July 2012

Senator Rubio Just Doesn't Get Why Public Broadcasting Is Vital to America

[Commentary] Once again, fringe elements of the Republican Party are moving in coming weeks to revoke funding from our nation's public broadcasting system.

Each and every time these efforts reappear in Congress, I am surprised at how oblivious members are about the facts. Public broadcasting, made up of 1,300 locally owned and operated stations, is beloved by countless Americans and serves as the country's premier source of news and educational programming. Perhaps because we are just coming out of the political primary season, some members of Congress are still stuck in election mode, pandering to the most extreme edges of their party. Federally-funded NPR programs like The Diane Rehm Show are one of the last places where people are actually listening and considering the important issues of the day. It would be the height of folly to cut their funding in an effort to appease the unappeasable base of the Republican Party.

German Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 Ban Expanded to Entire EU

A German ban on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 was expanded today to include the entire European Union. Samsung, however, can continue to sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1N tablet in the region, the court said. Previously, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 was only banned in Germany for violating an Apple design patent. The Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court, however, expanded that to include all EU member states.

The Wireless Market Is Seriously Messed Up When Every Incentive Is Anti-Consumer.

[Commentary] AT&T achieved better profitability by (a) dramatically limiting their broadband service; (b) discouraging consumers from upgrading their devices; and (c) figuring out new charges for consumers to enhance overall profit per customer.

I get that firms are supposed to maximize profit. But when every single incentive to profit maximization relies on providing less service for more money and discouraging people from using your service, something is seriously messed up. This is doubly true when usual trend in information technology is to drive prices down. And, more tellingly, it creates a real concern if we are relying on market incentives to ensure that providers do things like build out networks and provide us with better service and lower prices.

AT&T: 3.7 Million iPhones Activated Last Quarter

Continued strength in sales of the iPhone and other smartphones and growth in mobile data revenue were key factors in AT&T’s better-than-expected earnings.

More than three-quarters of new customers are choosing a smartphone, with 3.7 million iPhones added to its network during the quarter. AT&T is also seeing higher profit margins and lower customer defections. The company saw a benefit on the profits side from a stricter policy on when customers can upgrade. AT&T activated 5.1 million smartphones in its latest quarter, down from 5.5 million in the same period a year ago. Much of the decline came because AT&T subscribers are holding on to their phones longer: the company said the rate of upgrades to new phones was at a record low. That's good news for the company because the company subsidizes each smartphone by hundreds of dollars to be able to sell it to customers for $99 or $199. IPhones, in particular, are expensive to sell, because Apple charges an average of around $650 for each one. More than half of the new subscribers were tablet users, who pay less than smartphone users. Also, AT&T continues to lag Verizon Wireless, which already has more subscribers. Last week, Verizon reported adding 888,000 subscribers to its rolls in the quarter. Revenue edged up 0.3 percent to $31.6 billion. Analysts were expecting $31.7 billion. If it weren't for the sale of its phone-books business in May, revenue would have risen 2 percent.

AT&T pulled in 155,000 new U-verse TV subscribers in the second quarter of 2012, while the nation's No. 1 telco dropped a whopping 649,000 DSL subscribers in the period for a net loss of 96,000 broadband customers. For the three months ended June 30, AT&T's U-verse revenue grew 38% to $2.3 billion, representing 57% of consumer wireline revenue for the period. Overall, consumer wireline revenue increased far less at 1.7% year over year, to $5.5 billion -- although that was the segment's strongest growth in more than four years, according to the company. Cramping AT&T's wireline growth were its substantial DSL losses, which it blamed partly on "seasonality." The company's U-verse High Speed Internet service had a quarterly net gain of 553,000 subscribers to reach a total of 6.5 million, which wasn't enough to offset losses from DSL. Total wireline broadband connections dropped 0.2% year over year, to 16.43 million. In addition, AT&T lost a net 1 million legacy wireline voice connections in the quarter, to stand at 36.8 million (down 10.8% from 41.3 million last year). AT&T now has 4.15 million U-verse TV subscribers in service, with a 17.3% penetration rate of eligible living units. About three-fourths of TV subscribers have a triple- or quad-play option, with average revenue per subscriber for U-verse triple-play customers about $170, up slightly year over year.

It's Time to Start Stoking Fears of Cyber War

This week is Washington's "make-or-break" moment to pass a new cybersecurity bill ahead of the August recess. As a result, there's never been a better time to stoke fears of a crippling cyber attack regardless of its actual likelihood.

As The Hill's Jennifer Martinez and Brendan Sasso report, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is poised to move a bill sponsored by Sen. Joe Lieberman for a vote as early as July 25. The goal of the bill is to improve the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure like power plants and water systems, but if you were to take this week's rhetoric at face value, the safety of the Republic is really what's at stake. The fear mongers ranged from industry types to politicians.

Senate to consider stronger cybersecurity measures

Federal employees would receive new training in cybersecurity, and changes would be made in how the government recruits and develops those who specialize in that field, under a bill scheduled for a Senate vote this week.

The bipartisan Cybersecurity Act would revise how the government is structured to face threats to electronic information. It would create an interagency National Cybersecurity Council to conduct risk assessments, form a new public-private partnership designed to meet cyberthreats and would consolidate into one center several existing offices of the Department of Homeland Security having responsibilities in that area. One task of that center would be to improve information sharing among federal agencies, other levels of government and the private sector. In addition, a voluntary program would be offered in which owners of critical infrastructure who follow certain practices would receive benefits such as expedited security clearances for key personnel and protection from liability following an incident, under certain conditions. The measure orders the Office of Personnel Management to assess the cybersecurity readiness and capacity of the federal workforce and to develop a common language to describe the work and skill requirements of cybersecurity positions. OPM would have to create a new training program to improve the technical skills and capabilities of government cybersecurity professionals. The National Science Foundation meanwhile would establish a new scholarship-for-service program to recruit and train cybersecurity professionals.

Security experts mixed on revised Cybersecurity bill

Security experts have mixed reviews on whether the revised version of Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-Conn.) cybersecurity bill will better protect the nation's water systems, power grid and other critical infrastructure from cyberattacks after a key provision was modified.

"Let's not pretend we're making the nation more secure with this legislation. It won't make the slightest bit of difference," said Jim Lewis, director of the technology and public policy program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He added that while the bill doesn't move the ball backward on cybersecurity, it would maintain the status quo. Tom Kellermann, vice president of cybersecurity at Trend Micro, argued that the bill is still a good piece of legislation. Congress is also running out of time to act, so making some concessions to the bill is a better alternative than passing no bill at all, he said. Former DHS official Stewart Baker made a similar assessment. "The watered down security standards are still much better than nothing, and so I hope they do the trick," Baker, a partner at Steptoe Johnson, said.

Heritage urges Senate to reject cybersecurity bill

Heritage Action, the advocacy arm of the Heritage Foundation, urged the Senate to reject Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-CT) Cybersecurity Act, arguing it would impose burdensome regulations on businesses.

The group said it will count votes on the bill in its scorecard of lawmakers. "Congress should not rush to pass legislation without fully considering the consequences of the bill to ensure that the legislation does not do more harm than good," Heritage wrote. "The Cybersecurity Act of 2012, commonly referred to as Lieberman-Collins, falls into the 'more harm than good' category." The conservative group argued that the government moves too slowly to keep up with developments in cyberattacks, and it shouldn't be entrusted with developing even voluntary security standards. "The federal government does not have a good track record of properly regulating industries without causing harm," Heritage wrote. "They are ill-equipped to develop effective cybersecurity regulations, and would instead create a cumbersome regulatory process that would pose an undue burden to the industry."

Senators: Bill needed to prevent a 'cyber 9/11'

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and co-sponsors of his cybersecurity bill called for the Senate to pass the measure before the August recess, arguing it would ensure the United States averts a devastating "cyber 9/11" attack.

The co-sponsors defended a revised version of the bill introduced last week and said it was a compromise that members of both parties should be able to support. The changes in the latest version of the bill were made to allay concerns from the private sector and Senate Republicans that it was too regulatory, and to satisfy privacy and civil liberties groups that sought stronger privacy protections.

While Congress Dithers, Cyber Threats Grow Greater

[Commentary] Cybersecurity is an urgent priority -- national and economic security are at stake -- yet we do not yet have in place the legislation needed to deal with the threat. From network attacks to network exploitation the threat is real and emanates from a range of sources, including China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, transnational criminal organizations, and hackers for hire. Now is the time to act, while cooler heads can prevail, rather than after a significant cyber event or in the heat of a crisis, when more draconian measures and outcomes may result.

A good cybersecurity law will address:

Effective Information-Sharing
Critical Infrastructure Standards
Third-Party Enforcement Mechanism

[Frank Cilluffo is Director of the George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute. Andrew Robinson is Senior Vice President of ICF International.]

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