1. Monthly archive
  2. May 2015

May 2015

Lifeline – Where Is It Going? A Community Perspective

Analysis

Lifeline - Where Did It Come From?

NAB: Forced Spectrum March Would Be Illegal

The National Association of Broadcasters continued to press the Federal Communications Commission not to set a hard 39-month deadline for all stations to move to new channels after the post-incentive auction repack, saying it would be illegal to force them off due to circumstances beyond their control. That came as the FCC circulated an order denying various proposals to reconsider that framework, including one by the Big Four broadcast network affiliate associations (they took the lead on the issue at the FCC while NAB sued parts of the auction in federal court) challenging the deadline and saying it "cannot be squared with the Spectrum Act’s mandate to make all reasonable efforts to protect stations’ coverage areas and populations served."

In a meeting with top FCC officials, NAB executive VP and general counsel Rick Kaplan and other NAB executives also pressed their other main point, which is that treating the statutory $1.75 billion in moving expenses as a hard cap rather than a budget will have "a significant effect on broadcasters’ ability to relocate to their new channel assignments." According to an FCC filing outlining the meeting, NAB is arguing that the FCC should plan to clear no more spectrum than it can clear while fully compensating broadcasters for the move.

UK government quietly rewrites hacking laws to give GCHQ immunity

The United Kingdom government has quietly passed new legislation that exempts the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), police, and other intelligence officers from prosecution for hacking into computers and mobile phones. While major or controversial legislative changes usually go through normal parliamentary process (i.e. democratic debate) before being passed into law, in this case an amendment to the Computer Misuse Act was snuck in under the radar as secondary legislation. According to Privacy International, "It appears no regulators, commissioners responsible for overseeing the intelligence agencies, the Information Commissioner's Office, industry, NGOs or the public were notified or consulted about the proposed legislative changes... There was no public debate."

Privacy International also suggests that the change to the law was in direct response to a complaint that it filed in 2014. In May 2014, Privacy International and seven communications providers filed a complaint with the UK Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), asserting that GCHQ's hacking activities were unlawful under the Computer Misuse Act. On June 6, just a few weeks after the complaint was filed, the UK government introduced the new legislation via the Serious Crime Bill that would allow GCHQ, intelligence officers, and the police to hack without criminal liability. The bill passed into law on March 3 in 2015, and it went into effect on May 3. Privacy International says there was no public debate before the law was enacted, with only a rather one-sided set of stakeholders being consulted (Ministry of Justice, Crown Prosecution Service, Scotland Office, Northern Ireland Office, GCHQ, police, and National Crime Agency).

DirecTV, AT&T Extend Merger Termination Date

As expected, DirecTV and AT&T have agreed to extend the termination date of their planned $48.5 billion merger “for a short period,” as the deal winds through the regulatory approval process, DirecTV said. In a brief filing with the SEC, DirecTV and AT&T said they have elected to extend the May 18, 2015 ‘Termination Date’ of the merger agreement for a short period of time to facilitate obtaining final regulatory approval required to close the merger.”

DirecTV agreed to be acquired by AT&T on May 18, 2014 and the termination date – which would allow the parties to end the deal if a final agreement wasn’t reached – was set at the time for one year after. As that anniversary is quickly approaching, both parties were expected to extend the date as the merger continues to go through the approval process. While the Federal Communications Commission stopped the 180-shot clock on the merger on March 13, it is expected the deal will be approved. Most analysts expect the merger to pass muster sometime in July.

Telecom, Cable Home Security: Report Sees “Serious Dislocation” Coming

According to a report from Imperial Capital, telecommunications and cable providers’ push into the home security market is yielding some major gains. The report authors cited research from Barnes Associates showing that telecommunications and cable companies now have about 1.2 million US accounts, up from 400,000 to 500,000 in 2014 -- an increase of more than 100 percent in just one year. “Most of those gains have come from existing cable/telco customers, and, we believe, in competition from small plain old telephone service (POTS) line-based local security companies,” wrote the authors in the Imperial Capital Security Industry Monitor April 2015 report.

Traditionally alarm systems communicated with a central monitoring station by phone line, but systems sold by cablecos and telcos use either wireless or broadband connectivity, sometimes both. Some but not all traditional alarm companies also have moved to the more modern technology. According to Barnes Associates, telcos and cablecos now have a combined market share of about 4 percent in home security. The Imperial Capital researchers provided a “low case” forecast calling for telcos and cablecos to have 16-17 million homes by 2020 and a “high case” forecast calling for them to have 23-25 million homes by that date.

Apple CEO warns against ‘cynicism’ in Washington

Apple CEO Tim Cook cautioned against letting healthy skepticism turn to cynicism in Washington. During a commencement speech at George Washington University, Cook used his company as a model for how students could help “change the world.” “A healthy amount of skepticism is fine,” he said. “Though too often in this town, it turns to cynicism. To the idea that no matter who’s talking or what they’re saying, that their motives are questionable, their character is suspect, and if you search hard enough, you can prove that they are lying. Maybe that's just the world we live in. But graduates, this is your world to change.”

Cook talked about Apple’s commitment to promoting equality and education and protecting the environment. He made a passing reference to how the prevalence of smartphones have empowered people who “witness injustice and want to expose it.” He spoke about his own childhood in Alabama and the “betrayal” he felt when in 1977 he met the state’s former Governor George Wallace, who a decade earlier had “embraced the evils of segregation.” He contrasted that with his heroes Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. “But shaking his hand felt like a betrayal of my own beliefs. It felt wrong. Like I was selling a piece of my soul,” he said of meeting Wallace.

Graphing broadband adoption around the world

[Commentary] Who doesn’t love statistics? I certainly do. Especially when they are presented in an interactive and highly visual way. One website that does a superb job of this is Gapminder.org, which lets you explore all sorts of data, including the state of broadband around the world. The Gapminder data shows us the strong positive relationship between broadband penetration and liberty. One of first things you should notice is something that isn’t surprising: In 2010, which is the last year for broadband data on the site, there was a clear positive relationship between proportion of broadband subscribers in a county and its GDP per capita.

To me, the chart signals that broadband adoption -- and the access to the modern Internet it enables – is an expression of the human spirit. While political and economic oppression can hold broadband back, the relationship isn’t absolute: people find a way to get broadband once the floodgates open. Given the opportunity, people pursue information and communication. This relationship also says to me that we need to be ever vigilant to defend broadband from those who would seek to control it, and lend our support to those who seek to spread it around the world.

[Mark Jamison is the director and Gunter Professor of the Public Utility Research Center at the University of Florida]

May 18, 2015 (Verizon-AOL: You've Got Privacy Issues)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

Upcoming events this week https://www.benton.org/calendar/2015-05-17--P1W


PRIVACY
   Verizon-AOL: You've Got Privacy Issues - analysis
   Facebook 'tramples European privacy law': Belgian watchdog [links to web]

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Nearly 1.2 Million Added Broadband in the First Quarter of 2015 - Leichtman Research press release
   President Obama's Broadband Legacy - John Eger op-ed
   Broadband Performance: Additional Actions Could Help FCC Evaluate Its Efforts to Inform Consumers - GAO research
   Chairman Wheeler Tells Sen Boozman Stand Alone Broadband Ready by "Football Season" [links to web] – press release
   Why Dial-Up Internet Isn’t Dead Yet [links to web]
   Obama’s Bungled Internet Surrender - L Gordon Crovitz editorial [links to web]

SECURITY
   Sen McConnell Introduces Short-Term Reauthorization of Patriot Act (until July 31) [links to web]
   The Government is Trying to Get Serious About Cyber as a Foreign Policy Issue [links to web]
   Cybersecurity is a team sport - op-ed [links to web]
   Court won’t force US to divulge secret strategy to cut mobile phone service [links to web]

TRANSPORTATION
   Railroads, Congress feuded while life-saving technology lagged
   Using Technology to Enhance Rail Safety - FCC press release

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   Mobile ad-blocking risks becoming a barrier to innovation - analysis
   Tech and media groups draw battle lines for mobile superiority - analysis

TELEVISION
   FCC’s Intergovernmental Advisory Committee Opposes Effective Competition Reversal
   Fans suing MLB, NHL over sports blackouts win class-action status [links to web]
   TV Networks Now Wait for Word From Sponsors [links to web]

ADVERTISING
   NBCU Gets Access to Comcast Data
   TV Networks Now Wait for Word From Sponsors [links to web]
   Mobile ad-blocking risks becoming a barrier to innovation - analysis

ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
   US CTO: We'll be talking to 2016 campaigns [links to web]

OWNERSHIP
   FCC Clock Still Stopped on AT&T/DirecTV [links to web]
   Charter-Time Warner Cable’s CEOs Talk Consolidation [links to web]
   Why Google and Facebook won’t suffer the same fate as AOL - op-ed [links to web]
   Google Versus Oracle Case Exposes Differences Within Obama Administration [links to web]

FCC REFORM
   In Short Hearing, Lawmakers Look for FCC Transparency [links to web]

COMPANY NEWS
   T-Mobile confirms it has leased spectrum to other carriers to expand LTE network coverage [links to web]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Facebook 'tramples European privacy law': Belgian watchdog [links to web]
   Mark Zuckerberg supports European Union's digital single market proposal [links to web]

back to top

PRIVACY

VERIZON-AOL: YOU'VE GOT PRIVACY ISSUES
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
[Commentary] On May 12, Verizon announced an agreement to purchase AOL, “a leader in the digital content and advertising platforms space,” for approximately $4.4 billion. Some may question how the sounds of “You’ve Got Mail” and dial-up modems can command billions in our increasingly always-connected world. But today’s AOL is a reinvention of the early online trailblazer and purchaser of Time Warner. In today’s wireless environment, this deal is about attracting -- and tracking -- customers and, so, may have huge privacy implications.
https://www.benton.org/blog/verizon-aol-youve-got-privacy-issues
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

INTERNET/BROADBAND

NEARLY 1.2 MILLION ADDED BROADBAND IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2015
[SOURCE: Leichtman Research Group, AUTHOR: Press release]
Leichtman Research Group, Inc (LRG) found that the seventeen largest cable and telephone providers in the US -- representing about 94 percent of the market -- acquired nearly 1.2 million net additional high-speed Internet subscribers in the first quarter of 2015. These top broadband providers now account for over 88.5 million subscribers -- with top cable companies having about 53 million broadband subscribers, and top telephone companies having over 35.5 million subscribers. Other broadband findings for the quarter include:
Overall, broadband additions in 1Q 2015 were similar to those in 1Q 2014
The top cable companies accounted for 86 percent of the net broadband additions for the quarter versus the top telephone companies
The top cable companies added over 1,000,000 broadband subscribers in 1Q 2015, representing 104 percent of the net additions for the top cable companies in 1Q 2014
The top telephone companies added about 160,000 subscribers, 81 percent of the total net additions for the top telephone companies in 1Q 2014
AT&T and Verizon added 573,000 subscribers via U-verse and FiOS in 1Q 2015, while having a net loss of 463,000 DSL subscribers. U-verse and FiOS broadband subscribers now account for 54 percent of Telco broadband subscribers -- compared to 40 percent two years ago
The top cable broadband providers now have a 60% share of the market versus Telcos for the first time since 2Q 2005
Over the past year, there were about 3,000,000 net broadband adds -- compared to about 2,700,000 over the prior year
benton.org/headlines/nearly-12-million-added-broadband-first-quarter-2015 | Leichtman Research Group
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


PRESIDENT OBAMA'S BROADBAND LEGACY
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: John Eger]
[Commentary] We know the White House's thoughts on network neutrality and President Barack Obama's message to the Federal Communications Commission that the Internet is something everyone needs to survive in the new economy. But less understood is the President's thinking about the rise of cities, or, more precisely, metropolitan regions and region states, and the importance of broadband in spurring economic development. It is in the city and region that President Obama sees hope for the nation's future, and it's broadband that he sees as a vital first step toward a whole new economy based not on manufacturing or even service provision but on knowledge or, more precisely, creativity and innovation. Now, for the first time in years, the door is open for cities everywhere to take the lead in building a broadband infrastructure that can be one of the fastest, cheapest Internet services imaginable. We have learned a great deal about the challenges we face in a global "knowledge economy," one based not on the production of goods and services or agriculture. Although these basic industries continue, the new economy relies on the production, use, and transfer of information and knowledge. The new economy -- the global knowledge economy -- needs the new infrastructure. It needs broadband. These are among the reasons that President Obama has urged America to rethink the vital role of the cities, of the new metropolitan cities, to spearhead the nation's plans for economic redevelopment.
[John Eger is the Director of the Creative Economy Initiative at San Diego State University]
benton.org/headlines/president-obamas-broadband-legacy | Huffington Post
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

BROADBAND PERFORMANCE: ADDITIONAL ACTIONS COULD HELP FCC EVALUATE ITS EFFORTS TO INFORM CONSUMERS
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: Mark Goldstein]
The Federal Communications Commission, which has primary responsibility for regulating broadband, has taken steps to measure broadband performance and to require that Internet service providers give consumers information about the performance of their services. GAO was asked to review issues related to broadband performance information. This report examines (1) broadband performance information available to consumers and its limitations, if any, and 2) FCC's actions to evaluate its efforts to provide consumers with broadband performance information. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed FCC proceedings, conducted a literature review, analyzed comments filed with FCC regarding broadband performance information, and interviewed FCC officials and various stakeholders from industry and public interest groups. GAO recommends that the FCC should take additional steps to evaluate its efforts to provide consumers with broadband performance information. This should include:
1) Conducting or commissioning research on the effectiveness of its efforts and making the results publicly available
2) establishing performance goals and measures that allow FCC to monitor and report on these efforts. FCC concurred with GAO’s recommendations.
benton.org/headlines/broadband-performance-additional-actions-could-help-fcc-evaluate-its-efforts-inform | Government Accountability Office
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

TRANSPORTATION

RAILROADS, CONGRESS FEUDED WHILE LIFE-SAVING TECHNOLOGY LAGGED
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Kathryn Wolfe, Heather Caygle, Jennifer Scholtes, Alex Byers]
May 12th’s fatal Amtrak crash followed seven years of feuding between Congress and the railroad industry over who should bear the cost of technology designed to prevent such accidents -- while the process of installing the safeguards fell disastrously behind schedule. Some members of the Senate were quick to blame the railroads and their lobbyists for foot-dragging on installing technology that has been available for decades, with Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) also pointing the finger at the agencies that are supposed to regulate them. “The blame belongs to the regulatory agencies that have succumbed to regulatory capture to the railroads that lobbied relentlessly for delay,” said Sen Blumenthal, whose state has seen a spate of fatal commuter-rail crashes. But Congress largely refused to provide money for the technology, even as recently as May 13. Railroads have complained repeatedly about the costs, which they said in 2010 would outweigh the benefits 11 to 1, and clashed with the Federal Communications Commission, which rebuffed Amtrak’s request four years ago for free access to the wireless airwaves the systems require. Unexpected technical hurdles arose, including resistance from some local communities to putting up the necessary antennas. One of the biggest technical hurdles, people who follow the issue say, has been access to the wireless spectrum needed to convey the signals among train, track and other equipment. That was an obstacle for Amtrak, which acquired spectrum from two private companies in March. Before then, it had tried to acquire spectrum directly from the FCC’s own inventory in 2011 and 2012, telling the agency that efforts to find suitable airwaves from wireless companies were not going well. But federal law stops the agency from simply handing over any unallocated spectrum, senior FCC officials said. Amtrak argued that a public safety exemption in the law allowed for an exception for the train control technology, but FCC officials decided the exemption applies only to police and fire department communications.
benton.org/headlines/railroads-congress-feuded-while-life-saving-technology-lagged | Politico
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


USING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE RAIL SAFETY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Chief Roger Sherman]
[Commentary] Like the rest of the nation, we are deeply saddened by this week’s fatal Amtrak derailment outside Philadelphia (PA). We send our condolences to the families of those who lost their loved ones and our gratitude to the first responders for their efforts. As National Transportation Safety Board investigators seek answers to questions about the crash, some questions about Positive Train Control (PTC) have been raised. I thought it would be helpful to explain what it is and give an overview of the Federal Communications Commission’s role in its implementation. In 2008, Congress passed a law requiring Amtrak and other commuter and freight railroads to deploy interoperable PTC systems by December 31, 2015, but did not designate spectrum, a finite resource, for PTC use or make funds available for railroads to acquire access to spectrum. The railroads are seeking commercial spectrum to deploy PTC, which -- by law -- must be acquired at auction or from third parties. Since Congress passed the law in 2008 requiring PTC, the FCC has been working closely with railroads and Amtrak to identify available spectrum on the secondary market and to approve transactions quickly. We continue to be actively involved in helping freight and commuter trains such as Amtrak acquire spectrum. In fact, the FCC approved Amtrak’s application for spectrum for the Washington DC to New York corridor after an expedited review and just two days after Amtrak submitted a final amendment to the agency in March 2015. Rail safety is a top FCC priority. Be assured that the FCC will continue to work closely with the nation’s railroads to enable the rapid deployment of Positive Train Control.
benton.org/headlines/using-technology-enhance-rail-safety | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

MOBILE AD-BLOCKING AND INNOVATION
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Jonathan Ford]
[Commentary] The shift in online activity from fixed-line to mobile devices has thrown up a host of winners. Advertising-funded services have seen revenues soar as consumers increasingly use their smartphones to access the web, unleashing a torrent of marketing spending that is due to hit almost $70 billion in 2015. But not everyone has done so well from the rise of mobile ads. Among the relative losers are the networks themselves. Margins have been squeezed by the shift to flat pricing packages on data usage and the need for the industry to invest in building infrastructure to deal with the extra traffic. Despite this, wireless operators have not been able to get their paws on advertisers’ dollars. These businesses, which were built on connecting people to one another, have never been good at providing content, and past attempts have been costly flops. Some operators want content providers to hand over more of their revenues from advertising. And lacking carrots to persuade them, they are reaching for sticks. There is never a simple answer to the question of how content revenues should be split with distributors. But coercive tactics cannot be part of the solution. Blocking ads risks stubbing out new entrants and innovation. That is not the way the future of the mobile internet will be secured.
benton.org/headlines/mobile-ad-blocking-risks-becoming-barrier-innovation | Financial Times
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


BATTLE LINES FOR MOBILE
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Richard Waters]
[Commentary] Media companies seem to have decided they have little choice but to follow their audience, which is spending more time on social networks, particularly on mobile devices: “It’s important to have a presence or you become irrelevant,” says Declan Moore, chief media officer at National Geographic. What has yet to play out, though, is the realignment among the businesses that ride on top of the mobile platform. How smartphone technology will evolve, and which new business ecosystems will develop on mobile, are still unclear, according to Benedict Evans, an analyst at Andreessen Horowitz, the venture capital firm. “On one level, Apple and Google have won the smartphone wars and they’re now taking laps of honour,” he said. “At the same time, what you’re going to do on these devices -- and who’s going to control them and how they’re going to work and what the acquisition channels and the interaction models look like -- are still completely unsettled.” Central to this is the battle to attract and direct the attention of mobile internet users. For the winners, success will bring valuable data about this new audience, which in turn is likely to support new advertising empires or fuel mobile commerce.
benton.org/headlines/tech-and-media-groups-draw-battle-lines-mobile-superiority | Financial Times
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

TELEVISION

FCC'S INTERGOVERNMENTAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE OPPOSES EFFECTIVE COMPETITION REVERSAL
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission’s Intergovernmental Advisory Committee (IAC), comprising state and local governments, has advised the FCC not to reverse its presumption that cable systems are not subject effective competition. The decision could speed up the process for cable ops to get out from under rate regulations imposed by local and state franchising authorities. The IAC, formerly the Local and State Government Advisory Committee, said emphatically that cable operators are not subject to effective competition. [more at the url below]
benton.org/headlines/fccs-intergovernmental-advisory-committee-opposes-effective-competition-reversal | Multichannel News
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

ADVERTISING

NBCU GETS ACCESS TO COMCAST DATA
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Jon Lafayette]
Comcast’s NBCUniversal unit is finally getting access to viewer data from Comcast set-top boxes. Linda Yaccarino, chairman of ad sales at NBCU, made the announcement at an upfront presentation from the company’s cable entertainment networks. Under Yaccarino, NBCU has been one of the leaders in using data to improve the targeting and effectiveness of ad campaigns. But Comcast, the nation’s largest cable operator, had been careful not to make set-top box data available to NBCU, apparently because consumer privacy concerns could have impacted Comcast’s proposed merger with Time Warner Cable. Comcast dropped the merger bid, freeing it from some concerns about government review. We will use Comcast set-top box data to power ATP,” Yaccarino said, referring to NBCU’s Audience Targeting Platform announced last year. “We’ll marry viewer data and consumer data at scale,” she said. Yaccarino said NBCU now has more data than any tech company. “Our data and analytics can do things that no one else in the market can do,” she said.
benton.org/headlines/nbcu-gets-access-comcast-data | Broadcasting&Cable
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

Mobile ad-blocking risks becoming a barrier to innovation

[Commentary] The shift in online activity from fixed-line to mobile devices has thrown up a host of winners. Advertising-funded services have seen revenues soar as consumers increasingly use their smartphones to access the web, unleashing a torrent of marketing spending that is due to hit almost $70 billion in 2015. But not everyone has done so well from the rise of mobile ads.

Among the relative losers are the networks themselves. Margins have been squeezed by the shift to flat pricing packages on data usage and the need for the industry to invest in building infrastructure to deal with the extra traffic. Despite this, wireless operators have not been able to get their paws on advertisers’ dollars. These businesses, which were built on connecting people to one another, have never been good at providing content, and past attempts have been costly flops. Some operators want content providers to hand over more of their revenues from advertising. And lacking carrots to persuade them, they are reaching for sticks. There is never a simple answer to the question of how content revenues should be split with distributors. But coercive tactics cannot be part of the solution. Blocking ads risks stubbing out new entrants and innovation. That is not the way the future of the mobile internet will be secured.

© 1994-2024 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.