exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. A British court ruled in April that Assange could be sent to face trial in the U.S., sending the case to the U.K. government for a decision. Home Secretary Priti Patel signed an order on June 17 authorizing Assange’s extradition. https://apnews.com/article/technolog...2f1a68e13fb4b9 Until next week, - js. ![]() Current Week In Review ![]() Recent WiRs - July 2nd, June 25th, June 18th, May 11th Jack Spratts' Week In Review is published every Friday. Submit letters, articles, press releases, comments, questions etc. in plain text English to jackspratts (at) lycos (dot) com. Submission deadlines are Thursdays @ 1400 UTC. Please include contact info. The right to publish all remarks is reserved. "The First Amendment rests on the assumption that the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources is essential to the welfare of the public." - Hugo Black
__________________
Thanks For Sharing |
|||
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
![]() |
||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Peer-To-Peer News - The Week In Review - July 30th, '11 | JackSpratts | Peer to Peer | 0 | 27-07-11 06:58 AM |
Peer-To-Peer News - The Week In Review - July 16th, '11 | JackSpratts | Peer to Peer | 0 | 13-07-11 06:43 AM |
Peer-To-Peer News - The Week In Review - July 9th, '11 | JackSpratts | Peer to Peer | 0 | 06-07-11 05:36 AM |
Peer-To-Peer News - The Week In Review - January 30th, '10 | JackSpratts | Peer to Peer | 0 | 27-01-10 07:49 AM |
Peer-To-Peer News - The Week In Review - December 5th, '09 | JackSpratts | Peer to Peer | 0 | 02-12-09 08:32 AM |