The tech sector in Washington accounts for 22% of the state economy and ranks first…
Weekly News Roundup: February 27, 2015
In Net Neutrality Victory, F.C.C. Classifies Broadband Internet Service as a Public Utility
New York Times| Rebecca R. Ruiz | Feb. 26
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/technology/net-neutrality-fcc-vote-internet-utility.html?_r=0
“The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to regulate broadband Internet service as a public utility, a milestone in regulating high-speed Internet service into American homes. The new rules, approved 3 to 2 along party lines, are intended to ensure that no content is blocked and that the Internet is not divided into pay-to-play fast lanes for Internet and media companies that can afford it and slow lanes for everyone else. Those prohibitions are hallmarks of the net neutrality concept.
Mobile data service for smartphones and tablets is being placed under the new rules. The order also includes provisions to protect consumer privacy and to ensure Internet service is available for people with disabilities and in remote areas. But the new rules are an à la carte version of Title II, adopting some provisions and shunning others. The F.C.C. will not get involved in pricing decisions or the engineering decisions companies make in managing their networks.”
New FCC Rules Could Spur City of Seattle to Finally Make Use of That Dark Fiber
Puget Sound Business Journal | Rachel Lerman | Feb. 26
“The net neutrality rules the FCC passed Thursday may encourage the city of Seattle to do what tech companies have been asking for years — make use of the dark fiber that crisscrosses Seattle and build out a city-run broadband network…City officials have made it their mission in recent months to increase competition between internet service providers in the city to give residents more choices. Comcast has far and away the biggest control over the market in the Puget Sound region, despite often facing criticism from Seattleites. But many businesses want the city to go further and create a city-run fiber broadband network, or at least lease city-owned dark fiber to a company that could make use of it…Businesses, especially tech businesses, in Seattle have been urging the city for years to make use of the existing, extensive network of dark fiber.”
Spouses of Certain H-1B Visa Holders Will Soon be Eligible for Work Authorization in the US
The National Law Review |Rebekah J. Poston, Brian E. Schield, Ranita Shah, Gregory A. Wald| Feb. 25
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published a long-awaited final rule extending eligibility for employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses (not children) of H-1B nonimmigrants who are seeking employment based lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. These H-4 dependents, like dependent spouses of E-1, E-2, E-3 and L-1 visa holders, will soon be able to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and lawfully work for any US employer. The rule was published on February 25, 2015 and takes effect on May 26, 2015. This change does not apply to all H-4 visa holders. Only those married to H-1B nonimmigrants who are principal beneficiaries of an approved Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140), or have been granted H-1B status in the United States under sections 106(a) and (b) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 (AC21), as amended by the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act.”
Diversity: Tech Companies Need New Strategies
USA Today | Joelle Emerson | Feb. 25
“Growing transparency around workforce demographics and high-profile harassment and discrimination lawsuits have made “diversity in tech” a topic that’s impossible to ignore. The question now is whether tech companies will actually do what it takes to become more diverse… Tech companies that want to become more diverse and inclusive should abandon outdated, ineffective strategies and instead rely on social science research to find strategies that work… Here are a few suggestions:
- Develop effective training
- Create better tools for recruiting and hiring candidates
- Address bias in the performance management processes
- Create a sustainable approach to work-life integration
The tech industry plays a central role, and only increasingly so, in defining how the world works. The presence of diverse perspectives in that process really matters.”
Nasdaq Nears 5,000 – Does a Tech Bubble Loom?
CNBC | Seema Mody | Feb. 24
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102445956#
“The tech-heavy index has not trading above the 5,000 mark since March of 2000, about 15 years ago. After hitting an all-time intraday high of 5,048 on March 10, 2000, stocks started to experience a dose of volatility, as investors questioned whether tech companies—which had been outperforming for quite some time—were worth the amount they were trading at. What followed was a scary ride for many investors, including a massive crash in technology stocks—many of which are no longer around today…The old tech juggernauts that got crushed during the tech crash of 2000 – such as Yahoo, Microsoft and Cisco – have nowhere near the astronomic price-to-earnings ratios that they were trading at back then… the rebound in the Nasdaq has fueled optimism around investing in tech. It has also got a boost from the success of tech initial public offerings (IPOs) from companies like Facebook and Alibaba…Larger, more mature tech titans, like Google and Microsoft, are using mergers and acquisitions as a means to build out their pipeline and offer customers new technology… While many start-ups may not justify their lofty valuations at this point, it’s not stopping investors from knocking on their door.”
Google to Teach Boys & Girls Clubs to Code
USA Today | Jessica Guynn | Feb. 23
“Google is teaming up with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to bring a program that teaches computer science to more elementary and middle-school students across the country. Called CS First, the program teaches kids ages 9 to 14 how to express themselves and their interests through computer code… The program geared to fourth- to eighth-graders is called a “club in a box.” Anyone, a teacher, coach or volunteer, can use the online curriculum to teach kids the basics of coding. More than 18,000 students have taken part in the program at one of more than 1,200 CS First clubs around the country, according to Google… Google is also trying to reach out to women and minorities, demographics starkly underrepresented in the mostly white-, Asian- and male-dominated Silicon Valley. About half of the students who have taken part in CS First are women and about half are underrepresented minorities… After participating in the program, kids have a clearer understanding computer science and a greater awareness of the possibilities the field opens up.”
In 5G Proceeding, SpaceX Urges FCC to Protect Future Satellite Ventures
Fierce Wireless Tech | Monica Alleven | Feb. 22
“Space Exploration Technologies, otherwise known as SpaceX, the space transport company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, wants the FCC to consider not only existing but future innovative uses of Ka-band spectrum before committing to a proceeding that might create barriers to entry… SpaceX pointed out that it recently announced plans to build a network of 4,000 non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) communications satellites, which it will manufacture, launch and operate. It plans to hire a large number of skilled workers at a new satellite manufacturing center in the Seattle area… SpaceX will be a new entrant in the satellite communications space, seeking to provide low-cost, high-speed broadband Internet service worldwide, including to end-users in the United States… and urges the commission to take into account new satellite entrants and not just incumbent satellite operators and their existing or planned operations.”
Women are Leaving the Tech Industry in Droves
LA Times | Tracey Lien | Feb. 22
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-women-tech-20150222-story.html#page=1
“According to the industry group Code.org, computing jobs will more than double by 2020, to 1.4 million. If women continue to leave the field, an already dire shortage of qualified tech workers will grow worse… A Harvard Business Review study from 2008 found that as many as 50% of women working in science, engineering and technology will, over time, leave because of hostile work environments…The reasons are varied. According to the Harvard study, they include a “hostile” male culture, a sense of isolation and lack of a clear career path. An updated study in 2014 found the reasons hadn’t significantly changed…Men are crucial for creating an environment where women thrive, said Scarlett Sieber, 27, vice president of operations at tech company Infomous. ‘Men need to be the ones that are advocating and pushing for women to rise up, and not just rely on the 1% of women who are already at the top to do it,’ Sieber said. Sieber says the entire industry needs to do what it’s so good at: cause disruption.”
Happy Days are Here for Seattle – for Now
Seattle Times | Jon Talton | Feb. 20
http://df.seattletimes.com/business/technology/happy-days-are-here-for-seattle-for-now/
“The boom in Seattle and the Puget Sound area has legs beyond construction cranes, engines other than Amazon.com and Microsoft… Software, cloud computing, e-commerce and other technology ecosystems are growing here. We are a sweet spot for startups and all stages of angel, growth and venture capital. And the assets we are attracting and growing are not data centers minded by a few, but top-end technology-engineering and research offices, as well as homegrown headquarters. Over the past five years ending in December, 12,100 jobs were added in computer-systems design and related services for Seattle-Bellevue-Everett. Software publishers added a more modest 2,300. But in the broad category of information jobs, the metro area had 90,500 jobs in December, close to a record and well above 1999… We are cheaper than Silicon Valley, New York, Boston and L.A. Yet we have the talent, a leading university, deep knowledge in software, cloud computing and e-commerce, a cool city and spectacular setting that the world’s leading companies demand for their brainpower… The region’s challenge is to widen its portfolio of advanced industries rather than sit on the existing assets.”
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