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  2. April 2015

April 2015

When it comes to broadband, speed isn’t everything

[Commentary] Huffington Post contributor Bruce Kushnick asserted in no uncertain terms that, here in the US, “we suck” when it comes to broadband. His assertion rests on download and upload rankings from Akamai and Ookla, which place the US far behind nations such as Sweden, Lithuania, Monaco, Japan, and others. But is this claim true? The short answer is no, and an examination of the data at hand can tell us why.

If we are to believe that download and upload speeds are all that matter, then it should be clear that the leading countries on these measures enjoy some benefits beyond just bragging rights. It stands to reason that Romania, Monaco, Lithuania and Macau would really be bigger and better economies thanks to their faster download speeds. Furthermore, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea should have broadband-enabled innovations that we can name. So, where is that remarkable GDP growth? Where are those breakthrough applications? The answer is: they simply aren’t there. Broadband speed alone does not an economy make.

[Roslyn Layton studies Internet economics at the Center for Communication, Media, and Information Technologies (CMI) at Aalborg University in Copenhagen, Denmark]

A First Look Inside the Net Neutrality Order

[Commentary] I recently posted an item summarizing the broad strokes of the Federal Communications Commission’s new “Open Internet” (aka net neutrality) rules and policies. Since the full text of those rules, and the accompanying Report and Order (“R&O”), had not been released when my summary was prepared, I had to work from the then-available public notices from the FCC. Now that the R&O is out, I’ve had a chance to slog through its 360+ pages of dense text, which has led me to one obvious conclusion: the R&O raises as many questions as it attempts to answer.

Ted Cruz takes 2016 campaign to the air with Easter-weekend TV buys

Sen Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) presidential campaign has purchased television advertising time for Easter Weekend 2015 on local affiliates and national cable networks, his campaign said, making him the first White House contender to hit the airwaves this cycle. Sen Cruz has reserved time during “Killing Jesus,” a documentary-style adaptation of Bill O’Reilly’s book that will run four times this weekend on Fox News. The program first aired on the National Geographic Channel, where it nabbed 3.7 million viewers. The campaign has also purchased ads statewide in the early-voting states of Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina during NBC’s “A.D.: The Bible Continues” on Easter Sunday. The ad will air once during that show. The ad purchases follow news that Sen Cruz raised $4 million in his first eight days as a candidate, a strong fundraising pace for a newly declared campaign. The haul was driven largely by small-dollar donations, with bundlers accounting for roughly one-third of the money. Sen Cruz’s campaign said it is spending about $33,000 on the ads.

Uber is hiring its first chief security officer. Why didn’t it have one before?

Uber announced that it is hiring its first chief security officer: Joe Sullivan, who was lured from the same role at Facebook. The ride-hailing company is quickly becoming known as an aggressive recruiter, and Sullivan is a big get: He got his digital start as a Department of Justice prosecutor focused on computer crimes before making to leap to the private sector at eBay, where he worked as a senior security director for years before heading to Facebook in 2008. But his hiring also raises questions about why Uber didn't have a chief security officer for the first six years of its existence and the perils of a larger start-up culture that collects data first and secures it later. "Security is an afterthought," said Tyler Shields, a senior security analyst at Forrester Research. In the fast-paced start-up world, companies are developing products and getting them into the hands of users as fast as possible to see what sticks, he said, which can mean pushing things out the door without putting security controls in place.

Court: Netflix doesn’t have to comply with disability law

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not apply to Netflix, a federal appeals court ruled. “Because Netflix’s services are not connected to any ‘actual, physical place[],’ Netflix is not subject to the ADA,” a three judge panel on the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled.

The case stemmed from a 2011 class action suit brought by Donald Cullen, who is deaf, claiming that Netflix violated the accessibility law by not providing closed captions for its library of streaming videos. While the appeals court may have sided with Netflix, the online streaming giant was less successful with a similar case in 2012, filed by the National Association for the Deaf. A Massachusetts district court ruled at the time that the ADA did apply to Netflix, forcing the company to settle and pay more than $750,000 in the group's legal fees. In settling that case, Netflix also pledged to place closed captioning on all of its videos by late 2014.

April 3, 2015 (Pew Identifies the “Smartphone-Dependent” – What Could It Mean For Lifeline?)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015

You will NOT see Headlines in your In Box next week, but you can find a steady stream of updates at https://www.benton.org/headlines

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Pew Identifies the “Smartphone-Dependent” – What Could It Mean For Lifeline? - Kevin Taglang analysis
   FCC Sends Net Neutrality Rules to Federal Register
   Researchers: Percentage of Fiber-Connected Buildings Exceeds 40% [links to web]
   Comcast leapfrogs Google Fiber with new 2Gbps internet service [links to web]

TELEVISION/VIDEO
   Annual Assessment of the Status of Competition in the Market for the Delivery of Video Programming - public notice
   NCTA: FCC Can't Redefine OVDs As MVPDs
   Amazon to FCC: Many OTTs Don't Want Program-Access Rights

SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
   FCC Chairman Wheeler Says He'll Fight Attempts to Delay Incentive Auction [links to web]
   The White Space Black Hole - AT&T press release [links to web]

OWNERSHIP
   In Silicon Valley Frenzy, VCs Create New Inside Track [links to web]
   University of Georgia Sells Noncommercial TV License for $2.5 Million [links to web]

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
   FCC Plans $5.9 Million Fine Against Roman LD for Misrepresenting Its Identity and Illegally Switching Consumers' Phone Companies - press release [links to web]

HEALTH
   Better testing sought for how wireless medical devices will interact [links to web]

LABOR
   Here’s a Thing: There’s No Correlation Between a College Degree and Coding Ability - analysis [links to web]

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Bill would stop feds from mandating 'backdoor' to data [links to web]

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
   Will ‘Techno-Populism’ Undermine Innovation?

POLICYMAKERS
   San Francisco needs connectivity. Can this man deliver it? - Susan Crawford op-ed [links to web]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Another casualty in Yemen: Internet stability [links to web]

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INTERNET/BROADBAND

SMARTPHONE DEPENDENT
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
[Commentary] Is all broadband created equal? Just last month, the White House announced that 98 percent of Americans nationwide live in areas served with 4G, high-speed wireless Internet. Does that mean the U.S. can afford to give up on efforts to bring broadband everywhere? Mission accomplished? Some recent research indicates that wireless Internet access is a distinctly different service than wireline broadband -- and one that offers a distinctly different experience for users. This week, the Pew Research Center, in association with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, released new findings about U.S. smartphone use. Fully 64% of American adults own a smartphone, a cellular phone that performs many of the functions of a computer, typically having a touchscreen interface, Internet access, and an operating system capable of running downloaded applications. Many smartphone owners have ample options at their disposal when they need to go online: 85% have a high-speed broadband connection at home, 87% own a desktop or laptop computer, and 53% own a tablet computer in addition to their smartphone. But what of the consumers who must rely on wireless for their connections to the Internet?
https://www.benton.org/blog/smartphone-dependent
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NEW RULES SENT TO FEDERAL REGISTER
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Ryan Knutson]
The Federal Communications Commission said it sent its network neutrality rules to the Federal Register on April 1, bringing the new Internet regulations closer to reality and to expected legal challenges. Opponents can’t sue to overturn rules until they are formally published in the Federal Register, the nation’s official record of government actions. It still will be days or longer before the Federal Register publishes them following its own internal process.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-sends-net-neutrality-rules-federal-register | Wall Street Journal
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TELEVISION/VIDEO

16TH VIDEO COMPETITION REPORT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
This is the sixteenth report of the Federal Communications Commission to the United States Congress on the status of competition in the market for the delivery of video programming as required by Section 628(g) of the Communications Act of 1934. In this Report, the FCC focuses on developments in the video marketplace in 2013. As described below, the most significant trends since the last report include the continuing development, and consumer usage, of time and location shifted viewing of video programming, the expansion of digital and high definition programming, and the progress of the online video industry. Herein, the FCC categorizes entities into one of three groups -- multichannel video programming distributors (“MVPDs”), broadcast television stations, and online video distributors (“OVDs”). The FCC describes the providers of delivered video programming in each group, summarize their business models and competitive strategies, and present selected operating and financial statistics.
benton.org/headlines/annual-assessment-status-competition-market-delivery-video-programming | Federal Communications Commission | Commissioner Pai
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NCTA ON OVDs
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association says that in the wake of Title II reclassification, which NCTA argues was unnecessary, the Federal Communications Commission is following up with another free-market disruptor. Cable operators continue to argue that the FCC does not have the authority to define some online video providers (OVDs) as multichannel video programming distributors (“MVPDs”) for the purposes of insuring them nondiscriminatory access to programming. The FCC has tentatively concluded that linear OVDs -- ones that deliver day-and-date programming similar to traditional cable and satellite systems -- should be defined as MVPDs, though it has lots of questions of whether and how that should happen. Providing reply comments in that docket, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association fired back. benton.org/headlines/ncta-fcc-cant-redefine-ovds-mvpds | Multichannel News
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[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Amazon does not want the Federal Communications Commission to classify some over-the-top providers (OTTs) as multichannel video programming distributors (“MVPDs”) covered by program-access protections, saying there is no pressing need to do so. "As the commission noted in its [Notice for Proposed Rulemaking], MVPD status is attended by a large number of regulatory privileges and obligations, including the right to seek relief under the program-access rules and obligations relating to program carriage and good faith negotiation with broadcasters for retransmission consent," Amazon said. "However, many OTT providers have no desire to avail themselves of these rights and obligations." It then upped the estimate, saying "most providers" don't want to be more like MVPDs.
benton.org/headlines/amazon-fcc-many-otts-dont-want-program-access-rights | Multichannel News
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CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

TECHNO-POPULISM
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Brian Heaton]
Future advancements in technology may suffer because of popular opinion driving policy, according to a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). How Tech Populism is Undermining Innovation investigates the connection between emotion and personal gain, and how those elements are shaping technology regulation in the US. Robert Atkinson, president of the ITIF, said much of the debate on tech topics the last few years -- such as network neutrality and red light cameras -- were “fundamentally based in self-interest and selfishness,” and marked by “fear and distrust.” In an event promoting the report on Wednesday, April 1, Atkinson defined “tech-populism” as a doctrine where people allow their passion for a technology issue to push for change, leading to hyperbole and demonizing a differing viewpoint. The notion of populism isn’t new. Similar stances were taken generations ago, notably with the advent of the telephone, telegraph and railroad, Atkinson added. Instead of selfishness, Atkinson and the ITIF contend that policymakers need to be more receptive to those with a more “technology-progressive” approach that will balance the populist leanings currently infiltrating tech policy discussions.
benton.org/headlines/will-techno-populism-undermine-innovation | Government Technology | ITIF
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Pew Identifies the “Smartphone-Dependent” – What Could It Mean For Lifeline?

[Commentary] Is all broadband created equal? Just last month, the White House announced that 98 percent of Americans nationwide live in areas served with 4G, high-speed wireless Internet. Does that mean the U.S. can afford to give up on efforts to bring broadband everywhere? Mission accomplished? Some recent research indicates that wireless Internet access is a distinctly different service than wireline broadband -- and one that offers a distinctly different experience for users. This week, the Pew Research Center, in association with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, released new findings about U.S. smartphone use. Fully 64% of American adults own a smartphone, a cellular phone that performs many of the functions of a computer, typically having a touchscreen interface, Internet access, and an operating system capable of running downloaded applications. Many smartphone owners have ample options at their disposal when they need to go online: 85% have a high-speed broadband connection at home, 87% own a desktop or laptop computer, and 53% own a tablet computer in addition to their smartphone. But what of the consumers who must rely on wireless for their connections to the Internet?

Will ‘Techno-Populism’ Undermine Innovation?

Future advancements in technology may suffer because of popular opinion driving policy, according to a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).

How Tech Populism is Undermining Innovation investigates the connection between emotion and personal gain, and how those elements are shaping technology regulation in the US. Robert Atkinson, president of the ITIF, said much of the debate on tech topics the last few years -- such as network neutrality and red light cameras -- were “fundamentally based in self-interest and selfishness,” and marked by “fear and distrust.” In an event promoting the report on Wednesday, April 1, Atkinson defined “tech-populism” as a doctrine where people allow their passion for a technology issue to push for change, leading to hyperbole and demonizing a differing viewpoint. The notion of populism isn’t new. Similar stances were taken generations ago, notably with the advent of the telephone, telegraph and railroad, Atkinson added. Instead of selfishness, Atkinson and the ITIF contend that policymakers need to be more receptive to those with a more “technology-progressive” approach that will balance the populist leanings currently infiltrating tech policy discussions.

NCTA: FCC Can't Redefine OVDs As MVPDs

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association says that in the wake of Title II reclassification, which NCTA argues was unnecessary, the Federal Communications Commission is following up with another free-market disruptor.

Cable operators continue to argue that the FCC does not have the authority to define some online video providers (OVDs) as multichannel video programming distributors (“MVPDs”) for the purposes of insuring them nondiscriminatory access to programming. The FCC has tentatively concluded that linear OVDs -- ones that deliver day-and-date programming similar to traditional cable and satellite systems -- should be defined as MVPDs, though it has lots of questions of whether and how that should happen. Providing reply comments in that docket, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association fired back.

Amazon to FCC: Many OTTs Don't Want Program-Access Rights

Amazon does not want the Federal Communications Commission to classify some over-the-top providers (OTTs) as multichannel video programming distributors (“MVPDs”) covered by program-access protections, saying there is no pressing need to do so.

"As the commission noted in its [Notice for Proposed Rulemaking], MVPD status is attended by a large number of regulatory privileges and obligations, including the right to seek relief under the program-access rules and obligations relating to program carriage and good faith negotiation with broadcasters for retransmission consent," Amazon said. "However, many OTT providers have no desire to avail themselves of these rights and obligations." It then upped the estimate, saying "most providers" don't want to be more like MVPDs.

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