Nov 6, 2008 (The transition begins)
"There has not been much leadership on technology issues in Washington over the past eight years. We don't want special favors. We just want people to understand us."
-- Ed Black, Computer and Communications Industry Association
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2008
Two Internet-related events today: 1) the Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Services will hold a meeting on broadband policy (http://benton.org/node/17368) and 2) the New America Foundation hosts a discussion on "Is Success Killing the Internet? (http://benton.org/node/18266). See or media policy calendar at http://benton.org/calendar
Coverage of the presidential transition has started; track it at http://benton.org/taxonomy/term/1657
THE TRANSITION (AND WE AIN'T TALKING DTV ANYMORE)
Will Obama use the Internet to change government?
Obama Picks High-Tech and Washington Veteran to Transition Team
For Obama, a Towering Economic To-Do List
President-Elect Obama Is Plugged In On Technology Issues
Tech companies greet Obama with cautious optimism
Broadcasters Wary of an Obama FCC
What Obama Means to Ads and TV
What's the Hill's New Makeup Mean to TV?
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
Obama and McCain Campaigns Hacked
Black TV Is Wearing Its Politics on Its Sleeve
Election Web Sites Plot to Hold Their Viewers
Obama Wins the Battle for Online Buzz
What Marketers Can Learn From Obama's Campaign
The Vote: A Victory for Social Media, Too
Election night draws 78+ million TV viewers
THE ECONOMY
IBM Has Tech Answer for Woes of Economy
Two Media Giants Report Sharply Differing Results
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Google pulls out of Yahoo advertising partnership
Location, location, location — and broadband
FCC Releases ICC/USF Order
White Spaces: The Wait for Devices
Malay Blogger Fights a System He Perfected
TELECOM
Clearwire still sees challenges after FCC OK
Sprint faces $1.2B federal suit over early termination fees
CABLE
FCC Opens Investigation Into Cable TV Pricing
THE TRANSITION (AND WE AIN'T TALKING DTV ANYMORE)
WILL OBAMA USE THE INTERNET TO CHANGE GOVERNMENT?
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Chris O'Brien]
[Commentary] When you think about it, one of the amazing things about the Obama campaign was how much control he ceded to his followers. Through his Web site, his supporters could create their own subgroups who were "for" Obama, with no censoring of names or topics. They could design their own campaign material, and customize the famous Obama "O" logo. It demonstrated an extraordinary amount of trust and confidence. But it also transformed people from supporters into participants. People were actively thinking about why they supported Obama and how to express that. And my hunch is that gave them a feeling of having a much greater stake in the campaign, which in turn drove the historic turnout rates. For Obama, it's critical that he continue to recognize and practice this kind of leadership, where his strength is measured by his comfort in relinquishing some control and continuing to find ways to transform citizens into participants. Instilling this sort of open-source culture into the U.S. government will be an extraordinary task. But for Obama, continuing to use the tools offered by the Internet to engage the public offers the best way for him to deliver the kind of change that will be remembered for decades to come.
http://benton.org/node/18602
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OBAMA PICKS HIGH-TECH AND WASHINGTON VETERAN TO TRANSITION TEAM
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
With the election over, attention turned Wednesday to the transition from the Bush to the Obama administration. President-elect Barack Obama (D) announced his transition team which will be headed by three co-chairs: John Podesta, Valerie Jarrett, and Pete Rouse. An an advisory board includes Julius Genachowski, a former executive of Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp, who will help Obama choose members of his new Administration. Genachowski, who served at the Federal Communications Commission as chief counsel to former Democratic Chairman Reed Hundt, has been advising Obama's campaign on tech policy issues and chaired a group of advisors on the president-elect's Tech & Innovation Plan. With a relationship with Obama that goes back to their days at Harvard Law School, Genachowski helped push technology issues to a more prominent spot in the campaign. Apparently, President-elect Obama will also name former FCC Commissioner Henry Rivera to head a transition team focused on the FCC. Rivera, a partner at communications law firm Wiley, Rein, served at the FCC from 1981 to 1985. Rivera is also General Counsel for the Benton Foundation.
http://benton.org/node/18593
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FOR OBAMA, A TOWERING ECONOMIC TO-DO LIST
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Matt Richtel]
The dismal state of the economy helped decide Tuesday's presidential election. And it almost certainly will dominate the early days of the Obama administration. Technology is among some of the crucial issues that economists say will test the new administration, and how it might address them. President-elect Obama has endorsed the industry's call for raising the number of H-1B temporary work visas, but even with a sympathetic ear in the White House, getting Congress to agree to more visas could present a major challenge given the probability that, in a recession, public sentiment will be heightened that foreigners are taking Americans' jobs. In the meantime, the tech industry — which has grown much more politically active in recent years — will greet the new president with a list of other wishes. One is that he push policies to spread high-speed Internet access, which provides a conduit for e-commerce, online advertising and other Web-centric business models. The industry also hopes Mr. Obama will stand behind his stated support of "Network Neutrality," which is a government requirement that telecommunications companies provide Internet content providers equal access to delivery lines. Such tech policy could fall to a chief technology officer, a cabinet position the president-elect has pledged to create.
http://benton.org/node/18601
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PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA IS PLUGGED IN ON TECHNOLOGY ISSUES
[SOURCE: Dow Jones, AUTHOR: Fawn Johnson]
President-elect Barack Obama is a fan of technology, but the attention his administration gives telecommunications and high- technology issues will be overshadowed by his head-on confrontation of the global financial crisis and the war in Iraq. "The incoming President of the United States this January will face the most difficult set of issues in terms of a nation's economic position...since of any president" since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Blair Levin, who worked at the Federal Communications Commission under Democratic Chairman Reed Hundt and was an early supporter of Obama. President Obama is a firm believer in high-speed Internet as a tool of change, which could drive early action in his administration toward blanketing the country with broadband networks. Government funds are tight, but Levin said the cash shortage could work to Obama's advantage when pushing for Internet build-out. "The use of networks is often a cost savings," he said. "One reason why the economics of the 1990s were so good was you had the fiscal leadership in the White House. Another was you had two very big things driving investment cycles: wireless and the Internet."
http://benton.org/node/18592
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TECH COMPANIES GREET OBAMA WITH CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
Barack Obama's presidency could spell major changes for the technology industry after years of limited White House attention. The Obama camp has many tech-savvy advisers who understand the sector and its users. That was reflected in the Obama campaign's innovative use of technology and the Internet to organize volunteers, raise money and communicate with voters. Paul Gallant, a telecom analyst at Stanford Washington Research Group, believes Obama could take on at least one big priority for the industry: extending the concept behind network neutrality principles — which prohibit broadband providers from favoring or discriminating against online traffic traveling over their networks — into the wireless arena. Gallant believes Obama would also be more likely to tap the federal Universal Service Fund, which subsidizes telephone service in rural and low-income communities, to bring broadband to underserved parts of the country. Universal broadband is also top priority for technology companies. Yet tech companies have reason to be cautious, too. For one thing, said Christopher Hansen, president and chief executive of the American Electronics Association, Obama has not directly addressed another item high on the industry's wish list: raising the cap on H-1B visas to allow technology companies to bring in more highly skilled workers from overseas. In addition, Hansen added, the industry is worried about what policies Obama might implement to discourage the offshoring of operations and jobs. Obama does, however, support lifelong retraining programs for U.S. citizens, which could be good news for the tech sector, he noted.
http://benton.org/node/18591
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BROADCASTERS WARY OF AN OBAMA FCC
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Kim McAvoy]
With strong Democratic majorities in Congress and President Obama in the White House, the broadcast industry can 1) forget about looser media ownership rules, 2) start worrying about public interest obligations, and 3) gear up for a Democratic majority at the Federal Communications Commission. President Obama could tap one of the sitting Democratic commissioners, Michael Copps or Jonathan Adelstein, to run the agency until the new president gets around to nominating (and the Senate gets around to confirming) a new permanent chairman — a process that could take several months. Neither Copps nor Adelstein is good news for broadcasters, the lobbyists say. Both have vigorously opposed all efforts to loosen broadcast ownership rules and have championed new public service programming obligations for broadcasters. They contend that media consolidation is limiting the diversity of voices in media and they believe the American public is getting less than it should from broadcasters in exchange for the valuable spectrum. The Democratic duo has also gone along with current FCC Chairman Martin's crackdown on broadcast indecency, Commissioner Copps most enthusiastically.
http://benton.org/node/18590
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WHAT OBAMA MEANS TO ADS AND TV
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Ira Teinowitz]
Now that the election's over and Sen. Barack Obama is the president-elect, the real fighting can begin. With the Democrats riding to victory with promises of change, it's a safe bet the next Congress and administration will look to make a mark on advertising and marketing issues. Most of those battles won't start until next year, but some of the implications could become apparent in coming weeks as Congress reorganizes and the new administration names its leadership. Washington advertising and marketing association officials suggest that the election's focus on the economy and health care could mean many marketing issues would take a back seat, but that doesn't ease their worries. Their biggest concerns: A major debate about health care could prompt discussion of limiting direct-to-consumer drug ads and perhaps of ad taxes.
http://benton.org/node/18589
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WHAT'S THE HILL'S NEW MAKEUP MEAN TO TV?
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Kim McAvoy]
What will the Senate and House Commerce Committees look like in 2009? In the House, Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) and Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) handily won re-election, but Rep Henry Waxman (D-CA) apparently wants to challenge Rep Dingell for the chairmanship. Rep Waxman currently chairs the Oversight and Government Reform panel. Five Republican members are leaving: Barbara Cubin (Wyoming), Chip Pickering (Mississippi), Heather Wilson (NM), Mike Ferguson (NJ) and Vito Fossella (NY). None ran for re-election; all five served on the Telecommunications Subcommittee. Because of change in partisan balance in the House, some of the Republican vacancies on the committee may not be filled or filled with Democrats. In the Senate, Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) were in close races, but John Sununu (R-NH) was defeated. All other members of the Senate Commerce Committee were either re-elected or not up for re-election. Committee members who won a return ticket to Washington were Sens Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), John Kerry (D-MA), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas). There's speculation that Sen Rockefeller could chair the Committee.
http://benton.org/node/18588
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ELECTIONS & MEDIA
OBAMA AND MCCAIN CAMPAIGNS HACKED
[SOURCE: Newsweek, AUTHOR: ]
The computer systems of both the Obama and McCain campaigns were victims of a sophisticated cyberattack by an unknown "foreign entity," prompting a federal investigation. Officials at the FBI and the White House told the Obama campaign that they believed a foreign entity or organization sought to gather information on the evolution of both camps' policy positions—information that might be useful in negotiations with a future administration. The Feds assured the Obama team that it had not been hacked by its political opponents. (Obama technical experts later speculated that the hackers were Russian or Chinese.) A security firm retained by the Obama campaign took steps to secure its computer system and end the intrusion. White House and FBI officials had no comment earlier this week.
http://benton.org/node/18586
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BLACK TV IS WEARING ITS POLITICS ON ITS SLEEVE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Stelter]
BET, cable's most prominent channel that features programs for black viewers, celebrated Senator Barack Obama's presidential victory on Wednesday by dropping its regular schedule and saluting the country's first African-American president-elect. Making no secret of their favored candidate, Mr. Johnson and other commentators virtually held the viewer's hand and assured them that the dream of so many African-Americans had, in fact, come true. On traditional television networks, too, some black journalists shared their emotions on Tuesday night as Mr. Obama's win was projected. A number of commentators appeared misty-eyed as they spoke about the historic nature of the night. In interviews on Wednesday, several correspondents said their personal reflections about the election had no impact on their reporting.
http://benton.org/node/18599
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ELECTION WEB SITES PLOT TO HOLD THEIR VIEWERS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Russell Adams, Shira Ovide]
Rather than retrench and wait for 2012, many of the election-focused Web sites that fed the public's passion for politics and polls during the presidential race are instead considering expansion. Some of these outlets view 2008 as a crossroads in American politics that has permanently elevated the public's interest in government. Others hope to preserve their audiences by shifting to more timely or timeless topics. The founder of fivethirtyeight.com, the six-month-old site that uses an algorithm to forecast the outcome of elections, says he's considering applying the site's predictive tools to congressional votes, movies' box-office performance and other topics. Meanwhile, Politico and Politicker plan to syndicate more content to traditional news organizations, filling the void in political coverage left by newspaper staff cuts. For the Huffington Post, the left-leaning blog founded in May 2005 by Arianna Huffington and Kenneth Lerer, the blueprint for life after Nov. 4 was drawn long before the election wound down. The site launched pages dedicated to media, business and entertainment at the end of its first year. More recently it has added topic areas and expanded into local coverage with a site focused on Chicago. Ms. Huffington also plans a local San Francisco site and an expanded international news section.
http://benton.org/node/18598
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OBAMA WINS BATTLE FOR THE ONLINE BUZZ
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Daisy Whitney]
Not only did Barack Obama come away with the election last night, he also tallied up more social media buzz during the last year, according to data from online tracking service Trendrr. Sen Obama had the advantage in news mentions, blog buzz, MySpace followers and number of videos on YouTube, Trendrr said. On Election Day, Sen Obama had been "tagged" in 665,000 YouTube videos, while Sen McCain had been tagged in 351,000.
http://benton.org/node/18585
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WHAT MARKETERS CAN LEARN FROM OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Al Ries]
Nov. 4, 2008, will go down in history as the biggest day ever in the history of marketing. Take a relatively unknown man. Younger than all of his opponents. Black. With a bad-sounding name. Consider his first opponent: the best-known woman in America, connected to one of the most successful politicians in history. Then consider his second opponent: a well-known war hero with a long, distinguished record as a US senator. It didn't matter. Barack Obama had a better marketing strategy than either of them. "Change." The strategy? If you tell the truth often enough and keep repeating it, the truth gets bigger and bigger, creating an aura of legitimacy and authenticity.
http://benton.org/node/18584
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THE VOTE: A VICTORY FOR SOCIAL MEDIA, TOO
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Arik Hesseldahl, Douglas MacMillan, Olga Kharif]
The 2008 contest for the White House may go down in history as the first social media election. How else to explain the unprecedented role the Web played in this year's Presidential contest, an influence scarcely imaginable just four years ago? In 2004 many social networking sites were just getting off the blocks. YouTube, for example, was introduced early the following year. And microblogging sites like Twitter wouldn't emerge until the 2008 Presidential campaign was getting under way. It's not just that individual voters had access to a wider range of information about candidates and their positions on issues. Unlike in any other Presidential election, the electorate could harness a panoply of social media tools -- blogs, social networks, photo and video sharing sites -- to broadcast to the world their thoughts about the candidates and their experiences of the electoral process. Voters' willingness to bring the democratic process to the Web was made most plain on Nov. 4. While the act of voting has traditionally been considered a private activity, on this Election Day voters enthusiastically parted the voting booth curtain to share their experiences on the Internet.
http://benton.org/node/18583
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ELECTION NIGHT DRAWS 78+ MILLION TV VIEWERS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: ]
Over 78 million Americans watched prime-time television coverage of US election night on Tuesday, a 21 percent increase from the presidential election in 2004. The other 227 million Americans were in Chicago's Grant Park.
http://benton.org/node/18582
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THE ECONOMY
IBM HAS TECH ANSWER FOR WOES OF ECONOMY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Steve Lohr]
IBM is proposing a technology-fueled economic recovery plan that calls for public and private investment in more efficient systems for utility grids, traffic management, food distribution, water conservation and health care. The proposal has a self-serving side. IBM is increasingly playing the role of lead contractor in these so-called smart infrastructure projects around the world, from a traffic management network in Stockholm to electric grids in Texas. Some economists and policy experts say similar projects are a good way to improve the long-term health of the economy, potentially providing a foundation for innovation and growth across a range of industries. Applying more computing intelligence to help transform fields like transportation, energy and health care will be "critical to solving an array of pressing public problems," said Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a nonpartisan research group.
http://benton.org/node/18600
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TWO MEDIA GIANTS REPORT SHARPLY DIFFERING RESULTS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Tim Arango]
News Corp and Time Warner, two of the world's biggest media conglomerates, reported quarterly earnings Wednesday that were starkly different, and their chief executives struck different tones about how the economic downturn is affecting the media and entertainment world. Rupert Murdoch expects the current crisis to persist through at least 2009, calling circumstances "extremely challenging for media" and anticipating a "prolonged economic slump." Jeffrey Bewkes declared that "our businesses have proved to be resilient" in the challenging environment.
http://benton.org/node/18595
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
GOOGLE PULLS OUT OF YAHOO ADVERTISING PARTNERSHIP
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Joelle Tessler, Michael Liedtke]
Google and Yahoo have scrapped their Internet advertising partnership, abandoning attempts to overcome the objections of antitrust regulators and customers who believed the alliance would give Google too much power over online commerce. The retreat announced Wednesday represented another setback for Yahoo, which had been counting on the Google deal to boost its annual revenue by $800 million and placate shareholders still incensed by management's decision to reject a $47.5 billion takeover bid from Microsoft nearly six months ago. Without Google's help, Yahoo now may feel more pressure to renew talks with Microsoft and ultimately sell for a price well below the $33 per share that Microsoft offered in May. Yahoo shares traded Wednesday morning at just $13.67, up 2.4 percent on the day. Surrendering the chance to sell ads on Yahoo's popular Web site won't be a significant financial blow for Google, which already runs the Internet's largest and most prosperous advertising network. But the capitulation marks a rare comedown for Google, which had been insisting for more than four months that the Internet would be a better place to do business if it were allowed to work with Yahoo. "For the first time, Google has run into real opposition to its marketplace goals," said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a consumer advocacy group. "Google is aware that its aggressive moves in the online advertising business are potentially contributing to damaging its brand. The perception of Google has changed."
http://benton.org/node/18587
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LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION -- AND BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Peter Svensson]
In less than a decade, broadband has gone from a luxury to a must for many people, and for some of them, it's started to influence their real-estate decisions. Homes that have broadband are winning out over more remote ones that don't. Areas with better and faster broadband are becoming more desirable than ones with slower access. There are several intersecting trends at play. One is that our reliance on broadband is increasing. About 55 percent of Americans have broadband at home, according to a recent survey from the Pew Internet and American Life Project — although more people have service available to them and don't buy it. But the spread of broadband is slowing down. Getting the last 10 percent or so of homes connected is an expensive proposition, because they're in small communities or far from other homes. Over time, the lack of universal broadband, along with higher gasoline prices, could pull people from the countryside toward cities and suburbs.
http://benton.org/node/18581
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FCC Releases ICC/USF ORDER
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission has released an Order adopted on Tuesday, Nov 4 on comprehensive reform of the intercarrier compensation regime and universal service. On universal service, the Commission declined to implement the recommendations of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service released nearly one year ago. The Commission did request comment, however, on new rules proposed by FCC Chairman Martin.
http://benton.org/node/18597
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WHITE SPACES: THE WAIT FOR DEVICES
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Stephen Wildstrom]
[Commentary] It is going to be some time before products emerge to take advantage of "white spaces." I think the 12 to 18 months predicted by Federal Communications commission Chairman Kevin Martin is probably wildly optimistic. Wildstrom thinks the freeing of the white space spectrum will ultimately be a big boost to mobile wireless. Just don't expect to find a white space-capable handheld in you Christmas stocking this year, or next, or maybe in 2010.
http://benton.org/node/18596
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MALAY BLOGGER FIGHTS A SYSTEM HE PERFECTED
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Seth Mydans]
Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has become an irritant and a spoiler five years after stepping down, turning against his handpicked successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and falling victim to the press controls he perfected as prime minister. "Where is the press freedom?" he asked two years ago, apparently surprised at being suddenly ignored. "Broadcast what I have to say! What I say is not even accurately published in the press!" This May, though, he discovered the power of the Internet. Like many other inconvenient critics, he joined what seemed to be a political wave of the future, creating his own blog where he vents in English and Malay several times a week. Around the region bloggers are becoming a Fifth Estate, challenging the government's monopoly on information in Singapore, evading censors in Vietnam, and influencing events in places like Thailand, Cambodia and China.
http://benton.org/node/18594
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TELECOM
CLEARWIRE STILL SEES CHALLENGES AFTER FCC OK
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Stephen Lawson]
Benjamin Wolff, CEO of Clearwire, said its work is just beginning after the Federal Communications Commission's approval Tuesday of the company's joint venture with Sprint Nextel. The FCC voted on Tuesday to allow Clearwire and Sprint to form New Clearwire, a service provider that will combine the frequencies held by both entities and eventually build a national mobile broadband network. But the two carriers still only have one commercially available mobile WiMax network between them, in Baltimore, and the national infrastructure will have to be built from scratch in a harsh economic environment. "I think the challenges are just beginning, to be candid," Wolff said. He cited the logistics of deploying as many as 37,000 cells, making sure technology from several infrastructure providers works together and working with device manufacturers to design products that are easy for consumers to use. Unlike cell phones, those will be sold by retailers, with no carrier subsidy.
http://benton.org/node/18579
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SPRINT FACES $1.2 BILLION FEDERAL SUIT OVER EARLY TERMINATION FEES
[SOURCE: San Francisco Business Times, AUTHOR: ]
Sprint Nextel faces a $1.2 billion federal class-action lawsuit because of early-termination fees the company charged. In July, a California state court ruled that Sprint must refund $73 million to affected customers. That ruling is not yet final. Earlier this month, Sprint began pro-rating the penalties charged to new or renewing customers who cancel contracts early. Scott Bursor, who represented the plaintiffs in California, fills the same role for the federal class-action suit, filed Oct. 29 in a U.S. District Court in California. The lawsuit alleges that the $150 to $200 fees violated the Federal Communications Act and laws in every state, and says the fees from 1999 to present total about $1.2 billion.
http://benton.org/node/18578
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CABLE
FCC OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO CABLE TV PRICING
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz, Vishesh Kumar]
The Federal Communications Commission is investigating why some cable-television subscribers are paying the same amount of money even as they are losing channels. The Commission recently sent letters of inquiry to 11 cable companies and Verizon asking about pricing and changes they have made to their tiers of service, including details about channels that have been moved to digital service. Some consumers are complaining that they are getting fewer channels now on their analog cable service, as cable companies move channels to more-expensive, digital tiers. Once a channel is moved to a digital tier, it is unavailable to analog customers, who still make up about 40% of cable subscribers. Agency officials said the investigation stems from concerns that cable companies could be trying to use the transition to digital-only television broadcasts in February to lure their subscribers to move to these more-expensive digital tiers. Cable subscribers don't have to do anything to prepare for the digital transition, because that will affect only consumers who rely on TV sets using antennas. Cable subscribers aren't required to upgrade to digital tiers of service, either.
http://benton.org/node/18580
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