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February 2009

Sprint Official Is Tapped to Shape Telecom Policy

The Obama administration has tapped a Washington executive of Sprint Nextel Corp. to help run an agency that shapes telecommunications policy and will dole out billions of dollars in federal stimulus money to wireless providers. As a vice president of government affairs for Sprint, Anna Gomez wasn't registered as a lobbyist and thus isn't restricted by President Barack Obama's new ban on hiring lobbyists to oversee the issues they influenced in the private sector. A separate provision in the administration's new ethics rules -- one that restricts appointees' work with recent employers -- will limit Ms. Gomez's official duties, preventing her from reviewing contract bids by Sprint for two years. But she could still play a role shaping policies that affect her former employer. Ms. Gomez was named deputy director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration on Feb. 3. She is currently acting director of the agency, which shapes the president's telecom policy within the Commerce Department. Under the stimulus bill negotiated by Congress this week, the NTIA will handle as much as $6.65 billion in wireless and broadband grants available to Sprint and its competitors. NTIA spokesman Bart Forbes said in an interview that Ms. Gomez believes the public has "every right to be concerned about her role in a potential broadband grant program," given her background at Sprint. "She is discussing this with the ethics office and will look to remove herself from the decision-making process" for grant applications where appropriate, he said.

FCC Officially Moves DTV Date

On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission released an order officially moving the deadline for the discontinuation of analog television broadcasts from Feb. 17 to June 12. In doing so, it said it was waiving the Administrative Procedures Act's requirement of notice, public comment and a 30-day delay period on commission actions, pointing to its tight deadlines and a reading of the date-move bill it says justifies the call. The Commission decided that stations do not have to provide emergency information in Spanish on their analog nightlight signals and it will allow stations that previously said they wanted to cut off analog on Feb. 17 but now have changed
their minds, to do so.

Stalled Switch to Digital TV A Classic Tale of Breakdown

The nation's switch to all-digital broadcasts has been more than a decade in the making. The federal government has spent nearly $2 billion to help people prepare. Broadcasters spent another $1.2 billion to run warning ads and millions more to upgrade equipment. Until last week, the United States seemed ready to follow the half-dozen European countries that have made the switch. But with two federal agencies in charge, no clear idea of how many people would be affected and constant partisan disagreements over money, the program foundered just before its long-standing Feb. 17 deadline. It has now been pushed back four months. The result is confusion for the millions of Americans for whom the television is not simply another electronic device in the home but a crucial source of news and information. The idea that the government might deprive people of television reception strikes some as unjust and, in the event of emergencies, possibly dangerous. Exactly how that happened is in many ways a classic Washington story.

The digital-transition bill was born amid sniping between Republicans and Democrats, which time and again complicated its implementation. The heads of the two federal agencies charged with managing the transition barely spoke to each other. And in the end, the rifts between Republicans in the Bush administration running the program and the congressional Democrats overseeing it stymied efforts to right the transition as it steered off course.

Statistical Sense

[Commentary] The once-in-a-decade federal census became a sticking point in the nomination of Sen Judd Gregg (R-NH) to be Secretary of Commerce. The population count determines not only the distribution of congressional seats among the states but also the distribution of legislative seats within them and the allocation of billions of federal dollars. And, for most of the past two decades, Republicans and Democrats have been accusing each other of trying to cheat on it. The important thing now is to prevent the Gregg flap from growing into a wider partisan dispute that could undermine the credibility of the census when the survey should be gathering momentum for 2010. The fact is that the Census Bureau is staffed by experts with a well-earned reputation for integrity and political independence. Mr. Obama has reportedly been considering former Census Bureau director Kenneth Prewitt, who has enjoyed the respect of both parties, for a return to that job. In considering a replacement for Mr. Gregg, the president would do well to seek a similar figure. It doesn't matter that much whether the next commerce secretary is a Republican or a Democrat. But after the events of the past few days, it matters more than ever that he can command the confidence of both.

House Passes $787B Stimulus Legislation

The House of Representatives passed a massive fiscal stimulus bill aimed at resuscitating the U.S. economy, approving it on a largely party-line vote of 246 to 183. Seven Democrats joined 176 Republicans in voting against the bill. One member voted present, and three did not vote. No Republicans voted in favor of the package. In its latest cost estimate, the Congressional Budget Office put the price tag of the stimulus plan at $787.2 billion over 10 years, a slight drop from the $789 billion that lawmakers said it would cost after it was approved by House and Senate negotiators.

Feb 13, 2009 (Broadband Remains Part of Stimulus Package)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13, 2009

Officially, headlines will return on Tuesday, Feb 17. But you know how hard it is for us to stay away... and if something crazy happens -- like, suddenly, 6-7 billion dollars become available to extend the reach of broadband -- we might check in with you.

For a look at next week's events, see http://benton.org/calendar/2009-02-15--P1W


THE ECONOMY
   Next Challenge on Stimulus: Spending All That Money
   Broadband, Health IT, and Smart Electrical Grid Remain Part of Stimulus Package
   Broadband tax credits dropped from stimulus bill
   Critics Call Broadband Program 'Rushed'
   Turning Billions of Broadband Investment into Trillions of Economic Growth
   Economists missing from cable news stimulus debate

THE TRANSITION
   Senator Gregg withdraws as Obama commerce pick
   Obama nears FTC picks
   Senate Commerce Committee Re-organization
   We must make good on the promise of access to broadband for everyone
   Boucher: Broadband Deployment Will Be Priority

PRIVACY
   FTC extends privacy guidelines to mobiles, ISPs
   Boucher, Stearns Working On Online Privacy Bill

BROADCASTING
   FCC Allows 368 Stations to Cease Analog Broadcasts on Feb. 17
   DTV delay now law, but confusion still persists over 700 MHz

ADVERTISING
   Alcohol, sex ads get prime TV time

INTERNET/BROADBAND/TELECOM
   What does broadband policy mean for musicians?
   UK Mobile groups threatened with bandwidth auction
   Ofcom fillip for BT network
   Telecom industry faces moment of truth

QUICKLY -- Sirius XM, Ergen Move Closer to a Rescue Deal; Report: new Fairness Doctrine would face high legal hurdle; Radio Royalty Opposition Gains Steam; Charter Reaches Deal With Bondholders, Will File For Chapter 11; Google scraps broadcast radio ad business; Univision: YouTube's Most Pirated Broadcast TV Network; Chinese hackers attacking US computers daily, congressman says; China Detains Building Chief in TV Complex Blaze; Doomed: why Wikipedia will fail; Twitter and status updating

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THE ECONOMY


NEXT CHALLENGE ON STIMULUS: SPENDING ALL THAT MONEY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Stephen Power, Neil King Jr]
President Barack Obama plans to rely heavily on agencies like the Energy Department to approve contracts and issue loan guarantees and grants at a record clip in the $789 billion stimulus plan. But there are signs that parts of the federal bureaucracy will need an overhaul to handle the huge workload heading their way. An obscure Commerce Department office with a $19 million budget and fewer than 20 grant officers could end up in charge of $7 billion in grants to expand Internet access in rural areas. A Congressional Budget Office report said it could take eight years for those grants to be issued because the amount of money would "far exceed" the agency's traditional budget and require the deployment of technology that is "not widely available today."
http://benton.org/node/22064
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BROADBAND, HEALTH IT, AND SMART ELECTRIC GRID REMAIN PART OF STIMULUS PACKAGE
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee]
On February 12, 2009, House and Senate conferees approved the economic recovery package. The House Commerce Committee released summaries on the health care, broadband, and energy provisions. 1) On broadband: The bill would create a new Broadband Technology Opportunities Program within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration ("NTIA") of the Department of Commerce. The new grant program will distribute $4.7 billion to fund the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved and underseved areas in the country, and to help facilitate broadband use and adoption. An additional $2.5 billion in loans and grants will be administered by the Rural Utilities Service. The Federal Communications Commission is required to develop a national broadband plan within one year. 2) On energy: The legislation will jumpstart smart grid demonstration projects in geographically diverse urban, suburban, tribal, and rural areas. Federal matching grants for smart grid technology will increase from 20% to 50%. Grantees will be required to utilize open protocols and standards when available and lessons learned during demonstration projects will be available to help others to deploy smart grid infrastructure. The bill provides $4.5 billion for this effort. 3) On Health Information Technology: This bill promotes the use of health information technology (health IT), such as electronic health records, by: requiring the government to take a leadership role to develop standards by 2010 that allow for the nationwide electronic exchange and use of health information to improve the quality and coordination of care; investing $19 billion in health information technology infrastructure and Medicare and Medicaid incentives to encourage doctors, hospitals, and other providers to use health IT to electronically exchange patients' health information; and strengthening federal privacy and security law to protect identifiable health information from misuse and abuse as the health care sector increases use of health IT.
http://benton.org/node/22054
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BROADBAND TAX CREDITS DROPPED FROM STIMULUS BILL
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Kim Dixon]
Tax credits for high-speed Internet that could have benefited Verizon Communications Inc were cut from a compromise on the nearly $800 billion economic stimulus bill that lawmakers will vote on this week.Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat and chairman of the Senate's commerce committee, supported the tax credits but was unable to get them into the final package, which still needs to be voted on by the House and Senate. Remaining in the bill is more than $7 billion in spending for building out broadband in unserved and underserved areas, likely to be doled out in grants. Public interest groups fear that tax incentives not backed by accountability would fund investment likely to occur anyway. Verizon and AT&T Inc were most likely to gain from the tax credit approach, analysts said. Smaller telecom companies -- such as Embarq Corp, Windstream Corp, CenturyTel Inc and United States Cellular Corp -- have promoted grants.
http://benton.org/node/22053
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CRITICS CALL BROADBAND PROGRAM 'RUSHED'
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Andrew Feinberg]
House Republicans and conservative watchdog groups met at the National Press Club Thursday morning to air their grievances about the economic stimulus bill that they predicted would be wasteful and ineffective at jump-starting an economic recovery. The broadband stimulus program should be a separate measure entirely, said Citizens Against Government Waste President Thomas Schatz. Holding up an article in Thursday's Washington Post, Schatz singled out as an extreme example of waste the House language allocating $1.8 billion to the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service program. That money had been cut from the version of the bill that passed the Senate on Tuesday, however, and replaced with a broadband fund of up to $6.65 billion. Additionally, the Senate-passed version calls for up to $350 million for broadband mapping, and $100 million in loans and grants for broadband in rural areas. Referring to the $1.8 billion in RUS funding that had been in the House version of the stimulus, Schatz said it was equal to what the agency had received for broadband over the last six years.
http://benton.org/node/22052
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TURNING BILLIONS OF BROADBAND INVESTMENT INTO TRILLIONS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] Michael Curri, a broadband economist, says that for every dollar invested in broadband the economy realizes a tenfold return. So if we can enable $50 billion in investment, that means the economy will see a boost of $500 billion. And that number could be higher as that 10x multiplier refers to broadband in general not next-generation broadband specifically. With more capacity businesses, individuals, and institutions can do more things more quickly and more efficiently, so that 10x could be much higher for next-generation broadband. Taking this one step further, if we were to create a $5 billion fast-track partial loan guarantee program for which all communities were eligible we could distribute $125 billion in partial guarantees enabling $250 billion in investment, enough to wire the whole country with at least one next-generation broadband network. We're now talking about $2.5-5 trillion of economic growth. Talk about a good investment!
http://benton.org/node/22051
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ECONOMISTS MISSING FROM CABLE NEWS STIMULUS DEBATE
[SOURCE: Media Matters for America, AUTHOR: ]
A study of Sunday talk shows and 12 cable news programs from January 25 through February 8 found that few economists have been given time on television to talk about the economic recovery plan. During 139 1/2 hours of programming in which the economic recovery legislation was discussed, economists made 25 guest appearances out of a total of 460 -- only 5 percent.
http://benton.org/node/22050
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THE TRANSITION


SENATOR GREGG WITHDRAWS AS OBAMA COMMERCE PICK
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky, Richard Cowan]
Sen Judd Gregg (R-NH) said on Thursday he was withdrawing as President Barack Obama's nominee to be Commerce secretary because of political differences. He said he pulled out because of disagreements with the President over issues including the economic stimulus package and the country's census, which the Commerce Department would be responsible for implementing. In a news conference, Gregg apologized for a decision he said he realized was "unfair in many ways." "I just realized it wouldn't be a good fit," Sen Gregg said, adding that it "would be a bigger mistake" to stay. "He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the President's agenda," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. Gregg's withdrawal could prompt Obama to reconsider Silicon Valley executive John Thompson to head the commerce department.
http://benton.org/node/22049
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OBAMA NEARS FTC PICKS
[SOURCE: TheDeal.com, AUTHOR: Cecile Kohrs Lindell]
The Obama administration has not yet named a chairman for the Federal Trade Commission, despite the widespread expectation among Washington antitrust lawyers that the agency's sole Democrat, Jon Leibowitz, will get the job any day now. There's also another commissioner vacancy the administration will have to fill, but so far, no names have emerged as front-runners for that slot. In the meantime, antitrust lawyers Thursday said there's a rumor that Leibowitz may pick Rich Feinstein to head the FTC's Bureau of Competition, which investigates mergers.
http://benton.org/node/22048
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SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE RE-ORGANIZATION
[SOURCE: US Senate Commerce Committee]
John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison announced today the new Commerce Subcommittees for the 111th Congress: 1) Communications and Technology Chair: Senator John Kerry, Ranking: Senator John Ensign. 2) Science and Space Chair: Senator Bill Nelson, Ranking: Senator David Vitter. 3) Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion Chair: Senator Amy Klobuchar, Ranking: Senator Mel Martinez. In addition the Committee adopted rules that will make it easier to issue subpoenas. Apparently, under the new rules, the chairman and the ranking member can make the decision together to issue a subpoena if they want to investigate something.
http://benton.org/node/22047
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WE MUST MAKE GOOD ON THE PROMISE OF ACCESS TO BROADBAND FOR EVERYONE
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sen John Kerry (D-MA)]
[Commentary] It is even clearer now than it was five years ago that statements alone won't finish the job of expanding access to broadband. Instead, the nation that invented the Internet has steadily slipped in global broadband ranking. We face this challenge because the "laissez-faire" strategy that has proven effective for deploying broadband in densely populated areas has also left behind too much of rural America. Today's broadband challenge requires a laser-like focus from the federal government. We need a national strategy to get broadband Internet speeds into every American household, and it will require the federal government to partner with the private sector to get it done. President Obama has made it clear that broadband deployment is a priority for his administration, and that he sees it as a job creator. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act for starters includes several billion dollars in grants and loans to build broadband infrastructure. This is a good start, but much more remains to be done. We need to look at every available tool for providing broadband access to all Americans. We need to look closely at the Universal Service Fund to determine how the nearly $7 billion in annual cross-subsidies can be best used in a world where communications technology is increasingly dependent on the Internet. And we need to examine our national spectrum policy to determine whether we can encourage innovation in wireless broadband development in a more efficient way. Finally, we need to make sure that we are promoting an Internet that is open, transparent, and does not discriminate with respect to how consumers use it within the confines of the law.
http://benton.org/node/22046
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BOUCHER: BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT WILL BE PRIORITY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
House Communications, Technology & Internet Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) says that broadband deployment will be his priority as head of the subcommittee, and will push for requiring satellite companies to carry all local TV stations. said the good news is that the stimulus package contains about $6.9 billion for broadband deployment. He said that for the sake of the economy, the country needs to increase broadband deployment, particularly in rural areas. Chairman Boucher said his first hearing as chairman would be on reauthorization of the Satellite Home Viewer Act, which allows satellite companies to import distant network signals to viewers who cannot receive a similar local signal. Chairman Boucher said that, as part of that reauthorization, he would like to require that satellite operators carry local TV stations in all markets, including the 30, mostly rural, markets, where satellite operators do not carry the local stations. He also said he would be overseeing the National Telecommunications & Information Administration and Rural Development Agency as they hand out the broadband grant money in the economic stimulus package, which is expected to be passed next week.
http://benton.org/node/22045
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PRIVACY


FTC EXTENDS PRIVACY GUIDELINES TO MOBILES, ISPs
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Diane Bartz]
The Federal Trade Commission extended guidelines for how websites collect, save and share information about their visitors to Internet service providers and mobile providers, saying those customers should also be able to protect their personal information. The FTC has urged that websites tell consumers that data is being collected during their searches and to allow them to opt out. Now that same guidance is directed at mobile companies and Internet service providers. "You may have a contract with your ISP and everywhere you go, they can be collecting information on you," said Jessica Rich, the FTC's assistant director in the division of privacy and identity protection. There are few US laws about the collection and use of data from the Internet, with exceptions for instances where firms fail to live up to advertised promises to protect privacy, or fail to deliver an expected level of data protection. One of the four FTC commissioners who approved the report, Jon Leibowitz, warned that the industry's failure to safeguard the public's privacy could lead to a tougher federal position.
http://benton.org/node/22044
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BOUCHER, STEARNS WORKING ON ONLINE PRIVACY BILL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) and ranking Member Cliff Stearns (R-FL) are working on a bill that will "assure a higher level of [online] privacy protection" for online surfers, by establishing an opt-in model for collecting Web surfing information for marketing purposes. The goal is actually to expand electronic commerce dramatically, which he thinks will happen if "American consumers of products and services using the Internet as a delivery platform can be assured of a higher level of privacy with respect to their personal information."
http://benton.org/node/22043
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BROADCASTING


FCC ALLOWS 368 STATIONS TO CEASE ANALOG BROADCASTS ON FEB 17
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission has said that 368 TV stations will be allowed to pull the plug on analog Feb. 17 (out of 491 that asked to do so). Of those 368, 100 said they planned to keep running their analog transmitters for at least two weeks past Feb. 17 for DTV and emergency information. The FCC also said those other 123 stations won't be able to unless certain conditions are met, including that someone in the market remains on in analog for 60 days past Feb. 17 with local news, public affairs, DTV and emergency information, or what the FCC is calling enhanced nightlight service. That means that either the stations have to remain on in analog until mid-April, or find someone else in the market to do so, and one with a local news operation. That enhanced nightlight programming can include advertising, which makes it different from the analog nightlight service approved for several weeks after the hard date, which is now June 12.
http://benton.org/node/22042
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DTV DELAY NOW LAW, BUT CONFUSION STILL PERSISTS OVER 700 MHZ
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Kevin Fitchard]
President Obama may have signed DTV delay legislation late Wednesday, but the issue is far from settled. Many broadcasters are opting to make the cutover early, which could free up spectrum all over the country for 700 MHz license holders to deploy mobile broadband and TV services before the summer. That move has raised the ire of the Federal Communications Commission, which is forcing some broadcasters to keep transmitting a portion of their programming until the new deadline. The stations are scattered throughout the country, and at first glance the early cutoff would appear to be good news for the 700 MHz license holders targeting the spectrum for new mobile services. But the patchwork distribution of networks going off air does little good for companies planning nationwide rollouts. Qualcomm is trying to clear spectrum in four key markets—Boston, Houston, Miami and San Francisco—where broadcasters transmitting at Channel 55 or neighboring channels prevent it from launching its FLO TV mobile video service. Of the stations on those bands in those four markets, only one is making the cutover early.
http://benton.org/node/22041
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ADVERTISING


ALCOHOL, SEX ADS GET PRIME TV TIME
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Alana Semuels]
The airwaves are getting more grown-up, and it's not just the shows. The Absolut Vodka commercials that aired in Los Angeles and 14 other cities during Sunday night's Grammy Awards marked the first time in years that liquor ads ran in prime time on network-owned stations. Also crowding the airwaves during heavy viewing hours are infomercials once reserved for the middle of the night and ads touting extramarital affairs and the intimate uses of K-Y Jelly. As the recession takes its toll on firms that rely on advertising, TV stations aren't the only companies running ads once considered inappropriate. In recent months, the NBA rescinded a ban on courtside advertising by liquor companies. Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. did the same for ads they run on their websites. Billboard operators have allowed more strip clubs to hawk their establishments on roadside signs. "When you have the evaporation of advertising revenue, you have to look for new and creative ways of getting sellers in the door," said Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council. "It's coming in the way of adult-themed products and content."
http://benton.org/node/22062
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INTERNET/BROADBAND


WHAT DOES BROADBAND POLICY MEAN FOR MUSICIANS?
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Julian Sanchez]
The Future of Music Coalition held its annual Policy Day in Washington (DC) bringing together the wonks who are regular fixtures in DC tech policy circles with the artists and entrepreneurs who are actually producing all this "innovation" that good tech policy is supposed to promote. Genuinely open and collaborative many-to-many networks and collaborative folk cultural production processes all run contrary to the interests of people in the bread-and-circuses business... the ones who, as Hank Shocklee (Public Enemy, Shocklee Entertainment) put it, are hoping to "sell you a pill to make you feel like yourself." It sounds a bit conspiratorial when put that bluntly, but it amounts to little more than the simple market observation that truly broad, participatory creativity constitutes competition: If it's a threat to the business model when people pirate songs instead of buying them, it's no less a threat when they get together to make their own music instead of consuming someone else's. That's not to say telecoms or content industries are engaged in a conscious campaign to stamp out creativity, like the villains in some Grant Morrison comic. But there's a case to be made that it's the upshot of their efforts.
http://benton.org/node/22040
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MOBILE GROUPS THREATENED WITH BANDWIDTH AUCTION
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: John O'Doherty]
Vodafone and O2, the mobile phone groups, could be forced to give up some of their most valuable bandwidth, as part of the government's plan for all homes to have broadband Internet access by 2012. Under proposals published on Friday Ofcom, the industry regulator, O2, which is owned by Spain's Telefónica, and Vodafone would be forced to relinquish part of the 900MHz spectrum which is suitable for transmitting much larger packets of data such as video and Internet services. Ofcom proposes to auction the freshly relinquished bands of spectrum to other operators who would use the spectrum for new services. A similar proposal by Ofcom to auction valuable spectrum owned by Vodafone and O2 in 2007 to rivals T-Mobile and Orange was opposed by the mobile groups. The government's plan for universal broadband are premised on the mobile operators providing wireless Internet access in remote areas, where it is too expensive to provide fixed-line broadband. Separately, the government is talking to mobile phone operators to see if they can agree an industry-led compromise.
http://benton.org/node/22060
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OFCOM FILLIP FOR BT NETWORK
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Parker, Ben Fenton]
The chances of BT spending £1.5bn on a superfast broadband network have increased substantially after the telecoms regulator said its rules would not prevent the telecoms operator from securing an adequate return on its investment. Ed Richards, chief executive of Ofcom, told the FT the planned regulatory regime for BT's network would not be an "obstacle". Since unveiling plans for its superfast fixed-line broadband network in July, BT has insisted they are conditional on its ability to make a sufficient return. "Regulation will not be a barrier to this kind of investment," said Richards, adding that Ofcom would publish its planned rules next month. "I am confident we will lay out a regulatory framework which will clearly enable companies to be free to make a return which justifies the investment they are making." His statement came as BT reported a 74 per cent fall in pre-tax profit for the third quarter because of severe problems at its unit serving the telecoms needs of multinationals.
http://benton.org/node/22059
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TELECOM INDUSTRY FACES MOMENT OF TRUTH
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Georgina Prodhan]
The world's mobile telecom industry will gather in the Spanish city of Barcelona next week, hoping to find ways to outwit the downturn, powerful new rivals and software developers threatening to steal their thunder. Mobile World Congress, the phone industry's biggest annual gathering, comes on the heels of a season of miserable 2008 results reports dominated by lowered profit outlooks, deep job cuts and slashed capital spending. The mobile phone sector is grappling with formidable new rivals from the computer industry and web such as Google and Apple who have been faster to realize the potential of the convergence of phone and Internet features. This year, a host of PC makers will join the fray. Taiwanese notebook manufacturers Acer and netbook pioneer Asustek are poised to debut new smartphones, and speculation is rife that PC maker Dell is also looking to revamp itself as a phone maker.
http://benton.org/node/22061
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QUICKLY


SIRIUS XM, ERGEN MOVE CLOSER TO A RESCUE DEAL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Matthew Karnitschnig]
Sirius XM Radio has significantly narrowed the divide in talks with satellite mogul Charles Ergen over a deal to save the company from a bankruptcy filing. But the country's sole satellite-radio operator continues to discuss a rival offer from Liberty Media Inc., according to people familiar with the situation. While the gap between what Mr. Ergen has proposed and Sirius has asked for is narrow, the two sides haven't reached agreement yet on other, nonfinancial issues, these people said. Mr. Ergen is prepared to let Sirius Chief Executive Mel Karmazin keep his job. The battle for Sirius has pitted Messrs. Ergen and Karmazin and John Malone, the billionaire who controls Liberty, against one another in a high-stakes game of brinksmanship. Known as three of the media world's biggest personalities, the men have played major roles in the evolution of cable and satellite television, have long known each other and often clashed.
http://benton.org/node/22063
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REPORT: NEW FAIRNESS DOCTRINE WOULD FACE HIGH LEGAL HURDLE
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
Is Congress going to introduce a bill calling for the restoration of the Fairness Doctrine? Dark predictions continue to emanate from various experts auguring an attempt to revive it. But according to the Library of Congress' Thomas guide on Congressional action, the only active Fairness Doctrine-related bills in the House and Senate would bar the Federal Communications Commission from ever bringing the policy back again.
http://benton.org/node/22039
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RADIO ROYALTY OPPOSITION GAINS STEAM
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Andrew Noyes]
Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) on Thursday took a swipe at legislation unveiled last week by House and Senate Judiciary Committee leaders that would end a long-standing music royalty exemption granted to AM and FM stations by introducing a resolution urging Congress not to impose "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local radio. Green's resolution, which is supported by the National Association of Broadcasters, already has the backing of 110 cosponsors -- double the number he had when the measure was introduced in the 110th Congress. He eventually gathered more than 220 supporters last year. If the House royalty bill, which is sponsored by Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, makes it through his committee and onto the floor, Green said he hopes he will have enough supporters to vote it down.
http://benton.org/node/22038
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CHARTER REACHES DEAL WITH BONDERHOLDERS, WILL FILE FOR CHAPTER 11
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Mike Farrell]
After months of speculation, Charter Communications said Thursday that it has reached a deal in principle with certain debtholders in a restructuring that will reduce its debt by $8 billion and result in the St. Louis-based MSO filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. Analysts have been waiting on a Chapter 11 filing for months.
http://benton.org/node/22037
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GOOGLE SCRAPS BROADCAST RADIO AD BUSINESS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Alexei Oreskovic]
Google said on Thursday that it plans to sell its Radio Automation business, which created software to automate broadcast radio programing, and phase out its Audio Ads service. The move will likely result in up to 40 people being laid off, Google said.
http://benton.org/node/22036
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UNIVISION: YOUTUBE'S MOST PIRATED BROADCAST TV NETWORK
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Laurel Wentz]
Protecting shows from piracy on YouTube is an obsession for some TV networks, but Univision Communications' efforts haven't been able to thwart a booming market for its illegally uploaded content. The Spanish-language TV network is the most-pirated U.S. broadcast network on YouTube, with mostly clips of blockbuster telenovelas drawing more than twice as many views as Univision's nearest network competitor, Fox.
http://benton.org/node/22035
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CHINESE HACKERS ATTACKING US COMPUTERS DAILY, CONGRESSMAN SAYS
[SOURCE: Bloomberg News, AUTHOR: ]
Chinese government and freelance hackers are the primary culprits behind as many as several hundred daily attacks against U.S. government, electric-utility and financial computer networks, a senior congressman said. "Sophisticated hackers could really wreak havoc on our financial systems if they were successful," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss) said. The threat is "primarily from China." While cyber plots to disrupt U.S. computer networks have been thwarted, significant vulnerabilities exist, said Rep Thompson.
http://benton.org/node/22058
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CHINA DETAINS BUILDING CHIEF IN TV COMPLEX BLAZE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Sharon LaFraniere]
In a spate of arrests announced Thursday, Beijing officials put the blame for a Monday fire that destroyed part of the government's spectacular new media complex squarely on the shoulders of the state-run television network. The police detained 12 people, including the chief of construction for the new headquarters of China Central Television, or CCTV, and eight employees of the firm the broadcaster hired to put on an illegal fireworks show that the authorities said ignited the blaze. The fire gutted a nearly completed 520-foot-high futuristic hotel that was part of CCTV's new $1.1 billion headquarters, sometimes described as an architectural symbol of China's rising power. One firefighter died, and seven people were injured.
http://benton.org/node/22057
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DOOMED: WHY WIKIPEDIA WILL FAIL
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
Law professor Eric Goldman loves Wikipedia, but he's also convinced that the site contains the "seeds of its own destruction." In other words, not to put too fine a point upon it, Wikipedia will fail. Goldman made his provocative point at the Silicon Flatirons conference this weekend in Boulder, Colorado. In Goldman's view, the very popularity of the site stands in tension with its goal of radical openness. The freely editable nature of Wikipedia has made it a canvas upon which vandals, spammers, and pranksters can paint at will.
http://benton.org/node/22034
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TWITTER AND STATUS UPDATING
[SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: Amanda Lenhart, Susannah Fox ]
As of December 2008, 11% of online American adults said they used a service like Twitter or another service that allowed them to share updates about themselves or to see the updates of others. Twitter and similar services have been most avidly embraced by young adults. Nearly one in five (19%) online adults ages 18 and 24 have ever used Twitter and its ilk, as have 20% of online adults 25 to 34. Use of these services drops off steadily after age 35 with 10% of 35 to 44 year olds and 5% of 45 to 54 year olds using Twitter. The decline is even more stark among older Internet users; 4% of 55-64 year olds and 2% of those 65 and older use Twitter. The use of Twitter is highly intertwined with the use of other social media; both blogging and social network use increase the likelihood than an individual also uses Twitter.
http://benton.org/node/22033
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Next Challenge on Stimulus: Spending All That Money

President Barack Obama plans to rely heavily on agencies like the Energy Department to approve contracts and issue loan guarantees and grants at a record clip in the $789 billion stimulus plan. But there are signs that parts of the federal bureaucracy will need an overhaul to handle the huge workload heading their way. An obscure Commerce Department office with a $19 million budget and fewer than 20 grant officers could end up in charge of $7 billion in grants to expand Internet access in rural areas. A Congressional Budget Office report said it could take eight years for those grants to be issued because the amount of money would "far exceed" the agency's traditional budget and require the deployment of technology that is "not widely available today."

Sirius XM, Ergen Move Closer to a Rescue Deal

Sirius XM Radio has significantly narrowed the divide in talks with satellite mogul Charles Ergen over a deal to save the company from a bankruptcy filing. But the country's sole satellite-radio operator continues to discuss a rival offer from Liberty Media Inc., according to people familiar with the situation. While the gap between what Mr. Ergen has proposed and Sirius has asked for is narrow, the two sides haven't reached agreement yet on other, nonfinancial issues, these people said. Mr. Ergen is prepared to let Sirius Chief Executive Mel Karmazin keep his job. The battle for Sirius has pitted Messrs. Ergen and Karmazin and John Malone, the billionaire who controls Liberty, against one another in a high-stakes game of brinksmanship. Known as three of the media world's biggest personalities, the men have played major roles in the evolution of cable and satellite television, have long known each other and often clashed.

Alcohol, sex ads get prime TV time

The airwaves are getting more grown-up, and it's not just the shows. The Absolut Vodka commercials that aired in Los Angeles and 14 other cities during Sunday night's Grammy Awards marked the first time in years that liquor ads ran in prime time on network-owned stations. Also crowding the airwaves during heavy viewing hours are infomercials once reserved for the middle of the night and ads touting extramarital affairs and the intimate uses of K-Y Jelly. As the recession takes its toll on firms that rely on advertising, TV stations aren't the only companies running ads once considered inappropriate. In recent months, the NBA rescinded a ban on courtside advertising by liquor companies. Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. did the same for ads they run on their websites. Billboard operators have allowed more strip clubs to hawk their establishments on roadside signs. "When you have the evaporation of advertising revenue, you have to look for new and creative ways of getting sellers in the door," said Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council. "It's coming in the way of adult-themed products and content."

Telecom industry faces moment of truth

The world's mobile telecom industry will gather in the Spanish city of Barcelona next week, hoping to find ways to outwit the downturn, powerful new rivals and software developers threatening to steal their thunder. Mobile World Congress, the phone industry's biggest annual gathering, comes on the heels of a season of miserable 2008 results reports dominated by lowered profit outlooks, deep job cuts and slashed capital spending. The mobile phone sector is grappling with formidable new rivals from the computer industry and web such as Google and Apple who have been faster to realize the potential of the convergence of phone and Internet features. This year, a host of PC makers will join the fray. Taiwanese notebook manufacturers Acer and netbook pioneer Asustek are poised to debut new smartphones, and speculation is rife that PC maker Dell is also looking to revamp itself as a phone maker.

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