December 2011

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2011

The Phoenix Center hosts its 11th Annual U.S. Telecoms Symposium and the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee votes on a spectrum bill today http://benton.org/calendar/2011-12-01/

AT&T/T-MOBILE
   FCC’s AT&T/T-Mobile Order - public notice
   FCC Staff Analysis and Findings on AT&T’s Proposed Acquisition of T-Mobile - public notice
   AT&T’s loss with T-Mobile likely to be another bidder’s big gain - analysis
   Public Knowledge Releases Details of AT&T Lobbying, Media Campaigns - press release
   AT&T, T-Mobile Mull Plan B
   FCC Chair Defends Release of Draft AT&T–T-Mobile Report

SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
   Democrats ask to postpone vote on spectrum bill
   Sen Hutchison Backs House Spectrum Auction Bill
   Dec 1 is D-Day for Clearwire (and Sprint)
   Verizon and Leap trade spectrum for LTE, EV-DO buildouts

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Recap: Constitutional Limitations on States' Authority to Collect Sales Taxes in E-Commerce
   Internet sales tax fight returns to Congress [links to web]
   Gov. Haley Barbour endorses online sales tax [links to web]
   FCC Presentation on Broadband Adoption Efforts [links to web]

CYBERSECURITY
   New cybersecurity bill would foster sharing of online data between government, private sector

HEALTH
   Obama Administration takes new steps to encourage doctors and hospitals to use health information technology to lower costs, improve quality, create jobs - press release
   FCC empowers broadband and health IT to transform health care for patients - press release
   The Internet of things: creating the health care of the future
   Research: Violent video games may alter brain function [links to web]

PRIVACY
   Is your phone telling the carrier everything you do?
   Tech trade group questions FTC privacy settlements [links to web]

PIRACY
   Piracy Act no easy sell in House
   Google rips Senate's online piracy bill: 'This is what is wrong with Washington' [links to web]

TELEVISION
   For first time in history, TV ownership declines
   Like Netflix Streaming? You're Gonna' Pay For It
   Study: Most Popular Cable Nets Not Highest Rated [links to web]
   Post-Newsweek Station Offer Free Airtime [links to web]
   HBO To Cord Cutters: You’ll Never See Our Shows [links to web]

POLICYMAKERS
   Recap: FCC Nominations Hearing

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
   PBS Stations Testing Mobile Emergency Alert System [links to web]

LABOR
   Chicago Workers Sue Comcast Claiming Race Discrimination, Fetid Working Conditions

ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
   The Up-Close-and-Personal Candidate? A Thing of the Past
   Fox News Host Is Scrutinized for Her Ties to Candidate

TELECOM
   OccupyTelecom, Occupy the FCC: How the Communications Trust is Harming America’s Future - op-ed
   AT&T, China Telecom Agree to Expand Services in China, US
   Wrong Number? Blame Companies' Recycling [links to web]
   National Do Not Call Registry Data Book for Fiscal Year 2011 - press release [links to web]

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AT&T/T-MOBILE

AT&T/T-MOBILE ORDER
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Rich Kaplan]
On November 29, 2011, the Federal Communications Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Chief granted AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s request to withdraw their applications to allow AT&T to acquire T-Mobile spectrum licenses.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said, “Competition is the engine of our free market economy and a cornerstone of the FCC’s mandate. Our review of this merger has had a clear focus: fostering a competitive market that drives innovation, promotes investment, encourages job creation, and protects consumers. These goals will remain the focus if any future merger application is filed.”
“Given the overwhelming mass of competitive concerns raised in the Department of Justice suit against the proposed acquisition of T-Mobile by AT&T,” said FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, “and the possibly even greater public interest harms identified in the FCC’s Staff Report, I welcome withdrawal of this application.” He continued: “This agency’s charge under the Communications Act is to look at not just the competitive effects but also the broader public interest implications of an acquisition. Despite repeated claims that this transaction will be a significant job creator, the staff, after thorough review, could make no such finding. Here is something else worth highlighting: T-Mobile has built a business model targeting budget-conscious consumers. With lower-income consumers increasingly thinking of mobile as their only broadband service, and with no guarantee the new entity will continue to serve this population, many consumers may find themselves priced right out of broadband. That is not a direction the country can afford to go. While I welcome withdrawal of this application, I would like to think we will no longer be expending significant FCC resources to examine this paradigm-shifting and complex transaction. I would hope the withdrawal is not a strategic gambit along the road to resubmission of this or a similar application in the months ahead. That would not strike me as a good route to travel. The significant resources the Commission has spent over these last seven months analyzing this proposed acquisition—and so many other consolidations that have come our way during my ten years here—would have been much better spent furthering the goals of competition, consumer protection and the public interest.”
“The staff Analysis and Findings concludes that the proposed merger would substantially lessen competition whether reviewed at the local market or national market level, and there are substantial questions whether the claimed public interest benefits would occur,” said FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn.
benton.org/node/106250 | Federal Communications Commission | Chairman Genachowski | Commissioner Copps | Commissioner Clyburn | The Hill
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FCC STAFF REPORT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
The Federal Communications Commission’s staff finds that AT&T and T-Mobile have failed to carry their burden of proving that the proposed transaction, on balance, will serve the public interest. Upon careful examination summarized in this document, the staff concludes that significant harms to competition are likely to result, primarily in the form of increased prices to consumers, reduced incentives for innovation, and decreased consumer choice. In addition, there are serious allegations of other harms that require further investigation. Staff further finds that the bulk of the applicants proffered benefits are inadequately supported by the data supplied, achievable through means other than the elimination of a competitor, or otherwise not cognizable under the FCC’s public interest standard. Staff therefore recommends that the FCC designate the proposed transaction for a hearing.
The Verge notes these findings from the report:
“Staff thus finds, as has DOJ, that the proposed transaction would likely lead to a substantial lessening of competition in violation of the Clayton Act. A transaction in violation of the Clayton Act would not be in the public interest.”
The transaction would eliminate "a nationwide rival that has played the role of a disruptive competitive force in the marketplace."
The FCC discovered that the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index — a widely-accepted indication of how competitive a market is — is high enough to warrant concerns of anticompetitive effects in 99 of the top 100 wireless markets. The one exception? Omaha, Nebraska, where T-Mobile doesn't operate.
The FCC claim that T-Mobile's "aggressive, pervasive" deployment of HSPA+ caused AT&T to accelerate its own deployment of the technology. Looking back on developments in 2011, it's interesting to note that AT&T didn't really start pushing HSPA+ hard until early this year after T-Mobile was riding the "4G" marketing wave with its own HSPA+ deployments in 2010.
The FCC also rattles off a couple examples of plan tweaks AT&T has made in recent years in direct response to T-Mobile, further damaging AT&T's claim that it doesn't view T-Mobile as a viable competitor.
The FCC repeatedly expresses concern that the elimination of T-Mobile from the marketplace would leave AT&T as the sole national provider of GSM wholesale services, which is a pretty legitimate concern considering the importance of GSM on a global scale. Here's where it gets interesting, though: citing some redacted information, the FCC says that "T-Mobile had developed plans to increase its provision of wholesale services to a variety of different entities."
The FCC spends several pages tearing apart AT&T's mathematical model for predicting whether prices will rise or lower in the years 2014 and 2015 should the acquisition go through. The language is, in places, downright damning — for instance: "The Applicants' economic model has at least three basic problems that render unreliable its prediction of the consequences of the transaction." Terms like "serious flaw," "critical flaw," "unreasonable," and "not rational" appear in here, too. The FCC really doesn't like these models.
AT&T made a very big deal about immediate network improvements resulting from the merger — in fact, it's been essentially the core element of AT&T's public-facing PR campaign. Yet here's another downer from the FCC: "Although we requested it, the Applicants did not provide the backup materials necessary to verify the engineering analysis of signal quality and 3G roaming improvements from integrating the networks." The report goes on to call out apparent errors in AT&T's math and its assumptions about future cell site density that would directly lead to overstating network improvements.
benton.org/node/106249 | Federal Communications Commission | The Verge | WashPost
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WHO COULD BE NEXT T-MOBILE BIDDER?
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Colin Gibbs]
Instead, T-Mobile could be targeted by plenty of players, from cable and satellite TV providers to private equity firms. But mobile is a different game that can be brutal on newcomers. The companies that are the best fit for T-Mobile are these three players that already know the mobile game:
Sprint -- Sprint could pick up T-Mobile and operate both networks, integrating the two via LTE. The combined companies would claim about one-fourth of the U.S. mobile market, making the market more competitive — not less.
America Movil. The Mexico City–based telecom provides services to more than 200 million subscribers primarily in Latin America, and it operates the small prepaid TracFone business in the U.S. The company is headed by Carlos Slim Helu, a Mexican billionaire who has long had an interest in the U.S. Expanding from prepaid to postpaid would be a big step, but Helu has the bankroll and the mobile expertise that could help T-Mobile once again become a major player.
Vodafone Group. A massive force in worldwide mobile, Vodafone operates networks in 30 countries and has partner networks in 40 more. And while it owns 45 percent of the joint venture Verizon Wireless, it has voiced its dismay at Verizon’s unwillingness to pay annual dividends. Meanwhile, Vodafone’s networks employ the same GSM technology used by T-Mobile USA, and some of them have begun to deploy LTE services. Coming to terms with Verizon to dump its part of the joint venture wouldn’t be easy, but it might be worth it for Vodafone give up its minority stake in Verizon Wireless in exchange for full control of the lesser carrier.
benton.org/node/106248 | GigaOm
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PK ON AT&T LOBBYING
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Press release]
AT&T has hired three former U.S. senators, four former members of the House and dozens of staff members of current and former legislators of both parties to push its $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile, according to a review of lobbying records by Public Knowledge. In addition, PK also released information showing AT&T has spent $40 million in advertising to push the merger between May and October. Of that total, about $14 million was spent in June alone. The bulk of the spending was for TV ads, much of that concentrated in Washington and New York. “This information gives us a more complete picture of the vast lobbying and advertising resources AT&T has dedicated to trying to ram through this takeover,” said Harold Feld, legal director of Public Knowledge. “It is even more impressive that while many members of Congress have ignored the facts and are backing this takeover, the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission have not. It is clear that the data the DoJ and FCC have compiled on this deal will negate all of the money AT&T has spent to mislead policymakers and the public.” AT&T spent $12.4 million on lobbying for the first three quarters of this year, according to AT&T lobbying reports. The former senators working for AT&T are John Breaux, Trent Lott and Don Nickles. Breaux is a Democrat, the others are Republicans. Of the former House members, the most prominent is ex-House Commerce Committee Chmn. Billy Tauzin, who retired as a Republican after starting his career as a Democrat. The other former members are former Democrats Jim Davis, Ron Dellums and Vic Fazio. The data shows that AT&T spent about $37 million for television ads. The advertising data shows that AT&T spent $9 million on TV network ads, $5 million on national cable ads, $4 million on ads in the Washington, D.C. market and $3 million in the New York City market.
benton.org/node/106247 | Public Knowledge | PK – lobbyists | PK - AT&T’s media spending
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PLAN B FOR AT&T/T-MOBILE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Anupreeta Das, Anton Troianovski, Gina Chon]
AT&T Inc. and Deutsche Telekom AG, the parent of T-Mobile USA, have discussed an alternative transaction -- forming a joint venture that would pool network assets from the two U.S. wireless carriers -- if their current acquisition deal falls apart, people familiar with the matter said. These discussions aren't advanced and were described by the people as a plan the two companies have on the back burner. Still, the people added, AT&T and Deutsche Telekom are likely to take a closer look at a joint venture as AT&T's planned $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA faces mounting opposition. A joint venture could help solve some of the wireless-capacity constraints both companies are expected to face in the coming years while avoiding the competitive concerns voiced by the Justice Department. Much would depend on how the deal is structured and the details, but a proposal that left T-Mobile USA as a truly viable competitor might pass muster with the Justice Department. The nature of the joint venture that AT&T and Deutsche Telekom have discussed is unclear. Analysts have suggested that under a joint venture, the two companies could jointly use the T-Mobile spectrum that AT&T covets while Deutsche Telekom holds onto its T-Mobile customers. It's unclear whether under such a scenario AT&T would still be on the hook for the full breakup fee -- including $3 billion in cash and spectrum with a book value of $1 billion -- that it agreed to pay Deutsche Telekom should regulators block the merger. At the same time, the nation's largest wireless carrier is in talks with smaller players to divest itself of some assets, including customers and spectrum, in hopes of satisfying regulators' concerns that the proposed deal will be anti-competitive. Such divestitures, ideally to one buyer, are intended to help build a stronger wireless player that could compete with the behemoths and preserve choice for customers.
benton.org/node/106282 | Wall Street Journal
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FCC CHAIR DEFENDS RELEASE OF AT&T REPORT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski indicated that the FCC did not release a staff report detailing its objections to the AT&T/T-Mobile deal to reduce the deal's chances at the Justice Department, but because it was always meant to be public and to release it was only fair to all parties. AT&T has argued the release of the draft report was improper. The report, which was released even though the FCC withdrew the merger application at AT&T's request, questioned the premise that AT&T's upgrade of its mobile wireless service would create jobs. A reporter asked the chairman at a press conference after the FCC's public meeting whether that presumed job creation wasn't also part of the FCC's presumption in pushing for a national broadband plan and spectrum auctions. Chairmen Genachowski said they were two different situations. One was a horizontal merger with billions of dollars of claimed efficiencies, and the other modernization of programs to get broadband to millions of people who don't already have it. FCC staffers in a briefing on the report the day before had also made the point that there was a difference between job claims from simply boosting speeds and ones from going from no broadband to broadband. Asked whether the FCC released the report as a way to decrease the odds that the deal would be approved by Justice, Genachowski said that the report was released because it had been "developed for public release in an important matter that remains highly relevant." He pointed out that AT&T had signaled it planned to re-file the application at a later date. "The FCC still has the responsibility ultimately to approve any transaction," he said. "The reasons to release it were fairness to all the parties that have participated in the proceeding, and transparency."
benton.org/node/106281 | Broadcasting&Cable
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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS

DEMS WANT TO POSTPONE HEARING
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) urged their Republican counterparts to postpone a vote on spectrum legislation scheduled for Dec 1. But the Republicans don't plan to budge. "After almost a year of hearings and extensive meetings, the committee looks forward to convening the markup tomorrow at 10 a.m.," Debbee Keller, a spokeswoman for the committee Republicans, said. In a letter sent to House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Reps Waxman and Eshoo said they need more time to review the Republicans' spectrum legislation, which was released on Nov 29. They also encouraged the Republicans to resume negotiations over the bill, which they say were cut off in October.
benton.org/node/106280 | Hill, The | read the letter | National Journal
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HUTCHINSON BACKS HOUSE SPECTRUM BILL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), co-sponsor of S. 911, the Senate incentive spectrum auction bill, said she thinks that the House Republican version of a spectrum bill introduced this week would complement that Senate bill, and said she would work to incorporate it into S. 911, which has already passed the Senate Commerce Committee. "I'm very glad that the House Energy & Commerce Committee is placing a priority on providing our nation's first responders with the spectrum they need to build a robust nationwide public safety wireless network," she said. "While there are some differences between our bills, I believe the House's JOBS Act is complementary to the bipartisan bill Chairman Rockefeller and I have passed in the Senate Commerce Committee, S. 911." She said she wanted to get a spectrum bill to the president "sometime this winter." That might be an acknowledgement that a spectrum bill won't pass this year. Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) indicated there would not be a vote on the standalone S. 911 before next year, according to S. 911 co-sponsor Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V). But Sen Rockefeller has not given up on passage attached to some must-pass bill before the end of the session.
benton.org/node/106271 | Broadcasting&Cable | Sen Hutchison
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CLEARWIRE-SPRINT
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
Clearwire has to decide if it will make a $237 million interest payment on Dec 1, and the decision will have implications that could rock the tumultuous mobile industry. If it makes the payment, it will eat into cash it desperately needs to build out an LTE network and keep afloat, but if it defaults it threatens Sprint — its largest benefactor. Analysts are torn on the topic with most thinking that Clearwire may hedge and take a 30-day grace period while it scrambles for cash. The question is if Sprint will rush in to play savior to Clearwire with more money. Sprint has raised some $4 billion in debt, which might go toward the Clearwire cause, but it has been incredibly focused in the last few months on halting the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile, as well as implementing its own network modernization plan. Can Sprint now turn back to its Clearwire problem? Abandoning Clearwire would leave Sprint with a weak spectrum position as it attempts to roll out a 4G network. So Thursday, all eyes will turn to Clearwire to see if it and Sprint will make it through the holiday season to fight for another year.
benton.org/node/106242 | GigaOm | Bloomberg
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VERIZON-LEAP DEAL
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: ]
Verizon Wireless and Cricket provider Leap Wireless announced a significant exchange of spectrum that, if approved by the FCC, will allow Leap to launch LTE service in Chicago and will allow Verizon to bolster its CDMA EV-DO and LTE networks in locations across the country. The companies filed the spectrum exchange proposal with the FCC last week, arguing the agency should approve the transaction since the spectrum licenses in the transaction mostly haven't been built out and cover a relatively small percentage of the population. The licenses to be acquired by Verizon Wireless cover approximately 18.7 million POPs; the Chicago license to be acquired by Leap covers around 11 million POPs. Such spectrum swaps are relatively common among the nation's wireless carriers, though they can be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In the exchange, Leap is to get a 12 MHz 700 MHz A Block license covering Chicago that Verizon paid $152 million for during the FCC's 700 MHz auction in 2008. Leap said it currently owns 10 MHz of spectrum in Chicago, and will use the additional spectrum to launch LTE service in the Windy City. Verizon currently offers LTE service in Chicago using its 700 MHz C Block spectrum.
benton.org/node/106285 | Fierce
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

RECAP: ONLINE SALES TAX HEARING
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary]
The House Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing on Internet sales taxes on Nov 30. Paul Misener, Amazon’s vice president for global public policy, urged Congress to set standards for collecting state sales taxes from online commerce. Any exceptions to the tax should be kept “very low” for fairness reasons, Misener said. Amazon, the largest online retailer, has long battled attempts by states to levy sales taxes on Internet transactions. Now it’s backing efforts to create a federal standard for states to collect sales tax on online purchases. A 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision exempted businesses from collecting sales taxes in states in which they don’t have a physical presence, or “nexus,” such as a store or warehouse. That ruling has given Internet-based sellers an edge in the marketplace over brick-and-mortar retailers, said Rep John Conyers (D-MI). John Otto, an accountant and state representative from Texas, urged lawmakers to set ground rules for requiring the collection of online sales taxes. If the 1992 Supreme Court decision “is allowed to remain the law of the land, are we not picking winners and losers within the retail sector?” Otto said. “The marketplace has changed in 19 years and we have not.” The National Governors Association estimated that states are currently missing out on collecting more than $22 billion each year in sales tax on goods sold online or through catalogues.
benton.org/node/106274 | House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary | Reuters | Bloomberg | WSJ
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CYBERSECURITY

CYBERSECURITY BILL
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Nakashima]
Leaders of the House Intelligence Committee are introducing legislation to foster the sharing of online information between the private sector and the government to better protect commercial computer networks from cyberattacks. The bipartisan bill, drafted by committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), has strong support from the telecommunications industry but is already raising concerns among civil liberties advocates familiar with the draft. The legislation exempts private firms from liability for sharing data with the government, as well as for any failure to use that data to improve their networks. The goal is to encourage the private sector and the government to exchange the kind of information that could be useful in protecting systems that are critical to the nation’s security and economic interests. Civil rights advocates, however, are warning that, as written, the bill preempts privacy protections in existing law and lacks adequate measures to ensure that consumer data are not misused by the government. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 was crafted to allow the sharing of a variety of data. That data could include Internet protocol addresses a company detects in a hacking incident on its network, or classified threat intelligence from government entities such as the National Security Agency. Companies would not be forced to share data, and could decide which government agency to share it with.
benton.org/node/106246 | Washington Post | The Hill | B&C
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HEALTH

NEW HHS REPORT ON HIT ADOPTION
[SOURCE: Department of Health and Human Services, AUTHOR: Press release]
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a report showing that doctors’ adoption of health information technology (IT) doubled in two years. HHS also announced new actions to speed the use of health IT in doctors’ offices and hospitals nationwide, which will improve health care and create jobs nationwide. While protecting confidential personal information, health IT can improve access to care, help coordinate treatments, measure outcomes and reduce costs. The new administrative actions announced today, which were made possible by the HITECH Act, will make it easier for doctors and other health care professionals to receive incentive payments for adopting and meaningfully using health IT. In addition to improving the health care system, data indicate that the national transition to health IT is creating jobs. Over 50,000 health IT-related jobs have been created since the enactment of the HITECH Ac. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of health IT jobs across the country is expected to increase by 20 percent from 2008 to 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations through 2018. HHS also announced its intent to make it easier to adopt health IT. Under the current requirements, eligible doctors and hospitals that begin participating in the Medicare EHR (electronic health record) Incentive Programs this year would have to meet new standards for the program in 2013. If they did not participate in the program until 2012, they could wait to meet these new standards until 2014 and still be eligible for the same incentive payment. To encourage faster adoption, the Secretary announced that HHS intends to allow doctors and hospitals to adopt health IT this year, without meeting the new standards until 2014. Doctors who act quickly can also qualify for incentive payments in 2011 as well as 2012. These policy changes are accompanied by greater outreach efforts that will provide more information to doctors and hospitals about best practices and to vendors whose products allow health care providers to meaningfully use EHRs. For example, in communities across the country HHS will target outreach, education and training to Medicare eligible professionals that have registered in the EHR incentive program but have not yet met the requirements for meaningful use. Meaningful use is the necessary foundation for all impending payment changes involving patient-centered medical homes, accountable care organizations, bundled payments, and value-based purchasing.
benton.org/node/106241 | Department of Health and Human Services | HHS Blog
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FCC TAKES STEPS TO INTRODUCE NEW ADVANCED MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES TO TREAT NEUROMUSCULAR DISORDERS AND TRAUMATIC INJURIES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission adopted rules that will enable a new generation of wireless medical devices that could be used to restore functions to paralyzed limbs. Medical Micropower Networks (MMNs) are ultra-low power wideband networks consisting of multiple transmitters implanted in the body that use electric currents to activate and monitor nerves and muscles. The FCC initiated this proceeding in response to a petition from the Alfred Mann Foundation, which has built prototype MMN systems and conducted extensive testing that demonstrates that this new medical technology can reliably operate in shared spectrum to deliver vital therapies. The action the FCC takes today will allow devices such as those being tested by Alfred Mann to proceed on the path to patient use as well as inspire researchers to begin work on the next generation of implanted medical radio networks.
benton.org/node/106276 | Federal Communications Commission | read the Report and Order | Chairman Genachowski | Commissioner Copps | Commissioner McDowell | Commissioner Clyburn
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INTERNET OF THINGS AND HEALTH CARE
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Jody Ranck]
This paper provides a preliminary overview of the landscape of opportunities and drivers in the current health and health care environments and highlights some of the challenges that remain. By 2020 it is estimated that 20–50 billion devices will be connected to the Internet. Many of these devices will be collecting health data or will be connected to health and medical devices in the home, the hospital or the wider environment. Many of these devices can be implanted in the body or worn in clothing to monitor vital signs or essential biological processes that enable more-continuous monitoring of patients or even animal health. The growth of the Internet of things is likely to open new disruptive business opportunities for services that add value to the data collected. It will involve supply chain management, disease management for chronic diseases, public health services in areas such as air quality or the traceability of products in the food chain for food safety.
benton.org/node/106268 | GigaOm
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PRIVACY

IS YOUR PHONE TELLING YOUR CARRIER EVERYTHING?
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Kevin Tofel]
After you buy a smartphone and the required mobile broadband service, what you do with the device is your business, right? Maybe not. Earlier this month, the XDA-Developer site noticed that a preinstalled mobile app, named CarrierIQ, was logging all smartphone activities with no way to opt out. A new video demonstration surfaced that demonstrates exactly what the CarrierIQ software does. And it’s disturbing, especially when you consider more than 141 million handsets have the software installed. CarrierIQ captures:
Logging of keystrokes; nearly every button — hardware or software — is noted when pressed. I noticed the keystrokes for input were based on ASCII standard codes, which are fairly universal. That means the keylogging feature can easily work across nearly all devices.
Text of incoming SMS messages. Don’t expect privacy of what you’re sending or receiving on a phone with CarrierIQ installed.
Web browsing information through what are supposed to be encrypted transactions.
benton.org/node/106251 | GigaOm
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PIRACY

SOPA IN THE HOUSE
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Jennifer Martinez]
Moving the Stop Online Piracy Act through the House won’t be a slam-dunk for Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX). In fact, some members are already attempting to block his shot. Not only does Smith’s bill face fierce opposition from Google, Facebook and other Web stalwarts in Silicon Valley, but influential members from his own party say they fear the legislation would cause substantial damage to the Internet as we know it. One Judiciary Committee member, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), even plans to introduce a competing bill in the coming days. While some lawmakers don’t rule out the prospect of a compromise, they say the bill won’t get far if Chairman Smith tries to push it forward without incorporating some changes proposed by the tech industry.
benton.org/node/106286 | Politico
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TELEVISION

TV OWNERSHIP DECLINES
[SOURCE: Kansas City Star, AUTHOR: Aaron Barnhart]
Nielsen, the TV ratings people, are out with the 2012 edition of their Television Audience report, and amidst all the charts and graphs, two stunners:
The total number of U.S. households with TV sets declined year to year for the first time since Nielsen started counting TV ownership.
The number of households with no TV at all is at its highest level since 1975. Three percent of homes are TV-free.
The decline was not trivial, either — from 115.9 million TV households in 2011, Nielsen estimates that only 114.7 million homes in the U.S. will have a TV set in 2012. That’s a decline of almost 1 percent at a time when the number of U.S. households continues to grow.
benton.org/node/106266 | Kansas City Star
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PAYING FOR STREAMING TV
[SOURCE: TVPredictions.com, AUTHOR: Phillip Swann]
Wall Street analyst Craig Moffett said that cable and telco operators will likely soon force their heaviest Internet consumers to pay more for their service. This would have a large impact on viewers who watch high-definition video over the Internet because HD video consumes more bandwidth than standard-def. “As more video shifts to the Web, the cable operators will inevitably align their pricing models,” Moffett told the news service. “With the right usage-based pricing plan, they can embrace the transition instead of resisting it.” Moffett, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein, said one major cable operator is already planning to institute higher fees next year. He added that Cox, Charter or Time Warner Cable may be the first to do so.
benton.org/node/106239 | TVPredictions.com | Bloomberg
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POLICYMAKERS

RECAP: FCC NOMINATIONS HEARING
[SOURCE: US Senate Commerce Committee]
The Senate Commerce Committee heard testimony from Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Varadaraj Pai, President Barack Obama’s nominees to serve as commissioners on the Federal Communications Commission. The nominees were pushed by Committee members to go on the record about some of the most contentious issues in telecommunications. Instead, the nominees toed the line between showcasing their expertise and avoiding answers that could box them in on issues they may soon regulate. Asked about the FCC’s release of a staff report on the AT&T/T-Mobile deal, Rosenworcel said, "I believe it's within [the FCC chairman's] statutory authority, but I will acknowledge it's probably unprecedented.” Pai said he would "view the discretion [of the FCC] as one that should be exercised very carefully" but added he wasn't apprised on the issue. "To the extent [releasing the document] aggravates people in industry and on the Hill, that's something I would take into account," he said. But the nominees didn't shy away from clear positions divisive topics, generally reflecting the mainstream views of their respective parties.
Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said the chances for confirmation are good for both nominees, but an obstacle remains. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) reaffirmed his commitment to holding up the process unless the FCC releases certain documents about LightSquared, a wireless startup mired in regulatory problems because its service may interfere with GPS devices.
benton.org/node/106272 | US Senate Commerce Committee | National Journal | WashPost | The Hill | Chairman Rockefeller | Ajit Pai | Jessica Rosenworcel
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LABOR

COMCAST WORKERS SUE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Mike Farrell]
Eleven former and current Comcast employees in Chicago have filed a federal lawsuit against the cable giant, claiming it discriminated against African-American workers and subjected them to rat-infested conditions, according to several published reports. The lawsuit, filed Nov. 28 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleges that Comcast discriminated against technicians at its South Side Chicago facility, calling them derogatory names and forcing them to work in deplorable conditions. The suit alleges that equipment and cable boxes at the South Side facility were infested with cockroaches and that employees were instructed to install defective and roach-laden cable boxes at homes in the predominantly African-American section of the city because supervisors allegedly claimed "they'll only have cable for a month; they won't pay bills." Comcast has vehemently denied the allegations. The suit claims that the South Side facility had a leaky roof, was not temperature controlled and was rife with hazards including high stacks of boxes, exhaust fumes, ceiling tiles that fell on working employees and did not have a functioning parking lot or training room. In contrast, Comcast North Side and Suburban Chicago facilities, which did not employ a majority of African American workers, were significantly better maintained, according to the suit. The workers are seeking lost wages, including back pay, front pay and lost benefits and compensatory and punitive damages.
benton.org/node/106269 | Multichannel News
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA

ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jeff Zeleny]
The aspiring Republican presidential candidates have logged countless hours in the living rooms of voters, pitching their platforms and firing jabs at President Obama. Yet there is one difference this election season. The contenders, even here in the early-voting states, are far more likely to make their visits on television than to ever drop by in person. In what is shaping up as a profound change in American politics, the living room stops and the cafe visits where candidates offer handshakes and make appeals for support are creeping toward extinction. The onetime fixtures of the campaign trail are giving way to the Fox News studio and televised debates. It has been five decades since television began to transform presidential races, but never before have the effects of cable television been so apparent in the early stages of a campaign.
benton.org/node/106289 | New York Times
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VAN SUSTEREN AND CAIN
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jeremy Peters]
Greta Van Susteren, the Fox News host, faced questions about whether she should have disclosed the friendship between her husband, a noted Washington lawyer, and Herman Cain, whose wife, Gloria, granted Ms. Van Susteren an exclusive interview. The appearance was a huge coup for Fox News, coming shortly after Mr. Cain was accused of sexually harassing several women. The friendship between Mr. Cain and Ms. Van Susteren’s husband, John Coale, came to light after NY1 reported that Mr. Coale had called Cindy Adams, The New York Post gossip columnist, to cancel a dinner with Mr. Cain and media luminaries like Barbara Walters and Matt Lauer. Ms. Van Susteren would not comment on the record on Wednesday about whether she had ever disclosed to Fox executives her husband’s friendship with Mr. Cain. And she did not answer another question, posed to her in an e-mail from The New York Times, about whether anyone at Fox News had pressed her to mention the friendship on her 10 p.m. Fox News Channel program. Some journalists in the news division of Fox, which has long felt that its reporting is unfairly associated with Fox’s right-leaning hosts like Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and Ms. Van Susteren, were said to have voiced their concerns about yet another example of coziness between Republicans and the network.
benton.org/node/106288 | New York Times
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TELECOM

OCCUPY TELECOM
[SOURCE: AlterNet, AUTHOR: David Rosen, Bruce Kushnick]
[Commentary] The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) campaign is spreading throughout the nation and the world. Most important, its critique of inequality is getting sharper and more systematic. Its core target has been the banking and financial-services industry, but activists are turning the spotlight on other, equally pernicious sectors of the economy, including the extraction, healthcare military and prison industries. Analyses of these industries reveal a common story: the fix is in. The nation’s communications industry traditionally escapes critical inspection. In our busy postmodern life, communications, like air, water and electricity, is essential, merely taken for granted. Whether making a phone call, emailing a friend, accessing information, paying a bill or watching a political debate or TV show, our telecommunications infrastructure is a vital link to others and the world. On October 27 the Federal Communications Commission announced a reform plan of the Universal Service Fund (USF) as part of its implementation of the National Broadband Plan. The reform is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, President Obama’s stimulus plan. Unfortunately, the USF reform plan is going to raise your phone, broadband, Internet and wireless rates in five new ways, all designed to give more money to the phone and cable companies.
benton.org/node/106284 | AlterNet
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AT&T-CHINA TELECOM DEAL
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: ]
AT&T and China Telecom Corp. agreed to expand an 11-year partnership to provide more communication services to multinational companies in both countries. AT&T will offer more services China, including so-called virtual private networks and provide additional technology. The agreement will give Beijing- based China Telecom better network access to provide data services to Chinese companies with units in the US. AT&T is using its global data network, which spans 886,000 miles of fiber worldwide, to win contracts from multinational companies to provide communication services in emerging markets in Asia and Latin America. In 2000, AT&T formed the first Sino- foreign telecommunications services joint venture in China, known as the Shanghai Symphony Telecommunications Co., with partners China Telecom and Shanghai Information Investment Co. As part of the accord, AT&T will connect China Telecom to its data networks in the U.S. to provide service to Chinese multinationals. The two companies also said they will consider providing mutual support in other regions of the world.
benton.org/node/106287 | Bloomberg
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