April 3, 2009 (House Recovery Act Broadband Oversight)

"I expect that any data collected with public money will be available to the public."
-- House Telecom Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) on broadband mapping data

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY APRIL 3, 2009

It is Spring break time, so we're off to search for broadband in Sarasota and our beloved ex-Governor in Orlando. Headlines will return MONDAY APRIL 13, 2009

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Recap: House Recovery Act Broadband Oversight
   Fractious Panel Praises Broadband Stimulus
   NARUC Ratchets Up Call for State Involvement in Disbursement of Broadband Stimulus Funds
   Why Are Grants Easier To Distribute Than Loans Or Loan Guarantees?
   RUS Seeks Input on Telecommunications Modernization, Distance Learning and Telemedicine
   Industry Suggest Broadband Definitions at FCC
   Who Will Map US Broadband?
   Much Ado About Broadband
   Time Warner rationale for bandwidth caps doesn't add up
   AT&T's De La Vega says mobility key weapon in broadband wars
   UK Broadband battle drags in ministers
   TV Station Websites to Make $1.3 Billion in 2009

JOURNALISM
   A Plan to Save Our Free Press
   Paper Money
   A Costly Mistake?
   Murdoch says papers should charge on Web
   A Bailout Program For Journalists?

TRANSITION/BUDGET
   Congress Approves Budget
   President Obama Picks Groves for Census
   Groups Urge Balanced IP Appointments
   Sebelius confirmation stalls over GOP objections
   Behind the Curtain
   FCC Chairman Copps Announces Additional Staff Changes

WIRELESS/TELECOM
   National Civil Rights and Public Interest Groups Ask FCC to Immediately Fix Wireless Auction Rules
   How Much More Spectrum Do We Need?
   Skype's iPhone limits irk some consumer advocates
   Deutsche Telekom threatens to block use of Skype on iPhone
   Skyping The New FCC
   Telecoms groups urge lighter regulation
   Developers stunted by fragmented mobile market
   AT&T Quietly Updates its Wireless Plans
   "Competition" is Failing to Protect Telecom Consumers

CABLE
   Boucher Praises Cable Efforts
   Hutchison Resisting Mandate For A La Carte and Network Neutrality
   Comcast CEO Looks Forward to Fresh Start With New FCC Chair
   Disney warns cable on restrictive Web TV

MORE ON THE WEB
   Stimulus Package May Bring Golden Age for Technology in Government
   Intel, GE Form Health-Care Alliance
   IBM Cuts Internet Reimbursement For Home Workers
   IBM, Mayo form open source health IT consortium
   Former Illinois Governor Blagojevich indicted
   Sirius-XM merger still faces loose ends at FCC

back to top

INTERNET/BROADBAND

RECAP: HOUSE RECOVERY ACT BROADBAND OVERSIGHT
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee]
The House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet held a hearing which examined efforts by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Rural Utilities Service to carry out the broadband programs established by the Recovery Act. The Subcommittee also received testimony from public sector and non-profit entities concerning the broadband programs. Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) said he is pleased that NTIA and RUS are treating their allocation of broadband stimulus funds as two parts of the same program. "The agencies should work together to ensure consistency in program management, and it is my understanding that with facilitation from the Administration, they are." He said the agencies need to develop sensible definitions of "unserved" and "underserved" areas, noting that it is appropriate to provide support where there is currently only one broadband provider, "so a community gets the benefit of market competition." An exchange between one Member of the Subcommittee and Connected Nation CEO Brian Mefford on the issue of using carrier supplied data with non-disclosure agreements for mapping ended with perhaps the most important quote of the day. Chairman Boucher said to the NTIA, RUS and FCC representatives: "I expect that any data collected with public money will be available to the public."
http://benton.org/node/24201
Recommend this Headline
back to top

FRACTIOUS PANEL PRAISES BROADBAND STIMULUS
[SOURCE: internetnews.com, AUTHOR: Alex Goldman]
At Freedom to Connect, panelists said the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus is a significant change from the policies of the previous administration's belief in the primacy of markets. "We are turning away from what I believe was a misguided effort to restructure the economy along the lines of selfishness: I've got mine and if you don't have yours, that's too bad for you because it's how the market works," said Harold Feld, legal director of consumer lobby Public Knowledge. Jim Baller of the Baller Herbst Law Group, a pro-competition lawyer, said he was thrilled that the United States at last a congressional mandate to develop a national broadband strategy within a year -- a measure he has been advocating for years. He noted that the details are being shaped, but the goals are clear. "It is a wonderful act on so many levels," said Baller. "It provides for transport, smart grids, health care, construction, safety, housing, energy efficiency and housing retrofits." Baller said that the bill cannot just be about fiber. "As much as we would like to see it, we won't lay fiber everywhere." But Joanne Hovis of CTC Communications and the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA), said that the only technology worth considering is fiber because older technologies such as wireless and DSL just don't do enough.
http://benton.org/node/24200
Recommend this Headline
back to top

NARUC RACHETS UP STATES BROADBAND ROLE
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Jesse Masai]
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners on Thursday ratcheted up their call for greater state involvement in disbursement and use of the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus funds with a letter to top Commerce and Agriculture Department officials. "NTIA has limited staff and must focus on the [digital television] transition during the most critical period for disbursements. RUS staff is fully occupied disbursing funds from previously authorized programs. Neither can possibly complete the tasks assigned under [fiscal stimulus legislation] without a very significant staff expansion," the commissioners wrote. They continued: "Even then, given the incredibly compressed timeframe, it will be almost impossible to review the anticipated thousands of applications most predict both will receive, much less rank the proposals according to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-specified criteria, disburse the funds, and monitor grant specific implementations." The commissioners said both Congress and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) had in effect recognized the invaluable role of states. NARUC suggests: 1) NTIA and RUS adopt a "use or lose" minimum standard allocation for each state, 2) states would assure up to that allocation is disbursed in-state, and 3) NTIA and RUS make minimal funding available to allow short term hires to assist State experts in screening applications and in monitoring grant implementation.
http://benton.org/node/24199
Recommend this Headline
back to top

WHY ARE GRANTS EASIER TO DISTRIBUTE THAN LOANS OR LOAN GUARANTEES?
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
Why is it easier/faster to vet and award a $100 million grant than a $100 million loan? This doesn't make sense to me as why should incurring $100 million in risk be worse and require more due diligence than writing a $100 million check and walking away? If anything I'd think the opposite would be true. In the case of giving out a grant don't we want to do everything possible to insure that the dollars are spent wisely, that they're given to qualified projects, that they don't lead to unjust enrichment? Of course the variable in this equation is that it's easy to score grants as they count dollar-for-dollar against the budget whereas loans require being able to gauge how risky a project is to know how to score it against the budget. But consider this, what if you just count the loans dollar-for-dollar against the budget? Then the only difference between it and a grant is that you'd have a chance of eventually getting the money back.
http://benton.org/node/24198
Recommend this Headline
back to top

RUS SEEKS INPUT ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS MODERNIZATION, DISTANCE LEARNING AND TELEMEDICINE
[SOURCE: Rural Utilities Service]
1) The Rural Electrification Loan Restructuring Act of 1993 requires that a State Telecommunications Modernization Plan (Modernization Plan), covering at a minimum the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) borrowers in the state, be established in a state or RUS cannot make hardship or concurrent cost-of money and Rural Telephone Bank (RTB) loans for construction in that state. It is the policy of RUS that every State has a Modernization Plan which provides for the improvement of the State's telecommunications network. A proposed Modernization plan must be submitted to RUS for approval. RUS will approve a proposed Modernization Plan if it conforms to the provisions of the law. The Rural Utilities Service invites comments on this information collection for which it intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 2) RUS also seeks its Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Loan and Grant program provides loans and grants for advanced telecommunications services to improve rural areas' access to educational and medical services.
http://benton.org/node/24197
Recommend this Headline
back to top

INDUSTRY SUGGEST BROADBAND DEFINITIONS AT FCC
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
The Federal Communications Commission has a consultative role in the broadband provisions of the Recovery Act, including the Broadband Opportunities Technology Program (BTOP). The FCC is to advise the NTIA on the definition of "unserved" and "underserved" areas and the definition of "broadband." The FCC is currently collecting public comment on those definitions. In recent meetings at the FCC, the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies said an "unserved area" should be defined for wireline broadband as any location that cannot receive Basic Broadband Tier 1 service as defined by the FCC (at least 768 Kbps downstream). The group said an "underserved area" should be defined for wireline broadband as any location that cannot receive at least 12 Mbps downstream (approx. bandwidth needed for today's "triple play" of video, data, and voice service). And they said "Broadband" should be defined per the FCC's speed tier system (768 Kbps downstream is the minimum bandwidth for basic broadband). ITTA Embarq, Qwest, Windstream said an "unserved area" is an area in which broadband service at or above a threshold speed is not available. An "underserved area" should be defined as an area lacking access to broadband at or above a specified threshold, and may contemplate tiers of "underserved" that would correspond to varying levels of broadband "speed." NCTA said the existing FCC definition of the term "broadband" should be "advanced communications systems capable of providing high-speed transmission of services such as data, voice, and video over the Internet and other networks. In unserved areas they said "broadband" should be defined as a connection to the Internet with a transmission speed of at least 768 kilobits per second in at least one direction. The Wireless Infrastructure Association discussed the private-sector eligibility, as well as definitions of "unserved" and "underserved," and the need to avoid any broadband threshold speed that discriminates against wireless broadband service options.
http://benton.org/node/24196
Recommend this Headline
back to top

WHO WILL MAP US BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Center for Public Integrity, AUTHOR: Te-Ping Chen]
There's a $350 million slice of pie in President Obama's stimulus plan that watchdog groups are starting to eye with concern. At stake is the question of who will control the process of mapping the penetration of broadband access across the US. Boosted by an array of official accolades, one nonprofit looks especially well-positioned for the job: Connected Nation. Last July, AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., and other companies issued a letter backing public-private partnerships to collect information about broadband deployment, and referenced Connected Nation's work in particular. Connected Nation has worked on the state level, as well, to contribute to similar publicly backed mapping efforts for years. But Connected Nation's ties to the broadband industry make some critics squeamish about putting the company in charge. As nonprofits Common Cause, Public Knowledge, and others detail in a new report, industry players heavily populate Connected Nation's board of directors, including senior executives from Comcast Corp., Verizon, and AT&T. Meanwhile, Connected Nation's previous state-level mapping initiatives — for example, in North Carolina — have relied extensively on non-disclosure agreements that limit identification of broadband providers and also require that information collected remain corporate property.
http://benton.org/node/24195
Recommend this Headline
back to top

MUCH ADO ABOUT BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Science Progress, AUTHOR: Mark Lloyd]
Although the National Telecommunications Information Administration and the Department of Agriculture have $7.2 billion in stimulus funds available to promote broadband access and use, the two agencies must first define what is meant by the term "broadband." The Federal Communications Commission, which must be consulted on the definition, provides two descriptions of broadband: 1) One description generally mirrors the broad capability standard Congress offered in 1996: "advanced communications systems capable of providing high-speed transmission of services such as data, voice, and video over the Internet and other networks." Two important concepts are missing here that Congress included in its original legislation: A) Users should be able to receive and send high speed transmissions and B) The transmissions should be high quality. Both of these distinctions are obviously very important for anyone using broadband. 2) The second description dates from the widely criticized compromise the Federal Communications Commission struck with the telecommunications industry in 1999, which defined broadband as "data transmission speeds exceeding 200 kilobits per second (kbps) . . . in at least one direction." If we stuck with that definition, it is not clear a citizen could effectively engage with the public panels on the broadband stimulus.
http://benton.org/node/24194
Recommend this Headline
back to top

TIME WARNER RATIONALE FOR BANDWIDTH CAPS DOESN'T ADD UP
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
Time Warner Cable's bandwidth caps are such a hit that the company is rolling them out in more cities this year. The caps start at 5GB per month, but Time Warner Cable's CEO says that they are needed to cover its infrastructure costs. Britt's rationale for the change—infrastructure is expensive—is tough to understand. Cable's physical plant has been in the ground for years; even hybrid fiber-coax systems have been widely deployed for some time. Internet access simply runs across the existing network, and one of cable's big advantages over DSL is that speeds can be upgraded cheaply by swapping in new DOCSIS headend gear, with DOCSIS 3.0 the current standard. Compared to what Verizon is doing with fiber and AT&T with its quasi-fiber U-Verse, cable Internet is a bargain (well, for the operators).
http://benton.org/node/24193
Recommend this Headline
back to top

AT&T'S DE LA VEGA SAYS MOBILITY KEY WEAPON IN BROADBAND WARS
[SOURCE: Dow Jones, AUTHOR: Roger Cheng]
Mobility, not just speed, will be a key factor in winning over high-speed Internet customers, according to AT&T Inc. wireless chief Ralph de la Vega. The telecommunications giant on Wednesday introduced a $50 netbook that De la Vega said will play a key role in expanding the mobile capabilities of its consumers. He also hopes it will give AT&T an edge in its pitched battle with the cable providers in offering Internet, phone and television services. Cable companies such as Comcast Corp. have slammed the telecom companies and their DSL offering, which they claim is slower. De la Vega, however, believes that it's more important that AT&T can offer the same high-speed Internet experience found on the home PC on the road.
http://benton.org/node/24192
Recommend this Headline
back to top

UK BROADBAND BATTLE DRAGS IN MINISTERS
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Parker]
British ministers look likely to have to step in to solve a bitter dispute between mobile phone operators over radio spectrum because industry-led talks on the issue are heading for failure. The government is expected to have to impose a solution on the industry because the mobile operators cannot agree on how to carve up a big chunk of radio spectrum that could be used for wireless broadband services. But ministers risk seeing the mobile operators respond by fighting any government-enforced solution in the courts. Bringing an end to the protracted dispute over spectrum is essential if the government is to proceed with its plan to make broadband Internet access available to all homes by 2012.
http://benton.org/node/24184
Recommend this Headline
back to top

STATION WEBSITES TO MAKE $1.3 BILLION IN 2009
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Michael Malone]
According to Borrell Associates and the Television Bureau of Advertising, TV stations' Websites reached the $1 billion mark in revenue for the first time last year, a 36% gain over 2007, and are on course to do $1.3 in business this year. Despite the dismal economy, that represents a 26% boost over 2008. Borrell said there's ample room for continued growth. The local advertising pie across all media was $12.6 billion in 2008, with local television's $1.03 billion haul a fraction of that. Broadcast TV's 8.3% of the local online ad share was well behind the newspaper category's 27.7% share and pure-play Internet's 47.2%. But Borrell said many stations are taking the fight to the ailing newspaper category online. In 22 of the 80 markets surveyed, a station site drew more traffic than the big newspaper site.
http://benton.org/node/24178
Recommend this Headline
back to top

JOURNALISM

A PLAN TO SAVE OUR FREE PRESS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Sen Benjamin Cardin (D-MD)]
[Commentary] America is losing its newspaper industry. While the economy has caused an immediate problem, the business model for newspapers, based on circulation and advertising revenue, is broken. That decline is a harbinger of tragedy for communities nationwide and for our democracy. The Newspaper Revitalization Act aims to help the disappearing community and metropolitan papers by allowing them to become nonprofit organizations. The goal is to save local coverage by reporters who know their communities, work their beats and dig up the stories that are important to our daily lives. Today, newspapers do that job; all other outlets -- TV, radio, blogs -- feed off that base. The bill would allow newspapers -- if they choose -- to operate under 501(c)(3) status for educational purposes, similar to public broadcasters. Under this arrangement, newspapers would not be allowed to make political endorsements but would be permitted to freely report on all issues, including political campaigns. They would be able to editorialize and take positions on issues affecting their communities. Advertising and subscription revenue would be tax-exempt, and contributions to support coverage or operations could be tax-deductible. The measure is targeted at local newspapers serving communities, not large newspaper conglomerates. Converting to nonprofit status may not be the optimal choice for some newspapers -- particularly those that rely on a significant revenue stream -- but this legislation would provide an alternative business model that could help many newspapers keep operating. I am confident that citizens or foundations in communities across the nation would be willing to step in and preserve their local papers. Newspapers provide a vital service. It is in the interest of our nation and good governance that we ensure their survival.
http://benton.org/node/24190
Recommend this Headline
back to top

PAPER MONEY
[SOURCE: Slate, AUTHOR: Daniel Gross]
Each time a newspaper company closes or files for bankruptcy—as Sun-Times Media, the owner of the Chicago Sun-Times and 58 other newspapers, did this week—analysts are quick to hammer another nail in the coffin of the printed word. Roughly coinciding as they do with the advent of the Kindle 2, the failures give ammunition to voices who say newspapers are obsolete. Now that both of the Second City's major newspapers are operating under the umbrella of Chapter 11, and with papers in Denver and Seattle shutting down, it's tough to argue with those who say the industry has useless management, a fundamentally unviable business model, and not much of a future. While newspapers have serious problems, the recent failures of several newspaper companies (here's a list of list of four others that have gone BK in recent months) shouldn't necessarily lead to visions of the apocalypse. Virtually every newspaper in the country has experienced a sharp drop in advertising and is suffering losses. But not every newspaper company in the country has gone bankrupt as a result. And the failures may say more about a style of capitalism than an industry. Each company was undone in large measure by really stupid (and in one case criminal) activities by managers. Newspapers aren't assets to be flipped, leveraged, and stripped.
http://benton.org/node/24170
Recommend this Headline
back to top

A COSTLY MISTAKE?
[SOURCE: American Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Paul Farhi]
[Commentary] When the Associated Press decided a decade ago to sell its news content to online portals, it may have hastened the decline of the daily newspapers that own the wire service. Now, after years of sending the news everywhere, after helping to build the paradigm-shattering revolution in free news, the AP is now positioning itself as an architect of the fortress that would protect the news, returning greater compensation to the news outlets that produced it. What went around may yet come back around, and this time it might have a price tag.
http://benton.org/node/24168
Recommend this Headline
back to top

MURDOCH SAYS PAPERS SHOULD CHARGE ON WEB
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Yinka Adegoke]
Rupert Murdoch, whose media company News Corp owns one of the few US newspapers that makes people pay to read its news on the Web, said more papers will have to start doing the same to survive. Murdoch, who bought The Wall Street Journal and its parent company Dow Jones & Co in 2007, said online advertising, which most U.S. publishers hope will offset ad revenue declines at their print divisions, will not cover their costs.
http://benton.org/node/24183
Recommend this Headline
back to top

A BAILOUT FOR JOURNALISTS?
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Garance Franke-Ruta]
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) said yesterday that the team overseeing distribution of stimulus funds should consider hiring recently laid-off journalists to help craft the tone and message of the government's Recovery.gov Web site. Sen McCaskill expressed concern that the written weekly updates on the new government Web site about the stimulus were inadequate. "They don't feel like they're being written so people can look at it and really understand what's happening," she said.
http://benton.org/node/24191
Recommend this Headline
back to top

TRANSITION/BUDGET

CONGRESS APPROVES BUDGET
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Lori Montgomery]
Congressional Democrats overwhelmingly embraced President Obama's ambitious and expensive agenda for the nation yesterday, endorsing a $3.5 trillion spending plan that sets the stage for the president to pursue his most far-reaching priorities. Voting along party lines, the House and Senate approved budget blueprints that would trim Obama's spending proposals for the fiscal year that begins in October and curtail his plans to cut taxes. The blueprints, however, would permit work to begin on the central goals of Obama's presidency: an expansion of health-care coverage for the uninsured, more money for college loans and a cap-and-trade system to reduce gases that contribute to global warming. The measures now move to a conference committee where negotiators must resolve differences between the two chambers, a prelude to the more difficult choices that will be required to implement Obama's initiatives. While Democrats back the president's vision for transforming huge sectors of the economy, they remain fiercely divided over the details.
http://benton.org/node/24203
Recommend this Headline
back to top

PRESIDENT OBAMA PICKS GROVES FOR CENSUS
[SOURCE: The White House]
President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Robert M. Groves to be Director of the Bureau of the Census. Groves is Director of the University of Michigan Survey Research Center, Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan, Research Professor at its Institute for Social Research, and Research Professor at the Joint Program in Survey Methodology, at the University of Maryland. From 1990-1992 Groves was an Associate Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, on loan from University of Michigan. From 1992-2001 he was the associate director, then director of the Joint Program in Survey Methodology, a graduate program sponsored by the US Federal statistical system. He is the author of seven books and scores of scientific articles concerning the improvement of surveys. He has researched why people participate in statistical surveys, worked to develop surveys with lower non-response errors and studied how data is collected for surveys. He would preside over an organization that has acknowledged that it may inadvertently miss counting several million people in urban areas and those displaced by the home foreclosure crisis. Republicans expressed alarm because of one of Mr. Groves's specialties, statistical sampling — roughly speaking, the process of extrapolating from the numbers of people actually counted to arrive at estimates of those uncounted and, presumably, arriving at a realistic total. If minorities, immigrants, the poor and the homeless are those most likely to be missed in an actual head count, and if political stereotypes hold true, then statistical sampling would presumably benefit the Democrats. Republicans have generally argued that statistical sampling is not as reliable as its devotees insist.
http://benton.org/node/24189
See also:
Tent cities pose challenges for US census
back to top

GROUPS URGE BALANCED IP APPOINTMENTS
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
A coalition of consumer advocates, library associations, and trade groups representing the technology, consumer electronics, and telecommunications industries wrote to President Obama Thursday urging him to make sure his future appointments to intellectual property positions "reflect the diversity of stakeholders affected by IP policy." The letter points out that several appointees to positions that oversee the formulation and implementation of IP policy have previously represented "the concentrated copyright industries." The letter was signed by the American Library Association; Center for Democracy and Technology; Computer and Communications Industry Association; Consumer Electronics Association; Consumers Union; Electronic Frontier Foundation; Public Knowledge and others.
http://benton.org/node/24175
Recommend this Headline
back to top

SEBELIUS CONFIRMATION STALLS OVER GOP OBJECTIONS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Young]
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus's (D-Mont.) attempt to fast-track the confirmation of Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Kathleen Sebelius has stalled over Republican objections. Sebelius, the Democratic governor of Kansas, appeared before the committee Thursday during an uneventful confirmation hearing at which Republicans did not press her about her disclosure this week that she paid more than $7,000 in back taxes while being vetted by the Obama administration or about her record in favor of abortion rights, a major issue with conservative groups that have actively opposed her nomination. However, Republicans object to staging a vote the same day as her confirmation hearing, according to a GOP aide. Finance Committee Republicans want to see answers to written questions they submitted to Sebelius in conjunction with the hearing before moving on with a confirmation vote, the aide said.
http://benton.org/node/24162
Recommend this Headline
back to top

BEHIND THE CURTAIN
[SOURCE: Government Executive, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
When President Obama issued his Day One memos instructing members of his administration to operate under principles of openness to spur citizen engagement, government watchdogs cheered. They hailed the call - a nod to his campaign promise to make government more transparent - as unprecedented and said it was a welcome change from the past eight years. But in the weeks since Obama's pledge that transparency would be a touchstone of his presidency, policy watchers have turned their attention to the details. What exactly is government transparency? How is it interpreted by those inside government who need to execute it? How will it be measured? What will it look like to the public?
http://benton.org/node/24174
Recommend this Headline
back to top

COPPS ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL STAFF CHANGES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The following staff changes within the Federal Communications Commission were announced: 1) Julie Veach will serve as Acting Bureau Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB); 2) Dana Shaffer, Chief, WCB will become Deputy Chief, Enforcement Bureau (EB); 3) William Dever will serve as Acting Chief, Competition Policy Division, WCB; 4) William Davenport, Assistant Chief, EB, has been promoted to Associate Chief, EB; 5) Suzanne Tetreault, currently in the Market Disputes Resolution Division, EB, will become Acting Deputy Bureau Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB); 6) Nicole McGinnis, Deputy Chief, CGB, will become Assistant Division Chief, Spectrum and Competition Policy Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau; 7) Jeff Cohen, currently Senior Legal Counsel in the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB), will become Acting Deputy Bureau Chief; 8) Erika Olsen, currently Deputy Bureau Chief, PSHSB, will become Special Counsel to the Bureau Chief; 9) Carol Simpson, formerly on detail to the Office of Representative Jane Harman, has returned to PSHSB and will serve as Acting Associate Bureau Chief; 10) Michael S. Perko, Chief, Office of Communications and Industry Information, Media Bureau, will serve as Acting Director, Office of Legislative Affairs; 11) Lawrence Schaffner will serve as Acting Director, Office of Workplace Diversity.
http://benton.org/node/24173
Recommend this Headline
back to top

WIRELESS

NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS AND PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS ASK FCC TO IMMEDIATELY FIX WIRELESS AUCTION RULES
[SOURCE: Ghatt Law Group, AUTHOR: Press release]
Leaders from ten prominent civil rights, women and minority interest organizations have been making the rounds meeting with FCC Commissioners asking them to reverse 2006 rule changes that, since adopted, have virtually eliminated the ability of small and minority businesses to compete against large wireless companies for valuable spectrum at FCC auctions. The groups are concerned about two aspects of the FCC auction rules designed to give small businesses with limited assets and revenue, (called designated entities or DEs) a reasonable chance to bid for and win spectrum at auctions where they have to compete with large wireless companies. Before the changes, DEs were able to raise capital, secure spectrum at a discount and operate successful wireless companies. However, in 2006, without warning or opportunity for public comment, the FCC changed the rules shortly before it auctioned off prime and valuable spectrum in the Advanced Wireless Service auction (Auction 66). Between 1996 and 2005, DEs' average successful participation rate in comparable wireless auctions was over 70% compared to only 4% in Auction 66 and 2.6% in Auction 73 (a subsequent auction). After these changes, of the $19 billion of licenses sold in Auction 73 last year, minorities acquired just $5 million, or less than 1 % of the total value of those licenses.
http://benton.org/node/24160
Recommend this Headline
back to top

HOW MUCH MORE SPECTRUM DO WE NEED?
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Saul Hansell]
There's no bigger question facing Julius Genachowski than how to allocate the country's wireless spectrum. His first major task as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission will be to develop the national broadband strategy that is required under the new stimulus law. A number of factors are pushing up demand for wireless capacity, including the rapid adoption of smartphones, new applications and unlimited-use pricing plans. Over the next two years, we are going to see more and faster wireless service from AT&T and Verizon. Those companies just won a large portion of the spectrum the government auctioned off last year that is being abandoned as television stations switch to their new digital frequencies. A lot of telecom experts are wondering whether those added frequencies will offer enough capacity. They note that a great deal of the spectrum now allocated to government and military uses might well be able to be converted to consumer broadband. Of course, this not only would require action by the FCC, but also a willingness by the current owner of those frequencies to give them up. And what agency wants to lose rights to something that probably never can be reclaimed-even if it is hardly being used today?
http://benton.org/node/24182
Recommend this Headline
back to top

SKYPE'S IPHONE LIMITS IRK SOME CONSUMER ADVOCATES
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Leslie Cauley]
Apple's unique treatment of the new Skype Internet calling feature on the iPhone — the free app works only on Wi-Fi, not the cellular or 3G network — is raising concern among public-policymakers and consumer advocates. They say it's a clear example of AT&T, the sole carrier of the iPhone in the U.S., trying to handicap a direct competitor. "Consumers will pay the price for AT&T's blocking," says Chris Murray, senior counsel to Consumers Union. By using Skype on the iPhone, consumers can sidestep AT&T, allowing them to get by, potentially, with cheaper voice plans that offer fewer minutes. Consumers can also save a bundle on international calls. Technically, the limitation on Skype and other Internet phone companies is imposed by Apple, which has similar arrangements with other carriers.
http://benton.org/node/24187
Recommend this Headline
back to top

DEUTSCHE TELEKOM THREATENS TO BLOCK USE OF SKYPE ON IPHONE
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: David Gelles]
Deutsche Telekom is threatening to block its customers from using the new Skype application on their Apple iPhones, an indication that telecom providers feel threatened by the rise of mobile VoIP, or voice over Internet protocol, software. The Skype application, released this week, allows users in a Wi-Fi zone to make free calls to other Skype users and place calls to landlines and other mobile phones at a low rate. While mobile VoIP usage is limited today, it is expected to grow dramatically in the coming years as reliable high-bandwidth Wi-Fi becomes more prevalent. Deutsche Telekom, which markets the iPhone on an exclusive basis in five European countries and a non-exclusive basis in several others, is known for having restrictive rules that govern the use of applications on its handsets.
http://benton.org/node/24186
Recommend this Headline
back to top

SKYPING THE NEW FCC
[SOURCE: Forbes, AUTHOR: Elizabeth Woyke]
A Q&A with Chris Libertelli, Skype's senior director of government and regulatory affairs. Those in Washington and the wireless industry know that Skype, the popular Internet communications service, wields influence beyond its size. In matters of policy, Skype's stance is constant: The Web should stay as open as possible to foster innovation. Under a new, reform-minded administration--and a new Federal Communications Commission chairman--Skype appears poised to shape future wireless policy more than ever before.
http://benton.org/node/24171
Recommend this Headline
back to top

TELECOMS GROUPS URGE LIGHTER REGULATION
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Parker]
Some of the world's leading mobile phone operators and telecoms equipment manufacturers have written to G20 leaders urging them to better enable the industry to help pull countries out of recession. Companies including AT&T, Bharti Enterprises, Nokia, Telefónica and Vodafone said in a letter to G20 leaders that governments must deliver a less intrusive regulatory environment for the telecoms industry. They also called on governments to ensure that mobile operators secure 25 per cent of the radio spectrum made available by the switchover from analog to digital spectrum, so that wireless broadband services can be expanded.
http://benton.org/node/24185
Recommend this Headline
back to top

DEVELOPERS STUNTED BY FRAGMENTED MOBILE MARKETS
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Nancy Gohring]
Reducing the number of mobile software platforms, but not by too much, is the key to unleashing pent up creativity in the mobile market, executives said on Wednesday. But consolidation in the mobile industry is difficult and if it's not managed correctly, everyone will suffer, executives said during a panel discussion at the CTIA conference in Las Vegas.
http://benton.org/node/24164
Recommend this Headline
back to top

AT&T QUIETLY UPDATES ITS WIRELESS PLANS
[SOURCE: PublicKnowledge, AUTHOR: Robb Topolski]
AT&T has revised its wireless plans. In the latest changes to the service terms, it looks like AT&T is trying to exempt its own video services but metering services like the Slingbox or other video web sites.
http://benton.org/node/24163
Recommend this Headline
back to top

"COMPETITION" IS FAILING TO PROTECT TELECOM CONSUMERS
[SOURCE: The Utility Reform Network (TURN), AUTHOR: Press release]
A new report finds that telephone service deregulation in California is a disaster, and phone company competition a myth. TURN also has uncovered a previously unreleased study of telephone competition prepared by the Staff of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) that reached similar conclusions. "The CPUC's original prediction that market competition would protect consumers has not, unfortunately, been born out," said TURN executive director Mark Toney. 'In fact, Californians are giving a bigger piece of their paychecks to AT&T and Verizon every day." TURN believes responsible regulation of the industry is necessary to the continuation of affordable, universal phone access in California," Toney said. "Despite the CPUC's belief that wireless and wireline are interchangeable, the vast majority of Californians continue to rely on landlines, and they are being gouged."
http://benton.org/node/24169
Recommend this Headline
back to top

CABLE

BOUCHER PRAISES CABLE EFFORTS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
House Communications, Technology and Internet Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA), speaking to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, pledged fight efforts by the Copyright Office and others to phase out cable's compulsory license, which would force operators to negotiate individually for programs when they retransmit broadcast signals. He said the industry would be facing a "practical impossibility" if it were asked to do that. And he asked his audience for help in getting his shield law bill through the Senate. The bill passed the House on voice vote this week, but Boucher said earlier in the week he was not predicting what would happen in the Senate. Chairman Boucher also asked for input on how to craft a bipartisan online privacy bill he is drafting that would provide opt in/opt out guidelines for online marketing.
http://benton.org/node/24177
Recommend this Headline
back to top

HUTCHISON RESISTING MANDATE FOR A LA CARTE AND NETWORK NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Sen Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) told a National Cable & Telecommunications Association audience Wednesday that she would resist efforts to mandate a la carte and Network Neutrality, but warned that unless the industry wanted Congress to get involved in retrans negotiations, it needs to try and avoid high-profile disputes. Sen Hutchison did say she thought the price of basic cable was becoming "more and more of a problem for many people who would like to have certain programs," so she did ask for a volunteer to offer packages of service targeted to sports fans or news junkies or history buffs, for example. On Network Neutrality, she warned that if a bill did pass, it would "have a lot on it and you won't like it." She said stopping it cold was the best strategy because such a bill would "repress investment."
http://benton.org/node/24176
Recommend this Headline
back to top

COMCAST CEO LOOKS FORWARD TO FRESH START WITH NEW FCC CHAIR
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts said he looks forward to a "clean slate" under new leadership at the Federal Communications Commission. Roberts said he expects that incoming FCC chair Julius Genachowski, will push for more access and adoption of high-speed Internet service. He said Comcast is planning to spend an additional $300 million to $400 million from its coffers this year to upgrade its networks to all-digital and introduce its fastest Internet speeds. Roberts pointed to strong ties the company has with leadership in the Obama administration, including Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps. "They know we are at the cusp of change with broadband and they want to get it right," he said. But when asked about new rules or stronger enforcement of the FCC principles on how carriers can manage content and applications on their networks, Roberts warned such action could hurt the industry. "Any uncertainty through new laws slows down innovation," Roberts said.
http://benton.org/node/24181
Recommend this Headline
back to top

DISNEY WARNS CABLE ON RESTRICTIVE WEB TV
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Yinka Adegoke]
Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger warned the cable TV industry not to alienate consumers by restricting cable programing on the Web to paying TV subscribers. Such plans could provoke a consumer backlash, Iger said on Thursday at an industry event, The Cable Show. "Preventing people from watching any shows online, unless they subscribe to some multichannel service could be viewed as both anti-consumer and anti-technology and would be something we would find difficult to embrace," he said.
http://benton.org/node/24179
Recommend this Headline
back to top

Email this page