July 21, 2008 (National Broadband Policy)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY JULY 21, 2008
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Nation's Largest ISPs Crafting Fake National Broadband Policy
NATOA Adopts Broadband Principles, Calls for National Broadband Strategy
Cuba and Venezuela to lay undersea Internet cable
BROADCASTING/CABLE
House DTV Hearing in Brooklyn, NY
A Dozen Items for TV Stations to Worry About
ACA Meets With Martin Aide On A La Carte
Intel Wants FCC To Require Cable HD Set-Tops To Speak IP
Newsies hope to hold viewers' votes
Research firm Nielsen tallying product placement ads
SPECTRUM/WIRELESS/TELECOM
Lollapa-White-Space
Rural wireless providers petition to reinstate spectrum cap
AT&T Profit May Suffer As Consumers Tighten Belts
The spread of bans on driving while texting
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Networks Fight Shorter Olympic Leash
Cybersecurity Will Take A Big Bite of the Budget
MEDIA & ELECTIONS
McCain's Media Spending Rose Sharply in June
Liberal Bloggers Brace for Victory
JOURNALISM
As Papers Struggle, News Is Cut and the Focus Turns Local
LABOR
Hollywood actors and studios face disconnect
Musicians' unions stay out of digital debate
QUICKLY -- ACLU Launches Wiretapping Web Ad Campaign; Hey, Friend, Do I Know You?
NATION'S LARGEST ISPs CRAFTING FAKE NATIONAL BROADBAND POLICY
[SOURCE: BroadbandReports.com, AUTHOR: Karl Bode]
[Commentary] Last week AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and a handful of other companies sent a letter to Congress asking it to embrace a "national broadband policy." In it, the traditionally regulation-petrified ISPs suddenly embrace two broadband mapping laws. But these companies have fought accurate broadband penetration mapping tooth and nail in court, sued cities and towns for wiring themselves with broadband, and shown no interest in deploying broadband into rural America. What gives? "in order to pre-empt any real national broadband policy from taking shape, the nation's largest broadband companies are collectively crafting their own anti-consumer 'national broadband policy' and pushing it through Congress as a cure-all while consumers and the media nap." Why? "Were a real, substantive national broadband plan crafted, it would include input from consumer advocates, respected Internet visionaries and involve objective ... science. It would involve high standards, high-quality mapping and significant subsidized deployment, but it would also hold these companies accountable for how subsidies are spent. If done right ... , it would be everything the [current Universal Service Fund] isn't. That's a nightmare for any investor-driven incumbent operator, who like their taxpayer handouts with no accountability." Whether they succeed will depend on whether the media (oh look, an iPhone!), consumers and lawmakers let them.
http://benton.org/node/15355
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NATOA ANNOUNCES ADOPTION OF BROADBAND PRINCIPLES, PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVES AND ACTIONS
[SOURCE: National Association of Telecommunications Officer and Advisors, AUTHOR: Press release]
The National Association of Telecommunications Officer and Advisors, representing local communications and cable regulators, is calling for the immediate development of a National Broadband Strategy. NATOA has developed 10 broadband principles that outline the critical need for widespread deployment of next-generation broadband networks and necessary steps to achieve this goal. 1) Nationwide deployment of advanced broadband networks. 2) High capacity bandwidth in both directions. 3) Fiber to the premises is the preferred broadband option. 4) High capacity broadband connectivity must be affordable and widely accessible. 5) High capacity broadband requires open access networks. 6) Network neutrality is vital to the future of the Internet. 7) All networks and users have the right and obligation to nondiscriminatory interconnection. 8) Local governments must be involved to ensure that local needs and interests are met. 9) Local governments must be allowed to build and operate broadband networks. 10) A variety of options must be considered to cover deployment costs.
http://benton.org/node/15354
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CUBA AND VENEZUELA TO LAY UNDERSEA INTERNET CABLE
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Marguerite Reardon]
Earlier this week, Wikileaks published documents that were signed in 2006 by officials in Cuba and Venezuela describing plans for a new undersea cable that will connect the two countries and provide high-speed Internet access to Cuban citizens by 2010. The proposed cable, which is being deployed by CVG Telecom (Corporacion Venezolana de Guyana) and ETC (Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba), will also provide high-speed Internet access to Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad. The new undersea cable is being built as a strategic partnership between Cuba and Venezuela to encourage an interchange between the two governments; foster science, cultural and social development; and increase economic relationships among Cuba, its South American neighbors, and the rest of the world. The United States economic embargo against Cuba has forced the communist country to rely on slow and expensive satellite links for Internet connectivity. Even though it would cost less and be more efficient to lay a new cable between Cuba and the US, which are only 120 kilometers apart, Cuba is working with Venezuela to lay a 1,500-kilometer cable to get high-speed Internet connectivity.
http://benton.org/node/15353
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HOUSE DTV HEARING IN BROOKLYN, NY
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
On Friday the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on Government Management held a field hearing in New York City seeking an update on the digital television transition. WABC-TV news anchor Bill Ritter told the Subcommittee about the efforts of his station and others in the New York City market to inform viewers of the upcoming transition. Federal Communications Commission Media Bureau chief Monica Desai testified that television broadcasters collectively aired more than 1 million digital-TV-transition announcements (632,677 public-service announcements and 520,652 crawls, snipes or tickers) in the most recent quarter. However, Mark Lloyd of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights testified that the nation is not ready for the DTV transition because there is too little funding for research, education and outreach. National Telecommunications and Information Administration head Meredith Attwell Baker also testified, saying that DTV-to-analog converter-box-coupon program subcontractor IBM "eliminated" a backlog of coupon requests. Some in Congress complained that the NTIA did not take into account the administrative costs of reissuing expired coupons, which so far total more than the 6 million that have been redeemed. Assist Sec Baker said the NTIA is working with IBM to make sure that "as many coupons as possible can be distributed." She that more than 6 million coupons have been redeemed. The redemption rate was 44%, she added, which means that 56%, or more than 6 million, have gone unredeemed for one reason or another. Those could include being lost, forgotten, or simply not used by those who applied for them but did not need them. The money for all of those coupons -- $40 apiece -- is now available for issuing new coupons, but there may not be sufficient administrative costs to cover mailing out and processing them. The NTIA has $160 million to spend on administrative costs.
http://benton.org/node/15352
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A DOZEN THINGS FOR TV STATIONS TO WORRY ABOUT
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
[Commentary] What 12 things should television broadcasters be thinking most about? 1) Digital television. 2) Using the Internet. 3) Retransmission consent. 4) Automation technology. 5) Erosion of national spot advertising revenue. 6) Government regulation. 7) Retransmission consent rights. 8) Local affiliate stations compensating networks for programming. 9) Lousy network programming. 10) The loss of network exclusivity as networks distribute programming over the Internet. 11) The end of the CW television network. 12) The lack of programming creativity at stations.
http://benton.org/node/15351
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ACA MEETS WITH MARTIN AIDE ON A LA CARTE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
In a recent meeting with a senior aide to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin, top officials from the American Cable Association backed rules to require cable programmers to charge the same monthly fee to all cable companies regardless of size. ACA president Matt Polka, joined by ACA outside attorneys and five other senior ACA officials, backed what ACA called "the national pricing plan" in a meeting held Wednesday with Martin's acting legal adviser for media issues, Elizabeth Andrion. ACA also tossed its support behind Martin's effort to impose wholesale a la carte mandates on cable programmers. Those rules would require a programmer to offer each programming service on a stand-alone basis rather than in a package on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.
http://benton.org/node/15350
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INTEL WANTS FCC TO REQUIRE CABLE HD SET-TOPS TO SPEAK IP
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
Computer chip manufacturer Intel wants the Federal Communications Commission to amend its rules to require cable operators to provide an Internet protocol networking interface, such as Ethernet, on their high-definition set-top boxes. The proposed change would mandate that cable's high-end set-top boxes include a way to transfer high definition cable programming to authorized IP-based video playback devices. Intel noted that in August 2007, CableLabs approved the use of the Digital Transmission Copy Protection (DTCP) over IP specification on cable boxes, using IP-based outputs under all license agreements. Asked about the rationale for the change in rules, Intel spokesman Bill Kircos said in an e-mail that the company was trying to update the requirements placed on cable set-tops to reflect the changes in the market.
http://benton.org/node/15349
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NEWSIES HOPE TO HOLD VIEWERS' VOTES
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: William Triplett]
The most recent Nielsen ratings showed that politics -- and nearly wall-to-wall coverage of it -- have been very good for CNN and MSNBC. And as the country heads toward a historic election in an increasingly charged atmosphere, the cablers' good fortunes will likely continue. But what happens when the voting ends Nov. 5? Will politically-oriented programming continue to pay off for CNN and MSNBC? Or is the viewer appetite for politics the equivalent of an irrationally exuberant stock market, with a nasty ratings "correction" all but assured once the race is over?
http://benton.org/node/15348
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RESEARCH FIRM NIELSEN TALLYING PRODUCT PLACEMENT ADS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Alana Semuels]
A small army of people are now employed by research firms and advertisers to track product placement, one of the fastest-growing segments of the advertising industry. Advertisers spent $2.9 billion in 2007 to place their products in TV shows and movies, up 33.7% from the year before. This year spending is projected to hit $3.6 billion, not including "barter" arrangements -- in which a company gives away products to be used in shows, rather than paying for them to be placed there. Some, such as the Federal Communications Commission, are concerned that it is too difficult to discern when product placements occur. Last month, the FCC said it would consider new rules to better inform viewers when brands appear on shows in exchange for money. Such disclosures currently run during the credits, but the agency plans to examine whether product placement notices should be written in bigger print and displayed for a longer period. Advertisers, on the other hand, are eager to know whether their money to plug their products is being well spent.
http://benton.org/node/15359
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A LOLLAPALOOZA OF WHITE-SPACE TESTING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Recording Academy has invited the Federal Communications Commission to the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago on August 1 [the Pirates are in town, so FCC staff might want to stick around for the entire weekend]. The academy believes the festival might be a great place to test so-called white-spaces devices in the field. Broadcasters and wireless-microphone users are concerned that the devices will cause interference to their respective broadcasts. The academy shares that concern, saying that the FCC should move "with extreme caution" before approving any of the devices and should not do so without "robust interference protection."
http://benton.org/node/15347
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RURAL WIRELESS PROVIDERS PETITION TO REINSTATE SPECTRUM CAP
[SOURCE: RCRWireless News, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Silva]
An association of rural wireless providers petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to re-impose a spectrum cap in light of the growing market presence of AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless in the mobile phone industry. "In the absence of a spectrum cap, Verizon and AT&T will continue to grow unchecked and rural and regional wireless carriers will be adversely affected as they attempt to obtain spectrum and compete against consolidated nationwide wireless carriers who possess greater resources and economies of scale," said Michael Higgins Jr., president of the Rural Telecommunications Group. The RTG, whose members include independent mobile carriers and those affiliated with rural telephone companies, want the FCC to prohibit a wireless operator from controlling more than 110 megahertz (below the 2.3 GHz band) in any one market.
http://benton.org/node/15346
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AT&T PROFIT MAY SUFFER AS CONSUMERS TIGHTEN BELTS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Vishesh Kumar, Andrew LaVallee ]
AT&T is expected to show an accelerated drop-off in landlines and weakness in its wireless business when it reports second-quarter earnings Wednesday, offering Wall Street an idea of how much the economic slump has affected the telephone business. Many analysts and investors also expect the largest US phone company to take a cautious tone and lower earnings guidance for 2008 as a whole. Over the past month, AT&T shares have fallen about 10%, a steeper percentage decline than suffered by the broader stock market and rivals Verizon and Qwest, reflecting investor jitters about the results. The company declined to comment. Phone companies used to be largely insulated from economic downturns because most consumers considered their home phone service a necessity. But 80% of Americans now own cellphones, making it easier for them to ditch their landlines. Others are dropping their landlines for cheaper services offered by cable operators.
http://benton.org/node/15362
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THE SPREAD OF BANS ON DRIVING WHILE TEXTING
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Michael Farrell]
The California legislator who championed the state's ban on using hand-held cellphones while driving has a new target: text messaging at the wheel. In addition to California, legislatures in at least 13 other states are considering some kind of ban on drivers tapping out text messages. Four states have already made it illegal for motorists to send text messages. Another set of four states bans cellphones altogether for drivers under the age of 18. While several studies link the use of hand-held phones to traffic accidents and fatalities, texting is too new to have received the same kind of scrutiny. But accidents around the country blamed on texting have drawn the public's attention.
http://benton.org/node/15356
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NETWORKS FIGHT SHORTER OLYMPIC LEASH
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Stelter]
For several years now NBC has meticulously planned all the details for its coverage of the many sports events at the Summer Olympics in China. But with the Games only 19 days away, many at the network are concerned about how they will be permitted to cover any unscheduled events, like political protests or government crackdowns — or whether the Chinese government will allow them to cover such things at all. One of the most common hypothetical questions NBC officials have bandied about involves the opening ceremonies on August 8. Hundreds of athletes will parade into a stadium in front of world leaders, including President Bush, and a huge global television audience. If an athlete holds a protest sign or waves a Tibetan flag, how will the Chinese hosts react? Will the television networks show the scene? How will the Chinese handle the media for the rest of the Games?
http://benton.org/node/15365
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CYBERSECURITY WILL TAKE A BIG BITE OF THE BUDGET
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Walter Pincus]
President Bush's single largest request for funds and "most important initiative" in the fiscal 2009 intelligence budget is for the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, a little publicized but massive program whose details "remain vague and thus open to question," according to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. A highly classified, multiyear, multibillion-dollar project, CNCI is designed to develop a plan to secure government computer systems against foreign and domestic intruders and prepare for future threats. Any initial plan can later be expanded to cover sensitive civilian systems to protect financial, commercial and other vital infrastructure data.
http://benton.org/node/15361
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MCCAIN'S MEDIA SPENDING ROSE SHARPLY IN JUNE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Michael Luo]
Sen John McCain (R-AZ) sharply increased his spending in June as he ramped up his campaign and his presumed Democratic opponent became clear. By far, the biggest increase in spending came in Sen McCain's media efforts, where expenditures jumped to $16.2 million from $3.4 million as Sen McCain began his general election advertising campaign.
http://benton.org/node/15366
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LIBERAL BLOGGERS BRACE FOR VICTORY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jose Antonio Vargas]
Netroots Nation ended Sunday at the Austin Convention Center. With the Democrats taking back Congress in 2006 and the prospect of an Obama victory come November, many in the influential Netroots are left in a precarious, ambiguous position. The question is, who needs whom: Does Obama need the Netroots, or vice versa? "It's not a question of who needs whom. Fact is, the Netroots are not going to be the decisive factor," says Markos Moulitsas. "But having said that, we're an activist set of people: We're engaged, we give money, we put boots on the ground. That's why when many of us had a genuine disagreement with Obama on FISA" -- Obama voted for a bill that provided retroactive immunity to telecom companies -- "we let him know about it."
http://benton.org/node/15360
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AS PAPERS STRUGGLE, NEWS IS CUT AND THE FOCUS TURNS LOCAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Richard Perez-Pena]
Almost two-thirds of American newspapers publish less foreign news than they did just three years ago, nearly as many print less national news, and despite new demands on newsrooms like blogs and video, most of them have smaller news staffs, according to a new study. Skip to next paragraph The study, by the Pew Research Center and Tyler Marshall, a former foreign correspondent for The Los Angeles Times, is based on a written survey of the top editors at 259 newspapers of all sizes and interviews with a sampling of those editors. The findings come as no surprise to anyone following the travails of the newspaper industry, racked every few days by new reports of layoffs, falling revenue, credit downgrades, shrinking page counts and declining circulation. But the Pew study appears to be the broadest attempt yet to measure how widespread the changes have been.
http://benton.org/node/15363
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HOLLYWOOD ACTORS AND STUDIOS FACE DISCONNECT
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Leslie Simmons]
Three weeks after the expiration of their contract, the Screen Actors Guild and the studios appear to be living on different planets. SAG says it's still negotiating; the studios say their final offer is languishing on the table. A weekend get-together of the actors union gave little indication that those worlds are getting any closer. Leaders of SAG spent the weekend trying to convince members that they are still negotiating with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP), the studios' bargaining arm. The AMPTP, however, has rejected this interpretation, saying negotiations ended when the contract expired June 30 and the studios made their final offer. It has said it will not entertain any more bargaining sessions or counterproposals. A LATimes editorial says it's past time for the two sides to be hunkering down for some serious give-and-take.
http://benton.org/node/15358
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MUSICIANS' UNIONS STAY OUT OF DIGITAL DEBATE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Antony Bruno]
Will the music industry ever get organized? With digital distribution of entertainment as the focal point, the TV/film and music industries are embroiled in several disputes between those who create the content and those who distribute it. But while those disputes in Hollywood are well-documented -- with powerful unions like the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild staging high-profile negotiations and, in some cases, strikes -- the perception in the music industry is that artists are largely left to themselves to fight for whatever they can get on their own. Musicians' unions use collective bargaining to negotiate contracts between recording artists and their labels, which apply to every major-label deal. However, union contracts are largely limited to basic provisions covering minimal payments, health insurance and other benefits. Big-ticket items like royalty rates, advances and digital rights are left to separate contracts negotiated individually between artist and label.
http://benton.org/node/15357
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ACLU LAUNCHES WIRETAPPING WEB AD CAMPAIGN
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: ]
The American Civil Liberties Union has unveiled an online advertising campaign aimed at raising awareness about the lawsuit the watchdog group filed last week in New York federal court, which seeks a permanent injunction that would bar the U.S. government from conducting surveillance operations under a major revision of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
http://benton.org/node/15345
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HEY, FRIEND, DO I KNOW YOU?
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Carr]
[Commentary] Facebook, which some think of as a guilty diversion, does have its social -- and business -- prerogatives. The network is on a tear right now, achieving numerical parity with MySpace in global reach. Last month, according to comScore, Facebook had 123.9 million unique visitors and 50.6 billion page views worldwide while MySpace had 114.6 million unique visitors and 45.4 billion page views. According to company executives, Facebook, which has over 80 million subscribers worldwide, doubled the number of subscribers under 35 last year, but it tripled the number of subscribers between 35 and 54. Carr concludes, "When a new media winner like Facebook comes over the horizon, who loses? In my case, it's probably my real actual friends. As a reporter, I learn to hate the telephone during the day, but at night I feel somewhat social again and step out onto the porch to call buddies for a little nocturnal quality time. Now I am too busy checking their status updates to actually speak to them."
http://benton.org/node/15364
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