June 2012

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, JUNE 15, 2012

FCC’s Consumer Advisory Committee, Internet Economics, and Spectrum Auctions on today’s agenda http://benton.org/calendar/2012-06-15/

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Executive Order on Accelerating Broadband Infrastructure Deployment - public notice
   Igniting a Fire Under US Broadband - analysis
   White House Unleashes ‘Innovation Mojo’ of Broadband Providers, developers
   Obama's 'US-Ignite' Broadband Plan Ignites Nothing - analysis
   Upgrading America: Achieving a Strategic Bandwidth Advantage And a Psychology of Bandwidth Abundance To Drive High -- Performance Knowledge Exchange - op-ed
   DOJ video probe highlights more telecom, cable deals ahead
   'Favored Nations' Fight for Online Digital Rights
   Hey, Comcast, the Rich Aren't That Different
   Figuring Out Who Your Friends Are On SOPA and PIPA Is Not That Simple - analysis
   Internet Access Services: Status as of June 30, 2011 - research
   Policy Would Require Agencies to Patch Cybersecurity Holes Within 72 Hours of Discovery [links to web]
   Internet Governance: The Way It Works Now - analysis [links to web]
   Education Program Will Train Future Cybersecurity Leaders [links to web]
   US Cities Don’t Bite on New Domain Extensions [links to web]

SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
   Study: Broadcasters Need FCC Repacking Info
   NTIA: Public safety broadband network must not be a 'network of networks'
   Analysts: AT&T thinks it has enough spectrum for next five years
   T-Mobile and the iPhone: 7% of the way to becoming friends
   Verizon defends new shared data plans
   Sprint seeks dismissal of $300 million lawsuit filed by NY state
   The brutal truth? Most apps sink without a trace [links to web]
   Nokia to cut 10,000 jobs by the end of 2013 [links to web]
   Nokia's Problems Haunt Microsoft [links to web]

OWNERSHIP
   Judge gives Apple reprieve in patent case vs. Google
   Infinera says China subsidizes rivals Huawei, ZTE
   Tough time for Tribune stations auction
   Groups Say Universal-EMI Deal Could Stifle New Digital Music Services
   At Sirius Radio, a Dogged Resistance to Liberty Media [links to web]

CONTENT
   DOJ video probe highlights more telecom, cable deals ahead
   'Favored Nations' Fight for Online Digital Rights
   Barclays: Cord-cutting isn’t worth the modest savings [links to web]
   Figuring Out Who Your Friends Are On SOPA and PIPA Is Not That Simple - analysis
   How a Pop Tune Became the Hottest Social Media Meme - research [links to web]
   Cable Operators: OVDs Are Not MVPDs [links to web]
   CPB Funding for the Online Video Engagement Experience - press release [links to web]
   Amazon Publishing makes some e-books available to other retailers [links to web]
   Online store implements world's first Internet Explorer 7 tax [links to web]
   In the Facebook Era, Reminders of Loss if Families Fracture [links to web]

HEALTH
   Achieving the Right Balance: Privacy and Security Policies to Support Electronic Health Information Exchange - research [links to web]
   More docs questioning benefits of EHRs [links to web]

JOURNALISM
   Scholars Ding News Media For Uncritically Repeating 'Job Killer' Charge [links to web]
   2012 Mirror Award Winners Announced - press release [links to web]
   NBC News, Telemundo Partner on Election Coverage [links to web]
   C-SPAN, National Journal Team for Coverage [links to web]

TELECOM
   Bill would ban third-party charges on telephone bills
   Local Telephone Competition: Status as of June 30, 2011 - research

AGENDA
   Future of Video, FCC Oversight Hearings Slated

POLICYMAKERS
   Figuring Out Who Your Friends Are On SOPA and PIPA Is Not That Simple - analysis
   Public Knowledge Announces Reorganization - press release [links to web]
   Retired judge joins fight against DoJ's "outrageous" Megaupload seizures [links to web]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   At British Inquiry, Cameron Denies ‘Deals’ With Murdoch
   How France fell out of love with Minitel
   Mexico Clears Televisa Mobile-Phone Venture
   Carlos Slim ups stake in Telekom Austria

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INTERNET/BROADBAND

ACCELERATING BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: President Barack Obama]
While broadband infrastructure has been deployed in a vast majority of communities across the country, today too many areas still lack adequate access to this crucial resource. For these areas, decisions on access to Federal property and rights of way can be essential to the deployment of both wired and wireless broadband infrastructure. The Federal Government controls nearly 30 percent of all land in the United States, owns thousands of buildings, and provides substantial funding for State and local transportation infrastructure, creating significant opportunities for executive departments and agencies (agencies) to help expand broadband infrastructure. In order to ensure a coordinated and consistent approach in implementing agency procedures, requirements, and policies related to access to Federal lands, buildings, and rights of way, federally assisted highways, and tribal lands to advance broadband deployment, there is established a Broadband Deployment on Federal Property Working Group (Working Group), to be co-chaired by representatives designated by the Administrator of General Services and the Secretary of Homeland Security (Co-Chairs) from their respective agencies, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (Director) and in coordination with the Chief Performance Officer (CPO). Within 1 year of the date of this order, the Working Group shall report to the Steering Committee on Federal Infrastructure Permitting and Review Process Improvement on the progress that has been made in implementing the actions mandated by this Executive Order.
benton.org/node/125830 | White House, The | | Chairman Genachowski | Commissioner Rosenworcel
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US IGNITE
[SOURCE: Fighting the Next Good Fight, AUTHOR: Craig Settles]
June 14 marks the launch of US Ignite, a long-developing project that brings together 100 or so public, private and nonprofit organizations in an effort to pool/integrate resources to streamline gig app development nationwide. It’s a little complex, but the gist of it is: build a bunch of gig network testbeds, unite university and community creativity, supplement it with private vendor contributions and churn out a bunch of apps, some of which are bound to be winners. In the end, broadband gets deployed faster coast to coast. Both efforts have potential to turn out some pretty cool advancements in the U.S.’ march to nationwide broadband connectivity that yields the technology’s many promised benefits. As with everything involving politics, policy and money, the results can be a mix of the good, the bad and the unexpected. It’s all about execution.
benton.org/node/125829 | Fighting the Next Good Fight
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WHITE HOUSE UNLEASHES ‘INNOVATION MOJO’ OF BROADBAND PROVIDERS, DEVELOPERS
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Joseph Marks]
President Obama signed an executive order Thursday aimed at linking high-speed broadband Internet providers and application developers with communities to design and test new applications in medicine, engineering and other fields. The idea behind the U.S. Ignite program is to use the broadband communities as test beds to develop applications that eventually can be scaled nationwide. During a launch event, researchers at Case Western Reserve University demonstrated a broadband-based simulated surgical theater, which they said could eventually be used at broadband-equipped medical schools across the country. The U.S. Ignite program is designed to “unlock the power of American innovation mojo,” federal Chief Technology Officer Todd Park said during the event. Another portion of the executive order requires federal agencies to take a uniform approach to approving broadband building projects along federal properties and roadways, which the White House said could make broadband construction up to 90 percent cheaper.
benton.org/node/125890 | nextgov
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US IGNITE
[SOURCE: PCMagazine, AUTHOR: Sascha Segan]
[Commentary] Internet access in the U.S. is lousy. So the Obama Administration announced "US Ignite," which is supposedly a strategy to make the Internet "100 times faster" by developing a one-gigabit network backbone between cities and universities. That's nice, but the government is frosting a plate without a cake on it. The broadband crisis in the U.S. is about slow, expensive connections in the "last mile" to people's homes, not about backbone capacity and 3D medical imaging. The government could do something about that, but it won't. US Ignite is all smoke and no fire. Until the Obama administration decides to enforce competition in broadband, our Internet connections will continue to be expensive and slow.
benton.org/node/125876 | PCMagazine
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UPGRADING AMERICA
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Blair Levin]
The National Broadband Plan addressed the traditional four questions of telecom policy: how do we get networks everywhere, how do we get everyone on, how do we have a competition framework that drives consumer welfare and how do we use existing networks better? The Congressional mandate to write the plan, however, required us to examine a 5th question: what policies would drive innovation over broadband? This inquiry led to another: a question that both excites and troubles me: What happens if we remove bandwidth as a constraint to innovation? The question excites me because, as I learned from a brilliant doctor, genetic sequencing—which uses so much bandwidth it is cheaper and faster to send the results by Fed Ex—can revolutionize medicine. Eliminating bandwidth constraints can make this new tool more effective for treating, among other maladies, cancer. The question excites me because, as I learned from numerous educators, immersive gaming technology—which requires massive bandwidth-- can improve the effectiveness of education and job training, particularly for those for whom traditional methods fail. The question excites me because, as I learned from a broad spectrum of people, from those doing scientific research to those providing business services, from those focused on security to those who wish to invigorate civic engagement, the coming age of Big Data has the potential to accelerate advancements in addressing our most vexing problems. But to achieve its full potential Big Data will need Big Bandwidth. The question troubles me for the same reasons.
http://benton.org/node/125790
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CONTENT DEALS FOR ISPs
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
A key part of the Justice Department’s investigation into competition in the online video space is what kinds of content cable Internet service providers decide to count against monthly caps and what they do not. Known by many terms — most favored nation agreements or managed services — cable and telecom firms are expected to roll out a dizzying array of these options for consumers that do not count against data caps. Indeed, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson telegraphed more of these options to come. “Customers are beginning to understand that as you use more, you pay for more,” Stephenson said last month at the Sanford C. Bernstein investors conference in New York. “If the customer is now apprehensive, you can envision where that content provider may want to come to a carrier and say, look, we’d like to engage in a model where ... the customers isn’t willing to pay, but we are willing to pay for it.” Translation: ABC paying AT&T for a free channel for consumers on mobile devices? Such options pose new competitive concerns for Silicon Valley Web firms, who will find themselves competing against streaming video services offered by cable and media firms at much more attractive prices, analysts say.
benton.org/node/125825 | Washington Post
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FAVORED NATIONS AND ONLINE VIDEO
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Shalini Ramachandran]
In the television industry, it has long been seen as insurance for poor negotiators—the use of contractual clauses that guarantee the biggest cable operators the lowest price for TV channels. Now the clauses, which have drawn the attention of the Justice Department, are affecting where TV programs go online. Technically known as "most favored nation" (MFN) clauses, their use in deals between cable operators and TV-channel owners has evolved over the past 25 years. Initially about economic terms, clauses are now being negotiated around digital rights, industry executives say. As a result, the clauses are in some cases limiting how and where channel owners can make their programming available online, industry executives say. Some pay-TV distributors, including the biggest, Comcast, want their video websites and apps to be the place where their video subscribers watch TV programs online. The biggest distributors use the MFN clauses to advance that, according to entertainment executives. Comcast says it hasn't asked any programmer for exclusive online program rights "since at least January 2011."
benton.org/node/125932 | Wall Street Journal
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COMCAST AND BROADBAND ON CHAPPAQUIDDICK
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Alex Sherman]
When Comcast closed on its acquisition of NBCUniversal last year, U.S. regulators stipulated that the largest U.S. cable company had to build out its Internet network to reach underserved Americans. A group of residents on Chappaquiddick—a remote, picturesque island 527 feet off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard that made headlines after Senator Ted Kennedy’s fateful 1969 car crash—think they fit the bill. They’re demanding that Comcast provide them with high-speed Internet. The company has so far refused, saying cabling the island will cost $1.5 million without generating much future revenue. That’s because only about 16 percent of the roughly 500 households on the island are full-time residents, the company says. The rest are summer dwellers, including celebrities.
benton.org/node/125922 | Bloomberg
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SOPA/PIPA ALLIES/FOES
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Art Brodsky]
[Commentary] Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island is a Democratic torch-bearer. He is a stalwart progressive, a reliable vote for an economic agenda aimed at helping people. But at the recent Netroots Nation, it was what he didn't talk about that was more important. The crowd, generally of the progressive mind-set, likes him, but are stumped when asked this: Did you know that Senator Whitehouse, a member of the Judiciary Committee, supported the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (aka PIPA), the Senate copyright bill last year? A sample of responses to that question: "I didn't know that." "Really?" "I'm surprised." It was, to be sure, the one topic he didn't bring up voluntarily in discussion in the middle of the crowd of people who more than likely helped to kill the copyright bills (PIPA and its evil House cousin, the Stop Online Piracy Act, aka SOPA.)
benton.org/node/125931 | Public Knowledge
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INTERNET ACCESS SERVICES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
This report summarizes information about Internet access connections over 200 kilobits per second (kbps) in at least one direction in service in the United States on June 30, 2011, as collected by Federal Communications Commission Form 477. Notable developments between June 2010 and June 2011 include:
Internet connections overall are growing. The number of connections over 200 kbps in at least one direction increased by 31% year-over-year to 206 million.
Growth is particularly high in mobile Internet subscriptions, but fixed-location connections also continue to increase. The number of mobile subscriptions grew to nearly 120 million – up 59% from June 2010. The number of fixed-location connections increased by 6% year-over-year, to nearly 87 million.
Both fixed and mobile services are shifting to higher speeds. The share of fixed connections with speeds at or above the availability benchmark adopted in the Sixth Broadband Deployment Report increased from 51% to 56% of total fixed connections. Among mobile wireless subscriptions, the share increased from 6% to 14%.
benton.org/node/125899 | Federal Communications Commission
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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS

BROADCASTERS NEED REPACKING INFO
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Former Federal Communications Commission chief economist Thomas Hazlett and the National Association of Broadcasters have been on opposite sides of the spectrum reclamation debate, but there is one thing they agree on, according to a new paper of which Hazlett is co-author. They both agree the FCC needs to release its model for repacking TV stations after reverse incentive spectrum auctions in time for broadcasters to figure out whether it is in their interests to give up spectrum. Hazlett and company also say that broadcasters should be given bidding flexibility, and that there should be no maximum reserve price in the reverse auction -- no maximum price broadcasters can get for clearing off spectrum in each relevant market. In the paper, "Incentive Auctions: Economic and Strategic Issues," co-authored by Hazlett, David Porter and Vernon Smith of Arlington Economics, they outline options for both the reverse incentive auction, in which winning broadcasters are the ones giving the government the lowest price for reclaiming their spectrum, and the ensuing auction of that reclaimed spectrum by the government to the highest bidders, presumed by most to be wireless companies clamoring for it.
benton.org/node/125896 | Broadcasting&Cable
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FIRSTNET
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: David Perera]
Local first responders should not, in fact, undertake individual public safety broadband projects in the 700 Megahertz range spectrum, says the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, despite previous NTIA encouragement to do so. In May 17 comments filed before the Federal Communications Commission, NTIA officials say that once Congress and President Obama approved in February reallocation to public safety of a 10 MHz swath of 700 MHz spectrum known as the D block, the NTIA must dismiss any waiver applications to operate in the public safety broadband allocation and terminate existing local licenses in that spectrum block. The license is set to transfer to a newly established First Responder Network Authority, known as FirstNet, which NTIA describes as an "independent authority" within it.
benton.org/node/125797 | Fierce
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AT&T OK WITH SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Phil Goldstein]
AT&T executives think the company has enough spectrum for the next five years, according to analyst reports of a meeting with AT&T's management. AT&T executives made clear that the spectrum amount they were discussing included airwaves that would come from acquisitions the company may make in the next few years. The comments are notable considering the dire picture AT&T often paints of the spectrum supply shortage it and the wider industry are facing.
benton.org/node/125882 | Fierce
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T-MOBILE UPGRADE
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Kevin Fitchard]
T-Mobile USA iPhone users can start rejoicing this summer – at least a few of them can. T-Mobile will complete its planned conversion from GSM to HSPA+ on 2,500 of its cell sites this July, T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray revealed at the NGNM conference. The upgrade will put its mobile broadband network firmly in the PCS band in 7 percent of its network, which makes it compatible with all current versions of the iPhone. That doesn’t mean T-Mobile will start selling the iPhone directly, but some of the million-plus current unlocked or hacked iPhones on T-Mo’s network may soon start seeing a “4G” icon popping up on their notification bars, as well as find their current slow-poke Edge speeds jump up to multiple megabits per second.
benton.org/node/125891 | GigaOm
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VERIZON DEFENDS NEW PLANS
[SOURCE: ComputerWorld, AUTHOR: Matt Hamblen]
The head of marketing at Verizon Wireless has defended the new shared data plans that take effect June 28 against criticism from some analysts and many outraged customers. Steve Mesnick said the Share Everything plans aren't being forced on existing customers and will mainly benefit workgroups and families with multiple smartphones who want to share data across as many as 10 devices. "We're allowing the existing customer base to have a choice ... we're not forcing anyone to more to new plans... I take exception to [comments] of people leaving Verizon," he said. One analyst said that Verizon mishandled the introduction of the new plans, which could hurt the company. But Mesnick said the announcement was made well in advance of the June 28 launch to give the public time to absorb a large amount of information that fundamentally changes how voice, text and data services are charged.
benton.org/node/125826 | ComputerWorld
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SPRINT AND NEW YORK
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: ]
Sprint Nextel asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the company by the state of New York for more than $300 million in uncollected taxes and penalties. Eric Schneiderman, the state's attorney general, has accused the mobile service provider of deliberately failing to collect and turn over to New York more than $100 million in taxes for its wireless phone services over seven years. The lawsuit, filed in April, seeks three times the alleged amount of underpayment, along with penalties. But in a motion to dismiss filed in New York State Supreme Court, Sprint said the state was attempting to levy taxes on services that are legally excluded from sales tax.
benton.org/node/125929 | Reuters
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OWNERSHIP

APPLE-GOOGLE CASE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Dan Levine]
A US judge has agreed to hear Apple's request for an injunction against the sale of some Motorola phones, giving the iPhone maker a chance to head off a damaging ruling in the smartphone patent wars. Last week Judge Richard Posner in Chicago canceled a trial between Google Inc's Motorola Mobility unit and Apple Inc, saying in a tentative ruling that neither could prove damages. But in an order on June 13, Judge Posner decided to let attorneys plead their case on an injunction before he makes a final decision. Apple had sought an injunction barring the sale of Motorola products, but in last week's ruling cancelling the trial, Posner said an injunction would be "contrary to the public interest." One legal observer has said Posner's decision had a good chance of getting overturned on appeal, in part because the judge had rejected Apple's request for a hearing. Judge Posner set the injunction hearing for June 20 in Chicago. Motorola may also ask for an injunction on the one patent in the case that it can still assert against Apple.
benton.org/node/125902 | Reuters
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INFINERA, CHINA AND HUAWEI, ZTE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Doug Palmer]
US telecommunications equipment maker Infinera charged that its Chinese rivals Huawei and ZTE Corp receive unfair government support and called for a tough U.S. response on both economic and security grounds. "China's intentions are clear. They've announced their intention to intensify government support for the optical networking industry and to make their national champions world market leaders," said Michael McCarthy, chief legal and administrative officer for Infinera. "Our response must be equally clear to ensure the competition in this vital sector is not based on which government is willing to lavish the most aid to their producers, but rather on the quality of the products and the strength of the innovation," McCarthy said in testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
benton.org/node/125901 | Reuters
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TRIBUNE STATION AUCTIONS?
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: Jill Goldsmith]
Tribune Company is finally nearing the finish line of its bankruptcy proceedings, one of the longest and most contentious for a media company, and now industry players are wondering where that leaves its 23 TV stations. Chatter about potential bidders for the Tribune Broadcasting group is mounting amid speculation that Tribune's post-bankruptcy owners -- a clutch of its major debtholders -- will look to sell off the company's newspaper and TV assets, probably in piecemeal fashion. Sources close to the situation caution that the post-bankruptcy plans are still very much in flux as they clear the last hurdles of getting a judge to approve the hard-fought restructuring plan. Tribune Broadcasting's fate is being closely watched by Hollywood because the stations are big spenders in the syndication sales that fuel studio profits. Industry insiders believe that sales of Tribune's newspapers, which include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun, are a given. But sources note that the new regime may look to hang on to the station group, at least in the short term, as it is the most profitable unit of Tribune. And one of the debtholders poised to emerge with a chunk of equity in Tribune, Oaktree Capital, already has investments in broadcast stations in partnership with Tribune. The stations have been valued in the bankruptcy proceedings at about $3 billion. If some or all of the outlets wind up on the auction block, the timing is less than ideal, as prices have come way down in recent transactions. And the list of likely suitors for Tribune's stations is limited by a number of factors.
benton.org/node/125795 | Variety
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OPPOSITION TO UNIVERSAL-EMI
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
Two public interest groups called on the Federal Trade Commission to closely examine Universal Music's bid to buy part of EMI, saying the transaction will increase concentration in the music industry and could stifle the development of new online digital music platforms. One week before a Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee hearing on the Universal-EMI deal, the Consumer Federation of America and Public Knowledge urged greater scrutiny of the transaction in a report filed with the FTC. The commission is examining Universal's bid to buy EMI's record label and the proposed purchase of EMI's music publishing business by an investment group led by Sony Music. While Sony will gain control of more than a million compositions in EMI's catalog under its deal, the Universal-EMI transaction has sparked greater concern among critics, which include rival Warner Music. If the Universal deal is approved by federal regulators, the number of major U.S. music labels would drop from four to three. It also would give Universal a more than 40 percent market share, which far exceeds the level of concentration that prompts concern under current FTC and Justice Department merger guidelines, according to the CFA and Public Knowledge .
benton.org/node/125893 | National Journal
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TELECOM

THIRD-PARTY CHARGES
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
Sen Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced legislation that would ban most third-party charges on landline telephone bills. Under pressure from Sen Rockefeller, AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink announced earlier this year that they would ban most third-party charges, a practice known as "cramming." Rockefeller's Fair Telephone Billing Act would require all wireline telephone providers to block the charges. The bill would make exemptions for certain third-party charges, such as collect calls and "bundled" services like satellite television, sold with the telephone service.
Sen Rockefeller also sent letters to the major wireless carriers on Wednesday asking the companies to explain what they are doing to prevent customers from being charged for unwanted third-party services. Sen Rockefeller expressed concern that crammers are now migrating to the wireless industry. He said in recent months, wireless customers have increasingly complained about being charged for unwanted services, such as celebrity gossip, horoscopes, sports scores or diet tips. Sen Rockefeller said the scams are "remarkably similar" to the scams his committee uncovered in its investigation of wireline cramming. He noted that consumers are receiving conflicting advice about how to avoid the unwanted charges. Some people say consumers should text "STOP" or "CANCEL" to opt out of the information texting services, but others say that texting anything will only confirm to the crammer that they have reached a working phone number. Sen Rockefeller asked the four national carriers — Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile — to explain what steps they have taken to avoid charging their customers for unwanted services and what consumers should do to opt out of the programs.
benton.org/node/125821 | Hill, The | The Hill | National Journal
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LOCAL TELEPHONE COMPETITION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
The Federal Communications Commission has used FCC Form 477 to collect subscribership information from telephone service providers – the incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs), competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), and mobile telephony providers – for more than a decade. The FCC has required interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (“interconnected VoIP”) service providers to report subscribership information since December 2008 because the use of VoIP technology is growing rapidly and it increasingly is used to provide local telephone service. This report summarizes information about telephone services as of June 30, 2011. It demonstrates that interconnected VoIP service subscribership has continued to increase while subscribership to traditional wired telephone services has declined. The FCC also updates summary statistics for the mobile telephony subscribership information collected by Form 477.
In June 2011, there were 112 million end-user switched access lines in service and 34 million interconnected VoIP subscriptions in the United States, or 146 million wireline retail local telephone service connections in total.
Interconnected VoIP subscriptions had increased by 17% (from 29 million to 34 million) and retail switched access lines had decreased by 8% (from 122 million to 112 million) between June 2010 and June 2011. The combined effect was an annual decrease of 3% in wireline retail local telephone service connections (from 151 million to 146 million).
Of the 146 million wireline retail local telephone service connections in June 2011, 84 million (or 58%) were residential connections and 62 million (or 42%) were business connections.
Cross-classified by technology and customer type, the 146 million wireline retail local telephone service connections in June 2011 were: 38% residential switched access lines, 39% business switched access lines, 20% residential interconnected VoIP subscriptions, and 3% business interconnected VoIP subscriptions.
benton.org/node/125898 | Federal Communications Commission
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AGENDA

HOUSE HEARINGS ANNOUNCED
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The House Commerce Committee’s Communications Subcommittee will hold a future of video hearing June 27, following up on last week's hearing on the future of audio. Also, the full committee has scheduled a Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing for July 10. It will be the committee's first chance to hear from the two new commissioners, as well as to catch up with the others.
benton.org/node/125894 | Broadcasting&Cable
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

CAMERON AND MURDOCH
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Alan Cowell, John Burns]
Testifying at Britain’s long-running inquiry into media standards, Prime Minister David Cameron rejected suggestions that he traded favored treatment for electoral support by Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers, calling talk of a conspiracy “specious” and “unjustified.” “The idea of overt deals is nonsense,” he said, also dismissing the idea that there had been “a nod and a wink” covert arrangement with Mr. Murdoch in return for a decision to switch editorial support to Cameron’s Conservatives in 2009, months before a general election. Despite the denial, British commentators seized upon a text message, read to the inquiry by Robert Jay, the lead counsel, suggesting that its author, Rebekah Brooks, who was the chief executive of Mr. Murdoch’s British newspaper subsidiary, believed that “professionally, we’re in this together.” The disclosure of the previously unpublished message was particularly embarrassing for Cameron because it echoed a slogan — “We’re all in this together” — used in the Conservatives’ campaign that brought him to office the following year. Rather than evoking inclusiveness, as was intended at the time, its newest iteration will almost certainly be taken by Cameron’s critics as a sign of his intimacy with the Murdoch elite.
benton.org/node/125920 | New York Times | WSJ
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MINITEL
[SOURCE: The Independent, AUTHOR: John Lichfield]
Thirty years ago, France led the world into the 21st century, but the world hardly noticed. In 1981-82, two French inventions offered a glimpse of the future. One was the Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) or high-speed train. The other was the Minitel. The what? Long before the coming of the World Wide Web, the Minitel provided a sort of internet-in-one-country. Long before Facebook, Google or Twitter – millions of French people went "online" daily to search for information, to book their holidays, chat to strangers or seek cheap (or not so cheap) sexual thrills. The Minitel – a rather sinister, computer-like terminal attached to classic telephone landlines – was installed in one million French homes by 1985. At the end of the 1990s, nine million terminals were linked to some 25,000 Minitel services. So the French invented the internet? No, not exactly.
benton.org/node/125918 | Independent, The
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TELEVISA-IUSACELL APPROVAL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Anthony Harrup]
Mexico's antitrust commission dealt a potential blow to Carlos Slim, the world's richest man, by allowing the country's leading television company to take a stake in mobile-phone operator Grupo Iusacell, in a challenge to Slim's America Movil. The agency, which had originally blocked the proposed joint venture between Grupo Televisa and Iusacell, said on appeal that the deal could proceed, but imposed several conditions involving television advertising, programming and corporate governance. Televisa, the world's top producer of Spanish-language programming, said it plans to analyze the conditions before deciding whether to accept or contest them. If Televisa accepts the agency's terms, it would mark the company's entry into Mexico's coveted mobile-phone market, which is dominated by America Movil. The conditions also could prompt Slim's companies to resume advertising on the free broadcast channels run by Televisa and TV Azteca, Mexico's No. 2 broadcaster.
benton.org/node/125916 | Wall Street Journal
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SLIM’S TELEKOM AUSTRIA STAKE
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Haig Simonian]
Latin American mobile phones provider America Movil emerged as the surprise acquirer of a 21 percent stake in Telekom Austria, ending weeks of speculation about the plans of one of Austria’s best known corporate raiders. The Mexican group, owned by multibillionaire Carlos Slim, said it had reached agreement to buy the 21 percent stake in Telekom built up over recent months by Ronny Pecik, a leading Austrian financier. America Movil will purchase 5 percent immediately, taking its current stake in Telekom to 6.7 percent, and expects to buy the remainder of Pecik’s holding later this year, after receipt of appropriate approvals. The move came as America Movil is separately pursuing a major share in KPN, the Netherlands telecom group, having just raised its stake in the Netherlands telecom group to 7.3 percent. KPN is resisting the buy-in effort.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d55e8126-b6b2-11e1-8a95-00144feabdc0.html
America Movil Agrees To Acquire 21% In Telekom Austria (Bloomberg)
benton.org/node/125914 | Financial Times | Bloomberg
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