June 28, 2009 (Weekend Update)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for JUNE 28, 2009
With Congress at home, and the 4th of July coming, expect a quiet week for telecom policy save for Julius Genachowski's FCC debut on Thursday. See http://www.benton.org/node/25149
Headlines will return Tuesday July 30.
AGENDA
Obama Tech Team Finally in Place: Lots to Do Right Away
THE STIMULUS
"Buy American" Exemption for Broadband Stimulus Projects
DOE Opens Spigot On Smart Grid Projects
(See also: Green carbon trade market could mean billions for telecom, IT)
INTERNET/BROADBAND
What Will Broadband Unveil In A Decade?
Ireland as a Model for the US in Next Generation Broadband
Cuba lags region in telecoms, Internet access
The Flawed Focus of Universal Broadband
CYBERSECURITY
Cybersecurity: Continued Federal Efforts Are Needed to Protect Critical Systems and Information
Cyber Security's Centrality to Internet Issues
CABLE
FCC Vacates SDV Rulings Against Time Warner Cable, Cox
AGENDA
OBAMA TECH TEAM FINALLY IN PLACE: LOTS TO DO RIGHT AWAY
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Gigi Sohn]
[Commentary] After months of waiting, the Senate confirmed two key members of the Obama communications and technology team: new FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) director Larry Strickling (his official title is Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information). And not a moment too soon. Here is what is facing the new leaders right now: NTIA (along with the Rural Utilities Service) is expected to issue its "Notice of Funds Availability" imminently for the $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus money, and that "NOFA" will include the rules for applying for the grants, as well as the conditions (like non-discrimination) with which a grantee much comply. As the richest grant of money (by many billions) the NTIA has ever made , there will undoubtedly be a lot of confusion and questions and general craziness. Fortunately, tech and telecom experts like Mark Seifert and Kevin Werbach are there to guide the process. The FCC, of course, has to sift through the hundreds of comments and reply comments filed and come up with its National Broadband Plan to present to Congress in mid-February 2010. Thankfully, that process is being sheparded by former FCC Chief of Staff and broadband guru Blair Levin. The country is fortunate to have a person of Blair's stature and sharp mind on this critical and long-overdue plan.Add to this many pressing long-pending items on the FCC's docket, like the white spaces reconsideration petitions, the resolution of the unauctioned 700 MHz D-Block, the Skype petition to require wireless providers to permit use of all devices and applications, PK's text message petition and special access relief, among others, some with statutory and judicial deadlines. Clearly, the new Chairman will have to be up and running very quickly.
http://benton.org/node/26166
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THE STIMULUS
"BUY AMERICAN" EXEMPTION FOR BROADBAND STIMULUS PROJECTS
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
On June 19, Secretary of Commerce Locke granted a limited waiver of section 1605 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Buy American provision) with respect to certain broadband equipment that will be used in projects funded under the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). The recovery Act allows the head of a Federal department or agency to waive the Buy American provision by finding that: (1) applying the provision would be inconsistent with the public interest; (2) the relevant goods are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or (3) the inclusion of the goods produced in the United States will increase the cost of the project by more than 25 percent. Sec Locke determined that, as applied to certain broadband equipment used in a BTOP project, application of the Buy American provision would be inconsistent with the public interest.3 A modern broadband network is generally composed of the following components: broadband switching, routing, transport, access, customer premises equipment, end-user devices, and billing/operations systems. The Buy American provision would prohibit NTIA from awarding a BTOP grant to a public applicant unless that applicant could certify that each element of each broadband network component containing iron, steel, and manufactured goods are produced in the United States. As explained more fully below, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for a BTOP applicant to have certain knowledge of the manufacturing origins of each component of a broadband network and the requirement to do so would be so overwhelmingly burdensome as to deter participation in the program. Requiring a BTOP applicant to request a waiver on a case-by-case basis also would be such an administrative burden on the applicant as to discourage participation in the program and would increase the agency's time and costs for processing BTOP applications for broadband infrastructure projects.
http://benton.org/node/26165
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DOE OPENS SPIGOT ON SMART GRID PROJECTS
[SOURCE: eWeek, AUTHOR: Roy Mark]
The Department of Energy announced June 25 the agency is ready to solicit applications for $3.9 billion in grants to support efforts to modernize the electric grid. The money is part of the Recovery Act funds approved by Congress earlier this year. Approximately $3.3 billion is earmarked for the Smart Grid Investment Grant Program and $615 million for smart grid demonstration projects to help develop and implement smart grid technologies across the country. As part of the Smart Grid Investment Grant Program, the DOE said it will provide cost-shared grants to support manufacturing, purchasing and installation of existing smart grid technologies that can be deployed on a commercial scale. Funding under the Smart Grid Demonstration Program will be used to demonstrate how emerging technologies can be applied in innovative ways within the electric delivery system to provide integrated and economically feasible solutions.
http://benton.org/node/26164
See also: Green carbon trade market could mean billions for telecom, IT
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
WHAT WILL BROADBAND UNVEIL IN A DECADE?
[SOURCE: GigaOM, AUTHOR: Katie Fehrenbacher]
Faster, cheaper, more ubiquitous bandwidth has spawned a decade of new applications that depend on it as a platform: Google, YouTube, Twitter, Hulu. The bigger pipes, the richer the application. What will higher bandwidth speeds, wider-reaching networks and cheaper access to connections produce in another decade? Well, if the panel made up by service providers and infrastructure gear makers at Structure knew for sure, they'd be on their way to producing the next Google. But a decade of bandwidth growth "will change the world another time," said Kenneth Duda, VP Software Engineering Arista Networks. "We cant even imagine the possibilities," said Tobias Ford, Assistant VP of IT AT&T, but suggested possibly bandwidth-needy applications like telepresence and telemedicine. In a decade, the panelists, and members of the audience, said they hope that the bandwidth discussion moves away from focusing on speed — basically the speed is so high it's no longer an issue — and moves towards the user interface and applications.
http://benton.org/node/26162
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IRELAND AS A MODEL FOR THE US IN NEXT GENERATION BROADBAND
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Douglas Streeks]
Higher-speed broadband connectivity and prompt broadband investments will aid social and economic goals, Ireland's Department of Communications Minister Eamon Ryan said in a report issued on Monday. Accord to a report by the Department of Communications, Energy, and Natural Resources, broadband development in Ireland has been very successful so far, mainly due to increased competition between the main telecom and cable operators. The report touted increases in Irish broadband deployment by virtue of increased competition between the main telecom and cable operators. It also said that take-up of wireless and other third generation broadband services occurred at a faster pace in Ireland than in other countries.
http://benton.org/node/26157
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CUBA LAGS REGION IN TELECOMS, INTERNET ACCESS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Marc Frank]
Communist Cuba may boast a doctor on every block and schools for all its children, but when it comes to telephones, computers and the Internet it lags behind other countries in the hemisphere, a government report shows. The National Statistics Office released 2008 telecommunications data showing there were 1.4 million telephones, fixed and mobile, in the country of 11.2 million inhabitants. This gave a total density of 12.6 telephones per 100 inhabitants, the lowest in the region, according to the United Nations International Telecommunications Union. Computers were also scarce at just 630,000 and most were believed to be in government offices, health facilities and schools. The report said 13 percent of Cuba's population had Internet access, but in most cases this was to a government Intranet. No data was available for access to the worldwide web, but diplomats and residents say it is severely restricted.
http://benton.org/node/26158
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THE FLAWED FOCUS OF UNIVERSAL BROADBAND
[SOURCE: TechNewsWorld , AUTHOR: Sonia Arrison]
[Commentary] This month, the Federal Communications Commission begins drafting a national broadband plan as part of the 2009 stimulus package. This is not the first government attempt at broadband ubiquity, so the FCC can learn from past failures. A new public fund to subsidize Internet access for poor and rural residents is not likely to be effective. Consider the case of E-Rate, a US$2.25 billion FCC fund created in 1997 to connect all children to the Information Age by underwriting up to 90 percent of the costs of hard-wiring classrooms and libraries. Since its conception, however, E-Rate has been a bust. A better way to solve the broadband question is through reducing the regulatory and taxation burden on the entire communications sector, and creating incentives to stimulate private broadband investment. The alternative of increasing government broadband management is a top-down strategy that makes for feel-good committee meetings but ignores important market realities. Consider the implosion of municipal wireless networks, or "muni WiFi," which never worked as a sustainable business model because it glossed over the importance of profits and capital reinvestments. [Sonia Arrison is senior fellow in technology studies at the California-based Pacific Research Institute.]
http://benton.org/node/26161
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CYBERSECURITY
CYBERSECURITY: CONTINUED FEDERAL EFFORTS ARE NEEDED TO PROTECT CRITICAL SYSTEMS AND INFORMATION
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: Gregory Wilshusen]
In testimony before the House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation, the GAO was asked to describe cybersecurity efforts at DHS and NIST—including partnership activities with the private sector—and the use of cybersecurity performance metrics in the federal government. To do so, GAO relied on its reports on federal information security and federal efforts to fulfill national cybersecurity responsibilities. GAO has previously made about 30 recommendations to help DHS fulfill its cybersecurity responsibilities and resolve underlying challenges. In addition, GAO has made about 60 recommendations to strengthen security over information systems supporting DHS's programs for border security and its terrorist watch list. DHS has actions planned and underway to implement them.
http://benton.org/node/26160
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CYBERSECURITY'S CENTRALITY TO INTERNET ISSUES
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Douglas Streeks]
Greater training and education will be necessary to ensure that cybersecurity receives the attention that it deserves, agreed a panel of government and industry officials, speaking on Friday at Google's Washington office. Christopher Painter, director of cyber security for the National Security Council emphasized the importance of cyber security as a national security priority, including the fact that President Obama had recently given a major address on the topic. Painter said that a public education campaign was necessary to raise awareness about cybersecurity threats, and train people on cyber security. One important part of a forthcoming government "60-day review" will be a short-term action plan as well as an "instant response plan" for dealing with cyber security attacks, he said. Richard Hale, chief information assurance executive for Defense Information Systems Agency, highlighted the need to get business executives at the top focused on the issue: "Once the CEO cares, things started to get cleaned up." Liesyl Franz, vice president for information security and global public policy at TechAmerica, highlighted the significance of the publicity and high-level of visibility that the president has given to cyber security.
http://benton.org/node/26159
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CABLE
FCC VACATES SDV RULINGS AGAINST TIME WARNER CABLE, COX
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
The Federal Communications Commission on Friday reversed orders by the agency's Enforcement Bureau that fined Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications for deploying switched digital video. "We base this decision on a plain reading of our rules, the potential consumer benefits of SDV deployment, and other factors that limit the potential scope of consumer disruption," the FCC said. The FCC's Enforcement Bureau in January issued orders fining Time Warner Cable and Cox for moving some channels from their broadcast lineups to switched digital video, which made that programming inaccessible to CableCard-based devices like TiVo DVRs. The orders covered Time Warner Cable Oceanic's Oahu and Kauai systems and Cox's Fairfax County, Va., system. The Enforcement Bureau levied $20,000 fines on each system; both Cox and TWC on Feb. 18 filed petitions for reconsideration of the forfeiture orders. The FCC's June 26 ruling, however, upheld the forfeiture order against TWC relating to the bureau's finding that the migration of programming to an SDV platform constitutes a "change in service" requiring 30-day advanced written notice to the relevant local franchise authority.
http://benton.org/node/26156
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