March 2010

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010 (Happy St Patrick's Day!)

NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
   FCC Sends National Broadband Plan to Congress
   See also: Emergency communications plan update will blend old and new
   See also: FCC broadband plan targets e-health expansion
   FCC Adopts Joint Statement on Broadband
    Genachowski Delivers on Why Broadband Plan Needed
    FCC Copps Couples Broadband Plan will Investigation of Media's Future
    McDowell Brings March Madness to National Broadband Plan
    Commissioner Clyburn Not Sold on FCC Spectrum Recommendations
    Baker Keeps Focus on Reforming Spectrum Policy
    President Obama on Broadband Plan: Building World's Most Powerful Platform for Economic Growth
    Speaker Pelosi touts FCC broadband plan for its job-creation potential
    More on Transparency and Competition
    Our Middle Name Should Come First
   Slow steps to high-speed broadband
   FCC national broadband plan: a vision for the nation
   Why America Needs a National Broadband Plan
   FCC Questioned on Its Far-Reaching Plan to Expand Broadband Access
   FCC Aim to Boost Web Still Remote
   FCC needs Congress' help on broadband effort
   How the FCC's new national broadband plan is expected to affect consumers
   Ten things you must know about the National Broadband Plan
   Now Comes The Hard Part
   Markey Looking To Legislate Portions Of National Broadband Plan
   FCC dodges answers on reclassification in sweeping national broadband plan
   Broadband Plan Sketches Competition Policy
   It's Time to Save the Broadband "Cop on the Beat"
   The Paradox of Thinking Outside the (Set-Top) Box
   See also: Comments on the Video Device Recommendations in the National Broadband Plan
   NAB: Broadcasters Could Work With FCC on Voluntary Spectrum Reclamation
   The business case for a national broadband policy
   Broadband Providers Urge Regulatory Restraint

CYBERSECURITY
   Measure would force White House, private sector to collaborate in cyber-crisis

KIDS & MEDIA
   Digital access, collaboration a must for students
   Report Examines Net Porn's Impact On Kids

HEALTH
   Consumer groups rally for patient focus in meaningful use

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   China appears to be preparing for Google departure
   What a Google China exit would mean
   Google Partners Say Its China Stance Is Putting Them at Risk BUT also see: Google Partners Unaware of Compensation Demands, Doubt Letter
   Egypt regulator enforces Internet voice call ban
   Bill would require agencies to post public documents online
   More agencies use cookies to track Web activity

PRIVACY
   How Privacy Vanishes Online

TELEVISION
   Verizon Files Patent Case to Halt Cablevision Set-Top Imports
   Hollywood Studios, Cable Systems Tout On-Demand Films
   Europe's Public Broadcasters Ask Lawmakers to Make It Easier to Offer Programs Online

OWNERSHIP
   Gap Widens Between Tech Richest and the Rest

MORE ONLINE
Online presence of hate, terrorist groups up 20% | GAO: Federal government's online spending portal hampered by inconsistencies | Owe Someone Money? Just Bump Your Phones | New U.K. study suggests software innovation to blame for escalating e-waste problem | Pay-per-use pricing not the mobile-data solution | Obama's New Pitch Drives Health Care Coverage | Facebook becomes bigger hit than Google

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NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN

FCC SENDS NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN TO CONGRESS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission delivered "Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan" to Congress on Tuesday. The Plan's call for action over the next decade includes the following goals and recommendations:
Connect 100 million households to affordable 100-megabits-per-second service, building the world's largest market of high-speed broadband users and ensuring that new jobs and businesses are created in America.
Affordable access in every American community to ultra-high-speed broadband of at least 1 gigabit per second at anchor institutions such as schools, hospitals, and military installations so that America is hosting the experiments that produce tomorrow's ideas and industries.
Ensure that the United States is leading the world in mobile innovation by making 500 megahertz of spectrum newly available for licensed and unlicensed use.
Move our adoption rates from roughly 65 percent to more than 90 percent and make sure that every child in America is digitally literate by the time he or she leaves high school.
Bring affordable broadband to rural communities, schools, libraries, and vulnerable populations by transitioning existing Universal Service Fund support from yesterday's analog technologies to tomorrow's digital infrastructure.
Promote competition across the broadband ecosystem by ensuring greater transparency, removing barriers to entry, and conducting market-based analysis with quality data on price, speed, and availability.
Enhance the safety of the American people by providing every first responder with access to a nationwide, wireless, interoperable public safety network.
Phoebe Yang, general counsel for the national broadband plan team said that as a result of the plan, more than 40 proceedings will be presented to the FCC. Of these, she said half are focused on applications, while a quarter involve the Universal Service program and intercarrier compensation. The rest involve public safety, she said.
Congress will be asked to take action on three areas, Yang said. These include funding for the proposed national broadband wireless public safety network and optional funding to accelerate broadband deployment goals. She also said Congressional action would be sought on certain matters pertaining to accelerating broadband adoption.
benton.org/node/33342 | Federal Communications Commission | See the Plan | arstechnica.com | TechDailyDose
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FCC ADOPTS JOINT STATEMENT ON BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
After unveiling the National Broadband Plan, Federal Communications Commission members approved -- by a 5-0 vote -- a Joint Statement on Broadband which expresses the six beliefs the commissioners share:
Every American should have a meaningful opportunity to benefit from the broadband communications era-regardless of geography, race, economic status, disability, residence on tribal land, or degree of digital literacy.
Continuous private sector investment in wired and wireless networks and technologies, and competition among providers, are critical to ensure vitality and innovation in the broadband ecosystem and to encourage new products and services that benefit American consumers and businesses of every size.
Strategic and prudent policies toward public resources like spectrum will benefit all Americans, by meeting current and future needs and by promoting continued innovation, investment, and competition.
The nearly $9 billion Universal Service Fund (USF) and the intercarrier compensation (ICC) system should be comprehensively reformed to increase accountability and efficiency, encourage targeted investment in broadband infrastructure, and emphasize the importance of broadband to the future of these programs.
Our Nation should harness the tools of modern communications technology to protect all Americans, including by enabling the development of a nation-wide, wireless, interoperable broadband network for the Nation's first responders.
Ubiquitous and affordable broadband can unlock vast new opportunities for Americans, in communities large and small, with respect to consumer welfare, civic participation, public safety and homeland security, community development, health care delivery, energy independence and efficiency, education, worker training, private sector investment, entrepreneurial activity, job creation and economic growth, and other national purposes.
benton.org/node/33341 | Federal Communications Commission
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SLOW STEPS TO HIGH-SPEED BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] The National Broadband Plan that the Federal Communications Commission released Tuesday is ambitious in the right way, staking out such immodest national goals as building the most innovative and fastest wireless networks on the planet and vastly improving the wired infrastructure within a decade. But the commission moved so cautiously toward those goals, it's hard to see at this point how it's going to reach them. The boldest part of the plan is its proposal that local television stations be paid to give up some of their airwaves to make room for powerful new wireless broadband services. It's a compelling idea that requires Congress' approval, but it's likely to die on Capitol Hill unless broadcasters go along. That's not a rebuke of the plan or the commission's pragmatism; it's just an acknowledgment of the fight that lies ahead.
benton.org/node/33349 | Los Angeles Times
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FCC PLAN IS A VISION FOR THE NATION
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] The national broadband plan for America argues that high-speed Internet service is as vital to America's economy as electric power. Everyone should have access to it. Everyone should be able to afford it. As anyone who writes a school report, looks for a job, buys something on eBay, or watches videos on YouTube knows, that's a pretty easy case to make. The Federal Communications Commission does so in its National Broadband Plan. The question is, how does America go from 200 million broadband users at home to adding another 100 million (just about everyone) by 2020? The FCC has a lot of details still to fill in with this report, which received the general support of all of the commissioners in a statement today. Parts of it, industry objects to. Parts of it, Congress will have to approve. But the commission has done right by providing a goal and a vision for the country. Why should Americans settle for less when, in a country like South Korea, most of its population can receive data at speeds more than 25 times faster than in the US?
benton.org/node/33348 | Christian Science Monitor, The
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WHY AMERICA NEEDS A NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: John Chambers]
[Commentary] If the U.S. military ranked 17th in the world, you can bet that as a nation we would make strengthening our armed forces a national priority. Yet that's just how the U.S. stacks up against the rest of the world in terms of access to high-speed Internet connections. The vital communications systems that make our economy work and serve as a platform for business innovation and social interactions are second-class. Sadly, many of us have accepted that. It's time to overcome our broadband complacency. The national broadband plan sent to Congress on Mar. 16 by the Federal Communications Commission is critical to our economic and national security. Without a plan, we simply cannot compete. It may take years for us to grasp either the speed or the magnitude of the changes happening globally. For example, in the next three years the number of Internet users will increase by 500 million, most of them from Asia, and the number of Internet-enabled devices will nearly double, creating new business and social dynamics. Here is what we do know: We are only as strong as the systems and infrastructure we have. A world that used to be defined by who ruled the High Seas is now defined by who delivers the best network connections. The FCC has shown leadership by pointing us in a direction. Now it's time for the rest of us to build the systems that are vital to the economic and social future of every nation.
[Chambers is Chief Executive Officer of Cisco]
benton.org/node/33347 | BusinessWeek
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BROADBAND PLAN FAR-REACHING
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Matt Richtel, Brian Stelter]
The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday made public the details of its ambitious policy to encourage the spread of high-speed Internet access. But their 376-page proposal, the National Broadband Plan, was met with a chorus of questions, even from the staunchest advocates of its goals. Telecommunications companies praised the intent but worried that new regulations might impede rather than encourage their progress in expanding Internet access. Industry analysts said the plan was both too ambitious and not detailed enough, and consumer advocates doubted it alone would lead to more affordable broadband service at adequate speeds. The criticisms were largely tempered by a strong embrace of what is by far the most aggressive effort to date by regulators to encourage widespread adoption of broadband at much higher speeds than most Americans have today. Some aspects will take years to put into place and require Congressional action.
benton.org/node/33346 | New York Times
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FCC AIM TO BOOST WEB STILL REMOTE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz, Shira Ovide]
Web surfers frustrated at paying high prices for relatively slow broadband service won't get much short-term relief from the Federal Communications Commission's effort to make U.S. Internet service faster and cheaper. The FCC report suggests that 100 million U.S. homes—of a total 112 million—should have "affordable access" to 50 megabit per second Internet service in five years. That's about 10 times faster than most homes get today. But the plan doesn't define affordable. Nor does it offer a specific recipe for its aim. The FCC says it will ultimately propose dozens of new rule changes to enact some of the ideas in the report. Even the FCC's suggestion of a free or low-cost national wireless broadband service could be years away from reality. The agency proposed a similar free wireless network two years ago but the plan withered under industry opposition.
benton.org/node/33345 | Wall Street Journal
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10 THINGS ABOUT THE NBP
[SOURCE: Connected Planet, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
Here are some of the highlights of the National broadband Plan that appear most critical to the telecommunications industry, based on a preliminary review of the plan. 1) The plan includes no target date for phasing-out traditional telephone service. 2) The Universal Service Fund will not grow. 3) The plan would allow rate of return carriers to transition to price cap financial metrics, with the goal of minimizing USF payments to those carriers. 4) No resolution on information versus telecommunications service debate. 5) Interstate access diverted to fund broadband. 6) Phantom traffic should be prohibited. 7) Door open to increased unbundling requirements. 8) Door open to special access rate changes. 9) New set top box requirements. 10) Release of the plan represents the beginning, not the end of the process.
The FCC will use 4 Mb/s download speeds as the definition of broadband for the proposed Connect America Fund, which it proposes to replace today's Universal Service high-cost fund.
benton.org/node/33340 | Connected Planet | Connected Planet - 4Mbps target
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NOW COMES THE HARD PART
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
The National Broadband Plan appears designed to please a wide array of constituencies, but maintaining the support of competing interests will be challenging when the political daggers come out during the implementation phase. "The support for the plan is one thing. Support for each individual initiative is another," observed Paul Glenchur, senior communications analyst at the Potomac Research Group. He added that as legislative and rulemaking proposals emerge, "that's when the disputes will be aired." House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) will hold a March 25 oversight hearing featuring the testimony of all five agency regulators -- the first in a series of such congressional sessions. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller will hold an oversight hearing on March 23.
benton.org/node/33339 | CongressDaily
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MARKEY LOOKING TO LEGISLATE PORTIONS OF NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Rep Ed Markey (D-MA), who was responsible for inserting the requirement for a national broadband report into the stimulus bill, has already introduced a bill to mandate to elements of that plan. The bill's aim is to insure accessibility to and privacy of energy data, and to develop national standards for accessibility. "We've gone from the black rotary dial phone to the Blackberry, but when it comes to electricity information, we still have to dial-up our utilities and ask for information," said Rep Markey. "With my e-KNOW bill and a new, American-built Smart Grid, the same people who work on killer apps for an iPhone will now help you know how much energy you use from your iFridge, iStove, or IToaster."
benton.org/node/33327 | Broadcasting&Cable
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FCC DODGES RECLASSIFICATION DEBATE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
As the Federal Communications Commission unveiled its sweeping national broadband plan, questions loom over the agency's ability to regulate Internet service providers. The agency chose to avoid answering what it will do as a federal court appears that it will undermine the FCC's authority over those services, thereby putting into question some of the biggest proposals in its plan to bring broadband connections to every home in America. Only on the penultimate page of the 338-page plan did the FCC address, in the most noncommittal way, that there are debates out there. The agency laid out arguments presented by corporations and the public on the legal frameworks available to carry out proposals including one that would reallocate an $8 billion annual phone fund for rural areas to broadband services. In its plan, the agency said: "The FCC will consider these and related questions as it moves forward to implement the plan."
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/posttech/2010/03/fcc_dodges_answers_on_...
Between the lines of the FCC's new broadband plan (USAToday)
benton.org/node/33326 | Washington Post | USAToday
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BROADBAND PLAN SKETCHES COMPETITION POLICY
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Art Brodsky]
Federal Communications Commission commissioners had a lot to say about competition and the National Broadband Plan. A lot of the language in the report paid tribute to the notion of consumers having more choice in broadband providers. "To ensure that the right policies are put in place so that the broadband ecosystem to have an ongoing, data-driven evaluation of the state of competition," the report reads. And that was the rub for the Commissioners ­ how to have that further evaluation. The National Broadband Plan took no position on how the competition necessary to improve consumer welfare should develop, at least in the wired world. It sees competition developing in the wireless world with the release of more spectrum. That will only occur if the large incumbents who now lease most of the spectrum are kept away, to let others play. As good as the National Broadband Plan is, it would have been better had it met the competition issues head on. Their large absence from the 376 pages did not stop the discussion of how to achieve competition. In fact, their absence only highlighted their absence as the Commission tip-toed up to the line, then backed off.
benton.org/node/33325 | Public Knowledge
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BROADBAND COP ON THE BEAT
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Gigi Sohn]
[Commentary] Does the Federal Communications Commission have the authority it needs to enact major portions of the National Broadband Plan? Without a "cop on the beat," the fate of broadband consumer protection regulations such as privacy, transparency and emergency communications will be at risk, as will other initiatives to ensure great access to broadband and greater adoption of broadband by the disadvantaged. Let's examine the main arguments against placing broadband Internet access under Title II and separate the myths from the facts.
Myth #1: This debate is all about network neutrality
Myth #2: If the FCC returns to Title II, it must apply all Title II regulation to broadband Internet access services
Myth #3: Title II regulation would apply to Google and Akamai
Myth #4: Title II regulation would deter investment
Myth #5: "Legal precedent" will make it difficult for the FCC to change its position
benton.org/node/33324 | Public Knowledge
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BROADBAND AND SET-TOP BOXES
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Paul Sweeting]
[Commentary] For the average consumer, the biggest immediate impact of the National Broadband Plan could come from its proposal to replace traditional cable set-top boxes within two years with simple "gateway" devices that handle conditional access and tuning but leave all other functionality to other devices or services. The FCC
hopes to create more breathing room for device makers by forcing cable operators to segregate essential functions like access and tuning from other features like DVR capability and Internet connectivity. As with CableCards, however, more boxes won't necessarily translate into meaningful competition for the incumbent service providers­the commission's ultimate goal. Cable operators, in fact, already face powerful incentives to look beyond the set-top box for delivering new services and functionality to subscribers. Ironically, the commission's new rules could end up bolstering cable operators' competitive position by accelerating the shift from local, set top­based services to network-based services.
benton.org/node/33323 | GigaOm | Public Knowledge
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THE BUSINESS CASE FOR THE BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: Fortune, AUTHOR: Michael Copeland]
[Commentary] The National broadband Plan compares broadband to electricity. For those of us who have gotten used to broadband, the comparison to electricity is apt. No matter how pokey the speeds here in the United States (most broadband connections via cable and DSL are in the range 3 to 4 megabits per second) once broadband is part of your life it's unthinkable to do without it. Yet, primarily because of cost, according to studies, 35% of U.S. households are without a broadband connection. In the plan, which was mandated as part of the federal stimulus plan, the FCC seeks to bring 100-megabit-per-second access to 100 million homes by 2020, and even faster connections to libraries and schools. While being able to stream Netflix movies faster is an appealing idea, it's the future of work that is the reason why increasing broadband speed and adoption are necessary. Xerox CTO Sophie Vandebroek believes that in the future most of us will be attached to companies as contractors, working where we please. Maynard Webb, CEO of LiveOps, is building a business on that premise, running virtual call centers with thousands of contractors working when and where they please. Broadband is vital to that kind of economy, and the kind of desirable work that increasingly involves moving bits back and forth, rather than physical goods.
benton.org/node/33320 | Fortune
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CYBERSECURITY
   Measure would force White House, private sector to collaborate in cyber-crisis

NEW CYBER-SECURITY BILL
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Nakashima]
The Cybersecurity Act, drafted by Senate commerce committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) and committee member Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), is an attempt to prod the Obama administration and Congress to be more aggressive in crafting a coordinated national strategy for dealing with cyberthreats. It is to be unveiled today (March 17). The legislation would require the White House to collaborate with the private sector in any response to a crisis affecting the nation's critical computer networks. The senators also sponsored the National Cybersecurity Advisor Act, which would create a Senate-confirmed, Cabinet-level position to lead efforts to protect the nation's computer systems, elevating the role of the cyber coordinator's job that President Obama filled late last year. That bill is pending in the Senate.
benton.org/node/33350 | Washington Post
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