May 2009

Senate Committee Likely to OK Strickling as NTIA Head, Chopra as CTO on May 20

With little questioning or controversy, the Senate Commerce Committee appeared poised ready after a Tuesday hearing to submit to the full Senate for confirmation the nominations of two key technology officials in the Obama administration. A vote on the nominees is slated for May 20. Lawrence Strickling has been nominated to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Telecommunications and Information, and head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. As head of the Commerce Department agency responsible for the bulk of the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus, Strickling would be poised to play a key role in the administration's de facto broadband policy. Of the total, $4.7 billion will run through Commerce, and $2.5 billion through the Agriculture Department. The program is designed to expand broadband access to unserved and underserved American communities. NTIA is also responsible for the nation's final transition to digital television. Aneesh Chopra has been nominated to be the nation's first Chief Technology Officer. Sen Mark Warner (D-VA) had a great deal of praise for Chopra, who currently serves as Virginia Secretary of Technology, a position in which Sen Warner said Chopra has "performed admirably." Warner and Chopra recently served as co-chairs of Virginia's Broadband Roundtable, which Sen Warner called "an effort to expand rural broadband access so that no region would be left behind in a global economy."

Case Closed: NebuAd Shuts Down

Behavioral targeting company NebuAd effectively shuttered on Friday, according to court documents. The closing came to light over the weekend, when lawyers filed a letter notifying U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco about the closure. "From a company that once employed over 60 people, NebuAd now operates with a skeleton staff, and shortly, that too will disappear," wrote attorney Alan Himmelfarb. Monday, NebuAd filed court papers confirming that it had assigned remaining assets to an entity that will pay off creditors. Himmelfarb notified the court about the impending shutdown as part of a request to inspect NebuAd's documents and records before they are placed in storage. NebuAd's lawyer opposed that application, stating that NebuAd had moved files from its now-closed Redwood City office to another office in Foster City months before this lawsuit was filed.

Privacy Forum Unveils Research Project

The Future of Privacy Forum is embarking on a research project that will examine different methods for communicating with Internet users about advertising and privacy practices, the think tank announced Tuesday. The study will explore potential tools and notices that companies could use to raise consumer awareness regarding the use of online behavioral advertising data and will offer more transparency about how information is used in relevant advertising practices. The initiative follows a recent Federal trade Commission report that called on the private sector to examine the issue.

What Ever Happened To... PCLOB?

The White House Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board was established in 2004 on the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. But it has been dormant since the terms of its members expired Jan. 31, 2008. The Obama Administration has not nominated any new members and once they are selected, vetted and confirmed by the Senate, it will take time to set up office space and hire a staff. Last Congress, lawmakers statutorily distanced the board from the Executive Office of the President after concern grew it was not fully autonomous.

It's Official: No Broadband Will Be Stimulated This Year (Or Will It?)

[Commentary] Broadband Technology Opportunities Program grants may not be made until December 2009 -- is that the best the government can do? A 10-month turnaround since passage of the Recovery Act? So what might a better way to distribute these grants more quickly look like? Well how about this: have the government set out a set of standards that if a project can live up to can get fast-track grant approval. Now let's consider how these standards could work. Let's start with unserved/underserved. Rather than getting stuck in a policy debate over semantics, why not just set the standard that to qualify for the fast-track a network must hit at least 50% unserved homes, and set some restrictions on making sure these grants don't go to areas with robust competition (DSL, cable, and wireless being available, for example). Then Daily would add in a requirement that the project have proven local support, maybe having to reach a 50% pre-subscription rate. This would then mean the first grants go to those communities who have most galvanized local support and will also help insure the network will be financially sustainable. (50% is an arbitrary number; it could be higher or lower depending on what's most appropriate.)

Is America DTV Ready? We may Find out May 21

With only three weeks left until the nationwide digital television (DTV) transition on June 12, many local broadcasters will be participating in coordinated DTV "soft tests" Thursday. These tests are designed to alert analog viewers who are unprepared for the impending transition that they will lose service once the transition occurs unless they act promptly to get ready. A "soft test" simulates to some extent what unprepared viewers will experience when the DTV transition occurs. Instead of completely cutting off the analog signal, during the soft test broadcasters will interrupt the regular programming of viewers receiving analog signals to warn them the interruption indicates they are not prepared for the transition. Such viewers - other than those connected to a subscription TV service such as cable or satellite (which in some cases still utilize a broadcaster's analog signal) - must take immediate action to avoid a complete loss of service on June 12. Digital broadcasts are available now and will not be interrupted by the soft tests. The length of the interruptions will vary by station but generally will run between 2 and 5 minutes.
Our broadcasters in your area participating?
www.dtv.gov/media_toolkit.html

TVs sales continue to decline

TV makers worldwide saw their revenues slide 12 percent in the last year, according to a report set to be released Tuesday by DisplaySearch. A total of 43.3 million TVs were sold worldwide in the first quarter of this year, a 6 percent drop compared to the same quarter a year ago, and prices dropped 6 percent, too, according to the Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report. Even Samsung, which collects more money in its coffers for TVs than any company in the world for the past 13 straight quarters, saw its revenues drop 8 percent since the same time last year. But it still held its lead in the industry, maintaining a 21.5 percent share of dollars spent on TVs worldwide. The biggest shake-up in the last quarter came from LG Electronics which, at 2 percent growth from a year ago, was the only one of the top five manufacturers to see an uptick in revenues. It was able to leapfrog Sony into second place, claiming 13.3 percent of the TV market. Sony garnered 13.1 percent, followed by Sharp with 7.2 percent, and Panasonic with 6.1 percent.

House Commerce Committee Requests Information Regarding Forbearance Process

House Commerce Committee Chairman Waxman, Chairman Emeritus Dingell, Subcommittee Chairman Boucher and Subcommittee Chairman Markey sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairman Copps requesting information about the impact of the recent withdrawal of two petitions for forbearance. Specifically, the committee asked for details regarding Commission resources that were expended in considering these two petitions prior to withdrawal. The May 15 letter requests a response by Friday, June 5.

EU Newspaper Group Fears Google News

The European Newspaper Publishers' Association said Monday that Google's decision to allow advertising on its news section will hurt newspapers' advertising revenue online and make it difficult for newspapers to form productive partnerships with Google.

NTIA Sets First Meeting For Online Safety

The National Telecommunications & Information Administration will hold the first meeting of its new Online Safety and Technology Working Group June 4 in Washington. The group was established by the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act and is charged with coming up with a report to Congress within a year on how to increase online safety protections, including via labeling and parental control technology.

Benton

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