June 2014

The NAB Skewers FCC's Auction Rules

When the Federal Communications Commission adopted a rulemaking aimed at setting the rules for the incentive auction of TV spectrum and repacking of the TV band in May, the National Association of Broadcasters expressed deep concerns about it.

Now that the trade group has had a chance to read the 500-page text of the rulemaking, its concerns have only deepened.

"The order's fundamental flaw is that it ignores Congress's clear direction to do no harm to broadcasters who choose not to participate in the voluntary auction," said NAB President Gordon Smith. "Instead, the [FCC] goes so far as to suggest that the goal of repurposing broadcast spectrum for mobile broadband is superior, rather than equal to, that of maintaining a healthy and robust broadcast industry.

AT&T sees 20 percent cut in U-verse content costs after DirecTV merger

AT&T said it expects to cut programming costs for its U-verse television product by more than 20 percent with its $48.5 billion purchase of satellite television provider DirecTV - savings that will be the biggest portion of the deal's cost benefits.

The acquisition will also enable AT&T, the country's No. 2 wireless carrier, to offer a pay TV and wireless bundle to an additional 45 million US customers, the company said in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing adds details to a bid that has boggled some analysts who see little benefit to the mobile carrier.

NTIA Releases Interim Progress Report on Administration’s Plan to Free Up More Spectrum

NTIA released the Fourth Interim Progress Report on the Obama Administration’s initiative to identify and make available 500 megahertz of federal and non-federal spectrum for commercial wireless broadband use by 2020.

This report also includes a plan for federal agencies to conduct quantitative assessments of their actual spectrum usage in 960 megahertz of additional spectrum, as directed in President Barack Obama’s June 2013 Memorandum. America’s future competitiveness and global technology leadership depend on access to radio spectrum -- the lifeblood of smartphones, tablets, and other data-hungry wireless devices.

The key accomplishments in the 2013 fiscal year include the following:

NTIA’s Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee concluded its groundbreaking work to explore relocation alternatives and spectrum sharing arrangements between federal agencies and commercial mobile broadband systems in the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1850 MHz bands.
NTIA released regulations and guidance implementing changes to the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act (CSEA) that provide eligible federal agencies incentives and financial assistance to facilitate the transition of the reallocated federal bands that the FCC will auction.
NTIA published an initial assessment on spectrum-sharing technologies and the risk to federal users if Unlicensed-National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) devices were authorized to operate in the 5350-5470 MHz and 5850-5925 MHz bands (5 GHz).
NTIA, in collaboration with other federal agencies, developed the plan for federal agencies to provide quantitative assessments of their usage of spectrum in selected frequency bands.
The FCC initiated or concluded rulemaking proceedings for several spectrum bands and services, including H Block and AWS-4 services.

NTIA Seeks Comment on Big Data and the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights

The US. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is seeking public comment on how developments related to “big data” impact the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

The NTIA has issued a Request for Comments on how issues raised by big data impact the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, the Obama Administration’s framework for privacy protections released in February 2012.

The most recent action was called for in the White House’s big data and privacy working group report on how big data is transforming the way we live and work. Counselor to the President John Podesta convened senior government officials, including US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, to conduct the wide-ranging review of big data and privacy, and the group presented its findings to President Obama on May 1.

Specifically, NTIA is seeking comment on:

How the principles in the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights support innovations related to big data while also responding to potential privacy risks;
Whether the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights should be clarified or modified to better accommodate the benefits or risks of big data;
Whether a responsible use framework should be used to address the challenges posed by big data; and
Mechanisms to best address the limits of the “notice and consent” model for privacy protection noted in the big data report.

House Republicans Request GAO Examination of Administration Proposal Regarding the Future of the Internet

A group of Republican House members wrote the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting an examination of the Obama administration’s recent proposal to transition Internet oversight to the global multi-stakeholder community.

In March 2014, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), an agency of the Department of Commerce, announced its intention to transition oversight of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) root functions to the global multi-stakeholder community.

In the letter, the leaders express concern that the criteria for transition set forth by NTIA may not ensure that the Internet remains free and open in the absence of United States oversight. The members are seeking an examination of the proposed transition and its possible implications to US national security, the potential for other governments to assume the US role post-transition, and any additional concerns the GAO may have about the transition.

The letter was signed by Chairman Upton, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chairman Rep Greg Walden (R-OR), full committee Vice Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Reps John Shimkus (R-IL), Mike Kelly (R-PA), and Todd Rokita (R-IN).

Big Brother: Meet the Parents

Moms and dads from across the political spectrum have mobilized into an unexpected political force in recent months to fight the data mining of their children.

In a frenzy of activity, they’ve catapulted student privacy -- issue that was barely on anyone’s radar up until now -- to prominence in statehouses from New York to Florida to Wyoming.

Now, parents are rallying against another perceived threat: huge state databases being built to track children for more than two decades, from as early as infancy through the start of their careers. Promoted by the Obama Administration, the databases are being built in nearly every state at a total cost of well over $1 billion. They are intended to store intimate details on tens of millions of children and young adults -- identified by name, birth date, address and even, in some cases, Social Security number -- to help officials pinpoint the education system’s strengths and weaknesses and craft public policy accordingly.

“Every parent I’ve talked to has been horrified,” said Leonie Haimson, a New York mother who is organizing a national Parent Coalition for Student Privacy. “We just don’t want our kids tracked from cradle to grave.” Eager to support technological innovation and wary of new regulations, Congress has taken little notice of parent concerns. But state legislators have raced to respond. Since January, 14 states have enacted stricter student privacy protections, often with overwhelming bipartisan support, and more are likely on the way.

Verizon to Netflix: Here’s a cease-and-desist letter. Can you hear me now?

Verizon is threatening to sue Netflix in the latest tit-for-tat between the companies over a controversial error message some Netflix subscribers have been seeing. A cease-and-desist letter by Verizon calls Netflix's new error message -- which blames Verizon's network for laggy downloads -- "deceptive" and "false," arguing that Netflix's claims could potentially harm Verizon's business. "In light of this, Verizon demands that Netflix immediately cease and desist from providing any such further 'notices' to users of the Verizon network," the company wrote. The firestorm began when Vox Media developer (and former Washington Post staffer) Yuri Victor tweeted an image of Netflix's error message. The post quickly gained traction on social media, and prompted Verizon to complain in a blog post that the streaming video company was being misleading. Evidently, Verizon thought Netflix wasn't taking the warning seriously. "We further demand," Verizon's letter continued, "that within five days … Netflix provide Verizon with any and all evidence and documentation that it possesses substantiating Netflix's assertion to Mr. Yuri Victor that his experience in viewing a Netflix video was solely attributable to the Verizon network."

Republican Senators Warn FCC’s Wheeler Against 'Usurping' State laws

Almost a dozen Republican senators say they are deeply troubled by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler's plan to preempt state laws inhibiting municipal broadband, or what they characterize as usurping states’ rights and forced taxpayer funding of broadband competition.

In a letter to Chairman Wheeler dated June 5, the senators -- including Sens Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), both members of the Communications Subcommittee -- referred to Chairman Wheeler's April 30 speech to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, a group the FCC chairman once headed -- that he believed the FCC had the power and the duty to preempt. The senators said they were deeply concerned that the FCC would "force taxpayer-funded competition against private broadband providers"-- something the cable industry is also concerned about for obvious reasons.

They suggested "inserting" the FCC into economic and fiscal affairs in "such a cavalier fashion" was a states' rights issue. They said the states can better protect against unnecessary spending, debt and waste than unelected bureaucrats. Opponents of preemption have argued that the laws are on the books because elected representatives of the people concluded they should be, a point the senators made.

"State political leaders are accountable to the voters who elected them, and the Commission would be well-advised to respect state sovereignty," they said. "The last thing the Commission should do in these trying fiscal times, with so many other important priorities, is usurp state policy with respect to municipal broadband,” they said.

Also signing on to the letter were Sens Deb Fischer (R-NE), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Tim Scott (R-SC), Mike Enzi (R-WY), John Barrasso (R-WY), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Tom Coburn (R-OK).

Sen Markey, Public Knowledge: Public Safety May Require Title II

Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) and Public Knowledge both said that classifying broadband as a Title II service could be a public safety must-have. At a hearing in the Senate Communications Subcommittee on the safety and network reliability issues related to the IP transition, Sen Markey said he agreed that it may be necessary for the Federal Communications Commission to reclassify broadband under Title II to insure that VoIP 911 calls get completed.

In her testimony for the hearing, Public Knowledge senior staff attorney Jodie Griffin said that the DC circuit's decision overturning open Internet rules "called into question the FCC's ability to continue applying certain fundamental policies" to an IP-based phone network, particularly its ability to require VoIP providers to complete all calls, or prohibit them from blocking calls.

Sen Markey agreed with Griffin's assertion that unless the FCC can assure that ability to insure core values like access and reliability under Title I, which she suggests the court signaled it can't, the FCC should reclassify.

What Do Public Health Officials Want From Big Data?

One of the central themes of the fifth annual Health Datapalooza conference in Washington, DC was how innovative approaches to data can help local public health agencies better target their limited resources.

Two panels of public health experts described some creative solutions they have developed to work around the fact that data coming from federal and state sources is often years old and not geographically meaningful enough.

Brian Castrucci, program director for the de Beaumont Foundation, which seeks to catalyze new thinking about public health innovation, said his organization has surveyed local public health officials in 18 cities and found a strong desire for more local data. “They need neighborhood-level data to inform policy,” he said. “It has to have the right level of geographic aggregation.” The data they get now to help target chronic conditions such as diabetes is not granular enough, he added. It doesn’t help them to have state-level data that is two years old.

Barbara Ferrer, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, said one of the biggest issues for her department right now is dealing with an opioid overdose epidemic. “The data we get from the state is three years old, and from the medical examiner confirming deaths is two years old,” she said. “I am looking for real-time data. We need it to influence programming dollars.” She added that there isn’t agreement on the need of public health departments at the local level having good access to data.

There is no reason those electronic media record feeds couldn’t happen simultaneously if there is agreement on which data should be sent where. “It is wasteful but better than no data access at all,” she said, “or waiting for others to decide when we are going to get access.”

Benton

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