January 2010

CORRECTION: Jan 5th's headlines identified the Detroit Connected Community Initiative project as a BTOP grantee. This is incorrect. The project is mainly funded by the Knight Foundation.

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY JANUARY 6, 2009

THE AGENDA
   Washington policy leaders set to mingle at CES in Las Vegas
   3-D TV, Apple tablet, Google phone among next-generation devices on the way
   So Did Anything Actually Happen In Telecom In 2009? And What That Means for 2010
   Five ed-tech stories to watch for 2010
   $250 million initiative for science, math teachers planned
   FTC set to examine cloud computing

NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
   MMTC Has Concerns about National Broadband Plan
   DOJ's Measured comments on National Broadband Plan
   89% of US Households Do Not Rely on Broadcast TV
   Broadband Policy Lessons for 2010
   Internet, broadband, and cell phone statistics

THE STIMULUS
   Do Delays Really Hurt Stimulus Funding?
   Stimulus funding gives boost to broadband
   Smart grid: Definition, road map and breadth of this grand challenge

MUNICIPAL NETWORKS
   Minneapolis Completes Wireless Network
   Lexington rolls out new WiFi initiative

NET NEUTRALITY
   Writers Guild East, Songwriters At Odds On Network Neutrality Rules
   Also see:WGA beseeches FCC
   Groups ask for FCC workshop on Network Neutrality's impact on access to broadband

WIRELESS
   The Google Phone Won't Open Up the Wireless Industry
   Google's biggest announcement was not a phone, but a URL
   Apple to Acquire Mobile-Ad Network Quattro Wireless
   Smartphone U.S. Market Share Reaches 17%
   Applying 3G lessons to LTE

CONTENT
   Cable Industry Claims Collusion is Pro-Consumer
   The Future on TV
   Bono's "One" Ignorant Idea
   Lessons From Early Radio

HEALTH IT
   Provider groups raise a clamor over 'meaningful use'
   Survey: Many Hospitals Fall Short of Latest 'Meaningful Use' Rules

POLICYMAKERS
   Sen. Dorgan plans to leave Senate
   FCC's McDowell on broadband plan, white spaces, Google as administrator
   CPB Names Matthew White Executive Director of the American Archive
   New Lobbyist For ICANN

MORE ONLINE
   Ad Influx Brightens Hopes For Newspapers, Magazines
   NAB Says Retransmission Process Works
   Hyperlocal sites becoming major M&A targets
   Governing in the Age of Fox News
   The Professor and the Prosecutor
   Iran uses Internet as tool against protesters

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THE AGENDA

WASHINGTON POLICY LEADERS SET TO MINGLE AT CES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Tech geeks, meet the feds. That will be one of the notable themes at the International Consumer Electronics Show that begins Thursday in Las Vegas, where the Obama administration's top technology advisers, regulators and lawmakers plan to mingle with Silicon Valley's gadget heads for the year's biggest show-and-tell for technology. The participation of tech policy leaders such as national Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, highlights Washington's growing interest in tech policy. Stimulus funds for broadband, proposals for governing Internet access, calls for more wireless spectrum, and investigations into the business practices of some of the industry's biggest players have gotten the attention of Silicon Valley, analysts said. "Policy issues are front and center this year at CES," said Jason Oxman, senior vice president of the Consumer Electronics Association. "Broadband capabilities are in more devices than ever before. It will be hard to find a TV without broadband connectivity at the show, and everything wireless connects to the Internet, so broadband and spectrum policy issues are very important to the [consumer electronics] industry."
benton.org/node/31003 | Washington Post
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3-D TV, APPLE TABLET, GOOGLE PHONE AMONG NEXT-GENERATION DEVICES
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Frank Ahrens]
A raft of sci-fi-inspired gadgets and technologies are being announced this month, promising a future of 3-D television, super-smart phones and next-generation electronic tablets that wrap the features of a laptop and a digital book into one wafer-thin package. If you think you've heard all this before, well, you have. Moviegoers were donning 3-D glasses in the 1950s, and legions of gee-whiz devices have come and gone, with little discernible improvement of the human condition. What makes this month notable is the sheer number of pitches being shouted by tech and media giants ranging from Apple to Google to Sony to Discovery Communications, in the hope that recession-weary Americans are ready to start spending their discretionary income again. These corporate goliaths maintain large cash balances, enabling them to spend money on product development during downturns while smaller rivals struggle to stay afloat.
benton.org/node/31000 | Washington Post
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WHAT'S UP FOR 2010?
[SOURCE: Tales from the Sausage Factory, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
[Commentary] So 2010 turns out to be the year we will find out whether "data driven" actually goes anywhere, and how far. Because one consequence of delay has been that the incumbents who began 2009 in a state of quaking panic at the prospect of radical change have had time to regroup and rediscover their political courage. Also concerning is all this idea that "politics is the art of the possible" which appears to have become the guiding mantra of the Obama folks and Democrats generally. In contrast, Feld offers this: "Politics may be the art of the possible. But leadership is getting people to do what they previously thought was impossible — in unison." Not an easy task. But leadership, as opposed to simple management, is not easy. Bottom line, despite lots of hope for new beginnings and dramatic change, 2009 turned out to be the prologue rather than the pivot. It remains far too early to write off the Obama telecom initiatives at the FCC, NTIA, RUS, and elsewhere as fizzles or failures — as too many disappointed progressives have been eager to do since the beginning. At the same time, a lot of momentum progressives had coming into this year has dissipated in terms of pushing for more radical change. (12/31)
benton.org/node/30970 | Tales from the Sausage Factory
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ED-TECH STORIES FOR 2010
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: ]
Five stories that could have a huge effect on education technology in the new year: 5) Will Congress reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act this year, and if so, what will the new law look like? 4) How will the continuing evolution of mobile devices affect students' computing experience? 3) Will the digital textbook revolution succeed? And, how will new developments in the digital book market affect teaching and learning? 2) How will schools deal with a lingering financial crisis that isn't expected to end anytime soon? 1) What will the new National Education Technology Plan and National Broadband Plan look like? (The Department of Education is expected to unveil the first draft of the Obama administration's National Education Technology Plan later this month.)
benton.org/node/30969 | eSchool News
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$250 MILLION FOR MATH AND SCIENCE TEACHERS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Nick Anderson]
President Obama will announce a $250 million public-private effort Wednesday to improve science and mathematics instruction, aiming to help the nation compete in key fields with global economic rivals. With funding from high-tech businesses, universities and foundations, the initiative seeks to prepare more than 10,000 new math and science schoolteachers over five years and provide on-the-job training for an additional 100,000 in science, technology, engineering and math. It effectively doubles, to more than $500 million, a philanthropic campaign for STEM education that Obama launched in November. Separately, the government spends about $700 million a year on elementary and secondary education in the STEM fields through agencies such as NASA, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Education Department. But it's unclear how much federal spending can grow in a time of rising budget deficits. "There is a recognition we can't do everything," said John P. Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. "We really need all hands on deck from the private sector and the philanthropic sector because the government can't foot the whole bill for this."
benton.org/node/30999 | Washington Post
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FTC SET TO EXAMINE CLOUD COMPUTING
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating the privacy and security implications of cloud computing, according to a recent filing with the Federal Communications Commission. The FTC, which shares jurisdiction over broadband issues, says it recognizes the potential cost-savings cloud computing can provide. "However, the storage of data on remote computers may also raise privacy and security concerns for consumers," wrote David Vladeck, who helms the FTC's Consumer Protection Bureau. "For example, the ability of cloud computing services to collect and centrally store increasing amounts of consumer data, combined with the ease with which such centrally stored data may be shared with others, create a risk that larger amounts of data may be used by entities not originally intended or understood by consumers," the filing says. The FTC is also looking at identity management systems — i.e., how people authenticate their identities when logging into websites — and how they can better protect citizens' privacy.
benton.org/node/30975 | Hill, The
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NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN

MMTC HAS CONCERNS ABOUT NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, AUTHOR: David Honig]
In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission's Blair Levin, the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council raises seven concerns about the framework for the National Broadband Plan released December 16. 1. SDB and MBE Engagement. The Framework fails to mention market entry barriers affecting SDBs and MBEs. Further, the Framework fails to prioritize the use of Tribal-owned broadband providers in the development of Tribal lands. 2. Present Effects of Past Discrimination. The Framework fails to discuss how the National Broadband Plan will seek to bring broadband to communities—many of which lack basic electricity—where historical racial discrimination and credit redlining persist to this day. 3. The Unique Circumstances of Women. The Framework fails to address the unique circumstances of low-income women, many of whom are minorities seeking to reenter the workforce. 4. Tribal Lands. The Commission's efforts to address broadband in Tribal communities should be more robust. The plan should include a joint Federal/Tribal board to monitor the use of USF funds, a generously increased allocation of spectrum to Tribal lands, and a commitment to ongoing research and mapping of broadband in Tribal lands. 5. Hyper-Targeted Adoption Efforts. The National Broadband Plan should be hypertargeted to specifically address the unique needs of local communities. 6. Education. The Framework does not address the desirability of using E-Rate funds for teacher development, digital literacy for non-adopting businesses and consumers, and home broadband adoption for students. 7. Specific Voting Reforms. The Framework does not address the specific reforms raised by civil rights organizations to improve voter registration, privacy, and online voting in areas predominantly comprised of minority and low-income constituents.
benton.org/node/30997 | Minority Media and Telecommunications Council
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DOJ'S MEASURED COMMENTS ON NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: Susan Crawford blog, AUTHOR: Susan Crawford]
[Commentary] A closer look at the Department of Justice filing on the National Broadband Plan: 1) The DoJ recommends that the Federal Communications Commission go beyond information about infrastructure and availability to look closely at actual pricing. 2) DoJ suggests that the highest value use for new spectrum may actually be to make it available for license by new rivals. 3) The FCC could promote standardized information provision - akin to nutrition labeling. 4) The FCC should monitor closely those markets that have just one or two high-speed Internet access providers. Price regulation may not make sense for residential Internet access services, unless (perhaps) affordability is an important factor for consumers. We don't know yet how strongly correlated affordability is with adoption.
benton.org/node/30996 | Susan Crawford blog
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89% OF US HOUSEHOLDS DO NOT RELY ON BROADCAST TV
[SOURCE: Leichtman Research Group, AUTHOR: Bruce Leichtman]
Leichtman tells the Federal Communications Commission: 1) 11% of households with a TV set do not subscribe to any form of multi-channel video service, 2) Including multi-channel video households, about 18% of all TV sets in consumers homes are broadcast-only, 3) Penetration of HD television devices in non-subscribers' households is 25% -- compared to 46% overall, 4) Combined penetration of Apple TV and Roku Internet video devices is about 1% of households.
benton.org/node/30976 | Leichtman Research Group
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BROADBAND POLICY LESSONS FOR 2010
[SOURCE: MuniWireless, AUTHOR: Bart Preecs]
[Commentary] In the Telecommunications Act of 1996 Congress laid out the principles and policy options that were intended to promote competition in the communications and broadband markets. These open access policies require telecommunications providers, mostly incumbents, to make available to their competitors, usually at regulated rates, various parts of their network or service, so that the competitors can begin to compete using these components as part of their service, without having to replicate the full investment that the incumbent originally made. Open access policies include: 1) Unbundling -- gives competing broadband companies the right to use local copper loops; 2) Bitstream access -- gives competitors the right to use existing DSL lines; 3) Collocation -- gives competitors the right to install equipment in phone company facilities; 4) Wholesaling or functional separation -- requires incumbents to offer services at wholesale prices to competitors, or establish separate companies selling unbundled components. But from the start implementation of unbundling was burdened and thwarted, largely by incumbents who resisted implementation through footdragging and litigation, but also by a judiciary that was highly skeptical of the theory behind unbundling, receptive to the arguments of the incumbents, and who exhibited little deference to the judgment of the FCC. In their new book, The Curse of the Mogul: What's Wrong with the World's Leading Media Companies, Jonathan Knee, Bruce Greenwald, and Ava Seave come to this conclusion regarding telecommunication infrastructure: "An ideal world would consist of local hybrid networks—wireless and fiber—with exclusive territories cooperating across regional boundaries. The resulting structure would minimize costs, maximize potential service quality, and not coincidentally generate high profits at reasonable profits."
benton.org/node/30994 | MuniWireless
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INTERNET, BROADBAND AND CELL PHONE STATISTICS
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, AUTHOR: Lee Rainie]
In a national survey between November 30 and December 27, 2009, Pew finds: 1) 74% of American adults (ages 18 and older) use the Internet -- a slight drop from our survey in April 2009, which did not include Spanish interviews. At that time we found that 79% of English-speaking adults use the Internet. 2) 60% of American adults use broadband connections at home ­ a drop that is within the margin of error from 63% in April 2009. 3) 55% of American adults connect to the Internet wirelessly, either through a WiFi or WiMax connection via their laptops or through their handheld device like a smart phone. This figure did not change in a statistically significant way during 2009. "The Internet, it's pretty clear, is a saturated market," Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, said. The lack of growth in broadband use at home may relate to economic stress, "with people not renewing their contracts, scaling back, or not venturing into this area," Rainie said. He predicted growth in broadband use given the injection of funding aimed at spurring broadband access and adoption as part of the federal economic stimulus package passed last February. Since 2006, the number of American adults using the Internet has leveled.
benton.org/node/30995 | Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project | TechDailyDose | FastCompany
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THE STIMULUS

DO DELAYS REALLY HURT STIMULUS FUNDING?
[SOURCE: Light Reading, AUTHOR: Carol Wilson]
[Commentary] However much we all want to compare broadband networks to utilities or to commodities such as highways, there are numerous issues that make it harder to spend federal dollars quickly on high-speed Internet than on building new roads. One reason for haste was the hope that broadband stimulus funding would also be an economic boon, helping to create jobs and stimulate local economies, in addition to bringing broadband where it is badly needed. For many reasons, the Obama administration wanted that to happen sooner rather than later. Broadband access, unfortunately, comes politically loaded. Just look at the brouhaha in Maine, where the University of Maine was part of a public/private partnership that won a $25.4 million federal grant to build an 1,100-mile fiber optic network through the northern, western, and eastern areas of the state. By providing this "middle mile" network, the Great Works Internet company and two private investors intend to enable more broadband access at the local level. Maine incumbent FairPoint Communications isn't happy that the university is involved, and neither, apparently, are some state residents, who think their tuition dollars are being misused. Despite assurances from the university that it is acting in a minor advisory role, opponents have gotten two separate pieces of legislation introduced to keep the university out of the broadband business. So even when the federal government does get its act together, delays seem inevitable. The smart thing right now is for this process to continue to play out, and the focus to remain on getting the right projects in place, so that the stimulus funding has the lasting and sustainable impact on getting broadband to the places that need it. In many areas, there is little likelihood of major network construction until spring, anyway. If we can't do this quickly, let's at least get it right.
benton.org/node/30971 | Light Reading
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STIMULUS FUNDING GIVES BOOST TO BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Saint Cloud Times, AUTHOR: Britt Johnson]
Minnesota is getting $1.7 million in federal stimulus funding for mapping high-speed Internet access and showing where gaps in coverage exist — which is often in rural areas. Local economic development officials and others say broadband access is a significant player in economic development and innovation. They argue that the state will need access to faster Internet connections as more businesses, schools and health clinics rely on online services. Still, local government agencies aren't poised to shell out funding for more access. But they plan to encourage providers to offer service in places where residents and businesses say they need it. The Legislature is expected to take up this issue in February as it considers recent recommendations made by a state task force advocating for high-speed Internet connections. Rick King, chairman of the Ultra High Speed Broadband Task Force, said about 94 percent of the state has access to broadband. But that's given the current definition of broadband under the Federal Communications Commission. That definition is much slower than where the state should be if it wants to be economically competitive, King said.
benton.org/node/30972 | Saint Cloud Times
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DEFINING THE SMART GRID
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: H. Alan Mantooth]
[Commentary] A smarter electric power grid promises greater efficiency, reliability and security leading to greater use of renewable energy sources that positively impact our environment. We can all agree that such attributes, if they can be achieved affordably and sustainably, are worthy of our efforts as a global community. That said, it is instructive to provide a definition for the term "smart grid" to clearly explain why this energy transformation is a grand challenge of our time. The term "smart grid" refers to hardware and software added to the power system to achieve: a.) a more autonomous responsiveness to events that impact the electrical power grid, and b.) optimal day-to-day operational efficiency of electrical power delivery. Among the events that impact the grid are outages (scheduled and unscheduled), load-balancing and peak-shaving — or sending power back to the grid when demand is high. Smart grid hardware and software encompasses: a.) metering and monitoring of the power system, b.) communicating the conditions of the grid in real time, and c.) controlling the flow of power to maintain reliable service and stable operation. During the development of a smart grid infrastructure, it is reasonable to design the security protocols, renewable-based systems (wind, solar, plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, biomass), time-of-use/demand-driven pricing and other aspects of the electrical power business into this next generation of the grid. With this definition in mind, the next question that arises is "Where are we in the drive to a smart grid?"
benton.org/node/30977 | TelephonyOnline
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NET NEUTRALITY

WGA, SONGWRITERS DIFFER ON NET NEUTRALITY RULES
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Wendy Davis]
The Songwriters Guild of America is insisting that rules banning Internet service providers from discriminating by offering prioritized access will hinder efforts to fight piracy. This week, the organization filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission insisting that a regulation banning Internet service providers from discriminating "would continue to permit rampant Internet piracy." The Writers Guild of America, East, meanwhile, makes the opposite argument. That group says that a strong non-discrimination provision is vital to ensuring that big media companies don't gain an unfair advantage over independent writers. As for copyright infringement, the Writers Guild East says that anti-piracy initiatives and neutrality principles can co-exist. "Everyone opposes car theft but no one proposes that we restrict access to the highways," the organization argues.
benton.org/node/30989 | MediaPost | B&C | Hollywood Reporter
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GROUPS ASK FCC TO CONSIDER NET NEUTRALITY'S IMPACT ON ACCESS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Asian American Justice Center, the Hispanic Technology & Telecommunications Partnership, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, and the National Conference of Black Mayors are again asking the Federal Communications Commission to move cautiously on Network Neutrality regulation. The groups are asking the FCC to drill down into issues like whether network neutrality issues should apply to search engines and content and application providers -- the FCC has signaled it should be confined to the ISPs. They also suggest that a number of "facially neutral, idealistic" social policies unintentionally widened social divides by race and income, citing Medicare and Social Security, for example. It also points to school desegregation and the FCC's own minority broadcast ownership rules as examples of programs that failed to close divides due in part to insufficient enforcement. "What can be learned from these experiences and how can that knowledge be applied to the design and implementation of potential network neutrality regulations?" They ask whether the FCC should do more research into whether net neutrality rules would widen the divide or lengthen the timetable for closing it.
benton.org/node/30988 | Broadcasting&Cable
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WIRELESS

THE GOOGLE PHONE WON'T OPEN UP THE WIRELESS INDUSTRY
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
[Commentary] Higginbotham hoped Google's Nexus One would be a hardware-based crowbar. It isn't, and Google so far seems to be working with the carriers even as it offers its own web store for Android devices. But if Google wants to bring about affordable and open wireless to everyone, as well as encourage more competition in the wireless industry, here are a few steps it should take to bring that about. 1) Build a phone that can roam: A software-defined radio (SDR) could be the key for a universal handset. Google could contribute dollars or talent to making SDRs faster, cheaper and more power-efficient so they work inside mobile phones. 2) Get carriers to ditch SIM cards. If Google can convince a carrier to let a SIM-free device (perhaps biometric access to a network would be secure enough for carriers) onto its network, then we could see the beginning of a world where it's easy for a device to use the best, lowest-cost network available and pricing for mobile broadband comes way down. If Google can help build devices that can roam anywhere, across a variety of networks, including Wi-Fi, and can push carriers to find another way to authenticate people on their networks without sacrificing security, then they could release a device that could be just as disruptive as the iPhone.
benton.org/node/30993 | GigaOm | Om Malik: Best Android Phone | NYTimes | WSJ
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GOOGLE'S BIGGEST ANNOUNCEMENT WAS A URL
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Stokes]
[Commentary] The Nexus One is a sharp-looking smartphone, but, as nice as it is, it is the least significant thing that Google announced on Tuesday. The real news is Google's online store, and what it means for the US wireless industry. Google has confirmed that Nexus One, and all subsequent Google phones sold via the company's online store, will be available unlocked for use on every participating carrier. If a particular Google-branded phone is not on a particular carrier, then that's only because that phone doesn't have the proper radio to support its network. In addition to being unlocked, the phones will also have bundled plan options where the pricing and details are up to the carrier. By offering a lineup of phones that is essentially carrier-independent (with the radio compatibility caveat), Google has separated the two previously interlocked parts of the phone/plan-buying experience—phone selection and carrier selection—and has done so in a way that threatens one of the most important enablers of carrier lock-in.
benton.org/node/30992 | Ars Technica
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APPLE TO ACQUIRE QUATTRO
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Rita Chang]
Apparently, Apple Computer is jumping on the mobile-advertising bandwagon and will acquire mobile ad network Quattro Wireless in a deal valued between $250 million to $275 million. Joining the advertising fray is a striking departure for a company that has honed its reputation on creating a superior and seamless user experience, first by the PC and now the smartphone. Yet, given Apple's success with the iPhone App Store -- a repository of more than 100,000 free and paid mobile applications -- it's logical that the company would want to extend its mobile efforts by providing a seamless path for its app developers to cash in on the ad dollars while helping itself to a share of that revenue. Google said Apple's move reveals a competitive market for mobile search. Google said during its presentation of the Nexus One that search queries increased by five times over the last year. The search engine wants to be able to extend its dominance in search advertising on desktop Internet use to wireless phones. It's also acquired AdMobs, which is being reviewed by the FTC, to grab advertising dollars from display ads as well.
benton.org/node/30991 | AdAge | WashPost
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SMARTPHONES 17% OF US MARKET SHARE
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Mark Walsh]
The proportion of adult U.S. subscribers owning smartphones jumped to 17% last year from 11% in 2008 and 7% in 2007, according to new data from Forrester Research. The growth rate has held steady from 2008 even as the user base has expanded -- a good sign, because new technologies often initially have gaudy growth numbers before declining rapidly as adoption increases, said Forrester. While Apple may boast the glamor device of the smartphone world, the research firm points out that BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion has maintained a two-to-one advantage over the iPhone in market share. It cites factors such as availability across all carriers, pricing and its Qwerty keyboard for the BlackBerry's continued popularity. What about 2010? "This will be the year of the smartphone, now that multiple device OEMs and multiple carriers are offering Android devices, and those ranks will grow (we expect AT&T to join the crowd in the first half of the year) as will the range of Android form factors and prices," wrote Forrester mobile analyst Charles Golvin.
benton.org/node/30990 | MediaPost
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APPLYING 3G LESSONS TO LTE
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Kevin Fitchard]
[Commentary] One thing we've learned (or should have learned) from the various generational deployments is the year a wireless technology officially emerges isn't necessarily the year we see that technology's benefits. Has the industry learned its lessons from 3G? Is the ecosystem more developed for LTE, and are we much better prepared for 4G than we were for 3G? The networks are ready, but are the other pieces falling into place? Unlike in 3G, carriers have some pretty clear ideas what kind of applications and devices they want to see on the 4G network — largely they resemble the smartphones and broadband modems already taxing 3G networks. The gobs of traffic emerging from devices like the iPhone have an ideal home on the LTE network, but when it comes to new services the question is a bit muddier. LTE has the bandwidth to support high-bandwidth video, making video-on-demand, videoconferencing and live streaming the "new data" of 4G. The question is whether the industry has a clear plan to offer and monetize these new types of applications from the get-go. Or will the industry spend the next few years using the 4G network for 3G services, while we figure out what to do with all of that bandwidth.
benton.org/node/30978 | TelephonyOnline
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CONTENT

CABLE INDUSTRY CLAIMS COLLUSION IS PRO-CONSUMER
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Marvin Ammori]
[Commentary] Spearheaded by Comcast and Time Warner Cable, the TV Everywhere initiative appears to be built on cable operators (and other distributors) agreeing to work together to pressure content providers to make their content available on the Internet only to viewers that have paid for a cable TV subscription in addition to an Internet connection. Thus, TV Everywhere ties online TV distribution to the existing cable, phone, and satellite distributors' TV subscriptions. (Ammori refers to all these as "cable," for brevity.) Citing news reports, statements by industry executives and other evidence, consumer groups argue there is enough evidence of collusion and other harms to warrant a full-scale investigation by the Justice Department or the Federal Trade Commission into the scheme. Unsurprisingly, the cable industry didn't welcome this critique of their plans. The head of the cable industry lobbying association (known as NCTA), Kyle McSlarrow, responded with a statement. McSlarrow is an effective lobbyist, but his response misses the mark. His key argument is that TV Everywhere consists of collaboration, not collusion. He notes that the antitrust authorities encourage collaboration sometimes even among competitors, for the sake of innovation and other benefits. McSlarrow has a point that some collaboration is not presumed to be anti-competitive; indeed, the FTC and DOJ have issued guidelines on collaboration among competitors. But the types of "collaboration" generally found not to harm competition and to further innovation are very different from TV Everywhere. Collaborations of some types are considered "per se," or automatically, illegal because they replace the competitive marketplace driving low prices, choice, and innovation with an agreement among incumbents effectively not to engage in competition with one another in certain ways.
benton.org/node/30981 | Huffington Post, The
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THE FUTURE ON TV
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Holman Jenkins Jr]
[Commentary] This may not be the year America cuts the cable cord and drops its subscription to pay TV. But it will likely be a year of sublime creative destruction in the home-video entertainment business. Comcast's proposed acquisition of NBC has elicited the usual panic from the usual worrywarts wondering who will possibly be able to compete with the new cable-cum-programming giant. A better question is: Who won't? Dozens of players (including retailers and gadget makers) are entering what's called the "over the top" TV market, with nothing to lose and every reason to innovate in competition with each other. The toughest hurdle has been connecting the television to a potentially bottomless supply of Internet programming in a way not daunting to the average viewer. Coming this year are TVs with direct Internet connections, which could change things fast. Of note is Best Buy's recent announcement that every Web-connected TV it sells will soon come with a subscription to a Best Buy library of entertainment. Sony has similar plans. Think Wal-Mart, Blockbuster and Disney won't be in the hunt?
benton.org/node/31001 | Wall Street Journal
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BONO'S "ONE" IGNORANT IDEA
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Gigi Sohn]
[Commentary] Bono blames Internet Service Providers for the scourge of file sharing -- "this reverse Robin Hooding" -- which he says hurts "the young, fledgling songwriters who can't live off ticket and T-shirt sales...." His "big" idea for stopping the scourge? Enforcement of copyright through deep packet inspection and filtering. This "idea" is mind-bogglingly ignorant for its lack of recognition of how these wonderful media "moguls" exploit the "fledgling songwriters" Bono professes to care about or how they helped to destroy the music industry through a combination of greed and incompetence. Nor does he have a clue about how these filters would work in the copyright context - blocking lawful content and encouraging an encryption arms race that would allow filesharing to proceed unabated. And of course it is shocking that any "humanitarian" would advocate use of technologies used by a repressive government to suppress online dissent. But the most absurd thing about Bono's endorsement of Draconian copyright enforcement is that it undermines just about everything else he professes to stand for.
benton.org/node/30980 | Public Knowledge
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LESSONS FROM EARLY RADIO
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Philip Leigh]
Much like today's Internet, radio enjoyed a high intrinsic growth rate in its early years. Radio entertainment during the 1930s included a mix of music, drama, comedy, and variety shows. However, music was considered essential. After a brief honeymoon when musicians and composers welcomed free access to the enlarged audience that radio could provide, they soon began complaining about inadequate royalties. The analogies to today's Internet situation should be as obvious as cow-patties on a snow bank. The "content is king" response to the Internet from traditional media companies is in danger of leading them down the path where musicians and composers mugged themselves seventy years ago. Ultimately the advantages of moving content off physical media and cable and satellite systems, and onto the Web, are simply too compelling. Consumers gain immediate on-demand access without having to wait for shows to be broadcast. Sponsors achieve infinitely superior ad targeting and accountability on the Net. Ultimately Google AdWords will have conditioned them to pay only for video ads that get watched. Even ad agencies will eventually increase revenues. Once they learn how to create ads that induce consumers to make online purchases, they'll not only be paid for ads viewed, but will also win a bounty for each online merchandise sale. Lastly, ever-more entertaining and informative content is being created for, and distributed by, the Internet.
benton.org/node/30979 | MediaPost
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HEALTH IT

CLAMOR OVER 'MEANINGFUL USE'
[SOURCE: GovernemntHealthIT, AUTHOR: Mary Mosquera]
Health providers and IT policymakers returned from the holiday weekend on Monday having had just enough time to sort through the administration's "meaningful use" proposal, its 700-page incentive plan designed to spur hospitals and physicians to pursue digital make-overs of their practices. Their first impression: That the administration's hugely ambitious, carefully crafted, $20 billion incentive plan may provide too much stick for the carrot. Observers noted the Office of the National Coordinator and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had to set up a delicate balance in designing the incentives ­ making them challenging enough to have a lasting impact on health outcomes but not so burdensome as to stall adoption. "ONC and CMS are between a rock and a hard place," said Dr. John Loonsk, the former director of interoperability for ONC and now chief medical officer for CGI Federal Inc., an IT services firm. The challenge they faced, he said, is to "thread the needle with enough requirements and specifications to create a viable, secure electronic infrastructure without, in doing so, making the adoption of electronic medical records less attractive to the providers they want to adopt them." Meaningful use planners were trying to create a balance between spurring adoption and achieving an infrastructure with enough "technical rigor" to mobilize data in ways needed to improve health outcomes, Loonsk argued. "It would have been appealing if (the HITECH Act which funded the incentive program) focused more on these data needs," said Loonsk, "but ONC and CMS are now trying to find the right balance to make HITECH work."
benton.org/node/30983 | GovernemntHealthIT
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POLICYMAKERS

FCC'S MCDOWELL ON C-SPAN
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell will appear on C-Span's "The Communicators" this weekend. During the taping, he indicated that it is unclear whether the national broadband plan being prepared by the agency will be voted on by commissioners. And he said that after the plan is presented to Congress on Feb. 17, it won't be "self-executing" or "legally binding" but will likely spin off a number of new policy endeavors at the FCC such as the reform of a federal phone subsidy program called the Universal Service Fund. Commissioner McDowell talked about spectrum allocation and the debate between broadcasters and wireless providers over airwaves. McDowell said that there is a need for more spectrum, but that there will also be demand for broadcasters and wireless providers to make the use of spectrum more efficient. He said white spaces ­ or unlicensed airwaves ­ could help meet demand for wireless broadband services. He said the technology, known as WiFi on steroids, could also help solve other public policy goals such as network neutrality. When asked about Google's push yesterday to build and run a national database for commercial devices to access unlicensed airwaves, McDowell said the agency should look into whether there would be a conflict. He said the administrator of a database would be a "neutral third party."
benton.org/node/30987 | Washington Post
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