June 23, 2009 (Web Pries Lid of Censorship)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY JUNE 23, 2009
See this week's telecom policy events at http://www.benton.org/calendar/2009-06-21--P1W
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Web Pries Lid of Censorship
Internet boycott calls to mark China filter debut
HP, Apple, Google in censorship crossfire
Twitter on the Barricades: Six Lessons Learned
Ideas Online, Yes, but Some Not So Presidential
Emanuel's Mastery Of Reading Reporters
CYBERWARFARE
A Weak Spot in Our Defenses
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Home Broadband Adoption 2009
US 20th in broadband penetration
Broadband Is Key to Economic Development
The Future Is Fiber
Execs, Experts Say Broadband Policies Must Balance Competition, Access
Boucher on Stimulus and FCC
Broadband Stimulus Program Moving Fast and Looking Forward
Four Months And Counting... Still No Broadband Stimulated
What Happens When Everyone Becomes A Server?
Rep Massa Files Bill to Stop Tiered Broadband Pricing
Groups Ask for National Broadband Plan Deadline Extension
Missed Connections
West Virginia Broadband Plan
Internet most popular information source
Broadband speed creep
POLICYMAKERS
How Public Knowledge aims to shape telecom policy
How Free Press aims to shape telecom policy
Obama's USPTO choice supports patent reform
MORE ON THE WEB
Happy Belated Birthday: FCC Turns 75
Verizon Pricing Petition Gets Second Chance
Pushing FCC to Reform Special Access Market
GAO Wireless Report
Media sector mergers seen few and far between
House Version of Sanders DTV Bill Introduced
2.5 Million Households Still Not Receiving DTV Signals
NBC, CBS Have Conflicting Visions of Broadcast Future
Do Over: Canoe Ventures Rethinks First Addressable TV Plan
Buyers Say Advertisers at an Impasse With TV Networks
Embarq sues government for $31.6 million in income taxes it says it mistakenly paid
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
WEB PRIES LID OF CENSORSHIP
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Stelter, Brad Stone]
At one time, authoritarian regimes could draw a shroud around the events in their countries by simply snipping the long-distance phone lines and restricting a few foreigners. But this is the new arena of censorship in the 21st century, a world where cellphone cameras, Twitter accounts and all the trappings of the World Wide Web have changed the ancient calculus of how much power governments actually have to sequester their nations from the eyes of the world and make it difficult for their own people to gather, dissent and rebel. Iran's sometimes faltering attempts to come to grips with this new reality are providing a laboratory for what can and cannot be done in this new media age — and providing lessons to other governments, watching with calculated interest from afar, about what they may be able to get away with should their own citizens take to the streets. One early lesson is that it is easier for Iranian authorities to limit images and information within their own country than it is to stop them from spreading rapidly to the outside world. While Iran has severely restricted Internet access, a loose worldwide network of sympathizers has risen up to help keep activists and spontaneous filmmakers connected.
http://benton.org/node/26065
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INTERNET BOYCOTT CALLS TO MARK CHINA FILTER DEBUT
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Yu Le, Emma Graham-Harrison]
Chinese Internet users are calling on fellow web surfers to stay offline on July 1, the debut of a controversial software filter that critics say the Chinese government is using to tighten censorship. New regulations from Beijing mandate "Green Dam," a program sold by Jinhui Computer System Engineering Co., be pre-installed on personal computers manufactured or shipped after July 1. China says the filter is designed to block pornography. But many web users and activists both inside and outside China fear a campaign against "unhealthy" sites is a pretext for a wider crackdown on groups and websites that the government fears or disapproves of. The U.S. embassy said it viewed with concern any attempt to restrict the free flow of information, and was worried about both the potential impact on trade of the software and the serious technical issues raised by the use of Green Dam.
http://benton.org/node/26064
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HP, APPLE, GOOGLE IN CENSORSHIP CROSSFIRE
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Andrew Ross]
[Commentary] It's not just about supposedly anti-pornographic software anymore. A bigger storm pitting free expression against autocratic government control is brewing, and San Francisco Bay Area companies are right in the middle of it. Ed Black, CEO of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, says Western governments, including the United States, have not been paying sufficient attention to the dots. "There's a technological arms race between those forces seeking openness and mass communication, and those wanting control," he said. So far, he says, Western governments have been at best complacent.
http://benton.org/node/26063
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TWITTER ON THE BARRICADES: SIX LESSONS LEARNED
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Noam Cohen]
Political revolutions are often closely linked to communication tools. The American Revolution wasn't caused by the proliferation of pamphlets, written to whip colonists into a frenzy against the British. But it sure helped. Social networking, a distinctly 21st-century phenomenon, has already been credited with aiding protests from the Republic of Georgia to Egypt to Iceland. And Twitter, the newest social-networking tool, has been identified with two mass protests in a matter of months — in Moldova in April and in Iran last week, when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to oppose the official results of the presidential election. But does the label Twitter Revolution, which has been slapped on the two most recent events, oversell the technology? Skeptics note that only a small number of people used Twitter to organize protests in Iran and that other means — individual text messaging, old-fashioned word of mouth and Farsi-language Web sites — were more influential. But Twitter did prove to be a crucial tool in the cat-and-mouse game between the opposition and the government over enlisting world opinion.
http://benton.org/node/26045
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IDEAS ONLINE, YES, BUT SOME NOT SO PRESIDENTIAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Saul Hansell]
On Jan. 21, his first full day in office, President Obama promised to open up the government, ordering officials to use modern technologies like Internet message boards and blogs to give all Americans a bigger voice in public policy. Well, the people have spoken. But many of them are not sticking to the topics at hand. The White House made its first major entree into government by the people last month when it set up an online forum to ask ordinary people for their ideas on how to carry out the president's open-government pledge. It got an earful — on legalizing marijuana, revealing U.F.O. secrets and verifying President Obama's birth certificate to prove he was really born in the United States and thus eligible to be president. While it was not exactly what administration officials had in mind, they noted that democracy can be a bit messy.
http://benton.org/node/26062
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EMMANUEL'S MASTERY OF READING REPORTERS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
Perhaps no White House chief of staff in modern history has worked the media as aggressively and relentlessly as Rahm Emanuel. Drawing on his long-standing relationships with journalists, Emanuel serves up on-the-record quotes, background spin and the sort of capital gossip that lubricates relationships. The former Chicago congressman also seeks their take on events and floats possible administration tactics. And Emanuel is brusquely efficient. "It's a no-nonsense relationship," NBC's Chuck Todd says. "He's always trying to extract as much information as he's trying to give." "He thinks like a journalist," says Obama senior adviser David Axelrod, who marvels at his colleague making multiple calls and wolfing down lunch at the same time.
http://benton.org/node/26061
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CYBERWARFARE
A WEAK SPOT IN OUR DEFENSES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Heather Wilson]
[Commentary] Attacks on computer systems will be an integral element of future conflict, and the United States is more dependent on computer networks than any other nation. Both policymakers and the military are in the early stages of coming to grips with this threat. We need to take some important first steps to strengthen our national capability to defend ourselves in cyberspace. First, we must abandon the notion that static defenses will help us against sophisticated threats. Second, our intelligence on other countries' cyber-capabilities must be strengthened. Third, while there are national security systems we certainly need to protect, our greatest vulnerability as a nation is outside the government. Our banking system, our telephone communications and our electricity grid are all owned and run by private companies and are interconnected to the global computer network. Cyberwarfare is a realm where technology is fast outpacing policy, doctrine and law. We must start closing the gap.
http://benton.org/node/26060
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
HOME BROADBAND ADOPTION 2009
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: John Horrigan]
An April 2009 survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project shows 63% of adult Americans now have broadband Internet connections at home, a 15% increases from a year earlier. April's level of high-speed adoption represents a significant jump from figures gathered by the Project since the end of 2007 (54%). The growth in home broadband adoption occurred even though survey respondents reported paying more for broadband compared to May 2008. Last year, the average monthly bill for broadband Internet service at home was $34.50, a figure that stands at $39.00 in April 2009. Broadband users were also asked, for the first time in a Pew survey, how they view the importance of broadband to civic and community life. Some 55% of home broadband users said broadband was very important to at least one dimension of their lives and community, such as communicating with health care providers, government officials, sharing information about the community, or contributing to economic growth. "For many Americans, a home broadband connection is a conduit for connecting to community and economic opportunity," said John B. Horrigan, Associate Director of the Pew Internet Project and principal author of the report. "That puts broadband in the 'must keep' category for most users, even when economic times are tough."
http://benton.org/node/26059
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US 20TH IN BROADBAND PENETRATION
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
A new broadband survey out from Strategy Analytics shows the US in 20th position when it comes to household broadband use, well behind countries like South Korea, Singapore, and the Netherlands. The report focuses on broadband penetration by household rather than by person. Using this metric, South Korea tops the list; 95 percent of South Korean households have a broadband connection. No one else comes close to that figure, either. The number two spot on the list is held by Singapore, which has 88 percent household broadband penetration. The US, with a mere 60 percent household broadband penetration, is in 20th position on the list. Strategy Analytics estimates that the US will fall to 23rd place by the end of the year.
http://benton.org/node/26058
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BROADBAND KEY TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Robert Bell]
Geographic location and natural resources were once the key determiners of a community's economic potential. In one person's lifetime, they changed seldomly if at all. But in the broadband economy, it's increasingly the skills of the labor force and the ability of business and government to adapt and innovate, that power job creation. And these are assets that must be continually replenished. Why has this change occurred? As economic centers are connected, it becomes possible to manage distant facilities as though they were across the street. That means, in the broadband economy, every worker is exposed to wage and skill competition from every other worker in similar industries around the world. This has shifted demand for low-skilled labor - the kind used in extracting resources from the Earth and basic manufacturing - to low-cost countries in the developing world. When you visit those booming countries, however, the business press is full of worry about lack of skills and innovation. Even countries in the early stages of industrial growth are feeling the same competitive pressures that have become acute in industrialized nations.
http://benton.org/node/26057
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THE FUTURE IS FIBER
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Bill Schrier]
[Commentary] The core of a national broadband strategy is fiber-optic cable -- fiber running to almost every home and business in the United States. Such a network would significantly change America's economy -- it would affect our way of working and playing as profoundly as did the telegraph, telephone, railroad and original Internet. A fiber network is an investment that would last 50 years or more. The network would carry two-way high-definition video streams and convert every high-definition TV set into a video conferencing station. This addresses a fundamental human need -- to actually see our co-workers and friends. For the first time, working at home -- true telework -- would be possible because workers would connect with and see each other in real time. Whole technology businesses would collaborate on developing 21st-century products. Students would be able to attend classes and interact with their classmates from home. Quality of life would improve as families scattered across a region would talk together, while seeing one another. This fiber network would also support high-speed wireless, because wireless access points can be added at any place the fiber terminates -- at every home and business.
http://benton.org/node/26056
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EXECS, EXPERTS SAY BROADBAND POLICIES MUST BALANCE COMPETITION, ACCESS
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Tina Nguyen]
Broadband policies must adapt to ensure both competition and quality service for all consumers, a group of industry executives and policy experts said Thursday during at the Pike and Fischer Broadband Policy Summit. Lack of universal access and market competition are two reasons the U.S. lags in broadband, whether one believes "the glass is half full or half empty," said Google Media and Telecommunications Counsel Richard Whitt. Consumers are increasingly viewing broadband as a component of infrastructure and a utility, or not just a commercial service, said Free Press Policy Director Ben Scott. The $7.25 billion appropriated for broadband in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act was a charge from Congress to develop programs based on a "robust broadband infrastructure." Scott noted prices for broadband service in some areas are 10 percent higher than others because of lack of competition. Solving this problem will require new telecommunications policies for a networked world based on "very different approach, a different set of expectations, and a different focus," he said.
http://benton.org/node/26055
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BOUCHER ON STIMULUS AND FCC
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) has no plans to influence the Federal Communications Commission's development of a national broadband plan. But speaking Thursday morning at the Pike and Fischer Broadband Policy Summit, he made clear his experience representing a rural district informs his ideas on how the FCC should assist the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Rural Utilities Service in defining unserved and underserved markets. Chairman Boucher reiterated his belief in broadband as the "new essential American infrastructure," which he said is of equal importance to this century as rural electrification and universal telephone service was to the last. In the new economy, the "corridors of commercial opportunity" will be defined more and more by broadband, he said.
http://benton.org/node/26054
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BROADBAND STIMULUS PROGRAM MOVING FAST AND LOOKING FORWARD
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Andrew Feinberg]
The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program is a "jump start" for President Obama's broadband vision for communities to use information technology to expand and enrich their infrastructure to help revive a slowing economy, said Mark Seifert, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Seifert delivered the morning keynote on the second day of Pike and Fischer's Broadband Policy Summit. The broadband programs are the "newest chapter" in the President's plans for "an interconnected democracy" that is internationally competitive, Seifert said. "Technology has kept America at the center of global innovation," he said. The BTOP programs funded in the Recovery Act are intended to accelerate both infrastructure improvements and service adoption at the consumer level, he said. Seifert noted that $450 million in stimulus funds earmarked for programs to encourage adoption and foster access are floors — not ceilings. "Folks need to understand how broadband affects their lives before they go out and get it," he said. The $7.25 billion in stimulus funds is only the beginning of the President's broader vision, and won't solve all of America's broadband issues Seifert acknowledged. But the grant program is being designed to attract both public and private investment that help encourage the President's goal of "broadband for all of us." This will require projects that will let both the public and private sectors "show us the way forward to the future," he said. If private capital isn't invested, communities can use the program to "address their own needs in creative and innovative ways."
http://benton.org/node/26053
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FOUR MONTHS AND COUNTING ... STILL NO BROADBAND STIMULUS
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] Daily respects the need to be careful in spending Recovery Act broadband stimulus funds to make sure we don't invite waste, fraud, and abuse into the system, but off the top of his head he could name a dozen worthwhile projects that could be making use of these funds today. They could be turning dollars into deployment at this very moment, getting unserved communities connected, finding new ways to encourage demand and adoption, and, most importantly, creating jobs. These are all people that are proven and projects that are truly shovel-ready. So what are we waiting for? Are we really saying that avoiding waste, fraud, and abuse is more important than stimulating broadband deployment and supporting the economic recovery?
http://benton.org/node/26052
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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN EVERYONE BECOMES A SERVER?
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] Consumers are embracing new server-like devices and therefore demanding a lot more upstream capacity. We need broadband networks that can deliver robust and reliable enough upstream service to be able to handle supplying these growing demands for bandwidth. And quite frankly, no broadband technology other than fiber has proven itself capable of fully supporting these new demands for upstream capacity. Every other broadband technology has clear capacity and reliability constraints that limit their ability to welcome and nurture the growth of upload-intensive applications. If we want to have a country where every computer can become a server, where every consumer can become a producer in the digital economy, then we need to set the goal of becoming a Full Fiber Nation otherwise we will never realize the full potential of this class of next-generation Internet applications.
http://benton.org/node/26051
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REP MASSA FILES BILL TO STOP TIERED BROADBAND PRICING
[SOURCE: GigaOM, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
Last week, Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) introduced legislation that would force Internet Service Providers that want to implement usage-based pricing plans to go through several regulatory hurdles, including public hearings, to determine if such pricing is anti-competitive. Such usage-based plans may involve tiered pricing or caps based on the amount of data downloaded. Specifically, the bill: 1) Requires ISPs to submit plans to the FTC, in consultation with the FCC, if they plan to move to a usage-based plan; 2) Prohibits volume usage plans if the FTC determines that these plans are imposing rates, terms, and conditions that are unreasonable or discriminatory; 3) Sets up public hearings for plans submitted to the FTC for public review and input; 4) Only affects Internet providers with 2 million or more subscribers; and 5) Imposes penalties for broadband ISPs that ignore these rules.
http://benton.org/node/26050
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GROUPS ASK FOR NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN DEADLINE EXTENSION
[SOURCE: National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates, AUTHOR: ]
A number of groups have filed a joint motion at the Federal Communications Commission asking for additional time to add comments on a National Broadband Plan. In the initial round of comments, 1,700 sets of comments were filed. By the original deadline, parties wishing to answer these comments would have to file their new comments by July 7. Communications Workers of America, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Media Access Project, National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates, National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, National Telecommunications Cooperative Association, New America Foundation, OneEconomy Corporation, Public Knowledge, United States Public Interest Research Group, and ZeroDivide have asked for an extension until August 7, 2009.
http://benton.org/node/26049
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MISSED CONNECTIONS
[SOURCE: On the Media, AUTHOR: ]
The Obama Administration has allocated billions to expand broadband service to underserved areas, but the first step is spending millions of dollars to find those areas. And how that mapping is done will greatly affect whether the digital divide will be bridged. Mark McElroy is the Senior Vice President of Communications for Connected Nation, the nation's largest broadband service mapping company. Art Brodsky is the communications director for Public Knowledge, a leading critic of Connected Nation's mapping methodology.
http://benton.org/node/26048
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WEST VIRGINIA BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
West Virginia Gov Joe Manchin thinks the Mountain State can make a good case for getting some of the $7 billion broadband money. Since taking office in 2004, Gov Manchin has emphasized that high-speed Internet is as important a commodity as water and electricity, he told Tech Daily Dose. The economic success and global competitiveness of the United States depends on it, he said. Last year, Gov Manchin advanced a bill in the state legislature that would set up a fund to pay those who successfully apply to expand Internet access in underserved areas of the state. He also proposed that the entire state have high-speed Internet access by 2010. Several years ago, Manchin set up a broadband deployment council to track access throughout the state. "It was the first of its kind in the nation and it pulled everyone under one tent to make sure we were using all the resources available," he said.
http://benton.org/node/26047
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INTERNET MOST POPULAR INFORMATION SOURCE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: ]
The Internet is by far the most popular source of information and the preferred choice for news ahead of television, newspapers and radio, according to a new poll in the United States. But just a small fraction of U.S. adults considered social websites such as Facebook and MySpace as a good source of news and even fewer would opt for Twitter. More than half of the people questioned in the Zogby Interactive survey said they would select the Internet if they had to choose only one source of news, followed by 21 percent for television and 10 percent for both newspapers and radio.
http://benton.org/node/26046
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BROADBAND SPEED CREEP
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Ed Gubbins]
AT&T and Verizon both are nudging up broadband speeds in conjunction with a range of promotions apparently aimed at giving a last-minute push to their second-quarter numbers while also chasing customers hard at a time when seasonal moving patterns offer a chance to gain or lose market share. Meanwhile, cable operators continue to roll out faster speeds with DOCSIS 3.0 upgrades. In this economy, however, speed alone isn't enough to lure customers, and competition isn't just about speed, but a complex value equation that includes factors like rebates, bundles, free hardware and wireless broadband offerings.
http://benton.org/node/26044
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POLICYMAKERS
HOW PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE AIMS TO SHAPE TELECOM POLICY
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
Public Knowledge is a relative newcomer among telecom consumer groups. Founded in 2001, Public Knowledge initially focused on intellectual property issues but has since branched out into broadband. With a staff of less than 12, the organization is funded "mostly by foundations" such as the Ford Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation, said Art Brodsky, a spokesman for Public Knowledge. The organization also has some individual and corporate contributors, including Google and Verizon. Public Knowledge is probably best known for helping consumers gain the right to make copies of audio and video recordings, as well as television broadcasts. Today, as Brodsky explained, "We're active in open Internet issues and stimulus bills." The organization was instrumental in getting language included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to help ensure that carriers receiving funding would abide by the principles of net neutrality aimed at ensuring what advocates call "an open Internet." A key goal for Public Knowledge today is to see legislation passed to cement the principles of net neutrality. If passed, such legislation could require carriers to allow consumers to attach any device to their networks and could prevent them from charging customers more for differentiated classes of service. Public Knowledge also is concerned about consolidation in the telecom market, which has left consumers with fewer choices, Brodsky said. Today, he said, the only choices are the local cable or local phone company.
http://benton.org/node/26043
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HOW FREE PRESS AIMS TO SHAPE TELECOM POLICY
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
Launched in 2002, Free Press is devoted solely to telecom and communications issues. "The idea behind it was that on every major political issue, such as health care, education, or energy, there were large civic organizations to represent people in Washington, but there was no entity of that sort in media and telecom," said Ben Scott, policy director for Free Press. Pointing to organizations such as the Sierra Club and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People as role models, Scott said Free Press accepts anyone who wants to join. Membership is free, although a small percentage of members do contribute financially. The organization also receives some financial support from foundations. The organization today has 500,000 members and has grown from a staff of two to more than 30. A Massachusetts office focuses on public education and town meetings and on educating members using online tools. A Washington DC office staffed by lawyers and researchers studies and monitors the regulatory process and identifies decisions it wants to be involved in shaping.
http://benton.org/node/26042
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OBAMA'S USPTO CHOICE SUPPORTS PATENT REFORM
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: John Timmer]
The Obama Administration's choice to head the US Patent and Trademark Office, IBM's David Kappos, appears to be getting rave reviews, which can only partly be attributed to the fact that Kappos has been a prominent advocate of patent reform. Gigi B.Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge, said, "President Obama has made an outstanding appointment in nominating David Kappos to become director of the Patent and Trademark Office. Kappos' background with a leading technology company ensures that he is aware of the need for reform of the patent process. We also hope that Kappos will reevaluate the role that PTO has played in copyright issues, concentrating instead on fixing the patent issues that need immediate attention."
http://benton.org/node/26039
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