Jan 16, 2009 (House Offers $825 Billion Stimulus -- $6 billion for Broadband)

Sorry we're late (a lot of life going on) -- no promises on a weekend post, but we'll be back, for sure, on Tuesday morning. Enjoy the holiday weekend.

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY JANUARY 16, 2009

THE ECONOMY
   House Offers $825 Billion Stimulus
   Democrats Propose $6 Billion for Broadband
   Democrats seek billions for IT, Internet

DIGITAL TELEVISION
   Hawaii first state to go all-digital TV
   Rockefeller proposes 3-month delay in digital TV
   Gutierrez Urges Congress to Free Up DTV Coupons
   FCC Implements DTV 'Nightlight' Bill

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Court Affirms Wiretapping Without Warrants
   China makes arrests in Internet porn campaign
   Congress unprepared for Jan 20 emergency

POLICYMAKERS
   Martin to leave FCC Jan 20
   Analyst: Martin Exit Good For Time Warner
   Kundra, Padmasree Warrior Leading Candidates for CTO

MORE TRANSITION NEWS
   Democrats' plan: Network Neutrality, copyright rewrite
   WGAE Urges Obama Transition Team To Boost Public Broadcasting Funding
   Will soon-to-be President Obama put WiMAX on top?

QUICKLY -- Public Radio To Pay $1.8 Million In Royalties; Bankruptcy judge OKs Tribune's short-term financing plan; Digital Britain by 2012; Minneapolis Star Tribune in bankruptcy filing; Telcos likely to use price to manage bandwidth hogs; How libraries can survive in the new media ecosystem

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THE ECONOMY

HOUSE OFFERS $825 BILLION STIMULUS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Shailagh Murray, Paul Kane]
House Democrats yesterday presented an $825 billion stimulus package that includes more government spending and less tax relief than President-elect Barack Obama had proposed, potentially weakening support among Republicans for a plan that congressional leaders hope to pass by mid-February. The aim of the legislation is to bolster the nation's sagging economy by providing incentives for companies to create jobs and money for individuals and state governments struggling to cope with the downturn. The bulk of the package -- about $550 billion -- would be used to build new schools and highways, invest in energy and health-care projects and provide unemployment and health benefits for out-of-work Americans. The rest would provide tax relief for businesses and individuals. If approved, most workers would get about a $500 tax cut in their paychecks. The bill includes $6 billion for grants to expand high-speed Internet access in rural communities and other underserved areas. $20 billion would be used to computerize health records. Another $20 billion would go for college and K-12 school construction, renovation, technology upgrades and energy-efficiency improvements
http://benton.org/node/20831
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http://www.benton.org/node/20455
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DEMOCRATS PROPOSE $6 BILLION FOR BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz]
A draft of the proposed $825-billion economic stimulus bill circulating on Capitol Hill Thursday and includes $6 billion to improve the U.S. broadband infrastructure, which is lacking in many rural and mountainous areas, particularly in the West. There aren't a lot of details yet on how that $6 billion would be given out, but it doesn't seem to encompass tax breaks phone and cable companies were lobbying for. The wireless industry was cheering Thursday morning, however, since they had been lobbying heavily to make sure they were included in any broadband stimulus program. A summary of the spending released by House Democrats calls for the money to be used on "broadband and wireless grants." There are just a few existing government programs that have given out broadband grants in the past, including the Department of Agriculture's tiny Rural Development Broadband Loan and Loan Guarantee Program. The money could also flow through the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration or through a federal Universal Service Fund subsidy program run by the Federal Communications Commission. "This money should be tied to a single agency that can uphold clear principles of public service and enforce concrete administrative accountability," said Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press. "While $6 billion is not as much as we had hoped for, it is a substantial investment," Scott said.
http://benton.org/node/20830
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http://www.benton.org/node/20455
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DEMOCRATS SEEK BILLION FOR IT, INTERNET
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Kim Dixon]
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday proposed a combined $26 billion to promote high-speed Internet in underserved areas and for expansion of efforts to computerize health records. It also proposed $650 million to continue the digital television (DTV) coupon program for the transition to DTV, according to a summary of the economic stimulus legislation released by Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee. The draft bill calls for $6 billion in grants for wireless and broadband in rural and hard-to-serve areas, and $20 billion to boost computerization of health records aimed at cutting costs and medical errors. Several analysts said telecommunications equipment makers may have the most to gain, citing Adtran, Alcatel Lucent Cisco Systems, among others. The Senate is working on its own version of a package. The public interest group Free Press, which had suggested a $44 billion in broadband investment called for strict accountability in how the money is spent. "Broadband as economic recovery should be "build-out" not bail-out," said Derek Turner, research director at the group.
http://benton.org/node/20828
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http://www.benton.org/node/20455
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DIGITAL TELEVISION

HAWAII FIRST STATE TO GO ALL DIGITAL
[SOURCE: Honolulu Star Bulletin, AUTHOR: Erika Engle]
Hawaii is the first state in the nation where all full-power television stations turned off analog programming to go all-digital. Full-power TV stations took regular programming off analog transmitters at noon yesterday, replacing it with a slide or a video explaining that the transition had occurred and what steps to take. Hawaii's DTV D-Day had few glitches, though the full toll of households that have lost TV service or now have diminished service will not be easy to determine. The Federal Communications Commission will track consumer calls to try and determine a number. An equipment problem delayed KITV's digital launch in Hilo, but a temporary repair got it up to full strength in two hours.
http://benton.org/node/20827
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LAWMAKER SEEKS 3-MONTH DELAY IN DIGITAL TV
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Kim Dixon]
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced legislation on Thursday to delay until June 12 the transition from analog to digital television, saying more time is needed to help consumers get ready. The congressionally mandated shift is now set for February 17. Owners of older television sets receiving over-the-air signals must buy a converter box, replace their TV with a digital TV, or subscribe to satellite or digital cable service. "Over 2 million Americans are waiting to receive a coupon to help them offset the cost of equipment that will help them manage the transition. Millions more don't have the proper information they need," said Chairman Rockefeller. Delaying the transition by three months would give the federal government time to fill a backlog of consumer requests for $40 coupons to help defray the cost of an analog converter box. It would also give the government and the Federal Communications Commission more time to prepare for the change, Rockefeller said. Momentum has been building for Congress to delay the digital TV deadline. Many Democratic lawmakers fear the estimated 20 million mostly poor, elderly and rural people who would be affected are not ready. Some Republicans oppose a delay, arguing it will create even more confusion and uncertainty.
http://benton.org/node/20826
See summary and track this bill's progress
http://benton.org/node/20829
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GUTIERREZ URGES CONGRESS TO FREE UP DTV COUPONS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez says almost all the households who have yet to apply for a DTV-to-analog converter box coupon can be accommodated -- and the Feb. 17, 2009, DTV transition date preserved -- if Congress moves swiftly to free up more coupons to send to the households that have applied for them but remain on a waiting list. That came in a letter to Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), chairs of the Senate and House Commerce Committees, respectively, in which Gutierrez said a timely transition was crucial to the economy and public safety. Responding to that letter, ranking House Energy & Commerce member Joe Barton (R-Tex.), who also received a copy, suggested he had crunched the Nielsen numbers and that if the coupons already requested were freed up, that would leave only 200,000 over-the-air households who had not applied. Sec Gutierrez was not asking for extra money for the program, which has been Commerce's consistent stand. He instead asked them to fix an accounting issue that does not allow Commerce's National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), which has reached its $1.34 billion funding cap on the coupons subsidy program, to send out more coupons until ones already sent have expired and their value -- $40 apiece -- recovered.
http://benton.org/node/20825
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FCC IMPLEMENTS DTV 'NIGHTLIGHT' BILL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
As expected, and per congressional mandate, the Federal Communications Commission Thursday voted to implement the "analog nightlight" bill. The Order allows more stations to participate than originally proposed, will allow broadcasters to solicit limited sponsorships for the information on the analog signal, and will not require stations to broadcast all 30 days. The 826 broadcasters that now qualify to keep the nightlight on will also have an easy route to requesting to do so, essentially sending an e-mail to the FCC.
http://benton.org/node/20824
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

COURT AFFIRMS WIRETAPPING WITHOUT WARRANTS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: James Risen, Eric Lichtblau]
In a rare public ruling, a secret federal appeals court has said telecommunications companies must cooperate with the government to intercept international phone calls and e-mail of American citizens suspected of being spies or terrorists. The ruling came in a case involving an unidentified company's challenge to 2007 legislation that expanded the president's legal power to conduct wiretapping without warrants for intelligence purposes. But the ruling, handed down in August 2008 by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review and made public Thursday, did not directly address whether President Bush was within his constitutional powers in ordering domestic wiretapping without warrants, without first getting Congressional approval, after the terrorist attacks of 2001. Several legal experts cautioned that the ruling had limited application, since it dealt narrowly with the carrying out of a law that had been superseded by new legislation. But the ruling is still the first by an appeals court that says the Fourth Amendment's requirement for warrants does not apply to the foreign collection of intelligence involving Americans. That finding could have broad implications for United States national security law.
http://benton.org/node/20823
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CHINA MAKES ARRESTS IN INTERNET PORN CAMPAIGN
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Ian Ransom, Chris Buckley]
Chinese police have arrested 28 suspects in an expanding crackdown on Internet pornography that authorities vowed will be no "flash in the pan," official media said Friday. The campaign to scrub the country's Internet of "vulgar" content has so far resulted in 29 criminal cases and police have ordered the removal of 46,000 pornographic and other "harmful" items from websites, the Xinhua news agency reported. The report said the 28 suspects arrested in the campaign included 4 men in their twenties who ran the "Midnight Prostitute Call" website from eastern China. They also included two men accused of using a video chat service to defraud customers.
http://benton.org/node/20822
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CONGRESS UNPREPARED FOR JAN 20 EMERGENCY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jordy Yager]
Many lawmakers do not know how to use a critical communications system in the event of an emergency during President-elect Obama's Inauguration. Despite months of security planning for the Inauguration by various government agencies, a White House-directed phone service that is supposed to be given to every lawmaker for emergency use remains a mystery to many members of Congress.
http://benton.org/node/20818
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POLICYMAKERS

MARTIN TO LEAVE FCC JAN 20
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin announced his resignation from the Federal Communications Commission, effective January 20, 2009. Upon his departure from the Commission, Chairman Martin will serve as a Senior Fellow at the Aspen Institute in Washington (DC). Martin's press release includes highlights of his four year tenure as chairman; the highlights include promoting broadband growth, successful spectrum auctions and allowing unlicensed use of broadcast spectrum, Network neutrality principles, open wireless networks, promoting competition in the video marketplace, and overseeing the digital transition.
http://benton.org/node/20821
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ANALYST: MARTIN EXIT GOOD FOR TIME WARNER
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Mike Farrell]
Federal Communications Chairman Kevin Martin's decision to step down from the agency on Jan. 20 could be a good sign for Time Warner Inc., which has been waiting for months for the agency to sign off on the proposed split-off of its cable operations. Time Warner said in May that it planned to sever ties with Time Warner Cable, a move that was first expected to close by the end of the fourth quarter last year. But according to a report by Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield, Martin refused to allow the FCC to vote on the matter. According to Greenfield, some investors worried that if Martin decided to stay with the agency in any capacity, it could jeopardize the company's new target date for the split—March 31.
http://benton.org/node/20820
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KUNDRA, PADMASRE WARRIOR LEADING CANDIDATES FOR CTO
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Steve Hamm]
Two Indian-born technology executives are the leading candidates for the incoming Obama Administration's newly created position of federal chief technology officer, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. They are Padmasree Warrior, the chief technology officer of Silicon Valley networking giant Cisco Systems, and Vivek Kundra, who holds the same title in the government of Washington (DC). The two candidates offer President-elect Obama a clear choice of skills. Warrior, who previously was CTO at Motorola, represents hard-core technology expertise. Kundra, who was named to the D.C. post in 2007, has held similar government positions in the past and has a reputation for using technology to make government more open and inclusive. The President-elect is expected to announce his pick for CTO in a matter of days. One of the sources says the selection is being held up because it's not yet clear how the person selected as CTO will interact with the government's chief information officer, a position now held by Karen Evans, and with the new cyber-security czar, another position that has not yet been filed.
http://benton.org/node/20819
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MORE TRANSITION NEWS

DEMOCRATS' PLAN: NET NEUTRALITY, COPYRIGHT REWRITE
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Stephanie Condon]
It may seem as though Congress has completely forgotten about Network Neutrality, a topic that has languished in legislative purgatory since mid-2006. But a Democratic aide said Wednesday that it's likely to come back this year, along with potential alterations of digital copyright and patent law. Aaron Cooper, who serves as counsel to Patrick Leahy (D-VT) in the Senate Judiciary Committee, said his boss is interested pursuing performance rights and Net neutrality legislation, a topic that could implicate copyright issues because of its relationship with file swapping. These subjects will likely arise as top committee issues along with patent reform, which is Leahy's priority, Cooper said. Net neutrality legislation, which is "completely a judiciary issue," Cooper said, could also impact copyright holders depending on how Internet service providers are allowed to manage their networks. Cooper said the goal would be to "limit the amount of privacy (without) stepping over the line in having ISPs deciding what is lawful and what is not lawful." Cooper sat on a panel at the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee's State of the Net Conference here, during which representatives from the entertainment industry and public advocacy groups debated Cablevision's liability in maintaining on its servers recorded programming without paying licensing fees.
http://benton.org/node/20817
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WGAE URGES OBAMA TRANSITION TEAM TO BOOST PUBLIC BROADCASTING FUNDING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Writers Guild of America East says it has had meetings with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team in which it urged it and members of Congress to boost funding for public broadcasting. While WGAE acknowledges that the incoming Democratic administration is already likely to be more receptive to its call than the previous one (Republicans were always threatening cuts), in the current economy, it is leaving nothing to chance. In the meetings, WGAE President Michael Winship and other top executives pointed out that the private donations and corporate funding that make up the lion's share of noncommercial funding--about 85%--is threatened by the tanking economy, and also argued that layoffs and freezes have "negatively impacted the quality of news and public discourse in the country." They pointed out that one in four noncommercial stations is having problems with liquidity and debt.
http://benton.org/node/20816
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WILL OBAMA PUT WIMAX ON TOP?
[SOURCE: FierceBroadband, AUTHOR: Lynnette Luna]
[Commentary] During the Consumer Electronics show earlier this month, Intel Chairman Craig Barrett said his company would be advising soon-to-be President Barack Obama to focus on wireless broadband and WiMAX as a way to get broadband access to every community in America. And I have to ask: Will it be Obama who makes mobile WiMAX become the widespread technology Intel has been trying to make it be for the last few years? Reports indicate the president-elect is considering a broadband plan funded from of the Universal Service Fund, better use of the nation's wireless spectrum, promotion of next-generation technologies and new tax and loan incentives.
http://benton.org/node/20810
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PUBLIC RADIO TO PAY $1.8 MIL IN ROYALTIES
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
After many months of negotiating, digital royalty collector SoundExchange and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting have come to an agreement on Internet royalties for non-commercial educational public radio. [More at URL below]
http://benton.org/node/20815
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BANKRUPTCY JUDGE OKS TRIBUNE'S SHORT-TERM FINANCING PLAN
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Michael Oneal]
Tribune Co. passed an early hurdle in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case Thursday when a U.S. bankruptcy judge signed a motion authorizing the continuation of a short-term financing arrangement worth $300 million. [More at URL below]
http://benton.org/node/20814
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DIGITAL BRITAIN BY 2012
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Ben Fenton, Andrew Parker]
An eagerly awaited report from the government's new communications minister concludes with the grand aim of making 2012 the digital age's equivalent of 1851 - when the Great Exhibition celebrated the transition of the UK from agricultural to industrial status. [more at URL below]
http://benton.org/node/20813
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MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE IN BANKRUPTCY FILING
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Robert MacMillan]
The Minneapolis Star Tribune filed for bankruptcy, becoming one of the biggest U.S. newspapers yet to financially flame out under a heavy debt load and a punishing decline in advertising revenue. The 15th-largest U.S. daily based on circulation, which McClatchy Co sold to private equity firm Avista Capital Partners for $530 million less than two years ago, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after missing payments to lenders, it said on Thursday.
http://benton.org/node/20812
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TELCOS LIKELY TO USE PRICE TO MANAGE BANDWIDTH HOGS
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Rich Karpinski]
Comcast may be one of the first - and certainly most visible - service providers to publicly implement a system for coping with heavy bandwidth users. But by strictly focusing on managing traffic, rather than trying to influence user behavior, its approach may be more of an anomaly than the norm, according to one vendor that says it has seen about 30 bandwidth management requests for proposals (RFPs) in the last 12 months. "Most customers want not just the ability to cap and shape traffic but the option to let consumers upgrade in real time," said Mike Manzo, chief marketing officer of Openet, which formally released its policy- and billing-based "Fair Usage" solution this week.
http://benton.org/node/20811
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HOW LIBRARIES CAN SURVIVE IN THE NEW MEDIA ECOSYSTEM
[SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: Lee Rainie]
This speech pulls together Pew Internet Project data about how people's use of the Internet and cell phones has fundamentally changed the "information ecosystem" in 10 ways. Lee discusses how this has changed the role of libraries in the digital age and he points out ways that libraries can adapt to meet the expectations and demands of patrons.
http://benton.org/node/20809
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... and we are outta here. Have a great weekend -- keep warm!

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