March 2010

Pentagon Sees a Threat From Online Muckrakers

To the list of the enemies threatening the security of the United States, the Pentagon has added WikiLeaks.org, a tiny online source of information and documents that governments and corporations around the world would prefer to keep secret.

The Pentagon assessed the danger WikiLeaks.org posed to the Army in a report marked "unauthorized disclosure subject to criminal sanctions." It concluded that "WikiLeaks.org represents a potential force protection, counterintelligence, OPSEC and INFOSEC threat to the U.S. Army" — or, in plain English, a threat to Army operations and information. WikiLeaks, true to its mission to publish materials that expose secrets of all kinds, published the 2008 Pentagon report about itself on Monday. The Army's interest in WikiLeaks appears to have been spurred by, among other things, its publication and analysis of classified and unclassified Army documents containing information about military equipment, units, operations and "nearly the entire order of battle" for American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan in April 2007. WikiLeaks also published an outdated, unclassified copy of the "standard operating procedures" at the military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. WikiLeaks said the document revealed methods by which the military prevented prisoners from meeting with the International Red Cross and the use of "extreme psychological stress" as a means of torture.

Court Says Parents Can Block 'Sexting' Cases

In the first federal appeals court opinion dealing with "sexting" — the transmission of sexually explicit photographs by cellphone — a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled Wednesday that parents could block the prosecution of their children on child pornography charges for appearing in photographs found on some classmates' cellphones. "It does not resolve all of the constitutional issues implicated in sexting prosecutions, but it's a terrific start for civil liberties," said Witold Walczak, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, who represented the parents.

A Rift at Amazon on E-Book Prices

Amazon has threatened to stop directly selling the books of some publishers online unless they agree to a detailed list of concessions regarding the sale of electronic books. The hardball approach comes less than two months after Amazon shocked the publishing world by removing the "buy" buttons from its site for thousands of printed books from Macmillan, one of the country's six largest publishers, in a dispute over e-book pricing. Amazon is the largest online seller of printed books and the biggest e-book seller in the United States, and it is trying to use its clout to hold on to its early lead in the e-book market. But the last time it went down that path, it was widely accused of abusing its position.

Google and Partners Seek TV Foothold

Google and Intel have teamed with Sony to develop a platform called Google TV to bring the Web into the living room through a new generation of televisions and set-top boxes. T

he move is an effort by Google and Intel to extend their dominance of computing to television, an arena where they have little sway. For Sony, which has struggled to retain a pricing and technological advantage in the competitive TV hardware market, the partnership is an effort to get a leg up on competitors. The partners envision technology that will make it as easy for TV users to navigate Web applications, like the Twitter social network and the Picasa photo site, as it is to change the channel. Some existing televisions and set-top boxes offer access to Web content, but the choice of sites is limited. Google intends to open its TV platform, which is based on its Android operating system for smartphones, to software developers. The company hopes the move will spur the same outpouring of creativity that consumers have seen in applications for cellphones.

What We Won In The National Broadband Plan

[Commentary] On some National broadband Plan issues, such as structural separation, we came up empty. On other issues, such as forcing the Bells to make their old copper lines available to rivals, the Plan wusses out rather than swinging for the bleachers. But there is a huge difference between "we did not get everything we thought would make this plan fantastic" and "it is a worthless fetid steaming piece of refuse." And, as we've always known, the real fun begins with the numerous proceedings the Plan recommends and which the full Federal Communications Commission must vote to begin. What does Feld like about the plan? It puts competition front and center.

FCC broadband chief hopeful plan suggestions will become realities

Speaking at an event hosted by the Brookings Institution, Blair Levin -- the executive director of the Federal Communications Commission's Omnibus Broadband Initiative -- seemed confident many of the crucial recommendations in the agency's National Broadband Plan would eventually become realities.

He stressed the plan would help the FCC, the executive branch and federal lawmakers begin "breaking down those barriers" that have long stifled action on the broadband front. "If I was handicapping the document... obviously, where we make recommendations to the FCC, that's where [action] is most likely to occur," Levin said. "We spent a lot of time with the commissioners." He said a less contentious plan would have produced more consensus, but ultimately "would not have been as satisfying" or forward thinking as the report delivered to federal lawmakers this week.

Putting the FCC National Broadband Plan into Action

Publishing the National Broadband Plan is just the beginning.

As much resistance as the FCC has experienced just trying to draft a plan, it seems that political opponents--and the lobbyists, and big business interests that back them--have treated the plan itself as the target. However, the FCC plan is not a government directive; it's a blueprint that is still a work in progress. To its credit, the FCC has provided equal opportunity for dialog and debate for both public and private interests throughout the process of developing the plan. What now? Now the real work begins. The FCC is planning a series of 40 or so proceedings over the next few months to engage in more detailed discussion of the "how" to go with the "what".

The authority of the FCC to pursue its ambitious initiatives has been called into question, and the FCC will need to work closely with private sector interests to bring the proposals in the plan to life.

Broadband plan stirs praise, then criticism at the FCC

The honeymoon for the National Broadband Plan ended quickly.

There are signs that deep fissures are emerging among FCC commissioners. That reality was hammered home when Commissioner Mignon Clyburn -- normally a staunch ally of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski -- sharply criticized one of the plan's core proposals: offering incentives to television broadcasters to relinquish large chunks of airwaves to be reassigned to mobile wireless carriers.

Commissioner Michael Copps raised the temperature in the packed room with a veiled threat to telecommunications and cable companies, which the FCC is heavily relying on to make tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure investments consistent with the plan's goals. "Lack of competition could conceivably require us to take actions going beyond what is generally discussed here," he said. "We may have to invoke other available authorities already invested in the commission -- or, should we lack some authority that we need, we may have to request it." Those comments appeared to be a reference to tentative "network neutrality" rules approved in October that would toughen agency guidelines designed to preserve the Internet's openness and to the possible reclassification of broadband from a lightly to heavily regulated service.

The agency's two Republicans balanced their praise with ample criticism about key recommendations -- and strong warnings that the document could pave the way for more regulation.

National Broadband Plan dissenters include small telcos

Despite its complexity, the National Broadband Plan is still just that -- a plan. Before its recommendations can come to pass, more than 40 Federal Communications Commission proceedings will need to occur and Congress must agree to raise at least $6.5 billion over 10 years to support it, as well as creating some new laws, such as standards to ensure privacy of energy data. Perhaps because the plan, as of today, lacks the power to actually change anything, the telecom industry reaction to it was overwhelmingly positive. But a few dissenters have emerged.

The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association disagreed with the plan's proposal to end rate of return accounting for small telcos, including many of the organization's members. Dan Mitchell, vice president of NTCA's legal and industry division said that although price cap regulation is appropriate for areas that can support multiple communications service providers, he believes the rate of return approach continues to be most appropriate in areas where market conditions do not support competition. The Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies expressed concerns about Universal Service reforms. Perhaps feeling snubbed because broadband over power line technology was not highlighted in the plan, another dissenter was International Broadband Electric Communications, a BPL provider.

FCC Launches Spectrum Dashboard

As discussed in the National Broadband Plan, the Federal Communications Commission announced the "beta" release of its Spectrum Dashboard.

The Spectrum Dashboard allows users to more easily review how spectrum bands are allocated and used and also allows users to identify license holders in specific areas. The initial version released today provides information covering frequencies between 225 MHz and 3.7 GHz - the range of spectrum potentially usable for mobile broadband. In addition, the Spectrum Dashboard contains enhanced search, mapping and data download capabilities for licenses in the following services in that range: 700 MHz Band; Advanced Wireless Service (AWS); Broadband Personal Communications Service (PCS); Broadband Radio Service (BRS); Educational Broadband Service (EBS); Cellular; 2.3 GHz Wireless Communications Service (WCS); Full Power TV Broadcast; and Mobile Satellite Services (MSS). The Spectrum Dashboard will increase transparency into how radio spectrum is being used in the United States. In conjunction with the release of the National Broadband Plan, the Spectrum Dashboard provides a resource for stakeholders who want to participate in the deployment of wireless broadband throughout the nation.

The dashboard allows users to browse, review and analyze spectrum data as it relates to broadband deployment, both at the local and national levels.

Benton

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