October 2, 2013 (The Shutdown Edition)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2013
Um… lots of postponement on the day’s agenda
THE SHUTDOWN
Upgrading to a new cell phone? A government shutdown means you could be waiting a while.
FCC Suspends Merger Review Shot Clocks
Federal Government Shutdown Idles Some Tech Projects, but Not Others
Shutdown of US government websites appears bafflingly arbitrary [links to web]
How the Shutdown Will Affect One Quiet, Crucial Set of Satellites
What The Government Shutdown Means For The Tech Industry
Core BBG Activities to Continue During US Government Shutdown - press release
Government Shutdown Brings Ban on TV, Film Location Shoots in L.A. Federal Locales [links to web]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Charts show Comcast acting more and more like a monopolist
Is downloadable game size increasing faster than broadband speeds?
New router combines your home and mobile networks into one faster pipe [links to web]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
FAA Panel Endorses Wi-Fi as Safe
FreedomPop launches its smartphone VoIP service, giving away 200 minutes each month [links to web]
The Surprising Link Between "American Idol" And Text-To-Donate Fundraising [links to web]
New router combines your home and mobile networks into one faster pipe [links to web]
OWNERSHIP
Google Said to Avoid US Antitrust Challenge Over Waze
CONTENT
HarperCollins Joins Scribd in E-Book Subscription Plan
PRIVACY
California law requires Internet companies to disclose tracking policies - analysis
House privacy talks with tech companies should be open, advocates say
EDUCATION
LA Unified's iPad rollout marred by chaos
LA Unified's iPad plan doesn't compute - editorial [links to web]
TELEVISION/RADIO
Why LPFM Is Good for Radio - op-ed
FCC’s Pai: Time To Let Noncoms Raise Funds For Third Party Charities
Broadcast Nets Cater To Slightly Older Demos [links to web]
DIVERSITY
Shelton, Kramer, Cyril Honored at 31st Annual Everett C. Parker Lecture - press release
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Can a new round of NSA transparency bills make it through Congress? - analysis
The House is divided over almost everything. But FISA Court reform might be able to unite it. [links to web]
Brazil's anti-spying Internet push could backfire, industry says
Argentine Media Says Kirchner Quashes Critical Voices
JOURNALISM
Free speech threats in the US and UK - op-ed
Covering Tragedy Taking Toll on Journalists [links to web]
POLICYMAKERS
Charter Hiring Top Rosenworcel Advisor, Alex Hoehn-Saric [links to web]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Google in Deal to Settle Europe’s Antitrust Case
Brazil's anti-spying Internet push could backfire, industry says
Argentine Media Says Kirchner Quashes Critical Voices
And the gigabit train rolls on: France’s Free launches gigabit service [links to web]
THE SHUTDOWN
UPGRADING TO A NEW CELL PHONE? A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN MEANS YOU COULD BE WAITING A WHILE.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
If the federal government stays closed for more than a couple weeks, new wireless devices may take longer to get to market, disrupting the economy in the process. That's because the Federal Communications Commission is charged with testing and approving new wireless products. And the people who work there were forced to stay home, along with thousands of other federal employees. Industry analyst Jeffrey Silva said that a brief shutdown probably won't cause many problems. But he added that a prolonged shutdown "could very well lead to a backlog and delays in the equipment approval process, a far more troublesome scenario for manufacturers and other stakeholders."
benton.org/node/161565 | Washington Post
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
FCC SUSPENDS MERGER REVIEW SHOT CLOCKS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission will suspend its merger review shot clocks during the government shut-down that began Oct 1. The FCC has a 180 day informal deadline on those reviews, though it has frequently exceeded that in the past, sometimes by many months. "The individual time clock for each pending transaction will be stopped on the day of review that coincides with the last business day before the lapse in funding which is September 30, 2013," the FCC said in a public notice.
benton.org/node/161555 | Broadcasting&Cable
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IDLES SOME TECH PROJECTS, BUT NOT OTHERS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Arik Hesseldahl]
The funds authorized by law to operate the US federal government ran out in the midst of a political stalemate between President Barack Obama and Republicans in the US House of Representatives. This means that the federal government has ceased all non-essential operations. Basically, all government work that isn’t related to defense, law enforcement, controlling the borders and managing the flow of air traffic has stopped. Out of a 2.9 million-person workforce, at least 800,000 people, and probably more, have been sent home until further notice. The government is one of the world’s largest consumers of information technology. Total IT investments in the 2013 federal budget were a little north of $78 billion, and that’s down slightly from 2011, when the federal IT budget was about $80 billion.
benton.org/node/161560 | Wall Street Journal
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
HOW THE SHUTDOWN WILL AFFECT ONE QUIET, CRUCIAL SET OF SATELLITES
[SOURCE: The Atlantic, AUTHOR: Robinson Meyer]
[Commentary] The Landsat program has collected satellite data about the surface of the Earth since 1972. Landsat 7 and 8, the two satellites still operational, will “continue mission-essential operations,” the US Geological Survey announced. This means they’ll sense the Earth — which, since they’re already up in orbit, is relatively cheap for the government — and beam those data down to Earth. Once on Earth, the data will be archived by the United States Geological Survey. It won’t be processed into the kind of data that scientists and businesses are used to working with, though, until after the government restarts. The data may also not be available at all online until then, too. The Landsat program is the oldest continuously-operated program of its type, anywhere. Its satellites have created a precious and irreplaceable archive, and to sever the continuity of that archive would be a tremendous loss for science.
benton.org/node/161559 | Atlantic, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN MEANS FOR THE TECH INDUSTRY
[SOURCE: Fast Company, AUTHOR: Kit Eaton]
[Commentary] Because of the shutdown of the Federal government, the Federal Communications Commission will see many of its services closed, which means approval of new devices and discussions about spectrum issues will have to wait--and this may put a crimp on many companies' plans for holiday season device launches. The Securities and Exchange Commission will likely seriously slow down processing of documentation needed for events like an IPO... and that may have some effects on Twitter.
benton.org/node/161558 | Fast Company
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
CORE BBG ACTIVITIES TO CONTINUE DURING US GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
[SOURCE: Broadcasting Board of Governors, AUTHOR: Press Release]
Many parts of the Broadcasting Board of Governors have had to shut down due to a lapse in appropriations for the US federal government, but BBG-supported media are still bringing news and information programs to audiences around the world. US international media activities under the BBG that are deemed “foreign relations essential to national security,” such as news programming and distribution, are exempted from the shutdown and will continue.
benton.org/node/161557 | Broadcasting Board of Governors
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
INTERNET/BROADBAND
THESE CHARTS SHOW COMCAST ACTING MORE AND MORE LIKE A MONOPOLIST
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Timothy Lee]
Comcast's service really has been getting faster. But there's a striking pattern to Comcast's upgrades: while every tier of Comcast service is faster than it was a decade ago, the rate of progress has been dramatically higher for customers who pay the most. Comcast's entry-level "Performance" tier has seen much slower speed increases in recent years than higher tiers. That seems like a sign of declining competition at the high end of the broadband market. A decade ago, Comcast was competing directly with incumbent phone companies. Their DSL services offered speeds roughly comparable to cable, and they were beginning investments in next-generation fiber infrastructure. That gave cable companies a strong incentive to provide all of their customers with the fastest broadband they could manage. Today, in contrast, Comcast is the undisputed speed king in many parts of the country. That has freed the cable giant to focus on maximizing its own profits, without worrying very much about improving the experience of the average customer. Comcast is engaging in what economists call price discrimination. Different customers are willing to pay dramatically different amounts for broadband connectivity. So offering different tiers of service, with dramatically different speeds, helps to maximize Comcast's profits.
benton.org/node/161570 | Washington Post
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
IS DOWNLOADABLE GAME SIZE INCREASING FASTER THAN BROADBAND SPEEDS?
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Kyle Orland]
Sony UK Managing Director Fergal Gara caused a bit of a to-do in the gaming world when he revealed, via a Eurogamer interview, that the digital download of PS4 launch title Killzone: Shadow Fall was "cracking on for 50GB." That whopper of a file size got us thinking: have game sizes been increasing faster or slower than broadband download speeds in recent years? That is to say, does a game take more or less time to download, on average, than it did in the recent past? We decided to look at five games per major download platform (Xbox Live Marketplace, PlayStation Network, and Steam) per year to represent the wider state of downloadable game sizes for that year. The results are quite a mixed bag, depending on which platform you're looking at.
benton.org/node/161556 | Ars Technica
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
IN-FLIGHT WI-FI
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Andy Pasztor, Jack Nicas]
A Federal Aviation Administration advisory committee has concluded passengers can safely use hand-held electronic devices, including those connected to onboard Wi-Fi systems, during all portions of flights on nearly all US airliners, according to one of the group's leaders. The committee's report and its more than two dozen recommendations, which haven't yet been released by the FAA, go further than industry officials previously suggested in recommending lifting current restrictions on such devices under 10,000 feet. The panel determined that no matter what applications the devices are running or what wireless-transmission mode they are in, "the vast majority" of aircraft "are going to be just fine" from a safety standpoint, according to a senior Amazon official who headed the group's technical subcommittee. Nearly all airline fleets "already have been so dramatically improved and aircraft are so resilient" to electronic interference, according to Paul Misener, Amazon's vice president of global public policy, that the committee concluded they would be safe for "gate to gate use" of such devices. Only normal, ground-based cellular connections—whether used for voice or data—should remain off-limits, according to the committee's recommendations. That isn't due to safety concerns, but because of long-standing Federal Communications Commission rules prohibiting airborne cellular service. Those rules, in turn, stem from concerns about interfering with communications systems on the ground. Misener said the committee urged the FAA to work with the FCC to reassess those restrictions.
benton.org/node/161582 | Wall Street Journal
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
OWNERSHIP
GOOGLE SAID TO AVOID US ANTITRUST CHALLENGE OVER WAZE
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Sara Forden, David McLaughlin]
Google won’t be challenged by US antitrust regulators over its purchase of mapping application Waze, people familiar with the matter said. The Federal Trade Commission hasn’t raised concerns that the transaction might hurt competition, said the people, who asked not to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Google said June 21 that it had been contacted by the agency about the transaction, valued at $1.1 billion. On June 11, Google said it was buying Waze in a deal giving it new tools to help users navigate traffic with smartphones.
benton.org/node/161564 | Bloomberg
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
CONTENT
E-BOOK SUBSCRIPTIONS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Julie Bosman]
HarperCollins is the latest publisher to try a Netflix-style e-book subscription service, announcing that it has struck a deal to make its backlist books available on Scribd, a Web site for sharing documents and books. Scribd, with a generous base of 80 million visitors to its site each month, said it was positioned to become a prominent e-book subscription service, in which consumers pay a flat monthly fee for access to a large catalog of e-books. Brian Murray, the chief executive of HarperCollins, said he was encouraged to sign on partly because of consumer interest in subscription models for music, television and radio. The idea has been circulating in publishing for years, but it has gained little traction.
benton.org/node/161581 | New York Times | WSJ
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
PRIVACY
CALIFORNIA LAW REQUIRES INTERNET COMPANIES TO DISCLOSE TRACKING POLICIES
[SOURCE: Fortune, AUTHOR: Dan Mitchell]
[Commentary] Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA) signed legislation requiring companies to disclose whether and how they comply with the requests of Internet users that they not be tracked. The law applies only for California Internet users, but nevertheless represents a "small and solid step forward" toward getting a national policy in place after more than two years of steps backward. The fact that Internet companies didn't oppose the California law is a good indication that they aren't much bothered by it. But from the perspective of people concerned about privacy, the public-shaming aspect of the law can't hurt their long-term cause. In the end, it might take the force of the federal government (assuming the federal government is still a thing) to get a standard in place. But there is little indication of a desire in Congress or in regulatory bodies to apply such force -- yet another indication that the tech lobby has come of age.
benton.org/node/161562 | Fortune
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
HOUSE PRIVACY TALKS WITH TECH COMPANIES SHOULD BE OPEN, ADVOCATES SAY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Kate Tummarello]
Lawmakers meeting with tech companies to talk online privacy should open those meetings to the public, privacy advocates told the working group. In a letter, six advocacy organizations told the House bipartisan Privacy Working Group’s leaders -- Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Peter Welch (D-VT) -- that the group’s meetings should be open to the public and the press. The organizations applauded Blackburn and Welch for examining “the enormously important issue of consumer privacy” but said “there is simply no reason for your task force to hold closed-door session.” The working group should follow congressional rules regarding “open meetings and hearings” because the privacy meetings appear to be similar to traditional congressional hearings, the letter said.
benton.org/node/161569 | Hill, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
EDUCATION
ROLLOUT MARRED BY CHAOS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Howard Blume, Stephen Ceasar]
A look at the confusion and complexities in the Los Angeles Unified School District's $1-billion effort to provide all its students with the Apple tablets. The first rollout, at 47 campuses, has raised questions about whether the nation's second-largest district tried to do too much, too soon. Teachers reported not being able to connect to the Internet in some classrooms. Students bypassed security measures and surfed prohibited websites. Parents aren't sure if they're liable if the $678 tablets get lost or break. District directives have been misinterpreted. The latest: Students from three high schools — Angelou, Roosevelt and Westchester — have been told to surrender their iPads until further notice. Students elsewhere aren't being allowed to take them home. The students themselves aren't even sure why some tablets were taken back while others weren't.
benton.org/node/161580 | Los Angeles Times
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
TELEVISION/RADIO
WHY LPFM IS GOOD FOR RADIO
[SOURCE: Radio World, AUTHOR: Sanjay Jolly]
[Commentary] This October, the Federal Communications Commission will open a filing window for non-commercial, low-power FM (LPFM) stations that could result in an unprecedented expansion of community radio. LPFM is good for radio. The opportunities that it presents, especially now that restrictions keeping LPFM out of large and medium cities have been lifted, should inspire radio professionals and enthusiasts to actively support its expansion. The low cost and relatively simple technical requirements mean that LPFM brings radio to people who could otherwise never get involved, including churches, youth, local governments, civic organizations, arts and culture advocates, and others. And by lowering financial barriers and establishing ownership limits, LPFM encourages the participation of women and people of color, both of whom have been historically shut out of media ownership. To meet the needs of rapidly changing populations, LPFM stations often offer programming in Spanish and other languages not served by other local stations. As many stations are staffed primarily by volunteers, LPFM stations serve as training grounds for aspiring deejays, producers and engineers, laying a valuable groundwork for the future of radio leadership and bringing new talent to the radio industry. Finally, LPFM expansion makes efficient and effective use of the remaining FM spectrum. Across the country, LPFM will serve communities in the spaces on the dial where full-power stations will not fit.
[Sanjay Jolly is the policy director for the Prometheus Radio Project]
benton.org/node/161551 | Radio World
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
FCC’S PAI: TIME TO LET NONCOMS RAISE FUNDS FOR THIRD PARTY CHARITIES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai says it is time for the FCC to give noncommercial stations the ability to use some of their airtime to raise money for third parties. Currently, noncoms can raise funds for themselves, but not others, though the commission under former chairman Julius Genachowski last year that proposed loosening those restrictions by allowing stations to use up to one percent of their airtime for third-party nonprofit fund-raising. The FCC has issued a number of waivers of the limitation for disaster relief efforts. Pai said the FCC should approve the proposal. The commission voted unanimously to make the change in an April 2012 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking but has yet to vote out an order. No one was available at the shuttered FCC to comment on that delay.
benton.org/node/161567 | Broadcasting&Cable
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
DIVERSITY
EVERETT PARK LECTURE
[SOURCE: United Church of Christ, AUTHOR: Press release]
Inspiring media justice advocates were honored as a breakfast audience of media executives, faith leaders and advocates gathered at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington for the 31st Annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture. Hilary O. Shelton, head of the Washington office of the NAACP and this year’s Parker Lecturer, noted that this was the 50th anniversary of key events such as the March on Washington that occurred in 1963, “a year in which, thanks to the media, which was really beginning to really cover our struggles, we were able to take our cause to a much bigger audience.” But, he cautioned, “Although much has changed, much has also stayed the same.” Shelton cited several examples were continued vigilance is needed. Besides recognizing Shelton’s advocacy for diversity in the media and his instrumental role in the passage of key pieces of federal legislation, today’s event also honored two other advocates for the public interest in telecommunications. Albert H. Kramer received the Everett C. Parker Award, recognizing an individual whose work embodies the principals and values of the public interest in telecommunications. Among other achievements, he founded the Citizens’ Communication Center and spent 20 years on the board of directors of the Media Access Project and the Communications Consortium Media Center. Malkia Amala Cyril, founder of the Center for Media Justice and co-founder of the Media Action Grassoots Network (MAGNet), received the Donald H. McGannon Award, given in recognition of special contributions in advancing the roles of women and persons of color in the media, and in Cyril’s case, the media reform movement.
benton.org/node/161572 | United Church of Christ
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
CAN A NEW ROUND OF NSA TRANSPARENCY BILLS MAKE IT THROUGH CONGRESS?
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: Russell Brandom]
[Commentary] In July, the US House of Representatives came within 12 votes of defunding National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance in a sweeping amendment vote that caught much of Washington by surprise. More than two months later, a pair of more modest bills have entered the Senate and House, sponsored by Sen Al Franken (D-MN) and Rep Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) respectively. The bills are aimed at transparency rather than broad-stroke defunding, something companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft have lobbied and sued for, but this would be a chance to make those transparency principles the law of the land. To get it through, advocates will have to navigate a dysfunctional Congress and a President who has staunchly defended executive secrecy. So how much of a chance do these bills have? The bills' biggest assets are their powerful friends. The tech industry is lobbying hard, with nearly every major American tech company signing an open letter in support of the bills, including Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo, Twitter, Tumblr, Dropbox, and AOL. Just as important, the Senate bill also has powerful friends in the legislature. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is listed as a co-sponsor of the bill, which means it will likely get a chance at a floor vote in the Senate. So far, all the co-sponsors are Democrats, raising concerns over whether it will gain bipartisan support, but Senate Republicans like Rand Paul (R-KY) have co-sponsored NSA reform bills in the past, and dozens of House Republicans signed on to the previous NSA-defunding push. In light of the government shutdown, the odds seem slim for any legislation in the short term, but the transparency bills have as good a chance as any.
benton.org/node/161561 | Verge, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
JOURNALISM
FREE SPEECH THREATS IN THE US AND UK
[SOURCE: Columbia Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Mick Hume]
[Commentary] Everybody in public life in the US and UK claims to believe in freedom of expression and a free press. Strange, then, that a growing number of people should now choose to exercise that freedom in order to declare that it should be limited—at least for others. On both sides of the Atlantic, attention focuses on the overt threats to freedom of expression posed by state interference, as illustrated by the scandals over the National Security Agency spying revelations and the Justice Department secretly seizing AP journalists’ phone records. In Britain, we still labor under the worst defamation laws in the civilized world. These laws, under which truth is no defense and the defendant is assumed guilty until proven otherwise, attract powerful ‘libel tourists’ from around the world, seeking to use the London courts to silence their critics. US courts have rightly refused to enforce judgments imposed by UK libel courts. Even in the Land of the Free and the First Amendment, the “Free Speech, BUT” group has been gaining ground.
benton.org/node/161563 | Columbia Journalism Review
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
STORIES FROM ABROAD
GOOGLE EU SETTLEMENT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: James Kanter, Mark Scott]
Google escaped serious antitrust action in the United States early this year, and in April it dodged a hefty penalty in Europe. The third piece of good fortune — from Google’s standpoint, at least — came on Oct 1. The European Union’s antitrust chief, Joaquín Almunia, announced that in his inquiry into Google’s search practices, he had tentatively reached a deal he could live with — one requiring Google to give higher visibility to competitors’ listings on Web search queries. After the company’s rivals comment on the settlement, Almunia said, he intends to have the final deal in place by next spring. The European deal would go much further than a settlement early this year with the Federal Trade Commission, which required only minor concessions from Google. It would also allow Google to avoid a potential fine of up to $5 billion and a finding of wrongdoing that could limit its future activities. And yet, the deal with Almunia would come nearly four years after he opened his case. During that time the company’s business model — and all its various ways of making its billions of dollars — changed considerably. To some experts, that suggests that Google could end up winning a protracted waiting game.
benton.org/node/161575 | New York Times | WSJ
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
BRAZIL MOVE COULD BACKFIRE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Esteban Israel, Alonso Soto]
President Dilma Rousseff's plan to force Internet companies to store user data inside the country will not fix Brazil's security concerns and could instead send costs soaring and hurt future investments in a key emerging market for companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter, industry executives and analysts say. "It could end up having the opposite effect to what is intended, and scare away companies that want to do business in Brazil," said Ronaldo Lemos, a professor at Rio de Janeiro State University who has helped draft Internet legislation in Brazil.
benton.org/node/161574 | Reuters
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
ARGENTINE MEDIA
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Taos Turner]
Argentina's leading dailies, like a lot of newspapers in the US, are locked in a fight for survival amid declining ad sales. The troubles of Clarín and La Nación, however, aren't due just to circulation declines and online competition, but also to a government-led attack, the newspapers say. In recent years, President Cristina Kirchner's government has slashed state advertising in both newspapers as it lavishes money on smaller rivals, radio and television stations that support her, according to court rulings and government data on ad spending. This year, the government, facing a weak economy and falling approval ratings, convinced retailers to pile on, the newspapers and others familiar with the matter say. In February, Commerce Secretary Guillermo Moreno—whose sweeping powers include regulating prices and imports—told supermarkets and electronics retailers, who make up the bulk of newspaper ad spending, to stop advertising with Clarín, La Nación and a smaller paper, Perfil.
benton.org/node/161573 | Wall Street Journal
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top