July 2009

Rockefeller: FCC Is Broken

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said that he believes the Federal Communications Commission is broken and wants its two newest members to help fix it, adding "the committee will be watching." According to text of his opening remarks at the July 15 confirmation hearings for FCC nominees Mignon Clyburn and Meredith Attwell Baker, Senator Rockefeller slammed the FCC under the former administration as "beholden" to the media industry it regulates, ideology-driven and insufficiently focused on consumers.

Chairman Genachowski Announces Senior Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Appointments

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) and two deputies, who will join the other senior staff in the bureau. The announcements include: Bureau Chief Rear Admiral (ret.) Jamie Barnett, Deputy Chief David Furth and Deputy Chief Jennifer Manner. Admiral Barnett served 32 years in the United States Navy and Navy Reserve, retiring in 2008. His last active duty assignments were Deputy Commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command and Director, Naval Education and Training in the Pentagon. For the last two years, Admiral Barnett has been a Senior Research Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, a policy think tank focusing on science and technology issues of importance to the nation, including cyber conflict and cyber security. David Furth has served at the FCC since 1992 and in the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau since the Bureau's formation in 2006. Since January 2009, Mr. Furth has served as Acting Chief of the Bureau. Previously, Mr. Furth was an Associate Bureau Chief in PSHSB, focusing on public safety spectrum policy issues, particularly 800 MHz rebanding and the 700 MHz rulemaking proceeding. Manner was a principal at ZComm Strategies, LLC, where she advised telecommunications companies on regulatory policy issues. Prior to that, Ms. Manner was Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at SkyTerra Communications, L.P. Ms. Manner served as Senior Counsel to FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, with responsibility for wireless, technology and international issues.

McDowell, Genachowski Trade thoughts on FCC Reform

On July 20, Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell sent FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski a letter outlining his suggestions for reforming the agency. First he suggests a "operational, financial and ethics audit" of the FCC and related entities like the Universal Service Administrative Company. He calls for an update of the FCC's strategic plan and raises the issue of restructuring the agency. He asks for publication of Commission meeting dates through 2009 and into 2010 -- and improvements to the FCC's information technology and web systems. On July 21, Chairman Genachowski replied with actions he has already taken to reform the agency including -- appointing a Special Counsel for FCC reform, working with the FCC's General Counsel and Managing Director to review existing processes, and meeting with bureau and office heads to solicit ideas. The Commission will also soon launch an internal and -- later -- external website to solicit reform proposals.

State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program Online Workshop

On July 24, 2009, the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will host an online workshop on its recently announced grant program to fund collection of state-level broadband data, as well as state-wide broadband mapping and planning. This initiative will provide consumers with better information on the broadband services available to them and inform efforts to increase broadband availability nationwide. The workshop is intended to present information and answer questions about the grant application process for potential applicants. The State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program is a competitive, merit-based matching grant program that implements the joint purposes of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Broadband Data Improvement Act (BDIA). The Program will provide up to approximately $240 million in grants to assist states or their designees to develop state-specific data on the deployment levels and adoption rates of broadband services. These data, including publicly available state-wide broadband maps, will also be used to develop the comprehensive, interactive national broadband map that NTIA is required by the Recovery Act to create and make publicly available by February 17, 2011.

Twitter Generates $48 Million of Media Coverage in a Month

Twitter's been the toast of TV news programs, daytime talk shows, magazine editors and newspaper reporters. But what's all that chatter worth? According to news-monitoring service VMS, a cool $48 million over the past 30 days. (That's half of what Microsoft plans to spend marketing its biggest product launch of the year, Bing.) Twitter received almost 3 billion impressions -- 2.73 billion, to be exact -- in the past month, a time period that doesn't even include the frenzied weeks in April in which Oprah and Ellen weighed in on the micro-blogging service. TV contributed to 57% of the PR value, newspapers 37% and magazines 5%. Incidentally, Fox News bested CNN in terms of total PR value delivered by its Twitter mentions, although CNN dropped the name more often. In reality, said VMS CEO Peter Wengryn, the number of impressions over the past 30 days could be as much as double that, considering the company doesn't measure mentions in all the smaller newspapers around the country.

Privacy Report: 'Facebook Does Not Have Adequate Safeguards'

Facebook's recent move to give members more control over who can see information they post doesn't go far enough to protect users' privacy, according to a new report by the Canadian Privacy Commissioner. The report, released by Canadian official Jennifer Stoddart, found fault with Facebook's practice of allowing nearly 1 million third-party developers to access information about members and their friends. "Facebook does not have adequate safeguards in place to prevent unauthorized access to users' personal information by application developers," the report stated. Stoddard recommended that Facebook impose new restrictions on developers, including limiting their ability to access information that isn't required for the applications to run, and to ban any disclosure of information about users who aren't themselves adding the app. The Canadian privacy commissioner also criticized Facebook for retaining information after users had deactivated their accounts. While Facebook allows users to completely delete their data, some members simply deactivate their accounts instead. Stoddart recommended that Facebook expunge deactivated accounts after "a reasonable length of time."

Louisiana ups credits to 30%

Louisiana is upping the ante in the competitive production incentive market by raising its transferable production credit to 30%. New to the program is a state buyback of the credits at 85% of their face value -- in effect, "the state has created a floor of 85¢ on the dollar," said Micha Haley, deputy director of the New Orleans Office of Film & Video City, a strategic measure that will substantially increase the amount of the money that filmmakers get when selling the credits. Haley said that not only does the buyback program give Louisiana a huge boost over competing states, but that the entertainment industry has specifically asked for that component. Before July 1, Louisiana offered a 25% incentive with a local spend of $300,000 plus 10% for local labor; the new law keeps that same ratio: 30% for production with 5% for local labor. The production tax incentives were backed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, who signed the bill July 9 along with several others intended to boost everything from the entertainment industry to sound recording to digital media to hybrid cars.

Senate Panel Clears 2 FCC Nominees

The Senate Commerce Committee Tuesday approved two Federal Communications Commission nominees, Mignon Clyburn and Meredith Attwell Baker, clearing the way for a full Senate vote on their confirmation. Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) is hoping Clyburn and Baker will be confirmed before lawmakers go home for their August break.

Media and Democracy Coalition Offers Recommendations to Improve Broadband Stimulus Funding

In a letter to National telecommunications and Information Administration head Larry Strickling, members of the Media and Democracy Coalition (including the Benton Foundation) raised concerns about the recently released rules for broadband stimulus funds. They write that the adopted definition of "underserved areas" will exclude many worthwhile projects. They also believe the rules give incumbents opportunities to eliminate potential awardees. Finally, the are concerned the rules raise insurmountable barriers for anchor institutions and municipal projects.

US Lawmakers Tell FCC To Collect Data On Phone Network Prices

(7/15) Former House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski asking the agency to collect data, before passing new rules, on how some phone companies pay to connect to central voice and Internet arteries. The request is a signal to the FCC to act carefully if it further regulates the complex pricing regime. Public interest groups and companies such as Sprint, T-Mobile USA, and U.S. Cellular are rallying for more regulation, saying phone giants including AT&T and Verizon Communications dominate the market and drive prices up.

Benton

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