June 17, 2009 ("Fix this agency")

"Fix this agency, or we will fix it for you."
-- Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller to FCC nominee Julius Genachowski

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY JUNE 17, 2009

Taking a little break, Headlines will return MONDAY JUNE 22.

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   E-Mail Surveillance Renews Concerns in Congress
   In '03, Hints of Skepticism by Sotomayor on Expanded Wiretapping
   US State Department speaks to Twitter over Iran
   The Nation's CIO: Government Needs a Dashboard

POLICYMAKERS
   Senate panel takes up Genachowski nomination
   Wireless Can Solve 'Last Mile' Competition Problem, McDowell Tells Senators
   How the Consumers Federation of America aims to shape telecom policy
   FTC Names New Privacy Chief
   Scott Cleland, a Google Critic, Paid By Microsoft

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Digital Britain report - key points
   UK faces broadband tax
   Broadband Conduit Bill Gets Senate Companion, Genachowski Endorsement
   3 Million New North American Broadband Subscribers
   Sherwood (OR) rethinks fiber-optic access for all

TELEVISION
   DTV Issues Persist
      See also: Hill Shout-Outs For DTV
   PBS Blesses Old Religious Shows, But Bans the New
   Satellite Draft Bodes Well For Broadcasters
   Satellite Operators Pledge Not To Exploit Analog Loophole
   FCC: Time Warner Must Stop Charging StogMedia Fees For Leased Access Programming

WIRELESS
   Verizon, AT&T deny collusion on texting prices
   Who Really Owns Your Phone?
   Obama backs repeal of tax on personal cell phones
   iPhone gulps AT&T network capacity

HEALTH
   Panel Offers Initial Criteria for Defining 'Meaningful Use'
   More are searching the Web for medical advice

MORE ON THE WEB
   Educational Technology Hits The Hill
   US Subsidy Fund For Rural Phone Service Reaches All-Time High
   Court refuses to hear challenge to FCC rule
   Digital spending to fuel slower media growth
   Newspaper Biz Expected to Lose $25 Billion by 2013
   No Story Dominates, but Iran Fascinates

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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

E-MAIL SURVEILLANCE RENEWS CONCERNS IN CONGRESS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: James Risen, Eric Lichtblau]
The National Security Agency is facing renewed scrutiny over the extent of its domestic surveillance program, with critics in Congress saying its recent intercepts of the private telephone calls and e-mail messages of Americans are broader than previously acknowledged. The agency's monitoring of domestic e-mail messages, in particular, has posed longstanding legal and logistical difficulties. Since April, when it was disclosed that the intercepts of some private communications of Americans went beyond legal limits in late 2008 and early 2009, several Congressional committees have been investigating. Those inquiries have led to concerns in Congress about the agency's ability to collect and read domestic e-mail messages of Americans on a widespread basis, officials said. Supporting that conclusion is the account of a former N.S.A. analyst who, in a series of interviews, described being trained in 2005 for a program in which the agency routinely examined large volumes of Americans' e-mail messages without court warrants. Two intelligence officials confirmed that the program was still in operation.
http://benton.org/node/26008
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IN '03, HINTS OF SKEPTICISM BY SOTOMAYOR ON EXPANDING WIRETAPPING
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Charlie Savage]
Judge Sonia Sotomayor expressed skepticism in March 2003 about the expanded government surveillance powers in the USA Patriot Act, citing what she referred to as its broader authority "to impose nationwide wiretaps with little judicial supervision" and to monitor Internet use in search of terrorists. "Whether and how these statutes will be challenged in court is difficult to discern, but suffice it to say that traditional Fourth Amendment law does not permit searches and seizures without particularized suspicions of illegality," Judge Sotomayor told law students in a guest lecture at the Indiana University law school in Indianapolis six years ago. Her remarks on legal issues arising from the Bush administration's response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, represent the most detailed indication to surface so far of her approach to executive power and counterterrorism, a high-profile area that has sharply divided the Supreme Court in recent terms.
http://benton.org/node/26007
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US STATE DEPARTMENT SPEAKS TO TWITTER OVER IRAN
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Sue Pleming]
The US State Department said on Tuesday it had contacted the social networking service Twitter to urge it to delay a planned upgrade that would have cut daytime service to Iranians who are disputing their election. Twitter and Facebook have been used as a tool by many young people to coordinate protests over the election's outcome. Twitter Inc said in a blog post it delayed a planned upgrade because of its role as an "important communication tool in Iran." The hour-long maintenance was put back to 5 p.m. EDT/2100 GMT, which corresponds to 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday in Iran. The upgrade originally had been planned for Monday night in the United States, which would have cut daytime service in Iran on Tuesday.
http://benton.org/node/25991
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THE NATION'S CIO: GOVERNMENT NEEDS A DASHBOARD
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Saul Hansell]
Vivek Kundra, the nation's new chief information officer, will manage $76 billion in spending to maintain 10,000 government systems as well as 800 active projects to build major new systems (those costing $50 million or more). And dashboards are a critical tool. By the end of June, CIO Kundra hopes to start yet another federal Web site that will give officials and the public a window into all of the active government technology projects. For each project, it will show the purpose, schedule and budget. It will show the name and photo of the federal official responsible and the names of which contractors are working on the project, a fact that CIO Kundra says oddly has not been made public before. Most important, it will keep track of what Kundra believes are leading indicators that a project is going awry.
http://benton.org/node/25992
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POLICYMAKERS

SENATE PANEL TAKES UP GENACHOWSKI NOMINATION
[SOURCE: TheDeal.com, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
Julius Genachowski moved one step closer to taking his post as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. The attorney-turned-entrepreneur received a strong endorsement from opponents of media consolidation during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee. Genachowski told the committee he would focus on implementing a national broadband service plan, promoting more consumer choices in telecoms, and making the agency's work more transparent to outsiders. Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) criticized the previous Republican-led FCC for pursuing a deregulatory agenda and lauded Genachowski. "Fix this commission or we will fix it for you," was the charter handed out sternly by Chairman Rockefeller. He said the commission had shortchanged consumers and the public interest, helping special interests at the expense of consumers. He even extended that to the "distasteful way" he said those special interests had clamored for their preferred FCC nominees. Sen Rockefeller said he was "thoroughly impressed" with Genachowski. The Committee wants to expedite a vote on Genachowski's nomination, as well as that of Republican FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell, but Senator Mark Pryor (D-Ark) said there was still no agreement on when that vote would be. From the praise both roundly received from both Democrats and Republicans, both seemed slated for approval.
http://benton.org/node/25997
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WIRELESS CAN SOLVE 'LAST MILE' COMPETITION PROBLEMS, MCDOWELL SAYS
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Alex Tcherkassky]
Robust competition and expanded wireless services will be fundamental pieces of the Federal Communications Commission's national broadband plan, Commissioner Robert McDowell told members of the Senate Commerce Committee Tuesday. McDowell appeared before the committee as it considered his nomination for a second term on the agency. The communications marketplace has evolved in ways that have been "nothing short of amazing" since he joined the commission three years ago, McDowell said in his opening statement. McDowell pointed out that broadband subscriptions have grown by 40 percent over that time. And nearly 20 percent of households subscribe only to wireless communications services, he said, including wireless broadband - which he claimed has grown by 400 percent. Those services are increasingly important to American business, McDowell said. "America's economy rides on the rails of the communications sector," he said. McDowell pledged to encourage policies to foster "sustainable economic growth." The FCC's role is "more important now than ever," he said.
http://benton.org/node/25999
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HOW THE CONSUMERS FEDERATION OF AMERICA AIMS TO SHAPE TELECOM POLICY
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
The Consumer Federation of America is a long-standing consumer group that is involved in telecom as well as a range of other issues. Now in its forty-second year, the organization was founded to represent state and local consumer groups at the federal level. Founders, explained CFA Research Director Mark Cooper, "realized that a lot of policies that affect the consumer are set in Washington -- we're usually invited to a state to help on an important issue, and we frequently get members to sign on to comments to the FCC." CFA attempts to influence policy in a variety of ways, Cooper said. "We file comments, issue research, talk to the press, write letters to Capitol Hill and testify a lot," he said. When it comes to telecom policy matters, however, Cooper appears to be using the royal "we." "I'm the telecom staff," he said. In the mid-eighties, CFA played a big role in shaping the Lifeline and Linkup programs that use Universal Service funding to support the costs of telephone service for low-income consumers. "We did the research that created the programs," Cooper said. Today, CFA is "very active" in supporting Network Neutrality efforts, Cooper said. "The open character of the Internet is its essential feature and preserving it is critical," he said. CFA fought hard to get the four principles of net neutrality into several policy rulings. Those principles attempt to achieve what some refer to as an "open Internet" by asserting, for example, that consumers should be able to attach any device to the network. "We want a fifth principle to say that the first four are enforceable," Cooper said.
http://benton.org/node/25979
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

DIGITAL BRITAIN REPORT -- KEY POINTS
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Maija Palmer]
The UK's Digital Britain white paper proposes: 1) Universal broadband access at 2 megabits per second by 2012. This will be partly funded by £200m from funds not used to help swithchover to digital television, 2) A 50p-a-month levy will be imposed on all fixed copper lines to help create an independent "next generation fund" to help pay for faster broadband access, 3) Empowering Ofcom to fight digital piracy, including notifying of infringements and releasing identities of repeat offenders so they can be taken to court by content owners. 4) Reducing digital piracy by 70%. 5) All national radio stations to be digital by 2015. 6) £300m home access scheme to be rolled out to help lower income families get access to broadband Internet services.
http://benton.org/node/26001
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UK FACES BROADBAND TAX
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Parker, Ben Fenton]
Millions of UK households will pay a "broadband tax" to subsidize the roll-out of superfast telecoms networks, as part of the government's ambitions to equip the nation with a 21st century communications infrastructure. The levy, which would raise up to £175m per year, would serve as seedcorn money for expanding "next-generation" broadband networks to rural areas, ministers said on Tuesday. But the government's Digital Britain white paper, launched on Tuesday, incurred the wrath of the BBC's governing body by proposing that the broadcaster share a portion of its licence fee with commercial rivals for the first time. Lord Carter, communications minister, infuriated the BBC Trust by proposing that up to 3.5 per cent of the £3.6bn annual licence fee should be used to fund regional news made by independent broadcasters and shown on rival ITV.
http://benton.org/node/26002
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BROADBAND CONDUIT BILL GETS COMPANION, GENACHOWSKI ENDORSEMENT
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Alex Tcherkassky]
Legislation to require federal highway construction to include conduits and fiber was introduced in the Senate Monday by Sens Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mark Warner (D-VA). The Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2009 joins a similar House bill introduced last month by Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA). The bill is almost identical to H.R. 2428, which amends the Federal Highway Act to require new construction using federal funding to employ "industry best practices" in placing "an appropriate number of broadband conduits" to accommodate multiple broadband providers. The Secretary of Transportation would be responsible for determining the number and placement of such conduits. The bill is largely based on the work of the New America Foundation, which released a paper on building "a 21st Century Broadband Superhighway" in January.
http://benton.org/node/25998
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3 MILLION NEW NORTH AMERICAN BROADBAND SUBSCRIBERS
[SOURCE: Broadband Forum, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Broadband Forum estimates that broadband grew by 16.6 million lines globally in the last quarter alone, with more than three million being added across North America. Broadband lines in the world now top 429.2 million and the last quarter shows growth slightly higher than the previous three month period. Twenty countries grew by 10 percent or more in that time. The biggest growth in the top 20 came from India at 13.4 percent, while the other large gainers were Ukraine (15.2 percent), Egypt (10.6 percent) and Mexico (10.3 percent). Of the total figure, North America grew 3.87 percent to more than 93.5 million. DSL continues to be the most popular broadband access technology, although fiber grew by more than three million lines to reflect a 12.4 percent share of the market, while wireless showed a healthy proportionate increase of over one million lines to a total of 5.58 million.
http://benton.org/node/25977
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SHERWOOD (OR) RETHINKS FIBER-OPTIC ACCESS FOR ALL
[SOURCE: The Oregonian, AUTHOR: Brad Schmidt]
Five years ago, Sherwood (OR) leaders ambitiously set out to build and operate a fiber-optic network creating Internet connections to every home and business. They promised that the enterprise would pay for itself -- and then some, creating excess revenue for other city projects. So far, that hasn't happened. Plagued by loose planning and oversight, Sherwood's experience exemplifies the risks and challenges of government-funded Internet projects now running in a handful of Oregon communities. Sherwood Broadband has been subsidized by $1.55 million in taxpayer money. It has missed revenue projections by nearly one-third while expenses have been more than one-quarter over budget. It serves about two dozen business locations -- nearly half of them outside city limits -- and about 50 wireless users each day. One elected official publicly called it a "significant money loser." Sherwood leaders acknowledge missteps, particularly minimal marketing and sales efforts. But officials say they are developing a new strategy. And they insist that the 60-mile network could eventually lead to new jobs and economic development.
http://benton.org/node/25978
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TELEVISION

DTV ISSUES PERSIST
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
Five days after the national transition to all-digital television, WUSA, Washington DC's CBS affiliate (Channel 9), and WJLA, the ABC affiliate (Channel 7), have disappeared from screens around the region. The stations were the only two in the Washington area to move their digital signals from UHF to the VHF frequencies they once used for their analog broadcasts. That has left thousands of viewers without access. It is estimated tens of thousands of Americans lost channels or received choppy video after 971 TV stations on Friday shut off their analog signals and migrated entirely to digital broadcasts. The FCC has been advising viewers experiencing trouble to have their converter boxes rescan the airwaves for digital TV signals that moved to new frequencies last week. For those not helped by that, the FCC put out an advisory Monday on its website recommending "double rescanning": disconnecting the antenna from the TV, rescanning, unplugging the converter box for a couple of minutes, turning the converter box back on, reconnecting the antenna and scanning one more time.
http://benton.org/node/26006
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PBS BLESSES OLD RELIGIOUS SHOWS, BUT BANS THE NEW
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Paul Farhi]
The Public Broadcasting Service agreed yesterday to ban its member stations from airing new religious TV programs, but permitted the handful of stations that already carry "sectarian" shows to continue doing so. The vote by PBS's board was a compromise from a proposed ban on all religious programming. Such a ban would have forced a few stations around the country to give up their PBS affiliation if they continued to broadcast local church services and religious lectures. Until now, PBS stations have been required to present programming that is noncommercial, nonpartisan and nonsectarian. But the definition of "nonsectarian" programming was always loosely interpreted, and the rule had never been strictly enforced. PBS began reviewing the definition and application of those rules last year in light of the transition to digital TV and with many stations streaming programs over their Web sites. The definition doesn't cover journalistic programs about religion or discussion programs that don't favor a particular religious point of view.
http://benton.org/node/26005
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SATELLITE DRAFT BODES WELL FOR BROADCASTERS
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) on Monday released a narrow discussion draft of a bill to reauthorize for five years provisions of the Satellite Home Viewer Act set to expire Dec. 31. As written, the proposal leaves out language opposed by broadcasters that would allow satellite and cable providers to import signals of stations in adjacent markets. CBS, NBC and FOX have argued the change could be disadvantageous in retransmission consent programming negotiations. Another key section attempts to level the playing field between local stations and those deemed by the FCC to be "significantly viewed." The draft would update the statute to account for last week's nationwide shift to digital television and directs the FCC to update its predictive modeling methods for gauging how well certain locations receive satellite signals in an all-digital environment.
http://benton.org/node/25990
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SATELLITE OPERATORS PLEDGE NOT TO EXPLOIT ANALOG LOOPHOLE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Satellite TV and distant-signal operators to renewed their pledge not to take advantage of a carriage loophole created by the DTV transition. That came Tuesday at a hearing on a draft bill to reauthorize the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act, which allows satellite companies to import distant network affiliate signals into local markets under certain circumstances. Because the current bill defines an "unserved" household that qualifies for a distant signal in terms of an analog definition that is no longer relevant, technically, every household in the country is in a so-called "white area" and could get a distant signal. That would moot program exclusivity and wreak havoc with the broadcast business model. EchoStar and DISH Network have a proposal on the table to share the costs of delivering local into local TV station signals to all 212 markets. Currently DirecTV is in about 150, and DISH just north of 180, but that leaves at least 30 markets without local TV station service on their satellite provider. Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) estimated that the cost would be about $30 million and asked National Association of Broadcasters TV Board Chairman Paul Karpowicz of Meredith Broadcasting, one of the hearing witnesses, whether that was something the broadcasters would entertain. He testified that NAB had a working group of engineers and board members studying the proposal, but said it did not yet have enough information on the real costs of the proposal to "determine our level of participation."
http://benton.org/node/25989
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WIRELESS

VERIZON, AT&T DENY COLLUSION ON TEXTING PRICES
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Diane Bartz]
Verizon and AT&T took issue with (some say umbrage with) assertions that they colluded in setting prices for text messages, saying on Tuesday that prices for most customers had fallen and the market was competitive. Se. Herb Kohl, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee, said he was concerned that the four largest cell phone companies doubled their text message rates from 10 cents in 2006 to 20 cents in 2008. "These sharp price increases raise concerns. Are these price increases the result of a lack of competition in a highly concentrated market?" he asked, adding that the subcommittee had urged the Justice Department to scrutinize any future mergers or allegations of anticompetitive practices in the industry. But the general counsels of both Verizon and AT&T argued that the price increases affected 1 percent of text messages sent because most consumers bought volume plans that lowered the per-message cost.
http://benton.org/node/25995
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WHO REALLY OWNS YOUR PHONE?
[SOURCE: SaveTheInternet.com, AUTHOR: Sen John Kerry]
[Commentary] This week the Senate Commerce Committee is looking at the wireless marketplace from the consumer's perspective. There are now 270 million cell phone subscribers in America, and 18 percent of households rely solely on wireless phones to communicate. That number's growing, and it doesn't take a big leap to understand that the future of telephony in this country is traveling through the airwaves, not buried in the ground. We need to be focused on ensuring that the wireless marketplace remains competitive, and that consumers have access to innovative technologies whether they live in a densely populated city or a sparsely populated small town. Here's the issue I think we need to wrestle with: wireless service providers are largely deciding what phone you can use. We don't see that happening in similar markets. Your broadband provider doesn't decide what kind of computer you can connect to at the end of your DSL or cable wire. And forty years ago, the FCC ruled in the historic Carterfone decision that AT&T couldn't pick and choose which phones can and can't connect to its network. Is the status quo the right model for maximizing innovation, competition and consumer choice? Or do we need a change?
http://benton.org/node/25994
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OBAMA BACKS REPEAL OF TAX ON PERSONAL CELL PHONES
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: ]
The Obama administration on Tuesday said it will back repealing a hard-to-enforce tax on personal use of work cell phones, appeasing the business community, phone makers and users. A 1989 law requires companies seeking to deduct worker cellphones as an expense to track personal use with painstaking documentation of minutes. The government, in a notice last week sought public comment on making compliance easier, but now says the law should be scrapped altogether. Treasury "Secretary (Timothy) Geithner and I ask that Congress act to make clear that there will be no tax consequence to employers or employees for personal use of work-related devices such as cellphones provided by employers," Douglas Shulman, the Internal Revenue Service Commissioner, said in a statement.
http://benton.org/node/25993
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IPHONE GULPS AT&T NETWORK CAPACITY
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Leslie Cauley]
AT&T's wireless network is having a hard time keeping up with the Apple iPhone, a top wireless analyst says. That's the reason AT&T isn't offering multimedia messaging and "tethering" options for the new $199 iPhone 3G S — lack of network juice, says Roger Entner, head of telecom research for Nielsen. According to Entner, the average iPhone user eats up around 400 megabytes of capacity each month. Average smartphone usage is 40 to 80 megabytes. Entner says the high usage is a testament to the power and popularity of the iPhone. "People really love that device and are using it intensively." And network demands are only going to increase as pricing on the current iPhone 3G drops to $99, he says. Part of the problem is due to iPhone's engineering. The device constantly checks back with the AT&T network, he says, making adjustments as necessary. The iPhone's "chatty" nature is one reason it performs so well. But the back and forth also eats up a lot of network capacity. When the iPhone 3G S was unveiled last week, Apple said it would offer both those features. "Tethering" allows a wireless device to serve as a broadband modem to provide over-the-air support for laptops, PCs and the like. Multimedia messaging, or MMS, enables users to attach video clips, audio files, pictures, etc. to text messages. But when the list of global carriers offering the features was unveiled, AT&T wasn't on it. AT&T says it plans to offer MMS "by the end of the summer," but it has so far declined to say when tethering might become available.
http://benton.org/node/26004
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HEALTH

PANEL OFFERS INITIAL CRITERIA FOR DEFINING 'MEANINGFUL USE'
[SOURCE: iHealthBeat, AUTHOR: ]
Today, a Health IT Policy Committee work group released its initial recommendations for defining "meaningful use" of electronic health records (EHRs). Although the work group's recommendations do not include a formal definition of meaningful use, they offer 22 objectives for EHRs by 2011. The objectives call for qualified EHRs to: 1) Allow patients to access clinical information; 2) Comply with state and federal privacy, security and data sharing regulations; 3) Document patient progress and provide clinical summaries; 4) Exchange critical information with other care providers; 5) Implement drug interaction safeguards; 6) Send patient reminders about follow-up and preventive care; 7) Submit immunization and laboratory data to relevant public health registries; and 8) Use computerized physician order entry systems to transmit prescriptions. In addition, the group released an "achievable vision," which calls for EHR systems to help reduce cardiac arrest, medical errors and preventable hospitalizations by 2015.
http://benton.org/node/25996
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MORE ARE SEARCHING THE WEB FOR MEDICAL ADVICE
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Erin Thompson]
The number of adults who turn to the Internet for health information has nearly doubled in the past two years, from 31% to 60%. That puts the Internet in a tie for third place (with books and print materials) as the source adults most often turn to for health information. At the top, 86% of those surveyed say they most often consult a health care professional, and 68% say they consult their family or friends first. The increase is partly because there are more Internet users than there were when the survey was last taken in 2006, says Susannah Fox, associate director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a non-profit research organization.
http://benton.org/node/26003
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