January 27, 2015 (The Internet debate taking the country by storm)
“Where a community -- city or county or a district -- is not satisfied with the service rendered or the rates charged by the private utility, it has the undeniable basic right, as one of its functions of government, one of its functions of home rule, to set up … its own governmentally owned and operated service.”
- Gov Franklin Roosevelt (D-NY), 1932 http://benton.org/headlines/battle-americas-broadband-internet-debate-ta...
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2015
Today’s busy agenda http://www.benton.org/calendar/2015-01-27
NET NEUTRALITY
Activists start countdown to net neutrality
Verizon: Title II Reclassification Radical, Risky [links to web]
The FCC’s De-Americanization of the Internet - Scott Cleland op-ed
INTERNET/BROADBAND
The battle for America’s broadband: The Internet debate taking the country by storm - analysis
Uniting in Support of Broadband that Works - press release
State Officials Push Back Hard on Pre-emption
How the cable industry is trying to reshape the economics of the Internet - analysis
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Public Wi-Fi and Minorities: Study Finds Strong Benefits
Cablevision’s Wi-Fi Mobile Phone Service Is Not for Everyone [links to web]
Google investment revives satellite Internet talks [links to web]
TELECOM
Verizon Agrees To $5 Million Settlement In Rural Call Completion Investigation - press release
FCC To Fine Advanced Tel $1.6 Million For Failing To Pay Universal Access Fees - press release
CONTENT
Where abandoned Web sites go to get a second chance [links to web]
TV Content Generates 80 Percent of Consumer Attention [links to web]
TELEVISION
CenturyLink wants Congress to update the 1992 Cable Act [links to web]
Bidding war between networks, sports leagues will increase price of cable TV [links to web]
Sling TV won't end cable as we know it. But something like it will. - analysis [links to web]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Sheriffs Want Popular Police-Tracking App Disabled
Secret 'BADASS' Intelligence Program Spied on Smartphones
Gov. Mike Pence's state-run news outlet will compete with media
CYBERSECURITY
Republicans Tee Up Cybersecurity Questions for hearing [links to web]
New Technologies Bring New Opportunities and New Risks: Vetting Mobile Apps - press release [links to web]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
FirstNet Holds Federal Consultation “Kick Off” - press release [links to web]
DIVERSITY
Hollywood's devastating gender divide, explained
Lawmakers launch tech diversity caucus [links to web]
10 Actionable Ways to Actually Increase Diversity in Tech - op-ed [links to web]
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
Koch Brothers’ Budget of $889 Million for 2016 Is on Par With Both Parties’ Spending
Golden chance for tech in California race
Campaigns Need to Accept That Print is Dead - op-ed [links to web]
LOBBYING
Politicians are supporting Comcast's Time Warner Cable merger with letters ghostwritten by Comcast
POLICYMAKERS
CTIA Names Tom Power Senior Vice President and General Counsel [links to web]
Lawmakers launch tech diversity caucus [links to web]
COMPANY NEWS
Comcast's service flub adds to mounting complaints [links to web]
Having Nixed Subsidies, T-Mobile Tries a Different Kind of Phone Discount Program [links to web]
Yahoo Was the GE of the Internet - op-ed [links to web]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Secret 'BADASS' Intelligence Program Spied on Smartphones
Facebook Said to Block Pages on Muhammad to Avoid Ban in Turkey [links to web]
NET NEUTRALITY
ACTIVISTS START COUNTDOWN TO NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Julian Hattem]
One month before the Federal Communications Commission is expected to vote on new rules to treat the Internet like a utility, activists participating in the Battle for the Net campaign have launched an online countdown clock that they are making available for sites across the Web. "We are closer than ever to winning real network neutrality protections that will keep the Web open for generations to come, and the Internet is literally counting down the seconds,” said Evan Greer, Campaign Director for Fight for the Future. “We call on Internet users, cat video posters, music bloggers, YouTube karaoke stars, and major websites to unite for one more epic push to make sure that the FCC does the right thing and that corrupt members Congress can’t derail the process.”
benton.org/headlines/activists-start-countdown-net-neutrality | Hill, The
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THE FCC'S DE-AMERICANIZATION OF THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: The Daily Caller, AUTHOR: Scott Cleland]
[Commentary] The governments of the world are watching to see if the Federal Communications Commission officially votes to de-Americanize the Internet with a U-turn change in American Internet policy by regulating America’s Internet like a telephone utility network. If the FCC abandons America’s global Internet policy for national purposes, other governments naturally could as well. Moving away from a global Internet toward a national, bordered, and tariffed Internet could allow every country to turn their current large implicit Internet trade deficit with America into a future, explicit, large and highly lucrative Internet trade surplus at the expense of America’s bandwidth-hogging Internet companies. By attempting to fix an Internet that Americans know is not broken, the FCC is recklessly risking de-Americanizing the Internet and destroying the American benefits of a global Internet -- America’s most influential innovation and export in the modern era.
[Scott Cleland is President of Precursor LLC, a research consultancy for Fortune 500 companies]
benton.org/headlines/fccs-de-americanization-internet | Daily Caller, The
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
THE BATTLE FOR AMERICA'S BROADBAND: THE INTERNET DEBATE TAKING THE COUNTRY BY STORM
[SOURCE: Salon, AUTHOR: Henry Grabar]
Should a city, county or district dissatisfied with lousy corporate service have the authority to construct and offer its own Internet? Is the Internet today, like electricity a century ago, a utility that -- as a group of Democratic senators opined in 2014 -- Americans “cannot live without”? Portland (OR) says yes. Along with some of the nation’s largest cities, like Los Angeles, Boston and San Antonio, Portland has joined Next Century Cities, a group that advocates for municipal ”self-determination” on the issue. And just as cities like Portland emulate Kansas City’s laissez-faire strategy, so companies like AT&T (which once bragged of its universal access policy) seek to imitate Google’s demand-driven approach. The result is a fragmentation in the provision of the Internet. All city residents get the same water, gas and electricity. But the kind of Internet you access may depend on what neighborhood you live in.
benton.org/headlines/battle-americas-broadband-internet-debate-taking-country-storm | Salon
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UNITING IN SUPPORT OF BROADBAND THAT WORKS
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: David Edelman]
If your region has a great community broadband offering, encourage leaders involved with the project to participate in the White House Community Broadband Summit, or one of the regional workshops slated for 2015, to share the experience. If your area is considering new broadband solutions -- including community broadband -- your state and local leaders will find a wealth of new resources from the Department of Commerce. And if you’re just not satisfied with the quality of Internet available where you live, get involved! Check out some of the regions around the country in our new report on community broadband to see what happens when a few involved citizens, in partnership with local leaders and the private sector, make bold commitments to bringing more competition and faster, better broadband into their area.
benton.org/headlines/uniting-support-broadband-works | White House, The
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STATE OFFICIALS PUSH BACK HARD ON PRE-EMPTION
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Groups representing state legislatures -- including some state legislators themselves -- joined with groups made up of state regulatory commissioners and governors to talk with reporters about the threat of the Federal Communications Commission pre-empting state municipal broadband laws. The associations talked about the need to protect the sovereignty of state laws over the municipalities that are political subdivisions of the states. Legislators from South Carolina and Utah said the laws were meant to prohibit cross-subsidization of broadband and to ensure taxpayers weren't on the hook for municipal broadband systems that failed, to the tune of many millions of dollars. The groups also expressed concerns about setting a precedent of federal pre-emption, and where it could strike next. The groups signaled that if the FCC goes ahead with pre-emption, the agency can expect a tough court fight. They seemed confident that court precedent was in their favor.
benton.org/headlines/state-officials-push-back-hard-pre-emption | Multichannel News | The Hill
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HOW THE CABLE INDUSTRY IS TRYING TO RESHAPE THE ECONOMICS OF THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
If the cable industry gets its way, it'll enjoy tremendous advantages when it comes to the economics of the Internet. Here's how:
1) Arguing against new federal broadband standards to raise minimum download speed for broadband from 4Mbps to 25Mbps.
2) Resisting regulation of the middle-mile Internet: "Internet traffic exchange presents distinct issues and considerations that are not part of the open Internet debate," Comcast wrote in a filing to the Federal Communications Commission, arguing that the middle-mile Internet is a competitive marketplace with a lot of providers that doesn't need greater oversight. How this debate plays out could determine which companies foot the bill for exchanging traffic -- and if it's a shared arrangement, what the balance looks like. And that could have consequences for what you, the consumer, see on your bills.
3) A new way to make phone calls: Cablevision announced that it's launching a service called Freewheel, a $30-a-month cellular plan that uses only Wi-Fi to make calls.
benton.org/headlines/how-cable-industry-trying-reshape-economics-internet | Washington Post
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
PUBLIC WI-FI AND MINORITIES: STUDY FINDS STRONG BENEFITS
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Andrew Burger]
According to a new study from WifiForward, African-Americans and Latinos are more likely to use public Wi-Fi networks and use them more often. Furthermore, they report more in the way of positive impacts from public Wi-Fi use than their Caucasian counterparts. One-third of Latinos and 29 percent of African-Americans use public Wi-Fi to access the Internet, which explains why public Wi-Fi access “plays a larger role for communities of color,” WifiForward notes. “The study’s findings confirm earlier surveys showing that Latinos and African Americans, particularly those who are middle- and lower-income, are much more likely to rely on smartphones and other mobile devices for their primary access to the Internet,” commented Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Project at the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute.
benton.org/headlines/public-wi-fi-and-minorities-study-finds-strong-benefits | telecompetitor | WifiForward
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TELECOM
VERIZON AGREES TO $5 MILLION SETTLEMENT IN RURAL CALL COMPLETION INVESTIGATION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Verizon has agreed to a $5 million settlement to resolve a Federal Communications Commission inquiry into the company’s failure to investigate whether rural customers could receive long distance or wireless calls to landline phones. The inquiry, led by the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, centered on whether, over a period of many months in 2013, Verizon failed to investigate evidence of low call answer rates to 26 different rural areas across the country. Verizon will pay a fine of $2 million and will implement a compliance plan in which it commits to spend an additional $3 million over the next three years to improve call completion to rural areas across the country.
benton.org/headlines/verizon-agrees-5-million-settlement-rural-call-completion-investigation | Federal Communications Commission | read the order
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FCC TO FINE ADVANCED TEL $1.6 MILLION FOR FAILING TO PAY UNIVERSAL ACCESS FEES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission plans to fine Advanced Tel $1,588,988 for failing to make required payments to federal programs that promote universal access to telecommunications services. An FCC investigation found that the Simi Valley (CA) carrier failed to make required payments to the Universal Service Fund, Telecommunications Relay Service Fund, Local Number Portability administration, and federal regulatory fees. Despite repeated opportunities, Advanced Tel ultimately declined to reach an agreement to resolve its debts, compelling this action.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-fine-advanced-tel-16-million-failing-pay-universal-access-fees | Federal Communications Commission
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
SHERIFFS WANT POPULAR POLICE-TRACKING APP DISABLED
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Eileen Sullivan]
Sheriffs are campaigning to pressure Google to turn off a feature on its Waze traffic software that warns drivers when police are nearby. They say the apps could put officers' lives in danger from would-be police killers who can find where their targets are parked. Waze is a combination of GPS navigation and social networking. Fifty million users in 200 countries turn to the free service for real-time traffic guidance and warnings about nearby congestion, car accidents, speed traps or traffic cameras, construction zones, potholes, stalled vehicles or unsafe weather conditions. There are no known connections between any attack on police and Waze, but law enforcers are concerned it's only a matter of time. They are seeking support among other law enforcement trade groups to pressure Google to disable the police-reporting function.
benton.org/headlines/sheriffs-want-popular-police-tracking-app-disabled | Associated Press
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JUST IN
[SOURCE: Indianapolis Star, AUTHOR: Tom LoBianco]
Gov. Mike Pence (R-IN) is starting a state-run, taxpayer-funded news outlet that will make pre-written news stories available to Indiana media, as well as sometimes break news about his administration. Gov Pence is planning in late February to launch "Just IN," a website and news outlet that will feature stories and news releases written by state press secretaries and is being overseen by a former Indianapolis Star reporter, Bill McCleery. "At times, Just IN will break news — publishing information ahead of any other news outlet. Strategies for determining how and when to give priority to such 'exclusive' coverage remain under discussion," according to a question-and-answer sheet distributed last week to communications directors for state agencies. The Pence news outlet will take stories written by state communications directors and publish them on its website. Stories will "range from straightforward news to lighter features, including personality profiles." The endeavor will come at some taxpayer cost, but precisely how much is unclear. The news service has two dedicated employees, whose combined salary is nearly $100,000, according to a search of state employee salary data.
benton.org/headlines/gov-mike-pences-state-run-news-outlet-will-compete-media | Indianapolis Star
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
KOCH CAMPAIGN BUDGET
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Nicholas Confessore]
The political network overseen by the conservative billionaires Charles G. and David H. Koch plans to spend close to $900 million on the 2016 campaign, an unparalleled effort by coordinated outside groups to shape a presidential election that is already on track to be the most expensive in history. The spending goal would allow their political organization to operate at the same financial scale as the Democratic and Republican Parties. It would require a significant financial commitment from the Kochs and roughly 300 other donors they have recruited over the years, and covers both the presidential and congressional races. In the last presidential election, the Republican National Committee and the party’s two congressional campaign committees spent a total of $657 million. The Kochs’ network will embark on its largest drive ever to influence legislation and campaigns across the country, leveraging Republican control of Congress and the party’s dominance of state capitols to push for deregulation, tax cuts and smaller government.
benton.org/headlines/koch-brothers-budget-889-million-2016-par-both-parties-spending | New York Times
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CALIFORNIA SENATE RACE
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
For the well-heeled technology moguls of Silicon Valley, the race for California’s first open Senate seat in decades is shaping up to be a political gold rush. The announced departure of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in 2016 offers the industry -- a fast-evolving player in politics -- a rare chance to cultivate a powerful new ally, someone who can push its growing agenda in Washington while representing a sector that views itself as the key economic engine for California and the rest of the country. Securing a congressional advocate is no easy task, a lesson Valley elites learned in 2014 when they funded a losing House candidate in their own backyard. But tech sees early potential in Senate hopefuls like state Attorney General Kamala Harris (D-CA) -- though AG Harris has been tough on the industry in the past and may need to articulate a broader tech platform before companies and executives fully embrace her.
benton.org/headlines/golden-chance-tech-california-race | Politico
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DIVERSITY
HOLLYWOOD'S DEVASTATING GENDER DIVIDE, EXPLAINED
[SOURCE: Vox, AUTHOR: Kelsey McKinney]
On the red carpet, women are the stars of America's film industry, but on the screen they only star in 15 percent of films. And that percentage hasn't gotten any better since the 1930s. Hollywood has a gender problem. The movies it produces vastly underrepresent women, and portray them in ways that place them as inferior to their male costars. Just 10.7 percent of movies produced between 2007 and 2012 featured casts that had equal men and women. Women are also paid less: The top 10 highest-paid actors from 2013 made a collective $465 million dollars. The top 10 highest-paid actresses made $181 million. When we talk about "gender representation" in Hollywood, we're talking about two things: 1) The percentage of people on the screen and producing what's on the screen who are women and 2) The ways in which those women are represented. Representation onscreen is so important because Hollywood films reach people all over the globe, and they significantly impact the way that we see women in the world. What we see on the silver screen, ultimately, tells us what to believe about ourselves, and the world around us. The most potent argument for those demanding changes in gender representation is this: women make up 50 percent of the population. So why don't they make up 50 percent of Hollywood as well?
benton.org/headlines/hollywoods-devastating-gender-divide-explained | Vox
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LOBBYING
POLITICIANS ARE SUPPORTING COMCAST'S TIME WARNER CABLE MERGER WITH LETTERS GHOSTWRITTEN BY COMCAST
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: Spencer Woodman]
Many of the letters sent to the Federal Communications Commission by state and local officials regarding the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger bear striking resemblance to each other, with local officials apparently adding one sing-off sentence and their signature to the Comcast corporate PR document, then sending it off to federal regulators on official letterhead of their offices. Comcast asserted that the numerous letters sent to the FCC by local officials expressing support for the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger displayed its broad grassroots backing. Yet e-mail records indicate that these letters are far from grassroots. Although Comcast is well-known for having one of corporate America’s most sophisticated armies of lobbyists, the records shed new light on just how intimate of a role these actors play in shaping what the public -- and federal regulators -- hear about the company from supportive government officials. For the FCC to green-light the merger, Comcast must prove that the deal would serve the public interest -- no doubt a key driver of Comcast’s focus on appearing to have support from public officials.
benton.org/headlines/politicians-are-supporting-comcasts-time-warner-cable-merger-letters-ghostwritten-comcast | Verge, The
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
SECRET ‘BADASS’ INTELLIGENCE PROGRAM SPIED ON SMARTPHONES
[SOURCE: The Intercept, AUTHOR: Micah Lee]
British and Canadian spy agencies accumulated sensitive data on smartphone users, including location, app preferences, and unique device identifiers, by piggybacking on ubiquitous software from advertising and analytics companies, according to a document obtained by National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden. The document, included in a trove of Snowden, outlines a secret program run by the intelligence agencies called BADASS. Intelligence agents applied BADASS software filters to streams of intercepted Internet traffic, plucking from that traffic unencrypted uploads from smartphones to servers run by advertising and analytics companies.
benton.org/headlines/secret-badass-intelligence-program-spied-smartphones | Intercept, The
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