BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for JANUARY 15, 2016
Next week’s agenda https://www.benton.org/calendar/2016-01-17--P1W
Net Neutrality’s Busy Week: From Congressional Hearing to the State of the Union, Binge On, Baby
INTERNET/BROADBAND
FCC’s Gigi Sohn Remarks on Lifeline Modernization at the Digital Pathway Summit - speech
Point Topic: US Broadband Connections Top 100 Million
Tech-Savvy Seattle Can’t Seem to Get Everyone Connected [links to Benton summary]
Google Fiber's LA, Chicago plans show it's serious about network expansion, Wells Fargo says [links to Fierce]
SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
Cell phone companies are charging more overages than ever
Google calls out incumbents' plans for 3.5 GHz spectrum sharing as 'overprotective'
Wi-Fi Hot Spots for Rent: How Public Libraries Are Changing with the Times
Trio of Broadcast TV Spectrum-Use Changes Loom [links to TVNewsCheck]
PRIVACY/SECURITY
Workplace security and tracking - Pew research [links to Benton summary]
Consumer loyalty cards and profiling - Pew research [links to Benton summary]
Pew demonstrates organizations need privacy pros more than ever [links to International Association of Privacy Professionals]
Senate Cutting It Close on International Data Sharing [links to Morning Consult]
We keep too many hacks secret, says ex-NSA director [links to CNN Money]
Identity Theft Resource Center op-ed: Personal Data Control Is a Shared Responsibility [links to Revere Digital]
OWNERSHIP
FCC Seeks More Info on Charter-TWC Deal [links to Benton summary]
CONTENT
Netflix says it will do more to stop customers from bypassing country restrictions [links to Benton summary]
Twitter Accused in Suit of Allowing Islamic State Use [links to Bloomberg]
Wikipedia at 15: Millions of readers in scores of languages [links to Pew Research Center]
Facebook is now in the awkward position of deciding what counts as a tragedy [links to Washington Post]
Netflix cracks down on customers using VPNs, proxies, and unblockers [links to Ars Technica]
JOURNALISM
The influence of special interests extends to local editorial pages [links to Sunlight Foundation]
Could ‘explorable explanations’ help tell a new kind of story? [links to Columbia Journalism Review]
TELEVISION
Media companies and leagues shift more sports programming to the powerful pull of broadcast television [links to Sports Business Journal]
Why Al Jazeera America failed [links to Columbia Journalism Review]
AGENDA
Hill Republicans try to figure out just what exactly they’ll be doing this year [links to Hill, The]
POLICYMAKERS
Commissioner Pai: FCC Partisan Rancor 'Unprecedented'
STORIES FROM ABROAD
German Court Calls Facebook’s Find-a-Friend Function Illegal [links to Wall Street Journal]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
SOHN ON LIFELINE REFORM
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Gigi Sohn]
In remarks at the Digital Pathway Summit, the Federal Communications Commission’s Gigi Sohn focused her remarks on broadband adoption and, in particular, the commission’s efforts to modernize the Lifeline program which ensures the affordability of communications services. Noting recent Pew Research Center findings, she noted that home broadband adoption seems to have plateaued. Although people – just about everyone – understand that broadband has gone from luxury to necessity. The major barrier to adoption these days is cost. To address that, the FCC is working to expand its Lifeline program to allow discounts for broadband service. Sohn offered a preview:
Allowing Lifeline to support both fixed and mobile broadband service;
Establishing minimum standards of service that Lifeline providers must deliver to receive funds, and the Commission will continually evaluate those standards using objective data and make adjustments as needed;
Creating a national eligibility verifier, which would work in tandem with the state-run eligibility verifiers across the country;
Streamlining the requirements to become a Lifeline provider; and
Encouraging greater participation in the program by eligible consumers.
She concluded saying, “When Lifeline was created telephone adoption in the US was 92 percent. At first blush, 92 percent probably sounds pretty good. Until you think that this number means millions of Americans were shut off from our primary communications network. I hope that we can get to 92 percent broadband adoption in the not-too-distant future. And if and when we do, I hope we will show the same resolve to keep pushing toward 100 percent. It won’t be easy, but working together, I know that we can keep moving forward and keep expanding the benefits of the Internet revolution to all Americans.”
benton.org/headlines/fccs-gigi-sohn-remarks-lifeline-modernization-digital-pathway-summit | Federal Communications Commission
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POINT TOPIC RESEARCH
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Andrew Burger]
The number of global fixed broadband subscribers rose at its second-highest rate in six quarters in 3Q 2015, rising 1.36 percent sequentially, according to Point Topic. A rise in new fiber-to-the-home subscribers was the main growth driver. Fiber was the broadband access technology with the strongest worldwide growth rate for the second consecutive quarter. The number of new fiber subscribers exceeded that for end-to-end copper for the quarter, showing that the decline in end-to-end copper is accelerating. FTTH’s share of the broadband subscriber base in the US and Canada increased, as it did for the Americas region collectively. The US became the second country in which broadband connections surpass 100 million in 3Q’15.
http://www.telecompetitor.com/point-topic-u-s-broadband-connections-top-...
Global Broadband Subscribers in Q3 2015 (Point Topic)
benton.org/headlines/point-topic-us-broadband-connections-top-100-million | telecompetitor | Point Topic
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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
OVERAGE CHARGES
[SOURCE: CNN Money, AUTHOR: David Goldman]
Just when you thought cell phone companies were becoming more customer-friendly, they keep finding ways to get you. Overage charges, already at record highs, are up yet again, according to a survey conducted by Cowen & Co. Nearly one in five cell phone customers reported paying overages during the past six months. But AT&T continued to lead all of its rivals -- 28% of AT&T customers told Cowen & Co. that they were charged for overages, compared to 20% of Verizon customers, 12% of T-Mobile customers and 5% of Sprint customers. That's up across the board from Cowen's survey in October -- which then showed overages were at record levels. So what's behind such high data overage charges? The usual suspects are 4G connections, which let customers easily stream bandwidth-sucking video and music. Unsurprisingly, Cowen noted that customers with big-screened, media-playing 4G tablets were far more likely to be charged overages than customers who only had smartphones. The wireless industry expects mobile data usage to double each year for the next several years, but many customers may be unaware that their data consumption is rising.
benton.org/headlines/cell-phone-companies-are-charging-more-overages-ever | CNN Money
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SPECTRUM SHARING
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Ben Munson]
Google is fending off calls for extended perimeter protection for incumbent users in the 3.5 GHz band, calling the proposals "overprotective" and warning they could limit spectrum availability. Federal and non-federal incumbent users operating in the 3550-3700 MHz bands vary in their support for either zone-based or boundary-based protections for radar, satellite and other mission critical operations. But Google says that some licensees recommend a blanket extension of the perimeter of protection for some or all incumbent users. Refuting comments made by energy proponents and companies including the American Petroleum Institute and Exelon, Google proposes basing interference protections for installed operations on location, antenna direction and other characteristics. At stake amid the arguments is 150 MHz of broadband spectrum, which will become available for shared commercial use as part of the Federal Communications Commission's Citizens Broadband Radio Service, a developing set of rules and policies.
benton.org/headlines/google-calls-out-incumbents-plans-35-ghz-spectrum-sharing-overprotective | Fierce
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WI-FI HOT SPOTS FOR RENT: HOW PUBLIC LIBRARIES ARE CHANGING WITH THE TIMES
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Eyragon Eidam]
According to the American Library Association’s 2015 State of American Libraries report, the modern library has evolved from its traditional role as a research-centric establishment to a central location for digital access, learning and literacy. In Seattle (WA), the public library has seen an enormous demand for Wi-Fi hot spots and is moving to boost the number of devices available to constituents. Library spokesperson Caroline Ullmans said the city’s Wi-Fi checkout program, which started in May 2015, is popular for a number of reasons including the lack of home service and income limitations. “We started with a grant from Google and most recently, through the support of the mayor and city council, they have added money to our budget to extend the life of the initial Google grant to add more hot spots and serve more people,” She said. “Over the course of the next year, we’ll be adding 450 more [devices].” The waiting list for the 325 available mobile hot spots has surpassed more than 1,000 library cardholders since the program’s start. Ullmann said unprecedented demand was behind the city’s push to add almost 500 more devices in 2016. “We really feel a commitment to help close the digital divide for Seattle residents, particularly those who live on low incomes,” she said. “A city of Seattle survey from 2014 found that a significant number of people lack Internet access at home … more than 50 percent of people whose income was under $20,000 [a year] had no access to the Internet.”
benton.org/headlines/wi-fi-hot-spots-rent-how-public-libraries-are-changing-times | Government Technology
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POLICYMAKERS
PARTISAN RANCOR
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In an upcoming appearance on C-SPAN’s The Communicators, Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai said the partisan rancor at the FCC over the past year-plus has been unprecedented in scope, pointing out that about half of the public meeting votes are strictly along party lines, while that number was more like 10% under the previous chairs. He said that on enforcement matters, there have been more party line votes in the last 14 months than in the previous 43 years. He took aim at the FCC's recent requests for data from and meetings with Comcast, AT&T and T-Mobile about various zero-rating and sponsored video broadband-related business plans as they pertain to new FCC Open Internet rules. "What we are now seeing is that net neutrality has morphed from a concern about last-mile connectivity to the FCC micromanaging all kinds of business plans and hauling in companies to flyspeck whatever innovative service offerings they might choose to put out into the marketplace. Commissioner Pai said the FCC should not have called the companies in at all, and that regardless of whether the FCC takes any action, it has set the precedent that "if a band of special interest groups inside the Beltway decide to protest a particular offering, the agency is going to jump to the tune."
benton.org/headlines/commissioner-pai-fcc-partisan-rancor-unprecedented | Multichannel News
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