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126-573: NCTA is considered one of the most prominent lobbying organizations in the United States, having $ 14 million to lobbying efforts in 2021. Regarding policy matters, NCTA has expressed opposition to net neutrality and municipal broadband proposals. Currently, the association is led by Michael Powell , a former Republican member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). NCTA was initially established as

252-450: A captive portal webpage for access. Organizations, enthusiasts, authorities and businesses , such as airports, hotels, and restaurants, often provide free or paid-use hotspots to attract customers, to provide services to promote business in selected areas. Routers often incorporate a digital subscriber line modem or a cable modem and a Wi-Fi access point, are frequently set up in homes and other buildings, to provide Internet access for

378-506: A 1949 law, people who had public concessions had the right to keep them if there was no opposition from third parties. In 2009 this law is abolished under menace of legal procedure from the Eu for infraction of a 2006 directive, that established mandatory public procedures that were impartial and transparent. Anyhow, since then, governments continuously postponed any decision regarding modifying laws on public concessions for beach establishments. Under

504-531: A Regulation of interest representation. The Regulation expired in late 2017, when the term of the sitting Parliament expired. With the rising of the new parliamentary term in 2018, the Regulation was not being readopted. At the subnational level, only six regions have legislations about lobbying: Tuscany (2002), Molise (2004), Abruzzo (2010), Calabria (2016), Lombardy (2016) and Puglia (2017). These regional legislations have similar structure, but only Tuscany took

630-584: A Wi-Fi network. Wi-Fi uses a large number of patents held by many different organizations. Australia, the United States and the Netherlands simultaneously claim the invention of Wi-Fi, and a consensus has not been reached globally. In 2009, the Australian CSIRO was awarded $ 200 million after a patent settlement with 14 technology companies, with a further $ 220 million awarded in 2012 after legal proceedings with 23 companies. In 2016,

756-574: A ban on Airbnb in the country. The lack of competitive markets is one of the main reasons Italy has not experienced economic growth in recent years. However, pressure groups continue to defend their privileges, hindering economic liberalization . The International Monetary Fund study indicates that true liberalization could grow Italy's GDP in a few years, but lobbies seem to be able to prevent such changes. A 2016 study found evidence of significant indirect lobbying of then-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi through business proxies. The authors document

882-447: A city-wide campaign to convert old phone booths into digital kiosks in 2014. The project, titled LinkNYC , has created a network of kiosks that serve as public Wi-Fi hotspots, high-definition screens and landlines . Installation of the screens began in late 2015. The city government plans to implement more than seven thousand kiosks over time, eventually making LinkNYC the largest and fastest public, government-operated Wi-Fi network in

1008-460: A common Wi-Fi version. The versions differ between the radio wavebands they operate on, the radio bandwidth they occupy, the maximum data rates they can support and other details. Some versions permit the use of multiple antennas, which permits greater speeds as well as reduced interference. Historically, the equipment listed the versions of Wi-Fi supported using the name of the IEEE standards. In 2018,

1134-407: A computer and an interface controller is called a station . Stations are identified by one or more MAC addresses . Wi-Fi nodes often operate in infrastructure mode in which all communications go through a base station. Ad hoc mode refers to devices communicating directly with each other, without communicating with an access point. A service set is the set of all the devices associated with

1260-765: A counterpart to the Emmy Awards, which did not previously acknowledge cable programming. However, after 1997, the Emmys began to include cable television programming, leading to the discontinuation of the CableACE Awards. The association also oversees Cable in the Classroom , which is the education foundation of the cable industry. NCTA is responsible for managing and overseeing the Walter Kaitz Foundation , which aims to promote diversity in

1386-411: A court, typically by parties to a lawsuit. Amici curiae briefs are briefs filed by people or groups who are not parties to a suit. These briefs are entered into the court records and give additional background on the matter being decided upon. Advocacy groups use these briefs both to share their expertise and to promote their positions. The lobbying industry is affected by the revolving door concept,

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1512-613: A distinct or expressly mentioned objective. The Romanian Lobby Registry Association (ARRL) was founded in June 2010 to popularize and promote lobbying activity. ARRL is a non-profit legal entity that works under private law. The majority of lobbying companies represent non-governmental organizations which activities include education, ecology, fundamental freedoms, health, consumer rights etc. Other entities that deal with lobby practice are multinational companies, Romanian companies, law firms and specialized lobby firms. In India , where there

1638-550: A founding member of the Wi-Fi Alliance, the term Wi-Fi was chosen from a list of ten names that Interbrand proposed. Interbrand also created the Wi-Fi logo . The yin-yang Wi-Fi logo indicates the certification of a product for interoperability . The name is often written as WiFi , Wifi , or wifi , but these are not approved by the Wi-Fi Alliance. The name Wi-Fi is not short-form for 'Wireless Fidelity', although

1764-641: A greater degree by common building materials than the 2.4 GHz bands and usually give a shorter range. As 802.11 specifications evolved to support higher throughput, the protocols have become much more efficient in their bandwidth use. Additionally, they have gained the ability to aggregate channels together to gain still more throughput where the bandwidth for additional channels is available. 802.11n allows for double radio spectrum bandwidth (40 MHz) per channel compared to 802.11a or 802.11g (20 MHz). 802.11n can be set to limit itself to 20 MHz bandwidth to prevent interference in dense communities. In

1890-531: A growing issue. The current situation in Italy regarding taxi services is regulated by Law No. 21 of 1992. According to this law, the responsibility for determining the number of taxi licenses, shifts, and fares is given to the municipalities. Taxi licenses are held by artisan business owners who have passed a driver's exam and are registered with the Chamber of Commerce. After holding a license for five years, reaching

2016-400: A movement of personnel between roles as legislators and regulators and roles in the industries affected by legislation and regulation, as the main asset for a lobbyist is contacts with and influence on government officials. This climate is attractive for ex-government officials. It can also mean substantial monetary rewards for lobbying firms , and government projects and contracts worth in

2142-426: A particular Wi-Fi network. Devices in a service set need not be on the same wavebands or channels. A service set can be local, independent, extended, mesh, or a combination. Each service set has an associated identifier, a 32-byte service set identifier (SSID), which identifies the network. The SSID is configured within the devices that are part of the network. A basic service set (BSS) is a group of stations that share

2268-426: A portion of their advertising budgets to Mediaset during Berlusconi's tenure. Despite higher prices for advertising space on Mediaset channels during Berlusconi's tenure, companies continued to advertise, suggesting that they expect significant political benefits from supporting the network. Mediaset's advertising partners are estimated to have paid about 1.9 billion euros more during Berlusconi's three terms, indicating

2394-799: A relatively lower number of taxis available compared to its population. In August 2019, the then Transport Councillor Marco Granelli acknowledged the need to increase the number of taxi licenses by 450 to meet the demand. Data showed that a significant percentage of calls for taxis were going unanswered during peak hours and weekends. However, the issue was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it remains uncertain when it will be addressed. Romanian legislation does not include an express regulation on lobbying activity. The legislative proposals initiated by various parliamentarians have not been finalized. Attempts to regulate lobbying in Romania have appeared in

2520-715: A report by The Guardian , which involved the name of a senior Czech MEP Tomáš Zdechovský . The controversy concerned the European Parliament's "friendship groups", the unofficial bodies operating with no formal regulations and sometimes under sponsored lobbyists and foreign governments. The European Parliament was preparing to vote on a resolution to call for a release of a Bahraini political prisoner Abdulhadi al-Khawaja . However, chair of European Parliament's Bahrain friendship group, Zdechovský came under questions for visiting Bahrain in April 2022, without declaring. In

2646-704: A resolution) has been launched by several MPs so as to establish a register for representatives of interest groups and lobbyists who intend to lobby the MPs. In Germany, lobbying has existed since 1956, when the Federal Constitutional Court issued a ruling legalizing it. A mandatory lobby register (German: Lobbyliste) was introduced in Germany effective 1 January 2022, along with a code of conduct. These rules were criticized as insufficient by several opposition party members and representatives from

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2772-466: A separate resolution, Zdechovský's EPP failed to call for Khawaja's release and instead called him a "political opponent". Director of BIRD , Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei accused the Czech MEP of acting as a mouthpiece for Bahrain. Canada maintains a Registry of Lobbyists. Over 5,000 people now working as registered lobbyists at Canada's federal level. Lobbying began as an unregulated profession, but since

2898-487: A significant pro- Mediaset (the mass media company founded and controlled by Berlusconi) bias in the allocation of advertising spending during Berlusconi's political tenure, in particular for companies operating in more regulated sectors. Using advertising data from the Nielsen AdEx database, the behavior of companies buying advertising space on Mediaset television channels during Berlusconi's tenure as prime minister

3024-410: A single carrier, whereas 802.11a, Wi-Fi 4, 5 and 6 use orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing . Channels are used half duplex and can be time-shared by multiple networks. Any packet sent by one computer is locally received by stations tuned to that channel, even if that information is intended for just one destination. Stations typically ignore information not addressed to them. The use of

3150-398: A small part of their normal job. Governments often define "lobbying" for legal purposes, and regulate organized group lobbying that has become influential. The ethics and morals involved with legally lobbying or influence peddling are controversial. Lobbying can, at times, be spoken of with contempt , when the implication is that people with inordinate socioeconomic power are corrupting

3276-700: A stance against amending the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to enable a la carte pay television , citing potential impacts on smaller niche networks. In March 2014, NCTA voiced support for the FCC's decision to allocate 100 MHz of spectrum for unlicensed Wi-Fi services. In October 2024, NCTA, along with the Interactive Advertising Bureau and the Electronic Security Association, sued to block

3402-530: A step forward to implement this legislation and create a public register. In Italy, over the years, lobbies and power groups have obstructed the liberalization of markets and favored the protection of existing privileges. Despite various attempts to promote competition, such as the Law for the Market and Competition passed a year ago, the process has been riddled with delays, amendments and compromises that have weakened

3528-681: A stronger ethics framework were established at the EU level, including an independent ethics body and longer cooling-off periods for MEPs. In the wake of the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal in Washington, D.C., and the massive impact this had on the lobbying scene in the United States, the rules for lobbying in the EU—which until now consisted of only a non-binding code of conduct—may also be tightened. Eventually, on 31 January 2019

3654-635: A team of scientists began working on wireless LAN technology. A prototype test bed for a wireless local area network (WLAN) was developed in 1992 by a team of researchers from the Radiophysics Division of the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) in Australia, led by John O'Sullivan . A patent for Wi Fi was lodged by the CSIRO in 1992 The first version of

3780-615: A wider channel for higher throughput. Countries apply their own regulations to the allowable channels, allowed users and maximum power levels within these frequency ranges. 802.11b/g/n can use the 2.4 GHz band, operating in the United States under FCC Part 15 rules and regulations. In this frequency band, equipment may occasionally suffer interference from microwave ovens, cordless telephones , USB 3.0 hubs, Bluetooth and other devices. Spectrum assignments and operational limitations are not consistent worldwide: Australia and Europe allow for an additional two channels (12, 13) beyond

3906-849: Is a result of the growing recognition of lobbying as a critical discipline at the intersection of politics, economics, and society. In 2003 there were around 15,000 lobbyists (consultants, lawyers, associations, corporations, NGOs etc.) in Brussels seeking to influence the EU's legislation. Some 2,600 special interest groups had a permanent office in Brussels. Their distribution was roughly as follows: European trade federations (32%), consultants (20%), companies (13%), NGOs (11%), national associations (10%), regional representations (6%), international organizations (5%) and think tanks (1%), (Lehmann, 2003, pp iii). In addition to this, lobby organisations sometimes hire former EU employees (a phenomenon known as

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4032-569: Is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance , which restricts the use of the term " Wi-Fi Certified " to products that successfully complete interoperability certification testing. Non-compliant hardware is simply referred to as WLAN , and it may or may not work with " Wi-Fi Certified " devices. As of 2017, the Wi-Fi Alliance consisted of more than 800 companies from around the world. As of 2019, over 3.05 billion Wi-Fi-enabled devices are shipped globally each year. Wi-Fi uses multiple parts of

4158-554: Is about 20 m (66 ft) indoors, while some access points claim up to a 150 m (490 ft) range outdoors. Hotspot coverage can be as small as a single room with walls that block radio waves or as large as many square kilometers using many overlapping access points with roaming permitted between them. Over time, the speed and spectral efficiency of Wi-Fi have increased. As of 2019, some versions of Wi-Fi, running on suitable hardware at close range, can achieve speeds of 9.6 Gbit/s ( gigabit per second). A 1985 ruling by

4284-535: Is also an industry known by many of the aforementioned names, and has a near complete overlap with the public affairs industry . Lobbyists may fall into different categories: amateur lobbyists, such as individual voters or voter blocs within an electoral district ; professional lobbyists who engage in lobbying as a business or profession; and government relations support staff who work on behalf of professional lobbyists but may not actively engage in direct influencing or face-to-face meetings with targeted individuals to

4410-588: Is director of Barton Deakin Government Relations. His colleagues there include David Alexander (former Costello staffer), Sallyanne Atkinson (former Lord Mayor of Brisbane and former federal Liberal Party candidate), Howard staffer John Griffin and former New South Wales Liberal Party leader, Peter Collins. The Labor "sister" company is Hawker Britton, so named as both firms are owned by STW Group. In 2013, Hawker Britton had 113 client companies on its books. In 2013, there were just under 280 firms on

4536-432: Is divided into a multitude of channels . In the standards, channels are numbered at 5 MHz spacing within a band (except in the 60 GHz band, where they are 2.16 GHz apart), and the number refers to the centre frequency of the channel. Although channels are numbered at 5 MHz spacing, transmitters generally occupy at least 20 MHz, and standards allow for neighbouring channels to be bonded together to form

4662-408: Is in power and that the mix of advertisers on Mediaset channels shifts toward regulated firms during his tenure. To assess the impact of Berlusconi's political influence, industries were ranked according to their regulatory score, obtained from a survey of Italian economists. Highly regulated industries, such as telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing, showed a greater tendency to allocate

4788-762: Is kept by the Australian Government and is accessible to the public via its website. Similar registers for State government lobbyists were introduced between 2007 and 2009 around Australia. Since April 2007 in Western Australia, only lobbyists listed on the state's register are allowed to contact a government representative for the purpose of lobbying. Similar rules have applied in Tasmania since 1 September 2009 and in South Australia and Victoria since 1 December 2009. A criticism of

4914-758: Is no law regulating the process, lobbying has traditionally been a tool for industry bodies like the National Association of Software and Service Companies , the Confederation of Indian Industry , the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry , the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India and other pressure groups to engage with the government ahead of the national budget and legislation in parliament . Lobbying activities have frequently been identified in

5040-648: Is one for the European Union where French lobbyists are able to register themselves. For example, the internal rule of the National Assembly (art. 23 and 79) forbids members of Parliament to be linked with a particular interest . Also, there is no rule at all for consultation of interest groups by the Parliament and the Government. Nevertheless, a recent parliamentary initiative (motion for

5166-627: Is represented by both ECG Consulting and Bespoke Approach, while its own parent company, Wesfarmers , has former West Australian premier Alan Carpenter in charge of corporate affairs. Competitor Woolworths has a government relations team composed of former Labor and Liberal advisers, under the direction of a former leader of the National Party, Andrew Hall. Aldi engages GRA (Government Relations Australia), one of Australia's largest lobbying firms, whose staff includes former Federal Labor treasurer, John Dawkins . A register of federal lobbyists

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5292-641: Is submitted for certification. The lack of Wi-Fi certification does not necessarily imply that a device is incompatible with other Wi-Fi devices. The Wi-Fi Alliance may or may not sanction derivative terms, such as Super Wi-Fi , coined by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to describe proposed networking in the UHF TV band in the US. Equipment frequently supports multiple versions of Wi-Fi. To communicate, devices must use

5418-417: Is used in applications such as motion detection and gesture recognition . Wi-Fi stations communicate by sending each other data packets , blocks of data individually sent and delivered over radio on various channels. As with all radio, this is done by the modulation and demodulation of carrier waves . Different versions of Wi-Fi use different techniques, 802.11b uses direct-sequence spread spectrum on

5544-582: The Australian National University noted that over this time, retired politicians have increasingly turned political lobbyists to leverage their networks and experience for private gain. In 2018 he noted that two of the top three Howard government ministers had become lobbyists: Alexander Downer and Peter Costello , and that the trend could be traced back to the Hawke Government of 1983. Mick Young stated that by 1983

5670-584: The BBC , an OED lexicographer has shown that "lobbying" finds its roots in the gathering of Members of Parliament and peers in the hallways ("lobbies") of the United Kingdom Houses of Parliament before and after parliamentary debates where members of the public can meet their representatives. One story held that the term originated at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., where it

5796-467: The Council of Europe , who argued that they did not adequately address issues of transparency and potential conflicts of interest. Stricter rules are scheduled to come into effect on January 1, 2024. Italy does not have a lobbying legislation at national level nowadays, even though there have been proposals by lawmakers during the years. In 2016, the Chamber of deputies added an addendum that introduced

5922-551: The Eduroam international authentication infrastructure. In the early 2000s, many cities around the world announced plans to construct citywide Wi-Fi networks. There are many successful examples; in 2004, Mysore (Mysuru) became India's first Wi-Fi-enabled city. A company called WiFiyNet has set up hotspots in Mysore, covering the whole city and a few nearby villages. In 2005, St. Cloud, Florida and Sunnyvale, California , became

6048-495: The European Parliament adopted binding rules on lobby transparency. Amending its Rules of Procedure, the Parliament stipulated that MEPs involved in drafting and negotiating legislation must publish online their meetings with lobbyists. The amendment says that "rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs or committee chairs shall, for each report, publish online all scheduled meetings with interest representatives falling under

6174-869: The Grant Administration , the OED cites numerous documented uses of the word well before Grant's presidency, including use in Pennsylvania as early as 1808. The term "lobbying" also appeared in print as early as 1820: Other letters from Washington affirm, that members of the Senate, when the compromise question was to be taken in the House, were not only "lobbying about the Representatives' Chamber" but also active in endeavoring to intimidate certain weak representatives by insulting threats to dissolve

6300-555: The IEEE 802 protocol family and is designed to work seamlessly with its wired sibling, Ethernet . Compatible devices can network through wireless access points with each other as well as with wired devices and the Internet. Different versions of Wi-Fi are specified by various IEEE 802.11 protocol standards, with different radio technologies determining radio bands, maximum ranges, and speeds that may be achieved. Wi-Fi most commonly uses

6426-786: The National Community Television Council in September 1951, when a small group of community antenna (CATV) operators convened in Pottsville, Pennsylvania . Their gathering was prompted by concerns over the Internal Revenue Service 's proposed 8% excise tax on their operations. In January 1952, the organization officially changed its name to the National Community Television Association. As

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6552-853: The Wi-Fi Alliance introduced simplified Wi-Fi generational numbering to indicate equipment that supports Wi-Fi 4 ( 802.11n ), Wi-Fi 5 ( 802.11ac ) and Wi-Fi 6 ( 802.11ax ). These generations have a high degree of backward compatibility with previous versions. The alliance has stated that the generational level 4, 5, or 6 can be indicated in the user interface when connected, along with the signal strength. The most important standards affecting Wi‑Fi are: 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n ( Wi-Fi 4 ), 802.11h, 802.11i, 802.11-2007, 802.11–2012, 802.11ac ( Wi-Fi 5 ), 802.11ad, 802.11af, 802.11-2016, 802.11ah, 802.11ai, 802.11aj, 802.11aq , 802.11ax ( Wi-Fi 6 ), 802.11ay . Wi-Fi technology may be used to provide local network and Internet access to devices that are within Wi-Fi range of one or more routers that are connected to

6678-435: The law in order to serve their own interests. When people who have a duty to act on behalf of others, such as elected officials with a duty to serve their constituents' interests or more broadly the public good, can benefit by shaping the law to serve the interests of some private parties, a conflict of interest exists. Many critiques of lobbying point to the potential for conflicts of interest to lead to agent misdirection or

6804-455: The 11 permitted in the United States for the 2.4 GHz band, while Japan has three more (12–14). 802.11a/h/j/n/ac/ax can use the 5 GHz U-NII band , which, for much of the world, offers at least 23 non-overlapping 20 MHz channels. This is in contrast to the 2.4 GHz frequency band where the channels are only 5 MHz wide. In general, lower frequencies have longer range but have less capacity. The 5 GHz bands are absorbed to

6930-608: The 2.4 gigahertz (120 mm) UHF and 5 gigahertz (60 mm) SHF radio bands, with the 6 gigahertz SHF band used in newer generations of the standard; these bands are subdivided into multiple channels. Channels can be shared between networks, but, within range, only one transmitter can transmit on a channel at a time. Wi-Fi's radio bands work best for line-of-sight use. Many common obstructions, such as walls, pillars, home appliances, etc., may greatly reduce range, but this also helps minimize interference between different networks in crowded environments. The range of an access point

7056-408: The 5 GHz band, 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and 160 MHz channels are permitted with some restrictions, giving much faster connections. Wi-Fi is part of the IEEE 802 protocol family. The data is organized into 802.11 frames that are very similar to Ethernet frames at the data link layer, but with extra address fields. MAC addresses are used as network addresses for routing over

7182-427: The 802.11 protocol was released in 1997, and provided up to 2 Mbit/s link speeds. This was updated in 1999 with 802.11b to permit 11 Mbit/s link speeds. In 1999, the Wi-Fi Alliance formed as a trade association to hold the Wi-Fi trademark under which most IEEE 802.11 products are sold. The major commercial breakthrough came with Apple Inc. adopting Wi-Fi for their iBook series of laptops in 1999. It

7308-527: The Advancement of Colored People , for example, filed suits in state and federal courts in the 1950s to challenge segregation laws. Their efforts resulted in the Supreme Court declaring such laws unconstitutional. Lobbyists may use a legal device known as amicus curiae ( lit.   ' friend of the court ' ) briefs to try to influence court cases. Briefs are written documents filed with

7434-574: The American Cable Association submitted petitions for en banc review of a ruling that upheld net neutrality rules, arguing against regulating cable internet systems in the same manner as "archaic telephone systems". NCTA supported the Stop Online Piracy Act of 2011, stating that it provided copyright owners with reasonable tools to protect their intellectual property. NCTA objected to the FCC's decision to raise

7560-461: The CATV industry rapidly expanded, NCTA experienced parallel growth. Within its first year, nearly 40 CATV systems became members of the organization. By the end of the 1950s, membership had reached the hundreds, and by the end of the 1960s, it had expanded into the thousands. During the 1960s, the industry transitioned from using the term "Community Antenna Television (CATV)" to simply "cable," reflecting

7686-573: The CSIRO's WLAN prototype test bed was chosen as Australia's contribution to the exhibition A History of the World in 100 Objects held in the National Museum of Australia . The name Wi-Fi , commercially used at least as early as August 1999, was coined by the brand-consulting firm Interbrand. The Wi-Fi Alliance had hired Interbrand to create a name that was "a little catchier than 'IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence'." According to Phil Belanger,

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7812-655: The Committee on the Rules of Procedure, the Verification of Credentials and Immunities, was appointed to submit proposals for a Code of conduct and a register of lobbyists. Today lobbying in the European Union is an integral and important part of decision-making in the EU. From year to year lobbying regulation in the EU is constantly improving and the number of lobbyists increases. This increase in lobbying activity

7938-560: The Federal Australian Register of Lobbyists. Steve Carney of Carney Associated says that lobbyists "try to leave no thumbprints on the glass, no footprints in the sand. The best lobbying is when nobody knows you were there." Mark Textor of campaign advisory group Crosby Textor describes political lobbying as a "pathetic miserable industry". Supermarket chains in Australia engage lobbying firms with political weight in their ranks. Australian Supermarket giant Coles

8064-616: The Indian government made a controversial decision to permit foreign direct investment in the country's multi-brand retail sector. Successful grassroots lobbying campaigns include the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan 's campaign to pass the 2005 Right to Information Act and Anna Hazare 's anti-corruption campaign to introduce the 2011 Lokpal Bill . There is no register for lobbying activity and no cooling off period for public officials before they can enter

8190-615: The Internet. The coverage of one or more interconnected access points can extend from an area as small as a few rooms to as large as many square kilometres. Coverage in the larger area may require a group of access points with overlapping coverage. For example, public outdoor Wi-Fi technology has been used successfully in wireless mesh networks in London. An international example is Fon . Wi-Fi provides services in private homes, businesses, as well as in public spaces. Wi-Fi hotspots may be set up either free of charge or commercially, often using

8316-504: The Italian State's properties: since 2022, owners have to pay a fee of 2698 euros to keep a public concession of a beach establishment. This is an amount of money that would be paid back just by renting for three months 2 beach umbrellas for 15 euros each (and in many cases the renting prices are higher). The Court of Accounts has declared an imbalance between the fee and the gains from the beach establishment. Until 2009, according to

8442-594: The LAN. Wi-Fi's MAC and physical layer (PHY) specifications are defined by IEEE 802.11 for modulating and receiving one or more carrier waves to transmit the data in the infrared, and 2.4, 3.6 , 5, 6, or 60 GHz frequency bands. They are created and maintained by the IEEE LAN/MAN Standards Committee ( IEEE 802 ). The base version of the standard was released in 1997 and has had many subsequent amendments. The standard and amendments provide

8568-509: The Postal Service monopoly. In addition, the rule on RCA tariffs was withdrawn after protests from insurance companies, while the diatribe between taxi drivers and Uber was postponed for a separate measure. Professional associations, such as lawyers and dentists, opposed measures that undermined their interests, such as the requirement for lawyers to have a quote or the requirement that dental companies be at least two-thirds owned by registered members. Other categories, such as hoteliers, called for

8694-400: The U.S. Federal Communications Commission released parts of the ISM bands for unlicensed use for communications. These frequency bands include the same 2.4 GHz bands used by equipment such as microwave ovens , and are thus subject to interference. In 1991 in Nieuwegein , the NCR Corporation and AT&T invented the precursor to 802.11, intended for use in cashier systems, under

8820-481: The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from implementing its so-called "click to cancel" rule, a set of revisions to the FTC's Negative Option Rule that would require businesses to make the cancellation process for subscriptions, renewals, and free trials that convert to paid memberships as easy as the signup process as well as to obtain proof of consent before billing customers for such services. NCTA has expressed its views on net neutrality , specifically objecting to

8946-404: The Union. Governments often define and regulate organized group lobbying as part of laws to prevent political corruption and by establishing transparency about possible influences by public lobby registers . Lobby groups may concentrate their efforts on the legislatures, where laws are created, but may also use the judicial branch to advance their causes. The National Association for

9072-444: The United States. In 2014, it allocated approximately $ 12.0 million for political lobbying. NCTA expressed opposition to the FCC's proposal to expand the definition of multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) to include internet-based services. However, it stated that if the definition were expanded, internet delivery should be subject to the same obligations as traditional cable services. NCTA President Michael Powell holds

9198-543: The Wi-Fi Alliance did use the advertising slogan "The Standard for Wireless Fidelity" for a short time after the brand name was created, and the Wi-Fi Alliance was also called the "Wireless Fidelity Alliance Inc." in some publications. IEEE is a separate, but related, organization and their website has stated "WiFi is a short name for Wireless Fidelity". The name Wi-Fi was partly chosen because it sounds similar to Hi-Fi , which consumers take to mean high fidelity or high quality . Interbrand hoped consumers would find

9324-448: The age of 60, or due to illness, license holders can transfer their license to someone else upon indicating their preference to the municipality. In case of death, the license can be passed to one of the heirs or their designated individuals. Italy has an average of one taxi for every 2,000 inhabitants, whereas countries like France and Spain have ratios of 1,160 and 1,028 taxis per 2,000 inhabitants, respectively. This suggests that Italy has

9450-605: The basis for wireless network products using the Wi-Fi brand. While each amendment is officially revoked when incorporated in the latest version of the standard, the corporate world tends to market to the revisions because they concisely denote capabilities of their products. As a result, in the market place, each revision tends to become its own standard. In addition to 802.11, the IEEE 802 protocol family has specific provisions for Wi-Fi. These are required because Ethernet's cable-based media are not usually shared, whereas with wireless all transmissions are received by all stations within

9576-658: The broader range of services offered, including local news, weather information, and pay television channels. In 1968, NCTA underwent its first official name change, becoming the National Cable Television Association while retaining its acronym. With the advent of global telecommunication satellites , the late 1970s and 1980s witnessed a significant surge in cable content. Entrepreneurs launched networks such as CNN , ESPN , MTV , BET , TBS , USA , Discovery , Lifetime , C-SPAN , and many others. Concurrently, major programming services across

9702-848: The cable industry's workforce, supplier chain, content, and marketing. Lobbying Lobbying is a form of advocacy , which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary . Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, including individuals acting as voters , constituents, or private citizens; corporations pursuing their business interests; non-profits and NGOs through advocacy groups to achieve their missions; and legislators or government officials influencing each other in legislative affairs. Lobbying or certain practices that share commonalities with lobbying are sometimes referred to as government relations , or government affairs and sometimes legislative relations, or legislative affairs. It

9828-481: The capability. Some laptops that have a cellular modem card can also act as mobile Internet Wi-Fi access points. Many traditional university campuses in the developed world provide at least partial Wi-Fi coverage. Carnegie Mellon University built the first campus-wide wireless Internet network, called Wireless Andrew , at its Pittsburgh campus in 1993 before Wi-Fi branding existed. Many universities collaborate in providing Wi-Fi access to students and staff through

9954-462: The career paths of former EU officials and found that 30% of Members of the European Parliament who left politics went to work for organisations on the EU lobby register after their mandate and approximately one third of Commissioners serving under Barroso took jobs in the private sector after their mandate, including for Uber , ArcelorMittal , Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch . These potential conflicts of interest could be avoided if

10080-455: The chairman of the board was Patrick Esser, serving as the president of Cox Communications. Michael Powell currently holds the position of president and CEO of NCTA. Powell assumed the role on April 25, 2011, succeeding Kyle McSlarrow , who departed to join Comcast . Powell previously served as the head of the FCC. NCTA is recognized as one of the most prominent lobbying organizations in

10206-569: The channel to be idle at the same time and thus begin transmission simultaneously. A collision happens when a station receives signals from multiple stations on a channel at the same time. This corrupts the transmitted data and can require stations to re-transmit. The lost data and re-transmission reduces throughput, in some cases severely. The 802.11 standard provides several distinct radio frequency ranges for use in Wi-Fi communications: 900  MHz , 2.4 GHz, 3.6 GHz, 4.9 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz and 60 GHz bands . Each range

10332-496: The classification of internet service as a common carrier under Title II of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. In 2010, NCTA advised the FCC against formalizing its net neutrality rules. After the rules were invalidated by the court in 2014, NCTA ran advertisements in the media opposing reclassification as a common carrier. According to ProPublica in 2014, NCTA was privately associated with the "Onward Internet" campaign, which advocates for internet free from regulations. In 2016, NCTA and

10458-485: The context of corruption cases, for example the 2010 controversy surrounding leaked audio transcripts of conversations between the corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and senior journalists and politicians. Besides private companies, the Indian government has been paying for the services a US firm since 2005 to lobby, for example, in relation to the India-US civilian nuclear deal . In India, there are no laws that defined

10584-407: The context of the fight against corruption. Anti-corruption strategies adopted in 2011 and 2004 mentions the purposes of the elaboration of a draft law on lobbying, as well as ensuring transparency in the decision-making activity. In 2008 and 2011, the emphasis was mainly on transparency in the decision-making activity of the public authorities, regulation of lobbying activities no longer appearing as

10710-519: The database. Signal fluctuations can cause errors, which can be reduced with noise-filtering techniques. For low precision, integrating Wi-Fi data with geographical and time information has been proposed. The Wi-Fi RTT capability introduced in IEEE 802.11mc allows for positioning based on round trip time measurement, an improvement over the RSSI method. The IEEE 802.11az standard promises further improvements in geolocation accuracy. Wi-Fi sensing

10836-594: The discontinuation of INTX. Powell described the trade shows as outdated and highlighted the importance of contemporary venues that foster conversation, dialogue, and more intimate interactions with technology. Attendance had been declining due to industry consolidation, making the trade show less necessary. From 1978 to 1997, NCTA supported the CableACE Award , which aimed to recognize excellence in American cable television programming. The CableACE Award served as

10962-536: The ear of monarchs and their councilors. Since the 1980s, lobbying in Australia has grown from a small industry of a few hundred employees to a multi-billion dollar per year industry. What was once the preserve of big multinational companies and at a more local level (property developers, for example Urban Taskforce Australia ) has morphed into an industry that employs more than 10,000 people and represents every facet of human endeavour. Academic John Warhurst from

11088-625: The ease of sanctions, the diplomatic efforts to end the Syrian war will be ineffective. However, the EU nations, including France and Germany, turned down the idea of restoring ties with Syria , stating that it would legitimize the regime that is accused of massacring its own people. There is currently no regulation at all for lobbying activities in France. There is no regulated access to the French institutions and no register specific to France, but there

11214-557: The expected political value of their indirect lobbying efforts. This study provides evidence of market-based lobbying, in which companies strategically allocate their advertising budgets to gain political influence. It also highlights the additional conflict of interest that politicians with corporate holdings face and raises important questions about the role of money in politics beyond direct campaign contributions. Another relevant case of lobbying that has been going on for at least 16 years concerns owners of beach establishments. Beaches are

11340-442: The extent required for registration as lobbyists, operating within the same professional circles as registered lobbyists. Professional lobbyists are people whose business is trying to influence legislation, regulation, or other government decisions, actions, or policies on behalf of a group or individual who hires them. Nonprofit organizations whether as professional or amateur lobbyists can also lobby as an act of volunteering or as

11466-414: The first cities in the United States to offer citywide free Wi-Fi (from MetroFi ). Minneapolis has generated $ 1.2 million in profit annually for its provider . In May 2010, the then London mayor Boris Johnson pledged to have London-wide Wi-Fi by 2012. Several boroughs including Westminster and Islington already had extensive outdoor Wi-Fi coverage at that point. New York City announced

11592-482: The government of Mario Draghi the deadline for all concessions was established for 31 December 2023: anyhow, the new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni assured in a letter of November 3, 2022, that "their government would defend the families that work in that sector", and delayed the deadline of the concessions. Some politicians claim that the families involved in the issue represent a significant and influential number of electors. Finally, lobbying from taxi drivers represents

11718-704: The hundreds of millions for those they represent. The international standards for the regulation of lobbying were introduced at four international organizations and supranational associations: 1) the European Union; 2) the Council of Europe; 3) the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; 4) the Commonwealth of Independent States. In 2013, the director general of the World Health Organization , Margaret Chan , illustrated

11844-418: The intentional failure of an agent with a duty to serve an employer, client, or constituent to perform those duties. The failure of government officials to serve the public interest as a consequence of lobbying by special interests who provide benefits to the official is an example of agent misdirection. That is why lobbying is seen as one of the causes of a democratic deficit . Politicians tend to vote against

11970-417: The late 20th century has been regulated by the government to increase transparency and establish a set of ethics for both lobbyists, and those who will be lobbied. Canada does not require disclosure of lobbyist spending on lobbying activities. The first step towards specialized regulation of lobbying in the European Union was a Written Question tabled by Alman Metten, in 1989. In 1991, Marc Galle, Chairman of

12096-409: The law. Pressure from various lobbies led to the deletion of several important provisions. For example, due to pressure from pharmacists, the sale of Band C drugs in supermarkets and parapharmacies was skipped. Other provisions removed include the portability of pension funds, the sale of boxes or garages worth less than one hundred thousand euros without a notarized deed, the protected energy market, and

12222-439: The legislation, contending that municipal projects often incur high costs and prove unsuccessful. NCTA President Michael Powell has advocated for internet service providers to expand their usage of data caps on internet usage, with the aim of promoting fairness rather than alleviating network congestion. NCTA organizes an annual conference called INTX: The Internet and Television Expo (formerly The Cable Show until 2015). It

12348-584: The lobbying firm Bespoke Approach, along with former Labor minister Nick Bolkus and Ian Smith , who is married to former Australian Democrats leader, Natasha Stott-Despoja . Peter Costello carried two former staffers to work with him in his lobbying firm, ECG Consulting: Jonathan Epstein and David Gazard. Politicians can become exposed to allegations of conflicts of interest when they both lobby and advise governments. Examples include Peter Costello. Political party staff often form lobbying firms or dominate their ranks. Former Howard chief-of-staff Grahame Morris

12474-641: The lobbying industry in New Zealand, allowing politicians and Parliamentary staffers to immediately become lobbyists after leaving office. Kris Faafoi joined a lobbying firm just three months after leaving Parliament, where he had been justice and broadcasting minister. Lobbyists also move directly into staffer positions. Gordon-Jon Thompson took a leave of absence from his lobbying firm to work as chief of staff to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for four months before returning to his lobbying firm. Andrew Kirton resigned from his lobbying company on 31 January 2023 and

12600-530: The lobbying profession was an established part of the democratic political process in Canberra. Warhurst attests that by 2018, "political leader-lobbyists" were an established part of the same process. During the 1980s, political leaders traded on their own names, like Bob Hawke , or joined the "respectable" end of the lobbying spectrum, working for law firms or banks, like former New South Wales premiers Nick Greiner and Bob Carr . In 2008, Alexander Downer formed

12726-565: The lobbyist register is that it only captures professional third-party lobbyists, not employees of companies which directly lobby government. An example of this is BHP, which employs Geoff Walsh, a key advisor to Bob Hawke as an in-house lobbyist. In 2022, The Mercury published a complete list of lobbyists registered at the Tasmanian Parliament. The field was dominated by former politicians, advisers and journalists in 2016. In December 2022, Bahrain's lobbying efforts reflected in

12852-428: The methods used in lobbying against public health: Efforts to prevent noncommunicable diseases go against the business interests of powerful economic operators. In my view, this is one of the biggest challenges facing health promotion. [...] it is not just Big Tobacco anymore. Public health must also contend with Big Food, Big Soda, and Big Alcohol. All of these industries fear regulation, and protect themselves by using

12978-591: The minimum internet speed for Connect America Fund broadband subsidies from 4 Mbit/s to 10 Mbit/s, asserting that 4 Mbit/s was sufficient. Using a model bill developed by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), NCTA has advocated for legislation that prohibits or restricts municipal broadband in several states. When President Barack Obama requested the FCC preempt these laws in January 2015, NCTA defended

13104-542: The name WaveLAN . NCR's Vic Hayes , who held the chair of IEEE 802.11 for ten years, along with Bell Labs engineer Bruce Tuch, approached the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) to create a standard and were involved in designing the initial 802.11b and 802.11a specifications within the IEEE. They have both been subsequently inducted into the Wi-Fi NOW Hall of Fame. In 1989 in Australia,

13230-452: The name catchy, and that they would assume this wireless protocol has high fidelity because of its name. Other technologies intended for fixed points, including Motorola Canopy , are usually called fixed wireless . Alternative wireless technologies include Zigbee , Z-Wave , Bluetooth and mobile phone standards . To connect to a Wi-Fi LAN, a computer must be equipped with a wireless network interface controller . The combination of

13356-619: The nation joined NCTA, augmenting the organization's representation of cable interests in Washington . To reflect the growing influence of cable internet and other types of two-way communication in the industry, the organization rebranded as the National Cable and Telecommunications Association in April 2001. Subsequently, on September 19, 2016, the organization changed its trade name to "NCTA – The Internet & Television Association", making "NCTA" an orphaned initialism to remove

13482-667: The next day was announced as chief of staff for Prime Minister Chris Hipkins . Wi-Fi Wi-Fi ( / ˈ w aɪ f aɪ / ) is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves . These are the most widely used computer networks, used globally in home and small office networks to link devices and to provide Internet access with wireless routers and wireless access points in public places such as coffee shops, hotels, libraries, and airports. Wi-Fi

13608-408: The preferred position of their constituency when there is more special interest money and less attention to politics. That architectural sense of lobby is believed to originate from the medieval Latin lobia or lobium , which refers to a gallery, hall, or portico. This architectural sense was later adopted to describe the practice of advocating or debating in such spaces. In a report carried by

13734-566: The project, which was to be completed in 2015. Wi-Fi positioning systems use known positions of Wi-Fi hotspots to identify a device's location. It is used when GPS isn't suitable due to issues like signal interference or slow satellite acquisition. This includes assisted GPS , urban hotspot databases, and indoor positioning systems. Wi-Fi positioning relies on measuring signal strength ( RSSI ) and fingerprinting. Parameters like SSID and MAC address are crucial for identifying access points. The accuracy depends on nearby access points in

13860-551: The range that employ that radio channel. While Ethernet has essentially negligible error rates, wireless communication media are subject to significant interference. Therefore, the accurate transmission is not guaranteed so delivery is, therefore, a best-effort delivery mechanism. Because of this, for Wi-Fi, the Logical Link Control (LLC) specified by IEEE 802.2 employs Wi-Fi's media access control (MAC) protocols to manage retries without relying on higher levels of

13986-504: The receiver uses the destination address to determine whether the transmission is relevant to the station or should be ignored. A scheme known as carrier-sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) governs the way stations share channels. With CSMA/CA stations attempt to avoid collisions by beginning transmission only after the channel is sensed to be idle, but then transmit their packet data in its entirety. CSMA/CA cannot completely prevent collisions, as two stations may sense

14112-403: The reference to cable; NCTA president Michael Powell stated that the former name "underrepresents the breadth of what we are and what we do". The organization had already taken steps to reduce its emphasis on cable by rebranding its annual convention from "The Cable Show" to "INTX: The Internet and Television Expo" in 2015. NCTA operates under the guidance of a board of directors. In March 2012,

14238-771: The responsibility for harm to health on individuals, and portray government actions as interference in personal liberties and free choice. This is formidable opposition. [...] When industry is involved in policy-making, rest assured that the most effective control measures will be downplayed or left out entirely. This, too, is well documented, and dangerous. In the view of WHO, the formulation of health policies must be protected from distortion by commercial or vested interests. Lobbying can be categorized as inside lobbying, which directly interacts with decision-makers, or outside lobbying, which pressures decision-makers through mobilization of public opinion. In pre-modern political systems, royal courts provided incidental opportunities for gaining

14364-401: The revolving door) who possess inside knowledge of the EU institutions and policy process. This practice of hiring former EU employees is part of what lobbyist Andreas Geiger describes as lobbying's vital role in shaping law and decision-making processes, given the unique insights and access these individuals provide. A report by Transparency International EU published in January 2017 analysed

14490-400: The same channel also means that the data bandwidth is shared, so for example, available throughput to each device is halved when two stations are actively transmitting. As with other IEEE 802 LANs, stations come programmed with a globally unique 48-bit MAC address. The MAC addresses are used to specify both the destination and the source of each data packet. On the reception of a transmission,

14616-434: The same tactics. Research has documented these tactics well. They include front groups, lobbies, promises of self-regulation, lawsuits, and industry-funded research that confuses the evidence and keeps the public in doubt. Tactics also include gifts, grants, and contributions to worthy causes that cast these industries as respectable corporate citizens in the eyes of politicians and the public. They include arguments that place

14742-515: The same wireless channel, SSID, and other settings that have wirelessly connected, usually to the same access point. Each BSS is identified by a MAC address called the BSSID . The IEEE does not test equipment for compliance with their standards. The Wi-Fi Alliance was formed in 1999 to establish and enforce standards for interoperability and backward compatibility , and to promote wireless local-area-network technology. The Wi-Fi Alliance enforces

14868-547: The scope of lobbying, who could undertake it, or the extent of disclosure necessary. Companies are not mandated to disclose their activities and lobbyists are neither authorized nor encouraged to reveal the names of clients or public officials they have contacted. The distinction between lobbying and bribery still remains unclear. In 2012, Walmart revealed it had spent $ 25 million since 2008 on lobbying to "enhance market access for investment in India". This disclosure came weeks after

14994-519: The scope of the Transparency Register "-database of the EU. The European allies were being lobbied by the UAE and Saudi Arabia to regain the diplomatic ties with the Syrian government. The two Arab countries lobbied the European Union for months, pushing them to ease the sanctions on Syria for the revival of its collapsed economy. The UAE and its neighbour country argued that without

15120-445: The structure. Similarly, battery-powered routers may include a mobile broadband modem and a Wi-Fi access point. When subscribed to a cellular data carrier, they allow nearby Wi-Fi stations to access the Internet. Many smartphones have a built-in mobile hotspot capability of this sort, though carriers often disable the feature, or charge a separate fee to enable it. Standalone devices such as MiFi - and WiBro -branded devices provide

15246-762: The use of the Wi-Fi brand to technologies based on the IEEE 802.11 standards from the IEEE. Manufacturers with membership in the Wi-Fi Alliance, whose products pass the certification process, gain the right to mark those products with the Wi-Fi logo. Specifically, the certification process requires conformance to the IEEE 802.11 radio standards, the WPA and WPA2 security standards, and the EAP authentication standard. Certification may optionally include tests of IEEE 802.11 draft standards, interaction with cellular-phone technology in converged devices, and features relating to security set-up, multimedia, and power-saving. Not every Wi-Fi device

15372-639: The world. The UK has planned a similar project across major cities of the country, with the project's first implementation in the London Borough of Camden . Officials in South Korea's capital Seoul were moving to provide free Internet access at more than 10,000 locations around the city, including outdoor public spaces, major streets, and densely populated residential areas. Seoul was planning to grant leases to KT, LG Telecom, and SK Telecom. The companies were supposed to invest $ 44 million in

15498-574: Was analyzed. It is hypothesized that some companies are more likely to advertise on Mediaset channels when Berlusconi is in power, indicating a potential correlation between advertising behavior and political influence. A model of the Italian television advertising market was developed, distinguishing between regulated firms (interested in government actions) and unregulated firms (less interested in specific public policy changes). The model predicts that advertising prices on Mediaset increase when Berlusconi

15624-410: Was supposedly used by President Ulysses S. Grant to describe the political advocates who frequented the hotel's lobby to access Grant—who was often there in the evenings to enjoy a cigar and brandy—and then tried to buy the president drinks in an attempt to influence his political decisions. Although the term may have gained more widespread currency in Washington, D.C., by virtue of this practice during

15750-429: Was the first mass consumer product to offer Wi-Fi network connectivity, which was then branded by Apple as AirPort . This was in collaboration with the same group that helped create the standard: Vic Hayes , Bruce Tuch, Cees Links , Rich McGinn, and others from Lucent . In the year 2000, Radiata, a group of Australian scientists connected to the CSIRO, were the first to use the 802.11a standard on chips connected to

15876-582: Was the largest trade show in the United States for the cable and broadband industry. The conference featured discussions with current and former FCC commissioners, including remarks from the FCC chair in multiple years. During INTX, NCTA presented the Vanguard Awards, which were nominated by NCTA members and selected by a committee consisting of members from the NCTA Board of Directors and previous award recipients. In September 2016, NCTA announced

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