August 2009

Genachowski Concerned By Wireless Access

On Monday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski expressed concerns about Americans' access to new wireless offerings ahead of a Thursday commission meeting that some believe will put telecommunications giants like AT&T and Verizon in the hot seat for engaging in business practices that could be viewed as harmful to competition and consumer choice. Chairman Genachowski said the "complete lack of access" is a critical issue for the FCC to explore. At Thursday's meeting, the FCC is expected to vote on whether to launch an expansive inquiry into the wireless industry, which he said stems from the need to "make sure we have a set of policies in place that create the greatest possible climate for investment and that protect and empower consumers. It's essential that we have vibrant competition that produces services, fair prices and clear information for consumers."

FCC Will Reassess V-Chip, Ratings System

The Federal Communications Commission is about to open a second front in its reassessment of the V-chip and of family-friendly programming -- including whether it is possible to have a single-content ratings system that can apply to movies, videogames, TV and cellphones. The study may also look at ways to ensure that once a TV or movie is rated, data is readily available whether the program subsequently is viewed on TV, cable, a phone or a computer. An initial report, due later this week or early next week, concludes repeatedly that considerably more information is needed before any changes can be recommended, say individuals close to the FCC. And, according to the report, the FCC intends to shortly initiate a far broader and more detailed examination into how the current system works in a multi-platform world. The FCC is due to release the initial report by the end of the month.

Kid's Viewing Tops FCC Chairman's Agenda

A Q&A with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski covering the viability of broadcast television, enforcing indecency, media ownership consolidation, localism, disclosure, children's television programming, and broadcast TV spectrum.

Chairman Genachowski says the core justification for enforcing public interest obligations on TV stations is as strong as ever. "The door is open for ideas on the best ways to make sure that we have a broadcasting industry that's healthy, vibrant and serves the public interest. The public has always had a special contract with broadcasters. There are multiple parts to that contract and American consumers expect broadcasters to serve the public interest. There are still 10 to 15 million Americans who rely exclusively on over-the-air broadcasting. It's their only immediate source of news and emergency information. Even in homes that have other video services, broadcasting is very often the leading source of news and information, so it continues to play an important role. Obviously there are big changes going on in the video marketplace that are creating big challenges that need to be tackled."

Broadband Adoption Barriers

The great thing about bringing people together to talk about broadband adoption data is that you always get new ideas for questions to pursue in the future. At the "Building the Fact" base workshop last week, this dynamic played out as expected. Susannah Fox, from the Pew Internet Project, reminded listeners of the growth in broadband adoption at home from just 3% of Americans in 2000 to 63% as of April 2009. Link Hoewing at Verizon noted the fast adoption pace of broadband relative to other communications technologies. But he, and others, pointed out how we have likely entered a maturing phase on the adoption curve, meaning that reaching the remaining 37% of non-adopters will be a challenge. Peter Stenberg from the Agriculture Department highlighted particular challenges for rural Americans. We were also reminded how strongly broadband can impact how people get information.

Broadband Adoption: If We Build It, Will They Come?

One of the challenges facing the Broadband Task Force is a question inspired by the 1989 classic film "Field of Dreams": if we build it, will they come? Two Federal Communications Commission workshops addressed this topic. The speakers during the panel on low adoption represented demographic groups who tend to have high numbers of non-adopters as well as the businesses and organizations working to bring those groups online. The FCC heard from speakers on the reasons why senior citizens, Native Americans, small business owners, Americans living in rural areas and African Americans tend to be underrepresented relative to the general population. While at first glance these are very different groups, what was striking was the common thread—people will adopt when they feel they have the skills, devices and applications they need to shape and control their broadband experience. And they will do so more readily when they have the "social infrastructure" of family, friends and neighbors that is already broadband-adopting. That infrastructure is critical both because it prompts them to adopt broadband, and because it trains and supports them as they figure out a new technology (and in many cases, figure out how to use a computer for the first time). A second panel picked up on this point by bringing together a group of folks representing the many programs designed to get people the skills, devices and applications they need. Again, a few common themes emerged. Successful programs tend to have high personal interaction in the initial stages (see 'social infrastructure" point above), content packaged in a way that is accessible to the user, and an end goal that sees broadband as a tool to enrich life. One other key takeaway from this group was the notion that an adoption program's success can and should be measured. Developing those metrics for evaluation will be one of the many areas where the FCC will be seeking additional input.

Broadband, Public Safety and Homeland Security

On August 25, the Federal Communications Commission held a National Broadband Plan workshop covering public safety and homeland security. Split into two panels, the first part of the discussion examined how the National Broadband Plan should reflect the current and potential uses of broadband to improve public safety communications and operations, including the utilization of the Internet and web-based applications. On the FCC's agenda is how best to promote interoperable, wireless-based communications; the relationship between the broadband plan and the FCC's ongoing 700 MHz spectrum auction proceeding; what services are most needed; how to ensure physical diversity and redundancy, and improve hardening of network assets; and how can existing spectrum allocations(e.g.4.9 GHz) meet the needs of public safety. In addition, the FCC hopes to estimate costs for public safety to obtain broadband service, applications, or devices; what funding sources are available; which broadband networks are used for mission-critical communications; what models (e.g.statewide networks) have been successful and what are their limitations; what policies would best promote Next Gen 9-1-1, cybersecurity, pandemic preparedness; and how the FCC can coordinate with other federal agencies, state, local and tribal entities. The purpose of the workshop, in part, is to fill holes in the present record. The FCC believes comments filed earlier this summer are too focused on aspirational goals and not enough on ways of getting there.

The Smart Grid, Broadband and Climate Change

On August 25, the Federal Communications Commission held a National Broadband Plan workshop focused on broadband and communications infrastructure potentially transformative role in meeting our national energy, environmental, and transportation goals, including energy independence, greenhouse gas emissions reductions and clean energy generation. Nick Sinai, the Energy and Environment Director for the FCC's National Broadband Taskforce, led the discussion. The first panel explored smart grid technology. A second panel addressed broadband and climate change.

How High-Speed Broadband Can Fight Climate Change

There are a lot of reasons why we should build out high-speed broadband infrastructure, like how it can offer low-cost, easy access to education, communication and business services. But one of the most important reasons going forward will be the Internet's ability to replace physical goods with virtual ones and fight global warming. This month, we've seen a wave of research that shows how digital goods (like music and books downloads) are superior from an energy and CO2 perspective vs. their physical counterparts. As Bill St. Arnaud put it on his blog recently: "The next killer app for the Internet is dematerialization." In other words, the Internet will be one of the key tools to fighting climate change by replacing atoms with digital bits, reducing physical goods created, and cutting carbon emissions.

Smart Grid Standards: Road Map a Month Away; Vint Cerf Weighs in

The smart grid standards-making process has been one of the most condensed, complex standards work to date, given the rush to quickly deliver a road map before the billions of dollars are allocated from the stimulus package. And it looks like we have just about a month left to wait: The producers of the GridWeek conference, which will take place Sept. 21-24 in Washington, D.C., tell us that the smart grid standards road map will be announced at the show. That puts the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), which has been spearheading the standards efforts, on track to meet its goal to get the road map out in September. NIST has its eye on the ball — this weekend the group said it has awarded consulting and engineering firm EnerNex Corp. an $8.5 million, 2-year contract to help keep the accelerated pace of the smart grid standards going. EnerNex will be creating panels around key smart grid issues that will be identified in the September road map.

Massachusetts wants $105 million to fix broadband

Massachusetts is seeking $105 million in federal economic stimulus funds to improve broadband access in the western part of the state, and to draw an accurate map of available broadband services statewide. The Massachusetts Broadband Institute filed its request for the funds on Aug. 14. The agency wants to spend $100 million to create a fiber-optic data network that would reach into 43 western Massachusetts communities that now have little or no broadband access. The network would be used by municipal governments and would sell access to private companies, which in turn could sell broadband services to households and businesses.

Benton

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