March 2015

The Legal Underpinnings of the IP Transition

Our telecommunications networks are only part way through the transition from traditional “time-division multiplexing” (“TDM”) to “Internet Protocol” (“IP) based digital technology. In some industries, technological transition is relatively easy; as new technology develops, the economy assimilates it. However, when it comes to telecommunications, the transition of our traditional networks, originally deployed for voice telephony, is fraught with complicated regulatory and legal questions.

FCC Explains Decisions on Broadband, Net Neutrality

The Federal Communications Commission explained its recent rulings on municipal broadband and network neutrality in a specialized briefing for state and local governments on Monday, March 30. The hour-long presentation detailed the FCC’s rationale and authority in vacating state restrictions on broadband and its controversial decision to regulate Internet access using Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. Focus was placed on how those decisions could potentially affect local regions in the country.

Daniel Kahn, deputy chief of the Commission’s Competition Policy Division, noted that the FCC’s Feb. 26 decision to vacate state laws that restricted muni-broadband expansion only applied to North Carolina and Tennessee. The FCC relies on Section 706 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act for its authority to pre-empt state laws that enact barriers to broadband infrastructure investment and competition. If cities and counties want to offer their own Internet service, but are prevented from doing so because of state restrictions, they need to file their own petitions with the FCC, Kahn said. Gregory Vadas, chief of the Intergovernmental Affairs Office of the Commission’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, echoed Kahn’s comments, emphasizing the need for local governments to come forward if they feel they are unjustly blocked from expanding Internet access.

Verizon Wireless Customers Can Now Opt Out of ‘Supercookies’

Verizon Wireless customers now have the ability to completely opt out of the phone carrier’s controversial ad-targeting program that tagged users with undeletable tracking codes, which critics called “supercookies.” The company announced in January that it planned to provide a complete opt-out of the program. Verizon said that its systems have now been changed to stop inserting the unique identifier, referred to as a UIDH, for customers who don’t want to be in the program. In the past, Verizon allowed users to unsubscribe from the marketing side of the program, but they had no option to disable being tagged with the customer codes. Some security researchers quickly illustrated that third parties, like advertisers, could easily exploit Verizon’s persistent tracking to continually follow a user’s web browsing activities. In a statement, Debra Lewis, a Verizon spokeswoman, said privacy is a “central consideration” for the company when it develops new products and services.

Analysts: Deutsche Telekom won't support T-Mobile financially in 600 MHz incentive auction

T-Mobile likely won't have the financial backing of its parent company Deutsche Telekom in 2016's incentive auction of 600 MHz broadcast TV spectrum, according to financial analysts at investment bank Macquarie. Macquarie analysts Kevin Smithen and Will Clayton wrote that "we continue to believe that DT will not fund T-Mo's participation in the incentive auction and that this could become a small overhang on T-Mo shares if the auction somehow happens in 2016." That should not entirely come as a surprise.

On T-Mobile's fourth-quarter earnings conference call, T-Mobile CFO Braxton Carter said the company expects to finance its bidding in the incentive auction through "existing cash plus debt" and that the company has "no plans" to sell additional equity, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript of his remarks. The issue is likely going to take on added significance in the near future. The Macquarie analysts note that on April 28, Deutsche Telekom has the right to sell $2.5 billion of the $5.6 billion in intra-company debt it holds. For T-Mobile, this so-called "reset" will trigger an increase in interest rates from 5.6 percent to an estimated 6.75 percent, according to the analysts.

Spotlight on Commerce: Michelle K. Lee, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of USPTO

Serving as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, I am in charge of one of the largest intellectual property (IP) offices in the world. I serve as a principal advisor to President Barack Obama on domestic and international IP matters, and I provide leadership and oversight of the day-to-day management of the policy, budget, and operations for an agency with more than 12,000 employees.

I am incredibly proud of the work our employees do and the role this agency plays in protecting people’s ideas, which is essential to driving the United States’ innovation-based economy. A strong IP system contributes to maintaining a strong US economy by providing inventors and companies the chance to develop their technologies, grow their businesses, and expand sales of their products. Recently, I called upon leaders in the tech industry to join me in a commitment to open up and expand opportunities for women in technology. Working together, we can better prepare more girls and young women to pursue careers in technology, and then empower them to thrive in those careers for the benefit of society and our economy. Innovation drives our economy, and I truly believe that unlocking and fully utilizing the innovative potential of women will be key to America’s continued success.

Media Mischief On April Fools' Day

In the annals of journalism, there is a long tradition of newsfolks -- reporters, writers, broadcasters -- pulling April Fools' Day tricks on readers and listeners. Sometimes the prank prevails; sometimes it fails. In the end, does first-of-April tomfoolery strengthen -- or weaken -- the bond between a news organization and its constituency? Ethicist Kirtley says that the tone of a story is the key. "I would just caution that if you are going to do it, it had better be good. You want your readers or listeners to laugh with you, not feel as if you are making fun of them."

Clinton also used iPad for e-mail; mixed personal, work chats

Hillary Rodham Clinton e-mailed her staff on an iPad as well as a BlackBerry while secretary of state, despite her explanation she exclusively used a personal e-mail address on a homebrew server so that she could carry a single device. The State Department released a total of four e-mails between Clinton and her top advisers as part of a Freedom of Information Act request filed in 2013, which sought Clinton's correspondence with senior advisers over a four-year period relating to drone strikes overseas and US surveillance programs.

While limited, the e-mails offer one of the first looks into Clinton's correspondence while secretary of state. The messages came from and were sent to her private e-mail address, hosted on a server at her property in Chappaqua (NY) as opposed to a government-run e-mail account. They show that Clinton, on at least one occasion, accidentally mingled personal and work matters. In reply to a message sent in September 2011 by adviser Huma Abedin to Clinton's personal e-mail account, which contained an AP story about a drone strike in Pakistan, Clinton mistakenly replied with questions that appear to be about decorations.

Tech investors help start new DC think tank

A group of venture capitalists and other big names in the technology world are putting their weight behind the Economic Innovation Group, a new economic policy shop. Investors like Sean Parker, who cofounded Napster, and Ron Conway, who founded SV Angel, helped form the group, which looks to focus on the benefits of start ups and private investment in public policy. “America’s economic greatness is rooted in entrepreneurship and innovation. But recently, the pace of globalization and technology has far exceeded the capacity of government and other traditional institutions to keep up,” according to the group’s mission statement. The new Economic Innovation Group calls itself a think tank and advocacy organization. It says its focus is on “practical, bipartisan” solutions. It released an analysis on the state of the economic recovery and will hold its first event with The Atlantic on April 15.

Google reopens Fiber signup in KC

Google is getting some kind words from Rep Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO). The company has responded to Rep Cleaver’s request that it reopen its signup and outreach effort for Kansas City residents who want Google’s Fiber Internet service, which he said will help close the “digital divide.” “With each positive step we take, we move forward toward accessible and affordable Internet access for all,” Rep Cleaver said. “I look forward to working with Google and other long serving providers in the community to ensure we truly close the digital divide in Kansas City.”

In February, Rep Cleaver sent Google a letter asking it to focus more on low-income neighborhoods in the city, which appeared less likely to sign up for its high-speed Internet services. The early statistics “suggest the beginning of potential ‘digital redlining’ in our city,” he warned at the time. In light of the pressure, Google decided to reopen its signup period in the city so that anyone in a neighborhood connected to a Fiber line -- known as a Fiberhood -- can sign up. "While we've had an enthusiastic response from customers in all of our Fiberhoods, we've also heard that many residents want another chance to sign up. And we'd like to bring Google Fiber to as many of these residents as possible.” Google Fiber’s Kansas City manager Kelly Carnago said.

Map could help Columbus ramp up broadband

Columbus (OH) lost in the much-hyped race to have Google install a hyper-fast broadband fiber system in town, but the city recently signed a contract that could help gain ultra-high-speed Internet service. Such an upgrade allows the city, schools, libraries and hospitals to offer better and faster access to services online and over wireless devices. It also improves the quality of such service for businesses and individual customers.

Under the five-year contract, Connected Nation Exchange will develop a map for the city that shows where Columbus owns properties that can be used to expand broadband networks. Those properties include buildings, rooftops, towers, utility poles, signs, water tanks and existing fiber-optic lines, said Connected Nation Exchange CEO Brian Mefford. The city already has installed 500 miles of fiber-optic lines, and the mapping will allow the city to more easily lease access to wireless companies. Such an arrangement also allows companies to provide ultra-high-speed service without making massive investment.

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