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  2. June 2015

June 2015

June 22, 2015 (Bring in the nerds)

Comcast founder Ralph Roberts [links to web]


BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   How do we get Internet policy right? Bring in the nerds. - op-ed
   Obamanet Shows Its Fangs - L Gordon Crovitz editorial
   500Mbps broadband for $55 a month offered by wireless ISP [links to web]

TELECOM
   AT&T, CenturyLink claim Granite's request to combine Section 271, wholesale services will delay IP transition

ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
   The Hill Becomes Facebook Power Player Among Political Sites
   President Obama dines with Hollywood moguls [links to web]
   Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders Are the Most Popular Presidential Candidates on Facebook [links to web]
   Campaigns, Copyrights, and Compositions: A Politician’s Guide to Music on the Campaign Trail - analysis [links to web]

TELEVISION
   No, the Sky Isn't Falling for the Cable Industry - op-ed [links to web]
   What do people really want to watch on TV? Hint: It’s not ESPN or HBO. [links to web]

CONTENT
   YouTube tiptoes toward the journalism business with eyewitness “Newswire” [links to web]

EDUCATION
   A Map in Progress: Integrating Technology in Early Literacy - press release [links to web]
   Sesame Street was the original MOOC - press release [links to web]

JOURNALISM
   'If It Succeeds, It Leads': Why the News Is Changing for Good - op-ed [links to web]

PRIVACY/SECURITY
   FISA Court Skips Talking to Privacy Advocates
   Officials: Chinese had access to US security clearance data for one year [links to web]
   If you can't keep hackers out, find and remove them faster - analysis [links to web]

POLICYMAKERS
   Rancor rises at the FCC

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Altice Offers to Buy Bouygues Telecom for $11.3 Billion
   Reaffirming Cross-Border Relations - FCC press release [links to web]
   A Fearless Culture Fuels US Tech Giants - analysis [links to web]
   ITU defines vision and roadmap for 5G mobile development - press release [links to web]

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INTERNET/BROADBAND

HOW DO WE GET INTERNET POLICY RIGHT? BRING IN THE NERDS.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Dave Steer, Jenny Toomey]
[Commentary] The Internet has transformed how we connect and engage with the world around us, creating challenges and opportunities in every area of contemporary life. On one hand, the Internet can foster learning, organize global movements, distribute financial supports and expose injustices. On the other, it can be used to exert control, stifle legitimate discourse, entrench bias and concentrate power in the hands of a few. While there has been positive momentum in 2015, research on where tech talent is headed is less rosy. According to a recent report, only 4 percent of computer science graduates went to work for the federal government. By comparison, about 70 percent entered the private sector. We need to change the incentives if we are to attract the new leaders the Internet needs. Just imagine the potential of developing leadership opportunities and real career paths for Web literate, digitally-savvy public servants. The market will not solve this imbalance. What would the country look like in five years if our best and brightest engineering and computer science graduates viewed positions at the State House, on Capitol Hill, and with NGOs in the same way they currently look to Silicon Valley? We’d be able to safeguard the Internet we all love and rely on: a global, shared resource, open and accessible to all.
[Dave Steer is the Mozilla Foundation's director of advocacy. Jenny Toomey is the Ford Foundation's director of Internet rights.]
benton.org/headlines/how-do-we-get-internet-policy-right-bring-nerds | Washington Post
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OBAMANET SHOWS ITS FANGS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: l Gordon Crovitz]
[Commentary] Open Internet regulations are now in effect and the Washington Post got word about the first federal complaint to be filed. A company that streams live video wants regulators to set the price it pays to transport its content -- at zero. The complainant is Commercial Network Services, whose video streams travel smoothly over networks thanks to the multibillion-dollar industry that provides the connections through content-delivery networks and peering and transit services. These “fast lanes” make the Internet possible by ensuring bandwidth-hogging uses such as video don’t slow everything else down. Netflix and YouTube, which at peak times use most of the Internet’s bandwidth, even built their own proprietary fast lanes. The Federal Communications Commission now claims authority over the entire system. Bureaucrats will decide if “charges” and other “practices” on the Internet are “fair and reasonable.” That vague “reasonable” is the most litigated term in utility regulation. The FCC also introduced an undefined “general conduct rule” for the Internet in case price regulations don’t give its bureaucrats enough power. The success of the Internet should have taught that especially with fast-changing technology, government governs best when it governs least. President Barack Obama thinks he knows better, unleashing regulators to run the Internet. Only Congress or the courts can save the open Internet from becoming the bureaucratic Obamanet.
benton.org/headlines/obamanet-shows-its-fangs | Wall Street Journal
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TELECOM

AT&T, CENTURYLINK CLAIM GRANITE'S REQUEST TO COMBINE SEC 271, WHOLESALE SERVICES WILL DELAY IP TRANSITION
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Sean Buckley]
AT&T and CenturyLink said in separate filings with the Federal Communications Commission that Granite Telecommunications' request to combine unbundled local circuit switching and shared transport services is not only procedurally flawed, but could also inhibit their ongoing transitions to an all IP network. At issue is Granite's argument that traditional incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) should offer equivalently priced wholesale access services that they offer today over their existing TDM-based networks such as T-1 and DS-3 services. Traditional telecommunication companies are mandated to offer unbundled network elements and other wholesale services under Section 271 of the 1996 Telecom Act. The competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC)'s concern is that if operators like AT&T and Verizon discontinue these services and don't provide similar service at equivalent rates, it could pose potential harm to both the CLEC and their customers who can now choose from a number of lower priced service options besides the ILEC. Granite added that ILECs' customers will also suffer due to the higher prices because they would not be able to purchase services from other providers. Comptel, an industry advocacy group that represents CLECs, said in its own filing that the FCC should rule that ILECs should be required commingle or allow competitive providers to commingle a Section 271 network element or other network elements they buy from an ILEC.
benton.org/headlines/att-centurylink-claim-granites-request-combine-section-271-wholesale-services-will-delay | Fierce
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA

THE HILL BECOMES FACEBOOK POWER PLAYER AMONG POLITICAL SITES
[SOURCE: The Wrap, AUTHOR: Jordan Chariton]
Political website The Hill has climbed over competitors to lead Facebook engagement. From March 16 through June 15, the political site earned 52 percent more likes, shares and comments than The Washington Post, six times more than Politico, over 150 times more than National Journal and more than 1,000 times over Roll Call, according to the Facebook partner Crowdtangle. The week of June 15 alone, The Hill has had 994,300 combined likes, comments and shares -- more than double The Washington Post and over 450,000 more than The Washington Post, Politico, National Journal and Roll Call put together. The Hill’s Facebook success this early in the 2016 campaign is a positive sign for increased social growth among digital political players.
benton.org/headlines/hill-becomes-facebook-power-player-among-political-sites | Wrap, The
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PRIVACY/SECURITY

FISA COURT SKIPS TALKING TO PRIVACY ADVOCATES
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Dustin Volz]
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court selected to not consult a panel of privacy advocates in its first decision made since the enactment the USA Freedom Act. The court opted to forgo appointing a so-called "amicus" of privacy advocates as it considered whether the USA Freedom Act could reinstate spying provisions of the Patriot Act even though they expired on June 1 amid an impasse in the Senate. The Court ruled that the Freedom Act's language -- which will restore the National Security Agency's bulk collection of U.S. call data for six months before transitioning to a more limited program -- could revive those lapsed provisions, but in assessing that narrow legal question, Judge Dennis Saylor concluded that the Court did not first need confer with a privacy panel as proscribed under the reform law. "The statute provides some limited guidance, in that it clearly contemplates that there will be circumstances where an amicus curiae is unnecessary (that is, 'not appropriate')," Judge Saylor wrote. "At a minimum, it seems likely that those circumstances would include situations where the court concludes that it does not need the assistance or advice of amicus curiae because the legal question is relatively simple, or is capable of only a single reasonable or rational outcome." Saylor reasoned that in decisions where the "outcome is sufficiently clear" and that reasonable jurists would agree, the appointment of privacy panel is not required by the Freedom Act. "This is such an instance," Judge Saylor concluded.
benton.org/headlines/fisa-court-skips-talking-privacy-advocates | National Journal
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POLICYMAKERS

RANCOR RISES AT THE FCC
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: David McCabe]
Partisan warfare has broken out at the once-sleepy Federal Communications Commission, where disputes over Internet subsidies for the poor, robocalls and network neutrality regulations have taken on an increasingly bitter tone. Though the agency is adversarial by nature -- by law, only three out of the five commissioners can come from the same political party -- a recent series of controversial items have laid bare the fault lines between some of the commissioners. Critics of the current commission blame the acrimony on FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the White House, who they say have politicized the commission. Others say, however, that the partisanship on today’s commission doesn’t fall outside of the scope of normal behavior for a body that has always had contentious debates. They argue that any acrimony under Chairman Wheeler doesn’t match the conflict during the tenure of former Chairman Kevin Martin, who saw himself pitted against all four of the other commissioners. The controversial questions before the commissioners — net neutrality and broadband subsidies among them — haven’t stopped them from striking bipartisan deals on other items.
benton.org/headlines/rancor-rises-fcc | Hill, The
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

ALTICE-BOUYGES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Chad Bray, Mark Scott]
Altice, the cable and mobile services provider based in Luxembourg, has offered to pay 10 billion euros, or about $11.3 billion, in cash for its rival Bouygues Telecom. The deal, if finalized, would combine two of France’s largest mobile providers -- Numericable-SFR and Bouygues Telecom -- and oust Orange as France’s largest cellphone company. The transaction also would change the telecommunications landscape in France, reducing the main mobile providers from four to three. Any potential deal could face opposition in France. Emmanuel Macron, France’s economy minister, told reporters that the time was not right for consolidation in the country’s telecom sector and that the industry should focus on investment.
benton.org/headlines/altice-offers-buy-bouygues-telecom-113-billion | New York Times | WSJ | FT
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FISA Court Skips Talking to Privacy Advocates

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court selected to not consult a panel of privacy advocates in its first decision made since the enactment the USA Freedom Act.

The court opted to forgo appointing a so-called "amicus" of privacy advocates as it considered whether the USA Freedom Act could reinstate spying provisions of the Patriot Act even though they expired on June 1 amid an impasse in the Senate. The Court ruled that the Freedom Act's language -- which will restore the National Security Agency's bulk collection of U.S. call data for six months before transitioning to a more limited program -- could revive those lapsed provisions, but in assessing that narrow legal question, Judge Dennis Saylor concluded that the Court did not first need confer with a privacy panel as proscribed under the reform law.

"The statute provides some limited guidance, in that it clearly contemplates that there will be circumstances where an amicus curiae is unnecessary (that is, 'not appropriate')," Judge Saylor wrote. "At a minimum, it seems likely that those circumstances would include situations where the court concludes that it does not need the assistance or advice of amicus curiae because the legal question is relatively simple, or is capable of only a single reasonable or rational outcome." Saylor reasoned that in decisions where the "outcome is sufficiently clear" and that reasonable jurists would agree, the appointment of privacy panel is not required by the Freedom Act. "This is such an instance," Judge Saylor concluded.

Officials: Chinese had access to US security clearance data for one year

The recently disclosed breach of the Office of Personnel Management’s security-clearance computer system took place a year ago, giving Chinese government intruders access to sensitive data for a year, according to new information.

The considerable lag time between breach and discovery means that the adversary had more time to pull off a cyber-heist of consequence, said Stewart Baker, a former National Security Agency general counsel. “The longer you have to exfiltrate the data, the more you can take,” he said. “If you’ve got a year to map the network, to look at the file structures, to consult with experts and then go in and pack up stuff, you’re not going to miss the most valuable files.”

Obamanet Shows Its Fangs

[Commentary] Open Internet regulations are now in effect and the Washington Post got word about the first federal complaint to be filed.

A company that streams live video wants regulators to set the price it pays to transport its content -- at zero. The complainant is Commercial Network Services, whose video streams travel smoothly over networks thanks to the multibillion-dollar industry that provides the connections through content-delivery networks and peering and transit services. These “fast lanes” make the Internet possible by ensuring bandwidth-hogging uses such as video don’t slow everything else down. Netflix and YouTube, which at peak times use most of the Internet’s bandwidth, even built their own proprietary fast lanes. The Federal Communications Commission now claims authority over the entire system. Bureaucrats will decide if “charges” and other “practices” on the Internet are “fair and reasonable.” That vague “reasonable” is the most litigated term in utility regulation. The FCC also introduced an undefined “general conduct rule” for the Internet in case price regulations don’t give its bureaucrats enough power.

The success of the Internet should have taught that especially with fast-changing technology, government governs best when it governs least. President Barack Obama thinks he knows better, unleashing regulators to run the Internet. Only Congress or the courts can save the open Internet from becoming the bureaucratic Obamanet.

Rancor rises at the FCC

Partisan warfare has broken out at the once-sleepy Federal Communications Commission, where disputes over Internet subsidies for the poor, robocalls and network neutrality regulations have taken on an increasingly bitter tone.

Though the agency is adversarial by nature -- by law, only three out of the five commissioners can come from the same political party -- a recent series of controversial items have laid bare the fault lines between some of the commissioners. Critics of the current commission blame the acrimony on FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the White House, who they say have politicized the commission. Others say, however, that the partisanship on today’s commission doesn’t fall outside of the scope of normal behavior for a body that has always had contentious debates. They argue that any acrimony under Chairman Wheeler doesn’t match the conflict during the tenure of former Chairman Kevin Martin, who saw himself pitted against all four of the other commissioners. The controversial questions before the commissioners — net neutrality and broadband subsidies among them — haven’t stopped them from striking bipartisan deals on other items.

Altice Offers to Buy Bouygues Telecom for $11.3 Billion

Altice, the cable and mobile services provider based in Luxembourg, has offered to pay 10 billion euros, or about $11.3 billion, in cash for its rival Bouygues Telecom. The deal, if finalized, would combine two of France’s largest mobile providers -- Numericable-SFR and Bouygues Telecom -- and oust Orange as France’s largest cellphone company.

The transaction also would change the telecommunications landscape in France, reducing the main mobile providers from four to three. Any potential deal could face opposition in France. Emmanuel Macron, France’s economy minister, told reporters that the time was not right for consolidation in the country’s telecom sector and that the industry should focus on investment.

AT&T, CenturyLink claim Granite's request to combine Section 271, wholesale services will delay IP transition

AT&T and CenturyLink said in separate filings with the Federal Communications Commission that Granite Telecommunications' request to combine unbundled local circuit switching and shared transport services is not only procedurally flawed, but could also inhibit their ongoing transitions to an all IP network. At issue is Granite's argument that traditional incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) should offer equivalently priced wholesale access services that they offer today over their existing TDM-based networks such as T-1 and DS-3 services.

Traditional telecommunication companies are mandated to offer unbundled network elements and other wholesale services under Section 271 of the 1996 Telecom Act. The competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC)'s concern is that if operators like AT&T and Verizon discontinue these services and don't provide similar service at equivalent rates, it could pose potential harm to both the CLEC and their customers who can now choose from a number of lower priced service options besides the ILEC. Granite added that ILECs' customers will also suffer due to the higher prices because they would not be able to purchase services from other providers. Comptel, an industry advocacy group that represents CLECs, said in its own filing that the FCC should rule that ILECs should be required commingle or allow competitive providers to commingle a Section 271 network element or other network elements they buy from an ILEC.

Reaffirming Cross-Border Relations

[Commentary] Earlier in June, I traveled to Mexico as part of a US Government delegation -- including the Federal Communications Commission and Departments of State and Commerce -- attending the first high-level spectrum discussion since Mexico established the Federal Institute of Telecommunications (IFT). We were warmly welcomed by IFT, the Secretariat of Communications and Transport and the Secretariat of Foreign Relations. We traveled to Mexico to advance ongoing staff discussions on important telecommunications and cross-border spectrum coordination issues and further strengthen the bilateral relationship between both countries on these issues.

From my perspective, both delegations were very pleased with the outcome of these discussions. Specifically, we agreed to work together on a revised agreement that would facilitate implementation of Positive Train Control technology in the 220-222 MHz band along the common border. PTC systems are intended to reduce the risk of rail accidents by enabling real-time information sharing between trains, rail wayside devices, and control centers. PTC technology is designed to automatically slow or stop a train in order to avoid a collision or derailment. On 800 MHz, which is a band the FCC is reconfiguring for public safety and first responder radio communication, we agreed to a roadmap accelerating the reconfiguration process along the common border. The roadmap is in accordance with a Protocol signed with Mexico in 2012. It includes a process for confirming when channels are cleared in Mexico. In addition, we are working on a joint repurposing of the 600 MHz band. IFT and the FCC have developed a technical plan that will enable IFT to complete its DTV transition and DTV auction initiatives while also accommodating the FCC's incentive auction. This plan places Mexican TV stations below channel 37 while providing additional channels for U.S. stations to use in the reorganized TV band.

No, the Sky Isn't Falling for the Cable Industry

[Commentary] The media has a deep and abiding bias towards negative stories, particularly when they’re about the supposed death of its own industry. Lately, we’ve been hearing a lot about the permanent collapse of cable television. Cable television is currently suffering the death of a thousand cord-cutters -- or is it?

Streaming video platforms continue to explode in popularity -- all the major channels that haven’t yet announced an over-the-top platform have one in the works. But as Holman Jenkins recently noted in The Wall Street Journal, ”Shows do not become less valuable to viewers when viewers can control when and how to watch them.” Television viewers aren’t going anywhere -- they’re just demanding different digital services, and different ways of paying for the content they actually want to watch. The old 500-channel bundle, for instance, is going away. Saying goodbye to it might be painful in the short term (most cable subscribers only watch nine percent of what’s available anyway), but it will eventually unlock more more smart, focused content bundles and revenue opportunities. We’re in the midst of a broad global shift from a manufacturing economy where companies sold products to strangers in isolated transactions, to a subscription-based economy where companies engage in ongoing relationships with their consumers. And the media industry has been at this game for a very long time. So yes, things are definitely in flux, but the reports of cable TV’s death remain greatly exaggerated.

[Tien Tzuo is the CEO of Zuora]

Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders Are the Most Popular Presidential Candidates on Facebook

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are the most liked candidates for president. At least on Facebook. Politico reported that the two Democratic entrants generated the most conversation -- positive or negative -- of all presidential candidates between May 13 and June 13. The pair also dominated in the important early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. In Iowa during that period, Clinton came in first with 289,000 likes, comments, posts, and shares about her from 66,000 people. Sanders, meanwhile, saw 30,000 Iowans engage in 153,000 interactions. GOP hopeful Rand Paul spurred 24,000 people to make 98,000 interactions.

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