September 2010

FCC Releases October Meeting Agenda -- No reclassification or network neutrality

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced that the following items will be on the tentative agenda for the next open meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 14, 2010:

Bill Shock NPRM: A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on rules requiring mobile carriers to provide usage alerts and related information that will assist consumers in avoiding unexpected charges on their bills.
Mobility Fund NPRM: A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on a proposal to use recently reserved universal service funds to create a Mobility Fund to support private investment in current- (3G) and next-generation mobile services in areas where consumers currently lack such services.
CableCARD Third R&O and Order on Reconsideration: A Third Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration that will make changes to the FCC's CableCARD rules to improve the consumer experience with the video navigation devices used with cable services and promote the development of a competitive market for such devices.

FCC Frees Up Vacant TV Airwaves For Wireless Broadband

The Federal Communications Commission adopted rules to free up vacant airwaves between TV channels -- called "white spaces" -- to unleash a host of new technologies, such as "super Wi-Fi," and myriad other diverse applications. This is the first significant block of spectrum made available for unlicensed use in more than 20 years.

TV white space spectrum is considered prime real estate because its signals travel well, making it ideally suited for mobile wireless devices. Unlocking this valuable spectrum will open the doors for new industries to arise, create American jobs, and fuel new investment and innovation. The National Broadband Plan noted the importance of unlicensed spectrum in creating opportunities for new technologies to blossom and recommended that the Commission complete the TV white spaces proceeding as expeditiously as possible.

The Second Memorandum Opinion and Order (Second MO&O) resolves numerous legal and technical issues. Notably, the Order eliminates the requirement that TV bands devices that incorporate geo-location and database access must also include sensing technology to detect the signals of TV stations and low-power auxiliary service stations (wireless microphones). It also requires wireless microphone users who seek to register in the TV bands databases to certify that they will use all available channels from 7 through 51 prior to requesting registration. Requests to register in the database will be public, thus allowing interested parties to weigh in on any given request.

The FCC is also taking steps to ensure that incumbent services are protected from interference from the use of white spaces in various ways. In particular, the Order reserves two vacant UHF channels for wireless microphones and other low power auxiliary service devices in all areas of the country. It also maintains a reasonable separation distance between TV White Space device and wireless microphone usage permitted to be registered in the database.

FCC Commissioner McDowell: No need for network neutrality; we have white spaces!

Critics of US broadband want one of two things: "open access" rules that would create greater Internet service provider competition of the kind that actually existed in the early 2000s or, barring that, network neutrality rules to keep ISPs from abusing their market power. But according to Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell, we don't need either policy -- white space devices make both approaches unnecessary. Commissioner McDowell used his speech on the white spaces order to take a sly shot at Chairman Julius Genachowski. The white space vote shows that "neither open access nor net neutrality rules need be mandated by the government, he said, before looking over at Chairman Genachowski with a grin. The chairman can therefore take net neutrality "off his plate." In McDowell's view, opening up the empty TV channels is a way to promote ISP competition while still keeping the government away from intruding into private business decisions. White space devices will provide a "competitive alternative to existing broadband providers," he argued, and noted that the unlicensed nature of the newly free spectrum should lead to faster real-world deployments than a spectrum auction.

FCC Enables High-Speed, Affordable Broadband for Schools and Libraries

The Federal Communications Commission moved to upgrade and modernize the E-rate program to bring fast, affordable Internet access to schools and libraries across the country. The changes will help ensure that America's students can learn and develop the high-tech skills necessary to compete in the 21st Century economy.

The Order makes it easier for schools and libraries to get the highest speeds for the lowest prices by increasing their options for broadband providers and streamlining the application process. The Order is another advance in the FCC's ongoing transformation of the Universal Service Fund, of which the E-rate program is part, to deploy broadband throughout America.

The FCC's upgrades to E-rate include:

Super-Fast Fiber: The FCC's E-rate Order will help bring affordable, super-fast fiber connections to America's schools and libraries. It allows participants to use E-rate funds to connect to the Internet in the most cost-effective way possible, including via unused fiber optic lines already in place across the country and through existing state, regional and local networks. With these fiber networks, schools and libraries can provide students and communities with cutting-edge connectivity, while at the same time saving millions of dollars by bypassing more expensive options.
School Spots: The FCC is also opening the door to "School Spots" -- where schools have the option to provide Internet access to the local community after students go home. With affordable fiber, these School Spots are a major step toward the National Broadband Plan's goal of connecting an anchor institution in every community to affordable 1 gigabit per second broadband. School Spots will help ensure that people who otherwise lack access can use broadband.
Learning On-the-Go: The FCC is launching a pilot program that supports off-campus wireless Internet connectivity for mobile learning devices. Education doesn't stop at the schoolyard gate or the library door. Digital textbooks and other innovative wireless devices allow students to learn in a real-world context, inside the classroom and beyond. Because of their low cost and accessibility, these mobile devices can also help advance digital equality, particularly for children from economically disadvantaged communities.
Indexing the cap on E-rate funding to inflation in a fiscally responsible manner, so that the program can more fully meet the needs of students and communities. Since 1997 when the E-rate program started, inflation has raised costs 30 percent but the program has remained capped, significantly decreasing its effective purchasing power. Earlier this month, the Commission reserved hundreds of millions of dollars annually from another program of the Universal Service Fund to cover the incremental E-rate support (less than $25 million next year) it is providing, without growing the overall size of the Universal Service Fund.
Supporting connections to the dormitories of schools that serve students facing unique challenges, such as Tribal schools or schools for children with physical, cognitive, or behavioral disabilities.
Bolstering protections against waste, fraud, and abuse by codifying competitive bidding requirements and clarifying ethics obligations.
Streamlining the E-rate application process for educators and librarians.

FCC Takes Action to Improve Wireless 9-1-1 Services

The Federal Communications Commission moved to strengthen and improve the ability of Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs, or 9-1-1 call centers) to quickly locate wireless 9-1-1 callers and dispatch emergency responders to assist them during emergencies.

The Order requires wireless carriers to provide reliability data on each 9-1-1 call upon the request of a PSAP, which will improve the ability of public safety personnel to assess the accuracy of location information. The FCC also unanimously adopted a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) and Notice of Inquiry (NOI), as recommended in the National Broadband Plan, that explores how to further improve the location capability of 9-1-1 and E9-1-1 services for existing and new voice communications technologies, including new broadband technologies associated with the deployment of Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1) networks.

The FNPRM seeks public comment on a number of issues, including whether the FCC should adopt a technologically neutral location accuracy standard, methodologies for verifying compliance, and how wireless 9-1-1 caller location accuracy can be improved in challenging environments, such as in high-rise buildings, urban canyons and mountainous and forested terrain.

The NOI seeks public comment on whether to require interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers to automatically identify the caller's location, rather than requiring the caller to self-report his or her location, and whether other forms of VoIP services should be subject to the 9-1-1 rules. The NOI also focuses on the potential impact of future NG 9-1-1 deployment on location accuracy and automatic location identification. Additionally, the NOI explores whether to extend 9-1-1 and E9-1-1 requirements to new and emerging voice communications services, devices, and application enabled by broadband technologies.

NSA chief envisions 'secure zone' on Internet to guard against attacks

General Keith Alexander, who heads the U.S. Cyber Command, said the government should create a "secure zone" for federal agencies and critical private sector industries to protect them from potential attacks.

He said network sectioned off from the rest of the Internet is probably inevitable for systems crucial to national security. Gen Alexander said the Pentagon would likely have to work with the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigations to secure the country's critical infrastructure, 85 percent of which is owned by private companies. He said the agencies may need additional powers to take action during a cyber attack.

Senate Commerce Committee Considers Spectrum for Public Safety Network

The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing exploring the need for a nationwide public safety network. Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said the country should be "ashamed that [public safety officials] lack a nationwide, interoperable wireless broadband communications system." he introduced legislation that would 1) allocate 10 megahertz of spectrum known as the "D-block" to public safety to support a nationwide, interoperable wireless broadband network that will help keep us safe; and 2) give the Federal Communications Commission the authority to hold incentive auctions based on the voluntary return of spectrum.

There is bipartisan support atop the Senate Commerce Committee for giving the D block of spectrum to first responders, rather than trying to re-auction it, as the FCC proposed to do in its national broadband plan. Ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) said she is prepared to support direct allocation. She said she was ready to work with Chairman Rockefeller, but that there were still some technical questions to sort through. She also said that Congress needed to make sure that there was sufficient funding.

Privacy Likely To Remain On Agenda In House Next Year

Regardless of which party controls the House in the next Congress, privacy and possibly a rewrite of the 1996 Telecommunications Act may be on the agenda of the House Commerce Committee. Reps Rick Boucher (D-VA) Cliff Stearns (R-FL) said they plan to push forward on comprehensive online privacy legislation regardless of which party wins control of the House following the November elections.

Number of Minority Journalists Down in 2009; Story Mixed for Female Journalists

A new survey by the Radio Television Digital News Association and Hofstra University finds that the percentage of minority news directors rose in both television and radio in 2009 but, overall, the percentage of minorities in both radio and television fell for the third straight year, although the drop in television was small.

"Again, the percentage of minorities in television decreased from the year before. In fact, we end the decade with no gains whatsoever for minorities in TV news, and the percentage of minorities in radio news is down substantially," said Bob Papper, professor of journalism at Hofstra University and the survey director. According to the survey, women in radio news rose slightly, but the percentage of women radio news directors went down, as did both the overall percentage of women in TV news and women TV news directors. The drop in women TV news directors was small, and the percentage of women TV news directors stands at the second-highest level ever. "Women have been right around the 40 percentage mark of the TV workforce for more than a decade. Last year, the number edged up to 41.4 percent, but this year it's back down to 40.0 percent. That could indicate that women in TV news lost their jobs at a higher rate than men, but it could also just be an anomaly in the numbers," Papper said.

According to the survey, it was a mixed picture for women in radio news this year. The percentage of women in the radio workforce stayed essentially the same, up by 1.0 percent, and the percentage of stations with women rose by 10 percent, but the percentage of women radio news directors fell by nine percent.

Thailand's bid for high-speed Internet stalled

Thailand's bid to catch up with neighboring countries on advanced telecommunications technology has stalled after a court ruled to suspend a bidding process for 3G licenses. The ruling means more delays for bringing the fastest Internet technology to Thailand, which is one of the only countries in Southeast Asia without third-generation capabilities.

Poorer neighbors such as Cambodia and Laos already have 3G, which allows faster upload and download speeds. The Supreme Administrative Court upheld a lower court's injunction against a much-awaited 3G mobile license auction organized by the National Telecommunications Commission, saying the agency did not have the authority to put the licenses up for bidding. The court also dismissed an argument from the commission, which said the absence of 3G network would hinder the performance of state agencies and other public service providers. The auction must now wait until the Constitutional Court determines if the National Telecommunications Commission has the authority to hold the sale - or until Parliament moves to set up a new regulator.

Benton

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