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  2. August 2008

August 2008

Hitwise provides more proof of Google's search dominance

[Commentary] Researchers at Hitwise released new data Monday indicating that Google in July topped a 70 percent share of U.S. Web searches (70.77 percent to be exact). That's up 10 percent from the same month a year ago and 2 percent from the previous month. Yahoo search was second at 18.65 percent, MSN search was third at 5.36 percent, and Ask.com came in fourth at 3.53 percent. At 70 percent, Google is joining a club of tech giants that really know how to dominate a market, including Cisco Systems in routers, Intel in chips, and Microsoft in a whole bunch of stuff.

NAB Unveils Quiet-Time Proposal

The National Association of Broadcasters' board of directors announced that it will put a four-week stop on negotiating retransmission-consent agreements around the time of the digital conversion, scheduled for February 17, 2009. The board is asking members to voluntarily commit "to make available to all of their distribution partners those broadcast signals being provided as of Feb. 4, 2009, through March 4, 2009," two weeks after the conversion. In practical terms, the NAB wants to make sure that any station or station group in dispute with a cable, satellite, or telco distributor over retransmission issues suspend hostile action, like refusing to permit the distributor to show the station, while the digital conversion is near or in its first weeks. By law, stations can't be removed from a distributors system during a sweeps period, so that extends the NAB quiet period for virtually the entire month of March. Some in the cable industry, including the American Cable Association and cable operator Mediacom Communications, asked for a longer quiet period than the one the NAB proposed Tuesday, suggesting that it begin in January 2009 and extend until May 31. The ACA said earlier that thousands of retrans agreements expire in December. ACA president Matt Polka said in a statement that while he "welcomes" the initiative, a start date of Feb. 4 "is simply too late and will not go far enough to protect consumers whose signals could be pulled by broadcasters before Feb. 4." He reiterated the ACA's original January-May quiet period.

NATOA, PEG Ask Appellate Court to Amend Franchising 'Shot Clock Rule

Local cable regulators have asked the US Court of Appeal for the Sixth Circuit to reconsider its decision supporting the 2007 ruling by the Federal Communications Commission mandating that local governments approve new franchising applications in 90 days or less. The appeal alleges that the appeals court decision, issued June 27, conflicts with rulings of the Supreme Court and the Sixth Circuit's own precedents. The request for an en banc rehearing (asking all of the Sixth Circuit judges to consider the legal question, not just a limited panel) was filed Aug. 11. The request was filed by the National Association of Telecommunications Officer and Advisors, the Alliance for Community Media and the Alliance for Communications Democracy. The groups argue that federal and circuit court decisions expressly give state and local authorities, not the federal agency, authority over cable franchising. The earlier decisions alter the balance of powers among state, local and federal authorities, the en banc request states. Further, the Supreme Court has ruled that agencies can't create remedies where Congress has already specified one.

CNN to double US newsgathering presence

Time Warner's CNN plans to double its news-gathering presence in the United States, even as threats of an advertising recession have led to job cuts at other news organizations. The cable TV channel will double the number of regions from which its news-gathering staffs operate to 20. It will begin operations in Columbus, Ohio; Denver; Houston; Las Vegas; Minneapolis; Orlando, Florida; Philadelphia; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; and Seattle. CNN will hire a handful of new employees, while reassigning some current employees to new jobs. The goal is to have a mix of traditional network correspondents and what CNN calls "all-platform journalists" or APJs, who gather news using lightweight kits that include laptops, cameras and editing tools for Internet, as well as on-air programming in all 20 cities.

Democratic Party's Technology Platform

Renewing America's Promise

At its meeting in Pittsburgh in early August, the full Platform Committee recommended that the Convention adopt the Democratic Party's national Platform "Renewing America's Promise" when it is presented in Denver later this month. Here's a look at the technology-relted sections.

A Connected America

In the 21st century, our world is more intertwined than at any time in human history. This new connectedness presents us with untold opportunities for innovation, but also new challenges. We will protect the internet's traditional openness to innovation and creativity and ensure that it remains a dynamic platform for free speech, innovation, and creativity. We will implement a national broadband strategy, especially in rural areas, that enables every American household, school library and hospital to connect to a world-class communications infrastructure. We will rededicate our nation to ensuring that all Americans have access to broadband and the skills to use it effectively. In an increasingly technology-rich, knowledge-based economy, connectivity is a key part of the solution to many of our most important challenges: job creation economic growth, energy, health care, and education. We will establish a Chief Technology Officer for the nation, to ensure we use technology to enhance the functioning, transparency, and expertise of government, including establishing a national interoperable public safety communications network to help first responders at the local, state and national level communicate with one another during a crisis.

We will toughen penalties, increase enforcement resources, and spur private sector cooperation with law enforcement to identify and prosecute those who exploit the Internet to try to harm children. We will encourage more educational content on the Web and in our media. We will give parents the tools and information they need to manage (in ways fully consistent with the First Amendment) what their children see on television and the Internet. We will strengthen privacy protections in the digital age and will harness the power of technology to hold government and business accountable for violations of persona privacy.

Science, Technology & Innovation

America has long led the world in innovation. But this Administration's hostility to science has taken a toll. At a time when technology helps shape our future, we devote a smaller and smaller share of our national resources to research and development.

It is time again to lead. We took a critical step with the America Competes Act and we will start by implementing that act - then we will do more. We will make science. technology, engineering, and math education a national priority. We will double federal funding for basic research, invest in a strong and inspirational vision for space exploration and make the Reaearch and Development Tax Credit permanent. We will invest in the next generation of transformative energy technologies and health IT and we will renew the defense R&D system. We will lift the current Administration's ban on using federal funding for embyronic stem cells - cells that would have otherwhise have been discarded and lost forever - for research that could save lives. We will ensure that our patent laws protect legitimate rights while not stifling innovation and creativity. We will end the Bush Administration's war on science, restore scientific integrity, and return to evidence-based decision-making.

In sum, We will stregthen our system, treat science and technology as crucial investments, and use these forces to ensure a future of economic leadership, health well-being and national security.

Open, Accountable and Ethical Government

In Barack Obama's Administration, we will open up the doors of democracy. We will create a new "open source" government, using technology to make government more transparent, accountable and inclusive. Rather than obstruct people's use of the Freedom of Information Act, we will require that agencies conduct significant business in public and release all relevant information unless an agency reasonably forsees harm to a protected interest.

We will lift the veil of secret deals in Washington by publishing searchable, online information about federal grants, contracts, earmarks, loans, and lobbyist contracts with government officials. We will make government data available online and will have an online video archive of significant agency meetings. We will put all non-emergency bills that Congress has passed online for five days, to allow the American public to review and comment on them before they are signed into law. We will require Cabinet officials to have periodic national online town hall meetings to discuss issues before their agencies.

Implementing our Party's agenda will require running an efficient government that gets results. We will develop a comprehensive management agenda to prevent operational breakdowns in government and ensure that government provides the level of service that the American people deserve. Because we understand that good government depends on good people, we will work to rebuild and reengage our federal workforce. We will make the government a more attractive place to work. Our hiring will be based only on qualification and experience, and not on ideology or party affiliation. We will pay for our new spending, eliminate waste in government programs, demand and measure results, and stop funding programs that don't work.

We are committed to a participatory government. We will use the most current technology available to improve the quality of government decision-making and make government less beholden to special interest groups and lobbyists. We will enhance the flow of information between citizens and government—in both directions—by involving the public in the work of government agencies. We will not simply solicit opinions, but will also use new technology to tap into the vast expertise of the American citizenry, for the benefit of government and our democracy.

Participate in Discussion of FCC Policy on Net Neutrality

Network neutrality is a hot policy debate right now, and the Benton Foundation is bringing you an opportunity to discuss it and provide a comment to the Federal Communication Commission on this important issue.

The Benton Foundation is working with the Deliberative E-Rulemaking(DeER) Project, to connect you with other citizens interested in this issue. The DeER Project is a National Science Foundation funded initiative to test a new model for citizen input on proposed rules and regulations by federal agencies. We are recruiting people to participate in an online message board discussion on a possible FCC network neutrality regulation.

Learn more about the project, the discussion, and sign up at
www.deer.albany.edu/index.html?org=bf

August 12, 2008 (Broadband growth slows)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY AUGUST 12, 2008


GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Georgia States Computers Hit By Cyberattack
   FBI's Use of Phone Records Shows Need to Protect the Press

MEDIA & ELECTIONS
   Obama vs Clinton Again?
   Political Spots Now a Bargain
   What Obama Campaign Teaches About Millennial Marketing
   Obama Floods Florida Airwaves

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Broadband growth plummets in 2Q, cable stronger
   Lawmakers urge FCC to move forward with 'free' plan
   Usage-Based Broadband Billing vs "Channels"
   Modern-Day Alaskan Broadband Benefits from Satellite Earth Station Competition

DIGITAL CONTENT
   Some Web Firms Say They Track Behavior Without Explicit Consent
   Crying Foul over Online Junk Food Marketing
   Digital Crossroads: Painful as slander may be, don't turn service providers into speech police

OWNERSHIP
   Leap asks FCC to ban Verizon-Alltel purchase
   DirecTV-Dish Merger Still 'Problematic'
   Malone eyes swap for AOL dial-up arm

BROADCASTING/CABLE
   Consumers Aware of DTV, but Slow to Act
   Cablevision Network DVR Ruling Has Web Radio Impact
   White space tests get mixed results
   AT&T Appeals Connecticut Court's U-verse Definition

QUICKLY -- Providers' Have Left The Home Worker Market Untapped; Delivering aid in a digital world

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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

GEORGIA STATES COMPUTERS HIT BY CYBERATTACK
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Siobhan Gorman]
Georgian officials and international security experts say the Georgian government was hit by repeated cyberattacks just as Russia launched military action against the country, a move that illustrates the potential of cyberwarfare to augment a military attack. The leading suspect behind the attacks, which disabled key government Web sites, is a cybercriminal organization known as the Russian Business Network. That organization, however, is believed to act only as a carrier for criminal activities online. It may not be possible to determine who is ultimately responsible. The attacks on Georgia's public-information infrastructure have been particularly stinging in a conflict in which President Mikheil Saakashvili has tried to mount an aggressive media offensive on the airwaves.
http://benton.org/node/16036
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FBI'S USE OF PHONE RECORDS SHOWS NEED TO PROTECT PRESS, SENATORS SAY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Eric Lichtblau]
Sens Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (D-PA), the top-ranking members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Monday that they were troubled by the FBI's collection of the phone records of four reporters at The New York Times and The Washington Post and that the episode showed a "pressing need" for legislation pending in the Senate that would provide greater legal protection for journalists. Last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation disclosed to the two newspapers that it had improperly obtained the phone records of reporters in their Indonesian bureaus in 2004 by using emergency records demands from telephone providers as part of an investigation. Robert S. Mueller III, the director of the bureau, made personal calls to Bill Keller, executive editor of The Times, and Leonard Downie Jr., executive editor of The Post, to apologize. In a letter sent to Mr. Mueller on Monday, the two senators said they wanted formal staff briefings on the episode to address unanswered questions. The phone records were apparently obtained as part of a terrorism investigation, but the agency has not explained what it was investigating or why the reporters' phone records were considered relevant.
http://benton.org/node/16035
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MEDIA & ELECTIONS

OBAMA VS CLINTON AGAIN?
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
For the eighth time in nine weeks, Sen Barack Obama substantially outdistanced Sen John McCain in the competition for exposure, according to PEJ's Campaign Coverage Index. Obama was a significant or dominant factor in 78% of the campaign coverage from August 4-10 compared with 53% for McCain. That is almost identical to the 79% to 54% lead in quantity of coverage Obama has accumulated since the general election campaign began in early June. Last week, the major story lines turned more to issues -- particularly energy policy -- discord among Democrats and the search for vice-presidents. Indeed, even as Obama regained a comfortable lead in the quantity of coverage, certainly some of it was ominous for the Illinois Senator's campaign. Hillary and Bill Clinton resurfaced in campaign news last week -- combining as significant or dominant factors in 23% of the coverage -- and with them, so, too, did the festering subject of party unity. By week's end, the Clintons' role and the issue of a divided Democratic party had accounted for 12% of the campaign coverage studied. There were two major components of the narrative about discord. One was Bill Clinton's interview with ABC, in which he appeared to betray residual bitterness about the primaries and Obama. At the same time, new questions surfaced about whether Hillary Clinton supporters want a convention roll call.
http://benton.org/node/16026
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POLITICAL SPOTS NOW A BARGAIN
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Ira Teinowitz]
In the annals of political advertising, the unthinkable is happening: TV spots are getting cheaper as the November election approaches. Faced with a recession as well as advertising cutbacks by automakers and financial services providers, TV stations have sliced the price of political spots, political ad buyers say. In some markets, prices are as much as 15% to 20% lower than two years ago. Reductions aren't hitting every station or every market, and it's difficult to say whether prices will rebound.
http://benton.org/node/16025
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WHAT OBAMA CAN TEACH YOU ABOUT MILLENNIAL MARKETING
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Peter Feld]
The unabashed embrace of select brands by millennials, from technology to beverages to fashion, has made this decade a true golden era of marketing for those who know what they're doing. And when it comes to marketing, the Barack Obama campaign knows what it's doing. Obama's brand management, unprecedented in presidential politics, shows pitch-perfect understanding of the keys to appealing to the youngest voters. Obama's packaging might discomfit older generations, who may think of themselves as immune to mass marketing. But it is "no problem" for millennials. John McCain's early-August success in erasing Obama's lead, with a campaign that directly attacks the Obama brand by mocking his celebrity status, shows that branding can cut both ways.
http://benton.org/node/16024
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OBAMA FLOODS FLORIDA AIRWAVES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Aaron Rutkoff]
Sen Barack Obama's campaign has aired 9,785 local broadcast TV commercials in Florida while Sen John McCain's campaign has aired none. The Obama campaign has spent about $6.5 million on TV advertising in Florida, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, a unit of media tracker TNS Media Intelligence. In part, the spending can be attributed to the Democrat's late start there. He refrained from campaigning in Florida during the primary season after the Democratic Party penalized the state for holding its primary early. A spokesman for Sen. McCain declined to discuss why the campaign hasn't run TV ads in Florida, but said the Republican is investing heavily in the state and is doing well. In total, Sen. Obama has spent about $36.6 million on television ads across the country since the end of the Democratic nomination fight, with Florida so far taking the biggest share of any single state. The Obama campaign is also alone on the airwaves in North Carolina, Indiana, Georgia and southern Virginia.
http://benton.org/node/16034
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

BROADBAND GROWTH PLUMMETS IN 2Q, CABLE STRONGER
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
The number of new broadband Internet subscribers in the United States fell in the second quarter to the lowest level in at least seven years. The 20 largest cable and telephone companies added a net 887,000 high-speed Internet subscribers in the three months ending June 30. The number of new customers is half that of the second quarter of 2007. Saturation of the marketplace, along with the slowing economy, are likely reasons for the slowdown. Leichtman Research believes the decline in new customers was likely exacerbated by decisions at the two largest phone companies, AT&T and Verizon, to emphasize faster, more expensive services over entry-level DSL. Cable companies did much better than phone companies in the quarter. While the two industries have usually divided new broadband customers evenly between them, 76 percent of the new business went to cable companies in the quarter.
http://benton.org/node/16029
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LAWMAKERS URGE FCC TO MOVE FORWARD WITH 'FREE' PLAN
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Nancy Gohring]
Last week, Reps Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) wrote Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin saying, "We are concerned that incumbent wireless carriers are seeking unnecessary and unprecedented testing delays to prevent new innovative competitors from entering the market." At issue is a proposal from Chairman Martin to auction a 25MHz piece of spectrum in the 2155MHz band and require the winner to use a specified amount of spectrum for free wireless Internet access. Although the FCC first floated the idea last September, mobile operators have asked the commission to delay the vote to give them more time to consider technical issues. Reps Eshoo and Markey pointed out that tests performed by Ofcom, the UK's equivalent of the FCC, that showed no substantial interference from the type of technical plan the FCC is proposing.
http://benton.org/node/16028
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USAGE-BASED BROADBAND BILLING VS "CHANNELS"
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Kevin Walsh]
[Commentary] The usage-based broadband billing model seem reasonable enough, but it is destined to fail for a number of reasons: 1) Consumers don't understand it, 2) Bills could get really big, 3) ISPs would be changing price without improving service, and 4) even wireless carriers are moving away from the model. The good news is that hidden within the Federal Communications Commission's recent Comcast slap down is a path forward for broadband operators yielding superior traffic management while also enhancing revenue opportunities. The Order clearly opens the door for service providers to promote certain traffic classes in order to obtain the service quality necessary to satisfy consumer expectations. (More at the URL below)
http://benton.org/node/16027
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MODERN-DAY ALASKAN BROADBAND BENEFITS FROM SATELLITE EARTH STATION COMPETITION
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Jennifer Clark]
Today's technologically advanced Alaska is a far cry from Jack London's frontier in The Call of the Wild. Yet while dog-sledding remains a common form of transportation, the image of the disconnected wilderness man is today more myth than reality. In Alaska, facilities-based competition between telecommunications providers may be having a positive impact in boosting the quantity and quality of high-speed Internet access in the most remote and sparsely populated state in the United States.
http://benton.org/node/16018
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DIGITAL CONTENT

SOME WEB FIRMS SAY THEY TRACK BEHAVIOR WITHOUT EXPLICIT CONSENT
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Nakashima]
Several Internet and broadband companies have acknowledged using targeted-advertising technology without explicitly informing customers, according to letters released yesterday by the House Commerce Committee. And Google, the leading online advertiser, stated that it has begun using Internet tracking technology that enables it to more precisely follow Web-surfing behavior across affiliated sites. The revelations came in response to a bipartisan inquiry of how more than 30 Internet companies might have gathered data to target customers. Some privacy advocates and lawmakers said the disclosures help build a case for an overarching online-privacy law.
http://benton.org/node/16033
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CRYING FOUL OVER ONLINE FOOD MARKETING
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Catherine Holahan]
Having successfully lobbied the government to place limits on junk food ads on TV, consumer and children's advocacy groups now target marketing to kids via the Web. The worry is that food companies are bombarding kids with ads for non-nutritious foods, fueling the obesity epidemic that, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, has increased the proportion of overweight kids under age 12 fivefold in the last generation and left almost 19% of kids between 6 and 11 overweight. A new report, commissioned by the Berkeley Media Studies Group, part of the Public Health Institute in Berkeley, Calif., focuses on methods of advertising food to kids that have become particularly popular during the past two years, such as spreading messages through social networks, and urges lawmakers to restrict junk food advertising to kids online. It will be presented to members of Congress and has been shown to officials at the European Union.
http://benton.org/node/16032
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DIGITAL CROSSROADS: PAINFUL AS SLANDER MAY BE, DON'T TURN SERVICE PROVIDERS INTO SPEECH POLICE
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Larry Magid]
[Commentary] Although the Supreme Court struck down most of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, the Court let stand Section 230, which immunizes Internet service providers from being held liable for what their members post by stating that "no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." The section is analogous to holding phone companies harmless for obscene phone calls made by their customers or shielding the post office from liability for illicit material sent through the mail. But Section 230 has also been used to protect social-networking companies and other Web sites with user-generated content whose business plans weren't even on the drawing board when the law was written back in the mid-'90s.
http://benton.org/node/16030
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OWNERSHIP

LEAP ASKS FCC TO BAN VERIZON-ALLTEL PURCHASE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Sinead Carew]
Leap Wireless has asked the Federal Communications Commission to refuse permission for the Verizon Wireless' $28.1 billion plan to buy Alltel and become the No. 1 U.S. mobile service. Leap said risks include less competition and difficulties creating roaming agreements that allow customers of one carrier to use another's services when traveling outside their home network coverage area. Leap has roaming pacts with both Verizon Wireless and Alltel, the leading rural U.S. mobile provider for certain parts of the country. But Laurie Itkin, Leap's government affairs director, said unless the FCC sets rules requiring nationwide roaming agreements, a Verizon and Alltel deal could leave Leap users without service in some places.
http://benton.org/node/16023
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DIRECTV-DISH MERGER STILL 'PROBLEMATIC'
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Moss]
Liberty Media Chairman John Malone said Monday that although a DirecTV-Dish Network merger would be "very synergistic," it would still face problems winning regulatory approval. Liberty CEO Greg Maffei said that regulatory approval of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio Holdings would not make a DirecTV-Dish Network merger any more likely to pass muster in Washington.
http://benton.org/node/16022
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MALONE EYES SWAP FOR AOL DIAL-UP ARM
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson]
Liberty Media is considering swapping its shareholding in Time Warner for the dial-up business of AOL, John Malone said on Monday, raising the unexpected prospect of a competitive auction for the declining Internet access operation. Malone, whose group encompasses wholly owned businesses such as the QVC home shopping channel and stakes in DirecTV, Expedia and Sprint Nextel, said swapping the Time Warner holding for a cash-generating asset would be "attractive". Liberty Media's 103m-shareholding in Time Warner was valued at $1.64bn last night, slightly above analysts' $1.5bn valuation of AOL's access business.
http://benton.org/node/16031
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BROADCASTING/CABLE

CONSUMERS AWARE OF DTV, BUT SLOW TO ACT
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: ]
Consumer awareness of the digital television transition is at an all time high, but many over-the-air households are slow to take the steps necessary to continue to view television when analog signals cease, according to the latest digital transition awareness survey from the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS). As of May 2008, 62 percent of over-the-air households said they would opt to buy a converter box or digital television, compared to 28 percent in November 2006. But, the APTS study found that the majority of the 8.8 million over-the-air households who said they would buy a set-top converter box to continue to receive free over-the-air television have not done so.
http://benton.org/node/16021
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CABLEVISION NETWORK DVR RULING HAS WEB RADIO IMPACT
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Kent Gibbons]
The Copyright Office has extended the time period for comments in a rulemaking about Internet radio royalty fees after a federal appeals court ruling backed Cablevision's right to deploy a network-based digital video recording system. The agency, part of the Library of Congress, ruled in July that music publishers could collect royalties for the transmission of sound recordings over the Internet. Comments on that ruling were supposed to be submitted by Aug. 15, with reply comments due by Sept. 2. Royalty payments could have a big impact on free Internet music services such as Pandora or Last.fm. But the ruling in the Cablevision case ­ which reversed an earlier ruling by a federal court that was cited by the Copyright Office in its notice of proposed rulemaking on July 16 ­ prompted commenters to request more time. So the Copyright Office has pushed the comment period back to Aug. 28 and the reply date to Sept. 15.
http://benton.org/node/16020
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WHITE SPACES TESTS GETS MIXED RESULTS
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Marguerite Reardon]
Field tests to determine whether the Federal Communications Commission should open up unused TV spectrum for wireless broadband services are getting mixed reviews as different methods for avoiding spectrum interference are being tested in the real world. In the most recently concluded tests, Motorola claims its geolocation-based technology got high marks for avoiding interference with existing spectrum holders, while a field test of spectrum sensing technology at a major sporting venue proved that that technology is not up to snuff in avoiding interference with broadcast-based microphones. The FCC has been conducting these real world tests of different prototype devices to see if companies can develop products that use buffer spectrum between licensed broadcast channels. This spectrum known has "white space" sits between broadcast TV channels in the 150 MHz to 700 MHs spectrum bands.
http://benton.org/node/16019
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AT&T APPEALS CONNECTICUT COURT'S U-VERSE DEFINITION
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
AT&T is appealing a Connecticut federal court ruling that creates a precedent in law that defines its U-verse service as a cable product. The company wants the higher court to reverse the rulings of Judge Janet Bond Arterton, who has been adjudicating a dispute between the company and the state's Department of Public Utility Control against the state's cable operators and the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel.
http://benton.org/node/16015
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QUICKLY

SERVICE PROVIDERS' PRODUCT STRATEGIES HAVE LEFT THE HOME WORKER MARKET SEGMENT UNTAPPED
[SOURCE: Forrester, AUTHOR: Sally Cohen]
Driven by economic changes like the rising cost of gas, social trends like work-life balance, and the proliferation of collaboration technologies, consumers are changing the way that they work. Rather than commuting to a central office every day, 9% of consumers telecommute from home for an external employer, and 22.8 million run a business out of their home. When it comes to their telecommunications services, these home workers have distinct needs that are a combination of their personal and work activities. Yet telcos, cablecos, and ISPs have not focused on this attractive segment of "prosumer" home workers and thus have not yet capitalized on their unique market value. To do so going forward, providers need a designated prosumer product strategist who can mix product offerings, feature sets, and marketing messaging from the consumer and business worlds.
http://benton.org/node/16016
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DELIVERING AID IN DIGITAL WORLD
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Ken Banks]
[Commentary] With mobile banking taking off around much of the developing world, how long will it be before international aid is delivered electronically? Sound crazy? If you think so, you might be surprised to hear that it's already started happening.
http://benton.org/node/16017
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Georgia States Computers Hit By Cyberattack

Georgian officials and international security experts say the Georgian government was hit by repeated cyberattacks just as Russia launched military action against the country, a move that illustrates the potential of cyberwarfare to augment a military attack. The leading suspect behind the attacks, which disabled key government Web sites, is a cybercriminal organization known as the Russian Business Network. That organization, however, is believed to act only as a carrier for criminal activities online. It may not be possible to determine who is ultimately responsible. The attacks on Georgia's public-information infrastructure have been particularly stinging in a conflict in which President Mikheil Saakashvili has tried to mount an aggressive media offensive on the airwaves.

FBI's Use of Phone Records Shows Need to Protect the Press

Sens Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (D-PA), the top-ranking members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Monday that they were troubled by the FBI's collection of the phone records of four reporters at The New York Times and The Washington Post and that the episode showed a "pressing need" for legislation pending in the Senate that would provide greater legal protection for journalists. Last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation disclosed to the two newspapers that it had improperly obtained the phone records of reporters in their Indonesian bureaus in 2004 by using emergency records demands from telephone providers as part of an investigation. Robert S. Mueller III, the director of the bureau, made personal calls to Bill Keller, executive editor of The Times, and Leonard Downie Jr., executive editor of The Post, to apologize. In a letter sent to Mr. Mueller on Monday, the two senators said they wanted formal staff briefings on the episode to address unanswered questions. The phone records were apparently obtained as part of a terrorism investigation, but the agency has not explained what it was investigating or why the reporters' phone records were considered relevant.

Obama Floods Florida Airwaves

Sen Barack Obama's campaign has aired 9,785 local broadcast TV commercials in Florida while Sen John McCain's campaign has aired none. The Obama campaign has spent about $6.5 million on TV advertising in Florida, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, a unit of media tracker TNS Media Intelligence. In part, the spending can be attributed to the Democrat's late start there. He refrained from campaigning in Florida during the primary season after the Democratic Party penalized the state for holding its primary early. A spokesman for Sen. McCain declined to discuss why the campaign hasn't run TV ads in Florida, but said the Republican is investing heavily in the state and is doing well. McCain does get some exposure to Florida television viewers through national buys on NBC during the Olympics and on cable news channels. By this time in 2004, President Bush's re-election campaign had spent $13.5 million on television in Florida. The president went on to win the state in November. Sen Obama's ads have touched every media market in Florida, which is the most expensive for advertising among the closely fought states. In total, Sen. Obama has spent about $36.6 million on television ads across the country since the end of the Democratic nomination fight, with Florida so far taking the biggest share of any single state. The Obama campaign is also alone on the airwaves in North Carolina, Indiana, Georgia and southern Virginia.

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