BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017
- Auctioning America’s Wireless Future: Will 5G be Restricted to Big Mobile Carriers?
- Digital Training and Workforce Development
EDUCATION
2017 State of the States Report - research
INTERNET/BROADBAND/TELECOM
FCC Pressured to Release New Evidence on Net Neutrality’s Importance through Process Open to Public Input by NHMC and 20 Additional Groups - press release
FCC’s Network Neutrality docket has now received over 22 million comments – and they keep coming [links to Multichannel News]
What will the internet look like without net neutrality? Just ask this sponsored data app [links to Benton summary]
FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly Remarks Before WTA's Fall Conference on Rural Broadband [links to Federal Communications Commission]
Additional Stakeholder Input Could Inform FCC Actions to Promote Broadband Competition - GAO research
Altice USA Broadens Reach of Low-Cost Broadband Option
American Cable Association To FCC on CAF II Auction: Simplify [links to Benton summary]
Rural Telecom Economics: Telergee Report Finds Revenues Up, Profits Down [links to Benton summary]
OWNERSHIP
T-Mobile and Sprint are in active talks about a merger [links to CNBC]
FCC Chairman Pai to Lawmakers: Sinclair/Tribune Review Has Been By the Book
Sinclair insiders are sounding the alarm about its plans to transform local news
David Cohen, Comcast’s top lobbyist, says Trump won’t stop many mergers [links to Benton summary]
Who Controls Think Tanks? Shift In Funding Highlights Changes In The Industry [links to National Public Radio]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Cash, Innovation, Airwaves: The Recipe for Rural Broadband - op-ed [links to Benton summary]
T-Mobile increases unlimited data cap from 32GB to 50GB [links to Vox]
With Apple Watch Data Plans, Wireless Carriers Opt For Profits Over Innovation [links to Fast Company]
CONTENT
Twitter has shut down nearly 1 million terrorist accounts in two years [links to CNN]
YouTube Kills Paid Channels, Expands $4.99 per Month Sponsorship Model [links to Variety]
Sports are becoming too expensive for TV networks [links to Axios]
JOURNALISM
I’m a TV weatherman. Here's what happened when I discussed climate change on air. [links to Vox]
Google adds new machine learning technology to newsrooms [links to Axios]
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Curbing 'clicktivism' at the Federal Communications Commission - op-ed
COMMUNICATIONS AND DEMOCRACY
When government data contradicts Trump refugee rhetoric, guess which one has to give? [links to Washington Post]
Brian Stelter: Why newsrooms must keep fact-checking Trump [links to CNN]
ELECTIONS
Facebook’s openness on Russia questioned by congressional investigators [links to Washington Post]
Jon Huntsman, Trump’s pick for Russian ambassador: 'No question' Moscow interfered in US election [links to Hill, The]
Ann Ravel, the Woman Who Warned About Russian Election Meddling Years Ago – and Got Death Threats [links to nextgov]
Clinton: 'I was not as adept or as quick' at ways to reach voters [links to Hill, The]
PRIVACY/SECURITY
Massachusetts attorney general sues Equifax after hack [links to Hill, The]
Hackers hid malware in CCleaner, a free app meant to clean out computers [links to USAToday]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
FirstNet wins Maryland backing as competition from Verizon, Rivada heats up [links to Fierce]
Idaho Joins FirstNet [links to First Responder Network Authority]
Texas Signs on to FirstNet [links to First Responder Network Authority]
FCC Chairman Pai And Commissioner Clyburn Get Firsthand Look At Hurricane Irma Recovery Efforts [links to Federal Communications Commission]
LABOR
The Freelance Economy Is Getting More Cliquey [links to Fast Company]
GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
Networks of smart cities will help make the most of data-driven governing [links to Government Technology]
Op-ed: RT wants to spread Moscow’s propaganda here. Let’s treat it that way. [links to Washington Post]
AGENDA
FCC Confirms Agenda for Open Meeting Tuesday, September 26, 2017 [links to Federal Communications Commission]
COMPANY NEWS
Meet Patreon, the Online Service that Lets Fans Pay Creators [links to Vox]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
CBS wins battle for Australia’s Ten Network [links to Financial Times]
EDUCATION
STATE OF THE STATES REPORT
[SOURCE: Education Superhighway, AUTHOR: ]
More than 39 million students in America now have access to high-speed Internet at school, a 5.1 million student increase over last year. This research shows that 94 percent of school districts nationwide now meet the minimum 100 kilobits per second (kbps) per student goal set by the Federal Communications Commission in 2014. The report confirms that America continues to make extraordinary progress in narrowing the K-12 digital divide. Overall, 39.2 million students, 2.6 million teachers, and 74,000 schools are now achieving the minimum connectivity goal that gives students equal access to digital learning opportunities. However, 6.5 million students are on the other side of the digital divide without access to high-speed Internet. A divide that is particularly wide in the 1,587 rural K-12 schools that don’t yet have the infrastructure necessary to revolutionize the way teachers teach and students learn. “America made a historic promise to our students in 2013 to connect every school district to high-speed Internet,” said Evan Marwell, CEO of EducationSuperHighway. “We’ve made great progress since then; however, our work is far from over. It is critical that federal and state leaders, schools, and service providers continue the hard work necessary to close the connectivity gap.” Governors and state leaders across the country have taken notice and played a crucial role this year in bringing high-speed learning opportunities to every classroom. Today, a total of 46 governors have committed to upgrading their schools for the 21st century. Taking advantage of E-rate Modernization, governors have allocated nearly $200 million in state matching funds for special construction that can help connect the hardest-to-reach-schools.
benton.org/headlines/2017-state-states-report | Education Superhighway | telecompetitor | EdSurge
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INTERNET/BROADBAND/TELECOM
NET NEUTRALITY COMPLAINTS
[SOURCE: National Hispanic Media Coalition, AUTHOR: Press release]
The National Hispanic Media Coalition filed a joint Motion, with 20 additional organizations, in the Federal Communications Commission’s Restoring Internet Freedom proceeding asking the FCC to enter into the record all open internet complaints, ombudsperson correspondence, and carrier responses since the 2015 Open Internet Order, and set a comment period to allow for public input on the new evidence. NHMC initially asked for all related documents in May and, as of this writing, has not received any of the attachments to the ombudsperson emails and has received only 823 pages of the 18,000 carrier responses to consumer complaints about issues they experienced.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-pressured-release-new-evidence-net-neutralitys-importance-through-process-open-public | National Hispanic Media Coalition
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BROADBAND COMPETITION REPORT
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: Mark Goldstein]
The Government Accountability Office was asked to examine factors affecting broadband competition. This report covers (1) selected experts’ and stakeholders’ views on factors affecting broadband competition and (2) how Federal Communications Commission promotes broadband competition and examines consumers’ experience with it. Selected experts and stakeholders told GAO that infrastructure costs and other factors can limit broadband deployment and the extent of broadband competition. Factors these individuals identified included providers’ costs to deploy antennas, install wires or cables, and obtain permits to access existing infrastructure. Such infrastructure includes utility poles needed for deploying wired components of broadband networks. These costs can limit competition, particularly in non-urban and less populated areas, where providers’ return on investment can be lower due to fewer potential customers. Experts and stakeholders also identified industry consolidation and increasing similarity of fixed and mobile broadband as factors that are likely to affect broadband competition moving forward. GAO recommends that the FCC should annually solicit and report on stakeholder input regarding (1) its actions to promote broadband competition and (2) how varying levels of broadband deployment affect prices and service quality. FCC concurred with GAO’s recommendations.
benton.org/headlines/additional-stakeholder-input-could-inform-fcc-actions-promote-broadband-competition | Government Accountability Office
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ECONOMY INTERNET
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Jeff Baumgartner]
Altice USA said “Economy Internet,” an uncapped broadband service for low-income households, is now available across its Optimum (former Cablevision Systems) and Suddenlink footprints. The service, for eligible families and senior citizens, offers 30 Mbps (downstream) and integrated in-home Wi-Fi for $14.99 per month. Altice USA launched Economy Internet is select areas of the New York region in 2016, and was linked to a commitment to introduce a low income broadband option throughout the former Cablevision service territory.
benton.org/headlines/altice-usa-broadens-reach-low-cost-broadband-option | Multichannel News
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OWNERSHIP
PAI ANSWERS ON SINCLAIR REVIEW
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai told House Commerce Committee Democrats that there has been no inappropriate coordination between the Trump White House, Sinclair and the FCC over the Sinclair/Tribune merger -- and that there has been no pattern of preferential treatment shown Sinclair in a deal whose vetting has been by the book and on a timetable common to such transactions, including under other regimes. The chairman said his meetings with the President—there have been two of them—were on the order of a job interview in one instance and a second meeting after he had the job, and neither of which was any issue involving Sinclair Broadcast Group discussed. He did say he had met with Sinclair three times since the November election, but in only one meeting were pending issues discussed and that one was followed by the requisite ex parte notification. Pai also said two members of his staff had met with Sinclair execs as well, with an ex parte filed for the one meeting for which it was required.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-chairman-pai-lawmakers-sinclairtribune-review-has-been-book | Multichannel News
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SINCLAIR AND LOCAL NEWS
[SOURCE: Media Matters for America, AUTHOR: Pam Vogel]
Current and former Sinclair employees, union representatives, and media experts have been speaking out in investigative reports about the damage Sinclair is doing to the public’s trust in local news, from Baltimore to Seattle and most recently in Providence. A representative of the union representing employees at Sinclair-owned WJAR station in Providence, RI, recently told The Providence Journal that must-runs have “rattled viewers and WJAR’s own news reporters.” The September report also noted that WJAR appears to have made efforts to limit Sinclair’s editorial influence on its newscasts, airing a recent “Bottom Line with Boris” segment after anchors has signed off from the station’s 11 p.m. news broadcast. Media expert Paola Prado warned readers, though, that the length and placement of broadcasts matter far less than the content shown, directly challenging Sinclair’s frequent defense that its must-run segments account for a small fraction of total news time.
benton.org/headlines/sinclair-insiders-are-sounding-alarm-about-its-plans-transform-local-news | Media Matters for America
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CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
CLICKTIVISM
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Lawrence Spiwak]
[Commentary] Politicians, in theory, are supposed to be responsive to public outcry. When faced with an avalanche of blast emails from angry constituents, therefore, legislators generally are moved to act. In contrast, independent regulatory agencies are supposed to be (but admittedly often are not) apolitical and immune from such pressure. While it is true that administrative agencies must subject their actions to “public notice and comment” under the Administrative Procedure Act, regulatory agencies should not promulgate rules and regulations based upon the vox populi; rather, these agencies are charged with dispassionately implementing their respective enabling statutes as delineated by Congress based upon the plain text of the statute, the case law interpreting that statute, the economics, and the substantive record before them. If they fail in that task, then administrative agencies can be reprimanded by an appellate court for engaging in arbitrary and capricious behavior or, in very rare cases, be subject to congressional rebuke via the Congressional Review Act. If you want to rant, then have at it on Twitter. But if you want to file something in an official record and meaningfully participate in the regulatory process, then perhaps a few guidelines should apply.
[Spiwak is the president of the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies]
benton.org/headlines/curbing-clicktivism-federal-communications-commission | Hill, The
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