March 2014

Netflix users on Verizon and AT&T get raw deal, have little reason for hope

Netflix's February rankings show that Google Fiber's average Netflix speed of 3.74Mbps was more than twice as high as Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon, which are the first, second, and fourth biggest broadband providers in the country. Cablevision, Cox, Suddenlink, and Charter beat the biggest ISPs in the national speed rankings too.

The trend has been a downward one for months on Verizon, Comcast, and AT&T, yet only customers of Comcast have reason to hope it might improve. That's because Netflix reluctantly agreed to pay Comcast for a direct connection to its network. Already, Netflix streaming on Comcast improved slightly in February and should continue to get better as more traffic goes over the direct connection between Netflix and Comcast. But what about Netflix customers stuck with Verizon or AT&T? There's nothing to do but wait. AT&T said it would be too expensive to upgrade its network without help from Netflix and other bandwidth-heavy services. In other words, Netflix has to pay or consumers will either face worse performance or get higher bills from AT&T.

Pennsylvania Legislators Ask FCC to Delay JSA Vote

Ten members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation (nine Republicans, one Democrat) have asked the Federal Communications Commission to delay a vote to make some joint sales agreements (JSAs) attributable under ownership rules. That vote is currently scheduled for March 31. They also said that if the FCC does approve new rules, it should grandfather existing JSAs. In their letter, the legislators said that "retroactive application of the rules to transactions entered into in full compliance with laws, and already approved by the government is inconsistent with sound public policy and legal process." They also want any deals currently before the FCC to be treated according to existing laws, "not future ones."

Beware the surveillance reform Trojan horse: what's not in the new NSA laws?

[Commentary] Stopping the government from holding onto of all Americans' phone metadata would undoubtedly be a good thing for American privacy, but if you read between the legislative lines, the government might not be curtailing mass surveillance so much as permanently entrenching it in American law. Maybe it's time we heed the warning of the late George Carlin: "'Bipartisan' usually means that a larger-than-usual deception is being carried out."

[Timm is executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation]

NSA head steps down

Gen. Keith Alexander stepped down from the leadership of the National Security Agency (NSA).

In a ceremony at the agency’s Fort Meade (MD) headquarters, Gen Alexander formally relinquished control of the agency after a nearly nine-year tenure and nearly 40-year military career. The NSA chief has become a divisive figure in recent months, after revelations from former agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed details about the government’s snooping operations. Critics have claimed that he has tried to withhold information from the American people and has overseen unconstitutional operations that spy on the public. He said that Snowden’s leaks “will haunt him for the rest of his life.”

Head of Intelligence Panel in House Says He’ll Retire to Take Job as Radio Host

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) stunned colleagues by announcing he would retire to take a job as a talk radio host, just days after proposing an ambitious overhaul of the nation’s electronic surveillance programs.

Rep Rogers, in his seventh term, will join 19 Democrats and 21 other Republicans leaving the House before the 114th Congress next year. Members of the Intelligence Committee said they were taken completely by surprise. On March 24, Chairman Rogers led a lengthy meeting with members on the National Security Agency overhaul that he and Rep C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) unveiled this week. He gave no indication that he would be leaving. He did, however, inform the House ethics committee in January that he had begun negotiating with Cumulus Media that month, according to documents released Friday by his office. He also gave advance notice to Speaker John A. Boehner (R-OH).

Digital Music Pioneer Is Found Liable in Copyright Suit

Michael Robertson, a pioneer in the digital music business who has repeatedly clashed with record companies over legal issues, was found liable for $41 million in a long-running federal copyright infringement suit. His latest conflict with the music industry was over MP3tunes, a company he founded in 2005 and shut down two years ago. MP3tunes let its users back up digital music files on remote services on the Internet -- an early version of the so-called cloud lockers that technology giants like Apple and Google offer as part of their standard suite of digital music offerings.

In 2007, the music company EMI sued for copyright infringement, saying that MP3tunes and a related site, Sideload.com, hosted EMI's songs without the proper licenses. Over the last seven years the case has become one of the most complex in digital music; in some ways it served as a musical parallel to Viacom’s lawsuit against YouTube, which was also filed in 2007 and settled last week. Three years ago, the judge in the MP3tunes case, William H. Pauley III of United States District Court in Manhattan, ruled that MP3tunes’s business was legal, but that Robertson and other executives could still be held personally liable for some songs hosted without permission.

Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
House Commerce Committee
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
10:30 am
http://energycommerce.house.gov/hearing/ensuring-security-stability-resi...

A hearing to examine ways to ensure the security, stability, resilience, and freedom of the global Internet. This hearing begins the committee’s aggressive oversight following the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announcement that it is asking the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to determine what steps can be taken to move Domain Name Systems (DNS) functions into the multi-stakeholder model without jeopardizing the security and freedom that have fostered the Internet’s success.

Witnesses:
The Honorable Larry Strickling
Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information Administration
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce

The Honorable David A. Gross
Partner
Wiley Rein, LLP

Mr. Fadi Chehadé
President and CEO
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

Mr. Steve DelBianco
Executive Director
NetChoice

Ms. Carolina Rossini
Project Director, Latin American Resource Center
Internet Governance and Human Rights Program
New American Foundation

Read more about Ensuring the Security, Stability, Resilience, and Freedom of the Global Internet

FCC Announces E-rate Inflation-Based Cap for Funding Year 2014

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau announces that the E-rate program funding cap for funding year 2014 is $2,413,817,693. The new cap represents a 1.4% inflation-adjusted increase from funding year 2013’s cap of $2,380,314,485.

Chairman Wheeler’s Diversity Claim is a Fantasy

[Commentary] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler’s contention that eliminating joint sales agreements will open up new opportunities for minority and women to become TV station owners ignores the fact that TV broadcasting is no longer a business for small operators, regardless of their gender or color. It's a business for behemoths with negotiating clout. On the other hand, if Wheeler called off the incentive auction tomorrow, there would be all kinds of TV stations available for all kinds of buyers, including minorities and women.

Chairman Wheeler's Response to Senator Rockefeller Regarding SSAs and Broadcast Ownership Rules

On November 25, 2013, Sen John Rockefeller (D-WV) wrote a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler asking the FCC to explore the impact of shared services agreements (SSAs) on the concentration of broadcast media outlets in local markets. On March 19, Chairman Wheeler wrote back to Sen Rockefeller saying that the FCC bears a very important responsibility in ensuring that broadcast license holders act in the public interest, convenience, and necessity.

“Your letter highlights significant issues for the Commission to contemplate in administering that responsibility with respect to broadcast licensing and ownership, and I have circulated an item for consideration at the March Open Meeting that will seek additional comment on the issues related to SSAs, including whether such agreements should be disclosed publicly. I will ensure that your letter is placed in the quadrennial ownership review docket. Additionally, we will take these issues into consideration when reviewing media license transfer applications.”

Benton

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