Feb 2, 2010 (Are you a believer?)
"I'm a big believer in net neutrality."
-- President Barack Obama
http://bit.ly/auGzBW
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY FEBRUARY 2, 2010 (Unhappy Groundhog Day)
Sorry to report that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow -- 6 more weeks of winter.
BTOP/BIP, Corporate Spending in Elections and, of course, the Budget are all on the agenda today http://bit.ly/9lk60w
BUDGET
What's In -- and Out -- of the 2011 Budget
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
Obama: I'm a big believer in Network Neutrality [Video]
Chambers of Commerce come together to highlight "stifling" effect of network neutrality
FCC's McDowell: Network neutrality would face legal challenge
MMTC Takes Network Neutrality Concerns to FCC
UNIVERSAL BROADBAND
U.S. Takes Top Spot in Global Connectivity Study Commissioned by Nokia
Ahead Of The Broadband Curve
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
The merger message
ACA Beefs Up For Battle With Comcast/NBCU
JOURNALISM
Krugman Trashes Fox News: 'Deliberate Misinformation'
POLICYMAKERS
Clyburn aims to help consumers, minority media at FCC
CONTENT
Apple's iPad will kill the iPhone -- and the mobile Web
CBS's Super Bowl Ad Calls: Freedom of Speech or Anti-Gay?
Future of eReading might not be iPad, but Blio
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Google, China and U.S. Foreign Policy
Georgian TV Channel Says Russian Company Elbowed It Off the Air
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
FCC bureau chief outlines 700 MHz network proposal
Forget the money: Congress should allocate radio frequency band for public safety
SPECTRUM
Broadcast Bullies?
Wondering Why You Can't Pre-Order an iPad? It Isn't Legal Yet
Carriers Try Software for Data Flood
Leap Wireless Seeks Suitor
MORE ONLINE ...
No rules: Internet security a Hobbesian "state of nature"
Will your big-screen Super Bowl party violate copyright law?
Congress must revamp campaign finance online reporting, watchdog says
The path to success is no longer labeled
BUDGET
What's In -- and Out -- of the 2011 Budget
WHAT'S IN -- AND OUT -- OF THE 2011 BUDGET
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
Monday was federal budget day in DC. Here's a quick take on some communications and technology-related issues raised in the fiscal year 2011 budget proposal which the White House says focuses on job creation, middle class security, and fiscal sustainability. Broadband is a central part of the infrastructure necessary for the economy to create jobs and thrive in this century. During 2011, Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration will focus on administering the $4.7 billion program to expand broadband deployment, as well as programs to improve broadband adoption and data collection, which were funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Budget will also achieve savings by eliminating the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program, consolidating support for public broadcasters into the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The budget recommends $496 million for CPB, including a $460 million two-year advance appropriation for FY13 — up $15 million over the previous year Also included is $36 million for pubic TV and radio digital conversion, content and services. The budget proposes fiscal year 2011 funding for the Federal Communications Commission of $352.5 million. The requested FY 2011 funding level would include monies to implement the National Broadband Plan; continue to manage the nation's spectrum use; overhaul the Commission's data systems and processes; continue to improve the FCC's operations using improved technology; support the Commission's public safety and cyber-security role; strengthen the Commission's consumer information programs; and enhance the FCC's role as a strong advocate for U.S. interests internationally. [much more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/31810 | Recommend this Headline
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NETWORK NEUTRALITY
OBAMA: I'M A BIG BELIEVER IN NETWORK NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
Network Neutrality was a hot topic during President Barack Obama's YouTube question-and-answer session on Monday (Feb1). Citizens were invited to submit questions for the President on YouTube during and after his State of the Union address last week. Since then, 640,000 votes were cast for 11,000 questions, and YouTube selected a few dozen of the highest-rated questions for President Obama to answer during a live interview. Interestingly, net neutrality was the most-asked-about topic under the Jobs/Economy category. President Obama said, "I'm a big believer in net neutrality. I campaigned on this. I continue to be a strong supporter of it. My FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski, has indicated that he shares the view that we've got to keep the Internet open; that we don't want to create a bunch of gateways that prevent somebody who doesn't have a lot of money but has a good idea from being able to start their next YouTube or their next Google on the Internet. So this is something we're committed to. We're getting pushback, obviously, from some of the bigger carriers who would like to be able to charge more fees and extract more money from wealthier customers. But we think that runs counter to the whole spirit of openness that has made the Internet such a powerful engine for not only economic growth, but also for the generation of ideas and creativity."
benton.org/node/31809 | White House | www.youtube.com
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NET NEUTRALITY COULD FACE LEGAL CHALLENGE
[SOURCE: IDG News Service, AUTHOR: Grant Gross]
If the Federal Communications Commission adopts broad new net neutrality regulations, the agency's authority to do so will be challenged in court, predicts FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell. It's unclear whether the FCC has the authority to create network neutrality rules for broadband providers, which under current FCC rules are classified as largely unregulated information services, Commissioner McDowell said Friday during a speech at a Free State Foundation broadband policy forum. And the suggestion by some advocacy groups that the FCC reclassify broadband services as more heavily regulated common carrier services would also face lawsuits, he said.
benton.org/node/31797 | IDG News Service
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MMTC TAKES NETWORK NEUTRALITY CONCERNS TO FCC
[SOURCE: Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, AUTHOR: David Honig]
In meetings at the Federal Communications Commission, the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council is raising concerns about proposed Network Neutrality rules aimed at ensuring an open Internet. MMTC is making these eight points... [much more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/31794 | Minority Media and Telecommunications Council | Public Knowledge | MMTC response to PK
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UNIVERSAL BROADBAND
CONNECTIVITY SCORECARD
[SOURCE: BroadbandBreakfast.com, AUTHOR: Sharon McLoone]
The United States took the top spot on the 2009 Connectivity Scorecard, a research project linking increased national technological connectivity with socio-economic transformation. Professor Leonard Waverman of the London Business School and economic consulting firm LECG put together the scorecard focusing on 50 countries using metrics such as national usage, skills and infrastructure. Waverman found that the United States leads more categories than any other nation its person computer penetration of businesses is excellent and the nation takes top prize in secure server deployment. However, he found that consumer infrastructure does not score as highly for the United States as its other metrics and its "broadband and 3G penetration are average." The study found that fiber is being deployed on a "much wider" basis than in most other countries in the survey, but the United States still is "significantly behind" the leaders in the area.
benton.org/node/31799 | BroadbandBreakfast.com | Nokia
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AHEAD OF THE BROADBAND CURVE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
Cable operators now offer next-generation DOCSIS 3.0 services — with maximum download speeds ranging from 50 to 105 Megabits per second — to more than 52 million U.S. consumers and businesses, according to a survey of the top 11 cable operators. That represents more than 43% of the 120 million homes passed by cable networks in the country. DOCSIS 3.0 technology will provide the industry with an ample runway well into the next decade. Operators also find no small value in being able to tout that they're the fastest provider in a given market, and many are looking to deliver new commercial services via cable modem.
benton.org/node/31798 | Multichannel News
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
THE MERGER MESSAGE
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] The Obama administration made its first major antitrust pronouncement this week, approving the blockbuster merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation. On the surface, the Justice Department seemed to be continuing the permissive approach it took during the second half of the Bush administration, when it offered so little resistance to mergers that the Wall Street Journal declared the government had "nearly stepped out of the antitrust enforcement business." But the details tell a different story, one that suggests a more aggressive approach to promoting competition while still permitting industries to consolidate to achieve efficiencies. Although it allows the merger to proceed, it effectively engineers the creation of two rivals for the new Live Nation Entertainment by enabling AEG and Comcast Spectacor to lease or buy key ticketing assets from Ticketmaster. As a result, concert halls and sports arenas could wind up with more sources for ticketing services than they had before. The department's approach portends a bumpy road for mergers and acquisitions that can't be engineered to deliver more competition. That's a message Comcast and NBC Universal should take to heart.
benton.org/node/31800 | Los Angeles Times
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JOURNALISM
KRUGMAN TRASHES FOX NEWS
[SOURCE: AlterNet, AUTHOR: John Byrne]
Appearing on a Sunday talk show Sunday, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman hammered conservative talk show host Glenn Beck for spreading blatantly false information about the Democrats' health care bill -- and put the blame squarely on Fox News CEO Roger Ailes.
benton.org/node/31806 | AlterNet | Video
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POLICYMAKERS
CLYBURN AIMS HELP CONSUMERS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
A look at Federal Communications Commission member Mignon Clyburn who promises to champion consumer-focused issues. On the national broadband plan, which is due to Congress in March, she is most interested in helping low-income, minority and rural communities get the computers and training they need to adopt broadband. She plans to zero in on the wireless industry, which she says charges too many fees and places too many restrictions on the cell phones available to consumers. The FCC is investigating both aspects of the industry. Media ownership, and how industry consolidation will affect minority outlets, is also a top concern for her. The FCC will tackle its next media ownership review this year.
benton.org/node/31805 | Hill, The
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CONTENT
IPAD WILL KILL IPHONE -- AND MOBILE WEB
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Galen Gruman]
Achieving Steve Jobs' long-held dream of creating a tablet device as cool and useful as the one we've seen for years on science fiction shows now appears to be a dream realized, in the form of the iPad. Ironically, the iPad makes the iPhone -- Apple's game-changing technology of 2007, whose impact still reverberates through the wireless, mobile, and computing industries -- obsolete. And as the iPhone fades away as a short-lived marvel, so too will disappear the mobile Web. Think about it: The iPad does all the neat stuff of the iPhone (OK, except for the camera), and it does so with a big screen that allows even richer applications and more compelling media experiences. It also works as a laptop replacement for the kind of basic work we do most of the time when we're on the road: working with email, Web pages, and Web forms; creating and editing documents, spreadsheets, and presentations; catching up on our reading; and handling work tasks like order entry that today's iPhone apps only hint at.
benton.org/node/31804 | InfoWorld
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CBS'S SUPER BOWL AD DECISIONS
[SOURCE: Fast Company, AUTHOR: Alissa Walker]
[Commentary] Super Bowl Sunday should be a time for us to put aside our political differences and let our country only be divided by one simple issue: Saints or Colts. Not according to CBS. The network announced a few weeks ago that it would reverse its earlier policy and allow advocacy ads to air during the game, starting with Heisman-winning Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow's ad for the Christian pro-life group Focus on the Family. The ad reportedly features Tebow with his mother, talking about how she ignored medical advice to have an abortion while pregnant with him in the Philippines. Eyebrows were raised, but they were raised even higher late last week when CBS rejected an ad for gay dating site ManCrunch. CBS claimed that the ManCrunch spot is "not within the network's Broadcast Standards for Super Bowl Sunday." It's not a well-produced ad--in fact, it's probably best for all parties involved if it doesn't air--but judge for yourself if you find it inappropriate for the Super Bowl. To complicate matters--and raise sentiment that the network is anti-gay--CBS also denied another ad for Super Bowl regular GoDaddy.com featuring the overly-effeminate ex-NFL player "Lola." Bad taste? Double standard? Or are some "issues" more appropriate to address during a football game than others?
benton.org/node/31803 | Fast Company | Man Crunch video | Go Daddy video
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
GOOGLE, CHINA AND US FOREIGN POLICY
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Ernest Wilson]
[Commentary] Sitting in the lobby of the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, reading the front page of the local Economic Times, I was hit with a one-two-punch: the news that Google may quit the huge Chinese market in a dispute over serious cyber attacks to its facilities in the PRC, and the feeling that I was watching the opening salvo of a new, major trend in American foreign policy that has been quietly building for several years. The reality is that Google and the other huge information and communications (ICT) companies that now dominate the U.S. economy have always punched below their weight in foreign affairs. But now that Google has stepped out ahead of the pack and taken an aggressive stance against the government of arguably the second or third most powerful country in the world, we may be witnessing a new stage in U.S. international relations: what might be called Silicon Valley's new foreign policy. We can only imagine the future contours and content of Silicon Valley's new foreign policy. But it is worth looking at how the economic information and communication powerhouses will pursue their international interests. What would their new activism mean for trade policy? Security affairs? Regional policies? Does this buttress 'public diplomacy' policies of governments, or make them less relevant? Stay tuned to find out. There's been a lot of talk about the impact of Google's actions in China. The biggest impact of their policy innovation may be right here in the US of A.
benton.org/node/31801 | Huffington Post, The
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RUSSIAN COMPANY BOOTS GEORGIAN TV CHANNEL OFF THE AIR
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Kramer, Scott Sayare]
In an echo of the cat-and-mouse game of signal jamming in the Soviet Union, a Russian-language television station in Georgia is accusing a Russian company of blocking its broadcasts into Russia by buying out the spectrum on a French-operated television satellite. The Georgian station, Georgian Public Broadcasting, had signed a contract with the satellite operator Eutelsat, based in Paris, to broadcast news in Russian to Russia and other former Soviet states, apparently trying to crack the Kremlin's near monopoly of television news. The Georgian channel, which is publicly financed, broadcast on a trial basis for 11 days in January and was to formally begin its broadcasts on Monday. But it is off the air for now, and the Georgians are accusing Eutelsat of caving to Russian pressure. At a news conference in Paris on Monday, Georgian television executives said that as late as Jan. 14 they had a binding offer from Eutelsat to broadcast the new channel for one year. But according to the Georgian executives, the French company backed out the next day, after announcing that it had received a more lucrative offer from Gazprom Media, an arm of Gazprom, the Russian natural gas giant, for the same spectrum the Georgians had contracted for.
benton.org/node/31814 | New York Times
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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
FCC OFFERS 700 MHZ PROPOSAL
[SOURCE: Urgent Communications, AUTHOR: Donny Jackson]
Federal Communications Commission officials are committed to taking steps to ensure that a 700 MHz nationwide public-safety broadband network becomes a reality, but the proposal may not include the reallocation of the commercial D Block in the band to first responders, an FCC bureau chief said yesterday at the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Winter Summit. Earlier this month, representatives from APCO and eight other public-safety organizations presented a united front to federal lawmakers and policy-makers in requesting the reallocation of the 10 MHz D Block to public safety, which also has been granted 10 MHz of 700 MHz broadband spectrum that has been licensed to the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST). Public-safety leaders would like to see the two swaths provide a 20 MHz spectral foundation for a nationwide public-safety network. Jamie Barnett, chief of the FCC's public-safety and homeland-security bureau, applauded the effort and described the requested D Block reallocation as "Plan A" for public safety. But current law requires the FCC to auction the D Block to commercial users, so the agency does not anticipate making a recommendation based on such an assumption in its national broadband plan — due to Congress on March 17 — he said. "It would be great to have 20 MHz," Barnett said. "The problem that we have right now as we pursue this is that the D Block is dedicated to commercial use — we're actually under a mandate to auction it. So we had to figure out a way to come up with a viable system even if you don't get the D Block." Instead, the FCC is pursuing a public/private proposal that calls for 700 MHz commercial carriers to build out the public-safety broadband wireless network — likely using LTE as public safety requested, although the FCC probably will not specify the technology in its broadband plan — while they deploy their commercial networks, which should greatly reduce the capital costs associated with the first-responder network, Barnett said.
benton.org/node/31796 | Urgent Communications
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SPECTRUM FOR PUBLIC SAFETY
[SOURCE: Government Computer Networks, AUTHOR: William Jackson]
The Federal Communications Commission's failure to sell a swath of the 700 MHz radio frequency band called the D Block at a public auction in 2008 has temporarily halted development of a nationwide public safety network. The quickest and simplest way to eliminate this road block would be to allocate that spectrum for public safety use. Because Congress established the terms for disposing of this spectrum, Congress should act now to bundle it with the existing public safety channels so that creation of a nationwide, interoperable network for law enforcement, emergency services and other first responders can go ahead. The nation might forgo a billion dollars that could have been generated by auctioning off the spectrum to a private-sector licensee. But strings now attached to the D Block already have undercut its commercial worth, and its value to public safety could be far greater.
benton.org/node/31795 | Government Computer Networks
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SPECTRUM
BROADCAST BULLIES?
[SOURCE: Broadcast Band Bull, AUTHOR: J H Snider]
[Commentary] Now that the TV broadcast industry has once again not only dodged any accountability for its gross misuse of the public's spectrum, but also positioned itself for yet another huge spectrum windfall, it's time for some enterprising reporter to explain how this feat was pulled off. If journalists can cover the GM bailout in depth, surely some attention should be given to the much larger giveaway to the broadcast industrynot to mention the incalculable harm to the American people through the accompanying delay in the provision of much needed wireless broadband service. I suggest a good starting point for investigation might be the relationship between Oregon's local broadcasters and the politicians they cover (and intimidate).
benton.org/node/31793 | Broadcast Band Bull
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IPAD IS NOT FCC-APPROVED YET
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Eliot Van Buskirk]
You know you can't obtain an iPad for least three months, but you may not know the reason you can't even buy one in advance: Apple has not yet obtained the necessary Federal Communications Commission approval to unleash it on the nation's airwaves. The specs on the iPad page mention the lack of FCC approval in tiny print that is easy to miss. And nobody seriously expects the iPad won't be approved — Apple's been through this before, with the launch of the first iPhone announced six months before it was available. And the "why?" is almost certainly to have kept as few people in the loop, and only those you could in some way control. But in an e-mail sent to customers, Apple made the situation a bit more clear. "Some features and applications are not available in all areas," reads the note. "Application availability and pricing are subject to change. This device has not yet been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained."
benton.org/node/31789 | Wired
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CARRIERS TRY SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Niraj Sheth]
Facing a deluge of Web and video traffic that is pushing the limits of their networks, big wireless carriers are resorting to software shortcuts and other tricks to streamline data traffic until they install more cellular towers and roll out next-generation networks. Armed with advanced devices like BlackBerrys, iPhones and Apple Inc.'s coming iPad, more customers are using cellular networks to surf the Web, watch video clips and run apps. While the data traffic means a new and growing source of revenue, managing that rapid growth has been challenging. "The networks weren't designed with this in mind," says Fabricio Martinez, a director at telecommunications consultancy Aircom International Ltd. In the U.S., AT&T Inc. has been at the forefront of the data explosion, primarily because it offers the popular iPhone, which can surf the Web and run applications. In the last three years, the carrier says its data traffic has grown nearly 50-fold.
benton.org/node/31812 | Wall Street Journal
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LEAP WIRELESS SEEKS SUITOR
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jeffrey McCracken, Niraj Sheth]
Cellular provider Leap Wireless has hired advisers and formed a special board committee to look into selling the company or merging with rivals. Leap, which sells its service under the Cricket brand and has about 4.7 million customers, has hired Goldman Sachs Group to advise the company as it "reassesses its alternatives." While some bankers consider rival MetroPCS Communications Inc. as the most likely partner for Leap, the company's advisers have in recent weeks been feeling out larger wireless carriers such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless to see if they would be interested in acquiring Leap which provides prepaid service aimed at the lower end of the market. Larger carriers have been entering the same market.
benton.org/node/31813 | Wall Street Journal
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