March 2013

FCC May Clear T-Mobile-PCS Deal Without Vote, Union Says

The Federal Communications Commission may seek to approve, without holding a vote, Deutsche Telekom’s proposal to combine its T-Mobile USA unit with MetroPCS Communications, a deal critic said.

The agency may be considering an order approving the deal “at the bureau level instead of the commission level,” Monica Desai, an attorney for the Communications Workers of America, said in a filing with the agency. The Communications Workers hasn’t opposed the deal and has asked the FCC to impose requirements aimed at preserving jobs after the companies combine. The merger as proposed will eliminate “a significant number of jobs,” the union said in a March 4 filing, without supplying a figure. “This is outrageous,” Debbie Goldman, telecommunications policy director for the Washington-based labor union, said in an interview. “It’s unprecedented that a deal that is this big and has raised controversies about its employment impacts would not be voted on by the full commission.” “I assume it’s good” for the deal’s prospects and shows the merger is “basically non-controversial” aside from the union’s concerns about employment, David Kaut, a Washington- based analyst with Stifel Nicolaus & Co., said. “No one thinks this is going to be blocked.” The FCC can issue decisions from its department offices, such as the wireless telecommunications bureau reviewing the MetroPCS deal. In such a case, there would be no recorded vote by the five commissioners.

Wireline Competition Bureau Announces E-Rate Inflation-Based CAP for Funding Year 2013

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau announced that the E-rate program funding cap for funding year 2013 is $2,380,314,485. FCC rules require an adjustment of the E-rate program’s annual cap based on the gross domestic product chain-type price index (GPD-CPI) measure of inflation. The new cap represents a 1.8% inflation-adjusted increase from funding year 2012’s cap of $2,338,786,577.

Districts Forge School-to-Home Digital Connections

A look at the importance of using today's technological tools to bridge homes and schools in all kinds of communities—rural, suburban, or urban—and give students online access to learning resources well beyond the school day. As increasing numbers of school districts have put 1-to-1 computing programs in place, administrators are wrestling with whether to allow those devices to go home with students at the end of each day. While nearly all educators see the value in continuing learning and instruction beyond the school day, they also have questions about how to let students take the devices with them without too much risk of damage or misuse.

Zero-TV Doesn’t Mean Zero Video

It’s true. Most people watch TV in their living rooms using traditional cable or satellite options. In fact, more than 95 percent of Americans get their information and entertainment that way. But as we explored what the other 5 percent are doing, we found some interesting consumer behaviors that we want to keep an eye on.

This small group of video enthusiasts is tuning out traditional TV—and the trend is growing. This “Zero-TV” group, which makes up less than 5 percent of U.S. households, has bucked tradition by opting to get the information they need and want from non-traditional TV devices and services. According to Nielsen’s Fourth-Quarter 2012 Cross-Platform Report, the U.S. had more than five million Zero-TV households in 2013, up from just over 2 million in 2007. These households don’t fit Nielsen’s traditional definition of a TV household, but they still view video content. The television itself isn’t obsolete, however, as more than 75 percent of these homes still have at least one TV set, which they use to watch DVDs, play games or surf the Net. When it comes to video content, a growing amount of these households are using other devices.

Supporting Innovative Approaches to Spectrum Sharing

The President’s strategy for expanding the capacity of high-speed wireless broadband services across the Nation may get a boost from a new Defense Department Initiative to fund research and development of innovative new approaches to spectrum sharing. Under one strategy for maximizing spectrum efficiency, commercial broadband providers are permitted to share spectrum bands that otherwise would be allocated for exclusive Government use, or vice versa; this approach can increase the productivity of a band that was designated for a specific purpose decades ago but is underutilized today.

Spectrum sharing can take a number of forms, some of which are technologically mature and others of which are still developing, as detailed in last year’s report from the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology, Realizing the Full Potential of Government-Held Spectrum to Spur Economic Growth. To stimulate investment in more advanced forms of spectrum sharing, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals aimed at efficient and reliable sharing of spectrum between radar and communications systems. Consistent with its history of promoting groundbreaking technological breakthroughs for both military and commercial use, DARPA is seeking “innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances” in spectrum sharing, specifically in the spectrum bands that are most amenable to broadband and communications services. The program may fund multi-year projects designed either to significantly modify existing radar and communications systems or to unveil new system architectures redesigned from the ground up. Sharing is just one tool for promoting more robust and efficient broadband networks; full maximization of spectrum may also require broader policy and regulatory changes. But any such changes must be informed by the best technological thinking and know-how. DARPA’s program generated an enthusiastic response from potential participants who packed the room at a Proposer’s Day event last week. We encourage qualified innovators and entrepreneurs from across industry, academia, and Government offices to review the DARPA solicitation and consider submitting proposals by the April 9 due date. We congratulate DARPA for once again stepping up to support the potential for game-changing technologies in the field of spectrum sharing.

[Lawrence Strickling is the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and the Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Tom Power is the U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Telecommunications in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.]

In cyberwarfare, rules of engagement still hard to define

When Gen. Keith Alexander, the head of the Pentagon’s Cyber Command, goes to the Hill on March 12, he will probably be asked to describe his plans for building a military force to defend the nation against cyberattacks. But one question remains unclear: Under what circumstances will these cyberwarriors be used?

President Barack Obama last fall signed a classified directive that requires an “imminent” or ongoing threat of an attack that could result in death or damage to national security before a military cyber-action can be taken to thwart it. But the definition of “imminent” is, like the definition of an “act of war,” subjective and dependent upon circumstances. A century ago, when one nation’s army massed at another’s border, imminence was clearer. An attack seemed about to happen. Most acknowledged the threatened nation had a right to defend itself. But today, technology and terrorism have confused the application of old rules. In cyberspace, where attacks can launch in milliseconds, a nation might not have enough time to detect an attack and mount a defense.

Who will replace Julius Genachowski as FCC chair?

Two questions dominate current conversation in Washington’s telecom world: When will Julius leave, and who will replace him? Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, is expected to leave his position as early as next month even though his tenure doesn’t end until the summer, according to people close to the White House and key decision makers on Capitol Hill. And what may move that process forward is growing agreement among top government leaders on a nominee to replace him.

A decision will spark a reshuffling of commissioner and senior level seats at the agency, which oversees cable, phone and wireless providers. Washington is putting increasing attention on the commission and high-tech sectors. Americans depend more than ever on smartphones and the Internet for education, work and entertainment. The next FCC chairman will inherit the task of distributing more airwaves to bolster wireless networks, extend Internet access to the poor and oversee what is expected to be more mergers within the industry. The top candidates for chairman include Tom Wheeler, a tech and telecom venture capitalist and fundraiser for President Obama; Karen Kornbluh, Obama’s ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; and Lawrence Strickling, an assistant secretary for Commerce and head of the White House’s tech and advisory policy arm at the Commerce Department. Genachowski’s departure is expected to coincide with a departure by senior FCC Republican commissioner Robert McDowell. Once Senate Republican leaders find a replacement for McDowell, a package announcement on several FCC changes will occur, according to people close to the White House, Capitol Hill and FCC. Minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) or John Thune (R-SD) will probably lead the Republican Party’s consideration of candidates to replace McDowell, the observers said.

After Newtown, video game industry starts education campaign

The video game industry said it will roll out a nationwide public education campaign amid calls that violent games play a role in gun deaths. The campaign is aimed at educating parents about tools that can help them manage the type of content their children are exposed to when playing video games.

The new campaign will be focused around a series of public service announcements (PSAs) that encourage parents to review the video game rating system crafted by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). The ads will also show parents how to use the parental controls offered within video game consoles. The video game industry's PSAs will be featured across various video game platforms and video game-focused websites, online stores, industry news and fan discussion websites. ESA, which represents the video game industry in Washington, said it will also work with broadcasters to air the public service ads on local channels. In addition, the trade group said it will encourage retailers to feature the PSAs in their stores and websites, and also encourage lawmakers to provide information about the ratings system and parental controls to their constituents.

Appointment of Members to the Re-Chartered FCC Diversity Committee

The Federal Communications Commission has re-chartered its Federal Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age and appointed the committee’s members.

The Committee’s mission is to advise the Commission regarding policies and practices that will enhance diversity in the telecommunications and related industries. In particular, the Committee focuses on lowering barriers to entry for historically disadvantaged men and women and creating an environment that enables employment of a diverse workforce within the telecommunications and related industries. This Committee will continue to work on (1) unlicensed spectrum opportunities for diverse communities and entrepreneurs; (2) how exemplary EEO practices by telecommunications industry participants can contribute to the FCC’s goal of viewpoint diversity; (3) how exemplary supplier diversity practices by industry participants can contribute to the FCC’s goal of ownership diversity, and (4) reviewing past diversity initiatives that have positively impacted ownership diversity and determining how these initiatives can be incorporated in the Commission’s current diversity agenda.

Barbara Kreisman, Carolyn Fleming Williams, and Nicole McGinnis, will serve as the Designated Federal Officer and Deputy Federal Officers, respectively, of the Diversity Committee. The committee will be chaired by Henry Rivera of the Emma Bowen Foundation for Minority Interests in Media and the Benton Foundation.

Emergency Access Advisory Committee Report on TTY Transition

This document is a report to the FCC from the Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC). The committee was assigned the task to review the sustainability of the TTY communication solutions for text communication with people with deafness, hard-of-hearing, deaf blindness and speech disabilities. In the task is included to propose solutions if the TTY communication is found to be at risk or by other reasons need to be replaced or paralleled with new services with similar but improved functionality.

This document starts from the recommendations from FCC committee EAAC in December 2011 regarding possible phase out of the legacy TTY communication, explains the situations, the risks for deteriorating communication quality, and the options to improve functionality by establishing a transition path from TTY to more modern and higher functionality devices in IP networks. It recommends protocols and functions for the new communication, and how interoperability with the old can be achieved. Finally a timeline is provided.

Benton

Search