Time Warner Cable CEO raked in $14 millon last year

According to an Associated Press analysis, Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt received over $14 million in compensation last year in salary, stock, bonuses, and benefits. And this was down 8 percent from last year.

…. Britt received a salary of $1 million last year, unchanged from 2007, and a performance-based bonus of $6.4 million, down from $7.8 million a year earlier, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

He received other compensation worth over $82,500, which included more than $25,000 in life insurance premiums, a car allowance and a company savings plan match.

Britt also received nearly 104,000 restricted stock units worth $2.86 million on the date they were granted. He received 374,610 stock options as well with an exercise price of $27.51, worth $4 million when they were granted on March 3, 2008. However, the options are currently worth less given that Time Warner Cable shares closed at $27.37 Monday, slightly below the exercise price.

It’s interesting to note that Wilson built their own triple-play (voice, video, data) fiber network that will serve them for the next twenty years all for the cost of just two years of Glenn Britt’s compensation.

This is a company that needs protection from municipal broadband systems. Yeah, right.

Raising the broadband bar in NC

There’s been plenty afoot in the N.C. General Assembly this session regarding broadband internet, as those couple of you who read my blog are well aware. Now there’s an effort by the telecom industry to define “broadband service” in North Carolina. House Bill 283 would define any Internet service with speeds faster than 1.5 Mbps down and 384 kbps up.

So let me ask you … how many of you would consider that “broadband?” How many of you would die a slow death using the Internet at those speeds? A measly 1.5 Mbps/384kbs might have been considered “broadband” 15 years ago but it certainly doesn’t pass for that today, now that countries like Japan have jaw-dropping 160 Mbps cable modem service. Arguably these slow speeds weren’t considered “broadband” 15 years ago, either!
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Kintiskton

I found a bunch of web hits from a subnet belonging to an organization called Kintiskton. Their server was spidering my blog without identifying itself as a bot or a spider:

65.208.151.113 – – [23/Apr/2009:07:50:24 -0400] “GET /wp-content/uploads/2009/03/amazon.gif HTTP/1.1” 403 362 “http://www.markturner.net/category/Musings/” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1)”
65.208.151.116 – – [23/Apr/2009:07:50:29 -0400] “GET /2009/01/06/interview-day/ HTTP/1.1” 403 350 “http://www.markturner.net/category/Musings/” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1)”
65.208.151.114 – – [23/Apr/2009:07:50:33 -0400] “GET /2008/06/ HTTP/1.1” 403 333 “http://www.markturner.net/category/Musings/” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1)”

Bad spider! Bad!

Here is the whois record:
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Raleigh opposes H1252/S1004

Yesterday afternoon, Raleigh City Council passed a resolution opposing H1252/S1004, the so-called “Level Playing Field Act.” This opposition was mentioned prominently in today’s committee meeting, where I definitely think it swayed opinions.

Here’s the text of the opposition resolution:

A RESOLUTION TO EXPRESS THE CONCERN OF THE CITY OF RALEIGH ABOUT CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF RECENTLY INTRODUCED LEGISLATION REGULATING GOVERNMENT PROVISION OF BROADBAND SERVICE AND CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE.

Whereas, Senate Bill 1004 and House Bill 1252, companion bills entitled The Level Playing Field Act, have been introduced in the 2009 Regular Session of the North Carolina General Assembly; and

Whereas, it is possible that the bills do not provide the level playing field implied in their titles for local governments versus private providers; and
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Buffett

Oh, more good news today: I scored two tickets to tomorrow night’s Jimmy Buffett concert … and Kelly scored a babysitter for us! This will be my or ninth Buffett show or thereabouts, though I’ve frankly lost count.

Can’t be there? Tune in on Radio Margaritaville

Between Buffett and the upcoming Elvis Costello and Dan Zanes shows, we’ll have seen more shows this year than during the rest of our marriage combined. Apparently it’s okay to still tour in a down economy!

Mr. Turner goes to Raleigh

The anti-municipal Internet bill written by Time Warner Cable and pushed by Ty Harrell has really pissed me off. We fought this battle two years ago but like the undead it keeps returning.

I’ve been spending my Copious Free Time participating any way I can in getting this defeated. The past two Wednesdays, I’ve spent my lunch break in the N.C. House Science and Technology Committee room, watching as Harrell and others pass this train-wreck legislation as quickly as possible. As last week’s meeting, six out of seven speakers opposed the bill, with the debate running so late the committee could not take a vote. The only speaker in favor was Time Warner Cable’s Brad Phillips, whose company effectively wrote the bill.
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N&O layoffs

I’ve long thought that Raleigh could use more community newspapers. I just never thought the News and Observer would become one.

A large number of N&O staffers had their last day yesterday. There were a lot of familiar names in the group that will be missed, but one I thought was particularly disappointing to see was the Take It Outside writer, Joe Miller. I’ve long maintained that the two things that keep me subscribing to the N&O are the columns of Barry Saunders and Joe Miller. Of them, I always thought Joe had one of the best jobs in the country.

I wish the laid-off reporters and writers well and hope I’ll see more of their work soon.

Why we need municipal Internet

Imagine, if you will, a world where the streets in this country are privately owned by the country’s shipping companies. In our more modern example, Let’s say your particular street is owned by a company called FredEx.

Now let’s say you want to order a CD from a far-away retailer. Realizing that it owns the street in front of your house and that few other options exist, FredEx chooses to triple the shipping rate it charges to deliver your CD. And why shouldn’t it? FredEx knows it has the best delivery path available to your house, if not an outright monopoly.

Sure, you could always choose to have your CD delivered by your postman, Mo Dem, but his is a walking route so it’s painfully slow. On the other hand, you could ship your CD by the “competing” shipper, U Pay Us, but FredEx still gets its cut for its road.

What once looked like competition is anything but. You’re trapped.
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One victim of newspapers

A friend forwarded me a classic Calvin and Hobbes Sunday strip where Bill Watterson takes a shot at greedy capitalists. Calvin’s selling lemonade for $15 a glass and Susie Derkins calls him out on it, whereby Calvin offers a number of excuses for the exorbitant price.

I laughed and found myself missing the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. I also wondered if my kids will ever have the same experience of finding these jewels on the comics page each day.

There will never be another Calvin and Hobbes. If newspapers ever disappear that will be guaranteed.

CAC success

I’m back from another successful East CAC meeting. It was a great meeting: actually ended somewhat on time. We’re really getting things done now and it’s a blast to see it all happening.

More later. I’m ready for bed!