March 24, 2010 (Broadband Plan Oversight Delayed; Google v China)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2010
Health IT, Cybersecurity and Media Diversity on today's agenda http://bit.ly/bpMXCy
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
A Plan of Firsts
Senate oversight hearing on FCC's broadband plan postponed
Boucher Touts His Universal Service Reform Plan
Boucher To Draft Spectrum Auction Bill
Copps On Reclaiming Broadcast Spectrum: Handle With Care
Clyburn: FCC Needs To Insure Speed, Price Competition
How we'll get a gigabit to US hospitals, libraries, colleges
Police, fire chiefs say national broadband plan will not improve communications
National Broadband Plan Recommends Lower, Uniform Pole Attachment Rates
Single Payer Broadband? The Broadband Plan and The Movement for a People's Media
Does the FCC Want Our Internet Slow?
European Analysts Laud U.S. Broadband Plan, But Question Goals
Ofcom adopts benign stance over BT
One Economy's Mourad asks FCC about adoption programs
XO Communications questions the FCC on its broadband plan
THE STIMULUS
12 New RUS broadband Stimulus Grants Announced
Coalition aims to close digital divide for HUD households
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Court lifts ban on media ownership restrictions
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Google Faces Fallout as China Reacts to Site Shift
China cutting access to uncensored Google site
Stance by China to Limit Google Is Risk by Beijing
Google says some searches are blocked in China
Google Says It's Still Self-Censoring China Searches
China's Booming Internet Giants May Be Stuck There
(EDITORIALS)
Google and China
Google's Freedom Search
US watching what China does next with Google
Google and China: What Obama can learn
Google, Yahoo object to proposed Internet censorship in Australia
CYBERSECURITY
It is time for a public debate on whether and how to wage war in cyber space
Senate Cyber-security Bill Set for Markup
Three tech groups: Cybersecurity bill could prove too bureaucratic
Caution lights for the military's 'information war'
WIRELESS
Telecom companies seek to make Haiti a mobile nation
AT&T execs want more spectrum, lighter regulation
Mobile Broadband: You're Gonna Pay for the Convenience
Wi-Fi spreading fast among mobile phones
Verizon Wireless set to launch mobile payment service
Google Says Local Intent is Behind One-Third of Mobile Searches
HEALTH AND MEDIA
Health Care Reform Advertising Outlives Debate
Feds to rely on technology to make health reform law a reality
How Did the Internet Affect the Health Care Battle of 2009-10?
Conservative media channel history to portray health care bill as great tragedy
CONTENT
Google EU Ruling May Prompt Company to Tweak Its Search Layout | Internet use overtakes TV in Canada | Audiences Don't Pay for Content | Web Video Audience OK With More Ads, Report
OPEN GOVERNMENT
New Cookie Rules, April 7 | CIOs Embrace Open Government
POLICYMAKERS
Survey: Broadband a key issue in congressional races | ONC names managers for 'Beacon' grants program | Wieman Tapped for Office of Science and Technology Policy | Australian regulator revamps to focus on national broadband network and convergence
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
A PLAN OF FIRSTS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Blair Levin]
The National broadband Plan is a plan of firsts. The first time the federal government did an in-depth survey of non-adopters of broadband, to understand what influences that choice, a prerequisite to increasing adoption rates. The first time the federal government did a cost model to determine the net present value private investment gap for communities not served by broadband, a pre-requisite for moving universal service to support broadband. The first time the FCC undertook a process this open and transparent, holding dozens of public workshops to solicit the input of experts and citizens alike, welcoming extensive feedback online. It's one thing to have a bold plan, a bold vision, and bold goals. It's more impressive, though, to make that plan, that vision, and those goals a reality.
benton.org/node/33685 | Federal Communications Commission
Recommend this Headline
back to top
GOP CANCELS NBP OVERSIGHT HEARING
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
The Senate Commerce Committee postponed its oversight hearing of the Federal Communications Commission's national broadband plan. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski was scheduled to appear as the sole witness in the hearing. The hearing, scheduled for 2:30 pm, was a victim of Republican opposition to the recently-passed health care reform law. There is a little-known rule in the Senate stating that hearings can't happen after 2:00 p.m. each day without unanimous consent. However, every day, at the start of business, the Senate generally agrees, by unanimous consent, to waive this rule and continue with the necessary business of holding hearings. Republicans, however, are now refusing to give unanimous consent and are blocking the hearings. Congressional staffers say that they anticipate Republicans will not only continue blocking hearings for the rest of the week, but also delay or block all sorts of minor, routine measures.
benton.org/node/33684 | Washington Post | B&C | Think Progress
Recommend this Headline
back to top
BOUCHER'S USF REFORM PLAN
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) said that his proposed legislation to overhaul the Universal Service Fund would go further than what the Federal Communications Commission could do under its current authority. The FCC devoted a central piece of the national broadband plan last week to recommendations for the future of the fund, which subsidizes telephone services to low-income and rural homes. The plan proposes to pivot the fund toward subsidizing broadband access, as does a measure Rep Boucher and Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) released in draft form in November. Chairman Boucher said his draft measure would go further than the FCC plan. In particular, he pointed to the bill's effort to prevent "traffic pumping schemes," a practice in which phone companies inflate their call volume to boost the inter-carrier compensation fees they collect. "I don't think the commission under its current authorities could do [all that the legislation] could do today," he said.
benton.org/node/33683 | CongressDaily
Recommend this Headline
back to top
BOUCHER TO DRAFT SPECTRUM AUCTION BILL
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
The National Broadband Plan could get a boost from possible House legislation that would grant the agency authority to implement one of its core recommendations: creating a nationwide wireless broadband network for public safety officials. The Federal Communications Commission has suggested that the network be built using 10 megahertz of spectrum already under the control of emergency responders. The proposal follows a failed effort by the commission to auction adjacent spectrum, known as the D-block, to a commercial bidder willing to enter into a public-private partnership with first responders. During an appearance Tuesday at a telecommunications policy forum sponsored by National Journal, House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) said he's exploring legislation addressing the issue. "The commission had recommended an auction of the D-block, essentially without conditions. I agree with that recommendation," he said.
benton.org/node/33682 | CongressDaily
Recommend this Headline
back to top
COPPS ON BROADCAST SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In testimony prepared for a House oversight hearing, Federal Communications Commission member Michael Copps advises Congress that the FCC should exercise "great caution" in reclaiming spectrum from broadcasters because of the potential harm to a diversity of voices, one of his signature concerns. "I will be urging great caution," he plans to tell the House Communications Subcommittee, "because of the possibly detrimental effects of reallocating spectrum from those stations currently using it to serve diverse audiences. Every local voice that disappears runs against the grain of localism, diversity and competition." The plan includes a proposal to voluntarily collect at least 120 MHz of spectrum from broadcasters, auction that spectrum for wireless broadband uses, and compensate broadcasters from some of the proceeds. The last part of that equation gives Commissioner Copps pause as well. "Each of us would have, I am sure, some variations on the Plan that has been presented. In matters involving the reclamation of spectrum, for example, I am always conscious of the fact that the airwaves belong to the American people and that licensees may use that spectrum, but they do not own it," he said. "Talk about directly compensating licensees for spectrum runs into that reality."
benton.org/node/33681 | Broadcasting&Cable
Recommend this Headline
back to top
FCC NEEDS TO INSURE COMPETITION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In testimony prepared for a House oversight hearing, Federal Communications Commission member Mignon Clyburn will say that the national broadband plan should make sure there are least two broadband offerings in every market to insure price and speed competition. "Competition is the lifeblood of investment, innovation, and affordable prices," she plans to tell the House Communications Subcommittee, adding that absent that competition, cable operators and others have no incentive to improve their service or facilities.
benton.org/node/33680 | Broadcasting&Cable
Recommend this Headline
back to top
GIGABIT ANCHOR INSTITUTION ACCESS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
One key recommendation in the National Broadband Plan was that the government support a scheme to wire hundreds of thousands of "anchor institutions" with 1Gbps fiber. The move would mean that schools, libraries, colleges, and community centers in every town in the country could eventually have a fat pipe and a future-proof fiber connection. Not only that: both the FCC and the plan's backers envision the system being used to push faster broadband out into the surrounding community. The only question is how to pay for it all. Many of the winning grant applications for broadband stimulus money are middle-mile applications, and the government has required grant winners to be open to all last-mile providers. But this is quite limited in impact; the new proposal is far more ambitious, extending this to more than 200,000 local institutions, which could also pool resources to get bulk deals on both hardware and bandwidth. All of this would be made possible by the proposed Unified Community Anchor Network (UCAN), which would do the wiring. UCAN would not reinvent the wheel; where existing networks like Internet2 exist, they would be used or better interconnected. In addition, 30 states have state-level education networks. These could then be expanded to local anchor institutions. In places where such networks are sparse or absent, UCAN envisions building out new network capacity to link up the schools, hospitals, and community centers. Paying for UCAN is an unsolved problem, however. The National Broadband Plan avoids getting into funding details, instead suggesting that the idea is terrific and should be funded. How? Not even the idea's backers know. All the stakeholders are gathering in April to hash out their proposed solution, which could involve leftover broadband stimulus money, additional funding requests to Congress, and consolidating many federal programs into UCAN support. Paying for the scheme remains an obvious stumbling block, but conceptual support is now in place.
benton.org/node/33679 | Ars Technica
Recommend this Headline
back to top
FIRST RESPONDERS CRITICIZE BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
Police and fire chiefs from around the country are calling on Congress to make sure public safety agencies have access to enough wireless airwaves to form a nationwide communication network for first responders. Public safety executives say the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) National Broadband Plan undermines their ability to build a network that would allow federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to talk to each other during national disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina or the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The National Broadband Plan, which the FCC delivered to Congress last week, makes several recommendations intended to allow paramedics, police officers, port authority patrols and other emergency workers to create a national network to replace the current patchwork of networks that use different technologies, making it difficult for different jurisdictions to communicate. The biggest point of contention is over the FCC's recommendation to auction off a chunk of spectrum previously set aside for public safety. During emergencies, public safety officials would have priority access on commercial networks. But top police commissioners and fire chiefs say that system will not be reliable enough. Instead, they want the FCC to give a larger piece of spectrum to the first responders, who would then lease excess capacity to commercial providers when it is not needed.
benton.org/node/33678 | Hill, The
Recommend this Headline
back to top
LOWER, UNIFORM POLE ATTACHMENTS
[SOURCE: FCClawblog, AUTHOR Christopher Huther]
The National Broadband Plan emphasizes that encouraging and facilitating access to infrastructure, such as utility poles, is critical to the continued deployment and enhancement of broadband facilities in America. The Plan states that, "[c]ollectively, the expense of obtaining permits and leasing pole attachments and rights-of-way can amount to 20% of the cost of fiber optic deployment." Plan at 109. The Plan notes that "[t]hese costs can be reduced directly by cutting fees" and "can also be lowered indirectly by expediting processes and decreasing the risks and complexities that companies face as they deploy broadband network infrastructure."
benton.org/node/33677 | FCClawblog
Recommend this Headline
back to top
EUROPEANS LAUD BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: BroadbandBreakfast.com, AUTHOR: Philip Hunter]
European reaction to the new U.S. broadband plan has been mixed, ranging from high praise to dismissal as a flawed catch-up exercise. The plan was hailed as bold by Tim Johnson, chief analyst at Point Topic, a London-based provider of online analysis and data about broadband markets. He suggested it strengthened the case for a similar government-led approach to broadband stimulation in Europe and elsewhere. "Those of us on the 'invest now' side look at the case being made in the U.S. with great interest," Johnson said. "The boldness of the U.S. plan will encourage all those who believe that we should bring forward investment in superband and other new communications technologies, subject to truly competitive tendering." Johnson also praised the plan for not being overly ambitious, which he said will make it more likely to succeed. But Johnson also highlighted a concern shared by analysts that the FCC plan would fail once again to deliver a competitive broadband market in the United States.
benton.org/node/33674 | BroadbandBreakfast.com
Recommend this Headline
back to top
THE STIMULUS
12 NEW RUS GRANTS
[SOURCE: Department of Agriculture, AUTHOR: Press release]
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the selection of broadband infrastructure projects to give rural residents in 8 states access to improved economic and educational opportunities. Funding for the projects is being provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In all, $150 million will be invested in 12 projects through funding made available by Congress in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. An additional $68.2 million in private investment will be provided in matching funds, bringing the total funds invested to $218.2 million. To date, $1.05 billion has been provided to construct 67 broadband projects in 30 states and one territory.
benton.org/node/33671 | Department of Agriculture
Recommend this Headline
back to top
DIGITAL DIVIDE COALITION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) has joined with computer companies, telcos and a couple of broadband-centric nonprofits in a Digital Adoption Coalition (DAC) that is seeking broadband stimulus bucks. The goal of the coalition, which is led by nonprofit broadband adoption organization One Economy, is to bring broadband to as many as 250,000 low-income households. If it gets the money--it put in a bid March 15, the deadline for the second round of stimulus fund broadband bids--the coalition will work with HUD to get broadband to public housing via low-cost access, equipment (computers) and training. NCTA has been prepped for the job, having announced its Adoption-Plus initiative. Participating cable operators are ready to deliver half-price service to low-income homes with middle school kids, but that program was contingent on government-funded training and education and the kind of tech-support that companies like Intel, Microsoft and Dell are providing as part of the DAC.
benton.org/node/33669 | Broadcasting&Cable | The Hill
Recommend this Headline
back to top
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
COURT LIFTS BAN ON MEDIA OWNERSHIP RESTRICTIONS
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
A federal court has at least temporarily lifted government rules that blocked media companies from owning a newspaper and a broadcast TV station in the same market. The decision Tuesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit lifts the Federal Communications Commission's "cross-ownership" ban. That restriction had remained in effect under a stay issued by the court in 2003 as it has tried to sort out legal challenges to attempts by two previous FCC chairmen, Republicans Michael Powell and Kevin Martin, to relax the rules. The decision comes as the current FCC, now under Democratic control, gears up for its next congressionally mandated review of its media ownership rules. Those rules, which the agency must review every four years, include the cross-ownership ban and limits on the number of television and radio stations that one company can own in a market. According to Andrew Jay Schwartzman, head of the nonprofit law firm Media Access Project, the decision signals that the court has lost patience with the FCC. Media Access Project has led the public interest coalition in its fight against any relaxation of the rules, warning that too much media consolidation would lead to less diversity in media coverage. Schwartzman said that while he is disappointed by the court's action, he understands why it is frustrated with the FCC's slow pace. Free Press, another public interest group involved in the challenges, called on the FCC "to take decisive action to protect media diversity and to encourage competition in local news." Robert McDowell, one of two Republicans on the five-member FCC, welcomed the court's move to lift "burdensome ownership rules that are many years out of date." He added that the decision is "particularly appropriate given the economic upheaval affecting the ongoing viability of many daily newspapers and broadcast stations."
benton.org/node/33668 | Associated Press | B&C | Commissioner McDowell
Recommend this Headline
back to top
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
CHINA REACTS TO GOOGLE MOVE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Michael Wines, Jonathan Ansfield]
As Google began redirecting tens of millions of Chinese users on Tuesday to its uncensored Web site in Hong Kong, the company's remaining mainland operations came under pressure from its Chinese partners and from the government itself. For weeks, Google had been holding out hope that the Chinese government would allow it to keep its pledge to end censorship while retaining its share of China's fast-growing Internet search market. But the government has shown no sign of budging. Mainland Chinese users still could not see much of the unfiltered Hong Kong search results Tuesday because government firewalls either disabled searches for highly objectionable terms completely or blocked links to certain results. That had typically been the case before Google's action, only now millions more visitors were liable to encounter the disrupted access to an uncensored site. Beijing officials were clearly angered Tuesday by Google's decision to close its Internet search service in China and redirect users to the Hong Kong site, a move that focused global attention on the government's censorship policies, and there were signs of possible escalation in the dispute. China's biggest cellular communications company, China Mobile, was expected to cancel a deal that had placed Google's search engine on its mobile Internet home page, used by millions of people daily. In interviews, business executives close to industry officials said the company was planning to scrap the deal under government pressure, despite the fact that China Mobile has yet to contract with a replacement. Similarly, China's second-largest mobile company, China Unicom, was said by analysts and others to have delayed or killed the imminent introduction of a cellphone based on Google's Android platform. One major Internet portal, Tom.com, already had ceased using Google to power its search engine.
benton.org/node/33667 | New York Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top
RISK TO BEIJING
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Michael Wines]
This is a nation that builds dams, high-speed rail lines and skyscrapers with abandon. In newly muscular China, sheer force is not just an art, but a bedrock principle of its seemingly unstoppable rise to global prominence. Now China has tightened its grip on the much more variegated world of online information, effectively forcing Google Inc., the world's premier information provider, to choose between submitting to Chinese censorship and leaving the world's largest community of Internet users to its rivals. It chose to leave. Google's decision may not cause major problems for China right away, experts said. But in the longer run, they said, China's intransigent stance on filtering the flow of information within its borders has the potential to weaken its links to the global economy. It may also sully its image — promoted to its own people as well as to the international community — as an authoritarian country that is economically on the move, perhaps even more so than the sclerotic, democratic West.
benton.org/node/33698 | New York Times | WashPost
Recommend this Headline
back to top
GOOGLE SAYS SOME SEARCHES BLOCKED
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Kathy Chu, Jon Swartz, Calum MacLeod]
Less than a day after Google said it would no longer censor its search engine in China and began redirecting Web surfers to its Hong Kong site, it said some searches were blocked. "It seems that certain sensitive queries are being blocked, but the full site is currently not being blocked," Google spokeswoman Christine Chen said Tuesday. The blockade of searches on politics, porn and other topics — the apparent work of Chinese authorities — ratcheted up an already tense impasse between the two. The conflict underscores analysts' warnings that Google's gambit on Monday could damage its ability to maintain a foothold in this promising market. Google's China business brings in a sliver of its $24 billion in annual revenue, but analysts believe the market has ample room for growth.
benton.org/node/33697 | USAToday | Financial Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top
GOOGLE SAYS SELF-CENSORING IN CHINA
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Mark Lee]
Google said it's still providing censored search services for some partners in China, after announcing this week it would begin offering unfiltered results in the country. The company needs to fulfill "existing contractual obligations as we believe it's the responsible thing to do," Jessica Powell, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman, said in an e-mail today. Google will phase out censored services for partners "over time," she said. "Google is likely to lose a lot of its advertisers in China, which are mainly smaller businesses," said Jake Li, an Internet analyst at Guotai Junan Securities Co. in Shenzhen. "Google will be paying a lot of attention to how it manages its alliances with its major Chinese partners." Tom Online, the Beijing-based portal owned by billionaire Li Ka-shing, said yesterday it stopped using Google to power Internet searches. The Chinese site is using Baidu Inc.'s services.
benton.org/node/33696 | Bloomberg
Recommend this Headline
back to top
CENSORSHIP IN AUSTRALIA
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jessica Guynn]
The latest country in the news for attempting to block objectionable content is Australia. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Google, Yahoo and others have criticized government plans to force Internet service providers to make certain content inaccessible. Australia plans legislation this year that will blacklist certain sites. Google has gone on record saying the scope of the filtering is too broad, that it would slow down Internet access, could easily be circumvented and would give parents a false sense of safety.
benton.org/node/33665 | Los Angeles Times | Sydney Morning Herald | The Hill | ars technica
Recommend this Headline
back to top
HEALTH AND MEDIA
HEALTH CARE REFORM ADVERTISING OUTLIVES DEBATE
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Rich Thomaselli]
The health care reform debate might have essentially ended with Sunday's historic House of Representatives vote for passage of the bill, but the legislation will nonetheless have residual effects for the advertising industry. You thought the ads for health-care reform were over? Think again. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represents more than 1.6 million union workers, has begun airing ads this week in the districts of 14 Democratic members of Congress who voted for health-care reform but whose seats may be at risk because of that vote come November. The campaign -- a one-week, $1 million TV ad buy also backed by the group Health Care for America Now -- is titled "On Our Side." The ads applaud the members of Congress who were pro-reform against what AFSCME calls "the 2,049 health insurance company lobbyists and the $86 million in misleading ads" that were spent during the health-care debate.
benton.org/node/33688 | AdAge
Recommend this Headline
back to top
TECHNOLOGY AND HEALTH CARE REFORM
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Bob Brewin]
The historic health care reform bill President Obama signed into law on Tuesday calls for development of states' health care exchanges that eventually will allow Americans to compare insurance through Web portals as easily as they price and book airline tickets. The exchanges will create a "market where Americans can one-stop shop for a health care plan, compare benefits and prices, and choose the plan that's best for them." The exchanges, which will provide coverage to individuals and small businesses not covered by plans offered by larger employers or the federal government's Medicare program for the elderly, will become fully operational in 2014. But language in the 906-page Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act directs the Health and Human Services Department to consult with states to set up by a Web site no later than July 1 that will allow the public to search for the most affordable health coverage.
benton.org/node/33653 | nextgov
Recommend this Headline
back to top
THE INTERNET AND THE HEALTH CARE DEBATE
[SOURCE: techPresident, AUTHOR: Micah Sifry]
[Commentary] With the year-long debate over health care reform now entering its denouement (or a new chapter), how do you think the Internet affected the course of the political battle? The Internet forced the process much more into the open. The relatively open process fueled a lot of passionate engagement on all sides, with rightwing blogs, GOP outfits like Freedom Works and Tea Party protesters along with leftwing blogs, Democratic efforts like HCAN and OFA, and MoveOn and the PCCC all turbocharging their efforts by using the latest tools for connecting, coordinating, collaborating, raising money, and moving messages and troops. The overall effect was for many more voices to speak effectively in the process.
benton.org/node/33652 | TechPresident
Recommend this Headline
back to top