March 13, 2010 (Battle lines form around National Broadband Plan recommendations)
"[E]ach bullet point will trigger its own tortuous battle"
-- Craig Moffett, a senior analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company, on the National Broadband Plan
http://benton.org/node/33178
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2010
The release off the National Broadband Plan will get all the ink, but there's lots more going on next week http://bit.ly/daznH8
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
FCC Plan to Widen Internet Access in US Sets Up Battle
Broadband Plan: Spectrum Fees Could Be Extra Band-Clearing Incentive
Former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt: Internet Trumps TV
FCC responds to questions about broadband speed tests
Children's Agenda for Digital Opportunity
On Personal Data, Innovation and Privacy...
See also: Your Life Could Be An Open Book and Maine Repeals Law Restricting Data That Can Be Collected From Minors
The Broadband Plan's Blueprint for Accessibility
Strauss returns to FCC as Deputy Consumer Bureau Chief
FCC Recommends Outfitting Military Installations with Ultra High-Speed Connection
Stearns questions conflicts of interest in broadband plan
Broadband Growth Slowed in 2009
Ten Model Community Broadband Projects
Why the FCC National Broadband Plan Should Include Public Wi-Fi
Big Cable Offers FCC Seven Consumer Principles
Powell to Genachowski: Light Regulatory Touch For Broadband
Quigley: NBN Co to deliver 1Gbps
EDUCATION
National Education Technology Plan Prods K-12 to Innovate
JOURNALISM
Why don't honest journalists take on Roger Ailes and Fox News?
Gay Rights Drives Online News Agenda
Three Years, Three Stories
TELEVISION
Court OKs TV rules opposed by Comcast, Cablevision
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
China Calls Google's Plan to End Web Censorship 'Unfriendly'
Chicago Sets its Sights on Ultra-Modern Web Site With Enhanced E-Government
HEALTH
Senate Supports Meaningful Use Eligibility Change
Advisory panel proposes national electronic health record safety database
States' roles will shift in new NHIN landscape
STORIES FROM ABROAD
These headlines presented in partnership with:
Tasmania's Great Internet | European Mobile-Phone Companies Need to Merge Networks, 3 Says | BT bundles voice, broadband and TV for first time | No B-52s in My Backyard
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NAB: Anti-Fee Resolution Gains More Support
Recent Comments on:
European Countries Leave U.S. Trailing in Race for Universal Broadband
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN SETS UP BATTLE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Brian Stelter, Jenna Wortham]
The Federal Communications Commission is proposing an ambitious 10-year plan that will reimagine the nation's media and technology priorities by establishing high-speed Internet as the country's dominant communication network. The plan, which will be submitted to Congress on Tuesday, is likely to generate debate in Washington and a lobbying battle among the telecommunication giants, which over time may face new competition for customers. Already, the broadcast television industry is resisting a proposal to give back spectrum the government wants to use for future mobile service. The blueprint reflects the government's view that broadband Internet is becoming the common medium of the United States, gradually displacing the telephone and broadcast television industries. It also signals a shift at the FCC, which under the administration of President George W. Bush gained more attention for policing indecency on the television airwaves than for promoting Internet access. According to FCC officials briefed on the plan, the commission's recommendations will include a subsidy for Internet providers to wire rural parts of the country now without access, a controversial auction of some broadcast spectrum to free up space for wireless devices, and the development of a new universal set-top box that connects to the Internet and cable service. The effort will influence billions of dollars in federal spending, although the FCC will argue that the plan should pay for itself through the spectrum auctions. Some recommendations will require Congressional action and industry support, and will affect users only years from now.
benton.org/node/33177 | New York Times
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SPECTRUM FEES TO CLEAR BANDS?
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Communications Commission staff on Friday briefed Congressional staffers on the National Broadband Plan. Apparently, the FCC will propose levying spectrum fees on broadcasters and government users alike as a little incentive to clear off some of their spectrum. The plan includes two recommendations to "expand incentives and mechanisms available to reallocate or repurpose spectrum." One is an auction; the other is "spectrum fees." The FCC has said it planned to pay broadcasters to voluntarily clear off their spectrum, which would be auctioned for wireless broadband. But it also will recommend levying fees on broadcasters who choose not to take the buyout, which could prove another government prod in that voluntary program to give it up.
benton.org/node/33176 | Broadcasting&Cable
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HUNDT: INTERNET TRUMPS TV
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
In a speech at Columbus University, former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt candidly talked about his decision to promote the Internet over broadcasting as the one and only "common medium" for the United States while he was chairman of the FCC between 1994 and 1997, and how his work then will culminate next week when the current FCC under his protégé Julius Genachowski unveils the National Broadband Plan. "The broadband plan that will be published on March 17 actually will reflect ... the end of the era of trying to maintain over-the-air broadcast as the common medium and the beginning of a very detailed, quite substantive, commitment to having broadband, the son of narrowband, be the common medium," Hundt said in the speech that he describes as a "confession or admission." Among other things, he said, the "broadband plan will have in it a specific pathway to shrinking the amount of spectrum that broadcast will be able to use. In all previous eras, the government has expanded the spectrum for broadcast so as to give it a chance to thrive as it moved from analog to digital. Now, it's going to be moving in reverse." Hundt said that his decision to favor broadband over broadcast was made in 1994, when his first days as FCC chairman coincided with the introduction of the Mosaic browser and the emergence of the Internet as a commercial medium.
benton.org/node/33154 | TVNewsCheck | B&C
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FCC RESPONDS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT BROADBAND SPEED TESTS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
The Federal Communications Commission responded Friday evening to questions about the broadband speed tests it launched Thursday, saying that data collected from the effort will be supplemented by other information in the agency's analysis of connection speeds. The point of collecting data on broadband speeds and service quality is so that the FCC knows -- down to the level of a home address -- how well different parts of the United States are being served by Internet providers. About 80,000 people have tried the tests -- using an iPhone application and a Web-based test -- in the first day. Some users expressed concern about widely varying results, saying that because the tests were voluntary, the agency wouldn't get a full portrait of broadband access and speeds in any geographic area. An FCC lawyer, Jordan Usdan, responded in a statement Friday that information from the tests would be combined with other data, such as a mapping data, and used in the agency's final broadband proposal, which is scheduled to be presented to Congress next week. "There is a real value add here, giving the FCC another granular data layer of broadband service availability," Usdan said. "Yes, software-based tools can provide individuals with inconsistent performance results, some of which are out of the control of the ISP. ... However, this crowd-sourced speed data will be useful: Given a large sample size, the FCC can analyze performance trends over time and on a comparative basis across large geographies."
benton.org/node/33175 | Washington Post
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CHILDREN'S AGENDA FOR DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Federal Communications Commission Julius Genachowski outlined National Broadband Plan recommendations to benefit children and their families. Initiatives were announced that foster the FCC's Children's Agenda for Digital Opportunity to help children and empower parents. The plan will propose a number of recommendations to:
Ensure all children have access to broadband
Allow children to develop digital literacy skills and benefit from digital learning
Promote digital citizenship
Improve online safety
Specific proposals include modernizing the $9 billion Universal Service Fund so that it can be used to support broadband; updating the E-rate program to make it easier for children to get online at schools and libraries; and establishing a National Digital Literacy Program that will mobilize thousands of volunteers to teach digital skills to non-adopters and offer online courses on digital literacy.
Chairman Genachowski also announced the FCC will hold a series of workshops and roundtables to further the FCC's children's agenda. The events will bring together leaders from industry, government, academia, and nonprofits to address a variety of issues, including digital access, digital and media literacy, digital citizenship, digital safety, educational programming, advertising, and childhood obesity, among others.
benton.org/node/33174 | Federal Communications Commission | Chairman Genachowski | C-Net|News.com
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ON PERSONAL DATA, INFORMATION AND PRIVACY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Blair Levin]
The public record on the National broadband Plan since July is voluminous, with nearly 25,000 filings. They included many documents that shaped our thinking and lead to core recommendations in the plan. For example, Dr. Gerry Faulhaber, a professor at the Wharton School of Business, filed comments noting the importance of transparency for consumers in broadband speeds and service which provide the underpinning for our recommendations on that topic. There are other filings I could note but perhaps the most interesting set of filings -- or at least the most unexpected from my point of view -- were those focused on the importance of personal data in regards to innovation and privacy. The role of personal data in the online world is not a "new" idea, but its importance to broadband became increasingly apparent through public comments and events beyond the Commission. Many of the most innovative applications on the Internet are based on consumers sharing personal data. There is a great potential for innovation but it is critical to get the privacy issue right. The plan itself contains several recommendations for personal data in regards to innovation and privacy. It encourages Congress, the FTC and the FCC to work together to clarify the relationship between users and their online personal data profiles. It highlights the potential for Congress to help spur the development of private-sector companies that could aid consumers in better managing their own personal data. In addition, we think one of the most important agenda items for the country is to consider how the Privacy Act should be reformed. While the Act has done a tremendous job for consumer welfare since its enactment in 1974, the 21st century realities of personal data require an update.
benton.org/node/33173 | Federal Communications Commission
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BLUEPRINT FOR ACCESSIBILITY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Elizabeth Lyle]
The Silicon Flatirons conference on The National Broadband Plan and Accessibility for People with Disabilities at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in Washington, D.C. was a momentous occasion. It was a day filled with aspirations and hope -- and a belief that we could and would come together and fulfill Congress' vision of broadband access for all Americans, including those with disabilities. The blueprint in the National Broadband Plan is ambitious, and we are heartened by all those who have expressed commitment to work with us to implement the vision. More soon on how we plan to keep the momentum going, but in the meantime, thank you to all those who have helped shape the plan and make it a vehicle to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to broadband communications.
benton.org/node/33172 | Federal Communications Commission
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STRAUSS RETURNS TO FCC
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Karen Peltz Strauss has been named Deputy Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. She will focus on disability issues, among other things, and will help the Commission to implement the components of the National Broadband Plan that address access for people with disabilities, including leading the effort to develop a proposed Accessibility and Innovation Forum. Strauss has over 25 years experience working on telecommunications access for people with disabilities. She is a co-founder of the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology, or COAT, a coalition of over 290 national and regional organizations dedicated to ensuring disability access to emerging Internet-based and digital communications technologies in the 21st century. She served as Deputy Bureau Chief of the former Consumer Information Bureau at the FCC. In that capacity, she helped initiate its first Disability Rights Office and managed the Commission's consumer and disability access programs and policies.
benton.org/node/33166 | Federal Communications Commission
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FCC RECOMMENDS OUTFITTING MILITARY INSTALLATIONS WITH ULTRA HIGH-SPEED CONNECTIONS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Following consultation with the Department of Defense (DoD), the team developing the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan has included a recommendation that the DoD equip select military installations with ultra high-speed broadband connections that would provide military personnel and their families with improved access to enhanced broadband connectivity. The FCC's Plan outlines strategies for providing robust, affordable broadband to the entire nation and integrating broadband fully into the American economy and the daily lives of Americans. The DoD and FCC have discussed the merit of this proposal and agree this particular recommendation will be aligned with the missions of the Armed Forces. The recommendation reflects a tactic in the plan to investigate using federal facilities as a powerful way to push broadband more deeply into all corners of the nation. Military installations typically already have broadband connectivity but are ideal communities for ultra high-speed broadband connectivity, due to their scale and the variety of services they provide to military personnel and their families. The National Broadband Plan will recommend that the Defense Department create a task force, in consultation with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, to make recommendations on the selection, level of connectivity, and applications that could be deployed and supported. The military would retain operational control over the requirements and project implementation.
benton.org/node/33171 | Federal Communications Commission | The Hill
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STEARNS QUESTIONS NBP PROCESS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
Rep Cliff Stearns (R-FL), the ranking Republican on the House Communications Subcommittee, has sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski saying he hopes the National Broadband Plan will not be "littered with hidden agendas" to pave the way for net neutrality, Title II reclassification and spectrum auction conditions. He also asked Chairman Genachowski to respond to a number of questions including:
Why, specifically, was it necessary to delay the release of the plan to March 17 from the statutorily required deadline of Feb. 17?
How much money has been spent in preparing the plan? Please provide a total figure as well as a breakdown, including figures for categories such as...amount spent on studies and reports, amount spent on travel, amount spent on workshops, and amount spent on printing and production.
How many staff people were hired specifically to work on the plan? From where were they typically hired?
How did the FCC review potential conflicts of interest among employees hired from the private sector?
What is your personal opinion on whether broadband services should be classified under Title II?
benton.org/node/33170 | Hill, The | B&C
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BROADBAND GROWTH SLOWED IN 2009
[SOURCE: Leichtman Research Group, AUTHOR: Press release]
The nineteen largest cable and telephone providers in the US -- representing about 93% of the market -- acquired nearly 4.1 million net additional high-speed Internet subscribers in 2009. Annual net broadband additions in 2009 were 75% of the total in 2008. The top broadband providers now account for nearly 71.8 million subscribers -- with cable companies having 39.3 million broadband subscribers, and telephone companies having 32.5 million subscribers.
benton.org/node/33149 | Leichtman Research Group
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TEN MODEL COMMUNITY BROADBAND PROJECTS
[SOURCE: National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, AUTHOR: Matthew Johnson]
NATOA is sharing examples of innovative, replicable community projects with the Federal Communications Commission. Highlights include: 1)Montgomery County's (MD) fiber network connecting key government facilities and two-thirds of the county's public schools. 2) Free public Wi-Fi in the small, rural community of Rio Dell on the North Coast of California. 3) Fiber-to-the-home connections in Cleveland (OH). 4) A public computing center run by the Karuk Tribe in California.
benton.org/node/33140 | National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors
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WHY THE NBP SHOULD INCLUDE PUBLIC WI-FI
[SOURCE: PCWorld, AUTHOR: David Coursey]
[Commentary] Coursey hopes the National broadband Plan will include expanding Wi-Fi as part of improving mobile data access. It appears no amount of repurposed radio spectrum is likely to meet the expanding wireless data demand for very long. Universal free Wi-Fi is an idea whose time has come, not because it would be a nice thing for users but because it can reduce the need for additional radio spectrum for mobile wireless. That spectrum has proven difficult to come by and may be more expensive than offering Wi-Fi for free.
benton.org/node/33146 | PC World
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BIG CABLE OFFERS FCC CONSUMER PRINCIPLES
[SOURCE: National Cable & Telecommunications Association, AUTHOR: Kyle McSlarrow]
In a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski concerning the National Broadband Plan, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association offers seven principles to which cable operators are committed and which the NCTA believes could serve as the foundation for Commission and inter-industry efforts: 1) Consumers should have the option to purchase video devices at retail that can access their multichannel provider's video services without a set-top box supplied by that provider. 2) Consumers should also have the option to purchase video devices at retail that can access any multichannel provider's video services through an interface solution offered by that provider. 3) Consumers should have the option to access video content from the Internet through their multichannel provider's video devices and retail video devices. 4) Consumers should have the option to purchase video devices at retail that can search for video content across multiple content sources, including content from their multichannel provider, the Internet, or other sources. 5) Consumers should have the option to easily and securely move video content between and among devices in their homes. 6) Consumers should be assured the benefits of continuous innovation and variety in video products, devices and services provided by multichannel providers and at retail. 7) To maximize consumer benefits and to ensure competitive neutrality in a highly dynamic marketplace, these principles should be embraced by all video providers, implemented flexibly to accommodate different network architectures and diverse equipment options, and, to the maximum extent possible, serve as the basis for private sector solutions, not government technology mandates.
benton.org/node/33169 | National Cable & Telecommunications Association | B&C
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POWELL RECOMMENDS LIGHT REGULATORY TOUCH
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, former chairman Michael Powell said that one key part of the national broadband plan should be a "stable regulatory environment," which he said means "to continue the longstanding policy of a light regulatory touch" when it comes to the Internet. The letter from Powell -- and Harold Ford, his fellow co-chair of Broadband For America, a coalition of companies and associations, including the National Cable & Telecommunications Association -- argues a robust marketplace with incentives for investment and innovation is the best vehicle for broadband deployment. The FCC concedes that private industry will have to front most of the money to achieve its deployment and adoption goals.
benton.org/node/33150 | Multichannel News
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QUIGLEY: NBN CO TO DELIVER 1GBPS
[SOURCE: ZDNet.com.au, AUTHOR: Liam Tung]
Moments after shadow Minister for Communications Tony Smith criticized the government and National Broadband Network Company for proceeding without a business plan, NBN Co chief Mike Quigley outlined his plan for business: ubiquitous 1Gbps services. "We will have one consistent set of products across the whole national footprint. And that means consistent ubiquitous service up to one gigabit per second (Gbps)," Quigley told the Australian Telecommunications User Group conference today, held at the Australian Technology Park in Sydney. "Everyone keeps talking about 100Mbps. But that's obviously when we're talking about residents. For business we are allowing for a certain percentage in our dimensioning to structure point-to-point services up to 1Gbps." Quigley later explained that this capability would be built in under-serviced areas, as opposed to Sydney's central business district which is sufficiently covered.
This headline is presented in partnership with:
benton.org/node/33160 | ZDNet.com.au
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EDUCATION
NATIONAL ED TECH PLAN
[SOURCE: Education Week, AUTHOR: Katie Ash]
The Obama administration urged educators and policymakers last week to embrace a host of digital-learning approaches it says will make K-12 schools better, including putting a computing device in the hands of every student. Guided by an overarching goal set by President Barack Obama to raise national college-completion rates from 40 percent to 60 percent by 2020, the first National Educational Technology Plan issued by his administration outlines the big-picture approaches it says U.S. schools need to employ in the areas of classroom learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity to help meet that goal. The plan was written over nine months by educators, researchers, and policymakers, with input from the public. It emphasizes the importance of leveraging technology to customize learning for each student, citing tactics such as mobile computing and online coursetaking. It recommends enabling every student to learn through digital technology in school and at home, a 1-to-1 computing approach using cellphones, laptops, and other mobile-learning devices that is taking hold in a growing number of school districts.
benton.org/node/33167 | Education Week
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JOURNALISM
FOX NEWS AND THE HEALTH CARE DEBATE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Howell Raines]
[Commentary] One question has tugged at my professional conscience throughout the year-long congressional debate over health-care reform, and it has nothing to do with the public option, portability or medical malpractice. It is this: Why haven't America's old-school news organizations blown the whistle on Roger Ailes, chief of Fox News, for using the network to conduct a propaganda campaign against the Obama administration -- a campaign without precedent in our modern political history? Through clever use of the Fox News Channel and its cadre of raucous commentators, Ailes has overturned standards of fairness and objectivity that have guided American print and broadcast journalists since World War II. Yet, many members of my profession seem to stand by in silence as Ailes tears up the rulebook that served this country well as we covered the major stories of the past three generations, from the civil rights revolution to Watergate to the Wall Street scandals. This is not a liberal-versus-conservative issue. It is a matter of Fox turning reality on its head with, among other tactics, its endless repetition of its uber-lie: "The American people do not want health-care reform."
benton.org/node/33157 | Washington Post
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TELEVISION
COURT BACKS FCC OVER CABLEVISION, COMCAST
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has upheld regulations that require cable TV companies to make channels they own available to satellite TV providers and other rivals on equal terms. The ruling leaves in place the Federal Communications Commission "program access" rules which prevent cable operators from striking exclusive deals for satellite-delivered programming in which the operator has a financial interest. The court decided that the FCC was reasonable to conclude that the rules were still necessary, but that at the current pace of change in the marketplace, they probably won't be the next time the FCC reviews them. The court essentially concluded that, while the multichannel video marketplace had gotten more competitive, it was not sufficiently so to render arbitrary and capricious the FCC's decision to renew the program access rules for another five years back in 2007.The ruling marks a setback for Cablevision Systems Corp. and Comcast Corp., the cable companies that had challenged the rules in court.
benton.org/node/33156 | Associated Press | Broadcasting&Cable | Multichannel News | NYTimes | WashPost
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
China Calls Google's Plan to End Web Censorship 'Unfriendly'
Chicago Sets its Sights on Ultra-Modern Web Site With Enhanced E-Government
CHINA AND GOOGLE HEATS UP AGAIN
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: ]
China said Google Inc. would be "unfriendly and irresponsible" if it defies rules to filter online content, commenting on a censorship dispute between the government and the owner of the most popular search engine. "I hope Google will abide by Chinese laws and regulations," Li Yizhong, minister of industry and information technology, said at a briefing in Beijing today. "The company will have to bear the related results" if rules are violated, Li said, adding it was up to the company to decide if it wanted to stay in China. Li's comments, days after Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said "something will happen soon," signal talks with the government following Google's plan to end censorship at its Chinese site may be prolonged. Failure to settle the dispute may result in the Mountain View, California-based company's exit from the world's biggest Internet market, handing more sales to local rivals including Baidu Inc. and Tencent Holdings. Censorship of Web content "is a matter of very high priority for the Chinese leadership," said Joseph Cheng, a professor of politics at the City University of Hong Kong. "If Google intends to remain in China, it has to largely satisfy China's demands."
benton.org/node/33153 | Bloomberg | Fast Company
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