August 2014

Answering the Public's Call

President Barack Obama will sign into law the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, and in doing so, will achieve a rare trifecta: a win for American consumers, a win for wireless competition, and an example of democracy at its best -- bipartisan congressional action in direct response to a call to action from the American people.

As long as their phone is compatible and they have complied with their contracts, consumers will now be able to enjoy the freedom of taking their mobile service -- and a phone they already own -- to the carrier that best fits their needs.

[Zients is Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy]

Empowering Small Businesses

Federal Communications Chairman Tom Wheeler circulated a proposal to open new opportunities for small and growing businesses in the mobile marketplace.

Although the proposal may sound technical – updating the Commission’s approach to small business participation in wireless auctions— the purpose is simple: To provide innovative, smaller companies the opportunity to build wireless businesses that can spur additional investment and bring more choices to consumers.

Here’s one way: smaller companies may want to leverage business partnerships with larger companies through more flexible leasing arrangements to gain access to capital and cash flow, not to mention operational experience. Allowing structured entry into the wireless business make sense, especially given the billions of dollars it would take to build a new national network from scratch. With experience in operations and investment, smaller networks will have the prospect of progressing into more robust, facilities-based competition, which has been, and remains, a critical goal of the Commission.

As promised in the Mobile Spectrum Holdings Report and Order, we now seek comment on whether and how we should restrict the ability of wireless companies to combine their bids during an auction.

[Sherman is FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Chief]

FCC Open Commission Meeting Agenda August 8

The Federal Communications Commission will hold on August 8, 2014 an Open Meeting on:

Wireless communications. Streamlining and updating the rules governing the construction, marking, and lighting of antenna structures; and
Public safety & homeland security. The FCC will consider a Second Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that establishes deadlines for covered text providers to be capable of delivering texts to appropriate 911 public safety answering points, and seeks comment on proposals to improve text-to-911 service.

Many Apps Fail to Provide Information On Payment Dispute Mechanisms, Privacy

A new staff report issued by the Federal Trade Commission finds that many mobile apps for use in shopping do not provide consumers with important information -- such as how the apps manage payment-related disputes or handle consumer data -- prior to download.

The report, “What’s the Deal? An FTC Study on Mobile Shopping Apps,” looked at some of the most popular apps used by consumers to comparison shop, collect and redeem deals and discounts, and pay in-store with their mobile devices. The report makes a number of recommendations to companies that provide mobile shopping apps to consumers:

Apps should make clear consumers’ rights and liability limits for unauthorized, fraudulent, or erroneous transactions.
Apps should more clearly describe how they collect, use, and share consumer data.
Companies should ensure that their data security promises translate into sound data security practices.
Beyond recommendations for companies, the report also urges consumers to closely examine the apps’ stated policies on issues like dispute resolution and liability limits, as well as privacy and data security and evaluate them in choosing which apps to use.

FCC asked six more ISPs, content providers to reveal paid peering deals

The Federal Communications Commission investigation of how network interconnection problems affect the quality of Internet service began when the FCC obtained the paid peering deals Netflix signed with Comcast and Verizon. The FCC has asked another six Internet service providers and content providers for copies of similar agreements, a commission official said.

The FCC will likely announce more details of its probe in the fall, but the public probably won't see any specific details of the contracts.

The FCC official would not say which companies other than Netflix, Comcast, and Verizon got the requests, although Wheeler said in June that he would try to get information from the Google-owned YouTube. Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, and other companies have direct connections with ISPs, the financial details of which have not been disclosed.

Judge Waives Off Aereo's Emergency Motion About 'Bleeding to Death'

Aereo pleaded for its life to a New York federal judge, claiming it was "bleeding to death" in its current non-operational state.

US District Court Judge Alison Nathan reacted swiftly, knocking Aereo for having "jumped the gun in filing, without authorization, its motion for emergency consideration of preliminary injunction issues upon remand."

Aereo's motion has been stricken from the record, but the company told the judge, "Unless it is able to resume operations in the immediate future, the company will likely not survive.”

Frontier Tries Out Prepaid Broadband

Following Comcast into the world of prepaid broadband, Frontier Communications has introduced Pay-As-You-Go Internet, a service that allows customers to buy access in increments of one day, seven days or 30 days.

Like Comcast’s prepaid offering, Frontier’s does not require a credit check, a Social Security number or a bank account, opening up a way to obtain customers who don’t want or otherwise don’t qualify for a post-paid broadband service.

Parks: Cloud DVR Sees Growing Interest, Legal Clarity

The recent Aereo Supreme Court case, while not exactly positive for Aereo, may help drive cloud DVR adoption, according to Parks Associates’ Research Analyst Glenn Hower.

And with growing interest in the application, video service providers “…can experiment with these cloud services as strategies to build subscriber loyalty and increase revenues.”

Recent Parks’ research reveals that 45% of US pay-TV subscribers find cloud DVR technology very appealing. Subscribers have particular interest in unlimited storage space and two-week catch-up services for video, according to the research findings.

Pro-Democracy Hackers Infiltrate Chinese TV Station

On August 1, residents of Wenzhou, a city in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang, saw their normal Wenzhou Television programming interrupted by caustic messages in stark yellow text appearing on a black background.

One message, emblazoned across the top of the screen, declared, "Damn the Chinese Communist Party's mouthpieces: China Central Television, Peoples' Daily" -- the first a broadcaster, the latter a newspaper, and both generally acknowledged to toe the party line -- as well as "the Propaganda Department and the State Radio and Film Administration," both agencies that exercise government censorship.

Wenzhou Television could not be immediately reached for comment.

Schools Set to Adjust to Revamped E-Rate Policies

The Federal Communications Commission’s recent makeover of the E-rate program is billed as a step toward transforming the fund from one focused on supporting 1990s-era telecommunication tools to one that accommodates 21st-century technologies.

Now, school officials are trying to gauge what the new policies will mean for teachers, students, and their districts’ bottom lines. If the order works as planned, the application process for funding will become smoother, and the prices schools and libraries pay for services will become more transparent.

like the 16,000-student Red Clay Consolidated School District, in Delaware, are sifting through the order and evaluating where their E-rate funding will rise and fall as a result of FCC’s change of policy.

Benton

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