BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016
Today’s busy agenda https://www.benton.org/calendar/2016-02-04
ELECTION 2016
It's the Internet, Stupid - Tim Karr, Free Press
With Rand Paul out of the race, is there anyone left to fight the NSA? - analysis
The media is riding Marcomentum into New Hampshire [links to Columbia Journalism Review]
Nice is right in IA Caucus: Candidates have better luck with positive ads in early contest [links to Center for Public Integrity]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Chairman Wheeler: Internet subsidies for poor coming in ‘not too distant future'
Limited Internet access a challenge for Detroit kids - FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel op-ed
Additional Coordination and Performance Measurement Needed for High-Speed Internet Access Programs on Tribal Lands - GAO research
Google Fiber’s plan to give free Internet to the poor
Google’s Free Gigabit Internet for Public Housing Is No Replacement for Reform - Vice analysis
AT&T Extends GigaPower’s Reach in Four Cities [links to Benton summary]
WIRELESS
How do you Govern Data in the Internet of Everything? [links to nextgov]
Phones Will Drive Internet Traffic Past the Zettabyte Mark In 2016 [links to Revere Digital]
Comcast to Participate in Spectrum Auction [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
PRIVACY
How Do Americans Weigh Privacy Versus National Security? [links to Benton summary]
E-mail privacy legislation moving forward in House [links to Benton summary]
What’s Missing in the Encryption, Privacy and Security Debate - Darren Guccione op-ed [links to Benton summary]
TELEVISION
Senators blast Comcast, other cable firms for “unfair billing practices” [links to Benton summary]
FCC Chairman Wheeler talks cable competition [links to Benton summary]
George Ford op-ed: The FCC's cynical set-top box play [links to Hill, The]
For the First Time, More Than Half of Americans Will Watch Streaming TV [links to eMarketer]
TV producer Ryan Murphy has a plan to boost Hollywood diversity. It might actually work. [links to Vox]
Bill Baer, head of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division: "We welcome the [FCC’s] inquiry into whether new set-top box rules may better unlock the power of consumer choice." [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
ESPN Says Skinny Bundles Are Big. Comcast Says They’re Not. The Future of TV Is Confused. [links to Revere Digital]
JOURNALISM
Michael Wolf op-ed: The Guardian’s Digital Risk Doesn’t Pan Out [links to USAToday]
EDUCATION
The Open University at 45: What can we learn from Britain's distance education pioneer? [links to Brookings]
ADVERTISING/MARKETING
Google removes Samsung's first Android ad blocker from the Play Store [links to Verge, The]
Digital Marketing Association: Data-Driven Marketing Economy Surges [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Sec John Kerry sent 'secret' e-mail to Clinton from personal account [links to Benton summary]
Idea to be retired: Decentralized IT governance - Brookings [links to Benton summary]
POLICYMAKERS
Congressional Rural Broadband Caucus Launches [links to Benton summary]
COMPANY NEWS
Intel diversity stats show slow pace of progress [links to USAToday]
Sinclair Starts $500,000 Scholarship Fund for Broadcast Diversity [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
Comcast posts strong video subscriber gains [links to Hill, The]
Google’s Head of Artificial Intelligence to Lead Search [links to Benton summary]
5 Google Government Innovation Lab Projects Happening in San Joaquin County (CA) [links to Government Technology]
YouTube moves closer to becoming a Netflix for millennials, originals launching soon [links to Los Angeles Times]
AT&T Extends GigaPower’s Reach in Four Cities [links to Benton summary]
Moonves Becomes CBS Chairman, Replacing Redstone [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
MORE ONLINE
Op-Ed: Government R&D can be a catalyst for technological progress [links to Hill, The]
Can crowdsourcing be ethical? [links to Brookings]
ELECTION 2016
CANDIDATES AND NETWORK NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Tim Karr]
[Commentary] The good news is that presidential candidates are starting to talk about Internet issues. The bad news is that presidential candidates are starting to talk about Internet issues. Since the 2012 election, the Internet has emerged as a widely discussed political topic. Advocates of an open and accessible Internet number in the tens of millions and include people of every political stripe living in every part of the United States. This growing community supports Net Neutrality, worries about government and corporate violations of their privacy, and believes the Internet is a crucial platform that everyone should be able to access at affordable prices. Whether you’re one of the more than 10 million people who protested congressional efforts to pass Internet-censoring copyright legislation or one of the millions who urged the Federal Communications Commission to adopt real network neutrality protections, you’re part of a growing political base that expects our elected leaders to support our rights to connect and communicate. That’s a good thing, right? Here’s the problem. Presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle haven’t caught up with the rest of us. When facing intelligent questions about their views on important Internet issues, they just plain get it wrong most of the time.
benton.org/headlines/its-internet-stupid | Free Press
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WITH RAND PAUL OUT, IS ANYONE LEFT TO FIGHT THE NSA?
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: Colin Lecher]
[Commentary] Sen Rand Paul (R-KY) is dropping out of the race for the White House. With him goes the most substantial critic of the National Security Agency in the Republican field. Sen Paul's libertarian position often put him at odds with other GOP candidates, who, during debates and public statements, tried to out-hawk other candidates on national security issues. In one particularly memorably debate, he traded jabs with Gov Chris Christie (R-NJ), a former federal prosecutor who proudly said that he was "the only person on this stage who's actually filed applications under the Patriot Act." Sen Paul responded by saying he wanted "more records from terrorists, but less records from innocent Americans." The remaining contenders for the presidency take widely varying stances on NSA surveillance, from supporting some minor changes (Gov John Kasich (R-OH)) to planning an expansion of surveillance powers (several others) to dismantling the agency's program (Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT)). Still, no one else has made surveillance an issue on the same level as Sen Paul, who frequently brought up the NSA at debates and in Congress. With him gone, it's possible the issue may be pushed further into the background.
benton.org/headlines/rand-paul-out-race-there-anyone-left-fight-nsa | Verge, The
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
CHAIRMAN WHEELER: INTERNET SUBSIDIES FOR POOR COMING IN 'NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE'
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Mario Trujillo]
The Federal Communications Commission will finish up rules in the “not to distant future” to help subsidize Internet service for low-income Americans, according to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. The FCC started work in 2015 to update Lifeline, the program that now only offers subsidies for traditional voice-only phone service. The update has faced resistance from Republicans who point to lingering inefficiencies in the $1.7 billion program. “The first principle of Lifeline reform is allowing the program to support both fixed and mobile broadband service,” Chairman Wheeler said during a speech Feb 3. “We will propose having minimum standards of service that Lifeline providers must deliver to receive funds.” The FCC has not yet defined a minimum standard of service for service providers, like Comcast or Verizon, to join. Chairman Wheeler also said the FCC would have to make it easier for Internet service providers to join the program and would need to encourage low-income individuals to actually sign up. He also applauded companies like Comcast or Google, which have offered discounted private programs. Chairman Wheeler finally pointed to other government efforts — like New York’s plan to connect the city through hotspots or the Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) effort to build low-income housing with Internet connections.
benton.org/headlines/chairman-wheeler-internet-subsidies-poor-coming-not-too-distant-future | Hill, The
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LIMITED INTERNET ACCESS A CHALLENGE FOR DETROIT KIDS
[SOURCE: Detroit Free Press, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel]
[Commentary] In communities in Michigan and across the country there are tales of students sitting after-hours in parking lots outside of libraries and inside the booths of fast-food restaurants just looking for a signal — the Internet connectivity they need to get their schoolwork done. Today, roughly seven in 10 teachers assign homework that requires access to broadband. But data from where I work, at the Federal Communications Commission, suggests that as many as 1 in 3 households do not subscribe to broadband service at any speed — because of a lack of affordability and lack of interest. In Detroit (MI), the numbers are even more troubling — seven in 10 students have no way to get online at home. It's basic arithmetic: For too many students, these numbers don't add up. Where they overlap is what I call the "homework gap." Tackling this problem is not easy. We need to take on the homework gap at home. We can start by making commonsense changes to the FCC's Lifeline program. Instead of having the Lifeline program support only voice service, we should allow consumers to choose between applying the same support to either voice or broadband service. Next, we can do more to increase the availability of Wi-Fi. At the FCC, we can help by taking this into account as we manage the nation's airwaves. We need to make it a priority to ensure there is adequate spectrum for Wi-Fi and do it in a way that protects other services that make use of the airwaves. If we do this right, we can help our students and our economy — because more than $140 billion in economic activity each year is generated by unlicensed spectrum, or Wi-Fi. The homework gap is the cruelest part of the digital divide. But we can take steps now to tackle it — steps that will help students get their schoolwork done, help expand access to the Internet, and help grow our digital economy.
benton.org/headlines/limited-internet-access-challenge-detroit-kids | Detroit Free Press
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BROADBAND ON TRIBAL LANDS
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: Mark Goldstein]
Although all 21 tribes the Government Accountability Office interviewed have some access to high-speed Internet, tribes and providers GAO interviewed cited barriers to increasing access. The Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund subsidy programs and the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Utilities Service grant programs are interrelated in that they seek to increase high-speed Internet access in underserved areas, including tribal lands. GAO's previous work on overlap, duplication, and fragmentation has shown that interagency coordination on interrelated programs can help ensure efficient use of resources and effective programs. However, FCC and USDA do not coordinate to develop joint outreach and training. This could result in an inefficient use of federal resources and missed opportunities for resource leveraging between FCC and USDA. FCC has placed special emphasis on improving Internet access on tribal lands following the issuance of the National Broadband Plan, which called for greater efforts to make broadband available on tribal lands. However, FCC has not developed performance goals and measures for improving high-speed Internet availability to households on tribal lands. Without these goals and measures FCC cannot assess the impact of its efforts. The National Broadband Map includes data on Internet availability on tribal lands that could allow FCC to establish baseline measures for Internet availability on tribal lands. Further, FCC also lacks performance goals and measures for tribal institutions—such as schools and libraries. Specifically, FCC's E-rate program provides funds to ensure that schools and libraries have affordable access to modern broadband technologies, but FCC has not set any performance goals for the program's impact on tribal institutions. Nor has FCC defined “tribal” on the E-rate application. Without such information, it will be difficult to accurately track progress in making broadband available in tribal institutions. GAO recommends that FCC (1) develop joint training and outreach with USDA; (2) develop performance goals and measures for tribal areas for improving broadband availability to households; (3) develop performance goals and measures for improving broadband availability to tribal schools and libraries; and (4) improve the reliability of FCC data related to institutions that receive E-rate funding by defining “tribal” on the program application. FCC agreed with the recommendations.
benton.org/headlines/additional-coordination-and-performance-measurement-needed-high-speed-internet-access | Government Accountability Office
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GOOGLE FIBER'S PLAN TO GIVE FREE INTERNET TO THE POOR
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
Google Fiber says it's going to give away its high speed Internet service to thousands of low-income Americans across the country who can't afford gigabit broadband. Starting with its Kansas City market, Google Fiber eventually plans to wire "select" public housing buildings in all of the cities where it operates, the company said. Ultimately, as many as 1,300 households in Kansas City (MO) and Kansas City (KS) will get a free subscription to Google Fiber's 1,000 Mbps service, enabling those users to download the equivalent of an HD movie in about 7 seconds. Based on the current cost of a gigabit subscription, Google Fiber will be giving away more than $1 million a year worth of Internet service to Kansas City residents alone. It's all part of a wider plan by the White House aimed at connecting the disconnected. In summer 2015, President Barack Obama launched a pilot project known as ConnectHome that vowed to link 275,000 low-income households to the Internet. As part of that move, Google Fiber said it would selectively provide free broadband to certain public housing units. Feb 3's announcement reflects the company's follow-through on that promise. It may also help parent company Alphabet, which owns Google. The more people are connected to the Web, the more likely those people will use Google's online services, which ultimately benefits Google's primary business, search and advertising.
benton.org/headlines/google-fibers-plan-give-free-internet-poor | Washington Post | Google | ars technica
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GOOGLE AND PUBLIC HOUSING
[SOURCE: Vice, AUTHOR: Jordan Pearson]
[Commentary] A huge corporation helping to fix America’s ailing public housing infrastructure raises some important questions. Most importantly: is it even a private company’s job to fix what is a national problem of public concern? The buddy-buddy nature of the partnership between Google and the Department of Housing and Urban Development will no doubt rub some civic-minded observers the wrong way, along with the apparent unwillingness of Sec Julián Castro to consider public solutions. And, let’s be real, an internet connection and good press for Google is no replacement for, oh, I don’t know, maybe addressing the social and economic issues that led to this problem in the first place? But it’s also true that free Google Fiber is way better deal than what some other communities are getting from the ConnectHome project.
benton.org/headlines/googles-free-gigabit-internet-public-housing-no-replacement-reform | Vice
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