Sept 22, 2008 (Comcast Broadband Management Plan)
CORRECTION: FCC Agenda includes FOIA Request/Spectrum Auction
On Friday we reported that the FCC's Sept open meeting agenda does not include 1) a new auction of "D-Block/700 MHz" spectrum or 2) a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request by Mary O'Grady. Those items are on the agenda.
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2008
"Net neutrality is alive and well."
-- Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA)
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Comcast Submits Plans to Manage Broadband
'Connect ME' is Maine's Mantra For 90 Percent Broadband by 2010
South Carolina Weighs State-Wide Wireless Access in Broadband Plans
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Charges Dropped Against Reporters Arrested During RNC
MEDIA & ELECTIONS
The 2008 Campaign, Now Even More Interesting
Despite attacks on media by McCain campaign, disparate coverage in McCain's favor
JOURNALISM
The Demise of the Washington News Bureau
Build your own echo chamber
BROADCASTING/CABLE
Hill Keeps DTV on Front Burner
McSlarrow: Lean On Stations
Senators Express Concerns About PPM Rollout
FCC Republicans offer religious broadcasters mixed message
Nothing's fair about forcing broadcasters to air content
POLICYMAKERS
Eshoo on C-SPAN's The Communicators
TELECOM
As Text Messages Fly, Danger Lurks
Local Telephone Competition
QUICKLY -- Spectrum Management: Auctions; TN State Legislator's son at center of Palin hack talk; Broadcast Station Totals as of June 30, 2008; White Spaces Event Sept 24
INTERNET/BROADBAND
COMCAST'S PLANS TO MANAGE BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Vishesh Kumar]
Comcast, the country's largest cable operator by subscribers, formally submitted plans to the Federal Communications Commission late Friday detailing how the company plans to manage its broadband network. Rather than target specific types of bandwidth-intensive applications like peer-to-peer file sharing, the company will instead slow Internet speeds for its heaviest users at peak times when its network is congested. Comcast will do this by creating a second stream of traffic for recent heavy users that will have a lower priority when compared to its other customers. The so-called protocol-agnostic approach is intended to comply with the FCC's Network Neutrality principles, which restrict Internet service providers like cable and phone companies from degrading traffic from particular companies. On Aug 20, the FCC had given Comcast -- the country's second-largest provider of broadband connections after AT&T Inc. -- 30 days to outline its new management policies. Comcast's filing comes after the company tested the new approach for three months in five cities to study its impact. The company plans to put the policy in effect over its entire footprint by the end of the year. Comcast says no customer complaints were lodged about the new method in its trial markets and less than 1% of customers were affected on a typical day. Comcast's move may set a precedent for how other carriers manage the rapidly growing traffic on their own networks.
http://benton.org/node/17119
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'CONNECT ME' IS MAINE'S MANTRA FOR 90 PERCENT BROADBAND BY 2010
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Drew Bennett]
When it comes to broadband, the state of Maine is doing a lot with a little in order to keep a big promise. In 2005, Gov. John Baldacci announced the Connect Maine initiative and said that by focused on investing in broadband infrastructure in unserved areas, it would "ensure that 90% of Maine communities have broadband access by 2010." When Gov. Baldacci made this promise in 2005, the state pieced together data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the state Public Utilities Commission and estimated that, only 74% of Maine households had access to broadband. The Connect ME authority is still the state's smallest agency. It continues to be tasked with connecting the rest of Maine where, according to Connect ME Executive Director Phillip Lindley, "the private sector won't get the job done."
http://benton.org/node/17118
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SOUTH CAROLINA WEIGHS STATE-WIDE WIRELESS ACCESS IN BROADBAND PLANS
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Drew Bennett]
The South Carolina Educational Broadband Service Commission is under pressure to develop an innovative solution for state-wide broadband access, but the clock is ticking. The seven-person commission is scheduled to hold its first meeting on September 22 - and will have only four months thereafter to submit its plan to the Federal Communications Commission for transitioning a unique band of radio frequencies from its educational broadcasting service to wireless broadband. The frequencies occupy the 2.5 Gigahertz (GHz) band of spectrum. This band is distinct from the much-talked-about 700 MHz band licensed to commercial broadcasters, and which is the subject of the transition to digital television scheduled to take place on February 19, 2009. These 2.5GHz frequencies are reserved for educational organizations and institutions, but South Carolina is the only state in the nation with state-wide control of frequencies. In South Carolina, the spectrum is used by state-owned broadcaster ETV. As ETV transitions to a more efficient digital broadcast by February 2009, a large portion of the 2.5 GHz band could be utilized by other broadcast technologies, including wireless broadband.
http://benton.org/node/17120
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
CHANGES DROPPED AGAINST REPORTERS ARRESTED DURING RNC
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
Charges will be dropped against journalists who were arrested during the Republican National Convention protests and cited with unlawful assembly. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said Friday that the city attorney's office recommended against prosecuting reporters for the misdemeanor charge. "This decision reflects the values we have in St. Paul to protect and promote our First Amendment rights to freedom of the press," Mayor Coleman said. He added, "At the scene, the police did their duty in protecting public safety. In this decision, we are serving the public's interest to maintain the integrity of our democracy, system of justice and freedom of the press." He said the city doesn't know yet how many cases the decision will affect, and he said the city will use a broad definition of journalists caught up in mass arrests. The Society of Professional Journalists applauded the decision.
http://benton.org/node/17117
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MEDIA & ELECTIONS
THE 2008 CAMPAIGN, NOW EVEN MORE INTERESTING
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Marjorie Connelly]
The historic nature of the 2008 presidential campaign has stimulated a great deal of interest among voters all year, but now they are now even more focused on the process of electing a new president. In the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll, 63 percent of voters said they were paying a lot of attention to the campaign, up from 51 percent before the parties held their conventions. In September 2004, 52 percent said they were concentrating a lot on Senator John Kerry's campaign to defeat President Bush. The findings are borne out by television ratings: Nielsen estimates nearly two-thirds of the country's households -- more than 120 million people -- watched at least one of the conventions. The 15 percent of homes that tuned in only to the Republican National Convention was comparable to the 16 percent that watched just the Democratic National Convention, while 34 percent tuned in to both. The poll also found that ideology is not driving interest.
http://benton.org/node/17116
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DESPITE ATTACKS ON MEDIA BY MCCAIN CAMPAIGN, DISPARATE COVERAGE IN MCCAIN'S FAVOR
[SOURCE: Media Matters for America, AUTHOR: ]
The media have for months reported complaints by the McCain campaign that they have favored his opponent in their coverage of the presidential race, while making little attempt to assess the accuracy of those complaints or to confirm or refute them. But in a review of the media's coverage of two stories negatively affecting or reflecting on Sen. Barack Obama and two stories negatively affecting or reflecting on Sen. John McCain -- specifically Obama's ties to Bill Ayers and Antoin Rezko, and McCain's dealings with donors whom he reportedly benefited and his association with G. Gordon Liddy -- Media Matters found that the five major newspapers and the three evening network news broadcasts have frequently mentioned Obama's ties to Ayers and Rezko, but have rarely mentioned McCain's dealings with donors and have ignored his association with Liddy.
http://benton.org/node/17115
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JOURNALISM
THE DEMISE OF THE WASHINGTON NEWS BUREAU
[SOURCE: The American Prospect, AUTHOR: John McQuaid]
[Commentary] The Washington-based Newhouse News Service announced last month it would shut down after Election Day. Newhouse's demise is, of course, part of the terrible implosion underway in the newspaper business, and it shows how the depth and breadth of Washington coverage is shrinking as newspapers focus dwindling resources on local news. Hardly a week goes by without some regional newspaper announcing the layoff or recall of its Washington correspondent, and those covering national beats are similarly endangered. As we approach the end of the Bush 43 era, the federal government is more opaque and arguably more mistrusted than at any recent time. Just from the standpoint of brute journalistic force, multiple layoffs mean fewer knowledgeable eyes on the day-to-day business of Congress and the federal government, so more political and bureaucratic shenanigans will go unnoticed -- a win for opacity. There are some promising alternatives emerging but not -- yet anyway -- at the rate at which newspapers are laying off reporters.
http://benton.org/node/17114
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BUILD YOUR OWN ECHO CHAMBER
[SOURCE: Online Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Robert Niles]
[Commentary] How can journalists help their work stand out in a media marketplace that's become stuffed with competition from thousands of blogs, websites and social networks? Not to mention umpteen cable networks, satellite radio channels and time-sucking iPhone and Crackberry applications? The easy answer is for journalists to provide sharper, more engaging work that's, well, even louder than what we've offered our readers back when most newspapers had monopolies in their local markets. Fortunately, as the Internet slams us with new competition, it offers journalists new opportunities as well. Specifically, today I'd like to write about the opportunity the Internet provides us to build relationships with our readers that will help amplify our reporting and its influence in society.
http://benton.org/node/17113
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BROADCASTING/CABLE
HILL KEEPS DTV ON FRONT BURNER
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
One thing about the debate over the progress of the digital television (DTV) transition is becoming abundantly clear: If it doesn't go well, blame will be passed around a whole lot swifter than converter box coupons. The House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee, which is hoping to wrap up its business this week, is trying to press the point that primary stakeholders in the transition must do everything possible to prevent viewer -- and voter -- backlash. Simply calling a DTV oversight hearing prompted a flurry of activity, including the release of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report finding fault with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a letter from FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to electronics retailers asking where all those vaunted $40 DTV converter boxes are, and the decision finally to allow nursing-home residents and post-office-box owners to get converter box subsidies.
http://benton.org/node/17112
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MCSLARROW: LEAN ON STATIONS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Congress needs to pressure TV-station owners to postpone cable carriage disputes until after the government-mandated digital television transition in February, according to National Cable & Telecommunications Association president Kyle McSlarrow. Thousands of carriage contracts between cable operators and local TV stations expire at the end of the year. Failure to reach new deals could result in TV stations' pulling signals from cable systems in January, confusing consumers a few weeks before TV stations need to turn off their analog signals on Feb 17, 2009. "I would urge this committee to make clear in unmistakable terms to broadcasters around the country that the digital transition is not business as usual," McSlarrow said in testimony before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Internet Sept 16.
http://benton.org/node/17111
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SENATORS EXPRESS CONCERNS ABOUT PPM ROLLOUT
[SOURCE: Radio Ink, AUTHOR: ]
Sens Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) have written to Arbitron Chairman/President/CEO Steve Morris to express their concern about Arbitron's plan to expand the commercialization of the Portable People Meter. They wrote, "We encourage you to take all steps available, prior to rolling out the PPM system in additional markets, to ensure that the system accurately measures the listening behavior in a market and no station is unfairly harmed." Arbitron Chairman/President/CEO Steve Morris said, "We are pleased that Senator Inouye and Senator Leahy recognize the pre-eminent role of the Media Rating Council process as the driving force for quality improvements in the ratings services that the media industry counts on."
http://benton.org/node/17110
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FCC REPUBLICANS OFFER RELIGIOUS BROADCASTERS MIXED MESSAGE
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
[Commentary] Two-thirds of the Federal Communications Commission's Republican majority put their party's bipolar stance on broadcast regulation on display at a media conference held last week in Washington (DC). We're for regulating if it involves dirty talk or children, they explained. We're against it if it involves anything else. Speaking at the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) Media Summit on Wednesday, Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate served up the moral majority angle. Meanwhile Robert M. McDowell wondered out loud why the agency was considering reviving various "troubling" and "outdated" proposals to encourage more localism in broadcasting.
http://benton.org/node/17121
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NOTHING'S FAIR ABOUT FORCING BROADCASTERS TO AIR CONTENT
[SOURCE: IndyStar.com, AUTHOR: Jeffrey McCall]
[Commentary] The Fairness Doctrine mandated that broadcasters provide balanced coverage of controversial issues. To avoid federal second-guessing and expensive lawsuits, most broadcasters chose to say nothing. In effect, while trying to mandate "fairness," the government instead stifled broadcast discussion. Fortunately, the Federal Communications Commission discarded the Fairness Doctrine in 1987. Broadcasting and democracy have done just fine ever since, with nearly 2,000 radio stations now providing the conversation of democracy in talk formats, compared to about 200 back then. Harry Truman once said, "You can never get all the facts from just one newspaper." That applies to the broadcasting world, too. It is up to citizens to get information from multiple sources, and Congress has no role in ensuring that happens. (McCall is a professor of communication at DePauw University.)
http://benton.org/node/17109
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POLICYMAKERS
ESHOO ON C-SPAN'S THE COMMUNICATORS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Appearing this week on C-SPAN's The Communicators, Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA), a member of the House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee, said viewers won't "zero in" on the digital-TV transition until the last minute, which is why the government needs to let folks reapply for subsidy coupons they've already gotten but allowed to expire. Rep Eshoo, whose district includes Silicon Valley, said she thought companies should be able to track online surfing for the purposes of behavioral advertising only if their subscribers affirmatively opt in, rather than making them opt out if they don't want that information tracked. She promised that the Network Neutrality debate would continue. "It will be raised in the next Congress, rest assured," she said. "Net neutrality is alive and well." She said telecommunications policy under President Barack Obama would include Federal Communications Commission appointments that would "not be about just a handful of interests," but that would incubate newborn companies to allow them to compete, to become the next Comcast.
http://benton.org/node/17108
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TELECOM
AS TEXT MESSAGES FLY, DANGER LURKS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jennifer Steinhauer, Laura Holson]
As industry calculations show that Americans are now using mobile phones to send or receive more text messages (also known as SMS messaging (the abbreviation stands for short message service) than phone calls, those messages are coming under increasing fire because of the danger they can pose by distracting users. Though there are no official casualty statistics, there is much anecdotal evidence that the number of fatal accidents stemming from texting while driving, crossing the street or engaging in other activities is on the rise. The fight against text messages is also reaching beyond the realm of public safety. The National Collegiate Athletic Association's board recently upheld a 2007 ban on all text-messaging by coaches to student recruits. Theaters, too, long accustomed to chiding cellphone users as well as people who crumple their cough drop wrappers, have taken on texting. And, assisted by cellphone service providers, parents have moved to limit the hours in which their children can get and send text messages.
http://benton.org/node/17107
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LOCAL TELEPHONE COMPETITION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission released new data on local telephone service competition in the United States. As of December 2007, customers obtained local telephone service by utilizing approximately 129.7 million incumbent LEC switched access lines, 28.7 million CLEC switched access lines, and 249.2 million mobile telephony service subscriptions. The 28.7 million lines reported by CLECs is about 18% of the 158.4 million total end-user switched access lines. Of the 28.7 million CLEC end-user switched access lines, 8.4 million lines were provided over coaxial cable connections. The 8.4 million lines represent about 72% of the 11.7 million end-user switched access lines that CLECs reported providing over their own local loop facilities. There was at least one CLEC serving customers in 81% of the nation's Zip Codes at the end of December 2007.
http://benton.org/node/17106
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QUICKLY
SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT: AUCTIONS
[SOURCE: Congressional Research Service, AUTHOR: Linda Moore]
An update of a CRS report on spectrum auctions. In the 109th Congress, the Deficit Reduction Act (P.L. 109-171) included provisions that placed certain auction proceeds in a Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund. The fund is being mainly used to assist the transition from analog television broadcasting to digital broadcasting, and for contributions to programs for public safety. Over $7 billion of the auction proceeds were applied to deficit reduction. The funding came from the auction of spectrum
(at 700 MHz) currently used for analog television broadcasting, to be vacated by February 17, 2009. The auction, Auction 73, concluded on March 18,2008; it grossed $19,592,420,000.
http://benton.org/node/17105
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LEGISLATOR'S SON AT CENTER OF PALIN HACK TALK
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Gregg Keizer]
Tennessee State Rep Mike Kernell (D) has confirmed that his son, a 20-year-old student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, is the person being named on blogs and message boards in connection with the hacking of Gov. Sarah Palin's e-mail account.
http://benton.org/node/17104
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BROADCAST STATION TOTALS AS OF JUNE 30, 2008
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Just how many TV and radio stations are there in the US. The FCC says there's: 14,124 full-power radio stations (4,778 AM, 6,383 FM commercial and 2,964 FM educational stations); 85 low-power FM stations; 1,758 full-power TV stations; and 2,272 low-power TV stations.
http://benton.org/node/17103
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GOOGLE TO HOLD CAPITOL HILL PEP RALLY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Google, Microsoft, Media Access and Free Press will headline a Sept 24 Capitol Hill event aimed at convincing lawmakers that unlicensed mobile devices like laptops should be able to share unused portions of television broadcast spectrum. The goal of the event is to "showcase the vast consumer and economic benefits of white spaces." White spaces -- broadcaster opponents of the unlicensed devices call them "interference zones" -- are the spaces between TV channels
http://benton.org/node/17102
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