October 2009

Genachowski on Broadcasting, Net Neutrality, Broadband

A Q&A with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski. He says that the FCC has approached broadcasters about ways to free up more spectrum for mobile broadband. He also says he expects to launch the FCC's inquiry into kids TV rules "relatively soon." He has circulated the proposed inquiry to the other commissioners. An FCC review of its media ownership rules—broadcasters have been looking for some regulatory certainty on that issue for more than half a decade—will have a longer time line, the chairman suggests. That review won't be coming until next year, though it will be teed up with recently announced workshops starting next month. He expects a "multi-month" process of determining new network neutrality rules of the road. As he prepares to unveil his hotly debated net neutrality proposal this week, the chairman says that the "how, when and to what extent" of applying those rules to wireless broadband—he did not include "whether" as an option—remains an open and complex question. Should cable operators be concerned that the FCC's national broadband plan will wind up subsidizing competition where service is already being provided? So long as cable and telco networks are delivering "high speed, affordable broadband to all consumers in a given area," he says, the marketplace is sufficient. But if it "falls short" in any area or attribute, the FCC will propose "alternative and creative solutions" as part of its plan, he adds.

Chopra Reaffirms Commitment to Net Neutrality

An interview with federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra includes questions from Washington Post reporter Cecilia Kang. He reaffirmed the White House's commitment to Network Neutrality amid increased criticism from lawmakers that the rules could hurt investment in Internet networks. "At a 100,000-foot view, we are committed to the notion that there should be essentially a level playing field for entrepreneurs and big firms to ride our nation's infrastructure to compete with those applications that we think will deliver value," Chopra said in an interview on C-SPAN's Communicators program taped Friday. He cautioned that concerns now being voiced by lawmakers, high-tech companies and a major labor union come before any rules have been introduced. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has proposed the beginning of a rule-making process that will formulate new rules for how Internet service providers can manage traffic on their networks. A vote to start the months-long process is scheduled for Oct. 22.

Broadband Now! So Why Don't Some Use It?

[Commentary] Access to a fast Internet connection has become more than a convenience. It's being enshrined in some countries as a legal right of all citizens. Congress is clearly irritated that the United States has not done well in the international broadband Olympics. Other countries have national plans to accelerate the diffusion of broadband; America does not. So Congress has given the Federal Communications Commission a mandate to produce a plan with specific recommendations by next February. We shouldn't get caught up, however, in a space-race panic. We've actually done surprisingly well making a broadband connection accessible to a vast majority of American households. No less than 96 percent of households either subscribe to or have access to broadband service, according to an FCC task force, which presented a status report to the commission last month. The report does not play up the fact that almost all homes have, or could have, broadband service. Nor does it highlight the actual median speed of 3 megabits a second among households that now have broadband, (which is based on data that probably understates the speeds substantially). The authors seem happily caught up in the thrill of playing an international game of catch-up. The most interesting question here is the one that the FCC can't answer: Why have 33 percent of American households that have access to broadband elected not to subscribe? The reasons "are not well understood," the report says. A survey focusing on the nonadopters is under way. We've built it, but not all have come. Some may never come. Let's not assume that their and their nation's future will be hopelessly blighted if they don't. [Randall Stross is an author based in Silicon Valley and a professor of business at San Jose State University.]

FCC Cyber Security Broadband Workshop

The recent Cyber Security Broadband Workshop was a fascinating discussion, featuring panelists from a diverse group of backgrounds and perspectives. We explored solutions and discussed many of the challenges that government and the private sector face in achieving cyber security as a matter of public safety and economic security. So much of our lives rely on the Internet and the need to secure our online infrastructure is critically important, so I want to highlight just a few take-aways from the workshop. The experts agree that cyber security is not a barrier to broadband deployment, but methods of prevention, detection and restoration must continually be developed. The public must have knowledge of what cyber attacks are and where they may come from and stay alert. We all must do our part. As technologies get more sophisticated, so do the threats.

FCC Workshop to Focus on Broadband Access for People with Disabilities

The Federal Communications Commission will hold a daylong staff workshop to further address broadband accessibility for people with disabilities as part of the development of a National Broadband Plan. The workshop will discuss accessibility and affordability barriers faced by people with disabilities, opportunities that broadband can present people with disabilities and policy recommendations to address these barriers and maximize opportunities.

FTTH Deployment Assessment

The Fiber to the Home Council says that fiber to the home (FTTH) investment requirement estimates based on large-scale deployments and US averages place the cost to pass at ~$700 per household (HH) and cost to connect at an incremental ~$650 per subscriber HH. Investment requirements for FTTH have decreased substantially over the past few years and vary considerably depending on the topography being served. FTTH deployment investment requirements for rural areas are difficult to estimate due to variations in household distributions (clustering) within even the most sparsely populated areas. FTTH Council argues that the basis for universal broadband service should be US households not housing units. There are currently 18 million US households with FTTH availability, plus an additional 16.5 million forecasted by 2015 funded by private capital. All 34.5 million should be considered in estimates for universal availability requirements. Based on current FTTH build investment requirements (FiOS and rural providers), CSMG estimates that the average cost to pass and connect all but the 20% most expensive remaining non-FTTH households in 2015 is ~ $1,704 per HH. The incremental cost to connect will only be incurred for a subset of homes passed, reflecting FTTH service uptake levels. FTTH penetration short of 100% is recommended -- CSMG estimates 41.5% based on current benchmarks and forecasts. The cost to pass and connect the most rural areas could be significantly higher than the cost of FTTH deployment in non-rural areas. Though future efficiencies in deployment practices and technology are expected to decrease the cost to connect each FTTH HH, these have not been factored into the estimation for investment required.

Massachusetts blesses 3 stimulus projects, none private

The Massachusetts governor's office has endorsed three recipients to receive federal broadband stimulus funds. Though some of those efforts involve private partners, none of the three applications were filed by private companies. As part of the federal program, state governments make recommendations on favored stimulus applications. The Massachusetts governor picked proposals from the city of Boston to serve 117,000 homes there, one for a 581-mile fiber ring in Western Massachusetts planned by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (a unit of the MA Technology Collaborative that the governor created last year), and one for an open community fiber network in Cape Cod called OpenCape, formed by a group of local stakeholders that lobbied for the governor's support. Though none of those three applications were made by private companies, the private sector would participate to some degree. For example, RCN Metro Optical Networks is the primary partner in building and running OpenCape's network. And Richmond Networx (a subsidiary of Cornerstone Telephone) is seeking nearly $3.7 million to build a network management center for the Western MA fiber ring the state is proposing.

Boucher Implores Media to Press Legislators to Pass Federal Shield Law

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) says the media need to press their legislators and try to get the ear of the president on the issue of a federal shield law that has gotten bogged down in the Senate. Speaking at a Media Institute Thursday, Chairman Boucher, a co-sponsor of the House version of the bill, said he was disappointed in the president's stand on what he indicated was a key element in the Free Flow of Information Act, which provides a limited protection to journalists from being compelled to identify their sources. The Administration has problems with a provision of the bill that allows federal judges, in cases where the government claims an exemption, to decide whether the public's interest requires disclosure of that source or whether the source should be kept confidential to promote the free flow of information to the public. "Who better to decide that than federal judges," he said, pointing out that the issue was not even debated in the House. Chairman Boucher said he "strongly believed" in that balancing test in every instance of a claimed exemption--for things like avoiding bodily harm of protecting national security.

Freedom of the press ought to belong to all... not just to approved 'journalists'

[Commentary] Can you do journalism and not be a "journalist"? Do people declared "journalists" get special speech and press rights that other American citizens do not enjoy? Can anyone enjoy the right to free speech and free publication, even if that individual is not a full-time professional reporter? These are some of the important legal questions that American politicians and bureaucrats must confront now that the Internet has made possible for people other than employees of major media companies to reach large and widespread audiences. There ought to be no special class of citizen called a "journalist." Anyone who does journalism, even if for just a moment in their lives, ought to enjoy the protections of the First Amendment when they choose to speak or to publish. Otherwise, we are ceding to unelected corporate employers the power to determine who gets First Amendment rights, or not. Freedom of the press belongs to all Americans, and not just to the newspaper industry - despite what the FTC and the New York Times would have you believe.

Faux News

[Commentary] While the Fox News cable channel infamously maintains that it is "fair and balanced," the fact is that the network often does little more than shovel out Republican Party talking points. For example, its "news" anchors regularly parrot the "where are the jobs?" mantra of the GOP. In July, House Republicans, one after another, took to the floor to engage in political theater by repeatedly asking that question. Numerous Fox hosts, especially America's Newsroom co-host Bill Hemmer, have echoed that talking point time and time again, failing to mention that they borrowed it from the GOP. Another example of the network aligning itself directly with the Republican agenda was its endless promotion of the conservative "tea party" demonstrations. The network even went as far as to "[provide] attendance and organizing information" for the right-wing demonstrations -- hardly the behavior of an objective network. As Comedy Central's Jon Stewart recently pointed out, the network gave wall-to-wall coverage of the anti-tax, anti-government demonstrations, yet completely ignored a similarly-sized demonstration in favor of gay rights. Indeed, Fox News chief executive Bill Shine has proudly boasted that his network aims to be "the voice of opposition."

Benton

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