March 5, 2013 (Time to Legalize Cell Phone Unlocking)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013
Today’s events F2C: Freedom to Connect 2013; Invention and the Mobile Economy; #techprom
http://benton.org/calendar/2013-03-05/
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
It's Time to Legalize Cell Phone Unlocking - press release
Backer of Cellphone Unlocking Petition Sets Sights on Modifying Copyright Act [links to web]
Mobile data spending outpaces voice for first time [links to web]
Smartphones to Overtake Feature Phones for First Time, IDC Says [links to web]
When It Comes To Mobile, We're All Teenagers [links to web]
Verizon's Shammo: Device subsidies will drop over next 2-3 years [links to web]
Apple, Samsung and Google under fire at Mobile World Congress [links to web]
AT&T: 2.7 Billion Connections Made in 2012; Wi-Fi Network Growth Doubles - press release [links to web]
The “Internet of Things” Could Save 9 Billion Tons of Carbon [links to web]
Sprint, T-Mobile believe in shared data plans too — just not for consumers - analysis [links to web]
Democrats want T-Mobile to promise not to lay-off workers [links to web]
FCC Launches White Spaces Database Test March 11 [links to web]
Lifeline phone service goes wireless in California [links to web]
Clone Wars Roil App World [links to web]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Why Are There No Big Cities with Municipal Broadband Networks?
Divergence: Which Path Will We Choose on the Road to Universal Broadband Adoption? Part II - analysis
More companies reporting cybersecurity incidents [links to web]
10 Reasons To Be More Optimistic About Broadband Than Susan Crawford Is - analysis [links to web]
Do two 'no' votes to fund UTOPIA signal trouble for agency? [links to web]
Public facilities soon to get broadband in unserved communities in Massachusetts [links to web]
Inside the controversial Colorado EAGLE-Net broadband project [links to web]
CONTENT
As User Interaction on Facebook Drops, Sharing Comes at a Cost
Facebook to Nick Bilton: Seriously, There’s No Pay to Play Scheme Here [links to web]
Radio duo: Michael Bloomberg the ‘ultimate nanny’
Study: Media Violence Contributes to Real Violence [links to web]
Viacom CEO calls Cablevision lawsuit "frivolous" [links to web]
Time Warner Favors Trad TV Over Streaming [links to web]
'Binge Viewing' Won't Starve Linear TV - op-ed [links to web]
Newspapers go all-in for copyright fight against clipping service [links to web]
Don’t Touch That Remote: TV Pilots Turn to Net, Not Networks [links to web]
Seeing Riches in Sports TV, Fox Will Create New Network [links to web]
Gun, pot bills attract the most attention online [links to web]
Twitter Reaction to Events Often at Odds with Overall Public Opinion - research [links to web]
ADVERTISING
YouTube’s Show-Me-the-Money Problem
How Media Companies Can Boost Ad Revenues - research [links to web]
Facebook's Ads to Battle With Google [links to web]
BUDGET
Sequestration Positions Cyber Command for a fall [links to web]
Why innovation is sequester-proof - analysis [links to web]
EDUCATION
The Impact of broadband on Global Access to Education - press release
The Future Of Education Eliminates The Classroom, Because The World Is Your Class - op-ed [links to web]
Video game invades classroom, scores education points [links to web]
HEALTH
GOP warns health law could tax smartphones, apps as medical devices
JOURNALISM
Report: IRS approach to nonprofit journalism needs to be modernized
POLICYMAKERS
FTC's Weinman to head to tech lobbying firm ITI in April [links to web]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
China Shames U.S. With Plan to Speed ‘Last Mile’ Internet
Qatar and Kuwait to back Gulf web project
Google controls too much of China's smartphone sector: ministry [links to web]
Canada competition bureau backs C$3 Billion BCE-Astral deal [links to web]
MORE ONLINE
The battle for Roger Ailes's legacy [links to web]
Washington Post announces an 'online strike force,' staff changes [links to web]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
CELL PHONE UNLOCKING
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: R David Edelman]
Thank you for sharing your views on cell phone unlocking with us through your petition on our We the People platform. Last week the White House brought together experts from across government who work on telecommunications, technology, and copyright policy, and we're pleased to offer our response. The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties. In fact, we believe the same principle should also apply to tablets, which are increasingly similar to smart phones. And if you have paid for your mobile device, and aren't bound by a service agreement or other obligation, you should be able to use it on another network. It's common sense, crucial for protecting consumer choice, and important for ensuring we continue to have the vibrant, competitive wireless market that delivers innovative products and solid service to meet consumers' needs. The Obama Administration would support a range of approaches to addressing this issue, including narrow legislative fixes in the telecommunications space that make it clear: neither criminal law nor technological locks should prevent consumers from switching carriers when they are no longer bound by a service agreement or other obligation. We also believe the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with its responsibility for promoting mobile competition and innovation, has an important role to play here. FCC Chairman Genachowski today voiced his concern about mobile phone unlocking, and to complement his efforts, NTIA will be formally engaging with the FCC as it addresses this urgent issue. Finally, we would encourage mobile providers to consider what steps they as businesses can take to ensure that their customers can fully reap the benefits and features they expect when purchasing their devices.
benton.org/node/146872 | White House, The | FCC Chairman Genachowski | WSJ
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
MUNICIPAL BROADBAND
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: Emily Badger]
Some larger metros are starting to flirt with the idea of municipal broadband with public-private partnerships. "Seattle and Chicago are looking around and basically saying, 'If we’re the last ones to get really high-quality access to the Internet, then we’re really going to be screwed,'" says Christopher Mitchell, who directs the Telecommunications as Commons Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. So why aren’t big cities like Seattle, Chicago or Philadelphia already in this game when 340 smaller communities are? "I feel like big cities have this arrogance," Mitchell says. "They thought, 'We’re so great, we are so cosmopolitan.' They never thought they’d have to worry about competing with Chattanooga over jobs." For the most part, cities have been better served by telecom giants than many smaller communities (although there are plenty of urban pockets with poor Internet service). Big cities haven’t been forced to build their own networks in the way some rural mountain towns have. But Mitchell also chocks up the difference to what he calls “a matter of sociology:” namely, that there’s a lot less trust in government and connection to elected officials in large cities, a necessary ingredient when you’re talking about building an entirely new public utility. In Tennessee, on the other hand, most households have been familiar with the notion of government-run utilities since the construction of the TVA.
benton.org/node/146871 | Atlantic, The
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UNIVERSAL BROADBAND ADOPTION
[SOURCE: Minority Media and Telecommunications Council , AUTHOR: Latoya Livingston ]
Over the past few years, the Federal Communications Commission has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to subsidize broadband providers in an effort to encourage them to serve rural areas. However, there is much debate regarding how best to get access to rural customers. Many have wondered whether the FCC still needs to fund rural subsidies if there is growing competition in that market, especially given the possibilities offered by LTE, a wireless communication of high speed data for mobile phones and data terminals marketed as 4G LTE. There is little question that LTE will likely start to take customers off of rural wireline; however, the limitations of bandwidth will be an impediment to 4G LTE wireless becoming true broadband alternative. Dr. Anna Maria Kovacs, founder and president of Regulatory Source Associates, LLC, questions whether we are willing to let go of the old networks in favor of the new. At MMTC’s recent Broadband and Social Justice Summit, Dr. Kovacs noted that the answer to this conundrum will make a lot of difference as to whether we can achieve the goal of universal broadband adoption. Since new technologies tend to be irreversible, the answer warrants careful consideration. According to Dr. Kovacs, “A big part of whether we’re going to get the networks that we need is whether we’re willing to get rid of the old networks.” And she is correct. While progress cannot occur if we cling to inefficient and antiquated networks, we must be careful that while attempting to bring one group of people into the digital future, we don’t disconnect another.
benton.org/node/146847 | Minority Media and Telecommunications Council
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CONTENT
FACEBOOK-BILTON
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Nick Bilton]
Something is puzzling on Facebook. Early last year, soon after Facebook instituted a feature that let people subscribe to others’ feeds without being friends, I quickly amassed a healthy “subscriber” list of about 25,000 people. Every Sunday morning, I started sharing my weekly column with this newfound entourage. Those posts garnered a good response. For example, a column about my 2012 New Year’s resolution to take a break from electronics gathered 535 “likes” and 53 “reshares.” Another, about Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder and chief executive, owing me $50 after the company’s public offering, quickly drew 323 likes and 88 reshares. Since then, my subscribers have grown to number 400,000. Yet now, when I share my column, something different happens. Guess how many people like and reshare the links I post? If your answer was over two digits, you’re wrong. What changed? I recently tried a little experiment. I paid Facebook $7 to promote my column to my friends using the company’s sponsored advertising tool. To my surprise, I saw a 1,000 percent increase in the interaction on a link I posted, which had 130 likes and 30 reshares in just a few hours. It seems as if Facebook is not only promoting my links on news feeds when I pay for them, but also possibly suppressing the ones I do not pay for.
benton.org/node/146917 | New York Times
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RADIO DUO VS BLOOMBERG
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Mackenzie Weinger]
Each weekday afternoon from a small Southern California studio, two radio hosts raise hell, filling the airwaves with tirades against those they call villains and liars, crooks and idiots. In other words: politicians. And the recent arrival of John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou on the airwaves in the New York market has given the popular duo a big new audience and their newest target to mercilessly mock — in the “ultimate nanny” Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) — and the surprise of finding a politician they respect in Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ). From three to seven p.m. PST, Kobylt and Chiampou regale listeners of “The John and Ken Show” with their takes on everything from the major political issues of the day to strange tabloid tales. They’ve got the Southern California market wrapped up, broadcasting on KFI-AM 640 during the key afternoon traffic time slot. In January, they started simulcasting the last hour of their show on WOR 710 at 9 p.m. EST and are also doing an additional hour specifically for the station. And with their entry to New York airwaves, they’ve been able to add even more politicians to their cast of characters to lampoon.
benton.org/node/146858 | Politico
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ADVERTISING
YOUTUBE CONTENT PARTNERS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Peter Kafka]
The big picture for YouTube looks good. The world’s biggest video site keeps getting bigger, generating more video views and more ad dollars. Things are fuzzier for some of YouTube’s biggest programming partners. Their views are also increasing. But the ad revenue YouTube generates for their stuff isn’t keeping pace. In the near term, that’s pushing many big YouTube networks and partners to look hard for new sources of revenue. The bigger question is whether YouTube will be able to generate enough ad money for content makers to support the “premium” programming it has been trying to attract so it can compete with traditional TV. The dollars programmers earn from YouTube’s ad-selling efforts range widely. But many big publishers say that after YouTube takes its 45 percent cut of the ads it sells, they frequently end up keeping about $2.50 for every 1,000 views their clips generate — that is, if their video generates a million views, they get $2,500. Other publishers say their split can be as high as $10 per 1,000.
benton.org/node/146850 | Wall Street Journal
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EDUCATION
THE IMPACT OF BROADBAND ON GLOBAL ACCESS TO EDUCATION
[SOURCE: International Telecommunication Union, AUTHOR: Doreen Bogdan]
A new report titled – Technology, Broadband and Education: Advancing the Education for All Agenda – developed by the Broadband Commission for Digital Development highlights strategies for leveraging high-speed networks to realize the goal of providing education for all. The report is the result of collaborative input from a large number of Commissioners and their organizations, including Alcatel-Lucent, the Connect-to-Learn partnership (The Earth Institute, Colombia University/Ericsson/Millennium Promise), Intel, the Inter-American Development Bank, Broadband Commissioners Suvi Lindén, Jasna Matić and Ivo Ivanovski, and Special Advisor to the Commission, Paul Budde. Broadband networks have the potential to radically alter the education landscape, creating new centers of learning in the developing world, extending access to distance learning programs to outlying communities, and helping poorer countries retain high-performing students who can help lift their nations out of poverty. Distance learning strategies can not only help nations educate children and adults living in remote communities, but broadband-based education programs could also become a source of income for those national higher education institutions that succeed in designing compelling, world class curriculums tailored to the needs of the billions living in the developing world.
http://itu4u.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/the-impact-of-broadband-on-global-...
Technology, Broadband and Education: Advancing the Education for All Agenda (read the report)
benton.org/node/146932 | International Telecommunication Union | read the report
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HEALTH
HEALTH LAW AND WIRELESS DEVICES
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Elise Viebeck]
Republicans on the House Commerce Committee want to know if smartphones, tablets and apps will be regulated as medical devices under President Obama's healthcare law. Six GOP lawmakers, including Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), wrote to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking for clarification. The group said the Affordable Care Act's excise tax on medical devices, if applied to mobile apps and smartphones, could "affect the growth and innovation in this market." "Has the FDA discussed, prepared, or analyzed the effect of the medical device tax on smartphones (as well as tablets or similar devices) or the creators or distributors of applications for those products?" the lawmakers asked. According to the letter, the FDA's draft approach to regulating mobile medical devices would only apply to technologies that were explicitly marketed for medical uses. This means that an iPhone or Blackberry used to run medical apps would not itself be considered a medical device.
benton.org/node/146864 | Hill, The
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JOURNALISM
IRS APPROACH TO NONPROFIT JOURNALISM
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Bernie Becker]
The Internal Revenue Service’s ground rules on giving news organizations tax-exempt status need to be modernized, a new report found. The report from the Council on Foundations (COF) found that local news media groups seeking to become tax-exempt have faced delays and even rejections in recent years, something the study says could stifle local coverage of important issues. According to the new analysis, the IRS’s approach to distinguishing between for-profit and nonprofit media groups has not kept up with the changes in technology and how news is distributed or consumed. The report says, for instance, that nonprofit media groups must distribute their content in a way that is different from “ordinary commercial publishing practices.” The problem with this approach, the Council on Foundations said, is that “the distribution methods for all forms of media, whether for profit or nonprofit – newspapers, magazines, television, radio, charitable and private — have converged and may be identical.”
benton.org/node/146940 | Hill, The | USAToday – op-ed | Chronicle of Philanthropy | Columbia Journalism Review | Nieman | Current
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
CHINA’S LAST MILE PLAN
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Klint Finley]
The Chinese government will soon require all new homes constructed where public fiber-optic telecom networks are available to be equipped for access to those networks. Residents will be required to have equal access to services from available telecom companies. The new policy from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will go into effect April 1, 2013. The Chinese government wants to connect 40 million families to fiber networks by 2015 — according to the Economic Information Daily Journal, as cited by China Daily — and fiber connections grew by 10 million families in 2012. The cost of deploying fiber networks is driven in large part by the “last mile” phase — the process of actually connecting homes and businesses to the fiber network. China’s policy puts the onus on builders to deal with the last mile.
benton.org/node/146885 | Wired
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GULF WEB PROJECT
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Camilla Hall]
Qatar and Kuwait have thrown money behind an ambitious project to build a new Gulf internet cable network, to help combat the growing risk of cyber-sabotage in a politically tense region that has already seen some high-profile attacks. The new fiber optic network – set to go live next week – passes through Iraq and Turkey in an effort to give Gulf telecoms operators an alternative web traffic route to Europe, reducing the risk of connection disruptions. The system, part-financed by the sovereign wealth funds of Qatar and Kuwait, is part of a broader plan by Gulf telecom operators to account for booming demand for the web while at the same time bolstering their defenses against sabotage or unintended damage. There is also the danger that cables running through the Strait of Hormuz could be vulnerable to any escalation of tension with Iran.
benton.org/node/146923 | Financial Times
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