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  2. October 2014

October 2014

Researchers find mobile ISP thwarting customers’ attempts to send encrypted e-mails

Some customers of popular prepaid-mobile company Cricket were unable to send or receive encrypted e-mails for many months, according to security researchers, raising concerns that consumers may find that protecting their privacy is not always in their hands. The inability to send some encrypted messages on Cricket's network was discovered by software engineers from the digital security and privacy firm Golden Frog.

How Nebraska Built a Network with the Lowest Internet Costs

A multi-year effort to build a statewide network in Nebraska has resulted in a service that has not only lowered internet costs, but has increased bandwidth, improving the ability for schools to share educational courses across the state. The University of Nebraska, along with other educational institutions in the state, pay less than $2 per megabit per month for Internet service.

Internet speed: What you don’t know about the web

[Commentary] High capacity broadband networks are often touted as the cornerstones of a blazingly fast web experience, but this isn’t really the case. The other factors that influence the web experience are the capacity of web servers to respond to user requests and the ability of browsers and end user devices to render and display web pages. At the speeds that most Americans use today, these non-network factors account for 50 to more than 90 percent of the wait time to load web pages. Consequently, increasing network capacity has a minimal effect on the user experience of surfing the web. In fact, upgrading from a 10 Mbps broadband connection to a faster one is unlikely to produce a perceptible effect most of the time. The dominant role that non-network factors play in web speed suggests that the common narrative that demands radical changes in broadband policy to create incentives for faster networks is not entirely based on reality. This is disturbing.

[Bennett is a visiting fellow at AEI]

Campaign Outreach and Involvement in 2014 Midterms

Voters are reporting roughly similar levels of contact from political campaigns and groups as four years ago, with one notable exception.

The share of voters who say they have received a phone call about the election has fallen 12 points since mid-October 2010, from 59% to 47%. This decline has been driven by a fall in the percentage saying they have gotten pre-recorded campaign calls, or robo-calls. Just 41% of registered voters say they have gotten a pre-recorded call about the elections, down from 55% in mid-October 2010. About one-in-five (22%) say they have received a live campaign call, the same as at this point in the 2010 campaign.

Surge in midterm election campaign spending a boon for TV broadcasters

The 2014 midterms, with control of the US Senate up for grabs, are turning out to be another bonanza for the owners of local television stations in closely divided states.

Driven in part by unprecedented advertising by super PACs and other groups that aren't allowed to coordinate with candidates, total spending in the midterm races is now projected to top $4 billion nationwide, making it the most expensive midterm election in history. The surge in political spending is cyclical and can be fickle, but it has become an important part of the revenue stream for broadcast companies -- as much as a 30% increase in election years -- and it's affecting how they operate. Even though more political advertising is landing on cable channels and online sites, well more than half of the spending is still flowing to local stations, analysts said.

Digital Literacy is a Game Changer: A Neighborhood-Level Analysis of Chicago’s Smart Communities

The Internet has generated huge economic gains for people all over the world. But some urban communities have not seen an equal share of the benefits. Chicago’s Smart Cities program aimed to help close the digital divide.

An evaluation of the program offers unique evidence of neighborhood level change, following investment from the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) that was part of the federal stimulus. The research shows that neighborhoods participating in this digital literacy and outreach program experienced increased rates of Internet use, broadband adoption, and online activities, including job search. Chicago is the only US city to have neighborhood-level data over time and offers a nationally significant view of the effects of a BTOP initiative, especially in an urban area.

Closing the App Gap: Improving Children’s Phonological Skills

The purpose of our study was to examine the efficacy of Learn with Homer, an application designed to improve school readiness skills on children’s early literacy development.

Specifically, the trial focused on children’s speech-to-print development, recognizing that the skills of phonological awareness and the understanding of the alphabetic principle are strongly predictive of school readiness. Our goal was to better understand how a carefully targeted application, with an evidence-based instructional design, could help to improve children’s skills and potentially close the gap for low-income children. Given what is known about the ‘summer slide,’ for poor children in particular, providing phonological awareness in a highly motivating program might be especially critical, given the significant differences in children’s early language skills as they enter kindergarten, right ‘at the starting gate.’ This study indicated measurable effects for children’s growth in phonological awareness and in developing an understanding of the speech-to-print connections in early literacy development. Children in the treatment group exceeded those in the control group in three areas in particular: print knowledge, phonological awareness, and letter sounds. For the treatment group specifically, children made statistically significant gains in all skills measured, with the exception of the identification of the alphabet’s upper case letters. These results indicate that Learn with Homer significantly improved children’s school readiness skills.

FBI created fake Seattle Times Web page to nab bomb-threat suspect

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Seattle created a fake news story on a bogus Seattle Times web page to plant software in the computer of a suspect in a series of bomb threats to Lacey’s Timberline High School in 2007, according to documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco.

The deception was publicized when Christopher Soghoian, the principal technologist for the American Civil Liberties Union, revealed it on Twitter. Soghoian called the incident “outrageous” and said the practice could result in “significant collateral damage to the public trust” if law enforcement begins co-opting the media for its purposes. The EFF documents reveal that the FBI dummied up a story with an Associated Press byline about the Thurston County bomb threats with an email link “in the style of The Seattle Times,” including details about subscriber and advertiser information.

EU digital economy chief wants Google to pay up under new copyright law

Günther Oettinger, the man who will become the European Union’s digital economy and society commissioner, may be considering taking the so-called “Google tax” law from his native Germany and applying it across the EU. Oettinger, who will report to digital single market commissioner Andrus Ansip, has been tasked with reforming European copyright law (a brief that was previously one for the internal markets department, rather than digital economy). He told Handelsblatt that he wants to introduce an EU-wide copyright law, to replace the current patchwork of national laws. Interestingly, he appeared to suggest that Google should be paying some kind of copyright fee that it isn’t currently paying.

October 28, 2014 (US Mail; Playin' Chicken; ICANN; Equinix)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014

Cybersecurity on today’s agenda http://benton.org/calendar/2014-10-28/

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Report Reveals Wider Tracking of Mail in US

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Google’s playing a multibillion-dollar game of chicken with traditional ISPs
   ICANN, Regulators Clash Over Illegal Online Drug Sales
   Equinix, the Internet’s Biggest Landlord
   AT&T makes case for user-driven ‘fast lanes’
   Fed up, US cities take steps to build better broadband
   FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly at NTCA’s Telecom Executive Policy Summit - speech

EDUCATION
   Civil liberties groups think this Tennessee school district’s tech policy is unconstitutional
   Apple details how its $100 million pledge to Obama's ConnectED will help schools
   Should Schools Mandate Computer-Coding Classes? - analysis [links to web]

MEDIA AND ELECTIONS
   FEC eyes regulations on online political ads [links to web]
   FEC chairman warns of 'regulatory regime' watching the Internet [links to web]

TELEVISION
   Broadcast Television Is About to Go the Way of AM Radio - analysis [links to web]
   The Loneliest Stations in the Nation [links to web]
   Kagan: Retransmission Fees To Reach $9.3B By 2020 [links to web]
   Beau Willimon: TV Enjoying ‘Unprecedented’ Amount of Creative Freedom [links to web]

WIRELESS
   What to make of the FCC’s latest airwave auction delay - Brian Fung analysis [links to web]
   Investing in Regulation Rather than Networks - AT&T press release [links to web]
   FTC Chairwoman Ramirez: Connected devices will only succeed with trust [links to web]
   What your smartphone addiction actually looks like [links to web]

OWNERSHIP
   FTC/DOJ OK With Liberty Broadband Spin-Off [links to web]
   Frontier wraps its acquisition of AT&T's Connecticut network assets [links to web]

HEALTH
   Patient-To-Physician Messaging: Volume Nearly Tripled As More Patients Joined System, But Per Capita Rate Plateaued - research [links to web]

CONTENT
   The United States of Reddit - op-ed [links to web]

POLICYMAKERS
   FCC Media Bureau Staff Changes - press release [links to web]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Digital Drag: Ranking 125 Nations on Taxes and Tariffs on ICT Goods and Services - research [links to web]
   Shifting alliances at the ITU: Why authoritarian regimes would love to see Title II applied in the US - AEI op-ed
   Cyberattacks up 48 percent in 2014 [links to web]
   Computer Firms Warn ITU Against Heavy Hand On Cybersecurity [links to web]
   Hacking Trail Leads to Russia, Experts Say [links to web]

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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

TRACKING MAIL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Ron Nixon]
In a rare public accounting of its mass surveillance program, the United States Postal Service reported that it approved nearly 50,000 requests in 2013 from law enforcement agencies and its own internal inspection unit to secretly monitor the mail of Americans for use in criminal and national security investigations. The number of requests, contained in a little-noticed 2014 audit of the surveillance program by the Postal Service’s inspector general, shows that the surveillance program is more extensive than previously disclosed and that oversight protecting Americans from potential abuses is lax. The audit found that in many cases the Postal Service approved requests to monitor an individual’s mail without adequately describing the reason or having proper written authorization. In addition to raising privacy concerns, the audit questioned the efficiency and accuracy of the Postal Service in handling the requests. Many requests were not processed in time, the audit said, and computer errors caused the same tracking number to be assigned to different surveillance requests.
benton.org/headlines/report-reveals-wider-tracking-mail-us | New York Times
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

BROADBAND CHICKEN
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
No matter what the biggest Internet providers say, the average American knows that getting a competitive Internet connection can be difficult -- if not impossible, at times. New entrants such as Google Fiber have come seemingly out of nowhere to shake up this dynamic in some markets, prompting a race among Internet service providers (ISPs) to upgrade speeds and expand access to the fastest, cheapest fiber around. But a big question is how long this push can last. Will the majority of America be served by Google Fiber when all is said and done? If not, can Google compel other providers to build out their fiber offerings -- and what will that take, exactly? If AT&T is convinced that Google Fiber wants to be everywhere, then it'll be incentivized to flood the zone itself. If AT&T thinks Google wants AT&T to do all the heavy lifting, then Google will have distracted its rival while it lays the groundwork for a much larger surprise attack. Of course, now that AT&T is poised to unveil fiber in many more cities than Google Fiber has hinted at, AT&T may have insulated itself from said surprise attack.
benton.org/headlines/googles-playing-multibillion-dollar-game-chicken-traditional-isps | Washington Post
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ICANN AND INTERNET REGULATION
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jeff Elder]
The Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the closest thing the freewheeling Internet has to a regulator, but the agency’s powers are limited. It manages technical functions that help the Web operate by allowing computers to locate the correct servers and websites. ICANN also oversees roughly 1,100 registrars that sell Web addresses -- and collects about one-third of its operating expenses from those firms. Because of its central role, regulators and law-enforcement agencies around the world say ICANN could be crucial to their crackdown on illicit Internet operators of all kinds. ICANN officials also say the organization does everything it can to prevent or stop illegal activity online. Critics misunderstand ICANN ‘s role and the limits of its power, the organization’s top officials say.
benton.org/headlines/icann-regulators-clash-over-illegal-online-drug-sales | Wall Street Journal
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EQUINIX
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Drew Fitzgerald]
Data-center giant Equinix Inc. is hardly a household name, but it’s hard to find a household that isn’t in some sense a customer. With a string of network hubs from Shanghai to Dubai, the company has become the Internet’s biggest landlord, renting slices of its air-conditioned floors to virtually every company that operates online. That commanding presence has made it a flashpoint in the debate between purists who see the Internet largely as a utility and companies like Equinix, which built its business on the commercialization of the Web’s connective tissue. It has also led an unlikely group of engineers from companies like Netflix and Comcast to launch a nonprofit association they hope will spur cheaper alternatives.
benton.org/headlines/equinix-internets-biggest-landlord | Wall Street Journal
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AT&T FAST LANES
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Julian Hattem]
If people want to prioritize one website over another on their own Internet service, they should be able to, according to AT&T. Company officials recently met with Federal Communications Commission lawyers to argue that the agency should not ban Internet “fast lanes” that individual users want placed on their service. For instance, a business might want to give workers faster access to certain websites over others when traffic gets clogged, to incentivize employees to stay on task rather than surf the web, AT&T argued. “To preemptively and categorically block consumers from making these types of choices over their own Internet access connection before anyone even knows what the service might look like would needlessly stifle innovation and deny consumers the ability to tailor their own Internet service to their own needs,” AT&T said in an FCC filing summarizing its meeting.
benton.org/headlines/att-makes-case-user-driven-fast-lanes | Hill, The
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CITIES AND BROADBAND
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
City and town governments aren't typically known for leading the way on technology. But all that’s changing fast -- and the demand for broadband is what's driving this shift. No longer content to let residents suffer from poor Internet access, cities and towns saw a need to boost their tech savvy. Now many are partnering with technologists in order to take matters into their own hands. While some municipalities have taken on the extraordinarily complex task of building their own networks, others have succeeded with lower-tech methods. Streamlining permitting processes and readying public infrastructure has helped some draw in new ISPs such as Google Fiber. Other cities and towns are taking advantage of legal processes to pressure incumbents into offering better and cheaper service. And still other cities are laying fiber conduits every time construction workers dig up the ground for unrelated projects, allowing quicker upgrades from cable and copper. In all these ways, cities and towns are showing that smart management can be just as important as high-tech systems when it comes to making broadband accessible and affordable to everyone.
benton.org/headlines/fed-us-cities-take-steps-build-better-broadband | Ars Technica
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FCC’S O’RIELLY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly]
Three basic points: 1) the future is broadband and this means change; 2) action by the Federal Communications Commission is necessary and appropriate; and 3) consumers will benefit from modern infrastructure and regulatory treatment.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-commissioner-michael-orielly-ntcas-telecom-executive-policy-summit | Federal Communications Commission
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EDUCATION

SCHOOL TECH POLICY
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Andrea Peterson]
Civil liberties groups are asking a Tennessee school district to suspend its technology policy, saying it gives school administrators too much power to search students' cellphones and monitor their technology use, as well as limit their social media activity even when it occurs off campus. When students bring their own devices, like smartphones, onto campus, the Williamson County school district asks parents and students to agree to allow school personnel to search them with few limitations. "The school district may collect and examine any device at any time for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this agreement, investigating student discipline issues, or for any other school-related purpose," according to the district's "Acceptable Use, Media Release, and Internet Safety Procedures" policy. The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and the Electronic Frontier Foundation argue that the policy for the school district just south of Nashville subjects students to "suspicionless -- and limitless -- searches" of their devices "for essentially any purpose and without any rational that justifies such a considerable intrusion."
benton.org/headlines/civil-liberties-groups-think-tennessee-school-districts-tech-policy-unconstitutional | Washington Post
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APPLE’S CONNECTED ED PLEDGE
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: Chris Welch]
Earlier in 2014, Apple pledged $100 million to President Obama's ConnectED program, an initiative that aims to bring reliable, high-speed broadband to 99 percent of schools across the United States. And now the company published a new website that gives the full details on where that money is headed. Apple's grants will be distributed to 114 schools located in 29 states. Every student at participating schools will receive an iPad, with teachers and administrators also given Macs and Apple TV set-top boxes for classroom use. Apple is focusing on schools that are struggling to provide students and communities with the technology that others might take for granted. At the locations Apple has picked, at least 96 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. The company also notes that 92 percent of students at partner schools are of Hispanic, Black, Native American, Alaskan Native, or Asian heritage.
benton.org/headlines/apple-details-how-its-100-million-pledge-obamas-connected-will-help-schools | Verge, The
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

ITU AN TITLE II
[SOURCE: American Enterprise Institute, AUTHOR: Roslyn Layton]
[Commentary] Simply put, if the US wanders down the path of network neutrality and Title II, there is no reason why authoritarian regimes won’t follow suit, especially if they can legitimize increased monitoring of networks and users under the guise of keeping the Internet “open and free.” Make no mistake: national policies have international implications. Title II is a bad idea for US interests at home and abroad.
[Layton studies Internet economics at the Center for Communication, Media, and Information Technologies (CMI) at Aalborg University in Copenhagen, Denmark.]
benton.org/headlines/shifting-alliances-itu-why-authoritarian-regimes-would-love-see-title-ii-applied-us | American Enterprise Institute
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