July 20, 2012 (News from FCC Meeting; Cybersecurity)

NEWS FROM THE FCC

FCC RELEASES SECOND “MEASURING BROADBAND AMERICA” REPORT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission released the results of its ongoing, nationwide performance study of residential wireline broadband service in its second “Measuring Broadband America” report. The report continues the Commission’s efforts towards bringing greater clarity and competition to the home broadband services marketplace. This year’s Report reveals that broadband providers have significantly improved accuracy in actual versus advertised speeds during the past year and that consumers are subscribing to faster speed tiers and receiving faster speeds than ever before. Specifically, the Report indicates two key areas of improvement.
First, broadband providers’ promises of performance are more accurate. In the time period measured for the August 2011 Report, the average broadband provider delivered 87 percent of advertised download speed during times when bandwidth demand was at its peak. During the time period measured for the July 2012 Report, that number rose to 96 percent. FCC analysis indicates that the improvements of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in meeting their advertised speeds were largely driven by improvements in network performance, and not downward adjustments to the speed tiers offered.
Second, consumers of broadband providers covered by the Report are subscribing to faster speed tiers and receiving faster speeds than ever before. We found that the average speed tier that consumers were subscribing to increased from 11.1 Megabits per second (Mbps) to 14.3 Mbps, an almost 30 percent increase in just one year. Because providers also did a better job in the testing period for this report of meeting or exceeding their advertised speeds, the actual increase in experienced speeds by consumers was even greater than advertised speed, from 10.6 Mbps to 14.6 Mbps, representing an almost 38 percent improvement over the one year period.
benton.org/node/130066 | Federal Communications Commission | B&C | USAToday | The Hill | Reuters | National Journal | ars technica | AT&T | Comcast
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FCC SPECTRUM PRESENTATION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In presentation at the Federal Communications Commission's public meeting, FCC officials suggested sharing of the vacant channels between TV stations was close to going online, but mobile unlicensed devices, the ones broadcasters are more concerned about due to possible interference, are still a couple of years away do to the technological challenges. Julie Knapp, chief of the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology, said that the FCC is currently beta testing the database for registering wireless microphones -- one of the current licensed TV band users also concerned about unlicensed interference -- saying that was the last step before the deployment of fixed a services like broadband to schools, machine-to-machine wireless communications and some municipal applications. Sharing and clearing spectrum got a lot of attention at the meeting. The presentation went beyond what the FCC has already done in the TV band to suggest expanding that concept to other spectrum bands, particularly to the swaths of spectrum being used by government agencies, which are also being asked to find real estate to free up for commercial wireless broadband use.
benton.org/node/130063 | Broadcasting&Cable | Chairman Genachowski | Commissioner Rosenworcel
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FCC’S RURAL HEALTH CARE REFORM PROCEEDING
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
In this Public Notice, the Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau seeks to develop a more robust record in the pending Rural Health Care reform rulemaking proceeding, particularly with regard to the proposed Broadband Services Program. The Commission’s Rural Health Care Pilot Program has helped foster the creation and growth of numerous state and regional broadband networks of health care providers (HCPs) throughout the country. These Pilot project networks have enabled health care providers in rural areas to tap into the medical and technical expertise of other health care providers on their networks, using telemedicine and other telehealth applications to improve the quality and lower the cost of health care for their patients in rural areas. As the Commission moves forward with reform of the Rural Health Care (RHC) program, it can benefit greatly from the experience of the Pilot projects and the lessons learned in the Pilot Program. A more focused and comprehensive record will help the Commission craft an efficient permanent program that will help health care providers exploit the potential of broadband to make health care better, more widely available, and less expensive for patients in rural areas.
Comments due August 23, 2012; Reply Comments September 7, 2012 (WC Docket No. 02-60)
benton.org/node/130055 | Federal Communications Commission
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FCC STORM INVESTIGATION
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Mary Pat Flaherty, Patricia Sullivan]
The Federal Communications Commission has opened an inquiry into what prevented Verizon’s Northern Virginia customers from getting through to several 911 emergency centers after the brutal June 29 storms. The review of Verizon’s performance is included in a broad inquiry into service problems at about a dozen carriers from Ohio to Virginia that handle calls for 911 call centers. The review will also look at the loss of customers’ telephone service. Problems in Northern Virginia and West Virginia were “systemic,” the FCC said in its notice, while there were isolated breakdowns in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Pennsylvania. The overall effect was the partial or complete shutdown of a “significant number” of 911 systems and communications services, the FCC said. The FCC said it is seeking to find the cause of the outages, the effect on 911 systems and the impact on residents, along with assessing the reliability and resiliency of emergency systems.
benton.org/node/130049 | Washington Post | Chairman Genachowski | Commissioner McDowell | Commissioner Rosenworcel | Commissioner Pai
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FCC AGENDA
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said the FCC is on track to issue an order on its media ownership notice of proposed rulemaking by the end of the year. The path was cleared for that takeoff when the Supreme Court last month declined to hear broadcaster challenge to those rules. Chairman Genachowski also indicated progress on Tribune waiver requests and indecency requests.
benton.org/node/130088 | Broadcasting&Cable
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

TAKING CYBERSECURITY SERIOUSLY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: President Barack Obama]
[Commentary] It doesn't take much to imagine the consequences of a successful cyber attack. In a future conflict, an adversary unable to match our military supremacy on the battlefield might seek to exploit our computer vulnerabilities here at home. Taking down vital banking systems could trigger a financial crisis. The lack of clean water or functioning hospitals could spark a public health emergency. And as we've seen in past blackouts, the loss of electricity can bring businesses, cities and entire regions to a standstill. This is the future we have to avoid. That's why my administration has made cybersecurity a priority, including proposing legislation to strengthen our nation's digital defenses. It's why Congress must pass comprehensive cybersecurity legislation. We all know what needs to happen. We need to make it easier for the government to share threat information so critical-infrastructure companies are better prepared. We need to make it easier for these companies—with reasonable liability protection—to share data and information with government when they're attacked. And we need to make it easier for government, if asked, to help these companies prevent and recover from attacks. Yet simply sharing more information is not enough. Ultimately, this is about security gaps that have to be filled. To their credit, many of these companies have boosted their cyber defenses. But many others have not, with some lacking even the most basic protection: a good password. That puts public safety and our national security at risk. For the sake of our national and economic security, I urge the Senate to pass the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 and Congress to send me comprehensive legislation so I can sign it into law. It's time to strengthen our defenses against this growing danger.
benton.org/node/130099 | Wall Street Journal
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REVISED CYBERSECURITY BILL
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jennifer Martinez]
Senate Homeland Security Committee leaders Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced a revised version of their cybersecurity bill. The latest version of the bill includes elements of a voluntary program outlined in a compromise framework drafted by a bipartisan group of senators led by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ). The revised bill proposes to establish a multi-agency council, called the National Cybersecurity Council, that would assess the risks and vulnerabilities found in computer systems of critical infrastructure. The council would be chaired by the Homeland Security Secretary and include members from the Pentagon, Department of Commerce, Justice Department, intelligence community and federal regulatory agencies that oversee critical infrastructure for specific sectors. The critical infrastructure section of the bill no longer requires companies that operate critical infrastructure to meet a set of security standards and incorporates some of the ideas proposed in the Whitehouse-Kyl framework. Instead, critical infrastructure operators could elect to participate in a voluntary cybersecurity program where they can show through self-certification or a third party assessment that they meet a set of cybersecurity practices in exchange for incentives. Those voluntary cybersecurity practices would be developed by private industry groups but reviewed and approved by the council. However, infrastructure that is deemed critical--or would result in mass casualties, devastating economic or systemic damage if disabled--would be required to report if a significant cyber incident hit their computer systems.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) put the new version of the bill on the Senate calendar.
benton.org/node/130097 | Hill, The | B&C
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CYBERSECURITY MOMENTUM?
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jennifer Martinez]
A bipartisan group of senators took to the Senate floor to urge the upper chamber to pass cybersecurity legislation that would better secure the computer networks of critical infrastructure from a devastating cyberattack. The senators argued that private-sector operators of critical infrastructure can’t take on the challenge of securing their systems from sophisticated cyber threats on their own — that’s why Congress needs to pass legislation that ensures the power grid, financial systems and other infrastructure are taking steps to bolster the security of their systems and networks, they said.
benton.org/node/130062 | Hill, The
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CALL FOR IMPROVED INFORMATION-SHARING
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jennifer Martinez]
Congress needs to pass legislation that encourages industry to share information about cyber threats spotted on their computer networks with the government, the Bipartisan Policy Center's Cybersecurity Task Force argued in a report. The task force, co-chaired by former National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden and Boston Properties chief executive Mort Zuckerman, proposes a set of legislative recommendations in the report that are intended to help the private and public sectors share information about cyber threats with one another in real time. The release of the report comes as Congress is gridlocked on cybersecurity legislation. The task force notes that companies are hesitant to share information with the government about cyberattacks spotted on their networks because they fear the data will be shared with competitors or could be used to bring legal action against them. To counter this, the task force recommends that entities acting in good faith should be protected from litigation, and also be exempt from data-breach notification laws and federal unfair trade practice enforcement actions following a security breach.
benton.org/node/130060 | Hill, The
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LEGISLATING SOCIAL MEDIA
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Dylan Scott]
As the Internet and social media become more and more integrated into people’s daily lives, legislators can no longer ignore the need for online policies and regulations. Yet it is largely uncharted territory for policymakers, one filled with unexpected and unique obstacles. “Who would have thought that social media would be an issue and we would have to protect citizens from violation?” says Illinois Rep. La Shawn Ford, who introduced a password protection bill in his state. “But we in government have to keep up with the changes in society.” Right now, states and localities are ground zero for the policies and statutes that will govern more than 150 million Facebook and 100 million Twitter users in the United States. The U.S. Congress voted down one password protection proposal in March, although another has since been introduced. Meanwhile, in addition to a Maryland law, 11 other state legislatures have introduced bills during the 2012 session, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. No federal statute for online bullying exists, but 46 states have passed laws that explicitly forbid bullying by any electronic means. There are no indications that Congress will address the issue of Facebook or Twitter profiles being a part of a person’s estate when he or she dies, but five states have already enacted laws that dictate what should happen, and two others proposed legislation this year. That said, the intersection of policymaking and social media can be hazardous terrain.
benton.org/node/130057 | Government Technology
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BROADBAND USAGE
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
[Commentary] I spend roughly 10 hours a day (or more) on the web. I stream movies, music and use IP communications to talk to sources, friends and family. In short, I demand a lot from my broadband connection. But still, I was surprised to see I use 125 gigabytes of data a month, according to Time Warner Cable, my ISP. And that got me wondering: How much do my parents use? My friends? The little old lady down the street? So I asked people to send me their usage as well as answer a few questions. This is not any kind of scientifically valid sample and I know those who shared their data are more technically savvy that others, but I invite our readers to send in their data to help me get a better picture.
benton.org/node/130037 | GigaOm
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

SHARED MOBILE DATA PLANS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Chen]
Verizon and AT&T, the two biggest carriers in the United States, are offering shared data plans, which will allow customers to pay for a single pool of data and share it across multiple smartphones, tablets and laptops. The concept of sharing sounds like a nice idea in principle, but the costs of these plans can tell a different story. The pricing for the carriers’ shared plans is nearly identical. After doing the math, it turns out that shared data plans are a good value only for a specific type of customer: A high-income family with several data-hungry devices and chatty kids who send lots of text messages. In other words, the plans offer the most value for people who already spend a lot to squeeze as much out of their wireless service as possible, and are not so useful for frugal, casual customers.
benton.org/node/130052 | New York Times
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PRIVACY

HEY KIDS, ABOUT THOSE EMBARRASSING FACEBOOK PHOTOS…
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz said he was open to a proposal to give children a way to delete personal information that they post on Facebook or other online sites. "As we all know, teens are tech savvy and judgment poor," he said during a discussion on social media and kids privacy sponsored by Common Sense Media. The forum examined the impact of the explosive use of new forms of media on children's health and their well-being. At the event, some experts voiced concern not only about the amount of time children spend in front of computers, mobile phones and other kinds of screens but also with the personal information they share while on those devices.
benton.org/node/130040 | National Journal
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OWNERSHIP

COMCAST-NBCUNIVERSAL ENFORCEMENT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Genachowski]
Back in May 2012, Sen Al Franken (D-MN) wrote to the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice raising concerns about Comcast’s compliance with conditions adopted in the approval of its merger with NBC Universal. He warned that the FCC’s failure to enforce conditions could result in Comcast challenging future conditions and delay resolution of disputes through a protracted complaint process.
On July 10, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski replied saying that the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau adopted a consent decree on June 27 resolving its investigation of Comcast’s compliance with certain of the broadband-related merger conditions for an additional year. He added: “Some allegations desire for efficient resolution of compliance complaints. The Commission has reviewed … all compliance complaints as expeditiously as possible, taking appropriate enforcement action when warranted.
benton.org/node/130053 | Federal Communications Commission | Sen Franken
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TELEVISION/RADIO

VIACOM-DIRECTV
[SOURCE: AdWeek, AUTHOR: ]
Viacom and DirecTV have reached a long-term agreement to renew carriage. All 26 Viacom networks, including Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, BET, CMT, Logo, Spike, TV Land, MTV2, VH1, VH1 Classic, Palladia, Nick Jr., Nicktoons, TeenNick, Tr3s and Centric, will return to satellite provider's channel lineup immediately.
benton.org/node/130086 | AdWeek
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TWC-HEARST
[SOURCE: AdWeek, AUTHOR: Sam Thielman]
Hearst and Time Warner Cable have reached an agreement regarding the 16 stations in 14 markets blacked out of TWC's cable package as the two companies tried to come to an agreement over a fair price to retransmit those stations' signals. Retransmission has been a thorny issue in recent years as carriage agreements come up for renewal after major changes in the marketplace, such as a plethora of over-the-top content providers like Netflix and Hulu, along with the nationwide changeover from analog broadcast signals to digital, which renders broadcast TV unwatchable in many urban areas.
benton.org/node/130084 | AdWeek
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA

REPORTERS IN POLITICAL ADS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Harwood]
More and more this election year, campaign ads include footage from television news programs, further blurring the fading lines separating modern journalism and politics. The trend bothers practitioners of journalism more than those in politics. “When people see political ads, they think someone’s lying to them,” said Mark McKinnon, an ad maker who worked on both of George W. Bush’s winning presidential campaigns. “We try really hard to get credible third-party messengers to deliver facts,” McKinnon explained. “A fact coming from you is much more believable than a fact coming from us.” As flattering as that might sound to journalists, our own credibility is hardly setting industry records right now. Which is precisely why journalists worry about the additional baggage of becoming associated with campaign advocacy. “I don’t like it,” said Tom Brokaw, for years the anchor of “NBC Nightly News.” “It’s so hard to stay in what I call the ‘umpire mode.’ ”
benton.org/node/130095 | New York Times
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

SECURITY LEAKS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: David Alexander, Donna Smith]
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered senior Pentagon officials to begin monitoring major U.S. news media for disclosures of classified information in an effort to stop the release of government secrets after a series of high-profile leaks. The announcement came hours after Sec Panetta and other senior defense officials appeared before a closed-door hearing of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee to discuss recent disclosures of classified security information.
benton.org/node/130087 | Reuters
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TWITTER LEGAL FIGHT
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Mike Isaac]
Twitter announced that it will appeal a recent ruling in an ongoing legal battle between the state of New York and a Twitter user, in which a judge ordered Twitter to hand over information on one of its users. The appeal comes shortly after New York County Criminal Court Judge Matthew Sciarrino Jr. ruled that Twitter must hand over a series of tweets sent by Malcolm Harris, a senior editor at online publication the New Inquiry and a protester in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Harris was one of more than 700 people arrested in conjunction with a massive OWS protest that blocked the Brooklyn Bridge last October. The case holds larger implications for Twitter in terms of potential future litigation. The court originally found that Harris “lacked the legal standing” to challenge the request for Twitter information on his own behalf. But if Twitter users on the whole can’t defend themselves against subpoenas for information, that responsibility is on Twitter.
benton.org/node/130050 | Wall Street Journal | GigaOm
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EDUCATION

DIGITAL PROMISE
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: Thomas Kalil, Kumar Garg]
Less than a year ago, the White House and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the launch of "Digital Promise," a new national effort to accelerate innovation in education with technology. In that year, Digital Promise launched the League of Innovative Schools, a partnership of 26 school districts in 18 states that collectively serve roughly 2.5 million students. On July 18, The Office of Science and Technology Policy joined superintendents from across the country in Digital Promise’s first Innovation Workshop, held in Washington D.C. One of the topics discussed was “smart demand” – the use of the purchasing power of school districts to improve learning outcomes for students. The League of Innovative Schools can:
Foster game-changing innovations by promising to buy them. Using what’s called an “Advance Market Commitment,” five countries and the Gates Foundation agreed to purchase large quantities of a vaccine that hadn’t been developed yet – a vaccine to immunize kids in developing countries against diseases such as pneumonia and meningitis. The private sector responded, and today that vaccine could help save the lives of 7 million children by 2030. Similarly, the school districts participating in the League could, for example, commit to purchase educational software that enabled a student who was two grade levels behind in reading or math to catch up during the summer.
Challenge America’s entrepreneurs to build the tools educators need to help every student succeed. Prize competitions have been used to drive breakthroughs in areas such as self-driving cars and commercial spaceflight. The League is exploring the use of prizes as a way of challenging entrepreneurs and others to build the tools districts need to meet their educational goals, from leveling the playing field for students with learning disabilities to making sure a district is preparing its students to meet the Common Core Standards.
Work already started includes:
Demonstration Projects. As one of Digital Promise’s initial demonstration projects, Piedmont City School District (PCSD) in Piedmont, AL is tackling summer learning loss with a Summer Virtual Academy that’s being evaluated by the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Lab. In response to a challenge from Digital Promise, Meridian Joint School District #2 (Idaho’s second largest district) is working to redesign classrooms across the district to create a model of 21st Century learning that can be evaluated. And Utica Community Schools (Michigan’s second largest district) is working with an entrepreneur to develop a pilot that blends online and traditional instruction in kindergarten.
Superintendent-Driven Innovation Working Groups. Digital Promise established working groups of leading superintendents that are tackling procurement reform, the development of a common educator-driven research agenda, and the creation of a cloud-based platform that will allow school districts to select, evaluate, and scale up STEM tools that work.
benton.org/node/130027 | White House, The
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THE TROUBLE WITH ONLINE EDUCATION
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Mark Edmundson]
[Commentary] The sentiment that our students are our teachers is an important truth. Understanding what it is that students have to teach teachers can help us to deal with one of the most vexing issues now facing colleges and universities: online education. But can online education ever be education of the very best sort? It’s here that the notion of students teaching teachers is illuminating. Online education is a one-size-fits-all endeavor. It tends to be a monologue and not a real dialogue. The Internet teacher, even one who responds to students via e-mail, can never have the immediacy of contact that the teacher on the scene can, with his sensitivity to unspoken moods and enthusiasms. This is particularly true of online courses for which the lectures are already filmed and in the can. It doesn’t matter who is sitting out there on the Internet watching; the course is what it is. [Edmundson is a professor of English at the University of Virginia]
benton.org/node/130094 | New York Times
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ADVERTISING/MARKETING

RISE OF INFLUENCE
[SOURCE: Fast Company, AUTHOR: Kit Eaton]
Remember when you looked to TV and newspaper ads to tell you what to buy? Me, neither. That's because now many of us are more likely to make an informed opinion about purchases--and many other new discoveries--based on the views of people we connect with online and through social media. Influence, that is to say, is big. How big? A new survey by Initiative questioned some 8,000 web users age 16-54 in Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, the Netherlands, U.S., and U.K. to find out how they were influenced in purchase decisions by social media interactions. The results are kind of amazing: A huge 99% of the "top 10%" of influencers reported that their friends quiz them before making a big purchase. This top 10% has a disproportionate influence on the opinions of others--because 72% of them access content in print, online and mobile form more than once a day, compared to just 18% of the bottom 10% of influencers.
benton.org/node/130025 | Fast Company
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LABOR

VERIZON-UNION TALKS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
The Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers asked the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to intervene in contract negotiations with Verizon Communications, after more than a year at the bargaining table -- while the telco rejected the call for mediation. The two unions represent approximately 45,000 workers in Verizon's Northeast territory, running from New England to Virginia. Those employees went on strike Aug. 6, 2011, when the previous contract expired, and returned to work about two weeks later, on Aug. 22. The two sides have been in negotiations since then. According to the unions, CWA and IBEW members have been unable to come to an agreement for over a year, dating back to June 22, because Verizon management "continues to insist on drastic cuts in benefits and employment security."
benton.org/node/130082 | Multichannel News
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DROP OUT, START UP
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Claire Cain Miller]
The two-year Thiel Fellowship, for applicants under age 20, was started last year by Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley investor who believes more young people should be chasing breakthrough technologies instead of wasting their time and money in college. Taylor Wilson is in the second group of grant recipients, announced last month. He joins 43 other fellows — 39 men and 4 women — working on projects like developing unmanned aerial vehicles and building electric car motors with rare earth magnets. By recruiting would-be Mark Zuckerbergs, Thiel is tapping into the lore of Silicon Valley, where coffee shops are crammed with CEO’s barely out of their teens and being a dropout is a badge of honor — one held by tech’s biggest luminaries, including Steve Jobs and Bill Gates as well as Zuckerberg. But the Thiel Fellowship has also fueled a fierce debate about the value of a college education in a changing economy, one where the skills to write software or build a robot, coupled with an outsize dose of ambition and a youthful belief in one’s ability to change the world, have the potential to produce fame and fortune in a way that few other professions do.
benton.org/node/130018 | New York Times
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

GOOGLE AND THE EU
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Alex Barker, Richard Waters]
Europe’s antitrust enforcer is demanding that Google makes sweeping changes to its mobile services as it paves the way to serve formal charges against the US tech company for anti-competitive behavior should talks over a settlement collapse. The late maneuver by Joaquín Almunia, the EU’s competition commissioner, presents Google with a dilemma as tense settlement negotiations enter their final days. In what could be a move to add further pressure on Google, competition officials have asked complainants to provide non-confidential versions of information submitted to the two-year investigation – a procedural step taken when preparing a charge sheet. The so-called “statement of objections” is not expected to be served imminently. But Almunia is likely to decide whether the talks are worth continuing next week. The outcome is finely balanced and will partly depend on Google’s willingness to extend the scope of the settlement to mobile services, a suggestion Almunia kept back for the final stretch of negotiations.
benton.org/node/130079 | Financial Times
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CHINA’S INTERNET USE UP
[SOURCE: The Next Web, AUTHOR: Jon Russell]
China is already the world's largest Internet market, and — driven by increased smartphones sales — that vast ocean of Web users has grown 11% year-over-year to reach 538 million, according to a report from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). The data from the government-endorsed organization actually shows a slight decrease in the rate of growth, but China nonetheless added 25 million new Web users since the end of 2011 — taking Internet penetration to 39.9%. Smartphones are the key driver of the Web user growth — for a host of reasons, notably more affordable cost — and the CNNIC reports that China now has 388.25 million mobile Internet users. That's 39% of its 1 billion plus phone owners. That figure means that the number of Internet users that have access to the Web on their phone has passed 70% for the first time. However, there is no indication of exactly how many Internet users are mobile-only, or how their activity varies across the two access points.
benton.org/node/130016 | Next Web, The | Reuters
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