October 28, 2011 (FCC Meeting Recap)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2011

Friday, yes, but still a busy day http://benton.org/calendar/2011-10-28/

NEWS FROM THE FCC
   FCC Creates 'Connect America Fund' to Help Extend High-Speed Internet to 18 Million Unserved Americans
   FCC Launches Proceeding Aimed at Modernizing Broadcasters’ Public Inspection Files
   FCC Wants More Info from AT&T
   FCC Finalizes Rules for Broadband From Wall Sockets

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Reps Walden, Rogers Urge President to Practice His Own “Common Sense Test” on Network Neutrality
   How Netflix, entertainment and changing usage patterns are affecting networks - analysis
   Streaming TV On Rise, More Millennials Watch Traditional TV [links to web]
   Time Warner Cable continues big bet on broadband
   Just 14% Of Internet Customers Disappointed With Speeds: J.D. Power [links to web]

LOBBYING
   Tech industry pushes policy agenda with supercommittee
   Google’s Spreading Tentacles of Influence
   Venture Capitalists Take Fight Against IP Bill To The Hill [links to web]

CYBERSECURITY
   DHS Sec Napolitano Gives Rundown on U.S. Cybersecurity Efforts
   DHS Sec Napolitano Calls For Army Of 'Cyber Geeks'
   Cybersecurity and the missing sense of urgency
   Defense cyber chief: The cloud is the military's next Internet [links to web]
   Security researcher finds major flaw in Facebook [links to web]

WIRELESS/BROADBAND
   LightSquared is jilting taxpayers out of billions, GPS industry claims
   LightSquared Says It Has Yet Another GPS Antenna Fix [links to web]
   NETAmerica Rural 4G Pilot Network
   San Francisco cellphone warning law fails science, says judge
   RIM Facility Helps India in Surveillance Efforts
   Samsung's Smartphone Sales Surpass Apple's [links to web]

EDUCATION
   Social media savvy: The new digital divide? [links to web]
   Crossing the Digital Divide: Bridges and Barriers to Digital Inclusion [links to web]
   Chicago-area school district gives free iPads to freshmen [links to web]

ENERGY
   Illinois Legislature overrides Gov. Pat Quinn's veto to allow smart grid

JOURNALISM
   Bloggers Back Occupy Wall Street protests [links to web]
   http://benton.org/outgoingframe/99020 " >David Carr: The News Diet Of A Media Omnivore [links to web]

RADIO
   Clear Channel Cuts DJ’s Across the Country

MORE ONLINE
   In U-Turn, H-P Will Hold On to PCs [links to web]
   With new fees on the line, is it time to ditch your home phone? - analysis [links to web]
   Should you care how high your Klout score is? [links to web]
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NEWS FROM THE FCC

CONNECT AMERICA FUND
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to comprehensively reform its Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation systems. Those systems have been widely viewed as broken, and long overdue for reform. Efforts to expand high-speed Internet to rural America over the next six years will increase economic growth by $50 billion over that period, the FCC estimates. These reforms create a new Connect America Fund with an annual budget of no more than $4.5 billion, which will extend broadband infrastructure to the millions of Americans who currently have no access to broadband. As a result, today’s action has the potential to be one of the biggest job creators in rural America in decades. The FCC estimates that approximately 500,000 jobs will be created over the next six years by expanding high-speed Internet access to over 7 million Americans living in rural areas. And by increasing the overall size of the U.S. marketplace, small Main Street businesses across the country will benefit from the opportunity to sell to new customers. The Connect America Fund will put America on the path to universal broadband and advanced mobile coverage without increasing costs to consumers. By eliminating waste and targeting support where it is most needed, these reforms put universal service funding on a firm budget, and they will impose strict new accountability on fund recipients.
As part of this reform, the FCC recognizes the growing importance of mobile broadband and makes it an independent universal service objective for the first time in history. Dedicated support to expand mobile broadband nationwide will be provided through a new Mobility Fund.
The FCC provided few details about its plan to phase down ICC charges, although one staff member said the reforms initially will cap interstate and intrastate access charges with the ultimate goal of moving toward a “bill and keep” approach via a “transition path.” She also referenced an access charge replacement mechanism, although details of that mechanism were not provided. Based on what was said, ICC reforms appear to be in line with what was proposed in a proposal brokered by telephone companies. As expected the FCC also said it would require service providers to pay access charges on calls that originate or terminate on the PSTN. In addition officials said the order takes steps to prohibit access charge arbitrage, including access stimulation and phantom traffic. Although the order apparently does not address how IP-to-IP interconnection should be treated, FCC officials said the order does require all carriers to negotiate such agreements in good faith. In addition, the commission said it will seek comment on how calls connected directly via IP should be treated. One of the more surprising comments made at today’s meeting was that all carriers would be on an “equal footing” in their ability to obtain ICC compensation -- a comment that appears directed at meeting the requests of cable operators, who have asked for greater ability to collect access charges.
benton.org/node/99047 | Federal Communications Commission | Executive summary of Report and Order | Washington Post | Associated Press | B&C | Connected Planet
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FCC TAKES FIRST STEP TO MODERNIZE TELEVISION BROADCAST PUBLIC INSPECTION FILES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took a major step toward modernizing the way television broadcasters inform the public about how they serve their communities. The FCC adopted an Order on Reconsideration that vacates a 2007 Report and Order (R&O), and a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM), which proposes a new approach that would require commercial and noncommercial television stations to submit documents to an online public file hosted by the FCC. The 2007 R&O largely replaced a decades-old requirement that television stations maintain a paper public inspection file in their main studio with one that required the files be available on their stations’ Internet website, if they had one. Those rules were never put into effect because of legal challenges. The FNPRM seeks comment on proposals that would reduce burdens on the broadcast industry. The Further Notice proposes to streamline the information broadcasters will need to provide by requiring the FCC to import information already filed with the FCC, and exempts certain items from being posted online such as letters and emails from the public. It further seeks comment on posting sponsorship identification information, now disclosed only on-air, and shared services agreements online as part of the public inspection file hosted by the FCC.
The FCC’s action is consistent with the government-wide effort to increase transparency, and the FCC’s broader efforts to modernize data and move its processes from paper to digital. The FCC seeks comment on any other revisions or additions to its rules that would make the information about broadcast service more accessible to the public, improving the dialogue between broadcast stations and the communities they serve while reducing compliance burdens on broadcasters.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski says the agency will act on the enhanced disclosure NOI in the “very near future.” Later, at a press briefing, the chairman reiterated that both items are on "a fast track" and will be acted upon "in the spring." FCC Commissioner Michael Copps expressed his disappointment that the agency was “starting over.” He said he would have preferred that the FCC would have “looked for ways to revise our early work and expedite its completion.” FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell said he was “glad” the FCC was vacating its 2007 rules. While he approved the FNPRM, he said he is concerned that it might result in additional regulatory burdens on broadcasters. FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn noted that she was assured by FCC Chairman Genachowski that both the FNPRM and the NOI will move expeditiously.
benton.org/node/99045 | Federal Communications Commission | TVNewsCheck | B&C
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NEW INFO REQUEST
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Renata Hesse]
The Federal Communications Commission’s Senior Counsel to the FCC Chairman for Transactions has written to AT&T requesting additional documents and information concerning its acquisition of T-Mobile including:
Any documents filed by AT&T in the Department of Justice’s suit to block the purchase of T-Mobile.
Any documents submitted to the Department of Justice.
Any AT&T documents since January 1, 2009 that reference T-Mobile.
The FCC requests the information by Thursday, November 3, 2011.
benton.org/node/99043 | Federal Communications Commission
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BROADBAND OVER POWERLINES
[SOURCE: Television Broadcast, AUTHOR: ]
Broadband access from ordinary wall sockets may yet become a reality. The Federal Communications Commission affirmed its rules for Broadband over Power Lines with minor modifications. “These rules provide an appropriate balance between the dual objectives of providing for Access BPL technology that has potential applications for broadband and Smart Grid while protecting incumbent radio services against harmful interference.” Those incumbent radio services primarily comprise ham radio operators. Hams started lobbing grenades at BPL when the commission first adopted rules for it in 2004, saying it interfered with their operations. Their national organization, the American Radio and Relay League, filed a lawsuit against the FCC in federal court, seeking full access to unredacted versions of staff technical studies upon which the rules were predicated. The FCC was ordered to cough up the studies, allow public comment on them, and explain its method for measuring radiated emissions from BPL systems. In its Second Report and Order, the FCC said the resulting cycle of comments did not “warrant any changes to the emissions standards or the extrapolation factor,” but they were making “several refinements” anyway. The SR&O modifies the rules “to increase the required notch filtering capability for systems operating below 30 MHz from 20 to 25 dB; establish a new alternative procedure for determining site-specific extrapolation factors...; and adopts a definition for the ‘slant-range distance’ used in the BPL measurement guidelines to further clarify its application.” Slant-range refers to the diagonal distance of a measurement device to a BPL transmitter mounted at the top of a power pole.
benton.org/node/99019 | Television Broadcast
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

WALDEN VS NETWORK NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee, AUTHOR: Press release]
Reiterating longstanding concerns about a controversial plan to impose new government rules for the Internet, House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) urged President Barack Obama to pull back the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality rules. Two weeks after the President made a commitment before the joint session of Congress to cut down on government regulations, the FCC proceeded to publish the Internet rules in the Federal Register, triggering lawsuits and starting the clock for expedited action in the Senate on the House’s Resolution of Disapproval of the rules. While the Administration has recently taken action to stop the implementation of other controversial initiatives, the FCC remains on track to begin enforcement of its rules on November 20.
Reps Walden and Rogers wrote, “For the last year, you have called upon your administration’s leadership to review regulations that will stifle job growth and innovation. The net neutrality rules at best create uncertainty in the technology sector and at worst could hinder this vital economic engine from creating the jobs Americans need. The people of this country demand policies that promote economic growth. Regulating an industry that continues to invest billions each year in broadband networks, provides hundreds of thousands of jobs, and leads the world in innovation is not such a policy. We urge you to bring the FCC’s vision for regulation in line with your stated policy by stopping the implementation of the FCC’s net neutrality rules.”
benton.org/node/99042 | House of Representatives Commerce Committee | | B&C
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BROADBAND USAGE PATTERNS
[SOURCE: Connected Planet, AUTHOR: Michelle Maisto]
A closer look at the latest Global Internet Phenomena report from Sandvine. Three notable findings in the report, relevant to the North American market, are:
Network use, both fixed and mobile, is becoming more concentrated. Peak usage hours shrank in September to a duration of just two hours, though gigabyte usage remained flat, suggesting users are performing the same activities, just in a narrower window. The trend is a worrying one for providers, which must engineer their networks for peak bandwidth. One suggested fix is to offer unlimited data at off-peak times and caps during the peak. If users equate data consumption with value, the offer would doubly be a win for providers, as users would perceive it as a higher-value service.
Entertainment is driving the Internet. While entertainment-geared traffic accounted for nearly 30% of traffic in 2009, it's now closer to 54% of aggregate utilized bandwidth and 60% of downstream traffic. Moreover, 55% of entertainment bytes are now headed for smart TVs, tablets and phones than laptops or desktops, now seeing just 45% of that traffic. As Sony demonstrated this morning, manufacturers, content producers and service providers are now concentrating on a "three screen approach."
Netflix, missteps or not, is increasingly impacting the industry. With a television, smartphone, tablet, laptop and smart TV in most homes, entertainment is being viewed on multiple screens. Netflix currently allows two concurrent streams and has considered "family plans" that would allow more.
benton.org/node/99002 | Connected Planet
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TWC BETS ON BROADBAND
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Ryan Lawler]
Time Warner Cable continued to see a slide in its video subscribers, but it’s trying to make up for those losses by betting more heavily on broadband as its core service. On the company’s third-quarter earnings call, Time Warner Cable executives continued to talk up its high-speed data service as a key differentiator, particularly when it goes up against telecom competitors mostly offering DSL services. But it’s also seeing huge amounts of growth for broadband subscribers who might not want to subscribe to its traditional video services. “Broadband is a powerful service for which there appears to be unquestionable consumer thirst,” Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt said on the investor call. “Over time, we will contribute more of our plant’s capacity to broadband.” Time Warner Cable added 89,000 high-speed data subscribers in the quarter, but that’s only part of the story. While the company saw 128,000 video subscribers flee, it actually added single-play high-speed data subscribers. Time Warner Cable is focused both on winning over broadband users from both those who already subscribe to its video service, as well as those who aren’t already customers. When talking about bringing existing video subscribers on-board with broadband, Time Warner Cable is most likely convincing users to upgrade from DSL services from a telco operator to cable broadband. “There’s no reason for a customer who does business with us to buy an inferior product from someone else,” COO Rob Marcus said.
benton.org/node/99008 | GigaOm | paidContent | GigaOmPro on post-video cable
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LOBBYING

TECH AGENDA
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
A coalition of tech companies and associations wrote to the congressional supercommittee on deficit reduction, pressing the lawmakers to move forward on a broad array of policy priorities for the industry. The letter recommends a tax holiday to encourage companies to move earnings onshore, government investments in research and development, incentive auctions of broadcast spectrum, immigration reform for high-skill foreign workers and improved information technology for federal agencies. Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association and one of the signers of the letter, said there are three ways to reduce the deficit: raise taxes, cut spending or grow the economy. "This is an innovation agenda," Shapiro said. "What it really comes down to is growing the economy." The Business Software Alliance, Tech America, TechNet and the Information Technology Industry Council were other trade groups that joined in the recommendations. Individual companies included Microsoft, eBay, Oracle, Cisco and T-Mobile. The groups urged the lawmakers to give tax incentives to encourage companies to move foreign earnings back to the U.S. The letter claims that a tax holiday could bring $1 trillion back to the country. Critics of a tax holiday argue that a similar program in 2004 failed to create the jobs or economic boost that its proponents promised. The letter also urged "target investments" in research and development to spur innovation. The groups recommended cutting some programs to allow for increased spending on "pro-growth" investments. The groups voiced their support for incentive spectrum auctions, which would give the Federal Communications Commission the authority to sell broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband use. After splitting the auction revenue with participating television broadcasters, the government could still raise more than $24.5 billion to reduce the deficit from the program, according to the letter.
benton.org/node/99016 | Hill, The
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GOOGLE’S INFLUENCE
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Rob Levine]
Google isn’t hurting for a voice in Washington. Facing increasing regulatory scrutiny, the company spent $5.4 million on political outreach in the first three quarters of 2011, more than it did in all of 2010, and more even than Microsoft. But Google also exerts influence in more subtle—and pervasive—ways. Through donations, fellowship programs, and at conferences, the company has established a network of ties to advocacy organizations, public intellectuals, and academic institutions. Although independent, these groups and people often take Google’s side in public debates and on national policy issues. In a recent interview with the Washington Post, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt suggested there are two kinds of lobbying: One is “where you pay an ex-senator to get the current senator to write a sentence into a bill,” he says. The other way—Google’s preferred way—is “to lobby based on ideas.” The company is hardly the first to cozy up to organizations that share some of its interests. Pharmaceutical makers have been known to fund support groups for patients with illnesses that can be treated by the company’s drugs. Media companies often ally themselves with artists’ organizations to fight copyright abuses, even though the two sides oppose each other on other issues. Still, few technology companies have pursued such campaigns vigorously, in part because the issues they hope to affect (such as bandwidth licensing and patent reform) feel remote to the average citizen. Google’s high profile and “don’t be evil” image has made the public more receptive to its policy agenda. One focus of Google’s efforts is the debate over the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011, better known as the Protect IP Act.
benton.org/node/99041 | Bloomberg
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CYBERSECURITY

US CUBERSECURITY EFFORTS
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Hilton Collins]
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano shared her latest thinking about the nation’s cybersecurity during a Washington, D.C., symposium on Thursday, Oct. 27, at which she said government continues to struggle identifying who exactly is response for cyberattacks. The United States faces threats from overseas, both from state actors and from criminal groups in those states. “We don’t have good attribution in many of these cases,” she said. Sec Napolitano said the No. 1 type of cyberattack that worries her is one that would damage the nation’s critical infrastructure and cause loss of life or disrupt everyday living. She was vague, though, when asked if the U.S. had already come close to experiencing that type of attack. Sec Napolitano merely said that the DHS is learning from every incident. Sec Napolitano offered sobering figures, such as that Web-based intrusions have increased 90 percent since 2009. In many cases, the government must rely on corporate players to deal with these threats. According to Napolitano, the country experiences thousands of cyberattacks daily. They include theft of intellectual property, instruction into critical infrastructure via denial-of-service attacks and malware planting, and the infiltration of government networks.
benton.org/node/99038 | Government Technology
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CALLING ALL CYBER GEEKS
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Josh Smith]
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wants an army of "cyber geeks," and she wants it now. When asked what she would do tomorrow to secure cyberspace if possible, Sec Napolitano said she would hire every "cyber geek" who knows anything about hacking and securing computers. DHS has been given authority to hire 1,000 new cybersecurity professionals, but budget constraints and a lack of trained people makes filling that order difficult, she said. To help overcome the lack of resources and to help cover all the wide-ranging cyberthreats, the government must partner with the private sector, Sec Napolitano said. "The government has its capabilities but this will have to an area where everyone has a shared responsibility," she said. Hackers have "come close" to shutting down parts of American infrastructure that are connected to the Internet, Sec Napolitano said.
benton.org/node/99036 | National Journal
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CYBERSECURITY URGENCY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Melissa Steffan]
Daily cybersecurity intrusions are threatening America’s ability to remain the world leader in innovation, yet few are paying attention, according to co-chairman of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus Rep. James Langevin (D – RI). “Large amounts of data are being siphoned off – stolen – on a daily basis,” said Rep Langevin, during a panel discussion at the Brookings Institution. “If someone was hauling off filing cabinets of information, that would be tantamount to an act of war. But because it’s happening in the digital realm, there isn’t that sense of urgency. “ But the threat of a major cyber-attack is real, as evidenced by a series of attacks on Estonian banking Web sites in 2007. The threat of a similar attack in the United States, according to Rep Langevin, requires a new cybersecurity approach that balances tax breaks and insurance incentives with government regulations. “Cybersecurity is a moving target. It’s an evolving threat,” said Rep Langevin. “We are never going to be able to get to the point where we are 100 percent successful. What we need to do, basically, is to close the window of vulnerability.”
benton.org/node/99034 | Washington Post
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WIRELESS/BROADBAND

SAVE OUR GPS
[SOURCE: Connected Planet, AUTHOR: Kevin Fitchard]
The Coalition to Save our GPS has opened up a new front of its war of words with LightSquared. It’s now claiming that if LightSquared really had permission to build a terrestrial mobile broadband network than it should have paid billions of dollars for that right at auction, just like any other U.S. wireless operator. The Coalition is claiming that LightSquared is trying to pull a regulatory slight-of-hand to gain a windfall in mobile broadband frequencies outside of the normal auction channels. By turning L-band spectrum formerly designated only for satellite transmission into terrestrial mobile spectrum, LightSquared is effectively increasing the value of its licenses by $10 billion, the Coalition said. Normally any designation of spectrum for mobile broadband would require a competitive auction among operators, raising billions of dollars for the U.S. Treasury. If LightSquared receives permission to build its terrestrial network, the Coalition said, it would circumvent that process, jilting taxpayers out of gobs of revenue during in financial troubled times and giving it an unfair advantage against traditional wireless operators.
benton.org/node/99030 | Connected Planet | National Journal
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RURAL 4G
[SOURCE: NetAmerica Alliance, AUTHOR: Press release]
NetAmerica Alliance has deployed and gone live with its 4G LTE pilot network, offering mobile broadband service in rural America. NetAmerica members are using the pilot network to develop, test and refine operating methodologies prior to turn-up of commercial service. Pilot users have experienced downlink data speeds of up to 28 Mbps and uplink data speeds of up to 13 Mbps. Pilot users are trialing fixed and mobile data services in the 4G LTE network. Initially, they are using PC dongles to test high-speed mobility throughout the network with the ability later to also trial a customer premise device in their home or business. The results of the pilot and lessons learned are being shared with all NetAmerica members.
benton.org/node/99026 | NetAmerica Alliance
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SAN FRANCISCO CELL PHONE LAW
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Eric Bangeman]
Even the watered-down version couldn't pass muster. San Francisco's ordinance requiring retail outlets to inform consumers about the (alleged) effects of cellphone radiation has been blocked by a federal judge. Upon passage, San Francisco's ordinance was challenged by industry trade group CTIA-The Wireless Association, which claimed the ordinance's requirement that retailers post messages about cell phone safety violated the First Amendment. San Francisco initially agreed to amend the ordinance after the CTIA filed suit, and made some changes, but they weren't enough. Judge William Alsup found that the ordinance failed the sniff test on both scientific and First Amendment grounds. "Whether or not cell phones cause cancer is a debatable question and, at this point in history, is a matter of opinion, not fact. San Francisco has its opinion. The industry has the opposite opinion," wrote Judge Alsup. The fact-sheet required by the ordinance is "misleading and must be corrected," notes the judge. "Although each factoid in isolation may have an anchor in some article somewhere, the overall message of the fact-sheet (and the poster, for that matter) is misleading by omission in two important ways. The overall impression left is that cell phones are dangerous and that they have somehow escaped the regulatory process."
benton.org/node/99061 | Ars Technica
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RIM AND SURVEILLANCE IN INDIA
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amol Sharma]
Research In Motion Ltd. has set up a facility in Mumbai to help the Indian government carry out lawful surveillance of its BlackBerry services, but the move hasn't fully satisfied India's appetite for access to messages on the popular smartphones. Last year, India threatened to shut down BlackBerry encrypted email and instant messaging services because it couldn't wiretap them. The government put the onus on RIM to come up with solutions. Several government-set deadlines have passed and, though India still isn't happy with its surveillance capabilities, it is no longer threatening to shut down the service. RIM partly assuaged India by setting up the small Mumbai facility earlier this year to handle surveillance requests from India. India can submit the name of a suspect its investigators want to wiretap, and RIM will return decoded messages for that individual, as long as it is satisfied the request has legal authorization. The Mumbai facility handles lawful intercept requests for consumer services including the BlackBerry Messenger chat service, these people say. India saw the move as a positive step, but would prefer an arrangement where it has the ability to decode messages itself, so that it can conduct surveillance without disclosing the names of suspects to RIM.
benton.org/node/99062 | Wall Street Journal
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ENERGY

ILLINOIS SMART GRID
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune, AUTHOR: Julie Wernau]
No more meter readers. No more calling the electric utility when the lights go out. And when a big storm does knock out power, those outages will be less widespread and shorter in duration. That's the brighter future promised for Illinois consumers served by utilities ComEd and Ameren after state legislators on Wednesday overrode Gov. Pat Quinn's veto and passed into law smart grid legislation. While sounding unequivocally positive, the legislation raised the ire of the governor and other critics because it also overhauls a century-old regulatory process for setting electricity rates and reduces oversight by the Illinois Commerce Commission. Electricity rates currently are hashed out every few years in an 11-month-long court-like proceeding. Under the new law, rates will be based on a formula that sets the return on equity the utilities will receive. Utilities also will come before the ICC every year seeking rate hikes rather than every few years, reducing the lag time between when a new rate is approved and when the rate goes into effect. That change will provide the utilities with additional millions of dollars each year. The $3.2 billion statewide smart grid build-out will begin next year. ComEd said it will likely take 10 years to complete its portion, and its 5.4 million customers will be charged an additional $3 per month to pay for the infrastructure during that time period; Ameren customers will be charged an additional $3.40 a year.
benton.org/node/99022 | Chicago Tribune
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RADIO
   Clear Channel Cuts DJ’s Across the Country

CLEAR CHANNEL FIRES DJs
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Stelter]
Clear Channel Communications, the largest radio station operator in the United States, dismissed dozens of local DJ’s this week, affecting small stations from Syracuse to Spokane and raising fresh concerns about the homogenization of radio programming. Clear Channel Radio, which operates about 850 stations in the United States and employs 12,000 people, declined to say how many employees were dismissed, but some of the D.J.’s said they believed that the number was in the hundreds. The company said the layoffs were not made to cut costs but were part of a revamping of its about 600 regional radio stations. (Its 250 other stations are in large markets like New York and Los Angeles.) “We’ve completely rethought our regional market strategy and reinvented our operations in those markets in a way that will let us compete on a new level — and succeed using all of Clear Channel’s resources, scale and talent,” a company spokeswoman, Wendy Goldberg, said. To some in the radio business, the layoffs signaled the continuation of a several-years-old strategy that replaces locally produced programming with less costly nationally syndicated shows. Media reform groups have long assailed Clear Channel’s consolidation.
benton.org/node/99066 | New York Times
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