November 2011

Three DOE Labs Now Connected With Ultra-High Speed Network That is 10 Times Faster Than Commercial Internet Providers

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is now supporting scientific research at unprecedented bandwidth speeds – at least ten times faster than commercial Internet providers – with a new network that connects thousands of researchers using three of the world’s top supercomputing centers in California, Illinois and Tennessee.

The new network will be officially unveiled today in Seattle, Washington, at the gala opening of SC11, the premier international conference on high performance computing, networking, storage and analysis, where DOE researchers will use the network for groundbreaking climate data transfers and astrophysics visualizations. The project, known as the Advanced Networking Initiative (ANI), was funded with $62 million from the 2009 economic stimulus law and is intended for research use, but could lead to widespread commercial use of similar technology. The network now delivers data at 100 Gigabits per second (Gbps), making it one of the fastest systems in the world. It is the first step in the nationwide upgrade to the DOE’s existing Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) and will serve as a pilot for future deployment of 100 Gbps Ethernet in research and commercial networks. The initiative plans to accelerate by several years the commercialization of 100 Gbps networking technologies and uses new optical technology to reduce the number of routers used, as well as the associated equipment and maintenance costs.

Hulu Makes Play for 2012 Political Dollars as TV Ad Prices Heat Up

Television continues to be the sledgehammer of political campaigns, with even the most digital-oriented candidates, like Scott Brown, who ran for a Senate seat in Massachusetts in 2010, only spending about 10% of their media budgets online. But that percentage is expected to inch upward in the 2012 election cycle, and sites like Hulu stand to benefit as media buyers look to buy political spots in competitive districts in expensive media markets. Hulu is focused on courting political agencies in 2012, armed with statistics to show that its audience is politically engaged. September ComScore data says 80% of eligible voters on Hulu cast a ballot in both the 2010 mid-term election and 2008 presidential election.

Floyd Abrams says SOPA is A-OK

Floyd Abrams is one of the nation's most famous First Amendment lawyers. He represented the New York Times in the case of New York Times v. Sullivan, which gave newspapers robust protections against libel lawsuits, and has been involved in numerous other prominent free speech cases over his half-century career. So the major Hollywood studios were understandably pleased when he wrote a letter on their behalf arguing that the Stop Online Piracy Act was not a threat to the First Amendment.

FCC Shouldn't Judge Indecency

Public Knowledge, the Cato Institute and a collection of technology policy groups have called on the Supreme Court to overturn the 1978 FCC vs. Pacifica decision and give broadcasters the same First Amendment freedom to program to their audiences as other media including print, cable and the Internet.

That urging came in a friend of the court brief supporting Fox and ABC. The Supreme Court is currently deciding whether to uphold Federal Communications Commission indecency decisions against those two broadcasters after the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that those decisions -- and the FCC's underlying indecency-enforcement policy -- were unconstitutionally vague and chilling. The FCC and DOJ appealed those rulings. "Pacifica is based on an archaic and unrealistic conception of broadcast television," they argued. In the 1978 Pacifica decision, the high court voted 5-4 to uphold an FCC decision to reprimand Pacifica-owned New York radio station WBAI for airing comedian George Carlin's "Filthy Words" routine, establishing the current standard of "indecent but not obscene" material. The groups go further than the National Association of Broadcasters in asking for the FCC to get out of the content-regulation business. Given the way the tech companies frame their support of broadcasting, it is not a surprise they are not exactly on the same page. The groups, which include TechFreedom, the Center for Democracy & Technology and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, essentially argue that broadcasting should be free of content regulations because technology has rendered it "rare," rather than pervasive, with only a small and dwindling percentage of people receiving content over the air.

10 ways schools are teaching internet safety

As internet use has become a daily part of most students’ lives, students must know how to protect themselves and their identity at all times—especially when teachers and parents aren’t there to help them. Teaching students about internet safety has been important for as long as the internet has existed, but it’s in the spotlight this year in particular as schools get ready to apply for 2012 E-rate discounts on their telecommunications services and internet access. That’s because applicants must amend their existing internet safety policies by July 1, 2012, to include information about how they are educating students about proper online behavior, cyber bullying, and social networking sites. Using third-party resources and having students act as investigators are some of the many ways educators are teaching about online safety and responsibility.

Court makes it official: You have no privacy online

Online services like Twitter and Facebook spend a lot of time on their privacy policies, and Facebook in particular has spent the past couple of years tweaking its settings, trying to find a balance between convincing users to share information and allowing them to keep some private. But a recent U.S. court decision involving the Twitter accounts of several WikiLeaks supporters shows when push comes to shove, users of social networks and most online services have virtually no expectation of privacy whatsoever — at least, not if the entity trying to get access to their personal information happens to be the U.S. Justice Department.

The case in question involves the Justice Department’s repeated attempts to get personal account data from three WikiLeaks supporters, in order to bolster its espionage case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for the release of diplomatic cables last year that were stolen (allegedly) by Army intelligence agent and whistleblower Bradley Manning. The three who were targeted are Icelandic MP Birgitta Jonsdottir — an early supporter of WikiLeaks who helped produce the “Collateral Murder” video that showed a U.S. military attack on civilians in Iraq — as well as computer-security expert Jacob Appelbaum and Dutch hacker Rop Gonggrijp.

USDA Funding to Expand and Improve Broadband Services in Rural Areas

The Department of Agriculture announced $410.7 million in funding for telephone utilities to build, expand and improve broadband in their rural service territories across 15 states.

Colorado

Eastern Slope Rural Telephone Association, Inc.--$18,725,000 will be used to upgrade the existing fiber-to-the-node (FTTN) network, capable of providing modern broadband services to subscribers in 10 exchanges.

Idaho and Utah

Albion Telephone Company--$17,075,000 in loan funds will be used to install 453 miles of buried fiber optic cables throughout the proposed FTTP system, providing nearly 60 percent of subscribers with FTTP.

Illinois

McNabb Telephone Company--$3,700,000 in loan funds will be used to make system improvements, including constructing new FTTP facilities. A total of 115 miles of buried fiber optic cable will be deployed to improve service to subscribers.
Shawnee Telephone Company--$30,286,000 in loan funds will be used to construct FTTP facilities, allowing Shawnee to provide voice and data services at speeds of up to 100 Mbps to both residences and businesses.
McDonough Telephone Cooperative, Inc.--$15,728,000 in funds will be used to upgrade the rural areas with FTTH technology. Approximately 766 miles of buried fiber cable will be deployed to provide over half of the subscribers with access to improved broadband service. McDonough has been serving its rural subscribers for over 60 years.

Indiana

Perry-Spencer Rural Telephone Cooperative, Inc.--$29,139,000 in loan funds have been awarded to Perry-Spencer Rural Telephone Cooperative Inc., (PSC) which provides telecommunications services to nearly 6,000 subscribers over approximately 1,150 square miles in southern Indiana. This loan will enable PSC to start the process of designing and building FTTP to enhance broadband services across the service area.

Iowa

Mediapolis Telephone Company--$13,401,000 in loan funds will be used to make system upgrades to the transport system and the network architecture from the existing copper Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL) to FTTP broadband systems.
Griswold Cooperative Telephone Company--$12,747,000 in loan funds will be used to complete a system-wide FTTP network, enhancing broadband service to all subscribers.
La Porte City Telephone Company--$9,867,000 in loan funds will be used to make system improvements, including installation of a FTTP broadband network that will serve all of the borrower's subscribers. A total of 297 miles of buried fiber optic cable will be deployed, enabling downstream data rates of up to 20 Mbps.

Kansas

The S & T Telephone Cooperative Association--$29,814,000 will be used to implement a full FTTH design to allow the migration to 10-20 Mbps broadband speeds to all subscribers and to provide IPTV in the near future.

Minnesota

Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative--$19,749,000 in Rural Development Broadband Loan Program funds will be used to extend Paul Bunyan's existing FTTH network to serve the exchanges of Park Rapids Rural and Trout Lake in North Central Minnesota. With this extension of their network, Paul Bunyan will be able to provide advanced telecommunications services to over 45,710 establishments (households and businesses) across all service areas. Paul Bunyan has been operating since 1952 and has been a telecommunications borrower with the Rural Utilities Service since 1953.
New Mexico

Roosevelt County Telephone Cooperative, Inc.--$12,358,000 will be used to deploy new equipment and install FTTP equipment to enhance the broadband network.

North Dakota

BEK Communications Cooperative--$26,746,000 in loan funds will be used to expand a FTTH broadband system. Upon completion of this RUS-funded project, 100 percent of BEK's subscribers will be served by fiber.
SRT Communications, Inc.--$24,832,000 in loan funds will be used to install 2,143 miles of buried fiber optic cable and related equipment throughout the proposed FTTP system. The FTTP system will be constructed in areas outside of towns in twelve of the borrower's twenty-six exchanges. The service areas in the towns will continue to be offered DSL at speeds of at least 55 Mbps with its relatively new copper plant.
Polar Communications Mutual Aid Corporation--$32,939,000 in loan funds will be used to expand the Borrower's FTTP broadband system throughout the borrower's eighteen exchanges. The upgraded system will help meet current and future requirements for delivery of voice, video and high speed data to subscribers. Upon completion of this RUS-funded project, 100 percent of Polar's subscribers will be served with broadband via various technologies.

Oklahoma

Terral Telephone Company--$4,855,000 in loan funds will be used to convert the existing copper network to a FTTH system, and connect new subscribers. The proposed FTTH deployment includes construction of over 62 miles of fiber plant in and around Terral, and the replacement of the existing softswitch and power plant. This FTTH deployment will create nine jobs and save seven jobs.

South Carolina

Sandhill Telephone Cooperative, Inc.--$5,930,000 will be used to provide for system improvements, including purchase of a new switch.
Tennessee

North Central Telephone Cooperative Corporation--$27,069,000 will be used to upgrade portions of North Central's outside plant and network infrastructure by deploying a FTTP network.
Washington

Inland Telephone Company--$24,823,000 in loan funds will be used to expand Inland's FTTP broadband system and connect new subscribers.
The Toledo Telephone Co., Inc.--$18,091,000 in loan funds will be used to install 292 miles of buried fiber optic cables and related equipment throughout the proposed FTTP system, offering enhanced service to all Toledo subscribers.
Wisconsin

Union Telephone Company--$13,308,000 in loan funds will enable Union to deploy approximately 336 miles of fiber, which will provide approximately 60 percent of Union's subscribers with access to improved broadband services.
Marquette-Adams Telephone Cooperative, Inc.--$19,781,000 Marquette-Adams will use loan funds to complete a system-wide FTTP network, including over 370 miles of new or modified buried fiber, providing enhanced broadband service to all subscribers.

Phone hacking: 58% of UK public say they have lost trust in papers

More than half of the British public say the phone-hacking scandal has damaged their trust in UK newspapers. In the YouGov survey, 58% of adults said the affair has had a negative effect on their perceptions of the British press. Of those interviewed, 51% said it had also made them less likely to trust all domestic news organizations. One in four Americans said their trust in UK media outlets had been eroded by the hacking revelations, which have been widely covered in the US. The PBS report also found that TV and radio are by far the most trusted news outlets in the UK, with 64% and 58% respectively saying they are confident in the veracity of the news carried by the two media. Newspapers lag far behind on 38%, with magazines trusted by just one in four UK readers.

Network Neutrality Update: One Lonely Reconsideration Petitioner

The Federal Communications Commission has announced that it has received one – and, apparently, only one – petition for reconsideration of its Open Internet order.

The seven-page petition – which is actually titled "Petition for Clarification or Reconsideration" asks the FCC to clarify the "special services" aspect of the net neutrality order, particularly as that aspect would affect "enterprise customers". The import of this filing lies not so much in the substance of the arguments it presents, but rather in the effect that it might have on the timing of judicial review. As we have previously reported, multiple petitions for review of the Open Internet order have been filed with various federal courts of appeals; all those petitions are set to be heard in a consolidated proceeding before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. So the train heading toward Judicial Resolution is loaded up and ready to leave the station. But with the filing of the recon petition, there is now a lingering bit of business still pending before the FCC. Theoretically, the FCC’s disposition of the petition for reconsideration could alter – maybe even eliminate – some arguments that might otherwise have to be resolved by the court on appeal.

When such circumstances arise, it is routine – but not absolutely required – for the court to hold its processes in abeyance pending agency action on the reconsideration issues. The abeyance approach often seems the most efficient way of handling such situations. Indeed, if the court steps in and tries to rule before the agency's action has stopped moving around, the result can be (and, in some cases has been) far more disruptive than if the court had chosen to wait. It will be interesting to see whether the FCC (or some other party) files a request for the Court to hold the appeal in abeyance in light of the petition for reconsideration. In dealing with the recon petition, the Commission will next publish a notice in the Federal Register, alerting the public to the filing of the petition and inviting responses to it. What with the time it will likely take to get that notice into the Register, and then the additional time for responses and replies, the matter won’t be ready for the Commission even to begin to think about it until early next year, at the soonest.

Latin Grammys Speech Demands End To Payola

During the Latin Grammy Awards show that aired on Univision, Puerto Rican rap duo Calle 13 was the big winner. Not only did they deliver a breathtaking performance of their celebrated song "Latinoamerica" along with acclaimed Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel and his orchestra, they won a record-breaking nine Latin Grammys. It was an exclamation point on what so far has been a spectacular career for the group. They are the most musically innovative, rebellious and politically vocal artists in Latin music today, and that's garnered them a cult following beyond Spanish-speaking audiences. Throughout their various acceptance speeches last night the duo made mention of the current battles for free and accessible education across Latin America. But at the very end of the show, as they accepted the prize for Album Of The Year, frontman Rene "Residente" Perez said something that was met with a handful of awkward claps: "No a la payola" or "Say no to payola."

Benton

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