February 2013

Broadband Bringing Middle America Back from the Brink

Six years ago, the tiny rural town of Dawsonville (GA) some 60 miles north of Atlanta, was facing a dire future, but through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, a cutting-edge, fiber-optic broadband network opened doors and offered solutions.

Like many regional communities, Dawsonville’s local industries were struggling, and with the national economy contracting, civic leaders wondered how the town would survive. At that time, Bruce Abraham and colleagues on the board of directors at the telecommunications agency North Georgia Network (NGN) did not know “[optic] fiber from muffins.” That all changed, however, when a government grant helped the company roll out its “big honking network.” The digital age had arrived in the tiny town, and prospects for the future suddenly looked bright. “We have raised expectations by bringing this infrastructure into the region,” Abraham said at a forum at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., in early January. Initially, it was a challenge to bring the community on board—it took a “push affect” to get it going— but “now everybody’s pulling us … and it’s a great phenomenon,” he said. The forum focused on the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), a national awards program designed to encourage access to high-speed Internet in regions across the United States.

Gigabit Networks: Maybe They’re Not So Crazy After All

Are gigabit networks like the ones in Kansas City and Chattanooga simply isolated experiments? Or are they just the first in what will be a broader trend? A year or so ago many people would have argued that Google’s ultra-high-speed Kansas City network and EPB’s Chattanooga network were unlikely to be replicated on any broad scale. But momentum seems to be growing behind the idea that gigabit networks could be more widely available – if the right set of conditions exists. Research released by the Fiber-to-the-Home Council suggests at least four conditions that are critical for a successful ultra-high-speed network deployment. These include a need for real stories about real benefits for communities with ultra-high-speed networks, solutions to technical and administrative issues such as how to get the right technical expertise, buy-in from a wide range of stakeholders, and, of course, financial feasibility.

Coalition says broadband means new jobs in Illinois

Investments in broadband technology created more than 13,000 jobs in Illinois in 2010 and 2011, according to a study funded by AT&T.

The study also reported that in 2012, Illinois had almost 20,000 jobs related to mobile applications. The study was released by a new coalition of 12 Illinois groups representing business and job creation proponents, taxpayer advocates and communications companies. The new coalition — the Illinois Partnership for the New Economy & Jobs — formed to urge Illinois to modernize its telecommunications law. In the study, two economists looked at publicly announced investments made in 2010 and 2011 by wireless and wireline broadband services. They estimated $2.2 billion was invested in 2010 and 2011. From this, they projected that broadband investment in Illinois had created more than 13,000 jobs. Vite said the coalition has begun working on its proposal for a modernized telecommunications law although specifics were not yet available.

FirstNet shroud of secrecy raising public-safety vendors' ire

The board of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) will hold its next meeting on Feb. 12, giving it a chance to respond publicly to a barrage of complaints regarding the board's perceived lack of transparency and responsiveness.

FirstNet is charged with building the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN), which will use LTE technology in the 700 MHz band. Next week's meeting, which will be open to the public, will be held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Radio Building in Boulder (CO). In a statement sure to raise the ire of those who already feel FirstNet is being too secretive, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which oversees FirstNet, issued a statement disclosing that some of the Boulder meeting may be closed "to preserve the confidentiality of commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential, to discuss personnel matters, or to discuss legal matters" affecting FirstNet.

Parents group urges FCC to crack down on CBS over Super Bowl profanity

The Parents Television Council urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take action against CBS for airing a curse word during its coverage of Sunday's Super Bowl.

Immediately after the game ended, an exuberant Joe Flacco, the Baltimore Ravens' quarterback, could be heard saying "f---ing awesome" to one of his teammates. “Despite empty assurance after empty assurance from the broadcast networks that they would never air indecent material, especially during the Super Bowl, it has happened again,” Tim Winter, the Parents Television Council's president, said in a statement. “No one should be surprised that a jubilant quarterback might use profane language while celebrating a career-defining win, but that is precisely the reason why CBS should have taken precautions," he said. "Joe Flacco’s use of the f-word, while understandable, does not absolve CBS of its legal obligation to prevent profane language from being broadcast — especially during something as uniquely pervasive as the Super Bowl."

Privacy groups request meeting with U.S. officials on backlash against European privacy rules

More than a dozen privacy advocates requested a meeting with top-ranking U.S. administration officials to discuss supporting the European Union's effort to strengthen its online privacy laws, saying the initiative aligns with President Obama's views on the issue.

The privacy groups say the EU's proposed privacy rules touch on several of the principles included in the privacy framework rolled out by President Obama last year, which was backed by consumer groups. However, EU officials are feeling pressure from the U.S. government and industry representatives to scale back their proposed regulations, the privacy advocates said in a letter to U.S. officials. "We expect leadership from those who represent the United States overseas and we expect that the views of American consumers and privacy advocates, not simply business leaders, will be conveyed to your counterparts," the letter reads. The letter was sent to Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of State John Kerry, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank and William Kennard, U.S. ambassador to the European Union.

Why Google’s settlement with French publishers is bad for the web

After much diplomatic maneuvering and a series of face-saving gestures on both sides, Google finally signed an agreement with French newspaper publishers that puts to rest a long-standing legal battle over Google’s behavior in excerpting stories on Google News, which the French have argued is copyright infringement. But while the search giant may be relieved to put the whole kerfuffle behind it, there’s an argument to be made that it has actually done more harm than good — not only to its own interests, but to the interests of the open web as well. Veteran tech blogger Lauren Weinstein describes this risk well in a recent blog post, in which he calls what the government of France is doing “extortion,” and warns of the long-term risk of Google acceding to such demands that it pay for the simple act of linking and excerpting content.

Eric Schmidt, in new book: China could contribute to fracturing the Internet into pieces

Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s new book, co-authored with a former State Department superstar named Jared Cohen, doesn’t come out until April. But The Wall Street Journal’s Tom Gara got a hold of an advance copy and has been going through some of its ideas about the future of the Web.

Particularly interesting are Schmidt’s comments on China, which, according to Gara’s reading, seem to portray the country as a rising threat not just to Web freedom but to the Internet itself. Schmidt and Cohen write that China is the world’s “most sophisticated and prolific” hacker, according to Gara. Their book reads, ”It’s fair to say we’re already living in an age of state-led cyber war, even if most of us aren’t aware of it.” But their predictions for where that might lead the Internet, according to the Journal’s report, include the dark possibility that it could split apart entirely.

Getting it Right for Competition in the FCC Incentive Auction

The stakes are high as the Federal Communications Commission makes plans to conduct its first ever “incentive” auction of spectrum licenses with frequencies coming from broadcasters to be re-purposed for mobile broadband services. If all goes well, the auction can serve as a model for competition and getting encumbered spectrum efficiently redeployed for wireless broadband use. A misstep, however, could undermine the outcome most desired - namely, stimulating investment and encouraging the rapid expansion of the mobile broadband services consumers so crave.

Conducting a successful auction of low-band spectrum that enables a diverse makeup of winners is not only important for competition, but also will generate significant revenue for the US Treasury. We urge the FCC to move ahead quickly to make this crucial spectrum available as soon as possible. We are working with the FCC and other stakeholders to ensure that the 600 MHz band plan, the “forward” auction, and the “reverse” auction all work in concert to reallocate and reassign spectrum from broadcast television to mobile broadband uses.

T-Mobile’s proposals call for some tweaks to the FCC’s already well-conceived plan.

First, with regard to the band plan, the Commission should work to maximize the amount of paired spectrum made available through the clearing process, avoid interference to and from licensed wireless and broadcasting services, and enable device performance and size consistent with existing smart phones and tablets.
Second, in designing the forward auction, the FCC should adopt policies that accelerate the auction, thereby lowering the costs of, and encouraging participation in, both the forward and reverse auctions.
Most importantly, to promote long-term competition, encourage auction participation, and prevent the further consolidation of spectrum below 1 GHz, the Commission should adopt rules that prohibit any licensee from acquiring more than a certain percentage of spectrum below 1 GHz, applied on a market-by-market basis.
Finally, to repurpose the optimum amount of broadcast spectrum for broadband use, we support the FCC’s goals of ensuring its reverse auction design promotes widespread participation by broadcast incumbents as well as efficient clearing of sold spectrum following the auction.

AT&T to pay Washington prisoners’ families $45 million in telephone class action settlement

AT&T has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit involving collect calls made from Washington State prisons for $45 million, making at least 70,000 families eligible for payments.

The settlement, filed in King County Superior Court, ends a 12-year lawsuit that pin-balled between the state Supreme Court, the state Utilities and Trade Commission and King County Superior Court. Filed in 2000, the lawsuit accused AT&T and other phone companies of failing to disclose exorbitant rates for collect calls from prison. The case settled just as it was set to go to trial in King County to determine damages. The lawsuit covers collect calls made between 1996 and 2000 from Department of Corrections facilities. The lawsuit was filed by family and friends of Paul Wright, editor of Prison Legal News and a former inmate in Washington State. Wright estimated that between 70,000 and 172,000 people could eligible for refunds, which include full reimbursement of the call charges, plus $200 per person.

Benton

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