Dec 8, 2008 (Obama Pledges Universal Broadband)

"It is unacceptable that the United States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption. Here, in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online."
-- President-Elect Barack Obama http://benton.org/node/19610

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY DECEMBER 8, 2008

This week's events include: 1) the Broadband Breakfast Club on How Applications and Broadband Mapping Harness Demand for High-Speed Internet and 2) a Policymaker's Guide to Network Management. See http://www.benton.org/calendar

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Addressing the Economy, Obama Pledges Universal Broadband
   Universal Broadband, Economic Development and Job Creation
   How Should a Rural Fiber Fund Work?
   Retail's Future: Net Ads, Ecommerce
   Thieves Winning Online War, Maybe Even in Your Computer
   BT calls on Ofcom to raise access charges

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   New Cyber Security Push Is Urged
   Panel to Call for Review of Wiretapping of Scholar

TELECOM
   PacBell v. linkLine: Case on Monopolizing the DSL Market to be heard Dec 8
   Quad-play overrated for cable, analyst says
   Vodafone, Western Union Offer Transfers Via Cell

THE ECONOMY
   Tribune Flirting with Bankruptcy
   Stoking Fear Everywhere You Look
   Downturn creates drama at NBC

POLICYMAKERS
   FCC Commissioner Tate wants DRM, ISP filtering, new job

THE PC
   PC premiered 40 years ago to awed crowd

QUICKLY -- Dorr Resigns from USDA Post; Adults and Video Games; Ball State Launches $17.7 Million Emerging Media Initiative

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INTERNET/BROADBAND

OBAMA PLEDGES PUBLIC WORKS ON A VAST SCALE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Peter Baker, John Broder]
President-elect Barack Obama promised Saturday to create the largest public works construction program since the inception of the interstate highway system a half century ago as he seeks to put together a plan to resuscitate the reeling economy. Obama's remarks showcased his ambition to expand the definition of traditional work programs for the middle class, like infrastructure projects to repair roads and bridges, to include new-era jobs in technology and so-called green jobs that reduce energy use and global warming emissions. The plan would cover a range of programs to expand broadband Internet access, to make government buildings more energy efficient, to improve information technology at hospitals and doctors' offices, and to upgrade computers in schools. Paul Bledsoe, a former Clinton White House energy adviser, said, "He is advocating things like guaranteeing every American a college education, wiring the entire country for Internet, putting in a smart electric grid. If he can do it, these will be major systemic advantages for the United States in the competitive global economy." [more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/19608
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UNIVERSAL BROADBAND, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND JOB CREATION
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Jonathan Rintels]
Economic and job creation success stories are more likely to take place not in the United States, but in countries with a more competitive combination of robust, affordable broadband and well-trained knowledge-workers. That is why in today's world, America requires a well-considered National Broadband Strategy. This is not just a matter of creating jobs and stimulating economic growth here at home; ultimately, it is a matter of economic necessity and survival in the globally-connected and competitive marketplace. The qualitative and quantitative evidence is clear and consistent: at the individual, local/community, and national levels, the deployment of fast, reliable, and affordable broadband will stimulate tremendous economic development and create hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of good-paying jobs that might otherwise be lost or go offshore. A well-educated population is essential to retaining America's competitiveness in the global economy. The ever-increasing knowledge and skill demands of the 21st century require that secondary school preparation and requirements be better aligned with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in postsecondary education and the workforce. To promote significant and sustained economic development and job creation, and enhance America's economic and technological competitiveness versus other nations, the new Administration must take swift and bold action that will once again make the United States a world leader in advanced telecommunications infrastructure. [more at the url below]
http://www.benton.org/initiatives/broadband_benefits/action_plan/economic_development
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HOW SHOULD A RURAL FIBER FUND WORK?
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] Daily has been running a series on the idea of a rural fiber fund to accelerate the fastest Internet connections in the most underserved parts of America. How big does the fund need to be? $30 billion could be enough to fully fund wiring all of rural America (all US cities with populations below 20,000). How should the government support be structured? The government doesn't need to write a big check, it needs to step in and guarantee these risky, long-term infrastructure investments. Daily sees the Department of Agriculture.
http://benton.org/node/19606
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RETAIL'S FUTURE: NET ADS, ECOMMERCE
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Diane Mermigas]
[Commentary] A record number of consumers are choosing to shop online this gloomy holiday season because the instant price comparisons, social-network recommendations, free shipping and other interactive tools save time and money. It is a behavioral shift that is permanently changing commerce and advertising in ways that Madison Avenue has yet to fully grasp. The recession is compelling consumers to discover better, cheaper ways to accomplish the mission online. Pitching a product or service isn't enough--even if it is to highly targeted connected consumers. Retailers are also advertisers; they must embrace interactivity to achieve their fundamental objective: the consumer esale. Advertisers' aggressive adoption of new online marketing and ecommerce business models could prove an ironic and valuable byproduct of challenging times.
http://benton.org/node/19604
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THIEVES WINNING ONLINE WAR, MAYBE EVEN IN YOUR COMPUTER
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Markoff]
Internet security is broken, and nobody seems to know quite how to fix it. Despite the efforts of the computer security industry and a half-decade struggle by Microsoft to protect its Windows operating system, malicious software is spreading faster than ever. The so-called malware surreptitiously takes over a PC and then uses that computer to spread more malware to other machines exponentially. Computer scientists and security researchers acknowledge they cannot get ahead of the onslaught. As more business and social life has moved onto the Web, criminals thriving on an underground economy of credit card thefts, bank fraud and other scams rob computer users of an estimated $100 billion a year, according to a conservative estimate by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. With vast resources from stolen credit card and other financial information, the cyberattackers are handily winning a technology arms race.
http://benton.org/node/19601
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BT CALLS ON OFCOM TO RAISE ACCESS FEES
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Tim Bradshaw]
BT has threatened to withhold investment in fibre-optic broadband if Ofcom fails to raise the price it can charge rivals to access its copper-wire network, as a row intensified between the regulator and the former telecoms monopolist. BT investors are concerned about the costs of deploying a nationwide high-speed broadband network, which the government sees as a high priority for Britain's international competitiveness. However, Ofcom warned: "If companies like BT don't invest in high speed broadband, others certainly will and are already doing so." It has already proposed that the market, not regulators, should dictate pricing for fibre networks, rendering the comparison with regulation of BT's existing network inappropriate. Ofcom on Friday proposed BT should be able to raise the prices that its Openreach business can charge rival broadband providers for access to its network, ahead of a consultation.
http://benton.org/node/19615
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

NEW CYBER SECURITY PUSH IS URGED
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Siobhan Gorman]
A commission of technology experts will propose consolidating cyber security work under a top White House official and using diplomatic, intelligence and military tools to confront threats in cyberspace. The new White House post is likely to be the most controversial of the commission's recommendations, which will be released Monday. In its report, the commission compared the job to that of the director of national intelligence. The cyber chief would report to the president and have his own staff of 10 to 20 people who would work with a beefed-up National Security Council cyber staff and federal agencies to implement the president's cyber policies. [more at URL below]
http://benton.org/node/19619
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PANEL TO CALL FOR REVIEW OF WIRETAPPING OF SCHOLAR
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Eric Lichtblau, James Risen]
A Congressional oversight panel plans to ask the National Security Agency to start an investigation into new evidence that the agency illegally wiretapped a Muslim scholar in Northern Virginia and concealed the eavesdropping during a 2005 trial in which the scholar was convicted on terrorism charges. Rep Rush Holt (D-NJ), chairman of the Select Intelligence Oversight Panel, said in an interview that he planned to ask the inspector general of the NSA to open what would be the first formal investigation by the agency into whether its eavesdropping program had improperly interfered with an American's right to a fair trial.
http://benton.org/node/19618
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TELECOM

PACIFIC BELL TELEPHONE V LINKLINE COMMUNICATIONS
[SOURCE: onthedocket.org, AUTHOR: ]
On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Pacific Bell Telephone Co. v. linkLine Communications. The case could decide whether a company not obligated under antitrust law to sell to others at wholesale prices can be held liable for variations in its wholesale and retail price levels. In 2003, several Internet service providers, including Linkline Communications Inc., filed suit against Pacific Bell Telephone Co., contending that the AT&T unit monopolized and attempted to monopolize the relevant DSL Internet services market, in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act, by, among other things, "creat[ing] a price squeeze by charging ISPs a high wholesale price in relation to the price at which defendants were providing retail services." Pacific Bell asked the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to dismiss the case on the grounds that the U.S. Supreme Court's 2004 decision in Verizon Comms. Inc. v. Law Offices of Curtis V. Trinko compelled judgment in its favor. The district court denied that motion, holding that "because a price-squeeze claim is actionable under existing antitrust standards, and because the Ninth Circuit has upheld the viability of price-squeeze claims in the context of highly regulated industries, Trinko does not bar Plaintiffs' price-squeeze claim."
http://benton.org/node/19603
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QUAD-PLAY OVERRATED FOR CABLE, ANALYST SAYS
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Sarah Reedy]
Despite the oft-discussed benefits of the bundle and the relatively recession-proof nature of wireless, AT&T and Verizon Wireless are essentially the only major US operators to offer a true quad-play today. Cable companies are making moves in the wireless space, but at least one industry analyst is not convinced they should even bother with a wireless service at all. According to Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett, academic research shows that bundles have a negative utility in economic terms, meaning customers have to be compensated for agreeing to accept restricted choice. The argument in favor of wireless is that competing telcos have it and, as more cable customers cut the cord on their landlines, they must turn to wireless to stay competitive. Moffett calls this theory thin.
http://benton.org/node/19602
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VODAFONE, WESTERN UNION OFFER TRANSFERS VIA CELL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amol Sharma]
Vodafone Group PLC plans to announce a partnership Monday with Western Union Co. to allow international money transfers via mobile phones, as the wireless carrier seeks to tap into the increasing flow of cross-border remittances.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122869576629386747.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace
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THE ECONOMY

TRIBUNE FLIRTING WITH BANKRUPTCY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Richard Perez-Pena, Michael de la Merced]
The Tribune Company, the newspaper chain that owns The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times, is trying to negotiate new terms with its creditors and has hired advisers for a possible bankruptcy filing. Tribune is in danger of falling below the cash flow required under its agreement with its bondholders, but it is not clear how seriously Tribune is thinking about seeking bankruptcy protection. Analysts and bankruptcy experts say that the hiring of advisers, including Lazard and Sidley Austin, one of the company's longtime law firms, could be a just-in-case move, or a bargaining tactic. With the help of a favorable Federal Communications Commission waiver, Tribune went private last December, paying more than $8 billion in a deal that put Samuel Zell, a real estate billionaire, in control of the company. It has struggled since then under the resulting debt, forcing deep cuts at its newspapers. It also sold Newsday to raise cash. The Tribune Company owns 23 TV stations and 12 newspapers, including two of the eight largest in the country by circulation. [more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/19620
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STOKING FEAR EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Carr]
[Commentary] Every modern recession includes a media séance about how horrible things are and how much worse they will be, but there have never been so many ways for the fear to leak in. The same digital dynamics that drove the irrational exuberance — and marketed the loans to help it happen — are now driving the downside in unprecedented ways. The recession was actually not officially declared until last week, but the psychology that drives it had already been e-mailed, blogged and broadcast for months. I used to worry that my TiVo thought I was gay — doesn't everyone enjoy a little "Project Runway" at the end of a long, hard week? Now I worry that my browser knows I am about to lose my job.
http://benton.org/node/19617
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DOWNTURN CREATES DRAMA AT NBC
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Meg James]
General Electric plans to announce this week that it will merge its two programming groups -- one at the NBC network and the other at its television production studio -- into one unit. The restructuring, which could save the company millions of dollars a year in overhead, comes as the TV industry braces for advertisers to dramatically scale back their purchase of commercial time next year, pressuring revenues and eroding profit margins. NBC's move could signal a shift in how television shows, which underpin the Hollywood economy, are bought and sold. NBC, one of the largest producers of programs for all the networks, could decide to retrench by producing shows only for one of the channels the company already owns -- leading to fewer jobs for actors, writers and scores of people who work "below the line" making TV programs. It is not unusual in the TV industry for rivals to team up and produce shows, in effect helping a competitor make money. Although a particular show may not fit well on one network's schedule, it can often prosper on another, which generates income for both.
http://benton.org/node/19616
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POLICYMAKERS

FCC COMMISSIONER TATE WANTS DRM, ISP FILTERING, NEW JOB
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
[Commentary] Five commissioners head the Federal Communications Commission. Most of its decisions remain arcane and of interest only to specialists, but this year alone, the Commission has taken assertive steps against certain P2P throttling techniques and in favor of white space devices in high-profile cases have a direct impact on your end-user Internet experience. So, when one of the five commissioners gives a speech (PDF) in which DRM is praised as "very effective," ISP filtering is portrayed as a Great Leap Forward, and a government partnership with the RIAA to "educate" schoolkids is promoted, it matters. Fortunately, however, it won't matter for too much longer. Commissioner Tate won't be around for much longer at the FCC. Frankly, given statements like "digital fingerprinting and watermarking would not be possible if net neutrality is enforced in its harshest form," that looks to be a good thing.
http://benton.org/node/19614
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THE PC

PC PREMIERED 40 YEARS AGO TO AWED CROWD
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Charles Burress]
Little did the world realize 40 years ago that a San Francisco stage was featuring the first public glimpse of an invention that would revolutionize not only our daily lives but also our ability to solve the world's problems. An audience of about 1,000 people had witnessed the premiere of the personal computer. The Dec. 9, 1968, unveiling of the primitive device with a mouse and interactive screen - in a now-legendary demonstration by its inventor, Douglas Engelbart of the Stanford Research Institute - drew a rousing, standing ovation from the computing cognoscenti who recognized the significance of what they had just seen. The machine raised hopes of solving a major modern quandary - how to navigate the world's rapidly accumulating and increasingly complex store of information. That year's fledgling efforts to navigate the physical universe in spaceships seemed ponderous and slow compared to the prospect of speeding through the universe of information in the digital ships promised by the new computers. The invention featured rudimentary windows and hyperlinks that allowed jumping from one document to another, as well as the ability to edit text and add graphics on a video monitor. The presentation also offered a peek at future computer networks that would become the Internet.
http://benton.org/node/19621
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QUICKLY

SCHAFER ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION OF AGRICULTURE UNDER SECRETARY THOMAS DORR
[SOURCE: US Department of Agriculture, AUTHOR: Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer]
On November 5, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer announced the resignation, effective December 1, 2008, of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas C. Dorr who joined USDA in 2001. Dorr led USDA's rural broadband program launch (authorized initially in 2002) which is aimed at ensuring universal access to affordable broadband even in low-density rural areas.
http://benton.org/node/19605
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ADULTS AND VIDEO GAMES
[SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: Amanda Lenhart, Sydney Jones, Alexandra Rankin Macgill]
More than half - 53% - of all American adults play video games of some kind, whether on a computer, on a gaming console, on a cell phone or other handheld device, on a portable gaming device, or online. Age is the biggest demographic factor in game play by adults. Younger adults are significantly more likely than any other game group to play games, and as age increases game play decreases. [more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/19599
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BALL STATE LAUNCHES $17.7 MILLION EMERGING MEDIA INITIATIVE
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Joe Mandese]
Ball State University unveiled a major initiative designed to advance the study of emerging media and to better prepare students for careers in a rapidly changing digital economy. The program, backed by $17.7 million in funding over the next five years from a combination of institutional and private sector sources, is another in a series of commitments the Indiana state university has made to become an area of academic excellence for the media industry. [more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/19600
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