1. Monthly archive
  2. April 2013

April 2013

Should the Public or Private Sector Control Broadband?

[Commentary] On September 21, 1932, presidential candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed a big issue of the time: electrical service and who would provide it -- public utilities or private companies. “My answer has been, as it is tonight, to point out these plain principles,” Roosevelt told the crowd. “That where a community -- a city or county or a district -- is not satisfied with the service rendered or the rates charged by the private utility, it has the undeniable basic right, as one of its functions of government, one of its functions of home rule, to set up ... its own governmentally owned and operated service.”

We are at a similar transition point with fiber-optic networks, the slender glass tubes that transmit the torrents of bits and bytes that power the Internet, cable television and telephone service, as well as a range of other services, including smart energy grids. It is now clear that fiber networks need to go everywhere; they should be carried into homes and businesses and replace the antiquated copper lines. But who will install these networks and who will control them? This question is key because it will impact decades of economic growth and who will benefit from it. For a couple key reasons, many Americans are unaware of these crucial battles taking place. First, people are so used to thinking of government doing things less efficiently that it turns their head around to realize the public sector can do some things better, even supplying physical infrastructure. Second, information is fractured. Although we live in a famously information-saturated time, what’s happening in places as disparate as Philadelphia, Lafayette and Chattanooga, Tenn., doesn’t travel far.

Private companies can operate in a bubble, secure that a population one or two states over won’t know what they are doing. If the politicians falter, they should remember FDR’s words. It’s clear that fiber networks are a natural monopoly and need to be either run directly by the government, or so heavily regulated that it amounts to the same thing.

[Alex Marshall, Senior Fellow, the Regional Plan Association in New York City]

Could Google tilt a close election?

Google’s motto is “Don’t be evil.” But what would it mean for democracy if it was? That’s the question psychologist Robert Epstein has been asking in a series of experiments testing the impact of a fictitious search engine — he called it “Kadoodle” — that manipulated search rankings, giving an edge to a favored political candidate by pushing up flattering links and pushing down unflattering ones.

Not only could Kadoodle sway the outcome of close elections, he says, it could do so in a way most voters would never notice. Epstein, who had a public spat with Google last year, offers no evidence of actual evil acts by the company. Yet his exploration of Kadoodle — think of it as the equivalent of Evil Spock, complete with goatee — not only illuminates how search engines shape individual choices but asks whether the government should have a role in keeping this power in check.

Appeals court denies bid to shut down Web TV service Aereo

A federal appeals court rejected a bid by TV networks to shut down Internet video service Aereo.

The 2-1 decision upheld a lower court's ruling from July not to issue an injunction against the company, which is backed by billionaire Barry Diller. But the lawsuit, which claims that Aereo infringes on the broadcasters' copyrighted material, will continue as the company expands into new cities. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled that that Aereo's transmissions do not constitute a "public performance" under copyright law, and that the stations are not entitled to temporarily shut the company down as their lawsuit is pending.

China slams US law restricting technology purchases

China is protesting a new U.S. law that restricts government purchases of Chinese technology equipment. Shen Danyang, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, argued that the restriction sends a misguided signal and threatens to harm U.S.-China relations, according to state media reports.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei also urged the United States to reconsider policies that target Chinese businesses. The provision was part of a U.S. funding bill that President Obama signed into law last March 26. The law bars federal agencies from buying Chinese technology equipment unless the FBI or a similar agency determines the purchase would be in the national interest.

FCC’s Consumer Advisory Committee Rechartered

The Federal Communications Commission announced the appointment of members to its Consumer Advisory Committee. The Committee’s charter was renewed for a seventh 2-year term effective October 23, 2012.

During the Committee’s seventh term, it is anticipated that the Committee will meet in Washington, D.C. for a minimum of two (2) one-day plenary meetings per year. In addition, as needed, working groups or subcommittees will be established to facilitate the Committee’s work between meetings of the full Committee. The Committee was established in November 2000 to make recommendations to the Commission regarding consumer issues within the jurisdiction of the Commission and to facilitate the participation of consumers (including people with disabilities and underserved populations, such as Native Americans and persons living in rural areas) in proceedings before the Commission. Issues or questions to be considered by the CAC may include, but are not limited to the following topic areas:

  1. Consumer Protection and Education;
  2. Implementation of Commission rules and Consumer Participation in the FCC rulemaking process;
  3. Access by People with Disabilities; and,
  4. Impact of New and Emerging Technologies.

The FCC re-appoints thirty (30) previous members to the rechartered Committee and further makes three (3) new appointments to the Committee. Of the Committee’s thirty-three (33) members, two (2) represent the interests of academia; eleven (11) represent the interests of consumers; six (6) represent the interests of the disability community; two (2) represent the interests of government/regulators; ten (10) represent the interests of industry, and two (2) represent the interests of low income/minority communities.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski reappoints Debra R. Berlyn representing the National Consumers League as Chairperson of the Committee. All appointments and reappointments are effective immediately and shall terminate October 23, 2014, or when the Committee is terminated, whichever is earlier.

The Committee’s roster by organization name and primary representative is as follows (* indicates new appointment):

  • AARP—Chris Baker
  • American Consumer Institute—Stephen Pociask
  • American Foundation for the Blind—Paul Schroeder
  • Appalachian Regional Commission—Mark Defalco
  • Benton Foundation—Cecilia Garcia
  • California Western School of Law, New Media Rights Project—Art Neill
  • Call For Action—Shirley Rooker
  • Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities—Enid Ablowitz
  • Consumer Action—Ken McEldowney
  • Consumer Federation of America—Irene E. Leech
  • Consumer Electronics Association—Julie Kearney
  • Center for Media Justice—Amalia Deloney
  • CTIA The Wireless Association—Scott Bergmann
  • Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Action Network—Claude Stout
  • Digital Policy Institute—Barry Umansky
  • *Health Analytic Services—Douglas Trauner
  • Hearing Loss Association of America—Lise Hamlin
  • Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults—Dorothy Walt
  • Media Literacy Project—Andrea Quijada
  • Montgomery County, MD, Office of Cable and Broadband Services—Mitsuko Herrera
  • National Asian American Coalition—Mia Martinez
  • National Association of Broadcasters—Ann Bobeck
  • National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates— Charles Acquard
  • National Cable and Telecommunications Association— Stephanie Podey
  • National Consumer Law Center—Olivia Wein
  • National Consumers League—Debra Berlyn (Chairperson)
  • *Partners Healthcare—Dr. Julian Goldman
  • *Qualcomm Incorporated—Robert Jarrin
  • Rochester Institute of Technology—Raja Kushalnagar
  • Speech Communication Assistance by Telephone—Rebecca Ladew
  • Time Warner Cable—Fernando R. Laguarda
  • T-Mobile—Luisa Lancetti
  • Verizon Communications, Inc.—Donna Rynex/Mary Crespy (joint representatives)

Proposed Amendments to the Service Rules Governing Public Safety Narrowband Operations in the 769-775/799-805 MHz Bands

In this Seventh Report and Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Federal Communications Commission implements and proposes certain changes to the rules governing the 700 MHz public safety narrowband spectrum (769-775/799-805 MHz).

In the Seventh Report and Order in WT Docket 96-86, the FCC adopts minor changes to those rules based on proposals from the Seventh Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. These rule changes eliminate or update outdated technical requirements and offer public safety licensees additional flexibility to operate their 700 MHz narrowband land mobile radio systems. The FCC also addresses recommendations from the National Coordination Committee (NCC) for changes to the 700 MHz narrowband rules, on which the FCC solicited comment in the Seventh NPRM.

In the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in PS Docket 13-87, the FCC initiates a new proceeding to seek comment on more recent proposals to amend the Commission’s rules to promote spectrum efficiency, interoperability, and flexibility in 700 MHz public safety narrowband operations. Specifically, the FCC seeks comment on whether to extend or eliminate the December 31, 2016 narrowbanding deadline for 700 MHz public safety narrowband licensees to transition from 12.5 kilohertz to 6.25 kilohertz channel bandwidth technology. The FCC also seeks comment on a proposal from the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) to authorize secondary use of certain channels in the 700 MHz band for public safety aircraft voice operations. In addition, the FCC seeks comment on a number of other NPSTC proposals and other issues, including signal boosters, harmonizing power limits, certification of testing of and establishing a standardized Network Access Code (NAC) for operation on 700 MHz interoperability channels.

FCC Releases 2012 Universal Service Monitoring Report

This is the fifteenth report in a series of reports prepared by federal and state staff members for the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service.

Intelligent Content: Soon your media will know you better than you know yourself

[Commentary] With the introduction of analytics into the visual design of written content, we are on the cusp of an era of incredible evolution: one where the design of information changes in real time in response to data about the readers consuming it.

New technologies from Amazon, Apple, Google, WordPress and Tumblr already provide a preview of Intelligent Content. In essence, it won’t be long before the media we consume knows us better than we know ourselves. Publishers who recognize the design- and data-driven future of Intelligent Content will have a head start. They can experiment now with new ways to deliver content and measure how its readers engage with it. That data in turn can help them deliver even more engaging content experiences, ultimately preparing them for a future of Intelligent Content.

Digital rights activists decry computer crime proposal

A proposal in the U.S. Congress to strengthen the penalties in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is a "giant leap in the wrong direction" for digital rights activists calling for changes in the law after the suicide of hacktivist Aaron Swartz earlier this year.

The draft legislation, uncovered by tech policy blog Techdirt, would expand the CFAA by raising the penalties for some hacking-related crimes and expanding activities covered by the statute. The draft legislation, being circulated by staff of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, comes as several lawmakers and digital rights groups have called for a rewrite of CFAA to rein in some types of prosecutions after Swartz's suicide.

Emergency Access Advisory Committee

Federal Communications Commission
June 14, 2013
10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (EST)
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/db0322/DA-1...
Update: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-04-19/pdf/2013-09268.pdf


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