June 2011

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2011

A busy day includes The Internet Economy and Navigating Location-Based Services http://benton.org/calendar/2011-06-28/

NEWS FROM SCOTUS
   Supreme Court strikes down Arizona matching funds campaign law
   Supreme Court lifts limits on sale of violent video games to minors
   Supreme Court to review FCC role as TV’s curse-words and nudity police
   Supreme Court to decide whether police can attach GPS device to a car without a warrant
   Will Decision Striking Video Game Ban Squelch Open Internet Regulations?
   The First Amendment, Upside Down - editorial [links to web]
   The high court’s misguided decision on violent video games - editorial [links to web]
   Protecting kids from violent video games parents' responsibility - editorial [links to web]
   It’s Perverse, but It’s Also Pretend - op-ed [links to web]

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   FCC Releases Report on Wireless Competition - research
   Will More Spectrum Really Help Drive Rural Broadband? - editorial
   Wireless Broadband & Mobile Apps are Keys to Renewed Economic Prosperity for Minorities - editorial
   LightSquared at odds with industry, government agencies over GPS interference [links to web]

AT&T/T-MOBILE
   NUL, NAN Say AT&T/T-Mobile Would Foster Broadband, Create Jobs
   Is backing AT&T a civil right? GLAAD should know better - editorial
   The FCC Should Put a Stop to the AT&T Merger With T-Mobile - op-ed

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Connected Nation’s Methodology for Broadband Provider Outreach and Relationship Management - op-ed
   Broadband and the Latino Community: Let's Keep the Momentum Going!
   Internet provider struggles with loan [links to web]

OWNERSHIP
   Google investors fear long battle against Feds [links to web]
   Is Google Playing Fair With Its Search Results? [links to web]
   Intel Gets OK to Bid on Nortel Patents [links to web]
   Tribune Seeks Reorganization Plan OK

CONTENT
   E-reader ownership doubles in six months - research [links to web]
   As Wi-Fi Havens And E-Book Centers, Public Libraries Aren't Going Away Soon [links to web]
   Major Literary Agency Announces New E-Book Services [links to web]
   Parents and Media Ratings: Context Isn't a New Concept - op-ed [links to web]
   CDD Asks FDA to Revise Its Proposed Research on the Digital Marketing of Drugs and Health Products - press release [links to web]
   New PBS resource could help advance digital learning [links to web]

TELEVISION
   TV Stations To Reap 2012 Election Windfall
   Latinos Are Changing the Landscape of Television [links to web]
   5 Technology Innovations Changing Cable TV [links to web]

TELECOM
   Reforming, Modernizing Lifeline, LinkUp

JOURNALISM
   No Longer Free Press - op-ed [links to web]
   The Wavelength: FCC Decries Lack of Media Diversity, Stymies Low Power TV - analysis [links to web]

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Broadband for All: A Networked and Prosperous Society - speech
   US government leads in number of Google data requests

RESEARCH
   President Obama Announces an Initiative in Technology

STORIES FROM ABROAD
These headlines presented in partnership with:

   French Company Says It Will File Anticompetitive Suit Against Google, Seeking Damages
   The Second Coming Of Vatican Social Media [links to web]
   China's 'Twitter' Has Big Dreams [links to web]
   Pay TV market growth expected to slow by 2016 [links to web]

MORE ONLINE
   FTC member: Do not track should apply to mobile apps [links to web]
   Hacker group the A-Team publishes list of alleged LulzSec members [links to web]
   In Silicon Valley, select tech workers are in high demand [links to web]

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NEWS FROM SCOTUS

COURT STRIKES DOWN ARIZONA CAMPAIGN LAW
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jordan Fabian]
The Supreme Court axed an Arizona campaign finance law that provided additional taxpayer money to in-state candidates outspent by well-funded opponents and independent political groups. In a split 5-4 decision, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, saying that the 1998 Citizens Clean Elections Act stifled free speech in political campaigns. "We hold that Arizona’s matching funds scheme substantially burdens protected political speech without serving a compelling state interest and therefore violates the First Amendment," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts for the majority. The court's ruling represents another blow to campaign finance laws that place restrictions or oversight on political spending. In 2009, the court knocked down limits on political contributions by corporations and unions in the case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
benton.org/node/79833 | Hill, The
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COURT OVERTURNS VIDEO GAME LAW
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: David Savage]
The Supreme Court struck down a California law that limited the sale of violent video games to minors, ruling the restriction violated the free-speech principles in the 1st Amendment. "Like books, plays and movies, video games communicate ideas," said Justice Antonin Scalia. "The most basic principle of 1st Amendment law is that government has no power to restrict expression because of its content." The ruling came on a 7-2 vote. Justice Scalia spoke for five members of the court who ruled that under no circumstances could the government be allowed to protect children by limiting violence in the media. "There is no tradition in this country of specially restricting children's access to depictions of violence," Justice Scalia said in the courtroom. "Certainly, the books we give children to read -- or read to them when they are younger -- have no shortage of gore. Grimm's Fairy Tales, for example, are grim indeed." Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined his opinion. Justice Samuel Alito Jr, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr, applauded California's effort to deal with a "serious social problem: the effect of exceptionally violent video games on impressionable minors." But they too voted to strike down the state's law because it did not spell out clearly enough the limits that the gaming industry must follow. Justices Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer filed separate dissents. Justice Thomas said minors had no free-speech rights. Justice Breyer said he thought the law was constitutional as is.
The ruling drew immediate praise from the Motion Picture Association of America and The Media Institute, while the Parents Television Council decried it, Multichanel News reports. California state senator Leland Yee said the Supreme Court "put the interests of Corporate America" first with the decision: "As a result of their decision, Wal-Mart and the video game industry will continue to make billions of dollars at the expense of our kids' mental health and the safety of our community. It is simply wrong that the video game industry can be allowed to put their profit margins over the rights of parents and the well-being of children."
benton.org/node/79837 | Los Angeles Times | Multichanel News | USAToday | B&C | WashPost | National Journal | paidContent.org | NPR
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COURT WILL HEAR INDECENCY CHALLENGE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
The Supreme Court said that it will rule on the Federal Communications Commission’s ability to police the nation’s airwaves for indecencies. The Justices said they will review a decision by the Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit that put the FCC’s role as indecency watchdog in jeopardy. That appeals court found that the FCC went beyond its duties when it fined ABC for a 2003 episode of “NYPD Blue” that showed a woman’s naked backside. It also fined Fox around the same time for curse words uttered by Cher and Nicole Richie during live awards shows. The FCC has fought for its ability to enforce broadcast indecency rules, which can impose up to $325,000 in fines per violation. Broadcasters have opposed strengthened rules, saying they violate the First Amendment. “We are pleased the Supreme Court will review the lower court rulings that blocked the FCC’s broadcast indecency policy,” the FCC said in a statement. “We are hopeful that the Court will affirm the Commission’s exercise of its statutory responsibility to protect children and families from indecent broadcast programming.” The Supreme Court said it will begin hearing oral arguments in the case this fall.
Broadcasting & Cable reports that the Federal Communications Commission and Parents Television Council were understandably pleased that the Supreme Court had agreed to decide whether a lower court was right to rule the FCC's indecency enforcement regime unconstitutionally vague and chilling. The National Association of Broadcasters said it supported a congressional review, but that broadcasters would continue to program responsibly, while Media Access Project was pleased the review was confined to indecency and not broader regulation.
The Court will now set up a briefing and argument schedule. Look for briefs to be submitted by the end of the summer or early fall, with an argument date following several weeks later. It’s reasonably likely that the argument will be held before the end of the year, although the Court might not issue its ruling until June, 2012, CommLawBlog speculates.
benton.org/node/79841 | Washington Post | B&C | B&C | AdWeek | AP | CommLawBlog
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COURT TAKES GPS CASE
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: David Savage]
The Supreme Court agreed to decide whether police investigators seeking to build a criminal case may put a tracking device on a car without first obtaining a search warrant. The case, to be heard in the fall, figures to be a major test of the government's power to use electronic devices to secretly monitor individuals. At issue is whether tracking a motorist for several weeks through the use of a global positioning system that has been attached to his car qualifies as an "unreasonable search" under the 4th Amendment. Last year, a US appeals court in Washington overturned Antoine Jones' drug-trafficking conviction on the grounds that FBI agents had used a GPS device to track his Jeep for a month. The judges said this kind of close monitoring for weeks on end violates a person's "reasonable expectation of privacy."
benton.org/node/79835 | Los Angeles Times
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VIDEO GAME RULING AND NETWORK NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Wendy Davis]
Marketers are cheering a U.S. Supreme Court decision that strikes down a California law banning the sale of violent video games to children. But some observers say that the pro-free speech ruling could have a counterintuitive result: it could give broadband providers a boost in their fight against network neutrality."Today's opinion may further strengthen the carriers' arguments that any nondiscrimination requirement imposed on them should be struck down," writes Cardozo Law School professor Susan Crawford, a prominent neutrality proponent. The key issue, says Crawford, centers on whether the Federal Communications Commission's neutrality rules are interpreted as "content-based." If so, then broadband providers can argue that the rules are invalid unless they meet the "strict scrutiny" standard -- meaning that they are as narrow as possible and further a compelling interest. Crawford adds that content-based rules are "always" struck down by the Supreme Court. The FCC's rules ban broadband providers from blocking or degrading Web sites or applications. But Crawford argues that the carriers will be able to argue those rules are impermissible because they require providers to transmit certain content. "Even though today's opinion is about regulations prohibiting speech rather than regulations requiring speech, it's likely that the carriers will be able to frame the debate their way: We'd like to speak, to use all of our pipes the way we want to, without restriction. By forcing us to fairly carry speech with which we don't want to be associated, you're restricting our free use of our private communications medium," she writes.
benton.org/node/79847 | MediaPost
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

FCC WIRELESS REPORT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
The Federal Communications Commission released its 15th annual report on the competitiveness of the wireless market. The report analyzes mobile wireless service market conditions during 2009 and 2010. The report makes no formal finding as to whether there is, or is not, effective competition in the industry. Rather, given the complexity of the various inter-related segments and services within the mobile wireless ecosystem, the report focuses on presenting the best data available on competition throughout this sector of the economy and highlighting several key trends in the mobile wireless industry.
FCC Commissioner Copps said, "The headline for this Report will be that the FCC neither finds nor does not find effective competition. Dig deeper and, sure enough, we find ongoing trends of industry consolidation. The well-accepted metric for market concentration, the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, remains above the threshold for a “highly concentrated” market. It also appears that consumers are no longer enjoying falling prices, according to the CPI for cellular services. We know there is a looming spectrum crunch and a growing need for backhaul. There is no doubt that the mobile market is an American success story, and there are many ways to measure industry health. But it would be foolish and decidedly not in the public interest to ignore the facts this Report reveals. If we want Americans to continue to enjoy innovation, affordability and improved mobile coverage, we must heed these facts and continue to examine areas where the Commission can act to encourage mobile competition."
"The wide-ranging and competitive wireless sector," said FCC Commissioner McDowell, "has and continues to deliver innovative services at low cost, all the while exhibiting some of the most impressive capital expenditure numbers of any industry in the world. The greatest beneficiaries of these investments are American consumers who have steadily incorporated advanced wireless technologies into their daily lives."
FCC Commissioner Clyburn said, "I still find it troubling that despite the billions of dollars that have been invested to provide wireless coverage to most parts of our country, millions of Americans living in rural parts of our country do not enjoy the competitive choices available in metropolitan areas. As the Report points out, more than seven million Americans still live in rural census blocks with two or fewer mobile service providers. In addition, more than 37 million Americans live in rural census blocks that have two or fewer choices when it comes to mobile broadband services."
The Washington Post's Cecilia Kang writes, "The report...looks like it can't be used as an indication of the agency’s thinking about whether there needs to be more competition in the industry — only that it wasn't able to say there wasn't enough evidence to definitively say so. That was the same finding in the last report. But that leaves lots of wiggle room for interpretation."
"Sometimes it’s not what you say but what you don't say that matters," writes GigaOm's Stacey Higginbotham. "Today’s release of its annual wireless competition report, the silence of the Federal Communications Commission speaks volumes. The problem is, no one knows what that silence is saying."
Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood said, "We are disappointed that the FCC failed again to state clearly and conclusively that the wireless market is not effectively competitive, despite its own evidence. This conclusion should be glaringly obvious, and the Commission’s willingness to stick its head in the sand is not going to make the problem go away. Refusing to bless the current level of competition is a step in the right direction, but it's not enough."
benton.org/node/79849 | Federal Communications Commission | Commissioner Copps | Commissioner McDowell | Commissioner Clyburn | WashPost | GigaOm | B&C | Free Press
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SPECTRUM AND RURAL BROADBAND
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
[Commentary] While the Federal Communications Commission may talk about spectrum as the chokepoint for wireless broadband, I'd argue the bigger choke points are when too many people are having to share the same tower. You'd think having too many people sharing the same tower would be a much bigger deal in urban areas, but that isn't necessarily the case as there's such a lower density of towers in rural areas that each tower has to cover users within a much larger radius. Also, having access to high capacity, affordable backhaul so these towers can actually deliver the traffic that spectrum makes possible can be a really big challenge in rural areas. Plus it's a challenge that requires a lot more effort to resolve than freeing up more spectrum as it means having to invest in laying fiber. I'm not willing to be so bold as to suggest that a shortage of spectrum is not having some impact on depressing investment in rural broadband, but it seems that spectrum is likely the least of the many barriers to deployment.
benton.org/node/79827 | App-Rising.com
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WIRELESS BROADBAND, MOBILE APPS AND PROSPERITY FOR MINORITIES
[SOURCE: Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, AUTHOR: David Honig]
[Commentary] Employers are (slowly) beginning to hire new workers, but have been much more selective given the rather deep pool of talent that has formed as a result of the Great Recession. These dynamics are especially acute in minority communities, which have been hit disproportionately hard during this downturn. Indeed, the unemployment rates for African Americans (16.2 percent) and Hispanics (11.9 percent) remain at embarrassingly high levels, especially compared to the national rate (9.1 percent) and the rate for Whites (8 percent). Access to broadband can help erase these disparities. The vast majority of employers now post job openings and other relevant employment information almost exclusively online. Communication between employers and applicants is often conducted over broadband. Yet despite these tangible benefits, minorities lag behind many others when it comes to home broadband adoption. To date, only about half of all African American and Hispanic adults have adopted broadband at home. These figures are important because, without broadband at home, minorities have extremely limited exposure to the large number of employment opportunities available online, which ultimately decreases their chances of finding a suitable job. Fortunately, mobile broadband Internet access and wireless handsets are rapidly becoming viable substitutes for in-home connections and computers.
benton.org/node/79808 | Minority Media and Telecommunications Council
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AT&T/T-MOBILE

NUL, NAN BACK AT&T/T-MOBILE
[SOURCE: Politic365, AUTHOR: Bill Edmunds]
The National Urban League and the National Action Network told the Federal Communications Commission that the two civil-rights organizations recommend approval of AT&T’s proposed purchase of T-Mobile USA. In a joint filing with the FCC, the organizations stated that they had reviewed the proposed merger, considered its consequences and spoke with both AT&T executives and opponents of the $39 billion transaction. “Based on our due diligence, we have now reached the definitive view that the merger deserves to be approved,” wrote Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, and the Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network, in written comments to FCC members. “Information and communications technologies industries provide one of the most extensive job and entrepreneurship opportunities for black and urban communities,” Morial said Monday, in a statement announcing the joint filing. “In 2002, only 42,000 minority-owned businesses were in the information sector — one of the lowest levels of minority participation. Triggering minority participation in technology industries is critical for a robust, long-term recovery.”
benton.org/node/79809 | Politic365
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GLAAD SHOULD KNOW BETTER
[SOURCE: Boston Globe, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Wireless phone service has about as much to do with gay rights as zebras have to do with waterskiing. So gay bloggers were justified in hounding Jarrett Barrios, who until this past weekend was president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, after he wrote the federal government on behalf of AT&T, a corporation that had donated $50,000 to Barrios’s watchdog group. Clearly, some activist groups have grown a little too fond of their corporate backers, at a cost to their credibility. A lawmaker who receives a letter from GLAAD or the NAACP on a mundane piece of business like a corporate merger might understandably give less credence to their letters on civil rights. Shilling for AT&T makes them seem more like paid lobbyists than clarions of justice; it carries more than a whiff of hackery.
benton.org/node/79802 | Boston Globe
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STOP THE MERGER
[SOURCE: Forbes, AUTHOR: Joan Lappin]
[Commentary] The duopoly that will result is bad for Americans from coast to coast and border to border. As the guardian of our nation’s airwaves, it is the intended role of the Federal Communications Commission to regulate interstate and international use of our nation’s broadcast and telecommunications resources. Increasingly that is becoming mobile devices as Americans drop landline phones altogether. Whether it is your smart phone, your GPS device, your Apple iPad or iPhone, your connection is increasingly a wireless one, in your home and outside it. Beyond the FCC, the last line of defense for the American consumer is the Dept. of Justice and its anti-trust review of this deal. We can hope for the best but probably should expect the worst. You can always write to your Congressperson and maybe it will help. Congress was obsessed with the merger between Sirius and XM satellite radio a couple of years ago. There were hearings, hearings and more hearings. That merger mattered little to anyone beyond the now 20 million Sirius XM subscribers and, after extensive review, was finally allowed to proceed with the promise of no price increases for a couple of years. A merger of T-Mobile and AT&T matters to everyone. There are far more people with cell phones than satellite radio receivers. If the FCC wanted something to be proud of in its record, it ought to stop this proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile dead in its tracks. [Lappin is with Gramercy Capital]
benton.org/node/79800 | Forbes
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL SERVICES FIELD VALIDATION TECHNIQUES
[SOURCE: Connected Nation, AUTHOR: ]
Connected Nation is a not-for-profit working across states and with the federal government to implement the State Broadband Data and Development (SBDD) program created by the Broadband Data Improvement Act of 2008 and funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and is managed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) within the Department of Commerce. One of the main components of the SBDD program is the creation of a detailed, nationwide map of broadband coverage in order to accurately pinpoint remaining gaps in broadband availability across the nation. Connected Nation is the largest mapping agent across the nation supporting the SBDD program, working in Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas to collect, process, integrate, and validate provider data, and map the broadband inventory across these jurisdictions.
This white paper provides an overview of Connected Nation’s methodology for provider outreach and relationship management, consumer data collection, and analysis to leverage crowdsourcing data stemming from broadband inquiries, and field validation of data volunteered by thousands of participating broadband providers. The memorandum also describes Connected Nation’s methodology for estimating the broadband coverage of providers who do not chose to participate in the SBDD program and volunteer estimates of their service territory.
benton.org/node/79798 | Forbes
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BROADBAND AND THE LATINO COMMUNITY
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: Anna Gomez]
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) members recognize that broadband Internet is one of the tools necessary to help their communities thrive in today's economy. In fact, I think that any conference focused on building stronger communities should include a discussion of broadband -- it's a critical ingredient for job creation, economic growth, and improving education, health care, and public safety. NTIA's data show that although 90-95 percent of Americans live in areas with access to broadband, only 68 percent of households subscribe to the service. In fact, more than 28 percent of Americans do not use the Internet in any location, which means they are cut off from countless educational and job opportunities. The issue is even greater for Latinos. While the Internet subscribership rate for Hispanics increased by five percentage points last year, it is still only 45 percent. Even after adjusting for socioeconomic factors like income and education, Latinos still significantly lag the national rate in broadband adoption. Our research shows that those who lack broadband at home most commonly cite lack of interest or need as the primary reason. Interestingly, while those are certainly factors for Hispanic non-adopters, they most often cite affordability as the primary reason. So there is no single solution to bridging the digital divide. But the good news is that NTIA, and others in the Obama administration, are working on many fronts to expand broadband access and adoption, including efforts targeted to Hispanics and other communities where broadband is underutilized, such as rural Americans, seniors, people with disabilities, and other minorities.
benton.org/node/79816 | White House, The
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OWNERSHIP

TRIBUNE SEEKS OK
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
Tribune Company and some of its creditors asked a federal judge to approve a plan that would let the company emerge from more than two years under bankruptcy protection. A separate group of creditors are opposing the plan. Those creditors want the judge to approve a competing reorganization plan. Tribune Co.'s reorganization plan includes a settlement that would shield the buyout lenders from lawsuits but would allow claims against others involved in the buyout, including Zell and other Tribune Co. officers and directors. It would leave the company in the hands of an ownership group led by JPMorgan Chase, distressed debt specialist Angelo, Gordon & Co. and hedge fund Oaktree Capital Management in exchange for forgiving most of the company's debt. Tribune Co.'s plan, which values the company at about $6.75 billion, calls for creditors that weren't involved in the buyout to receive $488 million, roughly 33 cents on the dollar. But a group of creditors led by Aurelius Capital Management argue that JPMorgan and other lenders that financed the buyout are escaping legal liability too easily. Their plan would provide smaller up-front guarantees to creditors in hopes of eventually recovering billions of dollars through lawsuits. They argued that the lenders were well aware of Tribune Co.'s shaky financial situation in 2007. David Zensky, an attorney for the creditors opposed to Tribune Co.'s plan, also said the fairness of the settlement was questionable because the negotiations excluded his group.
benton.org/node/79873 | Associated Press
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TELEVISION

STATIONS TO READ ELECTION WINDFALL
[SOURCE: Deadline New York, AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
Next year, White House and congressional candidates will flood television and other media with campaign messages as the 2012 election shapes up as the most expensive in history. Democrats and Republicans are already squeezing contributors because spending will soar as this is the first election in more than a decade without limits on corporate and union contributions. TV stations will benefit most: In 2010 about 75% of ad budgets went to broadcast TV vs. 7.9% for cable and 4.3% for Web destinations, according to PQ Media. But a lot could change this time out. Here are some of the key questions:
How much will be spent on advertising? Perhaps $4 billion or more.
Will cable operators take political ads from broadcast TV? Most of the money will still probably flow to local TV stations.
Which states will benefit most? Florida, Missouri, Ohio and Virginia are presidential election battleground states and probably will have competitive Senate or gubernatorial contests.
What TV station owners will benefit most? EW Scripps, Entravision, CBS, Meredith, Media General, Sinclair and LIN Broadcasting have high concentrations of stations in states that will see a lot of spending. Barrington, Gray, Local TV, Nexstar and NVT Networks may also be big winners.
How well will Spanish-language stations do? They should see big increases from political campaigns.
When will political spending peak? Because of early voting, that's not as clear as it used to be.
benton.org/node/79806 | Deadline New York
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TELECOM

LIFELINE REFORM
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
As the Federal Communications Commission considers updating the Lifeline and LinkUp -- two programs that make it easier for low income consumers to afford telecommunications services -- a number of groups are visiting with FCC Commissioners and staff to discuss the how best to improve the programs.
Community Voice mail and the National Consumer law Center recently reiterated that:
The one-phone-per-address issue bars otherwise eligible people from receiving Lifeline and LinkUp services, especially those who are homeless and/or temporarily housed.
This is a significant population and arguably one that Lifeline policy would benefit most. According to the recently released 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress 1.59M people experienced homelessness during the 2010 fiscal year.
The groups offered alternate models for eligibility, including use of collateral contacts (agency service providers) to verify identification.
They also discussed the issue of creating a national database to determine duplication of services raising concerns that:
Numerous policy issues need to be clarified as part of the design process including timelines, notification, consumer education, portability of Lifeline status, and a dispute resolution process.
Those issues should be resolved by a sufficiently diverse group of stakeholders in order to avoid unintended barriers to enrollment by eligible persons.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas has also spoken with FCC staff about:
the matching and automatic enrollment processes in Texas for the Lifeline and Link Up program;
specific state statues that require certificated providers to provide Lifeline service to its customers;
costs of the matching and enrollment processes used in Texas; and
implementation of the screening process by Solix, the Texas Low Income Discount Administrator, to eliminate duplicate Lifeline subscriptions for the same customer.
Finally, the American Public Communications Council has been arguing that the FCC use Lifeline support to subsidize public payphones which have been rapidly disappearing.
benton.org/node/79795 | Benton Foundation | Public Utility Commission of Texas | American Public Communications Council
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

BROADBAND FOR ALL
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell]
Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell was in Stockholm, Sweden to deliver a keynote on technology and democracy. Here's some excerpts:
Freedom is on the rise unlike any other time in world history. In the early 1970s, the world had fewer than 40 electoral democracies. Today, there are 116,19 with perhaps more on the way soon. That’s phenomenal growth. And the proliferation of communications technologies is not following the spread of liberty, it is pushing it. Communications technologies are now the tip of the spear in the fight for freedom across the globe.
As we look across the globe, it is state interference with the ’Net that has been undermining liberty, not private sector mischief. Government control of the Internet is antithetical to the entire notion and architecture of the Internet itself. By definition, the Internet is decentralized and defies authoritarian top-down control – be that technical control, political control or both. In fact, its very structure is helping to shape governments in its image.
Furthermore, countries that regulate the ’Net more tend to be less free. But we live in an exciting new era where attempts to maintain “walled information gardens” – be they state-sponsored or not – are doomed to fail. Explosive growth of telecom innovation is dissolving authoritarian regimes by strengthening the sovereignty of the individual. As Italian thinker Bruno Leoni wrote, “Individual liberty is antithetical to the power of the State.” A mobile Internet liberates individuals as never before. Not surprisingly, the purveyors of overwhelming state authority are threatened by this paradigm shift.
To propel freedom’s momentum, policy makers should remember that, since their inception, the Internet and mobile connectivity have migrated further away from government control. As the result of longstanding international consensus, the Internet itself has become the greatest deregulatory success story of all time. To continue to promote freedom and prosperity, regulators should continue to rely on the “bottom up” nongovernmental Internet governance bodies that have a perfect record of keeping the ’Net working and open. We must heed the advice of leaders like Neelie Kroes, who has consistently called on regulators to “avoid over-hasty regulatory intervention,” and steer clear of “unnecessary measures which may hinder new efficient business models from emerging.” I couldn't agree more. Changing course now could not only trigger an avalanche of international regulation, but it could halt the progress of freedom’s march as well.
benton.org/node/79792 | Federal Communications Commission
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GOOGLE DATA REQUESTS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
The US government made more than twice as many requests for user data from Google than any other nation over the last six months of 2010. Google received 4,601 requests from the US government to hand over user data between July and December of last year and complied with 94 percent of them, according to a transparency report. Brazil and India were second and third with 1,804 and 1,699 requests, respectively.
"Our goal is to provide our users access to information and to protect the privacy of our users. Whenever we receive a request, we first check to make sure it meets both the letter and spirit of the law before complying," said Google's Matt Braithwaite. "When possible, we notify affected users about requests for user data that may affect them. And, if we believe a request is overly broad, we will seek to narrow it."
benton.org/node/79829 | Hill, The
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RESEARCH

TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jackie Calmes]
President Barack Obama visited a university research center in Pittsburgh on June 24 to announce a new partnership between the government, industries and leading universities to speed the movement of technological advances to commercial users. The trip was the latest of his increasingly frequent travels to battleground states to showcase Administration efforts to create manufacturing jobs. After touring the National Robotics Engineering Center at Carnegie Mellon University, a high-technology facility adjacent to a rusted factory symbolic of the area’s industrial past, President Obama said federal agencies would invest more than $500 million to seed the initiative. Of that, $70 million is to go to robotics projects like one he viewed at the center: a boom-box-size robot that inspects sewer pipelines, made by a company started by a Carnegie Mellon professor.
benton.org/node/79844 | New York Times
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

1PLUSV VS GOOGLE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: James Kanter]
An Internet company in France says it will seek heavy damages from Google in what it says is the largest claim of its kind in Europe against the American giant. The action, which the company, 1plusV, says it will bring at the Commercial Court of Paris, will raise issues about whether Google has unfairly shut out competitors. 1plusV says it will claim 295 million euros, or $421 million, in damages, based on income it believes it lost because of Google’s actions. Google is facing similar questions in a formal investigation by the European Commission that began last year and in another investigation confirmed last week by the Federal Trade Commission in Washington.
benton.org/node/79875 | New York Times | FT
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