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September 2014

Google Balloons Take Flight In Vast Remote Broadband Launch

Google X sees itself as firmly on target with a plan to launch high altitude Internet-transmitting balloons across the southern hemisphere, as it aims to provide wireless coverage to billions of people in remote areas. Google has said that by next year it aims to have a semi-permanent ring around the world to provide coverage to pilot testers in rural areas in places such as southern Africa, South America, Australasia and the most southerly parts of Asia.

Is Apple Picking a Fight With the US Government?

[Commentary] Apple is not designing systems to prevent law enforcement from executing legitimate warrants. It’s building systems that prevent everyone who might want your data -- including hackers, malicious insiders, and even hostile foreign governments -- from accessing your phone. This is absolutely in the public interest. Moreover, in the process of doing so, Apple is setting a precedent that users, and not companies, should hold the keys to their own devices.

The problem with keys is that once you have them, sooner or later someone will expect you to use them. Today those requests originate from police in the United States. Tomorrow they may come from the governments of China or Russia. And while those countries certainly have legitimate crime to prosecute, they’re also well known for using technology to persecute dissidents. Apple may not see either public interest or shareholder value in becoming the world’s superintendent -- meekly unlocking the door for whichever nation’s police ask them to. Apple’s new encryption may not solve this problem entirely -- foreign governments could always ban the sale of Apple products or force Apple to redesign. But by approaching the world with a precedent that customers, not Apple, are responsible for the security of their phones, Apple can at least make a credible attempt to stay above the fray.

[Green is a research professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University]

Federal Rules for Political Advertising on Television and Radio

The airwaves across the country are flooded with political advertisements and it’s only going to increase as Election Day approaches. Candidate ads, independent expenditure ads, electioneering communications and issue ads are everywhere. What are they, who can fund them and what are they required to disclose about their funding to the Federal Election Commission and the Federal Communications Commission? A new easy-to-read chart from the Campaign Legal Center has the answers all in one place. The chart breaks down the types of ads, their permitted funding sources, FEC and FCC disclosure requirements and other rules that apply to each type of broadcast advertisement.

Senate Democrats lead TV ad blitz

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ruled the TV airwaves last week, even trumping the conservative super PACs and Koch brothers-backed nonprofits they’ve accused of trying to buy elections.

The DSCC -- an official arm of the Democratic Party -- aired about 3,800 ads in US Senate races across eight states, according to a new Center for Public Integrity analysis of preliminary estimates provided by Kantar Media/CMAG, an advertising tracking service. That was more than double the number of ads run by its GOP counterpart, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, from Tuesday, Sept. 16, through Monday, Sept. 22.

An Internet Where Nobody says Anything

Linking people across borders and boundaries is not itself a crime in China. But that behavior has been effectively criminalized when it suits the government. And the Chinese government has shown it will be most content with an Internet that challenges nothing, not even gently.

September 25, 2014 (Comcast accuses critics of ‘extortion’)

Is the Internet Starting to Fracture? http://benton.org/calendar/2014-09-25/

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014

Headlines is hiring a Writing Associate. For more info see: http://benton.org/about/job-openings


OWNERSHIP
   Comcast accuses Time Warner Cable deal critics of ‘extortion’
   Comcast deal could end $10 broadband for low-income K-12 families in Detroit, Twin Cities - analysis

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Wireless Plans Add New Twist to Network Neutrality Debate - analysis
   FCC Commissioners eye strong ‘fast lane’ rules
   South Korea’s gigabit broadband woes should serve as object lesson for FCC regulators - Stuart Brotman op-ed [links to web]
   Bulk Bandwidth Prices Get Steadier After Long Swoon
   Will the FCC Vacate State Broadband Restrictions? - analysis
   ‘Big Gig Challenge’ Seeks to Bolster Muni Fiber Projects in Northeast Ohio [links to web]

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   Apple Pulls iOS 8 Software Update After iPhone Problems [links to web]

TELEVISION
   Cable Retransmission Reform Effort Falling Short
   FCC Ponders Retransmission Document Request [links to web]
   The power of traditional TV: ‘NCIS’ and its older audience deliver gold for CBS [links to web]
   Drones for TV, Film to Get FAA Approval [links to web]

DIVERSITY
   Exposing Hidden Bias at Google

EDUCATION
   When the digital classroom meets the parents [links to web]

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
   FirstNet Proposed Interpretations of Parts of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 - public notice [links to web]

PRIVACY/SECURITY
   Nearly Half of US Companies Had Data Breaches in the Past Year [links to web]
   The Briefcases That Imitate Cell Phone Towers [links to web]

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Inside the collapse of the FCC’s digital infrastructure -- and the rush to save it
   Redesigning that first encounter with online government [links to web]
   When the Government Sends You a Text Message, Take Note [links to web]
   Celebrating Open Government Around the Globe - White House press release [links to web]

LOBBYING
   Tech Firms and Lobbyists: Now Intertwined, but Not Eager to Reveal It
   Silicon Valley firms learn politics has its liabilities

POLICYMAKERS
   Top-level turnover makes it harder for DHS to stay on top of evolving threats [links to web]

MORE ONLINE
   Amazon is one of the only things keeping the US Postal service afloat - analysis [links to web]
   Knight Foundation reorganizes to accelerate media innovation and adoption of digital journalism tools - press release [links to web]

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OWNERSHIP

COMCAST ANSWERS CRITICS
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Brooks Boliek]
Comcast says Netflix and other companies lining up against its proposed $45 billion union with Time Warner Cable have something in common: attempted “extortion.” In a filing with the Federal Communications Commission, Comcast says the companies made “self-interested requests” of the cable giant, “almost always with an express or at least an implicit offer to support” it’s Time Warner Cable bid if the demands were met. Comcast calls out high-profile opponents of the deal, including Netflix, Discovery Communications, and DISH, for having engaged in such tactics. “The significance of this extortion lies in not just the sheer audacity of the demands, but also the fact that each of the entities making the ‘ask’ has all but conceded that if its individual business interests are met, then it has no concern whatsoever about the state of the industry, supposed market power going forward, or harm to consumers, competitors or new entrants,” the company wrote.
benton.org/headlines/comcast-accuses-time-warner-cable-deal-critics-extortion | Politico | Comcast press release | read the filing | NYTimes | Deadline Hollywood | Recode | The Hill | ars technica | Multichannel News | Multichannel News – Cohen press conf | ars technica | GigaOm
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INTERNET ESSENTIALS IN MIDWEST
[SOURCE: Redistributing the Future, AUTHOR: Bill Callahan]
[Commentary] When asked to describe the public benefits of their controversial plan to buy out Time Warner Cable, Comcast executives eagerly point to the expansion of Internet Essentials, Comcast's three-year-old program that provides $10 broadband accounts to families with children who qualify for Federal school lunch subsidies. If the Time Warner deal is allowed, Comcast promises the program will continue to expand its user base of low-income households in its current market areas -- now pegged at about 300,000 -- and expand aggressively in the former Time Warner markets as well. But what many have failed to notice that one of the first effects of the deal, if greenlighted by the FCC, will be to terminate $10 Internet Essentials service for tens of thousands of poor families who are already using it. These families are among the 2.5 million customers whom Comcast is proposing to "spin off" to a newly formed cable Internet corporation called "GreatLand Connections". [Aug 31]
benton.org/headlines/comcast-deal-could-end-10-broadband-low-income-k-12-families-detroit-twin-cities | Redistributing the Future
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

NET NEUTRALITY AND WIRELESS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
While federal communications regulators have been writing rules of the road for how broadband providers can treat traffic on wired networks, wireless providers have been building private little speedways. The new, low-cost wireless plans with unlimited access to certain apps that don't count against a user's data limit are adding a new dimension to the net neutrality debate. Wireless carriers say the plans are a cheap way for people to keep in touch with friends and family. But such plans can limit users to only a small slice of the Internet—and they are becoming more common just as the Federal Communications Commission is considering rules to determine how open the Internet should be. Advocates of strict net neutrality rules want the plans banned under the FCC's new rules for broadband providers. Stanford Law Professor Barbara van Schewick said the plans allow wireless carriers to pick winners and losers among apps. In Europe and Latin America, regulators in some countries are moving to ban them.
benton.org/headlines/wireless-plans-add-new-twist-network-neutrality-debate | Wall Street Journal
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SACRAMENTO HEARING
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Julian Hattem]
Federal Communications Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel spoke at a hearing, hosted by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), in Sacramento (CA) and seemed to push for rules prohibiting companies from meddling with people's service on their computers or mobile devices. “I believe the FCC must find a way to put open Internet policies back in place because we cannot have a two-tiered Internet with fast lanes that speed the traffic of the privileged and leave the rest of us lagging behind,” Commissioner Rosenworcel said, referring to the official name for rules on net neutrality -- the idea that Web providers like Comcast should treat all Internet traffic equally. Commissioner Rosenworcel said that the FCC should hold field hearings on network neutrality featuring all the commissioners and held outside Washington (DC). Commissioner Mignon indicates that the new Internet rules should also apply to smartphones and tablets operating wirelessly, a change from the FCC’s previous rules.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-commissioners-eye-strong-fast-lane-rules | Hill, The | B&C | Multichannel News | Sacramento Bee
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BANDWIDTH PRICES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Drew Fitzgerald]
The relentless drop in prices for Internet bandwidth has slowed sharply, offering a glimmer of hope to a telecom industry still struggling with the aftermath of a bust nearly a decade and a half ago. Wholesale prices for bandwidth in network hubs like New York, London and São Paulo fell 10% or less in the year ended in June, according to industry researcher TeleGeography. That counts as good news for the companies selling long-haul Internet service, as it put the brakes on steep annual declines that have averaged as much as 34% in previous years. The prices aren't the ones that consumers pay and likely won't affect them. Instead, they come from deals that big companies cut to handle the huge loads of Internet traffic.
benton.org/headlines/bulk-bandwidth-prices-get-steadier-after-long-swoon | Wall Street Journal
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MUNICIPAL BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Brian Heaton]
If the Federal Communications Commission does rule for Wilson and Chattanooga petitions and ultimately concerning municipal broadband, Christopher Mitchell, director of the Telecommunications as Commons Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, expects a lengthy legal process. He envisioned a scenario that could drag on for years and possibly reach the US Supreme Court. If the matter goes that far, Michael Botein, professor of law at New York Law School, expressed reservation in the high court’s ability to understand the technical issues that are in play when it comes to municipal broadband networks. He called the Supreme Court “one of the worst informed” judicial bodies when the issue deals with technology, and said he wouldn’t “put any trust in their ability to puzzle this one out.”
benton.org/headlines/will-fcc-vacate-state-broadband-restrictions | Government Technology
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TELEVISION

RETRANSMISSION REFORM
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Doug Halonen]
The pay TV industry’s heavily lobbied retransmission consent reform campaign doesn’t appear likely to result in a major pummeling for broadcasters on Capitol Hill this year, but cable and satellite TV operators may score some gains that could hurt the ability of broadcasters to negotiate future retransmission deals. The focus of the pay TV efforts to hobble broadcasters has been legislation aimed primarily at extending the ability of satellite TV operators to import distant broadcast signals in certain limited circumstances for five years. The legislation is known as the Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act, or STAVRA, in the Senate and the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act, or STELA, in the House.
benton.org/headlines/cable-retransmission-reform-effort-falling-short | TVNewsCheck
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DIVERSITY

GOOGLE DIVERSITY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Farhad Manjoo]
Google is undertaking a long-term effort to improve its diversity numbers, the centerpiece of which is a series of workshops aimed at making Google’s culture more accepting of diversity. There’s just one problem: The company has no solid evidence that the workshops, or many of its other efforts to improve diversity, are actually working. Google is attacking the problem with its considerable resources and creativity. But it does not have a timeline for when the company’s work force might become representative of the population, or whether it will ever get there. “I think it’s terrific that they’re doing this,” said Freada Kapor Klein, an entrepreneur who has long studied workplace diversity, and who is the co-chairwoman of the Kapor Center for Social Impact. “But it’s going to be important that Google not just give a lecture about the science, but that there be active strategies on how to mitigate bias. A one-shot intervention against a lifetime of biased messages is unlikely to be successful.”
benton.org/headlines/exposing-hidden-bias-google | New York Times
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

FCC IT
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Nancy Scola]
The flood of public interest in the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet proceeding revealed just how dated the FCC's online public engagement infrastructure has become. As the system strained under the attention, grass-roots activists and staffers inside the FCC worked together, hour-by-hour, to keep it up and running. At times they got on each other’s nerves; at others they pulled together. But all were coping with the same decades-old technology that, no one can now deny, simply isn’t up to the age of digital civic engagement. The FCC online commenting system's sputtering was an embarrassment to an agency eager to prove it is competent enough to make rules around modern technology and a frustration for groups with names like Fight for the Future and Demand Progress that are eager to prove both their organizing chops and the rightness of their issue.
benton.org/headlines/inside-collapse-fccs-digital-infrastructure-and-rush-save-it | Washington Post
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LOBBYING

TECH LOBBYING
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Nick Wingfield]
Silicon Valley’s relationship with Washington is becoming much cozier, at least as far as political contributions are concerned. Yet it can be hard to tell, because the tech industry is not eager to show it. The industry has spent $71 million so far this year on lobbying, and last year spent $141 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Yet the information technology industry ranks near the bottom of an annual list that attempts to grade large corporations on how well they voluntarily and publicly disclose their political activities. At the most secretive end of the spectrum, two tech companies, Netflix and Salesforce, received a score of zero. At the most transparent end, three tech companies -- Microsoft, Qualcomm and Intel -- were ranked among the top five. Google, Amazon and Facebook all received below-average scores; Apple’s and Yahoo’s were slightly above average.
benton.org/headlines/tech-firms-and-lobbyists-now-intertwined-not-eager-reveal-it | New York Times
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SILICON VALLEY AND POLITICS
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Michelle Quinn]
Google, Facebook and are quitting the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative organization that has been a flash point for years. The move reveals a weakness in a popular Silicon Valley business strategy: Throwing ideas against the wall to see what sticks does not work in the realm of politics and public opinion. When it comes to political engagement, "these companies are on a sophistication curve," said Larry Gerston, a political-science professor at San Jose State. "They are not afraid of trying things. But they are more sensitive as they grow to what their constituents think." For tech companies, that dating analogy is a problem when it comes to politics and advocacy. It may be prudent to think twice before joining groups this year that you are going to have to break up with come next year.
benton.org/headlines/silicon-valley-firms-learn-politics-has-its-liabilities | San Jose Mercury News
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Wireless Plans Add New Twist to Network Neutrality Debate

While federal communications regulators have been writing rules of the road for how broadband providers can treat traffic on wired networks, wireless providers have been building private little speedways.

The new, low-cost wireless plans with unlimited access to certain apps that don't count against a user's data limit are adding a new dimension to the net neutrality debate. Wireless carriers say the plans are a cheap way for people to keep in touch with friends and family. But such plans can limit users to only a small slice of the Internet -- and they are becoming more common just as the Federal Communications Commission is considering rules to determine how open the Internet should be.

Advocates of strict net neutrality rules want the plans banned under the FCC's new rules for broadband providers. Stanford Law Professor Barbara van Schewick said the plans allow wireless carriers to pick winners and losers among apps. In Europe and Latin America, regulators in some countries are moving to ban them.

FCC Commissioners eye strong ‘fast lane’ rules

Federal Communications Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel spoke at a hearing, hosted by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), in Sacramento (CA) and seemed to push for rules prohibiting companies from meddling with people's service on their computers or mobile devices.

“I believe the FCC must find a way to put open Internet policies back in place because we cannot have a two-tiered Internet with fast lanes that speed the traffic of the privileged and leave the rest of us lagging behind,” Commissioner Rosenworcel said, referring to the official name for rules on net neutrality -- the idea that Web providers like Comcast should treat all Internet traffic equally. Commissioner Rosenworcel said that the FCC should hold field hearings on network neutrality featuring all the commissioners and held outside Washington (DC).

Commissioner Mignon indicates that the new Internet rules should also apply to smartphones and tablets operating wirelessly, a change from the FCC’s previous rules.

South Korea’s gigabit broadband woes should serve as object lesson for FCC regulators

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission now has collected more than 3 million comments in a major proceeding that may reclassify broadband Internet service to fit within the largely- inflexible common carrier model in Title II of the Communications Act of 1934.

Some advocates continue to cite other countries, such as South Korea, as leapfrogging ahead of our nation’s broadband network capabilities. A closer look at actual marketplace events there, rather than press reports from afar, reveals that what has transpired is quite different from what others have reported as fact, however. A closer look at European broadband investment models, and a better understanding of actual broadband developments in countries such as South Korea, should help inform the FCC and Congress as they deliberate our nation’s future broadband path and overall Internet growth.

[Brotman teaches at Harvard Law School and is a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Center for Technology Innovation at The Brookings Institution]

Bulk Bandwidth Prices Get Steadier After Long Swoon

The relentless drop in prices for Internet bandwidth has slowed sharply, offering a glimmer of hope to a telecom industry still struggling with the aftermath of a bust nearly a decade and a half ago.

Wholesale prices for bandwidth in network hubs like New York, London and São Paulo fell 10% or less in the year ended in June, according to industry researcher TeleGeography. That counts as good news for the companies selling long-haul Internet service, as it put the brakes on steep annual declines that have averaged as much as 34% in previous years. The prices aren't the ones that consumers pay and likely won't affect them. Instead, they come from deals that big companies cut to handle the huge loads of Internet traffic.

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