April 2011

Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau
Federal Communications Commission
May 3, 2011
9am
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-305965A1.doc
For updated agenda:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-306171A1.doc

Catastrophic natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes are large-scale emergencies that may affect substantial portions of the public and can have a significant impact on critical national infrastructure, including communications networks and services. This Forum will consider the preparations that should be made in advance of an earthquake and how to develop and implement national communications policies and emergency procedures to respond to an earthquake’s potential impact on communications networks and services. This Forum will highlight those practices that best prepare the public and the communications sector for a catastrophic earthquake.

Panel 1 (panelists noted below) will discuss what can be expected from a large-scale earthquake and preparations to respond to an event of this nature. Panel 2 (panelists noted below) will explore the national policies, provider services and response capabilities that ensure first responders and the public have access to essential communications services in the wake of large–scale disasters. In addition, FCC subject matter experts will discuss their observations of Japan’s response to its historic earthquake as it relates to emergency communications.

The workshop will be open to the public; however, registration will be limited to the seating available. Those individuals who are interested in attending the forum may pre-register online at http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/event-registration.html. Those who pre-register will be asked to provide their name, title, organization affiliation, and contact information. Individuals may also contact Deandrea Wilson at Deandrea.Wilson@fcc.gov or 202-418-0703 regarding pre-registration. The deadline for pre-registration is Friday, April 29, 2011.

AGENDA

9:00 AM – Welcome—James Arden Barnett, Jr., Rear Admiral, USNR (Ret.), Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB), FCC

9:15 AM - Opening Remarks—Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

9:25 AM – The Japanese Experience—Masaru Fujino, Counselor, Embassy of Japan in the United States of America

9:55 AM – Panel One: Earthquake Preparedness: The recent large-scale earthquakes in Japan, Haiti and in other areas of the world have shown that advanced planning and preparation can lead to fewer deaths and minimize loss of property and damage to critical infrastructure. In several regions, the United States is vulnerable to earthquakes that could have a disastrous impact across large portions of the country, resulting in high casualties and destruction of or significant damage to the nation’s communications infrastructure. This panel will discuss the potential effects of a large-scale earthquake and preparations in the communications sector to respond to an event of this nature.

Moderator: Jeffery Goldthorp, Associate Bureau Chief for Cybersecurity and Communications Reliability, PSHSB, FCC

Panelists:

• David Applegate—Senior Science Advisor for Earthquake and Geologic Hazards, United States Geological Survey (USGS)
• William Carwile—Associate Administrator, Response and Recovery, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
• Paul Hogue—Assistant Executive Director, Central United States Earthquake Consortium
• Pete Simpson—Senior Vice-President, Trilogy Communications
• Karen Wong—Deputy Director, California Technology Agency, Public Safety Communications Office

11:15 AM – Break

11:25 AM – Japan in Retrospect: The Federal government and the FCC have been proactive in extending assistance to Japan and Haiti during recent earthquakes. This presentation will highlight observations by FCC subject matter experts on the impact of the recent earthquake on the communications infrastructure of Japan and the extent to which prior preparations assisted in public warning and restoration of communications services.

Presenters:

• Anita Dey—Senior Regional Specialist for Asia, International Bureau, FCC
• John Healy—Associate Division Chief, Cybersecurity and Communications Reliability Division (CCR), PSHSB, FCC
• James Miller—Senior Attorney Advisor, Electro-magnetic Compatibility Division, Office of Engineering and Technology, FCC
• Zenji Nakazawa—Deputy Chief, Policy and Licensing Division, PSHSB, FCC

11:45 AM – Panel Two: Communications Response to an Earthquake: The ability of the nation to respond to and recover from large scale disasters is dependent on many factors. This panel will discuss how national communications policies and emergency procedures should be developed and/or implemented to respond to the potential impact of a disaster on the national infrastructure. This will include discussion of considerations for the use of Federal assets and the ability of individual sectors within the communications industry to recover from large-scale damage and loss of facilities.

Moderator: Dr. William Lane, Chief Engineer & Chief, Operations and Emergency Management Division, PSHSB, FCC

Panelists:

• Richard Reed—Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Senior Director for Continuity Policy
• Whit Adamson—President, Tennessee Association of Broadcasters
• Robert Desiato—Director, Network Disaster Recovery, AT&T
• Prem Ramaswami—Product Manager, Google
• Tim Woods—Manager, Tactical Operations Support, Cisco Systems, Inc.

1:00 PM – Conclusion

Read more about Earthquake Communications Preparedness Forum

Tech, recording, wireless companies endorse Eshoo/Issa resolution

The recording, technology and wireless industries teamed up on to say Congress should not mandate cellphone makers to include radio chips on their devices.

They endorsed a resolution from Reps Anna Eshoo (D-CA), ranking member of the Communications subcommittee, and Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA) that says just that. The chip mandate proposal originated as a way to resolve a long-term dispute between the broadcasters and recording studios. Last year, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) signaled a willingness to support a chip mandate desired by broadcasters if radio stations would begin paying fees to musicians for airing their songs. But the chip proposal was quickly panned by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and wireless companies and failed to gain traction on Capitol Hill.

Rep Issa: No auction authority for FCC unless network neutrality is repealed

House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said that unless the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repeals its network neutrality regulations, House Republicans might be unwilling to grant the agency new power to move on its top priority: incentive spectrum auctions. "Until net neutrality is rolled back, I don't believe Congress is going to be willing to give the FCC any new power."

FTC asks court to shut down fake news sites

The Federal Trade Commission is asking federal courts to stop 10 firms from using fake websites to make misleading claims regarding acai berry weight-loss products.

According to the FTC, the websites appear to be legitimate news outlets, but in reality are a form of marketing designed to entice consumers to buy the featured acai berry weight-loss products from other merchants. The complaints allege the sites are typically titled something like “News 6 News Alerts,” “Health News Health Alerts,” or “Health 5 Beat Health News.” The FTC said the sites frequently display the logos of major media outlets — such as ABC, CBS, CNN and Consumer Reports — and claim their reports have been on the networks. “Almost everything about these sites is fake,” said David Vladeck, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The weight-loss results, the so-called investigations, the reporters, the consumer testimonials, and the attempt to portray an objective, journalistic endeavor.”

Sprint Agrees to Pay Clearwire $1 Billion for Use of Network

Sprint Nextel, the third- largest US wireless provider, agreed to pay Clearwire at least $1 billion for the use of its so-called fourth-generation network over the next two years.

Clearwire will get $300 million this year, $550 million in 2012, as well as pre-payments of $175 million over at least the next two years. The agreement, which amends an existing deal, is good through November 2013. The deal lets Sprint keep offering wireless service that allows speedier Web browsing and video streaming than its own network. For unprofitable Clearwire, the agreement may provide less funding that some investors had expected, said Michael Nelson, a Mizuho Securities analyst. Sprint also agreed to new terms for prices based on usage of handsets, such as the Evo 4G. The carrier will be allowed to resell the 4G service, operating on a technology known as WiMax, to other carriers, the companies said. The deal resolves a disagreement over how much Clearwire could charge Sprint for use of its service, a dispute that emerged after Sprint began selling smartphones for the fourth- generation network in 2010. That disagreement may have discouraged some potential investors in Clearwire.

GigaOm notes that Sprint and Clearwire make no mention of WiMAX, the 4G technology employed by Clearwire, which leaves open a lot of questions about what 4G technology the two will rely on going forward. Sprint has been testing the more common, alternative 4G technology known as Long Term Evolution, and is reportedly working toward a migration to the technology, something that has been made easier by its network overhaul, which will swap in new multi-modal base stations that can easily support LTE equipment.

Rural Telecos Suggest Solutions on Universal Service Reform

The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA) and the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO), in conjunction with 30 state and regional associations filed their recommendations to fix the Universal Service Fund at the Federal Communications Commission.

Each of the groups agrees that the current Universal Service Fund needs to be updated to include broadband in addition to traditional telephony. They fear, however, that the Federal Communications Commission will move too quickly, stranding companies that have already invested heavily in providing telephone service to rural areas. The groups submitted a joint filing requesting the FCC to develop a cost-based system, which will slowly decrease USF support over an extended period. Firms need the extended time to recoup investment costs from the telephone systems and redirect investment to broadband deployment. The associations also requested that the FCC update the intercarrier compensation (ICC) regulations to confirm that Voice over IP (VoIP) providers must pay traditional phone companies to transfer their traffic.

Public Knowledge and Benton Foundation Want Universal Service To Be Universal

The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) proposals to revamp the Universal Service Fund (USF) to provide broadband service will leave out many subscribers, Public Knowledge and the Benton Foundation told the Commission in comments filed April 18.

“For the first time in FCC history, ‘universal’ will come to mean “close enough,” PK and Benton told the Commission. Through the use of a “reverse auction” allowing carriers to bid to serve small service areas, carriers which want to provide universal service will be able to pick and choose which areas they want to serve, the filing said. “In seeking to connect those 8-10 percent of households left behind by the market, the Commission must not abandon some households simply because it is inconvenient to connect them,” PK and Benton said. “The whole purpose of designating geographic areas with minimum service requirements within each is to ensure that provision of service to high-cost areas can be cross-subsidized by serving low-cost areas as well. Drawing too fine a grid on currently unserved areas defeats this purpose, and will only allow bidders to skim off provision to the most profitable of the unserved areas,” PK and Benton said.

To solve the problem and allow service to be extended as far as possible, PK and Benton suggested that the USF be reconfigured to provide USF support to local communities which set up their own services in areas not sufficiently attractive to private companies. In addition, carriers receiving USF funds should be prohibited from offering “abusive terms of service” such as usage caps, while at the same time requiring that carriers not “prioritize or degrade specific applications or content” on their networks.

NBC Sports Wins $2 Billion NHL Faceoff

The NBC Sports Group and the National Hockey League have reached a new 10-year rights deal which is believed to be worth $2 billion.

Versus, which was paying $77 million a year for the cable rights to NHL games became part of the NBC Sports Group when its owner, Comcast, acquired a majority of NBC Universal earlier this year. NBC held the broadcast rights to the NHL under a revenue sharing pact. The new rights deal is worth at least double what the league had been receiving under the previous arrangement. NBC Sports Group outbid ESPN and Turner Broadcasting to continue airing NHL games. In addition to the TV rights it had, NBC is receiving extensive new digital rights as well as some scheduling changes to create opportunities to develop a new special event along the lines of the very successful Winter Classic played on New Year's Day.

EU Again Holds Off On New Network Neutrality Rules

The European Commission said it still doesn't see a need for additional network neutrality rules at this point but has called on a European Union advisory committee to examine whether mobile operators are taking steps to block access to some Internet applications and content.

In a report to the European Parliament, the commission, the EU's regulatory arm, called on the advisory committee made up of officials who regulate electronic commerce to investigate specific instances of discrimination of Internet content and applications by mobile operators and other broadband providers in Europe. The commission report noted that the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications detailed some concerns in a survey last year of its national regulators. The survey found examples of providers limiting the speed of certain peer-to-peer file-sharing or video streaming services in some countries, including France and Britain. It also found that some mobile operators in Austria, German, Italy and other countries were blocking or charging extra for access to Internet telephone services such as Skype.

Kerry-McCain Bill Must Reexamine Privacy Issue

[Commentary] Senators Kerry and McCain recently unveiled legislation, "The Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011," is the latest attempt to strike a balance between protecting Americans' privacy online while fostering the continued growth of our economy and, specifically, of the online advertising and marketing industry. That's no small task, as consumers' and companies' -- indeed, the world's -- reliance upon the Internet and computers for communication increases.

One of the most pressing issues to be tackled is the act of behavioral targeting, or BT, as it is called in the business. To many, the use of BT by marketers and others threatens a basic principle Americans hold dear: the right to privacy. The Kerry-McCain bill proposes a limit on marketers' ability to collect and share information about consumers without distinguishing between the type of information being collected: personally identifiable information (PII) or non-personally identifiable information (non-PII). That is a problem. Making a blanket statement about what is considered "private" data can be crushing to the industry and our economy. The reality is that not all tracking poses a serious problem for consumers. BT marketing is crucial to the growth of advertising and marketing. To eliminate it completely would not only harm advertisers' ability to communicate effectively to consumers, but also rob prospective consumers of a more relevant and user friendly Web surfing experience. [Minichini is president, interactive marketing, TargetCast tcm]

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