March 2010

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MARCH 29, 2010

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Google Searches for a Foreign Policy
   Google Gets Little U.S. Corporate Support in Internet Fight With China

NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
   Levin: Reclaiming Spectrum For Broadband Puts FCC On 'Right Side' Of History
   NCTA Weighs in on FCC's Broadband Speed Tests
   How Broadband Can Be the Backbone for a Green Economy
   Former FCC Chairman asks: Who steers the broadband plan?
   Transmission Project Lauds National Broadband Plan

MORE ON BROADBAND/INTERNET
   Approaches to Preserving the Open Internet
   The Digital Divide Will Ensure a Broadband Ghetto
   PE Firm Plans Open LTE Network to Challenge AT&T and Verizon
   House Lawmakers Voice Concern About Google Buzz
   The National Broadband Plan--A Work in Progress
   Verizon winds down expensive FiOS expansion

OWNERSHIP
   Vodafone confident of upper hand in Verizon fight
   Justice Will Not Challenge Cisco-Tandberg Deal

TELEVISION
   Senate Passes Paygo-Friendlier 10-Year STELA
   Networks turn clock back to family hour
   Stations Warned About Cash-Hungry States
   DC Court Rules Campaign Contribution Limits On Individuals is Unconstitutional

ED TECH
   From Chalk To Bytes: The Digital Classroom

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Ofcom to act on broadband speeds
   Consumer Panel: UK's universal broadband commitment must meet consumer needs
   French pirates 'dodge' tough laws
   National plan is needed for emerging digital economy

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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

GOOGLE SEARCHES FOR A FOREIGN POLICY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Mark Landler]
When Google announced that it would shut its censored online search service in China, it was doing more than standing up to a repressive government: it was showing that, with the United States still struggling to develop a foreign policy for the digital age, Internet companies need to articulate their own foreign policies. Google is hardly the first American company to stray into the State Department's bailiwick. Since the bad old days of the United Fruit Company in Latin America, powerful multinationals have conducted themselves like quasi-states, influencing the foreign lands in which they operate by deciding whether to accommodate or resist the unsavory practices of authorities there. For Internet companies, that choice has been sharpened by the fact that the World Wide Web is no longer just a force for freedom and diversity but also a tool for repression. Governments use it to spy on dissidents, human rights activists, and other troublesome elements. This change happened so fast that it left the foreign policy establishment gasping to catch up. It also exposed Washington's deep ambivalence about information technology: while it champions the free flow of ideas in closed societies like Iran, it fears being a target for cyber-attacks by hostile governments and doesn't want to export technology that could be diverted into military uses. Conflicted and confused, Foggy Bottom has little to offer Silicon Valley by way of support or even guidance.
benton.org/node/33868 | New York Times
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GOOGLE GETS LITTLE SUPPORT
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: ]
Google is using Internet freedom as a rallying cry in its confrontation with China. But the deafening silence from U.S. corporations underscores how increasingly isolated Google looks in its hope to rewrite the rules in the country with the biggest number of Internet users. Only GoDaddy.com, the Internet domain name and Web host company, immediately followed Google's lead in protesting Chinese policies. It said that it would no longer register domain names in China because of new rules requiring it to collect customers' photos. The action by GoDaddy, which has not been known in the past for taking a strong stance on Internet freedom, contrasts sharply with the modest responses from other companies. Microsoft, Yahoo and others have trumpeted the general principles of Internet freedom, but none have directly echoed Google's call for an end to Web censorship in China. And, GoDaddy aside, no other technology company has hinted at a change in business practices in China to protest regulations and restrictions there.
benton.org/node/33867 | Reuters
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NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN

BLAIR DEFENDS SPECTRUM RECOMMENDATIONS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission's Blair Levin said March 26 that he believed the national broadband plan's proposal to reclaim spectrum from broadcasters -- and other incumbent users -- put it on "the right side of history" and was one of the parts of the plan he was most proud of. In an interview with C-SPAN's Communicators series, Levin declined to comment directly on a recent speech by his former boss, then FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, that Hundt's plan had always been for broadband to replace broadcasting as the national medium. Levin said he would leave the media historian post to Hundt for now. But he said what was "certainly true" was that every country needed a "common medium that has certain characteristics." He did not elaborate on those, but he conceded that the FCC had made a number of decisions back then (in the mid-1990's) "that were useful to the Internet and to broadband." Levin said that it was the market driving the move to broadband. He cited a report in 2000 that found that 80% of the respondents would rather give up the Internet than TV, compared with today, when "a majority of people say they would rather give up television. If you look up the under-45 [age group], it is overwhelming. That is consumers speaking. That is the market speaking."
benton.org/node/33855 | Broadcasting&Cable
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NCTA WEIGHS IN ON FCC'S BROADBAND SPEED TESTS
[SOURCE: National Cable & Telecommunications Association, AUTHOR: Neal Goldberg]
In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) says it shares the Commission's goal of providing consumers with additional relevant and meaningful data regarding the speed of their broadband connections and other appropriate network performance data -- and agrees that such information may help consumers to better choose among competing providers and choose the right plan for their needs. The National Broadband Plan contains some sound recommendations for achieving this objective, including the use of third-party contractors and the creation of an industry/consumer advisory council. But the Plan also relies heavily on results obtained from online speed tests to support its conclusion that there is a significant gap between the "actual" speed consumers experience and the "advertised" speed that providers offer. In this letter and in the attached report, we identify substantial shortcomings with using online speed tests to measure this purported gap. NCTA encourages the Commission, going forward, to focus on alternative measurement approaches that are likely to produce more accurate and meaningful data. NCTA says it look forward to working with the Commission and other stakeholders on these important issues and offer the following in the spirit of constructive collaboration.
benton.org/node/33849 | National Cable & Telecommunications Association
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MORE ON BROADBAND/INTERNET

APPROACHES TO PRESERVING THE OPEN INTERNET
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission today announced a public workshop for the FCC's Open Internet proceeding, entitled "Approaches to Preserving the Open Internet." The workshop will occur on April 28, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. PDT at the Jackson Federal Building, in Seattle, Washington. The workshop will address how the Internet's openness can best be preserved, including by examining historical and ongoing efforts to protect Internet openness in the United States and other countries, and by discussing the key technological, economic, and legal considerations relevant to the need for and substance of the Commission's proposed open Internet policies. The agenda and the list of participants in the workshop will be made available in mid-April. The workshop will be open to the public; however, admittance will be limited to the seating available. Audio/video coverage of the workshop will be broadcast live with open captioning over the Web.
benton.org/node/33851 | Federal Communications Commission
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THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
[Commentary] If you live in New York City or in any of the heavily populated and wealthy areas of the Northeast, you likely have access to some of the fastest broadband speeds available in the country. If you live in a suburb of Austin, Texas, however, you're offered speeds some six times slower for about half the price. And as the technologies race ahead for network access, ISPs with fiber to the home and cable-provided Docsis 3.0 service are going to surpass the speeds that providers using old-school copper and even wireless can offer. Which means that while some people will be living in the 21st century, great chunks of the country will be subsisting on the 2010 version of dial-up. Don't believe me? Verizon has tested a tech that requires software upgrades to deliver a 10 Gbps connection that's shared among 32 homes. Meanwhile, technologies such as the next generation from AT&T are going to require swapping out gear at the node and inside your home so the companies still using copper can squeak up to speeds that most analysts doubt will even reach 100 Mbps. That means a hundred-fold disparity in connection speeds. Holy cow.
benton.org/node/33861 | GigaOm
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HARBINGER 4G NETWORK
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
A New York private equity firm plans to build a multibillion-dollar 4G wireless network that will cover most of the country by 2015. The ambitious plan by Harbinger Capital Partners relies on deploying a Long Term Evolution network over spectrum owned by a few satellite companies — and would create an open wholesale wireless network available to retail companies, PC manufacturers or anyone who wants to offer mobile broadband. The new network will rely initially on 23 MHz spectrum owned by SkyTerra, which is owned by Harbinger, and could later include spectrum from Terrestar Networks, another satellite firm in which Harbinger holds a stake. The Harbinger network could help ensure competition among the major wireless carriers thanks to the conditions the FCC has placed on the spectrum that the private equity firm plans to use as part an agreement to let Harbinger take control of SkyTerra — namely that SkyTerra has to be a wholesaler, and that traffic from the largest and second-largest wireless carriers in the U.S. cannot comprise more than 25 percent of the traffic over the SkyTerra/Harbinger network. This means AT&T and Verizon could not buy up huge chunks of the network or spectrum to keep others off of it.
benton.org/node/33860 | GigaOm | FCC | Harbinger
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HOUSE LAWMAKERS CONCERNED ABOUT BUZZ
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
A group of House Commerce Committee members are urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate complaints that Google's Buzz social networking service and some of its other services may harm consumer privacy. In a letter sent to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, the lawmakers urged the agency to investigate whether Google disclosed personal information about its customers without their consent as part of the launch of Buzz in February. The letter also asks the FTC to probe how much Google uses personal information collected from Buzz and its other services to target ads and how Google's proposed acquisition of AdMob will affect how it delivers ads. "We are writing to express our concern over claims that Google's 'Google Buzz' social networking tool breaches online consumer privacy and trust," according to the letter signed by Reps. John Barrow (D-GA), who led the effort, Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), Mike Burgess (R-TX), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Tim Murphy (R-PA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Mike Rogers (R-MI), Steve Scalise (R-LA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Commerce Committee ranking member Joe Barton (R-TX), and Del. Donna Christensen (D-Virgin Islands).
benton.org/node/33862 | CongressDaily
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A WORK IN PROGRESS
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Rob Frieden]
[Commentary] The National Broadband Plan operates under the flawed presumption that broadband competition exists, or soon will flourish, with particular emphasis on wireless broadband options that currently have failed to match the bitrate deliver speeds of wireline options. Additionally, the Commission appears content with finding new wireless broadband spectrum for incumbent carriers, without considering whether the scope of competition, as well as broadband access and affordability might be enhanced by reserving some newly available spectrum for market entrants. The Plan avoids addressing network interconnection, neutrality and sharing requirements that other nations have adopted with measureable success.
benton.org/node/33859 | Public Knowledge
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VERIZON WINDS DOWN FIOS EXPANSION
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Peter Svensson]
If Verizon Communications Inc. hasn't already started wiring your city or town with its FiOS fiber-optic TV and broadband service, chances are you won't get it. Where it's available, FiOS usually provides the only competition for cable TV apart from satellite service. Studies have shown that its entry into an area leads to lower cable prices, though FiOS itself has not been undercutting cable TV prices substantially. But Verizon is nearing the end of its program to replace copper phone lines with optical fibers that provide much higher Internet speeds and TV service. Its focus is now on completing the network in the communities where it's already secured "franchises," the rights to sell TV service that rivals cable, said spokeswoman Heather Wilner. That means Verizon will continue to pull fiber to homes in Washington (DC), New York City and Philadelphia — projects that will take years to complete — but leaves such major cities as Baltimore and downtown Boston without FiOS.
benton.org/node/33858 | Associated Press
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OWNERSHIP

VODAFONE-VERIZON WIRELESS FEUD
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Parker]
Vodafone is increasingly confident that the balance of power in its tempestuous relationship with Verizon Communications is shifting in the UK mobile phone group's favour. Vodafone thinks its negotiating position with Verizon Communications over the future of Verizon Wireless, the US mobile phone operator that the two groups jointly own, is getting stronger, according to people familiar with the UK company. Verizon Communications, the US telecommunications group that owns 55 per cent of Verizon Wireless, has blocked the mobile operator from making dividend payments since 2005, so that the business can pay down debt. Vodafone owns the other 45 per cent of Verizon Wireless and has been trying, so far without success, to restore the dividends. Verizon Wireless generates about 30 per cent of the UK group's earnings but contributes no cash. The lack of dividends is one reason for tension between Verizon Communications and Vodafone. Another is Verizon Communications' wish to secure full ownership of Verizon Wireless, which is the largest mobile phone operator in the US.
benton.org/node/33865 | Financial Times | GigaOM
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JUSTICE APPROVES CISCO-TANDBERG
[SOURCE: Department of Justice, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Department of Justice announced March 29 that it will not challenge Cisco Systems Inc.'s acquisition of Tandberg ASA. The department has concluded that the proposed deal is not likely to be anticompetitive due to the evolving nature of the videoconferencing market and the commitments that Cisco has made to the European Commission (EC) to facilitate interoperability. During the course of its investigation the Department of Justice cooperated closely with the EC in its parallel review of the transaction, aided by waivers from the parties and industry participants. This permitted the agencies to share information and assessments of likely competitive effects and potential remedies. The Department of Justice's Antitrust Division analyzed the effect of combining the videoconferencing businesses of Cisco and Tandberg, focusing on a type of videoconferencing known as "telepresence," in which Cisco and Tandberg are competitors. Telepresence is a form of high-definition videoconferencing that provides an immersive experience to users, simulating face-to-face meetings. The department conducted an extensive investigation of this dynamic marketplace, including numerous interviews of industry participants and customers, and review of documents provided by the parties and other firms in the videoconferencing business. The EC also announced that it has cleared the transaction. Cisco has made commitments to facilitate interoperability between its telepresence products and those of other companies as part of the EC's merger clearance process. The commitments are designed to foster the development of open operating standards. The department views those commitments as a positive development that likely will enhance competition among producers of telepresence systems. Open standards lower barriers to entry, and can be especially procompetitive in rapidly evolving high technology markets. The department has taken the commitments into account, along with various market factors, such as the evolving nature of the telepresence business, in reaching its decision to close its investigation.
benton.org/node/33856 | Department of Justice
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TELEVISION

SATELLITE BILL PASSED AND SIGNED
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Senate March 25 passed a stand-alone version of the STELA, the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act, that changes what has been a five-year renewal of the satellite license to 10 years. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law March 26. The bill reauthorizes the license that allows satellite subscribers who cannot get a viewable signal from their in-market affiliate to get an out-of-market version. It also will get local signals to the remaining 28 or so smaller markets where it has been uneconomical to deliver them. The change to a 10-year window was said to be so that the bill would "score" in terms of being revenue-neutral, which it is not at five years, due to the way copyright fees are collected and disbursed over the smaller window versus the longer span. Apparently, due to an accounting issue, the bill at five years would see the government paying out more than it would collect. That would need to be offset somewhere else, due to the new pay as you go rule that any legislation that has a negative fund outlay has to include such measures.
benton.org/node/33852 | Multichannel News | CBO | White House
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FAMILY HOUR VIEWING
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Mary McNamara]
For a while there, it looked like family television was dead. In answer to the hard-R rating of cable, both network dramas and comedies became increasingly dark, grisly and/or sexually oriented, while the family comedy, once the keystone of prime time, dwindled to "The Simpsons" and a couple of live-action shows, one of which was "Two and a Half Men." But this past fall, with very little fanfare, television got back on message. Between the recent renaissance of the family comedy and the increasing popularity of kinder, gentler crime-solving shows, the long-lost family hour has quietly reconstructed itself. After years of being dominated by shows about graphic police work, medical procedurals and the sexual antics of friends and colleagues, the television landscape is once again dotted by homesteads, ringing with the sound of multigenerational and mostly non-profane voices.
benton.org/node/33866 | Los Angeles Times
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NEW CAMPAIGN FINANCE RULING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit handed down a ruling March 26 that could mean even more political ad money flowing into the Midterm election cycle. Saying that the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United had resolved the appeal, the court unanimously ruled in SpeechNow.org vs. the FEC that the campaign finance law contribution limits by individuals to SpeechNow, a 527 group advocating the election of federal candidates, are unconstitutional. Just as in Citizens United, the D.C. court held that while the contribution limits (or expenditure limits in the case of Citizens United) were unconstitutional, reporting and organizational requirements for the group were not. "The public has an interest in knowing who is speaking about a candidate and who is funding that speech," said the court, which also upheld the requirement that the group register as a political committee.
benton.org/node/33854 | Broadcasting&Cable
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ED TECH

THE DIGITAL CLASSROOM
[SOURCE: National Public Radio, AUTHOR: Joshua Brockman]
The sound of chalk on a blackboard is something you rarely hear on many campuses these days. That's because more and more professors use technology to distribute course materials, issue grades and enhance communication with students. For centuries, teachers have lectured to students and taught by writing things down. But software used by many schools, colleges and universities is making the dialogue between teachers and students more wired than ever. Philip Wirtz, a professor of decision sciences and psychology at The George Washington University (GWU), presents some complicated material during his statistical modeling and analysis class. To help students follow along, he uses a software program called Blackboard to share slides, which students download before class. "It's really just sort of a mechanism for coordinating what would otherwise be paper in the course," Wirtz says. But it's not just about saving trees. "It's a one-stop shop where students can come and get absolutely any access to me, any access to the teaching assistants," Wirtz adds.
benton.org/node/33857 | National Public Radio
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

OFCOM TO ACT ON BROADBAND SPEEDS
[SOURCE: BBC News, AUTHOR: ]
Net firms must do a better job of telling customers about broadband speeds or face stiffer regulation, Ofcom has warned. The warning came out of research the telecoms watchdog carried out on how ISPs sell broadband. It revealed that 74% of customers were not told that the maximum speed on their line was likely to be higher than the speed they would actually get. Ofcom wants to make improvements to how broadband is sold later this year.
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benton.org/node/33848 | BBC News
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CONSUMER PANEL: UK'S UNIVERSAL BROADBAND COMMITMENT MUST MEET CONSUMER NEEDS
[SOURCE: M2M Online Community, AUTHOR: Press release]
The UK's Communications Consumer Panel has stressed that the Government commitment to universal broadband, which was renewed in this week's budget, must be implemented in a way that meets consumers' needs. The Communications Consumer Panel has today published a set of principles to guide the implementation of the universal broadband commitment. These principles will help deliver the commitment so that it meets the needs of consumers in all parts of the UK. Consumer Principles for Universal Service Commitment implementation
1. The Universal Service Commitment should enable consumers to carry out the online activities that they consider to be essential or will soon.
2. The Government should define the Commitment in a way that ensures quality and reliability of service.
3. The Government should help consumers to do what they can themselves to optimize their broadband connections.
4. The Universal Service Commitment should benefit people in all parts of the UK, using different types of broadband connection where necessary.
5. The Government should be proactive in identifying the parts of the UK that would benefit from the Commitment.
6. Consumers who benefit from the Commitment should have a choice of service providers.
7. The Government should ensure that the Commitment keeps pace with consumer demands over the years ahead.
8. The Government should deliver the Commitment using next-generation broadband where practicable.
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benton.org/node/33847 | M2M Online Community
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FRENCH PIRATES 'DODGE' TOUCH LAWS
[SOURCE: BBC News, AUTHOR: ]
Some forms of piracy are on the rise in France despite the passing of a tough anti-piracy law, suggests a study. In late 2009, France adopted a "three-strikes law" which means persistent pirates can be thrown offline. A small-scale study shows that some French people are changing their habits and getting pirated music and movies from sources not covered by the law. Overall, found the study, illegal behavior has increased by 3% since the law was passed. The anti-piracy legislation was passed in October 2009 and means that those suspected of sharing pirated material online, such as movies and music, will be warned to stop or face action. Persistent pirates who ignore the warnings will be cut off for up to a year if a panel of judges backs a call for disconnection. Alternatively, pirates can be fined or given a prison sentence.
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benton.org/node/33846 | BBC News
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NATIONAL PLAN IS NEEDED FOR EMERGING DIGITAL ECONOMY
[SOURCE: Australian IT, AUTHOR: Anthony Wong]
[Commentary] In a democratic society like Australia, government elections provide an opportunity not only for the community to select its future political leaders, but also for the major issues of the day to be discussed and debated at length as politicians promote their agendas for the campaign. At a public forum held by the ACS in Hobart in the lead-up to the Tasmania poll the leaders of all three parliamentary parties acknowledged the importance of information and communications technology and affirmed their commitment to advancing the ICT sector. Labor Party leader David Bartlett used the event to announce a $4.85 million package of measures aimed at taking advantage of the NBN, including a major Smart Grid trial, a Connected Classrooms project and a Digital Futures Development Fund, among others. Mr. Bartlett, opposition leader Will Hodgeman, and Greens leader Nick McKim recognized the need for an integrated, whole-of-government approach to ICT planning and delivery, with the Labor Party promising to create a ministry for innovation, science and information technology if it was returned to power.
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benton.org/node/33845 | Australian IT
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