Sept 8, 2009 (Spectrum and Broadband II)

"Let's face it: There may be more value in using broadcast spectrum for broadband access than in airing reruns of Three's Company and The Brady Bunch."
-- Harry A. Jessell, TVNewsCheck

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

A full agenda this week starts off with the Gov 2.0 Summit tomorrow. See http://www.benton.org/calendar/2009-09-06--P1W/

NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN & THE STIMULUS
   What Is Your TV Spectrum Really Worth?
   FTC Stresses Need to Consider Competition and Consumer Protection in Developing National Broadband Plan
   FCC Seeks Comment on Smart Grid Technology
   FCC Seeks Comment on Telework
   Video In Broadband Driver's Seat
   Big Broadband Ideas
   Consumer Issues In Spotlight for Sept 9 Broadband Workshop
   The Digital Redwoods Ecosystem
   SES sees stimulus threat to satellite Internet
   North Carolina Seeks $28 Million in Broadband Stimulus
   Verizon defends setting broadband measurement bar so low
   JDSU encouraging broadband deployment care

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
China Web Sites Seeking Users' Names
Federal CIO Drives Transparency With USAspending.gov

TELEVISION/RADIO
   Obama speech not great news for broadcasters
   Comcast Wishes You A Happy Rate Hike Season
   Competition in Cable TV
   New Rules: Dish/EchoStar May Owe TiVo $200 Million+
   Broadcast Station Totals
   Low-Power Radio's Voice Rises

DIGITAL CONTENT
   Google tells EU online books make Web democratic
   CDT Urges Privacy Requirements Be Included in Google Books Settlement
   France to oppose Google book scheme
   Web software gleans data on kid chats
   Fewer Fliers Sent Home as Schools Put More on Web

WIRELESS
T-Mobile UK and Orange in joint venture

ELECTIONS & MEDIA
Reversal of Precedents at Issue

POLICYMAKERS
New Power Couple on the Potomac
New Staff for FCC Commissioner Copps

RESEARCH
Technology Innovation Program Seeks White Papers

MORE ONLINE
   Want to Change the Media? Be a Lobbyist
   Nielsen Charts Increase In Hispanic TV Homes
   Innovating Around Privacy
   Global Wireless Growth Is Slowing
   Has the recession killed off the Silicon Valley's venture capitalists?
   How Offshoring May Be Hurting U.S. Technology Employees

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NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN & THE STIMULUS

WHAT IS YOUR TV SPECTRUM REALLY WORTH?
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
[Commentary] Broadcasters and many other spectrum licensees are feeling like targets after the Federal Communications Commission's Blair Levin said, "This is already clear from the record: A key input is spectrum and everybody agrees there is not enough of it. Moreover, demand curves from new uses by smart phones suggest a massive increase in demand ahead for that input." The FCC may not yet have broadcasters in its sights yet, but there is a growing body of work by academics, policymakers, broadband advocates and think tankers that argues that broadcasting is a gross waste of spectrum and that its many megahertz should be auctioned off, leased or reallocated to some better purpose like wireless broadband. Broadcasters' natural inclination at this point is to go on the defensive and start hollering about how the spectrum-grubbing broadband lobby wants to deprive the poor and elderly of their free TV service. But that would be a mistake. Levin's real mission last week was not to scare everybody, but to prompt broadcasters and other spectrum stakeholders to participate in the FCC broadband inquiry, to bring their best ideas to the party. Broadcasters should accept the invitation. Opportunity may be lurking in Levin's broadband exploration. Let's face it: There may be more value in using broadcast spectrum for broadband access than in airing reruns of Three's Company and The Brady Bunch. If this is so, wouldn't it be nice if the owners of the spectrum were in a position to capture the extra value?
http://benton.org/node/27678
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FTC STRESSES NEED TO CONSIDER COMPETITION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION IN DEVELOPING NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: Federal Trade Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission filed comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission Notice of Inquiry regarding development of a National Broadband Plan that will seek to ensure that every American has access to broadband capability. In its comments, the FTC states that the FCC should take into consideration the FTC's two primary missions promoting competition and protecting consumers in the marketplace. "The FCC deserves tremendous credit for its leadership in creating a national broadband policy that will help bring high-speed Internet access and services to Americans across the nation," said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. "As the agency that shares jurisdiction over broadband and the Internet, we look forward to working with the FCC in fulfilling this historic mission. We believe that the FTC's core competencies promoting competition and meaningful consumer protection are critical to ensuring that broadband is available, affordable, and consumer-friendly." The FTC comments point out that competition and consumer protection work together to benefit consumers. Competition pressures producers and service providers to offer customers the most attractive array of choices with respect to price, quality, and other options. At the same time, consumer protection policy promotes informed decision-making by customers and requires sellers to provide meaningful, timely information about their products and services. If competition and consumer protection are considered in developing the National Broadband Plan, the FTC believes consumers' access to the Internet will be improved, as will their ability to enjoy specific content and applications once they have broadband capability. The FTC's comments question whether there is significant competition within the broadband arena. To evaluate that competition and tailor appropriate regulatory policies, the FTC suggests that the FCC use some of the analytical tools used by the FTC and DOJ in antitrust cases. Consumer protections also are essential to help foster greater adoption of broadband. Finally, the FTC comments describe the substantial research and law enforcement resources the FTC has devoted to the intersection of the Internet, broadband, and competition and consumer protection policy, and states that the Commission is dedicated to continued law enforcement and consumer education initiatives for this emerging market.
http://benton.org/node/27677
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FCC SEEKS COMMENT ON SMART GRID TECHNOLOGY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission is seeking public comment on how broadband networks and applications could help achieve efficient implementation of Smart Grid technology as part of the National Broadband Plan. Smart Grid technology has been identified as a promising way to use broadband and other advanced communications to promote energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and encourage energy independence. The FCC wants to better understand: 1) which communications networks and technologies are suitable for various Smart Grid applications, 2) the availability of existing communications networks, and how this availability may impact Smart Grid deployments, 3) how wireless spectrum is or could be used for Smart Grid applications, 4) technologies and methods that allow consumers to reduce their energy consumption, and 5) the ways in which utilities, technology providers and consumers will connect appliances, thermostats, and energy displays to each other, to the electric meter, and to the Internet. Comments are due October 2, 2009.
http://benton.org/node/27676
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FCC SEEKS COMMENT ON TELEWORK
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission is seeking public comment on telework as part of the National Broadband Plan. The FCC would like to know 1) how broadband increases the effectiveness of telework, 2) how telework programs help attract jobs or companies to economically struggling areas, and 3) what of private, public, and non-profit entities have telework programs. Comments are due September 22, 2009. Matt Warner writes, "Telework isn't just about providing a benefit to employees. Rather, telework seems to benefit workers, employers, and society as a whole. Case studies from the Government Accountability Office and the Patent and Trademark Office suggest that telework provides needed flexibility for an organization and its staff in emergencies while being greener for the environment. Despite these and other potential advantages of telework and broadband's ever-expanding ability to make work geographically irrelevant, not being physically "there" may not yet be societally "there.""
http://benton.org/node/27675
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VIDEO IN BROADBAND DRIVER'S SEAT
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
How big is Internet video to the future of broadband? Well, if the PBS's experience is any indication, "sick nasty" big.
According to Angela Morgenstern, managing director of PBS Online and formerly with MTV, their online audience wants "everything ever made," and they want it in high definition, full screen and top quality, and they have little patience for delay. That was her message in an FCC workshop Thursday on how online video is shaping, and may shape, the deployment and adoption of broadband, all part of a series of workshops to help FCC staffers draft a national broadband plan. PBS earlier this year began making full-length videos of its programs available online, and while the industry average for online video viewing has been three or four minutes -- YouTube still dominates with 40-45% of video viewing -- Morgenstern said PBS surfers have been tuning in much longer than expected: 20 minutes. She also talked about the double primetime effect, where the site is now seeing a viewing peak at 10 p.m. along with the traditional daytime peak. "Sick nasty," she pointed out, is a good thing. But while the rise in online viewing was generally seen as helping drive adoption and supplementing public interest programming on other media (or compensating for its lack by the reckoning of some), some of those efforts were not without their critics. Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn, for example, took aim at the cable/telco online play, TV Everywhere, or ESPN360, saying the content was being put behind a pay wall because Disney charges operators a per-sub fee for the content, and because TV Everywhere is bundled with other services. She took the opportunity to push for Carterfone-like regulations from devices on cable nets, openness conditions and a host of other conditions, including program access enforcement for the Internet.
http://benton.org/node/27674
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BIG BROADBAND IDEAS
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Christopher Naoum]
On September 3rd the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan workshop included two distinguished panels of academics and policy experts to focus on "Big Ideas," specifically the future of the Internet and broadband video content. The moderator, John Peha, the Chief Technology Officer of the FCC, framed the panels as discussions about the benefits the future might hold and the downfalls we might encounter as we move forward with the National Broadband Plan. The panelist spoke of the future of the Internet, the weaknesses and architecture of the Internet, and new trends in mobility, video and applications that will lead to further adoption.
http://www.benton.org/node/27650
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CONSUMER ISSUES IN SPOTLIGHT FOR SEPT 9 BROADBAND WORKSHOP
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Facebook, Yahoo, Consumers Union, Georgetown University, and several think tanks will be represented at the Federal Communications Commission's September 9, 2009 National Broadband Plan workshop on the challenges and opportunities faced by consumers as the Internet becomes a focal point for shopping, social networking, healthcare, and a host of other activities.
http://benton.org/node/27672
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THE DIGITAL REDWOODS ECOSYSTEM
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
One of Daily's favorite new broadband analogies from Sean McLaughlin, a community media pioneer and executive director of Access Humboldt, an entity working to bring broadband to and foster local community media in Humboldt County (CA). Among the many things Access Humboldt does is a project called Digital Redwoods, which is their primary effort to organize local leaders around the goal of bringing better broadband to Humboldt County. "Digital Redwoods" is more than just a nice name, it describes a specific analogy that they're using to help describe the intent of the project. The core of this analogy is that we need to think about broadband as an ecosystem that, just like a redwood forest, requires all of its components working together to survive and thrive.
http://benton.org/node/27671
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SES SEES STIMULUS THREAT TO SATELLITE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson]
US and European stimulus plans are damping prospects for delivering broadband Internet access via satellite, SES, the largest satellite operator, warned. Support for wireless broadband technologies through tax breaks in the US and auctions of broadcast spectrum in Europe were giving terrestrial technology the edge, Romain Bausch, chief executive, said. "I personally believe the rollout of terrestrial broadband will be such that you can't demonstrate the viability of satellite in the long term," Bausch said. SES provides two-way satellite broadband to 45,000 customers in Europe but would not invest in new capacity, he said. Instead, it was focusing on a hybrid satellite-terrestrial strategy for broadband, which offers its satellites to telecoms clients to reach the 40-50 per cent of households whose fixed-line connections cannot carry a full video service.
http://benton.org/node/27680
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

CHINA WEB SITES SEEKING USERS' NAMES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jonathan Ansfield]
News Web sites in China, complying with secret government orders, are requiring that new users log on under their true identities to post comments, a shift in policy that the country's Internet users and media have fiercely opposed in the past. Until recently, users could weigh in on news items on many of the affected sites more anonymously, often without registering at all, though the sites were obligated to screen all posts, and the posts could still be traced via Internet protocol addresses. But in early August, without notification of a change, news portals like Sina, Netease, Sohu and scores of other sites began asking unregistered users to sign in under their real names and identification numbers, said top editors at two of the major portals affected. A Sina staff member also confirmed the change. The editors said the sites were putting into effect a confidential directive issued in late July by the State Council Information Office, one of the main government bodies responsible for supervising the Internet in China. The new step is not foolproof, the editors acknowledged. It was possible for a reporter to register successfully on several major sites under falsified names and ID and cellphone numbers. But the requirement adds a critical new layer of surveillance to mainstream sites in China, which were already heavily policed. Further regulations of the same nature also appeared to be in the pipeline.
http://benton.org/node/27667
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FEDERAL CIO DRIVES TRANSPARENCY WITH USASPENDING.GOV
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Tod Newcombe]
[Commentary] Federal CIO Vivek Kundra generated a tidal wave of headlines this summer when he unveiled, USAspending.gov, a new public Web site for tracking technology spending. Both The New York Times and The Washington Post, the nation's most prominent daily newspapers, covered his announcement, not to mention every technology-related publication and Web site, including www.govtech.com. When the national media starts focusing on the government CIO's role, you know the public perception of government and technology is about to change. This is a unique moment for the public-sector CIO community. For too long, CIOs have labored in government's boiler room, toiling away to connect the digital pipes, launching applications, and stitching together the bits and pieces of what we call e-government. Some CIOs have even managed to become influential IT strategists, sitting beside their elected CEO, and helping align policy, business and IT to make government more compatible with 21st-century America. But the CIO's role as utility player has been too common in government. Until now.
http://benton.org/node/27655
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TELEVISION/RADIO

OBAMA SPEECH NOT GREAT NEWS FOR BROADCASTERS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Nellie Andreeva]
President Obama's televised prime-time addresses are becoming a tougher sell to the broadcast networks than his sweeping health care reform has been to Middle America. A day after news broke of the president's plan to address a joint session of Congress on health care issues in prime time Wednesday, not one of the Big Four networks has said it would carry the address live. Among other things, the networks have been waiting to hear when the address will start, with sources indicating Thursday night that the White House was leaning toward 8 p.m. After a brief post-inauguration honeymoon, the broadcast networks have become increasingly frustrated by the frequency of Obama's requests for prime-time coverage. The pre-emptions wreak havoc on the networks' schedules and cost millions of dollars in lost ad revenue.
http://benton.org/node/27679
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COMCAST WISHES YOU A HAPPY RATE HIKE SEASON
[SOURCE: DSLReports, AUTHOR: Karl Bode]
It's once again cable rate hike season for Comcast customers, who'll be seeing higher bills depending on where you live, and depending on what competition Comcast sees in your market. Washington state residents will be the first lucky winners, given that Qwest is the primary phone company and telcoTV is a non-issue. In Washington, Comcast will be issuing a flurry of higher rates starting October 6. The hikes will cover not only TV service (traditionally blamed on higher broadcaster fees), but also assorted other hardware fees. Limited Basic customers will see an average increase of $1.17 per month, while Comcast's entry level digital cable tier will jump $1.70 from $55.75 to $57.45. Comcast's digital additional outlet fee, used for customers with additional modems or set top boxes, will increase $1 from $5.10 to $6.10. Customers who rent modems or eMTAs for digital voice will also see their $3 monthly rental fee bumped to $5.
http://benton.org/node/27653
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COMPETITION IN CABLE TV
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] To foster media competition, the Federal Communications Commission has limited individual cable companies to serving no more than 30 percent of the nation's subscribers. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down that cap last week. It is an unfortunate decision, but in reality, the 30 percent cap was not getting the job done. The ruling should prod the FCC to find a fresh approach. It needs to ensure that customers have an array of choices among cable providers, and that there is real competition on price and program offerings. That is what Congress asked the FCC to do 17 years ago. There is still a long way to go.
http://benton.org/node/27666
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NEW RULES: DISH/ECHOSTAR MAY OWE TIVO $200 MILLION+
[SOURCE: MediaWeek, AUTHOR: Wayne Friedman]
There is more bad news for Dish Network and its controlling company, EchoStar, concerning the satellite distributor's dispute with digital video recording technology company TiVo. Now a new court order will force Dish/EchoStar to pay TiVo $200 million in additional damage payments should Dish/EchoStar lose its appeal to TiVo. Back in June, a U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas jury granted TiVo $103 million plus interest. TiVo originally wanted $1 billion in sanctions as part of a multi-year legal process, in which it won a lawsuit against Dish for illegally using TiVo DVR technology in Dish's DVR home units. The courts ruled that the technology used by Dish to get around TiVo's patents was not sufficiently different.
http://benton.org/node/27663
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BROADCAST STATION TOTALS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Just how many radio and TV broadcasters are there? 14,355 full power radio stations; 858 low power radio stations; 1785 full-power TV stations; 553 "Class A" TV stations... over 30,000 in total.
http://benton.org/node/27660
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LOW-POWER RADIO'S VOICE RISES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Kirk Johnson]
Low-power noncommercial radio stations, which emerged about 10 years ago in a brief window of eased federal regulation intended to foster competition with the big corporate radio chains, might be soon about to roar, some communications experts say — or at least squeak loudly enough to be heard. A bill now before Congress, and considered by some low-power radio advocates to have a good chance of passage this year, would potentially double the number of licensed, low-power stations from about 800 now to perhaps 1,600 or more. At the same time, technology is shifting the boundaries and definitions of what it means to be local, and even what it means to be radio. Internet streaming and digital wireless reception are combining in ways that could allow almost any station, even one broadcast from a front porch, to be heard anywhere in the world from the next generation of hand-held devices and smartphones.
http://benton.org/node/27686
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DIGITAL CONTENT

GOOGLE TELLS EU ONLINE BOOKS MAKE WEB DEMOCRATIC
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: John O'Donnell, Foo Yun Chee]
Google defended its scanning and publishing of millions of books online on Monday by saying the project was making finding information on the Web more democratic. The Californian company struck a deal with author and publisher groups in the United States earlier this year, allowing it to copy books for the Internet. But the agreement has been criticized and come under the gaze of the U.S. Justice Department because it does not say what Google might charge libraries, for example. Some of them fear the service will become an expensive must-have. Dan Clancy, architect of the Google program, told a hearing at the European Commission, which is the European Union's executive body, that the group hoped to allow Web surfers to find out-of-print books.
http://benton.org/node/27665
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CDT URGES PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS BE INCLUDED IN GOOGLE BOOKS SETTLEMENT
[SOURCE: Center for Democracy & Technology, AUTHOR: Leslie Harris, John B. Morris Jr, David Sohn]
The Center for Democracy & Technology filed a "friend of the court" brief in the Southern District of New York requesting that key privacy requirements be included in the Court's approval of the class-action settlement that would dramatically expand Google Book Search. CDT previously released a report in July analyzing the privacy implications of this settlement and is urging the judge to guarantee strong privacy safeguards for the exciting new services Google will be able to offer. The brief asks that the court approve the proposed settlement of the copyright infringement lawsuit between Google and authors and publishers, but to retain oversight in order to monitor implementation of a privacy plan.
http://benton.org/node/27664
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FRANCE TO OPPOSE GOOGLE BOOK SCHEME
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Stanley Pignal]
Google's ambitious plans to scan millions of books and make them readable through its search engine suffered another blow on Monday after France said it would formally oppose the US settlement that Google needs to circumvent complex copyright issues. France's objections came as policymakers and interest groups met on Monday in Brussels to discuss the possibility of establishing a European framework that would give it permission to scan entire libraries in Europe. France's opposition to the US deal, on the grounds it will undermine French authors' rights, means it is far less likely the European Union will adapt its copyright system to suit Google's digitisation efforts. Google's efforts have stuttered in Europe because it cannot legally scan books that are still in copyright, which extends for 70 years after the death of a book's author. In the US, by contrast, a 2005 class-action lawsuit by authors and publishers has culminated in a $125m settlement paid by Google and a wide-ranging agreement on how to split any money made from the scheme.
http://benton.org/node/27683
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WEB SOFTWARE GLEANS DATA ON KID CHATS
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Deborah Yao]
Parents who install a leading brand of software to monitor their kids' online activities may be unwittingly allowing the developer to gather marketing data from children as young as 7 - and to sell that information. Software sold under the Sentry and FamilySafe brands can read private chats conducted through Yahoo, MSN, AOL and other services, and send that data back to the company. The info is then offered to businesses seeking ways to tailor their marketing messages to kids. The software does not record children's names, addresses or other identifiable information, but it knows how old they are because parents customize the programs to be more or less permissive, depending on age.
http://benton.org/node/27682
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FEWER FLIERS SENT HOME AS SCHOOLS PUT MORE ON WEB
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Winnie Hu]
School districts across the country are aggressively cutting back on the avalanche of paper sent home, trying to exploit the much-cheaper communication channel of the Internet. While saving money is often the main motivation, some districts are finding that going paperless has other advantages, like eliminating classroom distractions, informing parents more quickly about test results or swine flu outbreaks, and promoting environmentalism. But the demise of the time-honored tradition of letters stuffed in backpacks has worried educators and parents who say that some families still do not have regular access to the Internet and may miss important information — and not even know it. So districts like William Floyd, also on Long Island, have moved cautiously online, posting class assignments and schedules on its Web site but continuing to mail printed copies home.
http://benton.org/node/27681
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WIRELESS

T-MOBILE UK AND ORANGE IN JOINT VENTURE
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Gerrit Wiesmann, Andrew Parker]
Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom on Tuesday said they wanted to merge their British mobile-phone units T-Mobile UK and Orange UK to create a market leader better able to compete with two remaining big rivals. The two companies said they had started exclusive negotiations about putting their assets into a 50-50 joint venture by the end of October. The combined company would have 28.4m subscriptions or 37 per cent of the UK's mobile-phone user base. Deutsche Telekom would put its business into the venture free of any debt, while France Telecom would shift £1.25bn (€1.4bn) of intra-group debt into the venture to make up for T-Mobile UK's lower asset valuation. On top of that, France Telecom is set to receive £625m in cash. This would come as one-off payment from the joint venture, which would in turn refinance this transaction by taking a loan of similar size from its German parent.
http://benton.org/node/27684
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ELECTIONS & MEDIA

REVERSAL OF PRECEDENTS AT ISSUE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Robert Barnes]
The Supreme Court's unusual hearing Wednesday on the role corporations can play in influencing elections carries the potential not only for rewriting the nation's campaign finance laws but also for testing the willingness of the court led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to defy the decisions of Congress and to set aside its own precedents. The court will consider whether the "proper disposition" of a case -- pitting a conservative group's scorching campaign film about Hillary Rodham Clinton against federal campaign finance laws -- requires overturning two decisions that said government has an interest in restricting the political activities and speech of corporations. That raises ageless questions about the role of stare decisis -- the court's custom of standing by its previous decisions. But it also raises new ones about the boldness of a court that has moved to the right with the addition of Roberts and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.
http://benton.org/node/27685
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POLICYMAKERS

NEW POWER COUPLE ON POTOMAC
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
A Q&A with Rachel Goslins, the new executive director of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities (PCAH). She is an independent TV and film producer and attorney. Goslins' independent film resume includes 2008 indie documentary 'Bama Girl, about a black woman running for homecoming queen at the University of Alabama, and Onderduiken, about her family's need to hide in the Netherlands during the Holocaust. Her TV production credits include a host of cable projects. Goslins is the second presidential appointment in her household. The first was husband Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Both campaigned for Barack Obama, and Genachowski is a former Harvard Law School classmate of the president. The PCAH, which was created during the administration of President Ronald Reagan, himself a former film and TV figure, is charged with advocating for the value of the arts and humanities. This includes working with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
http://benton.org/node/27662
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NEW STAFF FOR FCC COMMISSIONER COPPS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Federal Communications Commission member Michael Copps announced the reorganization of his staff on Friday. John Giusti will join Commissioner Copps' office as Chief of Staff and legal advisor for international and wireless issues. Jennifer Schneider will occupy the new position of Senior Policy Advisor in the Copps office. In addition to her duties as Senior Policy Advisor, Ms. Schneider will serve as principal advisor for broadband, wireline and Universal Service issues. Jamila Bess Johnson will temporarily join Commissioner Copps' office as Acting Legal Advisor on media issues. Ms. Johnson is Senior Attorney Advisor in the Industry Analysis Division of the Media Bureau. Paul Murray, who has been detailed to Commissioner Copps' office to assist in spectrum and wireless issues for the past several months, will shortly return to his position as Legal Advisor to the Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
http://benton.org/node/27661
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RESEARCH

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION PROGRAM SEEKS WHITE PAPERS
[SOURCE: National Institute of Standards and Technology, AUTHOR: ]
The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Technology Innovation Program (TIP) announces that it is seeking white papers from any interested party, including academia; federal, state, and local governments; industry; national laboratories; and professional organizations/societies. White papers will be used to identify and select areas of critical national need and the associated technical challenges to be addressed in future TIP competitions. The suggested dates for submission of white papers are November 9, 2009, February 15, 2010, May 10, 2010, and July 12, 2010. However, TIP will accept white papers at any time during the period November 9, 2009 through September 30, 2010. TIP holds competitions for funding based on addressing areas of critical national need. TIP identifies and selects topics for areas of critical national need based on input from within NIST, the TIP Advisory Board, the science and technology communities, and from the public. TIP is interested in receiving input on the identification and definition of problems that are sufficiently large in magnitude that they have the potential to inhibit the growth and well-being of our nation today. This announcement explains the requirements and process for submitting white papers to TIP by interested parties. White papers from experts in other federal agencies are valued and welcome, and will enable TIP to complement the efforts of other mission agencies and avoid duplication of their efforts, thereby leveraging resources to benefit the nation. White papers may discuss any critical national need area of interest to the submitter, or may address any of the following topic areas: Civil Infrastructure, Complex networks and complex systems, Energy, Ensuring Future Water Supply, Healthcare, and Manufacturing.
http://benton.org/node/27654
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