Amit M. Schejter

Policy implications of market segmentation as a determinant of fixed-mobile service substitution: What it means for carriers and policy makers

The determination whether mobile and fixed telecommunications services operate in the same market not only affects business decision of service providers, but also has wide implications on public policy decisions pertaining to the means by which they should be regulated in the United States. This study conducts a two-stage cluster analysis implementing the American Customer Satisfaction Model on two datasets of 3251 and 5060 data points pertaining to mobile and fixed-line phone services, respectively, collected by the National Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan in order to determine whether the way consumers perceive these services can indicate as to their levels of substitutability. It concludes that different types of customers with different needs consume these products and offers policy makers some insight on how to further the penetration of mobile services.

Social Media New and Old in the Al-’Arakeeb Conflict: A Case Study

This article on the civic struggles of residents of the demolished Bedouin village of Al-’Arakeeb in Israel demonstrates how social media have helped marginalized communities acquire a voice. It is based on site visits to the village over the course of a year beginning in July 2010, and on interviews with residents, Bedouin and Jewish activists, and journalists covering the conflict. Media strategies of villagers and activists are described and analyzed, and use of new and old media by people with limited access to telecommunications infrastructure is explored. Subsequent news accounts of the struggle and the journalist interviews point to a multifaceted role social media play in progressive social change for the Bedouin.

The Evolution of Cable Regulatory Policies and Their Impact: A Comparison of South Korea and Israel

This study compares policy history and the development of cable television in South Korea and Israel. Tracking the evolution of cable policy in each country, it assesses effects on the market and draws conclusions that may be applied in other countries. The study adopts a model created by McQuali, de Mateo, and Tapper (1992) and the industrial organization model as its descriptive tools. The study focuses on market performance in two countries that made a transition from an old order of government planning to a new order of increased market autonomy, with similar goals in mind and in response to similar pressures, while employing different market structures. Although the policies adopted and their outcomes differed in terms of competition structure, market conduct, and performance, similar outcomes patterns were observed. These differences and similarities can help explain success and failure in regulating cable markets.

`From All My Teachers I Have Grown Wise, and From My Students More Than Anyone Else' What Lessons Can the US Learn from Broadband Policies in Europe?

/ Rooted in what are already disparate programs of regulatory intervention, the European Union and the United States have identified differently their current challenges in telecommunications policy. This study describes the development of both regulatory frameworks through their philosophical roots and ideological transitions demonstrating how, on the one hand, American influences have affected the European policy language, but, on the other, the European policies have better implemented the same policies and as a result are being seen as contributing to higher levels of broadband penetration. This time around, it seems that attending to the strengths of the European process may help policy-makers in the US reformulate their own home-grown policies.

The cultural obligations of broadcast television in Israel

In this study, a textual analysis of policy papers, drafts of legal documents and laws enacted by the Knesset are used in order to demonstrate how broadcasting policy has been shaped in Israel in order to serve cultural needs. The study describes the historical development of policy toward broadcast television in Israel, from the 1960s to 1993, when commercial television was introduced. It demonstrates how all along, though cultural goals and understandings have changed, cultural considerations were at the basis of the policy. The analysis demonstrates the changes in the value systems of Israeli policymakers and lawmakers over the years and between broadcasters, but maintains that the cultural policies in regard to non-Jewish cultural expression have remained unchanged.

`The pillar of fire by night, to shew them light': Israeli broadcasting, the Supreme Court and the Zionist narrative

This article discusses cases in which the Israeli Supreme Court was asked to block the broadcasting of television programs produced by the national broadcaster – the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) – on the grounds that they purportedly misrepresented historical truths. The article shows, through various examples, how the court uses its ideological biases in order to serve the dominant interpretation of the history of Zionism and to perpetuate this interpretation by providing it with a judicial stamp of approval. Providing relevant background to the events portrayed in these television programs and the ideological controversies surrounding them, the article describes how the court’s traditional interpretation of Zionism, as well as its long-established view of the role of media in society, contribute to its decisions, and, consequently, how the court has joined the media in creating the ‘mediated/imagined’ Israeli community.

Mobile phone usage as an indicator of solidarity: Israelis at war in 2006 and 2009

This study presents a secondary analysis of real-time data of mobile phone usage in Israel during two recent wars – with the Lebanese Hezbollah in 2006 and with the Palestinian Hamas in Gaza in 2008/9. The data, provided by Cellcom Israel, the country’s largest mobile operator, enabled an analysis of real behavior patterns rather than relying on memories of people who may have been under stress or traumatized during the hostilities, hence unable to accurately recollect this information later on. During both wars, significant changes were noted in the way people used their mobile phones: There was a substantial decrease of calls originating from within a 10-kilometer region along the Israel-Lebanon border and mobile users also made significantly longer calls. However, the decrease in calls during the Lebanon War was more than double that of the decrease in the comparable region along the Gaza border. There was no significant change in the calling patterns of Israelis living outside the directly affected regions. These supposed differences in reaction to a crisis situation (which are congruent with previous mobile phone usage studies following suicide bombings) are analyzed, and questions regarding the validity of the myth of solidarity and bonding among Israelis are raised.

TELL IT NOT IN HARRISBURG, PUBLISH IT NOT IN THE STREETS OF TAMPA

A framing analysis was performed on 22 local news reports identified in 90 newscasts carried by television stations covering the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) public hearings on media ownership held in Harrisburg, PA and Tampa, FL in 2007. It revealed two frames: one portraying the hearings as “unimportant” and another suggesting that “media consolidation is not a problem.” Taking into account that the stations are owned by non-local media conglomerates, the findings of this study imply that maintaining broadcasters independent of the networks serves the diversity of viewpoints in a market, especially regarding issues in which media conglomerates have a vested interest.

‘The Stranger That Dwelleth with You Shall Be unto You as One Born among You’—Israeli Media Law and the Cultural Rights of the ‘Palestinian-Israeli’ Minority

The media and communication rights of Palestinians in Israel are designed to deny them of collective cultural rights, specifically the right to express their identity through the mass media and to participate equally in the process of national culture building. Through a critical analysis of the documents that shape the media industry in Israel and their historical evolution, this paper lays bare the assumptions underlying Israeli media policies. The policies are designed in a discourse branding ‘Palestinian-Israelis’ a linguistic minority, and portraying them as the ‘enemy within’, thus barring their participation in the development of Israeli culture by limiting their electronic media participation to separate channels targeting both them and Arabs in neighboring states. The paper argues that this policy stems from a narrow interpretation of ‘democracy’ that rejects identification with the Orient and embraces neo-liberalism.

The Effect of the Transformation in Digital Media on the Digital Divide

The digital divide policy conversation focuses on connectivity and access to information and communication technologies as well as on the ability to use them in pre-prescribed ways and on the utility that their usage provides according to preset categories.However, the dynamics offered by van Dijk (2005) demonstrate that categorical inequalities permeate over time and lead to an ongoing divide that never closes. A shift in policy thinking is needed. Applying a philosophy rooted in the writings of John Rawls to replace the current utilitarian framework, we suggest to focus remedial policies on the least advantaged members of society, those whose positional categorization led to the lowest levels of digital participation. We then propose to measure success of the policy by its responsiveness to the needs of the excluded citizens as they themselves define them. Adopting Amartya Sens “capabilities approach,” we posit that an effective policy should focus on a person’s actual capability to make use of the goods, services and opportunities available to them, rather than on the mere access to or ownership of those goods.