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April 2011

A Business Guide to the Next Generation Internet Address

As we move to a world in which practically everything can be networked to everything else, we see more and more opportunities for innovation. But these opportunities also poses a challenge: As more and more devices get connected to the Internet—including computers, smartphones, innovative cloud computing platforms, and smart-grid tools—each of them is going to require an Internet Protocol (IP) address. That’s a lot of addresses, and that’s where IPv6 comes in. Internet Protocol version six, or IPv6, is an Internet addressing system designed to expand the number of available IP addresses. This expansion is necessary because the current number of addresses under Internet Protocol version four (IPv4) is gradually being exhausted. While IPv4 supports 4 billion addresses, IPv6 supports 340 trillion trillion trillion possible addresses. As such it represents a new generation of technology that can support unprecedented network growth, development, and innovation. In recent months, the Administration has been working to highlight the importance of the adoption and deployment of IPv6. We believe government can work in partnership with industry and other stakeholders to ensure that the technology that underpins the Internet continues to support innovation and economic growth. Though the IPv6 transition doesn't mean much for consumers right now—they can continue to use existing devices and IPv4 addresses—action and planning is needed by industry.

Healthcare leaders hail selection of Mostashari to lead ONC

Members of the healthcare community are praising the selection of Dr. Farzad Mostashari as the next head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at HHS. Mostashari succeeds Dr. David Blumenthal as head of the ONC.

Mostashari previously was deputy national coordinator for programs and policy at the ONC. He joined the ONC in July 2009. Before joining the ONC, Mostashari worked for the New York City Health and Mental Hygiene Department as assistant commissioner for the primary-care information project, according to the ONC's website. He also established the department's bureau of epidemiology services.

"Farzad's experience in promoting adoption and use of EHRs among providers, particularly in underserved areas, addresses a critical need," said Dr. Harry Greenspun, Dell's chief medical officer, who applauded Mostashari's appointment. "It's a good pick, but I'd go forward and say it's the right pick and the best pick,” said Dr. Peter Basch, medical director for electronic health records and health IT policy at MedStar Health, Columbia, Md., and a volunteer adviser to ONC, serving on three work groups of the federally chartered Health IT Policy Committee. Basch said all three previous ONC leaders have been the right men for the job at that time and that this is the time for a leader who can implement programs. "What we don't need now is someone to reconceptualize health IT," he said. "We've got a good plan. What we need now is a closer."

Kayak Says DOJ Mandates on Google's ITA Acquisition Are Sufficient to Protect Travel Competitors

It appears the Department of Justice has heard the cries of travel companies and consumer watchdogs, who threw a fit over Google's planned $700 million acquisition of ITA Software.

Many travel sites, from Microsoft's Bing to Kayak to Expedia, use ITA's technology, which helps enable consumers to search for airfares and flight times. If Google were allowed to buy ITA, some believed, it could give the company an unfair advantage in the travel-search business.

The Department of Justice approved Google's proposed purchase of ITA--with some important caveats. The DOJ has mandated that Google must adhere to a slew of requirements to ensure that healthy competition remains in the online travel industry. For now, the DOJ's decision has satisfied critics.

"We are extremely pleased with the decision," says Robert Birge, chief marketing officer of Kayak. Fairsearch.org, a coalition of businesses that includes Kayak, Expedia, and Bing, also lauded the DOJ's moves. “Today’s antitrust enforcement action by the Justice Department is a clear win for consumers and competition in the marketplace," Fairsearch said in a statement. "Google’s attempt to acquire unrestricted control over ITA, which would have violated antitrust laws, has been thwarted--representing a significant step in the right direction." According to Birge, the DOJ has protected Kayak and sites like it in two key ways. First, it ensures the company's continued access to ITA, a product that is critical to Kayak's technology. Second and most importantly, "they've protected our own technology that we've developed over the last seven years and that sits on [ITA's] servers," says Birge.

CBO Scores the Faster FOIA Act of 2011

The Faster FOIA Act of 2011 (S 627) would establish a commission to identify methods for reducing delays in processing requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The commission also would investigate a recent increase in the number of exemptions from FOIA that federal agencies have issued to prevent the release of information. The 12-member commission would have one year to report its findings and recommendations to the Congress.

Members would be appointed within 60 days of enactment of the legislation and would serve without pay but would be reimbursed for travel expenses. The commission would terminate 30 days after submitting its final report. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) would provide support to the commission, and the General Services Administration would administer any travel expenses.

Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing S. 627 would cost about $1 million, mostly in fiscal year 2012. That estimate includes the cost of preparing the report and paying the salaries and expenses of 10 employees provided by NARA. Enacting the legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.

S. 627 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.

April 9-15: Spectrum -- The Air That We Breathe

Although we try not to play favorites, Headlines, like you, has sources and authors we love to turn to help make sense of the latest developments in communications and, especially, telecommunications policy. GigaOm's Stacey Higginbotham is one of those people for us. Our April 15 daily newsletter bore the title of one of Higginbotham's latest pieces -- "Everything You Need to Know About the Fight for TV Spectrum." This debate has been one of the hottest topics of late and this past week especially with the broadcast industry meeting in Las Vegas for its annual convention.

Higginbotham does a great job in her piece of identifying what the issue is, who the players are, and what's at stake. In addition, Higginbotham's colleague, Om Malik, sat down with Pradeep Sindhu, co-founder of Juniper Networks. Sindhu believes (and many agree) that the rise of mobility, or “anywhere computing,” is going to change the whole notion of information infrastructure. Most of us want “to consume information and information services anytime, anywhere, with no limitations, and preferably in the same way across all devices,” he points out. Sindhu argues that we shouldn't distinguish between a wired or a wireless network, for in the future the network traffic is going to be more unpredictable, with demand coming from any client device, from any app at anytime.

As our readers well know (we hope), the National Broadband Plan and President Barack Obama are strongly committed to identifying and freeing up more spectrum to provide mobile broadband services. The move is meant to provide some more competition both within the wireless industry and between wireless and wireline Internet service providers -- and reduce the cost of providing broadband services in rural areas. A big part of the debate is figuring out where the needed spectrum will come from.

In the National Broadband Plan, the Federal Communications Commission recommended that Congress allow the FCC to run what's called "incentive auctions" in which incumbent licensees -- mainly television broadcasters -- could relinquish rights in spectrum assignments to other parties or to the FCC. Incumbents would receive a portion of the proceeds realized by the auction of their spectrum licenses. In Las Vegas, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski reiterated that broadcasters' participation in the auctions would be voluntary. But he warned that a part of the plan -- reallocating certain frequencies in local markets -- would not be voluntary: "voluntary can't mean undermining the potential effectiveness of an auction by giving every broadcaster a new and unprecedented right to keep their exact channel location. This would not only be unprecedented, it would give any one broadcaster veto power over the success of the auction -- and be neither good policy for the country, nor fair to the other participants."

The television broadcast industry is more than leery of the proposal; it is in full battle mode. CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves told the National Association of Broadcasters convention that his network rejoined the organization, in part, because, given the issues facing the industry, such as the battle over broadcasters' spectrum, it was important for the industry to work together. NAB Board member and Post-Newsweek Stations CEO Alan Frank said of the auction proposal “To me, the whole thing feels like, ‘Let’s put Jay Leno in prime [time].” The NAB's chief executive, former senator Gordon Smith, said broadcasters are in the battle of their lives against forces of "new media" painting them as stuck in the Howdy Doody era, and government overreaching for the next broadband app. He said that forcibly repacking stations was not his idea of a voluntary spectrum reclamation plan.

Ultimately, Congress will decide what happens in this debate. On April 12, the House Communications Subcommittee held a hearing on the issue. The Subcommittee is chaired by a former broadcaster, Rep Greg Walden (R-OR), who said there's a variety of options to get the next wave of spectrum deployed. Later in the week, Chairman Walden said that despite a push from the Administration and the FCC, Congress would not be "rushed by arbitrary or historical timelines or deadlines," adding: "I want to make sure the subcommittee and the full committee have as solid an understanding of spectrum needs and demands and issues involved as possible before we legislate." He said he does plan to legislate, but that he "wants to get it right" the first time. FCC Chairman Genachowski said this week he's hopeful that Congress will pass spectrum auction legislation.

The NAB's Smith also linked incentive auctions to the other 800 pound gorilla in the wireless world -- AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile. The former senator from Oregon said the deal may force lawmakers to question the efficacy of a proposal to persuade broadcasters to give up some of their spectrum to meet the mobile broadband boom. "Were I still a member of the Commerce Committee," he said, "and looking at budgetary numbers of $30 billion that [incentive auctions are] supposed to provide, and the biggest bidder just walked out, two of them, I would wonder what the options are," Smith said. "So as you begin to start to say, ok, we can compensate broadcasters, we can build out a public safety network we can add to the Treasury, I'm telling you can't do all those things."

On April 8, AT&T filed its application for an antitrust review at the Justice Department and on April 14 the FCC officially launched a docket for its review of the deal. Apparently, Justice and the FCC will coordinate their reviews.

Many are questioning the benefits of the deal. Consumers Union sent a letter to members of Congress warning of the potential impact of AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile. “It is critical to look at the effect this merger would have on consumers’ pocketbooks, choice and service,” said Parul P. Desai, policy counsel for Consumers Union. “Ultimately, it does not appear to be in their favor.” Concerns were raised even in the pages of the Wall Street Journal where Martin Peers wrote that what happens to those promises once a company has completed an acquisition? AT&T has claimed synergies from buying T-Mobile USA will more than offset the $39 billion purchase price. But AT&T has made similar promises alongside previous acquisitions, and it isn't clear it has achieved them.

Chief FCC economist Jonathan Baker said that the agency should determine whether the deal would leave wireless customers without viable alternatives. These concerns should be weighed against the possibility of technological breakthroughs and whether cost savings would be passed on to consumers. “It’s just a signal that the FCC is going to be examining these issues very carefully,” said Robert Lande, a University of Baltimore law professor who attended Baker’s speech and confirmed its content. He said Baker’s concerns are the basis of “a tough standard for approving a merger.” And this past week, when asked about the state of competition in the industry, FCC Chairman Genachowski pointed to an FCC report last May on the issue. Nowhere in that report did the FCC say the wireless industry is effectively competitive. That omission was significant, analysts say, because in all the reports before that the agency had concluded that there was enough competition. Specifically, the FCC report found: “There appears to be increasing concentration in the mobile wireless market. One widely-used measure of industry concentration indicates that concentration has increased 32 percent since 2003 and 6.5 percent in 2008.”

Penn State University Professor Rob Frieden also pointed out this week that the FCC's recent data roaming order offers two fascinating insights. One is that the FCC clearly identifies instances where the nature and type of wireless competition is inadequate to guarantee data roaming agreements between the major national carriers, such as AT&T and Verizon, and just about any other carrier. Only AT&T and Verizon opposed a data roaming obligation because, as noted by the FCC, these carriers have refused to deal -- and market consolidation “has reduced the number of potential roaming partners for some of the smaller, regional and rural providers” while also reducing the need for AT&T and Verizon to secure reciprocal roaming agreements. Such candor coming from an agency that never saw a wireless merger it could not approve and has never disputed industry claims regarding how tirelessly they have to compete.

Last weekend, at the National Conference for Media Reform, FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn pledged to be "super vigilant" of the wireless industry while discussing the importance of mobile broadband to low-income and minority communities. “In considering all of the factors relating to America’s minority and lower-income citizens, and realizing how hard people work to claw past their monthly bills only to immediately start fretting about next month, we must be vigilant -- super-vigilant -- about the direction the wireless industry is heading,” she said.

We'll be watching too. To track our coverage of all things wireless see http://benton.org/taxonomy/term/19; for spectrum issues see http://benton.org/taxonomy/term/26; and the AT&T|T-Mobile deal see http://benton.org/headlines/at-t-t-mobile

And we'll see you next week in the Headlines http://benton.org/headlines

April 15, 2011 (Everything You Need to Know About the Fight for TV Spectrum)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2011

What progress has been made on the National Broadband Plan? See http://benton.org/initiatives/national_broadband_plan

News from April 7 includes recap of the FCC's monthly open meeting http://benton.org/node/55485


SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
   Everything You Need to Know About the Fight for TV Spectrum - analysis
   Chairman Genachowski 'hopeful' Congress will pass auction legislation
   FCC Open Docket for Proposed Acquisition of T-Mobile by AT&T
   AT&T's $39 Billion T-Mobile Deal Faces Coordinated Review
   Verizon now has seven rural LTE partners, vindicating McAdams’ vision
   Mobile App Talent Pool Is Shallow
   Google Faces Antitrust Complaints in South Korea on Android Popularity

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Broadband: You'll Be Crippled Without It - op-ed
   End of the Web as we know it? - analysis

PRIVACY
   New rules to let Europe web users turn off cookies
   ISPs Monitoring For Illegal Downloads Breaches Privacy, EU Official Says

CYBERSECURITY
   ISPs Team Up On Cybersecurity Proposal
   In cyberspy vs. cyberspy, China has the edge [links to web]

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION
   FCC Commissioner Clyburn on Women in Public Safety Communications

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Congress trims State’s Internet freedom funds
   US Groups Helped Nurture Arab Uprisings
   India eyes cap on imported telecoms equipment [links to web]

COMMUNITY MEDIA
   Apps for Communities Challenge - press release

TELECOM REGULATION REFORM
   NCTA's Assey: Time to Rethink Regulations

NEWS FROM THE FCC
   FCC Reorganizes Bureaus - press release
   Acting FCC Press Secretary Exiting [links to web]

TELEVISION/RADIO
   Comcast Moves Goal Posts for NBC Sports
   CPB Funding Survives
   FCC's Lloyd Escapes Czar Purge

MORE ONLINE
   Ed tech stakeholders protest budget cuts [links to web]
   Bamboom takes over-the-air TV over the top - analysis [links to web]
   States debate Internet cafe gambling [links to web]
   Bloggers Follow Japan - research [links to web]
   E-books overtake US paperbacks [links to web]
   House Judiciary passes patent-reform bill [links to web]

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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS

SPECTRUM FIGHT
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
A $33 billion fight is brewing — or maybe it’s only a $27.8 billion fight, depending on whose numbers we use. The fight is nothing short of an entertainment battle royale, with TV on one side and the iPhone on the other. Actually, mobile phones, tablets and any other device we want to connect to the cellular network are on the iPhone side, but in a battle royale, it helps to have one protagonist and one antagonist. The issue is who will have access to the 133 MHz of spectrum currently used by broadcasters to deliver TV programming, and how that transfer of airwaves will take place if the broadcast industry can't stop Congress and the Federal Communications Commission from its spectrum land grab. It’s a contentious issue over a wonky subject, and so like all debates that require some technical knowledge, both sides are flat-out misleading people. So here are five questions (and answers) about this issue, for those who want to separate the truth from the spin.
1) What’s the Issue Again? The wireless industry has become a victim of its own success, and now people can't make calls. The industry argues it needs more spectrum to handle increased mobile traffic.
2) Are We Really Running out of Spectrum? Short answer: No.
3) Who Owns This Spectrum Anyway? Technically -- you do... well, the US government does. It granted broadcasters access to use this spectrum because it viewed broadcasting as a public good and theoretically could take it away at any point in time, but that’s not going to happen since broadcasters have built out a huge industry that many Americans still rely on for their entertainment and news.
4) What Is an Incentive Auction? The Federal Communications Commission's attempt to offer broadcasters a peace offering: basically an auction whereby the broadcasters who give up spectrum will get to share in the proceeds of the auction.
5) Won't This Take PBS Stations for Rural Viewers so People in Cities Can Play Angry Birds? [What are you smoking? Angry Birds is so last week] Spectrum is geographically constrained. So having a lot of spectrum in New York means New York broadcasters will have to give up their airwaves, not the folks in Rochester. [Not that anyone's calling Rochester rural... Oh, Rochester... ]
benton.org/node/55506 | GigaOm
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AUCTION LEGISLATION
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski remains hopeful that Congress will pass spectrum auction legislation as the number of remaining legislative days shrinks. House members have yet to draft and rally around a spectrum auction proposal, and some Commerce Committee Republicans are at odds with Senate Democrats on how spectrum policy should look. But Chairman Genachowski said that the economic benefits of the auctions have resonated with members and that the proposal — a central aspect of his tenure — is gaining bipartisan support. He did not say how auction legislation should look and said there are various "good models" in play. Many auction proponents hope the FCC will get a broad mandate to shape the auctions as it wishes.
benton.org/node/55535 | Hill, The
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FCC OPENS AT&T DOCKET
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
On March 21, 2011, AT&T and Deutsche Telekom announced an agreement under which AT&T will acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom in a cash-and-stock transaction currently valued at approximately $39 billion. Applications seeking Federal Communications Commission consent to the transfer of control of T-Mobile USA and its wholly-owned and controlled subsidiaries (“Applications”) are expected. The purpose of this public notice is to announce the opening of a docket, WT Docket No. 11-65, and articulate the ex parte status of discussions related to the proposed transaction. Until the Applications are filed, discussions with FCC staff regarding this proposed transaction will continue to be exempt from any ex parte limitations or requirements. When applications are filed, this proceeding will be governed by permit-but disclose ex parte procedures that are applicable to non-restricted proceedings. Parties making oral ex parte presentations after the Applications are filed are directed to the FCC’s statement reemphasizing the public’s responsibility in permit-but-disclose proceedings and are reminded that memoranda summarizing the presentation must contain the presentation’s substance and not merely list the subjects discussed. More than a one- or two-sentence description of the views and arguments presented is generally required. At the time any Applications are filed with the FCC, the Commission will release a public notice to announce that fact. That public notice will also provide procedures for requesting ex parte meetings with staff regarding the proposed transaction.
benton.org/node/55520 | Federal Communications Commission | Fierce | WashPost | The Hill | National Journal
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COORDINATED REVIEW OF AT&T DEAL
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Todd Shields]
Apparently, the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice will coordinate their reviews of AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile. The deal needs approval from the FCC and Justice Department, and is to face hearings in Congress. The FCC and Justice Department will work on parallel tracks, and coordinate with one another, an anonymous FCC source says. AT&T intends to file its application at the FCC around April 21, said AT&T spokesperson Michael Balmoris.
benton.org/node/55524 | Bloomberg
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VERIZON'S RURAL PARTNERS
[SOURCE: Connected Planet, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
When Verizon Wireless launched its rural LTE program early last year, the company’s then-CEO Lowell McAdam appeared to be closely involved in the program, potentially putting his own reputation on the line depending on the program’s success. McAdam has since moved into the Verizon COO position, where he is being groomed to replace Ivan Seidenberg as CEO of all of Verizon and where he undoubtedly has larger fish to fry than the rural LTE program. McAdam’s vision for the rural LTE program seems to be holding up to market realities. The latest company to join the Verizon Wireless LTE in Rural America program is S and R Communications, a joint venture of two rural Indiana wireline telcos. That brings the total number of participants in the program to seven. That’s a respectable attainment in the five months since the first program participant was announced, especially considering that Verizon is only seeking partners in areas where it does not have its own 3G infrastructure.
benton.org/node/55515 | Connected Planet
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MOBILE APP TALENT
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Joe Light]
The intense competition for mobile engineers, which affects large companies and fast-growing start-ups alike, is emerging as a key bottleneck as companies scramble to capitalize on the fast growth of smartphones and other mobile devices. Mobile applications have boomed, working their way deeply into fields like retail, media, videogames and marketing. Market research firm Gartner Inc. expects revenue from Apple Inc.'s App Store, Google Inc.'s Android Market and other stores where mobile applications are sold to nearly triple to $15 billion this year. The technologies are so new -- Apple's app store launched in 2008 -- that few software engineers have mobile development experience, which requires new coding skills compared to a desktop computer. That's forcing companies to increase wages, retrain software engineers, outsource work to third-party developers and set up offshore development labs to meet demand. In the last year, the number of online job listings with the keyword "iPhone" in the text has nearly tripled, while the number with "Android" has more than quadrupled, according to listings search engine Indeed Inc. The number of mobile development jobs offered on Elance.com, a freelancer website, doubled between the first quarters of last year and this year, twice as fast as growth on the site as a whole.
benton.org/node/55551 | Wall Street Journal
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ANDROID COMPLAINTS IN SOUTH KOREA
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Jun Yang]
Google is facing antitrust complaints in South Korea as mobile phones using its Android software gain dominance. NHN Corp. and Daum Communications Corp., operators of South Korea’s two largest Internet search sites, filed complaints against Google with the country’s Fair Trade Commission for blocking local phone carriers and manufacturers from embedding their search applications in devices using the Android operating system. Google has banned South Korean phone manufacturers from including Web search applications made by other companies under its marketing contracts, Seongnam-based NHN said. Google has delayed certifying the use of its software for handset makers that violated the condition, the South Korean company said. Daum learned about Google’s practices while trying to have its applications installed and has evidence to prove its claims, the Seoul-based company said. About 70 percent of the more than 10 million smartphones sold in South Korea were Android-based devices as of March 31, according to an estimate by Park Jong Soo, an analyst at Hanwha Securities Co. in Seoul. NHN and Daum together control about 90 percent of Web searches on personal computers in South Korea, according to Lee Chang Young, an analyst at Tong Yang Securities Inc. in Seoul. Google’s share is between 1 percent and 2 percent, Lee said.
benton.org/node/55541 | Bloomberg
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

YOU'LL BE CRIPPLED WITHOUT IT
[SOURCE: Daily Yonder, AUTHOR: Sharon Strover]
[Commentary] Communications technologies have enormous consequences even though most of them go unrealized when those technologies are young. No one would have anticipated that Facebook or Twitter might one day figure in revolutions, just as no one could have anticipated that the telegraph would catalyze both the standardization of time keeping in the U.S. as well as the creation of national economic markets. We are now in the midst of a national debate — indeed, an international debate — around the impact of broadband networks. The current administration is intent on expanding access to broadband, especially in rural regions that have lacked fast access to the Internet. Critics ask exactly what broadband yields, and whether jolts of investment found in the stimulus are justified. What does it provide to rural regions that justify such large-scale investments? The simple answer is that rural communities will be economically crippled without broadband access. That’s the long and the short of it.
benton.org/node/55517 | Daily Yonder
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THE END OF THE WEB AS WE KNOW IT?
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Rhonda Abrams]
[Commentary] Last week, while the media was focused on whether the U.S. government would shut down, another piece of legislation passed the House of Representatives with critical implications for small business. The bill would end the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) ability to insure what’s called “net neutrality.” It was a pure “David versus Goliath” bill, and the House voted to protect Goliath. If the House bill becomes law – or the Supreme Court eventually decides the FCC doesn't have the authority to enforce network neutrality – the game changes radically. Without network neutrality, telecommunication and cable companies can tilt the playing field. And it won't be in small businesses and start-ups favor. What are the possible effects for small businesses and entrepreneurs?
Fewer innovative new businesses. Virtually every company today depends on the Internet. When new companies are shunted to a slower Internet than established large corporations, they'll have a harder time starting or succeeding.
Higher costs. Since the Internet companies will be able to create “tiered” services, they'll charge for them. If you want to be sure you get faster Internet service for your business, you'll pay for it.
Worse service. If you don't pay for higher tiers. Over time, Internet companies will spend their resources developing the infrastructure for the higher tiers, neglecting enhancements in lower tiers. You'll be in the “economy” cabin while others are in business or first class. At best, you'll get peanuts.
Dramatically inhibit the growth of cloud based services. Right now, we are in the infancy of what is certain to be an explosion of “cloud-based” or Internet-based services. I'm a huge fan of these services as they provide small businesses with far greater power and capabilities at low, predictable costs. But the diversity and cost of these cloud-based services depend on lots of scrappy new companies starting. Without net neutrality, there will be far fewer innovative cloud companies created.
benton.org/node/55549 | USAToday
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PRIVACY

NEW EU PRIVACY DEAL
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Eva Dou]
People surfing European websites will be able to turn off the cookies used to spy on their Internet habits under rules hammered out by the region's online advertisers, the Brussels-based Internet Advertising Bureau Europe announced. "It will change significantly how the Internet will look and how people interact with ads," said Kimon Zorbas, vice president of the industry group that developed the new rules. Under the agreement, web ads will carry a clickable icon labeled "AdChoices" that will let users change their privacy settings so they are no longer profiled for advertising purposes.
benton.org/node/55532 | Reuters
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PRIVACY AND COPYRIGHT MONITORING
[SOURCE: paidContent.org, AUTHOR: Robert Andrews]
A European Court of Justice official is finding against a verdict which said a Belgian ISP should filter out copyright-infringing content from its network. In a case dating back to 2007, the ISP, Scarlet had been ordered to strip from its transmissions unauthorized transfers of music whose rights are held by the Belgian Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers (SABAM). But Pedro Cruz Villalón, who, as an advocate-general to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), advises the continent’s highest court, has declared: “The installation of the filtering and blocking system is a restriction on the right to respect for the privacy of communications and the right to protection of personal data, both of which are rights protected under the Charter of Fundamental Rights.” The UK government must take heed of Villalón’s advice since, out of the embers of its Digital Economy Act, it is working with British ISPs and content rightsholders to table proposals under which ISPs must block access to websites deemed to be hosting content without authorization. Villalón says: “A restriction on the rights and freedoms of Internet users ... would be permissible only if it were adopted on a national legal basis which was accessible, clear and predictable.”
benton.org/node/55504 | paidContent.org
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CYBERSECURITY

CYBERSECURITY PROPOSAL
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association has joined with the chief telecom and wireless associations to propose a cybersecurity legislative framework, including collecting "better data" on problems, partnering with industry and consumer and business education. In a letter to White House cybersecurity coordinator Howard Schmidt, with copies to key lawmakers, the trio presented a "consolidated" ISP position that included considering consolidating responsibility over federal networks in a single entity, providing incentives to the private sector in the form of tax breaks, liability protection and other benefits for government-industry partnerships. And they argue that the government needs to include industry experts from the beginning and not "wait until the last minute to bring industry into the planning cycle."
benton.org/node/55509 | Multichannel News
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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION

WOMEN IN PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn]
Speaking at the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International's Women in Public Safety Communications Leadership Conference, Federal Communications Commission member Mignon Clyburn addressed two of her passions: promoting public safety and empowering women. She said: "Women face unique challenges in the workplace, but as I'm sure you've been told throughout the conference and during your personal and professional experiences, the ability to overcome those challenges is the trademark of a truly effective leader. It is important to understand and embrace the fact that there is more than one path to becoming a leader in this industry. Each of you brings diverse styles, interests, backgrounds, experiences, approaches, skill-sets, and answers to the table. This diversity is a strength; not a weakness. Some may have concluded that because you work in a male dominated environment, you should try to blend in; be like one of the guys. There is a time and a place for collaboration, and a time and a place for fitting in. But there is also a time and a place for standing out. There is a place for diversity in the communications industry - and as a matter of fact, there's a need.
The more a local public safety agency reflects the diversity of its local community, the better prepared that agency is to serve the public safety needs of its citizens. Such an agency can better react to situations, and be better equipped to calm an individual who is desperate for help. There are circumstances in which a woman may not be comfortable opening up to a male 9-1-1 operator. Or, there may be callers who are less proficient in the English language. Your ability to relate to them in some way may actually mean the difference between life and death."
benton.org/node/55526 | Federal Communications Commission
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

CONGRESS TRIM'S STATES FUNDS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Mary Beth Sheridan]
In a rebuke to the State Department, Congress has cut its budget for promoting Internet freedom and directed the government’s international broadcasting arm to take over some of the job of helping people in repressive societies reach censored Web sites. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has made Internet freedom a signature issue. But State Department officials have battled with lawmakers and others over how to spend tens of millions of dollars intended to promote the “freedom to connect.” The issue has taken on added urgency as demonstrators in Egypt, Tunisia and other countries have used social media sites such as Facebook to organize uprisings. The 2011 budget bill that Congress is expected to pass Thursday gives the State Department $20?million for Internet freedom projects, a one-third decrease from last year. It awards $10?million in Internet freedom funds to the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and other government-funded media outlets.
benton.org/node/55518 | Washington Post
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HELPING ARAB UPRISING
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Ron Nixon]
Even as the United States poured billions of dollars into foreign military programs and anti-terrorism campaigns, a small core of American government-financed organizations were promoting democracy in authoritarian Arab states. The money spent on these programs was minute compared with efforts led by the Pentagon. But as American officials and others look back at the uprisings of the Arab Spring, they are seeing that the United States’ democracy-building campaigns played a bigger role in fomenting protests than was previously known, with key leaders of the movements having been trained by the Americans in campaigning, organizing through new media tools and monitoring elections. A number of the groups and individuals directly involved in the revolts and reforms sweeping the region, including the April 6 Youth Movement in Egypt, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and grass-roots activists like Entsar Qadhi, a youth leader in Yemen, received training and financing from groups like the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute and Freedom House, a nonprofit human rights organization based in Washington. Some Egyptian youth leaders attended a 2008 technology meeting in New York, where they were taught to use social networking and mobile technologies to promote democracy. Among those sponsoring the meeting were Facebook, Google, MTV, Columbia Law School and the State Department.
benton.org/node/55554 | New York Times
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COMMUNITY MEDIA

APPS FOR COMMUNITY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
In a new, nationwide contest, communities and software developers will compete to develop software applications ("apps") that get personalized, actionable information to people least likely to take advantage of the digital revolution. The Apps for Communities Challenge is part of the FCC's and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's efforts to foster digital inclusion and promote broadband adoption. Details are posted at Appsforcommunities.challenge.gov. The Apps for Communities Challenge seeks to take advantage of the local, public information coming online - on topics from education to health care, child care, government services and jobs - and make it easily accessible to the public. Contestants will be asked to turn that information into content, apps and services that expand people's choices on critical issues. These apps could, for example, give people valuable information about their communities in an easily digestible graphic on their mobile devices; help seniors, immigrants, and others use tools such as Skype to communicate; allow consumers to choose a health care provider; or deliver contract and seasonal job post alerts in English and Spanish via text message. Knight Foundation is offering $100,000 dollars in prizes, with additional prizes awarded to the best apps that reach and engage traditionally underserved communities-people with disabilities, seniors, and those whose first language is not English.
benton.org/node/55528 | Federal Communications Commission | Chairman Genachowski
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TELECOM REGULATION REFORM

TIME TO RETHINK REGULATIONS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
At a Free State Foundation discussion on Federal Communications Commission reform, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's James Assey said regulatory reform can be tough, but that the government needs to "disenthrall itself" from the way things have always been done. A call for reform, he said, is not a criticism of the FCC, but instead is an opportunity to recognize that the world has changes since statutes were enacted and regulations adopted. He called it a celebration of the marketplace having become able to maximize consumer benefits. [All hail the marketplace!] Assey said it was important to have a "strong regulatory screen" that counsels against intervention, particularly where the marketplace is developing rapidly. In the lumpiness and bumpiness of progress and innovation," he said, "there is tremendous consumer benefits."
FCC Chief of Staff Edward Lazarus said it is certainly not status quo at the FCC and that it is not "remotely focused" on the things it was focused on in 1999 when then FCC Chairman Bill Kennard proposed FCC reforms. He said its agenda is forward-looking and "relentlessly focused" on broadband deployment and adoption. but he conceded the FCC's organizational chart is antiquated and does not "recognize fully" the conversion taking place. He said within the FCC, however, and in the way it operates, a lot has changed notwithstanding the categories visible from the outside.
benton.org/node/55512 | Broadcasting&Cable
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NEWS FROM THE FCC

FCC BUREAU REORGANIZATION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
On April 14, the Federal Communications Commission released Orders reorganizing the Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau and the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. The Orders were adopted in early February. The Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau is creating a Web and Print Publishing Division which will be responsible for researching, writing, designing and developing electronic and print materials to communicate information on the policies, rulemakings, programs and plans of the FCC. Materials developed by the new division will provide consumers with significant information concerning telecommunications services and how those services are regulated, as well as information consumers need to make choices in a competitive marketplace. This Bureau "develops and administers the Commission's consumer and governmental affairs policies and initiatives to enhance the public's understanding of the Commission's work and to facilitate the Agency's relations with other governmental agencies and organizations." The Bureau's performed functions include: (i) advising and making recommendations to the Commission in matters regarding consumers and governmental affairs, including but not limited to policy development and coordination; and (ii) collaborating with, advising and assisting, the public, state, local and tribal governments, and other governmental agencies on consumer matters.
The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau reorganization will convert the Emergency Response and Interoperability Center (ERIC) into a division-level office within the Bureau and will rename the Bureau's current Policy Division, Communications Systems Analysis Division, and Public Communications Outreach and Operations Division to, respectively, the Policy and Licensing Division, the Cybersecurity and Communications Reliability Division, and the Operations and Emergency Management Division. This Bureau "develops, recommends, and administers policy goals, objectives, rules, regulations, programs and plans for the Commission to promote effective and reliable communications for public safety, homeland security, national security, emergency management and preparedness, disaster management and related activities." The Bureau's functions include: (i) advising and making recommendations to the Commission in matters pertaining to public safety and homeland security communications; and (ii) collaborating with, advising and assisting state, local and tribal governments as well as other governmental agencies and industry groups on emergency management and disaster management issues.
benton.org/node/55510 | Federal Communications Commission | Public Safety and Homeland Security order
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TELEVISION/RADIO

COMCAST SPORTS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jessica Vascellaro, Matthew Futterman]
Less than three months after Comcast Corp. took control of NBCUniversal, NBCU's new CEO, Steve Burke, is angling for sports deals and pushing a big shift in how the entertainment company would use them. Burke, who had been chief operating officer of Comcast, has long been interested in building a more viable competitor to Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN. Comcast's own Versus sports network hasn't been much of a contender. Now, he's scouting out new deals in college sports and with the International Olympic Committee and the National Hockey League. NBC is accustomed to digging deep into its pockets for sports programming. The difference now, though, under Mr. Burke, is that the days of NBC hoarding marquee coverage for the broadcast network are over. Instead, in a move that signals just how far the major media companies will go to push major sports events onto pay-TV, NBCU will bid for deals only when coverage of popular sporting events can be split across the combined company's cable-TV and broadcast assets.
benton.org/node/55552 | Wall Street Journal
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CPB FUNDING SURVIVES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
After threats and legislative attempts by Republicans to zero out Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding, the continuing resolution that passed the House and Senate April 14 keeps the dollars flowing to noncommercial radio and television stations. The CR, which funds the government through September, forward funds CPB through 2013 at the annual 2012 figure of $445 million, preserving the two-year forward funding mechanism Republicans had targeted. Also preserved was a $27.2 million Ready To Learn program funded through the Department of Education, though the final decision on that funding remains at the discretion at DOE. But CPB did not emerge unscathed. The legislation cuts funding in other areas, including: $30 million of $36 million for expanding digital technologies; $20 million by zeroing out the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program, a Commerce grant that funds noncommercial TV and radio equipment; and $50 million by zeroing out public radio interconnection and station fiscal stabilization funds.
benton.org/node/55544 | Broadcasting&Cable
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MARK LLOYD SURVIVES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Mark Lloyd, the Federal Communications Commission's chief diversity officer, was not among the four so-called White House czars whose positions were defunded in the just-passed continuing resolution to fund the government through September. Lloyd had been among a handful of posts targeted by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) in a previous CR that did not pass. His reintroduced amendment did make it onto the latest CR. The posts that were axed, according to Rep Scalise, are the "Health Care Czar" (White House Office of Health Reform), the "Car Czar" (Senior Advisory to the Secretary of the Treasury Assigned to the presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry), the "Urban Affairs Czar (White House Director of Urban Affairs)" and the Climate Change Czar (Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change). Along with Lloyd, also spared was the green jobs czar (special advisor for green jobs, enterprise and innovation, Council on Environmental Quality).
benton.org/node/55543 | Broadcasting&Cable
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US Groups Helped Nurture Arab Uprisings

Even as the United States poured billions of dollars into foreign military programs and anti-terrorism campaigns, a small core of American government-financed organizations were promoting democracy in authoritarian Arab states.

The money spent on these programs was minute compared with efforts led by the Pentagon. But as American officials and others look back at the uprisings of the Arab Spring, they are seeing that the United States’ democracy-building campaigns played a bigger role in fomenting protests than was previously known, with key leaders of the movements having been trained by the Americans in campaigning, organizing through new media tools and monitoring elections.

A number of the groups and individuals directly involved in the revolts and reforms sweeping the region, including the April 6 Youth Movement in Egypt, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and grass-roots activists like Entsar Qadhi, a youth leader in Yemen, received training and financing from groups like the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute and Freedom House, a nonprofit human rights organization based in Washington.

Some Egyptian youth leaders attended a 2008 technology meeting in New York, where they were taught to use social networking and mobile technologies to promote democracy. Among those sponsoring the meeting were Facebook, Google, MTV, Columbia Law School and the State Department.

Comcast Moves Goal Posts for NBC Sports

Less than three months after Comcast took control of NBCUniversal, NBCU's new CEO, Steve Burke, is angling for sports deals and pushing a big shift in how the entertainment company would use them.

Burke, who had been chief operating officer of Comcast, has long been interested in building a more viable competitor to Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN. Comcast's own Versus sports network hasn't been much of a contender. Now, he's scouting out new deals in college sports and with the International Olympic Committee and the National Hockey League. NBC is accustomed to digging deep into its pockets for sports programming. The difference now, though, under Mr. Burke, is that the days of NBC hoarding marquee coverage for the broadcast network are over. Instead, in a move that signals just how far the major media companies will go to push major sports events onto pay-TV, NBCU will bid for deals only when coverage of popular sporting events can be split across the combined company's cable-TV and broadcast assets.

Mobile App Talent Pool Is Shallow

The intense competition for mobile engineers, which affects large companies and fast-growing start-ups alike, is emerging as a key bottleneck as companies scramble to capitalize on the fast growth of smartphones and other mobile devices.

Mobile applications have boomed, working their way deeply into fields like retail, media, videogames and marketing. Market research firm Gartner Inc. expects revenue from Apple Inc.'s App Store, Google Inc.'s Android Market and other stores where mobile applications are sold to nearly triple to $15 billion this year. The technologies are so new -- Apple's app store launched in 2008 -- that few software engineers have mobile development experience, which requires new coding skills compared to a desktop computer. That's forcing companies to increase wages, retrain software engineers, outsource work to third-party developers and set up offshore development labs to meet demand. In the last year, the number of online job listings with the keyword "iPhone" in the text has nearly tripled, while the number with "Android" has more than quadrupled, according to listings search engine Indeed Inc. The number of mobile development jobs offered on Elance.com, a freelancer website, doubled between the first quarters of last year and this year, twice as fast as growth on the site as a whole.

End of the Web as we know it?

[Commentary] Last week, while the media was focused on whether the U.S. government would shut down, another piece of legislation passed the House of Representatives with critical implications for small business. The bill would end the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) ability to insure what’s called “net neutrality.” It was a pure “David versus Goliath” bill, and the House voted to protect Goliath.

If the House bill becomes law – or the Supreme Court eventually decides the FCC doesn't have the authority to enforce network neutrality – the game changes radically. Without network neutrality, telecommunication and cable companies can tilt the playing field. And it won't be in small businesses and start-ups favor. What are the possible effects for small businesses and entrepreneurs?

  • Fewer innovative new businesses. Virtually every company today depends on the Internet. When new companies are shunted to a slower Internet than established large corporations, they'll have a harder time starting or succeeding.
  • Higher costs. Since the Internet companies will be able to create “tiered” services, they'll charge for them. If you want to be sure you get faster Internet service for your business, you'll pay for it.
  • Worse service. If you don't pay for higher tiers. Over time, Internet companies will spend their resources developing the infrastructure for the higher tiers, neglecting enhancements in lower tiers. You'll be in the “economy” cabin while others are in business or first class. At best, you'll get peanuts.
  • Dramatically inhibit the growth of cloud based services. Right now, we are in the infancy of what is certain to be an explosion of “cloud-based” or Internet-based services. I'm a huge fan of these services as they provide small businesses with far greater power and capabilities at low, predictable costs. But the diversity and cost of these cloud-based services depend on lots of scrappy new companies starting. Without net neutrality, there will be far fewer innovative cloud companies created.

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