Daily Digest 6/26/2018 (Lifeline for Puerto Rico)

Benton Foundation

5G, NTIA Reauthorization and Fixed Wireless on today's agenda

Find Headlines online at https://www.benton.org/headlines 

Wireless

FCC must keep Puerto Ricans connected to Lifeline this storm season

[Commentary]  As we get deeper into hurricane season, Washington should be doing what it can to keep [the Lifeline program] in place. When people on the island prepare for this year’s storms and amass their 10 days of supplies, they should have the comfort of knowing that the Federal Communications Commission is not undermining the program they use to stay connected. But that’s not what’s happening. Instead, the agency has announced plans to gut the Lifeline program by as much as 70 percent of participants. To justify such a drastic cut, the FCC says it wants to prevent program waste. But the agency needs to find a way to mend this program without cutting off so many who rely on it. That means carriers that fail to follow program rules should be fined and kicked out. It does not mean the FCC should decimate this program from front to back. Puerto Rico is simultaneously rebuilding from the destruction of last year’s storm and preparing for wind and rain ahead. This is not easy to do. But the FCC should not make this harder by dismantling the Lifeline program and disconnecting the people of Puerto Rico.

[FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel]

Lifeline Providers Ask FCC to Press Pause

Two tribes and a group of companies that get telecom subsidies under the Federal Communications Commission's Lifeline program want the FCC to hold off on its plan to limit the types of companies that get more Lifeline money to support subscribers on tribal lands. In 2017, the FCC approved a plan that would eliminate extra funding on tribal lands for wireless resellers, and limit the areas eligible for a higher subsidy. The enhanced subsidy adds an extra $25 to the monthly $9.25 per-subscriber total that Lifeline companies receive. In a petition filed June 22, companies including Assist Wireless and Boomerang Wireless, along with the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe and the Oceti Sakowin Tribal Utility Authority, asked the commission to pause implementation while they challenge the cuts in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.

FirstNet launches, giving police and firefighters a dedicated wireless network and infinite possibilities

The idea for FirstNet was long in gestation, beginning with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but has rapidly come to fruition in the year since AT&T won a contract to build it for the federal government. The idea was a dedicated wireless network exclusively for first responders, enabling them to communicate in emergencies on a secure system built to handle massive amounts of data. The government agency was created after 9/11 to devise the interoperability of first responders, and then to enable video, data and text capabilities in addition to voice. In March 2017, FirstNet accepted AT&T’s $40 billion bid to build out the network. The governments of all 50 states and the District of Columbia opted in, and in March of 2018, the core network went live. Almost 650 agencies in 48 states have signed up, including Boston police and fire and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

AT&T’s CEO: After FirstNet tower climbs, 5G will be a software upgrade

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said that the company’s work to upgrade its network with FirstNet’s 700 MHz spectrum will position it to move to 5G network technology via a software upgrade. “To build out this FirstNet capability, this first responder network, we have to go climb every cell tower. Literally, we have to go touch every cell tower over the next couple of years,” explained Stephenson. "As we're touching those cell towers, every single one of them, we have a lot of spectrum in inventory. We will be lighting that spectrum up as we touch each cell tower." Added Stephenson: "We'll be equipping every single cell site for 5G such that, when 5G is ready to go, when it's ready for prime time, our turn-up of 5G is a software load, it’s a software upgrade.”

via Fierce
Ownership

AT&T Plots New Marketplace for TV and Digital Video Advertising

AT&T's advertising chief said the company’s acquisition of AppNexus is part of a strategy to build a first-of-its-kind marketplace for television and digital video advertising and give it more firepower against industry juggernauts Google and Facebook. AppNexus offers technology that helps advertisers buy ads, using automated software, across a range of websites and apps. The company also supplies technology to publishers so they can manage and sell ad space on their websites. Its marketplace, which connects both the buyers and sellers of ads, extends into the video and web-connected television space. The technology could help AT&T capitalize on the media content it added through its recent purchase of Time Warner Inc., owner of CNN, TBS and TNT. But Brian Lesser, the CEO of AT&T’s advertising and analytics group, said that the company’s ambition is not just to help boost ad revenue from its own content but to create a platform that also connects advertisers with audiences from rival media outlets, across television and digital video. AT&T also wants to offer data to allow advertisers to measure the “real performance” of their ad campaigns, such as whether someone who saw an automobile ad on their connected TV walked into a car dealership, Lesser said. 

Trio of State AGs Petition to Block Sinclair-Tribune Deal

The attorneys general of Illinois, Iowa (stations from both states are involved in the deal) and Rhode Island have petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to deny the Sinclair-Tribune merger, which would give Sinclair over 200 TV stations. Pointing out that they are the chief consumer protection and law enforcement officers in their state, the AGs argue that since Sinclair is already the largest local news provider in the country, allowing it to get much bigger will impede the ability of struggling stations to create more opportunities for diversity, localism or competition. In particular, they are concerned about Sinclair's effort to keep two stations in St. Louis, which they say should not be allowed. 

Gray TV to Buy Raycom in $3.65 Billion Deal

Gray Television has agreed to buy fellow television-station owner Raycom Media in a $3.65 billion deal that would create a company that reaches nearly a quarter of US TV households. Gray estimates it will be able to save $40 million in the first year after the deal closes by reducing station and corporate expenses. It also expects revenue to increase by $15 million, as Raycom’s contracts convert to Gray’s rates. If the Gray-Raycom deal is completed, the combined company would own 142 television stations in 92 US markets, reaching 24% of TV households and owning the third-largest number stations. Gray is buying Raycom for $3.65 billion in total proceeds, including $2.85 billion in cash, $650 million in preferred stock and 11.5 million shares of Gray stock, valued at $147.2 million June 22. Raycom is employee-owned. Gray’s shareholders would have 89% of the economic ownership of the company after the deal. The combined annual net revenue of both companies, averaged over a two-year basis, would have been about $2 billion. Gray has largely owned the leading stations in smaller and midsize markets across the US, while Raycom has focused more on operations in the South. To ease regulatory approval, Gray plans to sell television stations in all nine of the markets where both companies operate stations.

Telecom/Internet

Windstream, USTelecom Reach Telecom Unbundling Compromise; Is UNE Era Set to End?

Windstream and USTelecom have reached a compromise agreement involving telecommunication unbundling that would offer an alternative to a filing made by USTelecom back in May. The agreement requires Federal Communications Commission approval, but generally the FCC looks favorably upon agreements that opposing telecom stakeholders have been able to negotiate without FCC involvement. Windstream is both a buyer and seller of unbundled network elements (UNEs). The company sells UNEs in its local service territory and buys them in areas outside that footprint to support services that it sells to its enterprise customers. The company likely had more to lose from USTelecom’s May unbundling proposal than it had to gain, however.

How broadband helped a small town in Greater Minnesota land a high-tech business

In 2015, Gibbon (MN) joined nine other cities and 17 townships in creating a cooperative that promised to bring broadband Internet access to 6,200 residents across both Renville and Sibley counties. RS Fiber Cooperative laid fiber optic cable through Gibbon in 2016. Each of the cities involved in the cooperative now has fiber optic cable, with speeds of up to 1 gigabyte; the second phase of the project – to bring broadband to the countryside – should begin in 2020. The cost to bring broadband to the cities involved in the project was about $15 million; Gibbon sold bonds to raise its share, which was $813,000. Dana Lietzau, the city manager, said civic leaders pitched broadband access as at least one way to encourage businesses to locate in Gibbon. 

This startup is letting anyone start their own ISP business so they can provide a better alternative to Comcast or AT&T

Necto, a startup which was recently accepted into Silicon Valley incubator Y Combinator, wants to make it easy for users to set up their own Internet service provider. While the type of network Necto is using isn't anything new, the company has a different business model it hopes will set it apart. Rather than charge customers for the service directly, the startup is searching for so-called operators to run private-label ISPs. Those operators are responsible for the up-front cost of the equipment, attracting customers, setting pricing, and everything else that goes with running a small business. They just pay a service fee to Necto for the software and services that keep the network running. And the company takes a cut of the revenue when customers start joining.

Consumer Groups Welcome Advocates to Washington (DC) for Net Neutrality Advocacy Day

Public Knowledge leads a group of public interest and racial justice allies in welcoming net neutrality advocates from across the United States to Washington (DC) for a “Day of Advocacy.” Volunteers plan to express how important net neutrality is to their lives, schools, and businesses and why Congress should support the Congressional Review Act resolution to reinstate the FCC’s strong net neutrality rules. More than 50 participants volunteered to share their stories in scheduled meetings with their representatives on Capitol Hill. Public Knowledge, Access Now, Center for American Progress Action Fund, Center for Media Justice, Common Cause, Consumers Union, Demand Progress, Engine, Fight for the Future, Free Press Action Fund, National Hispanic Media Coalition, Native Public Media, and New America’s Open Technology Institute will help participants meet with their representatives.

Health

FCC Increases Funding for Rural Telehealth

The Federal Communications Commission has provided a significant budgetary boost for its Rural Health Care Program to address immediate and longterm funding shortages driven by growing demand for rural telemedicine services. The FCC increased the annual cap on program spending by nearly 43 percent, to $571 million, which will reverse across-the-board spending cuts for the current funding year imposed by the old cap. These “pro-rata” cuts had created uncertainty and turmoil in the program for patients, health care providers, and communications companies alike. The program’s previous $400 million cap was set in 1997 and was never indexed for inflation. The $171 million increase represents what the funding level would be today had the initial cap included an inflation adjustment. Looking ahead, the FCC will adjust the cap annually for inflation and allow funds unused from prior years to be carried forward. At the same time, the FCC continues its work on enacting reforms proposed last year to guard against program waste, fraud, and abuse.

Let’s make telemedicine available to all

[Commentary] Because we have seen the promise of telemedicine firsthand, we know that more can be done to make telemedicine mainstream to reach all who need it. The recent changes to Medicare [expanding telemedicine benefits for patients with stroke, kidney disease, and other chronic conditions] are an important step. Working together, we can explore other ways to improve coverage, whether through pilot programs for specific populations (such as remote patient monitoring of diabetes care, obstetrics or behavioral health visits that do not require in-person medication administration) or through reducing regulatory barriers that limit where the patient must be located to access telemedicine. Accelerating infrastructure improvements to expand broadband access to underserved communities is also key so that residents can receive remote medical services at home, school or their community organization, regardless of where they live. 

There has been promising attention to telemedicine recently in Washington (DC) and in many states, including New York, where the recent state budget broadened telemedicine access to patients who receive Medicaid, an important move for underserved populations. Now we must propel the issue to the top of the public health agenda so care can reach more people outside the physical walls of health-care facilities. Telemedicine is no longer “next-generation” health care. It is here today and rapidly growing — revolutionizing — the way we deliver care. Everyone deserves to benefit. Let’s work together to make this happen.

[Steven J. Corwin, M.D., is president and chief executive officer of NewYork-Presbyterian, one of the nation’s largest, most comprehensive health-care delivery systems.]

via Vox
Education

Supporting Students & Families in Out-of-School Learning

This toolkit provides background context for the Homework Gap, addresses broader implications of household connectivity, suggests resources for scoping the problem, and details five strategies districts are currently using to address these challenges: 1) Partner with Community Organizations to Create “Homework Hotspots”, 2) Promote Low-Cost Broadband Offerings, 3) Deploy Mobile Hotspot Programs, 4) Install Wifi on School Buses and 5) Build Private LTE Networks. In addition, it outlines four steps school leaders can take to collaborate with local governments and their community to take a broader, more holistic approach to digital access and inclusion: 1) Assemble a Team and Develop a Shared Vision, 2) Assess Existing Community Resources, Gaps and Needs, 3) Engage Stakeholders and Partners and 4) Develop and Execute a Project Plan.

Privacy

The Supreme Court just struck a blow against mass surveillance

[Commentary] The Supreme Court decided June 22 that cell-site location information is protected by the Fourth Amendment’s guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures. Carpenter v. United States offers a rare bright spot in the uphill battle for digital privacy. Even more significant than the ruling is the reasoning: The Supreme Court has finally rejected the outdated idea that we voluntarily surrender our privacy simply because we own a digital device. Carpenter involved a criminal investigation. The court was careful to leave “other collection techniques involving foreign affairs or national security” to future cases. Nevertheless, it is in the sweeping mass surveillance programs of the U.S. intelligence community where the court’s decision is likely to have its biggest impact.

[Timothy Edgar is a senior fellow in international and public affairs at Brown University]

The Wiretap Rooms: The NSA's Hidden Spy Hubs In Eight U.S. Cities

The secrets are hidden behind fortified walls in cities across the United States, inside towering windowless skyscrapers and fortress-like concrete structures that were built to withstand earthquakes and even nuclear attack. Thousands of people pass by the buildings each day and rarely give them a second glance, because their function is not publicly known. They are an integral part of one of the world’s largest telecommunications networks – and they are also linked to a controversial National Security Agency surveillance program. Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. In each of these cities, The Intercept has identified an AT&T facility containing networking equipment that transports large quantities of internet traffic across the United States and the world. A body of evidence – including classified NSA documents, public records, and interviews with several former AT&T employees – indicates that the buildings are central to an NSA spying initiative that has for years monitored billions of emails, phone calls, and online chats passing across US territory. According to the NSA’s documents, it values AT&T not only because it “has access to information that transits the nation,” but also because it maintains unique relationships with other phone and internet providers. The NSA exploits these relationships for surveillance purposes, commandeering AT&T’s massive infrastructure and using it as a platform to covertly tap into communications processed by other companies.

Thermostats, Locks and Lights: Digital Tools of Domestic Abuse

Internet-connected locks, speakers, thermostats, lights and cameras that have been marketed as the newest conveniences are now also being used as a means for harassment, monitoring, revenge and control.  In more than 30 interviews with The New York Times, domestic abuse victims, their lawyers, shelter workers and emergency responders described how the technology was becoming an alarming new tool. Abusers — using apps on their smartphones, which are connected to the internet-enabled devices — would remotely control everyday objects in the home, sometimes to watch and listen, other times to scare or show power. Even after a partner had left the home, the devices often stayed and continued to be used to intimidate and confuse. For victims and emergency responders, the experiences were often aggravated by a lack of knowledge about how smart technology works, how much power the other person had over the devices, how to legally deal with the behavior and how to make it stop.

Privacy advocates want Congress to fix gaps in Carpenter ruling

The Supreme Court’s recent ruling that police must get a warrant to access the vast trove of location information wireless carriers collect on their customers marks a breakthrough for privacy rights. But the majority in Carpenter v. United States sidestepped key issues about whether police can still access location data in real time or for short periods without a warrant. These gaps will likely give rise to a flurry of new legal challenges --- and are already sparking calls for Congress to step in to fix potential loopholes. Privacy advocates want lawmakers to regulate companies that sell real-time location data to law enforcement and to require that investigators get a warrant to access location data even for just a few days. “I think Carpenter will be seen as a landmark case for civil liberties protections in the digital age,” said Elizabeth Joh, a criminal law professor at UC Davis School of Law. “But, Carpenter opens up many questions … There is quite likely to be disagreement among judges about how broadly Carpenter’s rationale applies beyond the government’s collection of historical cellphone location data.”

Antitrust

Supreme Court Sides With American Express on Merchant Fees

In a test of antitrust law, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that American Express could use contracts to stop merchants from steering consumers to other cards. The decision has implications not only for what one brief called “an astronomical number of retail transactions” but also for other kinds of markets, notably ones on the internet, in which services link consumers and businesses. Such “two-sided platforms,” the Court said, require special and seemingly more forgiving antitrust scrutiny. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority, said the specialized nature of credit-card transactions justified what in other circumstances might have been anti-competitive conduct. Credit card networks create “two-sided platforms,” Justice Thomas wrote, and they “differ from traditional markets in important ways.” Since card companies deal with both merchants and consumers, he wrote, people challenging actions as anticompetitive must take account of the effect on both sets of market participants. Viewed that way, Justice Thomas wrote, American Express promoted competition by designing rewards programs to attract affluent customers. Justice Stephen G. Breyer read his dissent from the bench, a rare move indicating profound disagreement. He said the implications of the ruling were vast and could hurt competition in many realms. “I particularly fear the interpretive impact of the majority’s discussion of what it calls ‘two-sided platforms,’ in an era when that term might be thought to apply to many internet-related goods and services that are becoming ever more important,” Justice Breyer said.

Elections

Tech didn’t spot Russian interference during the last election. Now it’s asking law enforcement for help.

Silicon Valley companies and law enforcement are starting to talk about how to ward off meddling by malicious actors including Russia on social media in the November midterms, an attempt at dialogue and information-sharing that was absent during the 2016 presidential elections. Facebook quietly convened a meeting in May 2018 with representatives from the biggest players in the technology industry along with Christopher Krebs, an under secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, as well as a representative of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s newly formed “foreign influence” task force. Google, Twitter, Apple, Microsoft, Snap and the parent company of Yahoo and AOL, Verizon subsidiary Oath, attended. People who attended described a tense atmosphere in which the tech companies repeatedly pressed federal officials for information, only to be told — repeatedly — that no specific intelligence would be shared. The tech companies shared details about disinformation campaigns they were witnessing on their platforms, but neither the FBI nor the Department of Homeland Security was willing or able to share specific information about threats the tech companies should anticipate. One attendee of the meeting said the encounter led the tech companies to believe they would be on their own to counter election interference.

Supreme Court upholds Texas redistricting a lower court said discriminated against black and Hispanic voters

The Supreme Court largely upheld Texas congressional and legislative maps that a lower court said discriminated against black and Hispanic voters. The lower court was wrong in how it considered the challenges, Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the 5 to 4 decision. The majority sided with the challengers over one legislative district. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a dissent that was longer than Justice Alito’s majority decision. She said the decision “does great damage to the right of equal opportunity. Not because it denies the existence of that right, but because it refuses its enforcement.”

Supreme Court sends case on North Carolina gerrymandering back to lower court

The Supreme Court sent back to a lower court a decision that Republicans in North Carolina had gerrymandered the state’s congressional districts to give their party an unfair advantage. The lower court will need to decide whether the plaintiffs had the proper legal standing to bring the case. The Supreme Court recently considered the question of partisan gerrymandering in cases from Wisconsin and Maryland. The court has never found a map so infected by politics that it violated the constitutional rights of voters. But the justices did not rule on the merits of the issue. The court said plaintiffs in Wisconsin did not have the proper legal standing and that the Maryland case was in too preliminary a stage. 

More Online

Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org) and Robbie McBeath (rmcbeath AT benton DOT org) -- we welcome your comments.

(c)Benton Foundation 2018. Redistribution of this email publication -- both internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message. For subscribe/unsubscribe info email: headlines AT benton DOT org

Benton experts make knowledge and analysis accessible to include more people in communications policymaking.

Kevin Taglang
Executive Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Foundation
727 Chicago Avenue
Evanston, IL 60202
847-328-3049
headlines AT benton DOT org