April 2008

AT&T has sent a cool response to the Vuze Corporation's "Plug-In" survey of ISPs, ranked by their median rate of TCP reset activity: "Given that Vuze itself has recognized these problems with the measurements generated by its Plug-In, we believe that Vuze should not have published these misleading measurements, nor filed them with the [Federal Communications Commission]." So AT&T Vice President Charles Kalmanek Jr. wrote to Vuze CEO Gilles BianRosa, following the P2P content provider's FCC filing last week. And AT&T insists that it does not insert false reset signals into P2P packets. AT&T's April 24th response categorically denies that any negative significance can be traced from Vuze's experiment. "AT&T does not use 'false reset messages' to manage its network," the telco giant says. "We agree with Vuze that the use of the Vuze Plug-In to measure network traffic has numerous limitations and deficiencies, and does not demonstrate whether any particular network providers or their customers are using TCP Reset messages for network management purposes." And in its response, AT&T forwarded Vuze and the FCC an academic paper from Canada's University of Calgary, which argues that resets often occur due to "network outages, attacks, or reconfigurations." The authors based their conclusions, published in 2004, on a one year study of the Calgary campus network, which found that 15 to 25 percent of TCP connections had at least one reset.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080428-att-to-vuze-your-tcp-reset...

Hollywood believes the Internet is the key to its future. But its constituents are again squabbling over how to get there. As in the recent television writers strike, the major studios are at odds with some members of the creative community over digital distribution. This time it's about a public policy issue known as network neutrality. Some lawmakers, public interest advocates and big technology companies are pushing for federal rules that would prevent Internet service providers from blocking or slowing certain content flowing through their high-speed lines. They worry that cable and phone companies could become gatekeepers of the Internet and impede services that threaten their businesses. Net neutrality is a complicated issue with a wonky name. But as Congress and the Federal Communications Commission consider banning discriminatory practices on the Internet, the entertainment industry is starting to take notice -- and sides. Major movie studios and record labels are concerned that net neutrality could eliminate a potential tool for fighting online piracy. Meanwhile, independent artists want to ensure that they can disseminate their work freely. The net neutrality supporters' cause has been boosted in recent months by allegations that Comcast stopped some of its Internet customers from using BitTorrent, a popular program for downloading videos. Hollywood's involvement could elevate the largely inside-the-Beltway debate, which has smoldered since 2006 among online activists, public interest groups, technology companies and telecommunications giants. How lawmakers and regulators deal with the issue could have major implications for Hollywood's battle against piracy and the burgeoning movement by writers, actors and directors to bypass large media companies by distributing their work online.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-neutral29apr29,1,5755...
(requires registration)

MPAA’s Glickman: Movies Everywhere, but Legally
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Motion Picture Association of America president Dan Glickman made it clear to a National Press Club audience Monday that movies aren't just for theaters or even traditional television sets anymore, but for wherever the new, tech-savvy generation wants to legally see them. Glickman said consumers still prefer watching movies “at the movies” and that fans of digital-video recorders, HDTV and Internet-protocol TV go to movies in even greater numbers than those with less home technology. Still, he followed that with a "but" and a pitch for a light regulatory hand on Internet regulation given the rise of out-of-theater viewing.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6555581.html?rssid=193

In comments filed at the Federal Communications Commission Monday most broadcasters argued that new localism proposals are unnecessary and burdensome. For example, in a joint filing, Post-Newsweek Stations, Raycom Media, Barrington Broadcasting, Bonten Media Group, Dispatch Broadcast Group and Paxton Media Group said the proposals, while well-intentioned, were "blunt and burdensome instruments" that would lead to the localism goals that both the FCC and the broadcasters shared. They argued that there is little to suggest that any action is needed, but if there is, it needs to be more flexible and less intrusive. Also filing jointly, a group of 20 small stations said the changes would create more hardships for smaller stations than for the larger, consolidated groups and would actually harm service to local communities rather than enhancing it. For example, they said, requiring stations to be staffed during all hours of operation would lead to cutbacks in overnight service to avoid the additional cost. Advisory boards, they argued, would reduce their control over programming, saying, "Small broadcasters’ involvement with their local communities is more than sufficient to make them aware of community needs and issues without government oversight."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6555597.html?rssid=193

* NAB Localism Rules Will Have Opposite Effect
[SOURCE: tvnewsday]
The National Association of Broadcasters filed comments in the Federal Communications Commission's localism proceeding saying, "[I]nstead of achieving the Commission's stated goal of promoting closer contact between broadcasters and their communities, the proposed rule changes will, in many cases, produce the opposite effect, resulting in a broadcasting industry less able to serve the public interest. Especially in light of broadcasters' and other outlets' increasing service to local markets made possible by technological developments, NAB urges the FCC not to return to a regulatory regime from the analog era that would harm rather than help promote our common goal of providing service to our local communities."
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/04/28/daily.13/

* ABC Affils on Localism Rules: No Need
[SOURCE: tvnewsday]
In its comments on the FCC’s proposed new localism rules, the ABC Television Affiliates Association says they’re just not necessary. ABC affiliates said they don't want the government forcing networks to provide screeners of their shows to stations before they air. The affiliates point out that their contracts contain the right to reject unsuitable programming. Advance notice is obviously key to that right, and the stations said ABC has given it to them, with the exception of reality programming, which the network said sometimes isn't finished until only a few hours before airtime. The logistics of previewing those shows "underscores the practical concerns that may be implicated by a mandatory rule," the ABC affiliates told the Commission.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/04/28/daily.11/

* ABC Stations Oppose Pre-Screening Mandate (Broadcasting&Cable)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6555575.html?rssid=193

* Senators Concerned Over Localism Mandates
[SOURCE: tvnewsday]
Twenty-three senators have expressed their 'substantial concern' over recent proposals by the Federal Communications Commission that "look to bygone regulations for instruction on today's evolving and highly competitive media industry." In a letter dated April 24 to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) and 22 Senate colleagues urged the Commission to "heed the concerns of responsible licensees that would be unjustifiably penalized" by such regulations. Additionally, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) authored her own letter to Chairman Martin asking the Commission to "craft policies that rightly encourage community engagement without inhibiting disaster communications or further burdening already-strained Louisiana business owners."
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/04/28/daily.8/

* Read the Roberts letter
http://www.nab.org/xert/corpcomm/pressrel/releases/042408_23Sens_Localis...