November 2009

Antitrust battle will go on despite AMD-Intel settlement

The antitrust battle between Intel and Advanced Micro Devices isn't necessarily over, despite a settlement agreement announced by the microprocessor companies. The settlement agreement leaves unresolved key disagreements over Intel's alleged business practices that AMD argues are illegal. These alleged practices -- retroactive discounts, bid buckets, and end-user discounts -- relate to antitrust lawsuits brought by the European Commission and the New York Attorney General's Office, as well as an antitrust investigation being carried out by the Federal Trade Commission.

TechNet Taps Rey Ramsey As New CEO

Information technology lobbying group TechNet has hired Rey Ramsey as the organization's new president and chief executive officer. Ramsey currently is chief executive officer of One Economy Corp., a global nonprofit that leverages the power of technology to improve the lives of low-income people. At TechNet, Ramsey will be based in Washington (DC) where he will oversee the Silicon Valley organization's day-to-day operations, strategic planning and implementation of its public policy and political agenda.

Senate Judiciary Committee
Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226
November 19, 2009 at 10:00 a.m.

S. 448, Free Flow of Information Act of 2009 (Specter, Schumer, Graham, Klobuchar, Kaufman)



Nov 18, 2009 (Time for FCC to "Mind the Gap")

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 18, 2009

Three events today, perhaps the biggest being the FCC's Open meeting -- see coverage below and http://bit.ly/4uRUU9


NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
   Mind the Gap
   FCC broadband planners to outline hurdles to universal access
   Feds Mull Rules, Fees to Spur Net Access
   FCC Seeks Comment on Broadband's Role in Civic Participation
   CEA, CTIA Ask FCC to Make Inquiry Into Reallocating Broadcast Spectrum
   Dingell Concerned About Spectrum Reallocation Proposals
   NAB Not Foreclosed To Spectrum Discussions
   Levin Asks Broadcasters for Retransmission Clarification
   Future Fiber Architectures and Local Deployment Choices
   FCC Broadband Plan Field Hearing in Memphis
   The Key Word For Our National Broadband Plan: Leverage
   ATIS Volunteers for Broadband Clearinghouse
   New America: Berkman Points to Open Networks
   Berkman Points Way to More Research needed, Greenlining says
   TIA: Berkman Strayed from Initial Charge
   Public Knowledge Uses Berkman Study to Praise Unbundling

THE STIMULUS
   NTIA and RUS Are Addressing Broadband Program Challenges, but Actions Are Needed to Improve Implementation
   House Small Business Committee Backs Focus on Broadband Funding For Remote Areas
   Progress Update for Broadband Stimulus Program Revealed
   MMTC Wants Small Business Broadband Stimulus Fund

WIRELESS/TELECOM
   Bush Feared Successor Might Revoke Telco Spy Immunity
   USF reformers mull wireless auctions, VoIP contribution
   Rewiring an Old Fund for Rural Broadband
   Cable Operators, Verizon Throw Support Behind Universal Service Fund Expansion
   Rockefeller Urges Scrutiny Of Verizon Deal
   Court hears AT&T, Verizon ad fight today
   Amdocs: Telco opportunity in supporting a 'trillion' devices
   How Is A BlackBerry Like A Pill?
   Google, Apple plan mobile ad attack

OWNERSHIP
   US senators question TV mergers
   The Economics of Jay Leno
   Vivendi, GE Iron Out Terms For NBC Universal Stake
   Comcast Says Content Ownership 'Totally Appropriate'
   Dish Network's Ergen raises concerns over Comcast-NBC merger
   Growing Pains at Hulu
   Law Firm Asks FCC To Delay Ownership Filing Date
   British Regulator Recommends Looser Media Cross-Ownership Rules

TELEVISION/RADIO
   Smith on Indecency
   Senate Bill Would Mandate DirecTV Local Carriage
   Music Industry, Broadcasters Meet For Talks
   Report shows little diversity progress among writers

CYBERSECURITY
   FBI Suspects Terrorists Are Exploring Cyber Attacks
   Cybersecurity: Continued Efforts Are Needed to Protect Information Systems from Evolving Threats
   Countries Arming for Cyberwarfare

MORE ONLINE
   Senators Bash Online Marketing Tactics
   Justice Kennedy Frustrated Over School-Press Flap
   File-sharing software ban sought in House
   Library in a Pocket
   Ericsson signs first TV broadcasting deal
   California Targets TVs To Reduce Power Use
   Stakeholders advise on national ed-tech plan
   Crowdfunding Journalism
   'Daily Show' Producers, Writers Say They're Serious about Media Criticism
   FCC's Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council to meet Dec 7
   New Study Points to Healthy Newspaper Readership
   President Obama Nominates Two for FTC
   The virtual doctor visit

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NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN

MIND THE GAP
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Blair Levin]
[Commentary] On Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan team will voice warnings about gaps -- gaps in broadband deployment, adoption and usage that are big enough for a consumer to fall through. Or, more broadly, gaps in universal access to robust broadband, the goal that Congress asked the plan to address. So we will be minding the gap. But we aren't getting on the train yet. Gap analysis is part two of what is essentially a three-part process. The first was gathering data. The second phase is gap analysis. The final phase is closing the gap ­ finding solutions to the broadband problems that keep individual households and the nation's economy as whole from enjoying the benefits of universal broadband. We will begin identifying a policy framework for solutions in December.
benton.org/node/29811 | Federal Communications Commission
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FCC BROADBAND PLANNERS TO OUTLINE HURDLES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
There's not enough spectrum for mobile broadband. A federal fund for phone service needs to be repurposed to include broadband. Consumers should be told the truth about the Internet access speeds they pay for. These are the problems identified by the Federal Communications Commission as obstacles in its effort to blanket the country with high-speed Internet service. Blair Levin is head of the FCC's task force charged to come up with solutions before a February deadline. He will discuss those policy-related gaps at an agency meeting Wednesday that's scheduled to start at 10 a.m. But it won't be easy to solve these issues, which are already being contested by companies who fear that new policies could negatively impact their business plans. One hurdle for users is a lack of transparency by providers, he said. Internet network operators such as Verizon, Comcast, and AT&T will have to be a lot more transparent about the services, prices, and speeds they offer. And consumers should be able to get a clear sense of the options they have among those and other telecom, cable and satellite broadband providers before signing up for a service. Last September, Levin's team reported that Internet users are paying for speeds that lag what was advertised to them by as much as 50 percent.
benton.org/node/29852 | Washington Post
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FEDS MULL BROADBAND RULES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz]
Today the Federal Communications Commission will lay out the case for expanding broadband Internet service, outlining current obstacles to making it widely available. The agency is considering whether to force Internet providers to share their networks with rivals and raise fees charged on consumer phone bills to pay for the broader access. The proposals, which have sparked criticism from telecommunications and cable companies, represent a reversal from the Bush Administration, when regulators cut back on government control of Internet and telephone service. The new commission, controlled by Democrats, is considering whether more government control is needed to ensure competition and more affordable Internet service. The FCC staff will float possible solutions in December and make formal recommendations in February, when it is set to release its National Broadband Plan, a blueprint for improving broadband speed and access. Congress asked the FCC for the plan earlier this year.
benton.org/node/29851 | Wall Street Journal
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COMMENT SOUGHT ON MOVING TOWARD A DIGITAL DEMOCRACY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
While civic participation takes many forms, two processes provide the most direct and regular interaction opportunities between government and citizens: 1) the election process, and 2) public hearings and town hall meetings. The election process and voting are essential to maintaining a functioning democracy and are also the civic processes in which the most Americans participate. Public hearings and town hall meetings allow citizens to provide government representatives direct input on specific concerns and provide government representatives a direct means to gauge citizen sentiment. Accordingly, the Federal Communications Commission is seeking tailored comment on how broadband can help to bring democratic processes-including elections, public hearings and town hall meetings-into the digital age, thereby encouraging and facilitating citizen opportunities to engage and participate in their democracy. The FCC public notice is focused on a) registering to vote, b) processes leading up to Election Day, c) voting, and d) online government hearings and online town hall meetings. Comments are due December 10.
benton.org/node/29850 | Federal Communications Commission
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FCC ASKED TO OPEN SPECTRUM PROCEEDING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Consumer Electronics Association and CTIA: The Wireless Association have asked the Federal Communications Commission to make an inquiry into reallocating broadcast spectrum usage part of the national broadband plan, saying it is about to run into a Communications Act deadline to do just that. In a letter to the FCC commissioners, the two groups say there is a looming spectrum crisis and point out that the Communications Act gave the FCC 10 years after it first handed out DTV licenses to make "an assessment of alternative uses, including public safety use, of the frequencies used for such broadcasts; and the extent to which the commission has been or will be able to reduce the amount of spectrum assigned to licensees." They say the initial DTV licenses were issued in February 1999, and that, as far as they know, the FCC has never undertaken that assessment. [For those of you scoring at home, see Sec 336 of the Communications Act of 1934.]
benton.org/node/29823 | Broadcasting&Cable | read the filing
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DINGELL CONCERNED ABOUT SPECTRUM REALLOCATION PROPOSALS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Former House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) said the Federal Communications Commission should come up with a national broadband rollout plan to Congress that promotes expansion of infrastructure while at the same time preserving, "to the greatest extent possible," free, over-the-air local broadcasting. "I write to express concern about proposals currently circulating at the commission to reallocate spectrum from over-the-air broadcasters to mobile communications providers," Rep Dingell wrote in the letter dated Monday. Rep Dingell points out that broadcasters already gave back close to a third of their spectrum in the switch to digital. "I believe that a further loss of spectrum by broadcasters may have an adverse effect on consumers by limiting their choice in available broadcast television," he wrote.
benton.org/node/29808 | Broadcasting&Cable
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NAB NOT FORECLOSED TO SPECTRUM DISCUSSIONS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
National Association of Broadcasters President Gordon Smith says he is open to talks about spectrum reclamation, but also called the suggested reclamation of broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband as a "major policy piece hatched outside of political reality," saying the graveyard is full of such proposals. "When you start talking about 800 MHz [of spectrum] that is potentially worth billions of dollars and saying we're going to take that for other purposes, and those purposes will no
longer be free over-the-air, but we'll take them for fee service, I think I know how that argument plays out politically." But he did say NAB was "open to ideas," except that whatever those ideas were they would still have to leave broadcasters with a workable business model, which includes spectrum for multicast channels and high definition broadcasts, he suggested. Asked whether one of those ideas could be some smaller broadcasters in markets giving up spectrum, he said he was not and is not "foreclosed to anything," but that he would need to see "the whole package" and formulate a response that allows venting in the association of all views, including opportunities.
benton.org/node/29849 | Broadcasting&Cable
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NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN NEEDS LEVERAGE
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] Given the fact that America's financial resources appear as though they'll never be turned full force towards tackling the broadband challenge, it's likely that our national broadband plan will have to be crafty with how it recommends allocating scarce resources to maximize the impact of the dollars we do have to spend. In other words, the plan must leverage whatever money is available as much as possible. Unfortunately, to date our government hasn't been very good at leveraging taxpayer dollars to create long-term broadband assets that can be built upon and expanded on into the future. The most recent example of this is the broadband stimulus package, where the bulk of the money was given to NTIA to hand out as grants. The only leverage this approach realizes is the 20% local match. In other words, for every dollar of grant we only get $1.25 of broadband. The idea of leverage is also important in terms of encouraging projects that leverage multiple pots of government money as a fully integrated project setup to benefit all facets of a community should qualify for a host of additional funds. Plus we also need to thinking about how to leverage existing assets so that we're not overbuilding capacity if it's not needed. I know for a fact that there are good people in government trying to think about how to solve these problems in these ways. My hope is that as they go about doing so they keep in mind the key word for every time anyone spend taxpayer dollars: leverage.
benton.org/node/29824 | App-Rising.com
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THE STIMULUS

AGENCIES NEED TO IMPROVE BROADBAND STIMULUS IMPLEMENTATION
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: Mark Goldstein]
The Secretaries of Commerce and Agriculture should ensure sufficient time to review applications in the second broadband stimulus funding round, develop contingency plans for oversight beyond fiscal year 2010, and develop program performance measures. The Secretary of Commerce should also set annual audit requirements for commercial grantees. These are the recommendations after GAO reviewed the challenges NTIA and RUS face; steps taken to address challenges; and remaining risks in 1) evaluating applications and awarding funds and 2) overseeing funded projects. GAO reviewed relevant laws and program documents and interviewed agency officials and industry stakeholders. GAO-10-80, November 16.
benton.org/node/29828 | Government Accountability Office | Highlights | Los Angeles Times
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FOCUS STIMULUS ON UNSERVED AREAS, HOUSE COMMITTEE TELLS NTIA, RUS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Service (RUS), House Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and ranking member Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), wrote: "It is the Committee's recommendation that funds should be targeted to areas which are first "unserved" and only then to "underserved" areas, if funding remains." The letter was signed by 21 members, or about two-thirds of the committee. The committee had more recommendations for the next round of bidding next year. That includes improving the Web sites to make it easier to comment or apply for funds, saying the current procedures are "confusing and time/resource consuming." The committee also says the application process for the first round included the following barriers to small business participation that need to be lowered next time around: "a 10-year limitation on the sale of award funded facilities, a matching contribution requirement, and a first lien rule." Requiring RUS, for example, to hold the exclusive first lien (the first lender to get paid back) violated some existing loan agreements and discouraged "many companies" from participating, the legislators said.
benton.org/node/29807 | Broadcasting&Cable
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PROGRESS UPDATE ON BROADBAND STIMULUS
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Bernie Arnason]
Mary Campanola, Outreach Coordinator for the Rural Utilities Service, revealed: 1) to date, 18 RUS BIP applicants have been notified that their applications made it to the second phase of the review process. 2) There were 11,000 reply comments for all 2,200 applications, indicating significant incumbent challenges of unserved/underserved claims by applicants. 3) Eighty percent of all applications received at least one reply comment. 4) RUS needs to validate all challenge claims, which will lengthen the award notification process. 4) Announcements of award winners will begin 'sometime' in December, but the award notifications will be done on a rolling basis and will be ongoing well into 2010. Over 90% of all traditional RUS loan applications last year were for FTTH projects.
benton.org/node/29827 | telecompetitor
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MMTC WANTS SMALL BUSINESS BROADBAND STIMULUS FUND
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Minority Media & Telecommunications Council wants some of the broadband stimulus money in the second round of bidding to be set aside for minorities and small businesses. In a letter to Rural Telecommunication Service administrator Jonathan Adelstein, MMTC said that the 1% weighting for small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs) in the first found was insufficient. "RUS should reserve a portion of the round two funds solely for SDB use," said MMTC. If there is any of that set-aside left over, it should to bidders who can demonstrate significant SDB participation, the council said.
benton.org/node/29806 | Broadcasting&Cable
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WIRELESS/TELECOM

BUSH FEARED REVOKED TELECOM IMMUNITY
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: David Kravets]
The George W. Bush administration expressed concern future administrations might not use the legal amnesty it wanted to give the nation's telecommunication companies that were being sued for assisting the president's warrantless, electronic wiretapping program, according to internal documents released Thursday. The documents, unearthed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation via a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, also suggest the administration was wary it might first have to concede that the telcos were complicit in the alleged dragnet surveillance to garner congressional support for the amnesty bill. The legislation, passed in July 2008, killed the EFF's federal civil rights lawsuit against the companies.
benton.org/node/29816 | Wired
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USF REFORMERS MULL WIRELESS AUCTION
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Ed Gubbins]
A House subcommittee is holding a hearing today to discuss proposed changes to the Universal Service Fund (USF) that include an auction process for wireless USF recipients, USF support for broadband and possibly requiring voice-over-IP providers to contribute to USF in states where their customers live. The draft under discussion by the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet requires the Federal Communications Commission, within a year of the proposed act's passage, to set up auctions for wireless operators providing universal service to high-cost rural and isolated areas. Auction winners would receive USF support for as many as 10 years before a new auction would be held. Auctions would take place only where there are at least three competing providers, and bidders' proposed minimum broadband speeds would be a primary consideration. Where there are fewer than three competitors, the FCC would continue supporting service line-by-line. The draft would allow carriers to apply USF to broadband deployment. Notably, though, the draft defines broadband as having download speeds of at least 1.5 megabits per second. That's about twice the speed at which the FCC defines broadband ­ 768 kilobits per second. The draft would also allow states to force companies providing communications services within their borders to contribute to USF, which could include companies that provide Internet-based voice-over-IP services.
benton.org/node/29822 | TelephonyOnline
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REWIRING AN OLD FUND FOR RURAL BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Daily Yonder, AUTHOR: Craig Settles]
[Commentary] Reps Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) are proposing to overhaul the Universal Service Fund in several ways, and to designate that money from the fund can be spent on broadband. It was originally reported that as much as $2 billion could be available, but the draft makes no mention of a specific dollar amount; however, in 2004, 60% ($3.4 billion) of the USF went into the High Cost Fund. The draft recommends capping the USF at $7 billion, so 60% equals a potentially huge bankroll of $4.2 billion. Though the potential dollars this USF reform could make available for broadband are quite large, the draft as it stands now is a good news-bad news sort of deal. The good news: here is more money for broadband. The bad news: the draft only indicates support for wireless providers. There's a passing mention of satellite telecommunications, though it's murky whether these providers would be eligible for broadband-targeted money. There's no mention at all of fiber optic technology.
benton.org/node/29810 | Daily Yonder
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CABLE, VERIZON SUPPORT USF EXPANSION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Cable operators and phone company Verizon both threw their support behind expanding the Universal Service Fund to include broadband, though the National Cable & Telecommunications Association made clear it would have to be a targeted approach. The fund, which telecom companies like Verizon pay into, supports telephone service to areas that are hard or uneconomical to reach. Broadband is now considered the new lifeline service. Reps Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Lee Terry (R-Neb) have co-sponsored a bill to make that change, as well as several others. Boucher, chairman of the House Communications Subcommittee, held a hearing on a draft of the bill Tuesday.
benton.org/node/29809 | Broadcasting&Cable
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ROCKEFELLER QUESTIONS VERIZON-FRONTIER DEAL
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller (D-WV) has quietly urged the Federal Communications Commission to closely scrutinize Verizon's plan to unload its rural assets in 14 states to Frontier Communications, a deal that critics insist would leave customers without the latest broadband technologies. Chairman Rockefeller is reportedly so worried about the impact on his home state of West Virginia that he met late last month with Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg and over the summer with Frontier Chairman and CEO Maggie Wilderotter to convey his concerns.
benton.org/node/29821 | CongressDaily
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AT&T, VERIZON IN COURT TODAY
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Leslie Cauley]
A federal court today will consider the fate of a Verizon ad campaign that features side-by-side wireless coverage maps showing it has five times more 3G coverage than AT&T. AT&T isn't contesting the accuracy of Verizon's claim, but says the ads are misleading. Verizon, in its legal response, says AT&T is suing because the "ads are true, and the truth hurts." AT&T wants the court, which will hear arguments today, to force Verizon to pull the five ads. Three are holiday themed. Regardless of the outcome, legal experts say the lawsuit has put a spotlight on an even bigger problem for wireless consumers: the reliability of ad claims in general. Trying to win customers, carriers are increasingly bending the truth or omitting facts in ad campaigns, says Joel Kelsey, a lawyer with Consumers Union. All carriers do it, he says.
benton.org/node/29842 | USAToday
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OWNERSHIP

US SENATORS QUESTION TV MERGERS
[SOURCE: Honolulu Advertiser, AUTHOR: Rick Daysog]
Sens John Kerry (D-MA) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have raised concerns with the Federal Communications Commission about the impact of television station consolidation in Honolulu and other media markets. Last month, the owners of KGMB9, KHNL and K5 merged their news operations, laid off about a third of the stations' staff and began simulcasting some of their news programs. In a Nov. 2 letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, Sen Kerry, chairman of the Senate subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, and Sen Grassley cited the merger as an example of consolidation that results in "fewer voices on the airwaves and reduced consumer choice." "As a result of consolidation, local newscasts are now presented on competing network affiliates by the exact same news staff and anchor team in markets across the country from Honolulu to Cedar Rapids to Baltimore," they said. "Unfortunately, some broadcast companies have taken advantage of a sympathetic FCC over the last eight years to gain multiple television stations in a given market."
benton.org/node/29830 | Honolulu Advertiser
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VIVENDI, NBC IRONING OUT DETAILS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sam Schechner, Max Colchester]
Apparently, Vivendi SA is still working out terms with its partner General Electric Co., asking for a higher price and deal protections as the French company seeks to exit its minority stake in NBC Universal. The Vivendi-GE talks are the last major hurdle in a deal GE has been negotiating with Comcast Corp., in which the U.S. cable operator would take control of NBC Universal, according to people familiar with those talks. GE currently owns 80% of the television and film company, while Vivendi holds 20%. One issue in the GE-Vivendi talks is how Vivendi would be paid. Vivendi has asked for GE to buy out at least part of its 20% stake before a Comcast deal would likely close. That stipulation would give Vivendi some measure of protection if the Comcast deal does not go through. A Comcast deal could take from six months to more than a year to pass muster in Washington. Vivendi has also pushed GE to boost what it would pay for Vivendi's 20% interest.
benton.org/node/29845 | Wall Street Journal
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TELEVISION/RADIO

SMITH ON INDECENCY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Likening it to the fee paid for grazing cattle on public lands, National Association of Broadcasters President Gordon Smith said Tuesday that hewing to community standards on content was one of the prices broadcasters pay for their spectrum. Asked if that meant he thought broadcasters have to be subject to FCC indecency rules as part of that price, he said broadcasters "needed to be sensitive to it. I think with some exceptions we are trying to be." But he also said the emphasis should be on technology, "so we can balance the First Amendment with the need to be competitive and the need to empower parents and shield children from things that they ought not to see." Smith said he valued and believed in the First Amendment, but said he understood the challenge of competing with subscription services that can "push the envelope all [they] want." But he also said he represented a lot of cattlemen, who know that they are going to pay a fee if they are going to graze their cattle on public land. "The fee that we pay is localism, engaging the community and observing community standards."
benton.org/node/29840 | Broadcasting&Cable
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SENATE BILL WOULD MANDATE DIRECTV LOCAL CARRIAGE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) is preparing an amendment to the Senate Commerce Committee version of the satellite reauthorization bill that would mandate local TV station service to all 210 markets by satellite carriers EchoStar and DirecTV. That makes it different from the House version of local-into-local carriage in all 210 markets, which says that if EchoStar wants to get back into the distant-signal business, it will have to deliver local TV station signals to the remaining 30 or so smallest markets that lack them. That voluntary provision was part of a compromise reached between EchoStar and broadcasters and urged by House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA), though the deal is threatened by an amendment advancing the timetable for satellite carriage of noncommercial HD signals. The amendment was adopted by the House Commerce Committee, but opposed by Chairman Boucher for its potential to unravel the deal. The draft of the Senate Commerce bill [STELA, the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act] that was circulated last week did not include a local-into-local mandate, but McCaskill is aiming to fix that.
benton.org/node/29838 | Multichannel News
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FCC broadband planners to outline hurdles to universal access

There's not enough spectrum for mobile broadband. A federal fund for phone service needs to be repurposed to include broadband. Consumers should be told the truth about the Internet access speeds they pay for. These are the problems identified by the Federal Communications Commission as obstacles in its effort to blanket the country with high-speed Internet service. Blair Levin is head of the FCC's task force charged to come up with solutions before a February deadline. He will discuss those policy-related gaps at an agency meeting Wednesday that's scheduled to start at 10 a.m. But it won't be easy to solve these issues, which are already being contested by companies who fear that new policies could negatively impact their business plans. One hurdle for users is a lack of transparency by providers, he said. Internet network operators such as Verizon, Comcast, and AT&T will have to be a lot more transparent about the services, prices, and speeds they offer. And consumers should be able to get a clear sense of the options they have among those and other telecom, cable and satellite broadband providers before signing up for a service. Last September, Levin's team reported that Internet users are paying for speeds that lag what was advertised to them by as much as 50 percent.

Feds Mull Rules, Fees to Spur Net Access

Today the Federal Communications Commission will lay out the case for expanding broadband Internet service, outlining current obstacles to making it widely available. The agency is considering whether to force Internet providers to share their networks with rivals and raise fees charged on consumer phone bills to pay for the broader access. The proposals, which have sparked criticism from telecommunications and cable companies, represent a reversal from the Bush Administration, when regulators cut back on government control of Internet and telephone service. The new commission, controlled by Democrats, is considering whether more government control is needed to ensure competition and more affordable Internet service. The FCC staff will float possible solutions in December and make formal recommendations in February, when it is set to release its National Broadband Plan, a blueprint for improving broadband speed and access. Congress asked the FCC for the plan earlier this year.

FCC Seeks Comment on Broadband's Role in Civic Participation

While civic participation takes many forms, two processes provide the most direct and regular interaction opportunities between government and citizens: 1) the election process, and 2) public hearings and town hall meetings. The election process and voting are essential to maintaining a functioning democracy and are also the civic processes in which the most Americans participate. Public hearings and town hall meetings allow citizens to provide government representatives direct input on specific concerns and provide government representatives a direct means to gauge citizen sentiment. Accordingly, the Federal Communications Commission is seeking tailored comment on how broadband can help to bring democratic processes-including elections, public hearings and town hall meetings-into the digital age, thereby encouraging and facilitating citizen opportunities to engage and participate in their democracy. The FCC public notice is focused on a) registering to vote, b) processes leading up to Election Day, c) voting, and d) online government hearings and online town hall meetings.

Comments are due December 10.

NAB Not Foreclosed To Spectrum Discussions

National Association of Broadcasters President Gordon Smith says he is open to talks about spectrum reclamation, but also called the suggested reclamation of broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband as a "major policy piece hatched outside of political reality," saying the graveyard is full of such proposals. "When you start talking about 800 MHz [of spectrum] that is potentially worth billions of dollars and saying we're going to take that for other purposes, and those purposes will no
longer be free over-the-air, but we'll take them for fee service, I think I know how that argument plays out politically." But he did say NAB was "open to ideas," except that whatever those ideas were they would still have to leave broadcasters with a workable business model, which includes spectrum for multicast channels and high definition broadcasts, he suggested. Asked whether one of those ideas could be some smaller broadcasters in markets giving up spectrum, he said he was not and is not "foreclosed to anything," but that he would need to see "the whole package" and formulate a response that allows venting in the association of all views, including opportunities.

FBI Suspects Terrorists Are Exploring Cyber Attacks

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking at people with suspected links to al Qaeda who have shown an interest in mounting an attack on computer systems that control critical U.S. infrastructure, a senior official told Congress Tuesday. While there is no evidence that terrorist groups have developed sophisticated cyber-attack capabilities, a lack of security protections in U.S. computer software increases the likelihood that terrorists could execute attacks in the future, the official warned. If terrorists were to amass such capabilities, they would be wielded with "destructive and deadly intent," Steven Chabinsky, deputy assistant director of the FBI's Cyber Division, told the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday.

Justice Kennedy Frustrated Over School-Press Flap

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said he was frustrated by criticism of his response to a school newspaper's coverage and called it a misunderstanding that spiraled out of control. Justice Kennedy went to New York's Dalton School on Oct. 28 to speak to students about civics. Shortly after, the student newspaper ran a note saying "numerous publication constraints" had delayed its article on his talk. The New York Times then reported that Justice Kennedy's office had barred the student paper from publishing an article without its approval. The story flashed across the Internet, prompting editorial writers and bloggers to brand Justice Kennedy, for years one of the court's strongest free-speech advocates, a hypocrite. In an interview Tuesday, Justice Kennedy said he never asked to clear the copy before publication. He said the request came from a new employee who misunderstood his longtime rule for classroom visits: no outside media, but campus reporters are welcome. As "the captain of the ship," he said, he accepted responsibility for requests made in his name.