September 14, 2015 (City Broadband Plans)

INTERNET/BROADBAND

CITY BROADBAND PLANS: ONE VISION, FOUR MARKETS, FOUR ISSUES
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Blair Levin]
[Commentary] My message today is simple: every city needs its own broadband plan. When we did the national broadband plan we were about the 20th country to write one. Now, nearly 150 countries have. A plan has become table stakes for countries wanting to participate of the 21st Century Information Economy. With cities, we’re where we were with countries in 2010. Several dozen have done them. They’ve been productive for those pioneers. But now, such a plan is becoming table stakes for any city that want its residents to be part of the 21st Century Information Economy. Today I will address three questions:
Why do cities need a broadband plan?
Given today’s market, how should different cities approach their planning effort?
What issues should such a plan address?
https://www.benton.org/blog/city-broadband-plans-one-vision-four-markets...
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GOOGLE FIBER
[SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Jeff Ward-Bailey]
Even though Google Fiber is expanding slowly, the service is having an effect in lots of other cities. That’s because existing providers such as Comcast and AT&T are rolling out their own super-fast Internet services in cities where Google Fiber is being built, or where Google is rumored to be considering a build. Google doesn’t have the resources to roll out fiber service in every city that wants it. But the growing number of Google Fiber installations shows that there’s a demand for super-fast Internet, and it puts competitive pressure on incumbent providers to roll out their own fiber services.
benton.org/headlines/how-google-fiber-changes-cities-its-chosen | Christian Science Monitor
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THE ROAD TO BROADBAND IS PAVED WITH THE BEST INTENTIONS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Ken McEldowney]
[Commentary] In our view, it would be a grave mistake to force low-income consumers who legitimately need access to telephone Lifeline for educational, health and job reasons to sacrifice that service in order to get broadband. Consumer choice is a wonderful thing, but not if it means choosing between two vital services. Telephone Lifeline should be preserved in full and the system used to reimburse participating companies should be kept in place. The Federal Communications Commission has spent years coming up with effective reforms to make wireless Lifeline an efficient program. It makes no sense to ditch that considerable progress in favor of an entirely new and unproven system to handle the addition of broadband to Lifeline. If the FCC wants to offer low-income consumers access to broadband, which they should, a totally separate subsidy program should be set up to do it. One answer to the question of how this could be funded would be to apply the Lifeline surcharge to broadband charges for other consumers. Doing so would be consistent with how telephone Lifeline is currently funded.
[McEldowney is executive director of the nonprofit Consumer Action, which is based in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco'
benton.org/headlines/road-broadband-paved-best-intentions | Hill, The
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FCC'S INTERNET RULES ARE ALREADY WORKING
[SOURCE: Eureka Times-Standard, AUTHOR: Timothy Karr]
[Commentary] In her recent column “Congress must protect health of the Internet,” Pat Fong Kushida trots out a litany of allegations against the Federal Communications Commission’s Network Neutrality protections. The FCC rules will “dramatically curtail investments in new networks,” she claims. She adds that the FCC ruling “abandons the longstanding bipartisan agreement on light Internet regulation.” In reality, the rules haven’t hurt investment in the slightest, and there’s no plausible reason to suspect they will. Since the FCC restored these protections for Internet users in February, we’ve seen Comcast begin to roll out new gigabit fiber services to 18 million locations. Time Warner Cable has accelerated its network upgrades. And AT&T recently announced plans to double its deployment of next-generation broadband services. The Title II protections that Kushida disdains were actually authorized by a bipartisan vote of Congress in 1996. The FCC followed congressional guidelines when it restored them in 2015 -- after millions of people of every political stripe urged the agency to do just that. And it explicitly forbore, or prohibited itself from, the type of heavy-handed rate regulation she now claims the FCC intends to implement. The rules are working. Broadband providers and Internet content companies are investing, and consumers can rest easy knowing that their rights to connect and communicate will be upheld.
[Timothy Karr is senior director of strategy for Free Press]
benton.org/headlines/fccs-internet-rules-are-already-working | Eureka Times-Standard
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OWNERSHIP

THE CHARTER TRANSACTION: STATUS UPDATE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Jon Sallet]
With the filing of the proposed Charter-Time Warner Cable-Bright House Networks transaction, the Federal Communications Commission staff went to work, first by reviewing the application for completeness and then, when it was officially accepted for consideration, by beginning the analysis of whether the proposed transaction meets the FCC's public-interest standard. Now, the staff review enters its second phase, when others can contribute their views to the FCC's consideration. The Media Bureau issued a Public Notice establishing the timeline for public comment, shortly after the FCC adopted a Protective Order to be used in the consideration of this transaction. The first set of public comments will be due on October 13, 2015 and today also marks the beginning of the so-called shot clock, which begins the 180-day period in which the FCC endeavors to complete its review. The goal of the transaction review is both simple and profound: To assess whether the applicants have met their burden of demonstrating that the transaction is in the public interest. The FCC conducts that work in close collaboration with the Department of Justice, in concert with the statutory command of the Communications Act and, as always, with a detailed analysis of the particular facts.
benton.org/headlines/charter-transaction-status-update | Federal Communications Commission
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PRIVACY/SECURITY

HOW THE GOVERNMENT SURVEILS CELLPHONES: A PRIMER
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: Robinson Meyer]
The state of cellphone tracking became slightly more confusing. The US Department of Justice announced that, except in emergency situations, federal agents would now seek warrants before using "Stingrays." Stingrays are devices that mimic cellphone towers and can pinpoint a phone’s physical location or record which number they’re calling. For people who follow the issue closely, like the American Civil Liberties Union, the news was welcome if limited. But for many, it made the situation around cellphone surveillance even trickier than it was before. How many different ways can the government surveil cellphones? What can each method do? Here’s a primer. If law enforcement wants to surveil your cellphone, they have two ways to do it. They can do it through a phone company; or they can do it directly, using a device like a Stingray.
benton.org/headlines/how-government-surveils-cellphones-primer | Atlantic, The
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WHY PRIVACY IS NOT ABOUT ME ANYMORE
[SOURCE: International Association of Privacy Professionals, AUTHOR: Emily Leach]
[Commentary] For many people -- notably those with physical disabilities -- online choices are not simply a matter of convenience, they are a matter of independence, control, cost and even privacy. When downloading an app means being able to go to the doctor without having to bring a sign-language interpreter with you, the decision may be a financial one, or a matter of privacy or both. Mapping apps that offer audio turn-by-turn directions can mean visually impaired individuals getting where they want to go without assistance, offering them independence and control. These types of online tools and services can provide huge benefits for all kinds of people -- but particularly for those with physical disabilities. In terms of data privacy, I am the lowest common denominator, and protecting data shouldn’t be about the lowest common denominator. It shouldn’t be about me and my want of convenience.
benton.org/headlines/why-privacy-not-about-me-anymore | International Association of Privacy Professionals
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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS

TV INCENTIVE AUCTION TIMING AND PROCEDURES BECOME CLEARER
[SOURCE: Broadcast Law Blog, AUTHOR: David Oxenford]
[Commentary] The Incentive Auction, by which the Federal Communications Commission is to pay TV stations to surrender their spectrum and then resell that spectrum to wireless carriers, is to begin on March 29, 2016. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said that broadcasters will be indicating their intent to participate in the auction around Thanksgiving (by filing initial auction applications), and wireless companies will be filing their initial applications around the first of the year indicating their intent to participate in the second phase of the auction to buy up the spectrum surrendered by broadcasters. Note that these dates are all very general, so you’ll need to watch as specific guidance is provided by the FCC.
benton.org/headlines/tv-incentive-auction-timing-and-procedures-become-clearer | Broadcast Law Blog
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FCC COMMISSIONER O'RIELLY REMARKS BEFORE THE RURAL WIRELESS ASSOCIATION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly]
The best way for the Federal Communications Commission to help rural broadband deployment is to ensure that it minimizes burdens on all industry participants, but especially small and rural providers that are disproportionately affected by the costs of regulation. From the various E911 proceedings and Net Neutrality to information collections, the FCC must take into account the bottom line of rural and small businesses. Not only do smaller staffs mean that regulatory burdens divert time and resources away from delivering service to consumers, but smaller businesses do not have the power to influence markets or the ability to snap their fingers to affect technology changes or acquire the latest equipment and devices.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-commissioner-orielly-remarks-rural-wireless-association | Federal Communications Commission
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TELEVISION

STUDIO TO FCC: HANDS OFF SYNDEX/NONDUPE...FOR NOW
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Motion Picture Association of America has asked the Federal Communications Commission not eliminate the syndicated exclusivity and network nonduplication rules until and unless Congress eliminates the compulsory licenses that allow cable operators to carry distant and local TV station content without negotiating separately with content providers--like those studios. "The FCC should not go forward with its proposal to eliminate the rules," MPAA said. According to a letter to the chairman and commissioners dated Sept. 10, MPAA said that rather than taking the government's finger off the scale of negotiations, as FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler suggested eliminating the rules would do, it would instead "remove an essential counterbalance to the government-created compulsory copyright licenses, jeopardizing the ability of program suppliers to provide viewers with robust and diverse programming." MPAA also said that excising the rules would counter Congress' assessment in the STELAR satellite bill that the FCC needed to gather additional info before taking action on the exclusivity rules.
benton.org/headlines/studios-fcc-hands-syndexnondupefor-now | Broadcasting&Cable
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RIGHT TO TINKER

THE RIGHT TO TINKER
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Nick Leiber]
A few decades ago, you could take your newest piece of technology, be it a TV or tractor, to the repair shop of your choice, or try to fix it yourself. That’s usually no longer the case, as hardware increasingly comes loaded with copyrighted software. To varying degrees, many of the world’s biggest electronics manufacturers limit access to the information and equipment necessary for do-it-yourself maintenance and repairs. The Digital Right to Repair Coalition, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and other advocates support bills introduced in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New York that would require manufacturers to sell parts and provide manuals to hardware owners and independent repair shops. Separate efforts in Congress would amend the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act by giving explicit permission for consumers to circumvent a manufacturer’s digital lock on its software for a lawful reason such as repair. “The problem isn’t current law, but lack of law,” says the Digital Right to Repair Coalition’s Gordon-Byrne. Until consumer rights are clearly legislated, “Manufacturers have carte blanche to limit anything they wish.”
benton.org/headlines/fight-fix-your-iphone-and-other-stuff | Bloomberg
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

BAIDU-CLOUDFLARE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Paul Mozur]
Using a mixture of CloudFlare’s web traffic technology and Baidu’s network of data centers in China, the two created a service that enables websites to load more quickly across China’s border. The service, called Yunjiasu, began operating in December. It has a unified network that makes foreign sites more easily accessible in China, and allows Chinese sites to run in destinations outside the country. At the heart of the arrangement is an unusual structure known as a virtual joint venture. Under that arrangement, CloudFlare does not actually operate in China. Instead, CloudFlare cooperates primarily from afar as Baidu runs the business in China. Baidu and CloudFlare’s virtual joint venture relies on a principle generally considered anathema to foreign companies looking to do business with China: trust. CloudFlare transferred its intellectual property that is used to manage and speed up Internet traffic to Baidu and works closely with its engineers to run that technology on Baidu’s network in China. The two share revenue from the service.
benton.org/headlines/baidu-and-cloudflare-boost-users-over-chinas-great-firewall | New York Times
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September 14, 2015 (City Broadband Plans)