January 2014

Republicans Congressmen Want Cost Analysis Of E-Rate Revamps

The Republican leadership of the House Commerce Committee and ranking members of the Democrat-led Senate Commerce Committee have asked the Federal Communications Commission to refer any expansion of the E-rate program to the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service. In a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, the legislators expressed concerns about the dollar signs and zeroes that might be attached to the so-called E-Rate 2.0 proposals. They say that the contribution factor to the fund -- which subsidizes advanced telecommunications service to schools, libraries and other anchor institutions -- has risen from 9.5% in 2009 to 16.4% in the first quarter of 2014, which they point out consumers wind up paying.

ConnectED costs are underestimatED

[Commentary] The Obama Administration put forth the ConnectED program and estimated that it would cost $4-6 billion to reach 99 percent of schools with speeds of 1Gbps. While centrally planned estimates of any kind are rarely spot on, this cost is severely underestimated.

According to data collected by Infonetics, American Internet service providers invested approximately $75 billion in broadband infrastructure in 2013.Taking into consideration that this$75 billion, along with investments from prior years, have resulted in no more than 28% of schools having 1 Gbps service, it is difficult to imagine that the Administration will be able to cover the remaining 72% with a budget of only $4 - 6 billion. The state of American broadband is quite healthy due to intermodal competition between DSL, cable, fiber, and wireless ISPs. The vast innovations we have seen over the past 15 years in broadband should be applauded, not criticized by the media and replaced by Federal programs. Can this goal be achieved? Yes, but only if local communities are willing to pay for it through a bottom-up system of broadband growth.

[Michael Horney is a second year MA Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, studying policy topics such broadband, technology, education and regulations]

FCC: Report & Order On Incentive Auctions by Spring

Federal Communications Commission incentive auction staffers outlined a timeline for action on a host of FCC incentive auction issues, but did not signal how they may be resolved.

In a presentation to the commissioners, the FCC's Incentive Auction Task Force said that by early 2015 the commission would be accepting bids from TV stations for the reverse auction and wireless companies -- and perhaps others -- for the forward auction. The task force said the report and order (R&O) would provide a framework for dealing with issues including a band plan and TV station repacking but that there would be opportunity for comment and further tweaking, something FCC Chairman Wheeler emphasized in a post-meeting press conference. Among the other issues to be at least addressed in the report and order are unlicensed operations, bid payments, reimbursement of broadcaster costs and licensing and operating rules. The FCC also said it would increase funding for broadcaster outreach.

FCC Going Door To Door With Auction Pitch

Hoping to ramp up broadcast participation in the Federal Communications Commission’s incentive auction in 2015, agency officials are planning to start reaching out to individual broadcasters, agency officials announced. The FCC officials did not say specifically when the one-on-one sessions would begin -- or which TV stations will be targeted first. But during an FCC meeting in Washington, agency executives said the one-on-one sessions were critical to trying to persuade balking broadcasters to play ball in an auction intended to repurpose broadcast spectrum for smartphones and other wireless devices. “We do not want to hold a party and have nobody show up, so our outreach to broadcasters must be more than broad,” said FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. “One-to-one outreach is essential.”

Incentive Auction Task Force Announces Date for Workshops on Feasibility Checking and Inter-Service Interference

As part of the Learn Everything About Reverse Auctions Now Program (LEARN), the Incentive Auction Task Force will host two workshops on Friday, February 21, 2014, at the Federal Communications Commission.

The workshops, scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., will focus on technical issues related to the incentive auction. In the morning, Commission staff and its outside auction design experts will discuss methods of performing “feasibility checks” during the repacking component of the upcoming incentive auction. In addition, presenters will provide more information about open source software that could be used to perform feasibility checks, and share preliminary results from feasibility checking simulations. In the afternoon, Commission staff will discuss a methodology for predicting potential interference between broadcast television and licensed wireless services after repacking. This session will include a presentation by the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET). There will be an opportunity for attendees to ask questions after each session.

FCC Sets Path For Widespread Text-To-911 Deployment

The Federal Communications Commission said that text providers should enable the public to text 911 in an emergency, encouraging providers that have not begun deploying text-to-911 to forge solutions to meet this goal. The Commission also sought further comment on regulatory proposals to help ensure that Americans will be able to send these texts by the end of 2014, regardless of which text provider they use, in areas where 911 call centers can receive texts.

Noting Americans’ increasing reliance on text messaging, the Commission said that access to 911 is a core value that should be maintained as technology changes. Reports indicate that 91 percent of American adults own a cell phone, and 81 percent of cell phone owners use text messaging. In addition, Internet-based (“over the top”) text messaging applications are an increasingly popular alternative to the text messaging provided by wireless carriers (called short messaging service, or SMS). While voice calling to 911 remains the preferred method, consumers also expect to be able to send a text to 911 and have it reach authorities. Yet text-to-911 is not currently available in most areas or on most texting platforms. In adopting a policy statement that outlines objectives for text-to-911, the Commission noted that the nation’s four largest wireless carriers, with the support of leading public safety organizations, voluntarily committed to make text-to-911 available to their customers by May 15, 2014, in areas where the 911 call center is prepared to receive texts. The Commission recognized the leadership of these wireless carriers and the 911 call centers that are deploying text-to-911, and said that action is needed to make the service uniformly available.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Names Howard Symons Vice Chair, Incentive Auction Task Force

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler named Howard Symons Vice Chair of the Incentive Auction Task Force. He will join Task Force Chair Gary Epstein in the management of the Commission’s implementation of the first-ever incentive auction.

Symons has been working in telecommunications in both the public and private sectors for thirty years. Most recently, as the Chair of the Communications practice at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, PC, Symons represented communications companies and trade associations on a wide range of issues before Congress, regulatory agencies and the Courts. Before joining the firm, he served as senior counsel to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications in the US House of Representatives. From 1978 to 1981, Symons was a staff attorney with the public interest organization founded by Ralph Nader, Public Citizen’s Congress Watch.

Sens Rockefeller, Feinstein, Pryor, Nelson Introduce Data Security Bill to Protect Consumers from Data Breaches

Senators John (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee; Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee; Mark Pryor (D-AS), Chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet; and Bill Nelson (D-FL), Chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Science and Space, introduced legislation that would -- for the first time -- provide a federal standard for companies to safeguard consumers’ personal information throughout their systems and to quickly notify consumers if those systems are breached.

The bill, similar to legislation introduced in the 111th and 112th Congresses, addresses security vulnerabilities that were exploited by criminals in the recent massive data breaches of major US retailers. Those breaches left tens of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft and credit fraud. The Data Security and Breach Notification Act would require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue security standards for companies that hold consumers’ personal and financial information. In the event of a data breach, companies would be obligated to notify their affected customers so they can take steps to protect themselves from the risk of identity theft and fraud.

The hope and challenge of social media for chronic disease care

Wouldn't it be nice if social media could help reduce the burden of chronic disease on the US healthcare system? Indeed, and glimpses of its potential are starting to appear. But before that can happen, there are a number of obstacles to overcome.

Take the digital divide among elderly and minority populations, for instance. Or privacy and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance concerns. In both cases, a balance between transparency and anonymity must be struck, according to a new eHealth Initiative (eHI) report. Add to that list the quality, validity, and authenticity of information online. Despite these problems, the researchers found that social media empowers users and motivates them to actively take personal responsibility for their health behavior. Social media platforms also provide a unique network of support, motivation, and education to help fight disease.

31 Percent Of Feds Will Be Eligible To Retire By 2017

The federal workforce from 2004 to 2012 grew by more than 250,000 workers, in part due to the government’s increased mission focus on cybersecurity, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.

The report outlined growth in mission critical job areas and permanent career positions, but cautioned that agencies will need to implement broader workforce planning efforts in order to keep mission-critical areas like cybersecurity fully staffed in the face of looming retirements in the coming years. The report outlined growth in mission critical job areas and permanent career positions, but cautioned that agencies will need to implement broader workforce planning efforts in order to keep mission-critical areas like cybersecurity fully staffed in the face of looming retirements in the coming years. More specifically, GAO found that federal nonpostal civilian employment grew 14 percent from 2004 to 2012, from 1.88 million to 2.13 million. Three agencies -- the Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs departments -- accounted for 94 percent of this increase, with job fields like acquisition, cybersecurity, veteran medical services and border security cited as the major drivers of personnel increases, GAO found.

Benton

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