Sidecut Reports

As of this writing, we are projecting four Sidecut Reports will be completed in this calendar year, with the first one, “Xohm or Go Home: Why 2008 Is WiMax’s Breakout Year in the U.S. — Or Else!” all ready for your credit card on our ordering page.

The WiMax report is the first in our “Wireless Broadband” coverage category. For the purchase price of $149.95, you not only get the full report PDF, you also get a yearly subscription for report updates and news flashes on that topic area for the full calendar year.

Reports will be issued in the following categories as they are completed:

PUBLIC POLICY — Report on “Network Neutrality,” due out by early June, 2008.

INTERNET VIDEO INFRASTRUCTURE — Report due out late Q2 2008.

ADVANCED TELEPHONY — Report due out Q3 2008.

For editorial calendar information or report structure, send me an email to kaps at sidecutreports.com.

I didn’t get to listen to all of the FCC’s Broadband Network Management Practices forum from Harvard today, but I did get to hear one excellent presentation from Internet legend David Clark, a technologist who offered some great insights on network management and bandwidth pricing — while also wondering out loud if the whole network neutrality discussion couldn’t be conducted with just a tad more civility.

“I would plead with all the actors [in the debate] that when they look over the fence, don’t say ‘enemy’ but say ‘partner,’ ” said Clark at the opening of his remarks, reasoning that if access providers and content creators work better together, there might be hope for a better Internet for all in the future. Not a bad sentiment to embrace as the new season of network neutrality debates kicks off.

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When I was managing editor at GigaOM last year, I used to look forward to the P2P posts from Janko Roettgers for the NewTeeVee site, because they were always interesting and offered a nuanced take not found in many other places. Today Janko scores again with a post about how BitTorrent isn’t just for blockbuster movies, a fact that may escape those who only scratch the surface of the P2P world.

Janko’s post is a bit of a reply to Tim Wu’s recent article for Slate, where the esteemed legal scholar came up empty-handed after searching popular P2P sites for Sundance-type films. Wu’s following hypothesis — that pirates are interested mainly in big-money films — is partially on, but as Janko points out it is possible to find artsy and niche material, but you have to look a bit harder. Maybe it’s the online equivalent of finding a cool record store that specializes in quirky stuff, as opposed to scanning the bins at Best Buy. Good thing we NewTeeVee fans have Janko around to peer down those dark alleys and find what others miss.