Jan 8, 2010 (Jay, we hardly knew ye)
New America is looking for part-time, non-residential fellows, http://bit.ly/5H3iVe and interns, http://bit.ly/7Cu5XZ for the newly launched http://mediapolicy.newamerica.net initiative.
Media Access Project is seeking a Communications/Development intern for Spring 2010 to aid with press and online outreach, as well as fundraising operations and organizational marketing. http://bit.ly/7gKehm
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY JANUARY 8, 2010
HIT Privacy and Security kicks off next week's agenda which includes the National Broadband Plan, media ownership, World's Fair Use Day, and Network Neutrality. All this fun and Congress isn't even back in town yet. http://bit.ly/7Xigf2
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
Key Members of Congress OK Broadband Plan Delay
The Star Trek Guide to the National Broadband Plan
Government skeptical wireless can open up broadband market
Coalition for 4G in America Offers FCC 4 Principles for Speeding Spectrum to Market
OPASTCO: Reject Big Cable's Universal Service Plan
New NAB Spot Promotes Free TV
Pike & Fischer: Broadband Subscribership Growth To Fall In 2010
THE STIMULUS
NTIA, RUS release "BroadbandMatch" to Help Prospective Broadband Applicants
Top 10 Prescriptions for Getting Broadband Done
Connect Minnesota on mapping plans
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
FCC To Defend Reprimand Of Comcast For Internet Practices
Seven Days to Preserve the Internet
The Network Neutrality Debate Is far From Over
Online Media Execs Have Eyes on Washington
MORE ON BROADBAND
Municipal fiber needs more FDR localism, fewer state bans
Questions To Ask Your Policymakers About Broadband
WIRELESS
Analyst: Carriers set to introduce usage-based mobile data pricing
Two year contract trend could reverse by 2011
The Network Is Our Top Priority, AT&T Says
FCC REFORM
FCC Launches Reboot.FCC.Gov
FCC Chairman To Silicon Valley: We Need Your Best Ideas
The New FCC and a Small Reality Check
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
FCC Defends Crossownership Stay
Industry, Labor and Consumer Groups Unite to Raise Concerns about Cable Giant Comcast's Proposed Takeover of NBC
Late-Night Shift Sinking, NBC Wants Leno Back in Old Slot
HEALTH IT
Panel Focuses On Health IT Security
HIT 'breakthrough' grants should yield practical uses
ENERGY
Dept of Energy Invests $47 Million to Make IT and Communications More Energy Efficient
Google eyes electricity with new venture
MORE ONLINE
FTC Seeks Public Comment on Program to Keep Web Site Operators in Compliance With the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule
Federal CTO Chopra, CEA's Shapiro hash out government role in tech
Google, Yahoo! May Face New Online Advertising Tax in France
How Much Are Twitter's Tweets Really Worth?
Social and Traditional Media Agree: Botched Terror Attack Is Big News
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
KEY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS OK BROADBAND PLAN DELAY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) said Thursday that they are amenable to the Federal Communications Commission's request to delay completion of the National Broadband Plan until March 17, 2010. "Congress tasked the Federal Communications Commission to develop a national broadband plan to make sure all Americans have access to broadband and to establish benchmarks to reach that goal," Chairman Rockefeller said. "Broadband access is enormously critical to our country's economic growth and can significantly improve countless lives by expanding employment opportunities, health care, education and government services. Crafting an effective national broadband plan is a challenging and important task. Chairman Genachowski has indicated that a short delay is necessary to qualitatively improve the plan. I support his efforts." According to sources, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, was said to be OK with the delay so long as the result at the end of the day was a report with meat on the bone and not just a "plan for a plan." Chairman Waxman called the extension modest and said he supported it "given the critical importance of this endeavor and the need to consider a record unprecedented in size and scope."
benton.org/node/31073 | Broadcasting&Cable | B&C - Waxman
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THE STAR TREK GUIDE TO THE NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Art Brodsky]
[Commentary] In the last few days, we have a promise from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski that the National Broadband Plan will be "bold." The National Broadband Plan requires a bold stroke. It requires more than a narrow view of "the art of the possible." It is not possible to grow corn, for example, simply by looking at a plot of land. Put some seeds in and some water, and the "art of the possible" changes. Now that the FCC has requested some more time from Congress to submit its plan, it can work on redefining what it considers to be "possible," choosing from a couple of scenarios. Nothing illustrates the choice between a safe, incremental plan that will do some modest good and a bold stroke that could genuinely take this country back to digital leadership than two studies prepared for the FCC. The plans being discussed so far deal with the already-accepted idea of converting universal service to support broadband, and rights-of-way issues, concentrating on affordability and utilization, along with fixing up set top boxes, and finding more spectrum to meet increasing demand. These are good things, and safe things, but not bold things.
benton.org/node/31056 | Public Knowledge
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GOVERNMENT SKEPTICAL WIRELESS CAN OPEN UP BROADBAND MARKET
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
Earlier this week the Department of Justice urged the Federal Communications Commission to reallocate as much spectrum as possible for the wireless industry. Wireless, the DOJ says, is the best chance we've got at creating a more competitive broadband landscape. "Given the potential of wireless services to reach underserved areas and to provide an alternative to wireline broadband providers in other areas, the Commission's primary tool for promoting broadband competition should be freeing up spectrum," the DOJ told the FCC on Monday.But now comes a policy letter from the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) suggesting that the wireless fix may not be so clear cut. "Although early projections from [the] industry are encouraging, it is premature to predict when, or even whether, these wireless broadband services will provide the competitive alternatives that can benefit consumers of all services, including wireline," NTIA chief Larry Strickling wrote to the FCC. It's not like Strickling disagrees with DOJ's assessment of the problem. The fact that some wireline customers seem willing to switch to wireless service suggests that the two offerings could become part of a broader marketplace," NTIA speculates. But the letter advises the FCC keep several factors in mind. First, a big chunk of the wireless industry is owned by AT&T and Verizon. Are they really going to market their wireless products as an alternative to their wireline offerings?
benton.org/node/31055 | Ars Technica
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COALITION FOR 4G IN AMERICA OFFERS FCC 4 PRINCIPLES
[SOURCE: Coalition for 4G in America, AUTHOR: ]
The Coalition for 4G in America (MetroPCS Communications, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA, Clearwire, Rural Telecommunications Group, and Access Spectrum) is urging the Federal Communications Commission to adopt the following four principles in the National Broadband Plan: I. The FCC Should Move As Soon As Possible to Auction the Upper 700 MHz DBlock for Commercial Use. 2. The FCC Should Promote Public Safety Broadband Through Incentive-Based, Commercially Viable Public-Private Partnerships That Are Technology, Spectrum Band, and Provider Neutral. 3. The FCC Should Combine the A and D Blocks to Promote Spectrum Efficiency and Enhance Incentives for Creating a Public-Private Partnership. 4. The FCC Should Ensure that Public Safety Narrowband Operations in the 700 MHz Band are Protected from Interference. Public safety 700 MHz narrowband operations remain important for public safety communications and must be protected from harmful interference. The companies say that the FCC should auction the Upper 700 MHz D Block for commercial use as soon as possible and thereby provide much-needed additional commercial spectrum to promote widespread availability of competitive broadband services.
benton.org/node/31072 | Coalition for 4G in America
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OPASTCO: REJECT BIG CABLE'S UNIVERSAL SERVICE PLAN
[SOURCE: Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies, AUTHOR: ]
The Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO) responds to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association proposal for new universal service rules with a resounding "no." Almost all OPASTCO members are rural telephone companies and most receive the majority of their cost recovery and operating revenues from a combination of high-cost universal service support and intercarrier compensation. OPASTCO writes: The FCC should reject NCTA's petition for rural service areas. By focusing solely on the support needed to provide voice service to customers that lack a competitive alternative, adoption of NCTA's proposal would virtually guarantee that the Commission's goal of ubiquitous, robust broadband availability will not be achieved in these territories. There are other ways the Commission can address concerns regarding the current USF contribution factor that would not harm broadband investment in rural service areas. They are: 1) expanding the base of providers and services that contribute to the Fund including, at a minimum, all broadband Internet access providers; 2) limiting support in each rural service area to one fixed broadband provider and one mobile wireless provider; and, 3) abandoning the identical support rule and, at least in rural service areas, basing support for competitive eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) on their own costs. Finally, the Commission's National Broadband Plan should recommend that OPASTCO's plan for a Universal Service High Speed Broadband Fund be used as a starting point for further rulemaking proceedings on USF and ICC reform for rural service areas.
benton.org/node/31071 | Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies
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NEW NAB SPOT PROMOTES FREE TV
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: ]
The National Association of Broadcasters has produced a television spot informing viewers of discussions in Washington that could limit free, over-the-air broadcast television. The 30-second spot, produced in English and Spanish, was distributed via satellite in December and is airing on stations across the country this month. The TV spot comes on the heels of several third-party filings submitted to the Federal Communications Commission calling for the reallocation of broadcast spectrum for new wireless broadband devices. "Following NAB's historic campaign to educate Americans on the benefits of the government-mandated digital TV transition, we feel it is equally important to ensure our viewers are aware of proposals in Washington now aimed at limiting free and local DTV service," said NAB EVP Dennis Wharton. "We remain committed to a dialogue with policymakers and legislators on how to best serve the needs of the American people for fast Internet access without jeopardizing digital TV's promised potential for millions of TV viewers."
benton.org/node/31069 | TVNewsCheck
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PIKE AND FISHER: BROADBAND GROWTH FALLING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
According to predictions by Pike & Fischer, high-speed Internet sign-ups are expected to decline by 10% in 2010 over this year's total. Cable is expected to add 2.1 million new broadband subs, and phone companies 1.7 million. The total number of broadband homes is predicted to top 77 million, or about 65%.
benton.org/node/31068 | Broadcasting&Cable
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THE STIMULUS
NTIA/RUS RELEASE BROADBANDMATCH
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the USDA's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) today announced the launch of BroadbandMatch, a new online tool to facilitate partnerships among prospective applicants to the agencies' broadband grant and loan programs. The programs, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, are intended to expand broadband access and adoption in America, helping to bridge the digital divide, create jobs, and stimulate long-term economic growth. BroadbandMatch allows potential applicants to find partners for broadband projects, helping them to combine expertise and create stronger proposals. For example, a broadband infrastructure provider might partner with community institutions, like universities, hospitals, or libraries, on a proposal to bring high-speed Internet service to their facilities. Any company, nonprofit, state or local government or expert individual interested in applying for funding under NTIA's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) or RUS's Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) can post a profile, including key information about the contribution they can make to a broadband project, as well as search for other stakeholders whose skills and resources match their needs.
benton.org/node/31057 | National Telecommunications and Information Administration | BroadbandMatch
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TOP 10 PRESCRIPTIONS FOR GETTING BROADBAND DONE
[SOURCE: Fighting the Next Good Fight, AUTHOR: Craig Settles]
[Commentary] 1) Develop (and act on) the best plan you can write for getting broadband without one dollar of stimulus. 2) Partner with other communities. 3) Bring medical facilities, schools, colleges and other institutions onto your team of stakeholders. 4) Inoculate against incumbents behaving badly. 5) Incumbents are going to increase the use of local legislators to enable their attacks on community broadband so actively cultivate your own legislative support to enable you to deflect these attacks. 6) Put the heat on the state agencies responsible for broadband mapping projects -- especially on states relying on Connected Nation -- to include 2nd- and 3rd-sourced, independently validated broadband usage data. 7) If you want broadband available and affordable to all, competition is how you get it, and open access is a linchpin to increased competition. 8) Let's not get Alzheimer's regarding the urban underserved. 9) Communities and public-private partnerships need to seek out traditional investors. 10) Some small towns and counties may have to suck it up and secure a broadband future on their own.
benton.org/node/31054 | Fighting the Next Good Fight
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CONNECT MINNESOTA ON MAPPING PLANS
[SOURCE: Blandin on Broadband, AUTHOR: ]
Connected Minnesota received approximately $1.2 million for broadband data collection and mapping activities over a two-year period and almost $500,000 for broadband planning activities over a five-year period in Minnesota, bringing the total grant award to approximately $1.7 million. Connected Minnesota has already done some mapping. [more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/31070 | Blandin on Broadband
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NETWORK NEUTRALITY
FCC TO DEFEND COMCAST DECISION
[SOURCE: Dow Jones, AUTHOR: Fawn Johnson]
The Federal Communications Commission will go before a federal appeals court Friday to defend its 2008 citation against Comcast for throttling Internet traffic from high-bandwidth file-sharing services, a case that could throw into question the FCC's authority to impose open Internet rules. Comcast plans to argue that the FCC went too far in issuing the citation because it didn't rely on specific parts of communications law, according to a summary of court briefs. If the court approves the FCC's "expansive" theory, Comcast argues, the balance of power between Congress and the Administration could be severely hampered. "If Comcast's most extreme argument were adopted by the DC Circuit, then we would have to either change fundamentally our regulatory approach, or look to the Supreme Court or Congress to restore that power," said FCC General Counsel Austin Schlick. The appeals court isn't likely to go that far, in part because it has ruled in the past that the FCC is entitled to regulate other emerging communications services, such as cable. A ruling upholding the FCC's reasoning could have the opposite effect, however. The court could give an "indirect green-light to Chairman Genachowski's campaign for a bolder open Internet policy that's a cornerstone of the Obama administration's tech agenda," said Jeffrey Silva, senior media and technology director at Medley Global Advisors. The judges also could decide that the legal provisions the FCC relies on aren't sufficient to justify its action against Comcast, which could make it more difficult for the agency to finalize the open Internet rules. Alternatively, the court could ignore the question of whether the FCC has the authority to punish Internet companies for violating openness principles and focus instead on Comcast's argument that the FCC didn't give enough notice before it slapped the cable giant. If the court agrees that the FCC violated basic rules of fair notice, it would be a win for Comcast, but that decision alone wouldn't necessarily upset the FCC's current open Internet rulemaking.
benton.org/node/31044 | Dow Jones
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SEVEN DAYS TO PRESERVE THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Women's Media Center, AUTHOR: Mary Alice Crim]
[Commentary] January 14, 2010, may not sound like an important date, but between now and then, the public has a chance to take a stand for "Network Neutrality," the Internet principle that protects consumer choice and equal opportunity online. A Net Neutrality rulemaking process is currently under way at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the agency that regulates our media system. Public comments received by January 14 will be considered by the agency as it drafts new rules to protect the open Internet, and women's voices and opinions need to be heard.
benton.org/node/31045 | Women's Media Center
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THE NETWORK NEUTRALITY DEBATE IS FAR FROM OVER
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: ]
In the epic battle between giant corporations and pirates of digital media, the latter faction has struck a severe blow with the help of regulators at the Federal Communications Commission. Bureaucrats soon will be penning regulations that will keep the Internet free forever from -- well, regulation. Meanwhile, Internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast and AT&T will slink back to their caves to bemoan their inability to further mine profit from customers. Such a description of the network neutrality debate is clearly a gross oversimplification of what's in reality a complex problem. If you listen to net neutrality advocates, ISPs are described as aspiring digital gatekeepers out to wring every last cent from innocent consumers. ISPs, on the other hand, have had a terrible time crafting a countermessage -- their best attempt has been claiming that they want only to reinvest profit into building more broadband. Net neutrality is an important issue, as it may well determine the future of the Web. And with the FCC's October 2009 notice of proposed rulemaking regarding network neutrality regulation, it would seem the grass-roots activists have defeated their corporate adversaries. Although there aren't any written rules yet, some worry the federal government is claiming power it doesn't possess to regulate the Internet in a manner that's far worse than what Time Warner or AT&T would even consider.
benton.org/node/31067 | Government Technology
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ONLINE MEDIA HAS EYE ON DC
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Online entertainment and video executives and developers at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas are talking about how their future rests largely with the Federal Communications Commission. Tim Street is the CEO of Ape Digital, a Pasadena, Calif.-based company that produces online videos. He's been watching the FCC's moves to develop a net neutrality policy that he said is important to keep the Web open like it is today so that applications like his can thrive. "I've been following because I know where my bread is getting buttered," Street said. "I can see a scenario where the 200-plus lobbyists that are fighting against net neutrality can make it so that independent online video content creators won't be able to afford an entrance fee onto the Web." Street said he is concerned about trends in the cable and satellite industry to extend their current models onto the Web. He said he is concerned about TV Everywhere, a strategy by Comcast and other cable and satellite providers to bring online content to only their subscribers of Internet and cable service. "This is a closed system and it's unclear how new video can get on to this system," Street said. Steve Harnesberger, vice president of business development for Jaman, said potential interest by carriers such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast to charge by how much bandwidth a user consumes is bad for consumers and could slow demand for video, which consumes the most bandwidth. Harnesberger said the business motivation is for cable and telecom carriers to get extra revenue from bandwidth usage that they would be losing from consumers who cut the cord of cable television services for only broadband Internet.
benton.org/node/31051 | Washington Post
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MORE ON BROADBAND
MUNICIPAL FIBER NEEDS MORE FDR LOCALISM, FEWER STATE BANS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Christopher Mitchell]
[Commentary] The truth is that publicly owned networks do quite well. Communities typically borrow from outside investors to build the network and pay off the loans over a 15-20 year period with revenues from phone, television, and broadband services (for wired networks). These networks have eased telecom budgets (e.g. by increasing speed to schools while dramatically cutting costs) and encouraged economic development. Nationally, they average high take rates—a measure of how many people take service on the network. State barriers to publicly owned broadband networks may benefit monopolistic cable and telephone companies but can cripple communities within those states. Of course, such policies also give a competitive edge to cities in other states who have moved ahead.
benton.org/node/31050 | Ars Technica
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QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR POLICYMAKERS ABOUT BROADBAND
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] What kinds of questions should we be asking candidates to raise the profile of broadband? 1. Do you agree that broadband is one of the most important infrastructures of the 21st century? 2. How do you see broadband playing a role in furthering your policy goals? 3. Are you a supporter of open government, where the Internet can be used to increase transparency, engage citizens, and drive efficiencies? If so, what are your specific plans to implement open government? 4. Do you believe that it's important for your constituents to have access to world-class connectivity in order to support continued economic development?
benton.org/node/31049 | App-Rising.com
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WIRELESS
CARRIERS TO INTRODUCE USAGE-BASED MOBILE DATA PRICING
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Kevin Fitchard]
This year may well be the year that wireless operators adopt usage-based pricing models for their heavy-volume mobile data users, according to analyst firm Deloitte. With smartphone traffic eating up increasing amounts of data capacity and a small percentage of those users hogging the largest percentage of that bandwidth, carriers have little choice but to abandon their all-you-can-eat smartphone data plans and implement pricing models more equitable to all of their customers, said Phil Asmundson, Deloitte vice chairman and leader of the firm's US technology, media and telecommunications group. "If you look at what's happening today, they're being forced by necessity to adopt usage-based models," Asmundson said. "All-you-can-eat business models depend on your ability to predict how much data your customers will consume. The iPhone has proven that you can't make those kind of predictions." Due to that lack of predictability, operators are witnessing their data traffic increase at far faster rates than their revenues, but the balance is highly skewed toward high-volume users who not only are using more than their 'fair' share of capacity and limited network resources but are degrading the user experience for all customers, Asmundson said.
benton.org/node/31066 | TelephonyOnline
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TWO YEAR CONTRACT COULD REVERSE BY 2011
[SOURCE: Mobile Magazine, AUTHOR: Kate O'Flaherty]
Operators will need to offer extra services to lock in savvy customers, say analysts. Aggressively priced smartphones and up front payments on hardware could see the trend towards two year contracts reversed by 2011. Analyst Gartner says it expects 12 month contracts to return to the norm in two years' time, as consumers move away from Sim-only in improved economic conditions. And there will be more pressure on operators to provide reasonable prices on those 12 month contracts, even on heavily subsidized smartphones. 2009 has been the year of the 24 month contract, with recent figures from GfK showing that the number of customers tied into two year contracts has surged tenfold in one year. Two year contracts represented a 58.5% share in October 2009 - up from 6.8% in October 2008. The trend for longer contracts can largely be attributed to the rise of more expensive smartphones, such as Apple's iPhone. Currently, devices that require a high subsidy mean networks seek to lock in customers for two years to claw back cash. But the price of smartphones such as the iPhone may come down, if the recent trend is to continue.
benton.org/node/31043 | Mobile Magazine
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FCC REFORM
FCC LAUNCHES REBOOT.FCC.GOV
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
The Federal Communications Commission launched the first-ever Web site dedicated to soliciting public input on ways to improve citizen interaction with the FCC. The launch also includes the first official FCC blog, which will feature posts from FCC employees and each of the five Commission members. The site highlights five key elements of FCC reform for public discussion and feedback: 1) redesign of the FCC's main website, 2) a online clearinghouse for data sets made public by the FCC, 3) new ways to increase public participation through the use of new media tools, e-rulemaking, and expanding FCC audiences, 4) overhauling and reforming the systems available on the FCC's site -- from the Electronic Comment Filing System to creating a Consolidated Licensing System, and 5) modernizing and growing the efficiency of agency proceedings, and input on ways to improve the quality of agency decision-making, reduce backlogs, and enhance the public's ability to understand and participate in Commission proceedings.
benton.org/node/31064 | Federal Communications Commission | New FCC site | FCC Data
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FCC TO SILICON VALLEY: WE NEED YOUR BEST IDEAS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Timothy Hay]
In America's complicated business landscape, Silicon Valley is not an island. The innovations that come from the famous tech hotspot have the potential to boost economies nationwide. This was the message Wednesday from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, who addressed a group of entrepreneurs and investors at the offices of tech-blog network Giga Omni Media in San Francisco. The Obama administration's ambitious goal of rolling out coast-to-coast broadband is not merely a plan to help Silicon Valley by better connecting the country's tech geeks. Better connectivity will be the very lifeblood of American business for decades to come, Chairman Genachowski said. "A robust, open broadband platform, available and used by all Americans, will be our engine for innovation, economic growth and job creation in the 21st century," he said. To the tech community, Genachowski is anything but a faceless government bureaucrat. He earned his stripes in the private sector, holding a top post at IAC/InterActiveCorp. and co-founding start-up incubator LaunchBox Digital and investment firm Rock Creek Ventures. Ubiquitous broadband in America will be a crucial step in meeting some of the president's top policy goals, the chairman said, including improving healthcare, education and public safety. It will also lead to a more transparent, efficient and responsive government, he said. But the broadband rollout is already up against a significant hurdle: the availability of wireless spectrum to power the quickly evolving computers and handheld phones hitting the market.
benton.org/node/31053 | Wall Street Journal
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THE NEW FCC
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
[Commentary] It is OK to be optimistic about the new Federal Communications Commission under the leadership of Chairman Julius Genachowski. The New FCC Is Curious. The New FCC Sees Value in Unlicensed Spectrum. The New FCC Views Broadband As the Platform for Basic Services. The New FCC Is Paying Attention.
benton.org/node/31052 | GigaOm
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
GROUPS AIR CONCERNS ABOUT COMCAST-NBC
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Press release]
An ad hoc group of industry, labor and public interest organizations from both the Left and the Right expressed grave concern about the proposed Comcast takeover of NBC in an open letter to President Obama and Congress. Free Press Policy Counsel Corie Wright said the groups share common concerns that Comcast control of NBC would mean less competition and higher costs for consumers. "Groups that seldom work on the same side of an issue agree that the merger of media giants would only hurt the media landscape and further diminish independent content and voices," Wright said. "Both conservative and liberal groups fear that this media mega-merger would result in even less diverse programming than we have now." Wright noted that the letter also includes industry associations like the American Cable Association and the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association, which agree it will be harder on smaller competitors if the government allows the cable giant to get even bigger. Wright added, "Several consumer groups, including Free Press, oppose the proposed merger because it will mean prices will likely go up for consumers."
benton.org/node/31048 | Free Press | Broadcasting&Cable
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FCC DEFENDS STAY OF MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a brief filed at the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Federal Communications Commission says the stay on its current partial lifting of the ban on newspaper-broadcast crossownership should remain in place and court challenges to that order held in abeyance because it is bound to be superseded by a new decision, from new commissioners, based on a changed media marketplace. Broadcasters say the FCC is stalling and that the court needs to put the pedal to the metal. The FCC's media ownership rules have been in limbo for more than a half-decade and the 2008 rules change under FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has never gone into effect, one of the reasons broadcasters had asked the court to get on with hearing the case and lift the stay in the interim so they could get some regulatory certainty. But the FCC said either of those actions would be pointless since it would be coming up with some new rules--under a now-Democratic majority.
benton.org/node/31074 | Broadcasting&Cable
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LENO RETURNING TO LATE-NIGHT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Bill Carter]
Faced with the failure of the biggest recent gamble in television, NBC is shuffling its late-night deck one more time. The network has a plan in the works to restore Jay Leno to his old spot at 11:35 each weeknight for a half-hour, while pushing the man who replaced him, Conan O'Brien, to a starting time of 12:05 a.m. Mr. O'Brien would then have a full hour. The change, if completed, would represent a retreat from the network's strategy of replacing Mr. Leno, who drove "The Tonight Show" to the top of the late-night ratings, with the younger, hipper Mr. O'Brien, then trying to save money in prime time by replacing expensive dramas with Mr. Leno's show at 10 p.m. The moves are being driven by pressure from NBC's affiliated stations, which have seen ratings for their late-night local newscasts plummet since September. That was when NBC began "The Jay Leno Show," a prime-time version of Mr. Leno's old late-night show. Mr. O'Brien succeeded Mr. Leno as host of "The Tonight Show" in June. Though Mr. Leno's prime-time show has not fallen below the ratings guarantees that NBC gave to advertisers, it has averaged only about five million viewers a night. The NBC station managers have blamed consistently low lead-in audiences for much of the falloff in their news ratings — and local stations rely on news programs for the majority of their revenue. The affiliates are due to meet with NBC on Jan. 21.
benton.org/node/31076 | New York Times | WSJ | WP | LATimes | USAToday
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