February 2009

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2009

The Digital Broadband Migration: Imagining the Internet's Future (http://www.benton.org/node/20681) begins Sunday. For all of next week's events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar/2009-02-08--P1W

THE ECONOMY
   Bipartisan Push to Trim Size of Stimulus Plan; Rural Broadband on the Chopping Block
   CBO: The full $6B earmarked for broadband might not be spent until 2016
   Senate Scales Back Broadband Tax Breaks; New Focus on Unserved, Rural Areas
   Snowe Introduces Amendments To Senate's Economic Stimulus Package
   Internet companies vying for stimulus
   A Plan to Extend Super-fast Broadband Connections to All Americans
   Interoperability: the great enabler
   Obama's Preemptive TV Strike to Hurt Broadcasters
   North Carolina lawmakers debate using industry-backed info on broadband access
   Building a better broadband map
   Recession Can Change a Way of Life

DIGITAL TELEVISION
   Share Your Comments on The DTV Delay Act of 2009
   5.8 Million Homes Still Unready For DTV: Nielsen
   News from FCC Hearing on the Digital Television Transition
   DTV Leaves Some Hawaiians in the Dark

QUICKLY -- Cerf, Google's 'Chief Internet Evangelist', sees bigger, faster Web; Playing violent video games has risks; Ars Technica's tech policy "People to Watch" 2009; New radio "pay to play" bills pit RIAA against broadcasters; Palin rails against 'anonymous, pathetic bloggers'; Can Social Media Save Lives?; Why Facebook wants you to have 100,000 friends; Apple, AT&T Face Multiple iPhone Lawsuits; Google and Amazon to Put More Books on Cellphones; Lawsuit alleges Netflix, Wal-Mart acted improperly

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THE ECONOMY

BIPARTISAN PUSH TO TRIM SIZE OF STIMULUS PLAN; RURAL BROADBAND ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Herszenhorn]
A bipartisan group of senators worked furiously in backroom negotiations on Thursday to cut the cost of the more than $920 billion economic stimulus plan. Senate Democratic leaders said they would await the outcome of those talks before calling for a final vote on the measure, perhaps on Friday. The group has drafted a list of nearly $90 billion in cuts, including $40 billion in aid for states, more than $14 billion for various education programs, $4.1 billion to make federal buildings energy efficient and $1.5 billion for broadband Internet service in rural areas. They say they want to trim provisions that would not quickly create jobs or encourage spending by consumers and businesses. Additional items on the chopping block: $39.8 billion for state education departments to shore up school budgets. $14 billion for education programs, including special education and Head Start. $9.5 billion for Energy Department programs, including an environmental cleanup fund. $6.5 billion for space exploration, science programs and grants for local crime-fighting efforts.
http://benton.org/node/21721
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CBO: THE FULL $6B EARMARKED FOR BROADBAND MIGHT NOT BE SPENT UNTIL 2016
[SOURCE: RCR Wireless News, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Silva]
A big chunk of the billions of dollars earmarked in economic recovery bills for broadband grants for wireless and other service providers likely will not make it into the private sector anytime soon, raising questions about the intended stimulus effect. The Congressional Budget Office says that because the new appropriations would far exceed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's 2009 funding of $17 million and require grant recipients provide 20% of the project's cost from non-federal sources, it could take as long as seven years to spend the broadband funds. In its review of House-passed stimulus legislation, the CBO projected that much of the $6 billion in broadband grants geared to underserved and unserved areas will be spent between 2012 and 2016.
http://benton.org/node/21706
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SENATE SCALES BACK BROADBAND TAX BREAKS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Saul Hansell, David Herszenhorn]
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) is proposing changes to provisions of the stimulus plan meant to encourage the deployment of high-speed Internet service. Sen Rockefeller's amendment would offer credits for broadband service to rural areas and places that have no high-speed Internet access at all. The credit would be 40 percent for service that is 100 megabits per second or better and 30 percent for slower service that is at least 5 megabits per second. The amendment also allows wireless data service allowing downloads at a minimum of 6 megabits per second to qualify for the 40 percent credit; wireless service of 3 megabits per second or more, would qualify for the 30 percent credit. There would no longer be any tax break for Internet service to low-income areas. Some analysts had noted that since Verizon has already agreed to bring FiOS to low-income neighborhoods in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., it might well get a tax break under the original bill for investments it had already planned to make.
http://benton.org/node/21720
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SNOWE INTRODUCES AMENDMENTS TO SENATE'S ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) has introduced a couple of amendments to the Senate version of the economic stimulus package that, among other things, boosts tax credits and ensures private companies, not just public-private partnerships, qualify for broadband build-out grants and makes sure the National Telecommunications and Information Administration spreads the money around. The amendments would boost the tax credit from for investment in next generation equipment from 20% to 30%, and for current generation equipment from 10% to 20% in underserved areas and from 20% to 30% in unserved areas. It also adds a new 25% tax credit for investment in "intermediadate" service of 50 mbps downstream and 5 Mbps upstream (the bill defines unserved as no wireline broadband and underserved areas as ones with no more than one service offering 5 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream). Sen Snowe's amendments also directs the NTIA, which would administer the broadband grant program, to "seek to promote economic opportunity, avoid excessive concentration of service, and disseminate grants among a wide variety of applicants."
http://benton.org/node/21704
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INTERNET COMPANIES VYING FOR STIMULUS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Kim Dixon]
Wireless and Internet service companies are looking to cash in as lawmakers hash out a $900 billion stimulus plan aimed at jump-starting the souring economy. Nearly $10 billion in federal grants and loans and $100 million in tax credits could be spent extending high-speed Internet access to rural areas and poor neighborhoods, a goal outlined by President Barack Obama during his campaign. Public interest groups say it is laudable the government is trying to help the poor while creating jobs but that a poorly implemented program could smack of corporate welfare. "Even though we support tax credits, we don't want them to 'incentivize' investments that would have taken place otherwise," said Derek Turner, research director at the public interest group Free Press. "We won't be creating new jobs and we'll just be paying for current investment." In determining which companies benefit most from the stimulus incentives, much will depend on interpretations of words like "open access," "underserved" and "unserved." The language in the stimulus bill is vague in some cases and fails to define key terms.
http://benton.org/node/21707
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A PLAN TO EXTEND SUPER-FAST BROADBAND CONNECTIONS TO ALL AMERICANS
[SOURCE: Century Foundation, AUTHOR: John Windhausen, Jr]
Broadband technologies are fast becoming the cornerstone of economic growth in the twenty-first century. America needs a comprehensive federal policy to promote broadband development and use. But there is no silver bullet that will solve America's broadband woes. The problems are too complex, and the marketplace too diverse, to adopt a "one-size-fits-all" approach. The United States needs a holistic strategy that includes a variety of tools, including both "carrots" and "sticks." There are four areas of need that the government must address in order ensure that our broadband infrastructure meets our future needs. The first step must be to embark on a significant effort to provide government "seed" funding to build high-capacity broadband networks across the country. The U.S. government should ensure that everyone has access to this essential technology, especially people in rural, inner city, and unprofitable areas. If the United States is going to make this investment, it must do so with a long-range view. This calls for a national strategy to build broadband networks with large enough capacity to handle a minimum of 100 mbps, and perhaps faster. Building such networks would allow us to leap-frog many other countries and allow the United States to reclaim its position as a world leader in broadband connectivity.
http://benton.org/node/21705
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INTEROPERABILITY: THE GREAT ENABLER
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Michael Schrage]
Global financial markets are in disarray but prospects for innovation in the real economy have never been more robust. Innovations once crafted to stand alone are increasingly built to work together, or "interoperate". The interoperability quotient, or IQ, of discrete components and systems to influence constructively the behavior of other systems and components increasingly determines economic value. A low IQ indicates innovation destined to underachieve. Playing well with others, not just ingenuity, has become the new standard for innovation excellence. Look no further than the Internet for the inspiration for interoperable innovation. The misunderstood genius of the Internet is that interoperability makes "networks of networks" possible. Protocols permitting diverse data to mingle creatively explain why the Internet's influence as a multimedia, multifunctional and multidisciplinary environment for innovation remains unsurpassed. While trend should never be confused with destiny, interoperability potentially offers the best of both innovation worlds: a medium that gives scientific breakthroughs the opportunity to connect with other disciplines and a method for exploring more combinations more quickly and cheaply. That is a recipe for economic growth in difficult times.
http://benton.org/node/21717
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OBAMA'S PREEMPTIVE STRIKE TO HURT BROADCASTERS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Lisa de Moraes]
President Barack Obama will hold a news conference Monday. It's expected to eat up the first hour of prime time; that alone could cost broadcasters more than $9 million in lost ad revenue. "Notice they're not going on Friday or Saturday," one network exec complained. "They're . . . preempting our better shows. You're not happy to lose a 'House' if you are Fox, or two of the better comedies at CBS, or 'The Bachelor' at ABC -- we're all going to take a bath." President Obama is also mulling a shorter prime-time appearance Feb. 16 tied to the economic stimulus package. Even if Obama speaks for only about 15 minutes, that's an ad break that the networks won't get back, adding to their losses. And White House officials have said that on Feb. 24, Obama will address a joint session of Congress to give the equivalent of a two-hour State of the Union speech. Although the broadcast networks can opt out of carrying these presidential appearances, "you don't want to incur the wrath of the White House" because "if you're on the [poop] list, you are last in line for interviews and things like that," one network exec explained. But besides the economic hit, broadcasters are worried that this kind of shock-and-awe approach to prime-time preempting might be part of an Obama strategy to charm his way to a new economic-rescue plan. "As we're meeting this guy, from a network perspective, it's like, 'Is this part of the plan for him?' " the network exec said. "Is this what it's going to be: Is he going to take to the airwaves every time he has something to say?"
http://benton.org/node/21719
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NORTH CAROLINA LAWMAKERS DEBATE USING INDUSTRY-BACKED INFO ON BROADBAND ACCESS
[SOURCE: IndyWeek.com, AUTHOR: Fiona Morgan]
If North Carolina receives federal monies to fund rural broadband service, the state will need to know who currently has access and who doesn't. The state's current data, provided by the communications companies, excludes rural communities that face "entrenched poverty," because those areas are lumped with nearby metro areas that do have access. "If we can't narrow the area of no-service to census block areas, we can't target the pockets of poor minority folks who don't have it," says State Rep. Angela Bryant. As the House Select Committee on High-Speed Internet Access in Rural Areas wrapped up its work at a Jan. 27 meeting, Bryant and other lawmakers continued to debate the role Connected Nation, an industry-backed initiative, should play in mapping household Internet access. The key issue is whether the state should base its policy—and spend federal broadband dollars—on the information the industry provides, or whether it should collect its own independently verifiable data. North Carolina already has e-NC Authority, which functions as part of state government. In 2001, it undertook one of the first statewide broadband maps in the country. The organization also gives matching incentive grants to encourage the industry to build in the state's most under-served areas. According to e-NC's 2007 report, 83 percent of North Carolina households have access to DSL, cable or other wire line broadband services, slightly fewer than in 2006. But e-NC's maps are also based on data the industry provides. And because the authority agrees to protect confidentiality at the industry's request, its maps are often incomplete. Its statewide report averages access by county. The interactive map on its Web site has holes throughout Orange, Chatham and Wake counties that say "data proprietary." Worse, AT&T has stalled on providing that data to e-NC while supporting Connected Nation.
http://benton.org/node/21703
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BUILDING A BETTER BROADBAND MAP
[SOURCE: IndyWeek.com, AUTHOR: Fiona Morgan]
Windows on the World e-Community Development Corporation (WOW e-CDC), based in Roper (NC), worked with Elizabeth City State University to produce a study of broadband availability in 21 northeastern counties in North Carolina, surveying residents and checking utility poles and switching stations instead of relying on the data provided by Internet service companies. WOW Executive Director Bunny Sanders said the $30,000 study, funded with state money, showed 10 percent to 20 percent more households did not have broadband access than were reported by e-NC which makes its maps based on the data shared by Internet service providers. Many of those private companies are willing to share that data only under conditions of confidentiality—they say they need to keep the data out of the hands of competitors. That leaves gaps in the maps.
http://benton.org/node/21718
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RECESSION CAN CHANGE A WAY OF LIFE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Tyler Cowen]
[Commentary] As job losses mount and bailout costs run into the trillions, the social costs of the economic downturn become clearer. The primary question, to be sure, is what can be done to shorten or alleviate these bad times. But there is also a broader set of questions about how this downturn is changing our lives, in ways beyond strict economics. All recessions have cultural and social effects, but in major downturns the changes can be profound. The Great Depression, for example, may be regarded as a social and cultural era as well as an economic one. And the current crisis is also likely to enact changes in various areas, from our entertainment habits to our health. First, consider entertainment. Many studies have shown that when a job is harder to find or less lucrative, people spend more time on self-improvement and relatively inexpensive amusements. During the Depression of the 1930s, that meant listening to the radio and playing parlor and board games, sometimes in lieu of a glamorous night on the town. These stay-at-home tendencies persisted through at least the 1950s. In today's recession, we can also expect to turn to less expensive activities — and maybe to keep those habits for years. They may take the form of greater interest in free content on the Internet and the simple pleasures of a daily walk.
http://benton.org/node/21708
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DIGITAL TELEVISION

SHARE YOUR COMMENTS ON THE DTV DELAY ACT OF 2009
[SOURCE: The White House]
Be the first on your block to comment on legislation before President Obama signs it into law. First up: the DTV Delay Act of 2009 approved by the House on February 4, 2009. The bill delays the transition of television broadcasting from analog to digital to June 13, 2009 while extending -- to July 31, 2009 -- the deadline for requesting digital-to-analog converter box coupons. If you have coupons that have expired, the bill allows the NTIA to issue replacement coupons. The Act does NOT prevent: 1) a station from ending analog broadcasting (and continuing to broadcast exclusively digitally) before June 13, 2009; or 2) a public safety service from beginning operations on spectrum recovered as a result of such voluntary cessation of analog or digital broadcasting. During the campaign, then-candidate Obama promised not to sign a bill before giving the public five days to comment on it -- here's your chance.
http://benton.org/node/21712
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5.8 MILLION HOMES STILL UNREADY FOR DTV: NIELSEN
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Nielsen said Thursday that as of Feb. 1 the number of TV homes unready for the digital transition is now 5.8 million, or about 5.1% of the country. By unready, Nielsen means homes that do not have cable or satellite service, a DTV set or a converter box hooked up, though it concedes some of those households could have the boxes but just not yet hooked up. Minority populations continue to trail in DTV readiness, however, with 8.7% of African-American households unready, 8.5% of Hispanic households unready; and 6.3% of Asian households. Although seniors are considered a high-risk population for DTV education, the over-55 demo continues to lead in readiness, with only 3.2% unprepared compared to 8.6% for those under 35. Albuquerque continues to be the most DTV-challenged market, with 12.63% unready, while Hartford-New Haven is in the best shape with only 1.37% unready.
http://benton.org/node/21711
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FCC HEARING ON THE DIGITAL TELEVISION TRANSITION
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
The Federal Communications Commission met to discuss the progress of the upcoming digital television transition on Thursday. The three FCC commissioner expressed relief over Congress' Wednesday passage of legislation delaying the date of the digital television transition from February 17 to June 12. Chairman Copps said that while Congress wants the FCC to ease the way for stations to switch over, the FCC reserves the right to deny requests from stations to switch to digital-only early "if they do not serve the public interest." FCC Chairman Michael Copps did not present any "grand plan" of action for the next four months, but said that it was still important to "take stock of where we are" and assess what kind of efforts will be necessary to create a "new and effective game plan." Commissioner Robert McDowell expressed concern that the delay until June might confuse some consumers. [much more at the URL]
http://benton.org/node/21710
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DTV LEAVES SOME HAWAIIANS IN THE DARK
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Debra Kaufman]
With most of its population scattered across eight volcanic islands, Hawaii — the Honolulu TV market (DMA 72) — is not an easy place to provide over-the-air TV service. For decades, many residents had to make do with one or two grainy stations. Now, in the wake of the market's Jan. 15 switch to digital broadcasting, perhaps 1,000 homes are getting no signal at all. Hawaii's TV stations have their main transmitters in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, but they also have secondary transmitters on the islands of Maui, Hawaii and Kauai. Broadcasters say changes in the Maui signals are causing most of the trouble. There, the broadcasters moved from multiple towers at the 11,000-foot summit of the Haleakala volcano to a common tower at elevation of just 4,500 feet. The new 191-foot mast has six antennas on it.
http://benton.org/node/21709
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QUICKLY -- Cerf, Google's 'Chief Internet Evangelist', sees bigger, faster Web; Playing violent video games has risks; Ars Technica's tech policy "People to Watch" 2009; New radio "pay to play" bills pit RIAA against broadcasters; Palin rails against 'anonymous, pathetic bloggers'; Can Social Media Save Lives?; Why Facebook wants you to have 100,000 friends; Apple, AT&T Face Multiple iPhone Lawsuits; Google and Amazon to Put More Books on Cellphones; Lawsuit alleges Netflix, Wal-Mart acted improperly

CERF, GOOGLE'S 'CHIEF INTERNET EVANGELIST', SEES BIGGER, FASTER WEB
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Troy Wolverton]
A Q&A with Google's Vint Cerf. He talks about Internet security, Network Neutrality, and the broadband provisions of the stimulus package. [more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/21716
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PLAYING VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES HAS RISKS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Joene Hendry]
Among young college students, the frequency and type of video games played appears to parallel risky drug and alcohol use, poorer personal relationships, and low levels of self-esteem, researchers report. [more at the URL below]
http://benton.org/node/21713
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ARS TECHNICA'S TECH POLICY "PEOPLE TO WATCH" 2009
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
With a new, tech-savvy US administration in power, Ars Technica and Tech Policy Central team up to profile the top names in tech policy for 2009. The envelope please... [see list at URL below]
http://benton.org/node/21702
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NEW RADIO "PAY TO PLAY" BILLS PIT RIAA AGAINST BROADCASTERS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
The "Performance Rights Act" has been introduced in both the House and Senate with the goal of forcing US radio stations to start paying artists whose music is played on the air. Labels are pushing hard for the idea, but radio stations could hardly be more upset. When it comes to music, US "performance rights" law looks like a floodlit monument to inconsistency. Radio stations pay only songwriters for the music they play; recording artists get nothing (except publicity). When music is delivered through webcasting, cable networks, and satellite radio, however, station owners need to pay both songwriters and recording artists. If the law is internally inconsistent, it's also externally inconsistent—most developed nations require radio stations to pay artists. A2IM, which represents indie labels, makes the point by saying, "of world powers, only countries like China, Iran, and North Korea join the US in failing to compensate creators of music when their songs are played on the radio." [more at URL below]
http://benton.org/node/21701
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PALIN RAILS AGAINST 'ANONYMOUS, PATHETIC BLOGGERS'
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Beth Fouhy]
Former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is still mad at media coverage of her candidacy, particularly "anonymous, pathetic bloggers" who she says spread falsehoods about her.
http://benton.org/node/21714
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SOCIAL MEDIA SAVES LIVES
[SOURCE: The Big Money, AUTHOR: Dan Mitchell]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have launched a social media page that provides all kinds of tools—ranging from highly useful to quite silly—for tracking information about the peanut recalls. The page, co-sponsored by the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, has the agencies includes blogs, databases of recalled products, widgets of various kinds for outside bloggers to use, links to YouTube channels, podcasts, links to Twitter feeds and the like. And for those of you who insist on getting your diseased-food information while immersed in a virtual world, "CDC Second Life" lets you dress your avatar in a biohazard suit and have it wear an "awareness bracelet."
http://benton.org/node/21700
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WHY FACEBOOK WANTS YOU TO HAVE 100,000 FRIENDS
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Chris Matyszczyk]
[Commentary] Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sanders says of the services 5,000 friend limit: "I'm not going to give you a specific date, but I will reinforce the message that this is coming, and more importantly tell you why we think this is important. Because you have these friend requests, because people genuinely want to hear from you and genuinely want to connect with you...We look forward to you having 80,000 friends...100,000 friends."
http://benton.org/node/21699
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APPLE, AT&T FACE MULTIPLE IPHONE LAWSUITS
[SOURCE: InformationWeek, AUTHOR: Marin Perez]
The iPhone 3G was the most popular smartphone of 2008, and it sold more than 13 million units. But not every customer has been happy with the device. Four lawsuits have been filed in the last two weeks regarding the 3G connectivity and the durability of the device. Separate suits have been filed in Florida, New Jersey, and Texas, and they all basically claim that the iPhone 3G is a flawed device that cannot provide adequate 3G reception. The actions are seeking an injunction preventing the companies from spreading "false" advertising and punitive damages. All four complaints cite a report from the Swedish engineering publication Ny Teknik, which said Apple's handsets aren't sensitive enough to adequately receive the 3G signal.
http://benton.org/node/21698
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GOOGLE AND AMAZON TO PUT MORE BOOKS ON CELLPHONES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Miguel Helft]
In a move that could bolster the growing popularity of e-books, Google said Thursday that the 1.5 million public domain books it had scanned and made available free on PCs were now accessible on mobile devices. Also Thursday, Amazon said that it was working on making the titles for its popular e-book reader, the Kindle, available on a variety of mobile phones.
http://benton.org/node/21715
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LAWSUITS ALLEGES NETFLIX, WAL-MART ACTED IMPROPERLY
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Sue Zeidler]
Several lawsuits filed across the country in the past two weeks allege Netflix Inc and Wal-Mart Stores Inc improperly negotiated Wal-Mart's departure from the online video market in 2005 to enable both companies to benefit illegally.
http://benton.org/node/21697
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