February 2014

INTERNET/BROADBAND

DEMOCRATIC LEADERS INTRODUCE NET NEUTRALITY LEGISLATION
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee, AUTHOR: Press release]
Reps Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) introduced HR 3982, the Open Internet Preservation Act, with a Senate companion bill to be introduced by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), to protect consumers and innovation online. The DC Circuit struck down the Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet rules preventing broadband providers from blocking or discriminating against content online. The bill would restore these rules until the FCC takes new, final action in the Open Internet proceeding. Original co-sponsors of the bills are: Reps. Waxman, Eshoo, Frank Pallone, Jr (D-NJ), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Mike Doyle (D-PA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Michael Capuano (D-MA), and Suzan DelBene (D-WA) and Sens Ed Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Al Franken (D-MN), Tom Udall (D-NM), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR). “The Internet is an engine of economic growth because it has always been an open platform for competition and innovation,” said Rep Waxman, Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. “Our bill very simply ensures that consumers can continue to access the content and applications of their choosing online. The FCC can and must quickly exercise the authorities the DC Circuit recognized to reinstate the Open Internet rules. Our bill makes clear that consumers and innovators will be protected in the interim.”
benton.org/node/173870 | House of Representatives Commerce Committee | The Hill | AdWeek | B&C | ars technica
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THE OPEN INTERNET PRESERVATION BILL IS COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE
[SOURCE: American Enterprise Institute, AUTHOR: Richard Bennett]
[Commentary] HR 3982, the Open Internet Preservation Act, a bill introduced by Reps Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) to reverse the DC Circuit Court’s order vacating the Federal Communication Commission’s Open Internet Order (OIO), is a symbolic measure that has no realistic chance of passing the House. The bill simply raises a flag and rallies the troops. We appreciate the energy and enthusiasm shown by the sponsors of H. R. 3982, but we would encourage them to focus on the conditions that led the court to vacate the FCC’s rules. Congress has not provided the FCC with clear guidance regarding Internet policy, and this lack of direction has forced the agency to improvise both in regards to policy and jurisdiction. The Internet is in no immediate crisis; there is, however, increasing friction between the silos model of regulation in the Communications Act and the nature of the Internet ecosystem. Pretending that the Internet is no different from the traditional telephone network will not resolve this problem. The Communications Act is past due for revision. Rather than writing symbolic bills to address hypothetical problems, Congress should develop a holistic vision of the Internet. The new Communications Act must recognize that the Internet is not a finished product. We will see the rise of new services that require specialized support from broadband networks, and we will see new business models developing. [Richard Bennett is a visiting fellow at AEI]
benton.org/node/173869 | American Enterprise Institute
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GIG CITY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Edward Wyatt]
In the 21st century, it is the Internet that passes through Chattanooga (TN), and at lightning speed. “Gig City,” as Chattanooga is sometimes called, has what city officials and analysts say was the first and fastest -- and now one of the least expensive -- high-speed Internet services in the United States. For less than $70 a month, consumers enjoy an ultrahigh-speed fiber-optic connection that transfers data at one gigabit per second. That is 50 times the average speed for homes in the rest of the country, and just as rapid as service in Hong Kong, which has the fastest Internet in the world. It takes 33 seconds to download a two-hour, high-definition movie in Chattanooga, compared with 25 minutes for those with an average high-speed broadband connection in the rest of the country. Movie downloading, however, may be the network’s least important benefit. “It created a catalytic moment here,” said Sheldon Grizzle, the founder of the Company Lab, which helps start-ups refine their ideas and bring their products to market. “The Gig,” as the taxpayer-owned, fiber-optic network is known, “allowed us to attract capital and talent into this community that never would have been here otherwise.” Since the fiber-optic network switched on four years ago, the signs of growth in Chattanooga are unmistakable.
benton.org/node/173892 | New York Times
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CABLE AND THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: ]
When you buy a TV, sales clerks often pitch you on "future proofing" your set. Turns out, buying a cable TV company relies largely on the same principle. Charter's $38 billion bid to take over the much-larger Time Warner Cable is an attempt to future-proof its business by getting its foot in the door of millions more homes wired for Internet service. Gone are the days when one's primary reason for hooking up cable was for TV. Now, it's the Internet, which enables countless online services known collectively as the cloud. "Broadband is the gatekeeper to the cloud," says Tony Wible, an analyst with Janney Capital Markets. "There's insatiable demand for broadband." A combined Charter-Time Warner Cable would occupy a crucial position in more homes. With about 16 million customers, it would become the country's No. 3 provider of both pay TV services and high-speed Internet.
benton.org/node/173891 | Associated Press
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CABLE COMPANIES WANT TO BLOCK CITIES FROM BUILDING FIBER NETWORKS. HERE’S HOW THE FCC COULD INTERVENE.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
Around the country, local governments have taken it upon themselves to build their own fiber-optic networks. This effort was met in Kansas with a bill written by cable lobbyists who sought to ban cities from building municipal broadband projects. While the state cable association has since agreed to amend the bill in the face of public criticism, the incident is a reminder that public infrastructure projects can be especially fraught when it comes to Internet service. But what so far has been a fight between states, cities and established commercial incumbents may soon become an issue for federal regulators. A recent court decision has given the Federal Communications Commission a green light to intervene in these situations, industry analysts say. While it's too early to tell whether the FCC intends to exercise this power, mayors would find a powerful ally in Washington if they could convince the FCC to intervene.
benton.org/node/173863 | Washington Post
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EDUCATION

PRESIDENT OBAMA SPEEDS PLAN TO CONNECT SCHOOLS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Christi Parsons]
President Barack Obama is speeding up his pet project to connect American public schools to the Internet through an unusual combination of government investment and contributions from the private sector. On a stepped-up time frame, President Obama is expected to announce Feb 4 that the government plans to make digital learning available to 20 million students and more than 15,000 schools over the next two years -- more quickly than originally anticipated when President Obama launched “ConnectED” last year. The expedited plan comes courtesy of $2 billion that the Federal Communications Commission is immediately directing to this purpose, according to senior administration officials who have been working on the private-public partnership over the last year. The money comes from surcharges on the telecommunications industry to support schools and libraries. At the same time, several companies are committing to help by spending $750 million on new iPads and laptops as well as wireless service and software, especially for low-income students and struggling schools with little to no Internet access. Apple, Microsoft, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint are among the companies making the contributions in products and services. The donations are meant to have a “multiplier effect” on the targeted schools, said Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council. “It’s quite safe to say that millions and millions of young people will be affected,” said Sperling. “Everything announced here is going to have a stronger impact because of its cumulative effect.” Apple executives have pledged to give $100 million in iPads, MacBooks and other products to disadvantaged schools, according to the White House. AT&T says it will provide $100 million in mobile broadband services over three years for middle school students. Autodesk, designer of software for design, drafting and engineering, is offering software, curricula and training worth about $250 million. Meanwhile, President Obama will be able to increase government spending on the ConnectED program because the FCC, an independent commission, decided to more quickly disburse money already intended to build capacity for high-speed Internet and for training educators on emerging technology.
http://benton.org/node/173893
Obama secures $750 million in corporate gifts for Internet push (The Hill)
benton.org/node/173893 | Los Angeles Times | The Hill
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FCC TO INVEST ADDITIONAL $2 BILLION IN HIGH-SPEED INTERNET IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission will invest an additional $2 billion over the next two years to support broadband networks in our nations' schools and libraries. This represents a doubling of investment in broadband and will connect 20 million students in at least 15,000 schools to high-speed Internet access. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said, “This investment is a down-payment on the goal of 99 percent of America’s students having high-speed Internet connections within five years. As we consider long-term improvements to the program, we will take immediate steps to make existing funds go farther, significantly increasing our investment in high-speed Internet to help connect millions of students to the digital age.” Funding for new investments in high-speed Internet will come from reprioritizing existing E-Rate funds to focus on high-capacity Internet connectivity, increasing efficiency, and modernizing management of the E-Rate program. “We will take a business-like approach to the management of the program, identifying opportunities to improve the ways funds are deployed and streamlining the process for schools and libraries,” Chairman Wheeler said.
benton.org/node/173878 | Federal Communications Commission | telecompetitor | Multichannel News
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THE REAL COST OF CONNECTING A SCHOOL TO WI-FI
[SOURCE: American Public Media, AUTHOR: Annie Gilbertson]
As more schools move to equip all students with a computer, one cost is often overlooked -- getting those computers connected to the network grid. The Los Angeles Unified school district is planning to spend over $500 million to upgrade servers, pull wire and connect antiquated schools to a data grid -- a necessary part of its huge effort to supply 700,000 students and teachers with an iPad. The price tag is high, says Joe Monaley, a network engineer at Caltech, because costs start far from the building, out on the street. It’s not as simple as plugging in a modem and router for a home connection: it's a challenge just to get high-capacity classrooms wired, much less connect whole schools directly to the grid. The district has 486 of its approximately 800 campuses scheduled for modernizations before the end of 2014 with an average sticker price of $736,000.
benton.org/node/173855 | American Public Media
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BRINGING THE RURAL CLASSROOM INTO THE DIGITAL A
[SOURCE: New Hampshire Union Leader, AUTHOR: Sen Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai]
[Commentary] Why is rural America subsidizing Internet connectivity for more densely populated areas? It's partly because of the administrative hurdles in the E-Rate application process. It can take hours of paperwork, months of waiting, and an understanding of E-Rate's convoluted and antiquated rules to even have a chance of obtaining funding. The most successful schools tend to hire outside consultants to navigate the process for them -- an option that many schools, especially small and rural ones, can't afford. More important, they shouldn't have to. We need a student-centered E-Rate program. That starts with simplifying the process by reducing the paperwork needed to apply for funding and distributing aid to schools on a more equitable per-student basis (rather than the complex discount formula that the program now uses). And that means giving schools the flexibility to spend E-Rate funds on technologies that directly benefit students. We also need to end the subsidies that result in citizens from rural states like New Hampshire paying for technology services in higher population states like New Jersey. Preparing our children to succeed in the digital world of tomorrow requires us to connect them today. E-Rate must reflect the needs of today's students, regardless of which school they attend. A student-centered E-Rate program would give smaller schools in rural areas a better chance to compete with their urban and suburban counterparts. It would help deliver a brighter future for children in New Hampshire and throughout rural America -- and we stand ready to work with President Barack Obama to ensure that E-Rate lives up to its promise.
benton.org/node/173861 | New Hampshire Union Leader
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

FCC’S WHEELER SKEPTICAL OF SPRINT\T-MOBILE
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Alina Selyukh, Sinead Carew]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler expressed his skepticism about a potential merger between Sprint and T-Mobile in a meeting with Sprint Chairman Masayoshi Son and Sprint Chief Executive Dan Hesse, according to an FCC official briefed on the matter. Chairman Wheeler said he would keep an open mind about the potential transaction, according to the official, and generally echoed comments made last week by antitrust chief William Baer, who gave long odds to a regulatory approval of mergers between any two of the top four wireless phone companies.
benton.org/node/173890 | Reuters
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AT&T SYSTEM WOULD RESTRICT CONTENT ACCESS, CHARGE FEES TO PREVENT 'BANDWIDTH ABUSE'
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Tammy Parker]
AT&T Mobility has developed an application-aware system designed to restrict customers from engaging in "non-permissible" bandwidth-intensive activities such as file sharing or movie downloading. The company applied to patent the system, labeling its approach as "Prevention Of Bandwidth Abuse of a Communications System." In its patent application, submitted during September 2013 and published by the US Patent & Trademark Office in January 2014, AT&T said the system is designed to prevent a user "from consuming an excessive amount of channel bandwidth by restricting use of the channel in accordance with the type of data being downloaded to the user." The carrier proposes issuing a customer an initial number of credits, which are used up as data is consumed. If the credits are close to running out and the customer's data use fits into the "permissible" category, "the user is provided another allotment of credits equal to the initial allotment," AT&T said. If, however, the data activity is deemed a "non-permissible" use under the customer's subscription terms, the carrier would issue the user an allotment of credits less than the initial allotment. "Each time the user comes close to using up the previous allotment of credits, the traffic is analyzed and if the traffic is non-permissible, the number of credits is reduced," said the patent application.
benton.org/node/173877 | Fierce
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THINK GOGO OVERCHARGES FOR IN-FLIGHT WI-FI? LAWSUIT SEEKS TO PROVE IT
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
A lawsuit claiming that in-flight Internet provider Gogo has struck illegal exclusive contracts with airlines in order to overcharge customers is moving forward after a judge's decision. The class action complaint was filed in US District Court in Northern California by James Stewart, Joel Milne, and Joseph Strazzullo, and it claims that "Gogo has unlawfully obtained and/or maintained monopoly market power in the United States market for inflight Internet connectivity on domestic commercial aircraft by resort to anti-competitive conduct that includes a series of long-term exclusive contracts with the major domestic airlines in the United States. These exclusive contracts have the purpose and effect of thwarting competition on the merits and on price, and [they] have permitted Gogo to charge consumers like Plaintiffs and the members of the class they seek to represent supra-competitive prices." The lawsuit demands a jury trial, class action status, changes in Gogo's business practices, and financial damages. Gogo asked the court to throw out the lawsuit, arguing that it hasn't forced competitors out of the market.
benton.org/node/173868 | Ars Technica | GigaOm
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TELEVISION

NEW RETRANS ATTACK TARGETS MULTICASTING
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Doug Halonen]
Broadcasters could be barred from affiliating with two or more of the Big 4 TV networks and multicasting the signals, under a new retransmission consent reform proposal being pitched by the pay-TV industry at the Federal Communications Commission. In addition, the ability of broadcasters to negotiate retransmission consent rights for unaffiliated stations in separate markets could be constrained, under another retransmission reform proposal being promoted by pay-TV lobbyists during recent FCC visits. “Specifically, we asked the FCC to clarify that a broadcast station’s assignment of its right to negotiate retransmission consent to another broadcast station constitutes a ‘transfer of control’ that requires commission approval,” said representatives of Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, DirecTV, Dish Network and the American Cable Association, according to a Jan 30 lobbying disclosure filing on the FCC’s website. Under one of the new wrinkles in the retransmission reform campaign, the pay-TV companies are now urging the FCC to crack down on the ability of broadcasters to offer more than one Big 4 TV network-affiliated signals over their own channels by multicasting, according to the disclosure letter.
benton.org/node/173866 | TVNewsCheck
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TELECOM REFORM

THE FUTURE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS FEDERALISM
[SOURCE: American Enterprise Institute, AUTHOR: Daniel Lyons]
[Commentary] One issue that has received little attention thus far is the role of states in the Communications Act of tomorrow. Today’s information networks are different than in the past. Now, they are national in scope. Calling plans long ago eliminated the distinction between local and long-distance calls, and the Internet routes packets over the most efficient route on a moment-by-moment basis, making it virtually impossible to determine whether a particular transmission crosses state lines en route to its destination. Neither providers nor consumers distinguish between interstate and intrastate communications -- and the law should not do so either. In terms of a principled allocation of authority between the federal government and the states must flow from an appreciation of the relative strengths of each policymaker, it seems natural that a new Communications Act should preempt most state economic regulation of telecommunications networks. However, this does not mean that states do not have a role to play under a revamped Communications Act.
[Daniel Lyons is an assistant professor at Boston College Law School]
benton.org/node/173857 | American Enterprise Institute
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SECURITY/PRIVACY

SEVERAL CYBERSECURITY INITIATIVES LOST AFTER SNOWDEN'S NSA leaks
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Ken Dilanian]
As Edward Snowden was preparing to disclose classified documents he had purloined from National Security Agency computers in Hawaii, the NSA director, Gen Keith Alexander, was gearing up to sell Congress and the public on a proposal for the NSA to defend private US computer networks against cyberattacks. Gen Alexander wanted to use the NSA's powerful tools to scan Internet traffic for malicious software code. He said the NSA could kill the viruses and other digital threats without reading consumers' private emails, texts and Web searches. But after Snowden began leaking NSA systems for spying in cyberspace that went public in June, Alexander's proposal was a political nonstarter, felled by distrust of his agency's fearsome surveillance powers in the seesawing national debate over privacy and national security. It was one of several Obama Administration initiatives, in Congress and in diplomacy, that experts say have been stopped cold or set back by the Snowden affair. As a result, US officials have struggled to respond to the daily onslaught of attacks from Russia, China and elsewhere, a vulnerability that US intelligence agencies now rank as a greater threat to national security than terrorism.
benton.org/node/173850 | Los Angeles Times
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

TECH COMPANIES SAY TENS OF THOUSANDS OF USER ACCOUNTS WERE SUBJECT TO NATIONAL SECURITY SPYING
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Timothy Lee]
Several of the nation's leading technology companies released new data detailing the extent of National Security Agency surveillance of their users. Numbers released by Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn and Facebook show that in the first six months of 2013, the NSA submitted requests for private information from at least 59,000 user accounts. Of the five companies, Yahoo appears to have been the favorite of NSA analysts. The Sunnyvale company received national security requests for "content" from at least 30,000 users. Microsoft fielded requests affecting at least 15,000 accounts, while Google requests affect 9,000 user accounts. Facebook said that its requests affect at least 5000 users. LinkedIn said it received fewer than 250 national security requests. The companies may also have received requests for "non-content" information, such as data about the times, senders, and recipients of e-mail messages. Yahoo, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft all said they received fewer than 1,000 of these in the first half of 2013. The data come with several caveats. The companies are barred from disclosing the precise numbers of national security requests or users affected, and must disclose the figures in ranges of 1,000 instead. The government also requires a six-month delay before reporting figures about national security surveillance, which is why the reports only cover the first half of 2013. Some companies took the opportunity to release several years’ worth of data. Google's data, for example, shows that national security requests affected fewer than 3,000 user accounts in the first half of 2009. By the second half of 2012, the figure had soared to more than 12,000 accounts. Data requests to Microsoft affected at least 11,000 user accounts in late 2011, a figure that grew to 15,000 for the first half of 2013.
benton.org/node/173862 | Washington Post | GigaOm | Inside Facebook | FISA
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WHITE HOUSE ADDED LAST-MINUTE CURBS ON NSA BEFORE OBAMA SPEECH
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Siobhan Gorman]
On the day before President Barack Obama gave a highly anticipated speech on the National Security Agency, White House officials rushed to include additional surveillance restrictions to address concerns of privacy advocates and the President's own review panel, said people familiar with the process. In one significant change made in the final hours before the Jan 17 speech, White House officials decided the President would require the NSA to obtain a court order each time it searched its database of information about American phone calls, a US official said. Some White House officials worried that earlier versions of President Obama's speech and corresponding plan of action, which lacked that element, could provoke a public protest from privacy groups and from members of his own review panel, the official said. But the added restrictions set off a scramble. Around 10 p.m. the night before the speech, White House officials were still working to query Justice Department lawyers about the question of court orders for database searches, the official said. The development of the President's prescription also underscored the potency of that debate. After trying for months to restore public trust in US spy programs, the administration appears to have been swayed by an 11th-hour appeal by members of the review panel.
benton.org/node/173851 | Wall Street Journal
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MAKING SURVEILLANCE A LITTLE LESS OPAQUE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] One of the most disturbing aspects of the surveillance programs revealed by Edward Snowden is how little we knew about the information federal agencies have collected about millions of people. That is partly because these agencies have put severe limits on how much private telephone and Internet companies can disclose about the data they have been ordered to turn over to the government. The new rules will now allow companies to disclose the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act orders as well as the national security letters -- but, again, only in broad ranges. They can also disclose how many users were affected but not the nature of the information they turned over to the government. Simply put, the new rules will not appreciably improve the public’s understanding of the surveillance system or its ability to push back. What is clear is that government officials have not budged from their belief that Americans should simply trust them to do the right thing.
benton.org/node/173852 | New York Times
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COMPANY NEWS

6 NEW FACTS ABOUT FACEBOOK
[SOURCE: Pew Research Center, AUTHOR: Aaron Smith]
Facebook turns 10 and reaches that milestone as the dominant social networking platform, used by 57% of all adults and 73% of all those ages 12-17. Adult Facebook use is intensifying: 64% of Facebook users visit the site on a daily basis, up from 51% of users who were daily users in 2010. Among teens, the total number of users remains high, according to Pew Research Center surveys, and they are not abandoning the site. But focus group interviews suggest that teens’ relationship with Facebook is complicated and may be evolving. New Pew Research Center survey findings show how people are using Facebook and what they like and dislike about the site.
Some users dislike certain aspects of Facebook, but fear of missing out on social activities (or “FOMO”) isn’t one of them.
Women and men often have varying reasons for why they use Facebook -- but everything starts with sharing and laughs.
Half of all adult Facebook users have more than 200 friends in their network.
12% of Facebook users say that someone has asked them to “unfriend” a person in their network.
Facebook users “like” their friends’ content and comment on photos relatively frequently, but most don’t change their own status that often.
Half of internet users who do not use Facebook themselves live with someone who does.
benton.org/node/173884 | Pew Research Center | WSJ | FT
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February 2014

Improve Teachers' 'Data Literacy,' Education Groups Urge

Districts Weigh Blended Costs, Savings

Most Charities Fail at Online Fundraising Basics, Says Study

February 4, 2014 (Net Neutrality Legislation; Broadband for Schools and Libraries)

President Obama will speed up plan to connect public schools to the Internet

Fast Internet Is Chattanooga’s New Locomotive

Cable Merger Future-proofs Against Internet

FCC chief tells Sprint chair he is skeptical on T-Mobile deal

Spying Fears Abroad Hurt US Tech Firms

Apple Quietly Builds New Networks