July 28, 2008 (News from FCC)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY JULY 28, 2008
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NEWS FROM THE FCC
FCC August 1 Agenda
FCC to punish Comcast
Big Cable: FCC Internet policy should apply to colleges too
Who Should Solve This Internet Crisis?
FCC approves Sirius-XM Satellite radio Deal
FCC denies Qwest forbearance
FCC Moves Media Ownership Meeting
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Brodsky's Sham
US Poised for Broadband Explosion, Says Gartner
Brookings: Telecom and Transportation Should Be Focus of Infrastructure Investments
Wireless Carriers: No Free Wireless Broadband for You
AT&T to Oppose Sprint-Clearwire Merger
DIGITAL CONTENT
US Internet companies expand worldwide
Online services tearing down walls, sharing content
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
In TV Campaign, $300 million won't go far
More McCain Telecom Lobbyist Ties
Obama at Convention for Journalists
Hollywood floods Dems' red carpet
The Spokespundits
McCain Learning to "Love" Web
QUICKLY -- Debating the Shield Law, Digital TV: How to Be Prepared; The Censors Lose in Court
FCC AUGUST 1 AGENDA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on Friday, August 1, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. in Room TW-C305, at 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. Here's the agenda: 1) Comcast's network management practices (see story below), 2) the regulatory fee assessment process, and 3) Verizon's purchase of Rural Cellular Corporation. Anyone exiting immediately after the meeting for an extended summer vacation must do so in an orderly fashion.
http://benton.org/node/15557
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FCC TO PUNISH COMCAST
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: John Dunbar]
Bad Comcast. Bad, bad, Comcast. A majority of the five Commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission have cast votes in favor of punishing Comcast for blocking subscribers' Internet traffic. Comcast, the nation's largest cable company and one of the largest broadband service providers, was accused of violating agency principles that guarantee customers open access to the Internet. Three Commissioners have voted in favor of an order reaching agreement with the finding, but the decision will not be final until all five members have cast their votes. The FCC is scheduled to take up the issue at its August 1 meeting. The three votes in favor were Chairman Kevin Martin and fellow Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein. The potentially precedent-setting move stems from a complaint that the company had blocked Internet traffic among users of a certain type of "file sharing" software that allows them to exchange large amounts of data. Marvin Ammori, general counsel of Free Press, said, "If adopted, this order would send a strong signal to the marketplace that arbitrarily interfering with users' online choices is not acceptable. Internet service providers do not get to decide the winners and losers online."
http://benton.org/node/15556
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BIG CABLE: FCC INTERNET POLICY SHOULD APPLY TO COLLEGES TOO
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
The National Cable and Telecommunications Association has told the Federal Communications Commission: "If there is to be [Internet] regulation, ... it must apply equally to all providers." The point? Plenty of colleges and universities have "network management" strategies too. The trade group has sent a carefully crafted list of stated policies to the FCC -- "virtually all of the nation's top universities... restrict users' ability to engage in activities that cause excessive congestion." From the document it looks like NCTA staff grabbed U.S. News and World Report's ranking of top colleges, rummaged around the schools' IT Web sites, then selectively cut-and-pasted their stated computing policies in the FCC filing.
http://benton.org/node/15552
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WHO SHOULD SOLVE THIS INTERNET CRISIS?
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell]
[Commentary] The Internet has flourished because it has operated under the principle that engineers, not politicians or bureaucrats, should solve engineering problems. Today, a new challenge is upon us. Pipes are filling rapidly with "peer-to-peer" ("P2P") file-sharing applications that crowd out other content and slow speeds for millions. While we at the Federal Communications Commission are trying to spur more competitive build-out of vital "last mile" facilities, especially fiber and wireless platforms, this congestion will not be resolved merely by building fatter and faster pipes. Since the fall, the FCC has been considering allegations filed by public interest groups that cable operator Comcast violated FCC rules by "managing" or "interfering with" the upstream flow of certain P2P video applications, namely those of a company called BitTorrent. The allegations boil down to a suspicion that Comcast was motivated not by a need to manage its network but by a desire to discriminate against BitTorrent for anticompetitive reasons. Some are calling for the FCC to rule that Comcast's actions were illegal and should be punished. Regardless of what that ruling stipulates, the issue of what constitutes appropriate Internet network management will be debated for some time. What we do, or don't do, will affect tomorrow's networks. Let's stick with what works and encourage collaboration over regulation.
http://benton.org/node/15562
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FCC APPROVES SIRIUS-XM SATELLITE RADIO DEAL
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Peter Kaplan]
On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission approved -- with conditions -- the merger of the Sirius and XM satellite radio companies. The 3-2 vote will the deal to proceed as long as the companies met a series of consumer protection conditions, including a three-year cap on prices, setting aside 8 percent of their channel capacity for minority and non-commercial programming and payment of a $19.7 million penalty for past FCC rule violations. The companies also will have to make available to consumers radios that receive both Sirius and XM. As part of the order, the FCC also will conduct an inquiry into whether it should require that all satellite radios be built with technology that allows them to also receive high definition terrestrial radio signals. The approval came over the objections of two of the FCC's Commissioners. Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein have warned against allowing further consolidation of ownership of the media, and have said the concessions sought by FCC Chairman Martin were not strong enough to protect consumers and preserve competition. The traditional, terrestrial radio industry opposed the deal and its lobbying arm, the National Association of Broadcasters, released the following statement: "Today's vote certainly comes as a disappointment to NAB. We continue to believe that consumers are best served by competition rather than monopolies."
http://benton.org/node/15555
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FCC DENIES QWEST FORBEARANCE IN PHOENIX, THREE OTHER MARKETS
[SOURCE: Phoenix Business Journal, AUTHOR: Patrick O'Grady]
The Federal Communications Commission Friday night denied Qwest Communications the ability to charge higher rates to companies that use its lines to provide their own service. Qwest's application was denied a day before a deadline was reached that automatically would have granted the forbearance, a move that would allow the telecommunications company to charge unregulated rates to competitors. Commissioners denied the petition because the company did not provide enough evidence to support its claims about competition in the marketplace. "Although significant competition exists in Denver-based Qwest's markets, particularly in Phoenix, the commission determined based on the specific market facts provided to us, that Qwest's petitions did not provide sufficient evidence to conclude that regulatory relieve like that afforded the company in Omaha was warranted," said FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said, "I continue to believe that the Telecom Act envisioned more than just a cable-telephone duopoly as sufficient competition in the marketplace."
http://benton.org/node/15554
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FCC MOVES MEDIA OWNERSHIP MEETING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission changed the location of its meeting Tuesday in New York on "barriers to communications financing," which will focus largely on minority access, or lack of it, to capital. The FCC did not explain the change but said that instead of Barnard College, the en banc hearing will now be held in Harlem at the Langston Hughes Auditorium at the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture (515 Malcolm X Boulevard). It also lined up a full two-dozen speakers.
http://benton.org/node/15022
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BRODSKY'S SHAM
[SOURCE: Connected Nation, AUTHOR: Laura Taylor]
[Commentary] There's no love loss between Public Knowledge's Art Brodsky and anyone connected to Connected Nation, so after Brodsky published another story critical of CN last week, CN was quick to respond. Taylor, CN's Chief Analyst, accuses Brodsky of manufacturing "gotchya," conspiring, and "distorting the truth into complete fabrications." She writes that Connected nation's filing is clear on "specific processes that Connected Nation uses to 1) gather network data by working in the field with providers and local officials, 2) verify the data through systemized and continuous communication with thousands of local leaders and consumers, and 3) make the broadband data transparent to the public through an interactive, fully searchable and zoomable, web-based map that all consumers, policymakers, economic developers and anyone else can check and use. And thousands of individuals do this on a regular basis." Follow the debate and add your comments at http://benton.org/node/15506#comment-28
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US POISED FOR BROADBAND EXPLOSION, SAYS GARTNER
[SOURCE: PCWorld, AUTHOR: Mikael Ricknäs]
Sure, the US has fallen behind on broadband penetration as you've read many times elsewhere -- but research firm Gartner predicts that will change in the next four years. In 2012, 77 percent of all American households will be accessing the Internet via broadband, compared to 54 percent last year, says a new Gartner report. Gartner's analysts have put together a list of 17 countries that all will have penetration levels that exceed 60 percent in 2012. Last year, 11 countries on that list where ahead of the U.S., but in four years, only South Korea, the Netherlands, Hong Kong and Canada will lead it in household broadband penetration. The US will share fifth place with Japan, which will see equally impressive growth. Key to the large growth in the U.S. will be a combination of lower prices and increased interest as customers currently on dial-up move to broadband.
http://benton.org/node/15550
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BROOKINGS: TELECOM AND TRANSPORTATION SHOULD BE FOCUS OF INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
By combining better public information, market mechanisms and smarter systems of subsidization, the government can play a positive role in funding infrastructure investments in telecommunications, according to three reports released Friday by the Brookings Institution. The papers are part of a Brookings Institution initiative promoting investments in infrastructure - both physical, transportation investments, as well as new ways to spur improvements in the telecommunications infrastructure. In "Bringing Broadband to Unserved Communities," Jon Peha, an engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University, proposed that the federal government provide incentives for companies to build broadband in rural areas by holding a "reverse auction" whereby carriers would bid to provide broadband in a particular areas at the lowest possible cost. In "The Untapped Promise of Wireless Spectrum," Philip Weiser, a professor of law and telecommunications at the University of Colorado, makes a three-fold proposal for tapping the promise of wireless communications.
http://benton.org/node/15561
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WIRELESS CARRIERS: NO FREE WIRELESS BROADBAND FOR YOU
[SOURCE: eWeek.com, AUTHOR: Roy Mark]
A little-noted July 25 deadline for comments is looming at the Federal Communications Commission. At stake is a plan by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin that would combine two spectrum blocks for auction and require the winning licensee to offer free broadband service to 50 percent of the United States within four years and 95 percent of the country within 10 years. Surprise! The nation's wireless carriers, including AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, and their primary trade association and Republican leaders in Congress are all opposing the FCC proposal. T-Mobile, in particular, claims the new network would create interference in its planned 3G service that would run next door to the FCC's proposed network.
http://benton.org/node/15549
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AT&T TO OPPOSE SPRINT-CLEARWIRE MERGER
[SOURCE: Dow Jones, AUTHOR: Fawn Johnson]
AT&T, which has the largest wireless subscriber base in the country, is asking the Federal Communications Commission to deny a merger request from Sprint Nextel and Clearwire. Sprint and Clearwire announced their intention to merge last month, saying the venture would facilitate a national wireless Internet network that would operate on a block of airwaves partly reserved for schools, cities and other nonprofits. AT&T said Sprint and Clearwire "openly state that they intend to compete with other national wireless providers - including AT&T - yet they fail to make the required showings necessary for the commission's review." In listing their holdings, AT&T said Sprint and Clearwire have discounted some of the airwaves they intend to use for the Internet service because it isn't operational yet. If those airwaves were to be taken into account, the proposed merger would be subjected to heightened scrutiny, AT&T said. AT&T argued that when it acquired Dobson Communications last year, the FCC examined airwaves that AT&T hasn't yet accessed. AT&T purchased a block of spectrum in a recent auction that won't be available until February.
http://benton.org/node/15548
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AS US INTERNET COMPANIES EXPAND WORLDWIDE, BEING UN-AMERICAN CAN BE KEY TO SUCCESS
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Anick Jesdanun]
As major U.S. Internet companies stake their ground abroad in anticipation of the next billion people coming online — and the advertising revenue they might generate — the flags they are planting aren't the Stars and Stripes. Companies are trying to expand globally without seeming to, designing market-specific services with customized features that reflect differences in connection speeds, payment options and attitudes toward sex or violence. The stakes are high as the United States faces a weakening economy and a slowing of online ad growth. And the opportunities are large. People in two populous countries, India and China, are just getting online. The research firm IDC projects worldwide Internet ad spending at nearly $107 billion in 2011, compared with $65 billion this year. But getting it right will be tough. American companies that merely translate their U.S.-focused sites into other languages risk losing to homegrown businesses that can better respond to cultural nuances.
http://benton.org/node/15547
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ONLINE SERVICES TEARING DOWN WALLS, SHARING CONTENT
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Antony Bruno]
Once littered with walled gardens and content silos, the digital landscape is beginning to sprout a customer-friendly ecosystem of shared content and traffic. Fueling this newfound spirit of interoperability are technologies that enable the sharing of content between sites. They include the Open Social initiative and Facebook's open development platform, both driving the "widgetization" of the Web. It's also a reflection of the surging "mash-up" movement online. A mash-up is a Web application that combines content and features from multiple sources for a specific purpose that none of the contributors do individually. The most commonly used applications are those with easily embeddable content or open APIs (programming information available to all), such as Google Maps, Twitter and Last.fm.
http://benton.org/node/15546
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IN TV CAMPAIGN, $300 MILLION WON'T GO FAR
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: Brian Lowry]
Even in these tough economic times, $300 million doesn't go as far as it used to. So if that's really the figure the Obama campaign fundraising machine generates, how should it best use it? Inasmuch as this election will focus on undecided voters in swing states, Marty Kaplan -- the Norman Lear Center chair of entertainment, media & society at USC's Annenberg School for Communication -- anticipates that the campaigns will "try to target their spending on particular demographics," which requires being savvy about the audience for selected programs and not just mere geography. These swing voters are also prone to watch more network primetime than committed partisans, so Kaplan concludes that purchasing local time within network entertainment fare would be an efficient way to reach them. Small wonder that Obama's campaign will place spots throughout Olympic coverage on NBC and its cable networks in August.
http://benton.org/node/15545
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DEMOCRACY GROUP GIVES DONORS ACCESS TO MCCAIN
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Mike McIntire]
Sen John McCain (R-AZ) has nurtured a reputation for bucking the Republican establishment and criticizing the influence of special interests in politics. But an examination of his leadership of the International Republican Institute, a democracy-building group he has led for 15 years — one of the least-chronicled aspects of his political life — reveals an organization in many ways at odds with the political outsider image that has become a touchstone of the McCain campaign for president. The institute is also something of a revolving door for lobbyists and out-of-power Republicans that offers big donors a way of helping both the party and the institute's chairman, who is the only sitting member of Congress — and now candidate for president — ever to head one of the democracy groups. Operating without the sort of limits placed on campaign fund-raising, the institute under Sen McCain has solicited millions of dollars for its operations from some 560 defense contractors, lobbying firms, oil companies and other corporations, many with issues before Senate committees Sen McCain was on including the Senate Commerce Committee which he once chaired. McIntire relates the story of a 2006 institute event, sponsored in part by AT&T which was seeking political support for an $80 billion merger with BellSouth.
http://benton.org/node/15564
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OBAMA AT CONVENTION FOR JOURNALISTS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Susan Saulny]
Sen Barack Obama (D-IL) addressed Unity, a convention of thousands of journalists of color, on Sunday, mixing foreign policy analysis with his views on topics like affirmative action and immigration in an environment that was closely watched for signs of favoritism toward the presumptive Democratic candidate. As many eyes seemed to be on the members of the news media as the candidate, and the group was reminded of this before the address that was shown live on CNN and recorded for rebroadcast tonight. Convention leaders urged the group to adhere to nonpartisan standards. And by any typical measure, they did - giving an enthusiastic ovation that stopped short of the kind of excessive adulation that drew criticism in 2004 when Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, then a Democratic candidate for president, spoke before the group.
http://benton.org/node/15563
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HOLLYWOOD FLOODS DEMS' RED CARPET
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: Ted Johnson]
It's probably not far from the truth, as the Democratic National Convention is fast becoming a ticket as prized as the Oscars, as much a destination as Sundance and as much a media moment for "Entertainment Tonight" and "Access Hollywood" as it is for MSNBC. Stars are being lined up for convention-related events in Denver. And cabler Starz is coordinating a "Green Room," where delegates, celebs and other VIPs can mingle, watch politically themed movies, and listen to panels on entertainment and politics. The only thing missing are gift suites -- off-limits due to stringent lobbying rules. There will be entertainment at the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn., but save for an expected heavy lineup of country stars, it will be tough to compete given Hollywood's affinity for Obama and the Democrats.
http://benton.org/node/15544
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THE SPOKESPUNDITS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
A look at among a growing band of operatives who have made the magical transformation from press aide to pundit in the blink of a news cycle. Big-name strategists have always been ushered into television studios after leaving the political game. So have recovering officeholders. But this season, many previously obscure spokesmen and second-string assistants are becoming A-list cable news guests, providing much of the patter for the 2008 race. It is as though a parade of .250 hitters and backup quarterbacks were joining the likes of Tim McCarver or John Madden in the broadcast booth. The explosion of political chat shows has put a premium on people who can be identified on screen as a former Democratic or Republican "strategist." Viewers have a right to be skeptical -- just how candid can they be, really?
http://benton.org/node/15560
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MCCAIN LEARNING TO "LOVE" WEB
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Marisa Guthrie]
The McCain campaign's web ad, "Obama Love," released last week has already been viewed over 259,000 times.
http://benton.org/node/15543
DEBATING THE SHIELD LAW
[SOURCE: USAToday, Los Angeles Times AUTHOR:]
[Commentary] Both the USA Today and the LA Times printed commentary on the pending federal shield law for journalists called the Free Flow of Information Act. The USAT actually has two dueling banjos -- one calls on Senate majority Leader Harry Rid (D-NV) to bring the measure up for a vote quickly. Mike McConnell, the Director of National Intelligence, counters that the bill would upset the balance established by current law, crippling the government's ability to investigate and prosecute those who harm national security. Scott Gant, a Washington attorney whose practice includes constitutional law, writes in the LATimes "a federal shield law that limits its safeguards in this way promotes a narrow view of the 1st Amendment. The freedom of the press is a right and a privilege that belongs to all of us. And if Congress enacts a shield law, it ought to be one that reflects the reality that we're all capable of being journalists now."
Shield would protect public (USAToday)
http://benton.org/node/15559
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DIGITAL TV: HOW TO BE PREPARED
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Brian Steinberg]
Four trade groups -- the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Association of National Advertisers, the National Association of Broadcasters and the Television Bureau of Advertising -- have formed a coalition to keep the advertising community informed about changes related to the Feb. 17, 2009 transition to digital TV. The new coalition intends to identify and address concerns and issues specific to the ad industry that arise due to the transition. Communications will take place through e-mail, webcasts, speakers, luncheons, one-on-one meetings and the websites of the four associations.
http://benton.org/node/15542
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THE CENSORS LOSE IN COURT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] The $550,000 fine that the Federal Communications Commission imposed on CBS for Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl was a serious setback to freedom of expression. A federal appeals court threw out the fine last week, ruling that the agency violated its own standards for what constitutes indecency. It is a well-reasoned decision, and we hope that the Supreme Court, which will soon be taking up a similar case, will take as strong a stand for free speech.
http://benton.org/node/15558
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