July 22, 2015 (AT&T’s Bid for DirecTV Advances)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2015
Hearing today -- Promoting Broadband Infrastructure Investment (see preview below) https://www.benton.org/calendar
INTERNET/BROADBAND
The Next Generation Connectivity Handbook: a Guide for Community Leaders Seeking Affordable Abundant Bandwidth - Gig.U/Benton research
NTIA’s BroadbandUSA Work Complementing ConnectHome Initiative - press release
House Communications panel looks for better broadband
Why Ted Cruz is holding up a crucial Internet policy bill
CTIA Calls FCC's Transparency Compliance Estimates 'Absurd'
ACA: FCC Underestimates Impact Of Expanded Net Neutrality Transparency
DIVERSITY
Why diversity matters to your tech company - op-ed
OWNERSHIP
AT&T’s Bid for DirecTV Advances
House Bill Introduced to Limit FCC JSA Decision [links to web]
Limits at Gawker? Rules at Reddit? Wild West Web Turns a Page [links to web]
TELEVISION
FCC Eyeing Cable-Bill Breakouts
NAB Offers Duplex Gap Compromise
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
NAB Offers Duplex Gap Compromise
TIA: 5G Expectations Include Multiple Spectrum Bands [links to web]
PRIVACY/SECURITY
FTC Takes Action Against LifeLock for Alleged Violations of 2010 Order - press release [links to web]
How to Secure an Increasingly Mobile Federal Workforce - op-ed [links to web]
Facebook must hand over New York users' info to prosecutors, court rules [links to web]
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
Titans Clash as Donald Trump’s Run Fuels His Feud With Rupert Murdoch
Trump Gives Out Sen Graham's Cell Phone Number [links to web]
Why a Stacked GOP Primary Doesn't Mean More TV Dollars [links to web]
ADVERTISING
With Ad Blocking Use On The Rise, What Happens To Online Publishers? [links to web]
Targeted ads to drive mobile video business, Verizon CFO says [links to web]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Why China’s Propagandists Love the Internet -op-ed [links to web]
White House launches digital push to sell Iran deal [links to web]
Study Shows Strong Support for Cameras in Supreme Court [links to web]
Facebook must hand over New York users' info to prosecutors, court rules [links to web]
The Radio Broadcaster Who Fought the Cold War Abroad but Remained Unheard at Home - WSJ editorial [links to web]
FCC REFORM
Task Force on FCC Process - press release
INTERNET/BROADBAND
NEXT GENERATION CONNECTIVITY HANDBOOK
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Blair Levin, Denise Linn]
Gig. U and the Benton Foundation published a comprehensive guide for communities who want better broadband for their residents and businesses. The Next Generation Connectivity Handbook: a Guide for Community Leaders Seeking Affordable Abundant Bandwidth builds on the experience of 25 Gig.U communities who have worked on this issue for many years and is an indispensable tool in lowering the initial, daunting information barrier for cities just beginning to navigate these critical Internet infrastructure issues. “When we started Gig.U four years ago, there were few models for communities who wished to assure that bandwidth would not be a constraint to economic growth and social progress for their homes and enterprises,” said Blair Levin, a founder of Gig.U and one of the Handbook’s co-authors. “Thanks to the heroic efforts of leaders in a number of Gig.U and other communities, there are now numerous examples that create a map for those who wish to seek a similar advantage for their own community.” The Handbook addresses the most common questions Gig.U received throughout its work with a wide variety of communities. It includes resources on topics such as economic impact, legal and financing issues, the trade-offs of different approaches, political challenges, and the core equation underlying the negotiating strategy with private parties. “At the heart of the Handbook are two critical and related tasks for the city. First is understanding how a community’s practices affect the economics of deploying and operating next generation networks. Second is the task of organizing assets, practices and people to improve a community’s ability to negotiate with providers or build a network itself,” said Denise Linn, Gig.U’s former Harvard Ash Center Summer Fellow and a co-author of the Handbook. “The wisdom Gig.U has gleaned by working with these communities, often in light of difficult odds, holds great promise for all who see affordable, abundant bandwidth as a necessity for communities to thrive in the global economy,” said Adrianne B. Furniss, Executive Director of the Benton Foundation. “Here Gig.U provides a roadmap for community leaders who realize they must act now to stimulate new investments in 21st century information infrastructure. We thank Blair and Denise for dedicating the Handbook, in part, to our late founder, Charles Benton, who fervently believed that wise telecommunications policy can improve the quality of life for all.”
https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/the_next_generation_network_c...
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NTIA'S BROADBANDUSA WORK COMPLEMENTING CONNECTHOME INITIATIVE
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, AUTHOR: Press release]
On July 15, President Barack Obama traveled to Durant (OK) where he announced ConnectHome -- a plan to bring high-speed broadband Internet to low-income housing in 27 cities and one Native American tribal community. ConnectHome is just one component of a broader Administration initiative to expand broadband and close the digital divide, and the National Telecommunications & Information Administration is playing a critical role in that effort. Working to expand broadband access and adoption is a core mission of NTIA. And for the past six years through our broadband grant program, we’ve been working with communities across the country to build high-speed networks in our most rural villages, set up computer labs in inner-city housing projects, teach critical digital literacy skills to people who may never have turned on a computer before, and so much more. We’re proud of the work that’s being carried on by our broadband grantees. But even as the BTOP program officially comes to a close in September, we know much more work needs to be done to close the digital divide. Through our BroadbandUSA initiative, we’re leveraging the expertise we developed through these projects to continue to help other communities work through challenges as they look to expand their broadband offerings. The BroadbandUSA program is providing resources – including technical assistance, toolkits and guides – to help communities assess local broadband needs, engage stakeholders, explore business models, evaluate financing options and attract private-sector investment. We are also convening a series of regional workshops that are bringing together local government, industry and community leaders to study the broadband challenges they face and explore potential solutions. Stay tuned for more details about our next workshop September 28 in Portland (ME). We look forward to working closely with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in their future efforts to bring broadband to public housing projects.
benton.org/headlines/ntias-broadbandusa-work-complementing-connecthome-initiative | National Telecommunications and Information Administration
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BROADBAND HEARING
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: David McCabe, Mario Trujillo]
The House Commerce Committee's Communications and Technology subpanel will meet to hear from witnesses about broadband investment. Citing the high cost of entry into the broadband business, Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) will call for the government to make it easier to invest in the sector. "With new players and incumbents looking to invest in infrastructure and compete for customers on the networks of tomorrow, the federal government should find ways to encourage deployment and eliminate barriers," he will say. "Despite repeated calls to facilitate access to federal lands and buildings, to simplify and expedite access to utility poles, and improve the process for tower and cell siting, these still present hurdles to efficient investment and deployment." Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo (D-CA) will mention several areas where she says policymakers can enhance broadband deployment, including expanding spectrum access. "Finally, through the power of unlicensed spectrum, Wi-Fi can expand broadband coverage in underserved communities, including rural and tribal lands," she is expected to say. "The 600 MHz band and its ability to penetrate walls and travel longer distances makes it uniquely situated to serve these and other communities on a nationwide basis."
benton.org/headlines/house-communications-panel-looks-better-broadband | Hill, The
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WHY TED CRUZ IS HOLDING UP A CRUCIAL INTERNET POLICY BILL
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) is holding up a bipartisan bill whose defenders say must pass in order for America to gain more credibility on Internet issues. The reason? Politics. Sen Cruz has argued that the bill, known as the DOTCOM Act, would allow the Internet to be "handed over" to countries like China and Russia that don't share US values when it comes to freedom of speech and expression. But the bill's backers say it does no such thing -- and they're probably right. The DOTCOM Act would allow the US government to transfer its power to oversee the Internet's naming and addressing system -- what turns www.google.com into a viewable Web page -- over to the international community. While this might sound like giving the Internet to America's rivals, Washington actually ceded those powers long ago, and it retains them in name only. Today, that managing function is performed by a nonprofit called the International Corporation for Names and Numbers, or ICANN. ICANN itself is governed by a whole slew of international actors, not just governments. And its executives have been adamant that states will never have sole decision-making power in the body. Right now, governments serve an advisory function only, so even if China and Russia wanted to take control of the Internet, as Sen Cruz claims, they'd have to get through everyone else who opposed it first. For Sen Cruz, opposing the DOTCOM Act scores him political points with the Republican base, which largely favors a hawkish foreign policy. But Sen Cruz is practically alone in his criticism of the transition of Internet authority; even former critics of the idea, such as Rep Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), voted for the bill because it places a congressional check on the process.
benton.org/headlines/why-ted-cruz-holding-crucial-internet-policy-bill | Washington Post
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CTIA CALLS FCC'S TRANSPARENCY COMPLIANCE ESTIMATES 'ABSURD'
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission is getting plenty of pushback from Internet service providers on its estimates of new transparency information collection requirements in the new network neutrality rules that took effect June 12, with wireless carriers suggesting its estimates and justifications are so off base as to need a reboot. In its comments to the FCC, CTIA: The Wireless Association, pulled no punches, calling the FCC's estimate of an additional 4.5 hours per year absurd and calling the FCC's estimates of the additional paperwork burdens "indefensibly inaccurate." Given the potential millions of dollars in fines for noncompliance, "it is absurd for the Commission to suggest that these providers will spend only an additional $200.75 or 4.5 hours per year to ensure compliance with the 'enhanced' transparency requirements," CTIA said. The Office of Management and Budget reviews any new reporting requirements in new regulations per the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), which mandates that an agency take steps to minimize additional paperwork. CTIA said the current transparency rule -- adopted in 2010 -- is already "extremely burdensome," that the expanded transparency requirements are of little practical utility, are ambiguous and not clearly understandable, and that the FCC still needs OMB approvals for some parts of the new notifications that it has not sought. "The Commission’s Open Internet PRA effort is so flawed and riddled with unsustainable assumptions that the Commission should issue a new notice that provides the 'specific, objectively supported estimate of burden' that the PRA requires," CTIA said.
benton.org/headlines/ctia-calls-fccs-transparency-compliance-estimates-absurd | Broadcasting&Cable
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ACA: FCC UNDERESTIMATES IMPACT OF EXPANDED NET NEUTRALITY TRANSPARENCY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The American Cable Association says the Federal Communications Commission is lowballing the impact of expanded transparency requirements in its new network neutrality rules. That came in comments to the FCC per the Paperwork Reduction Act, which requires an agency to justify any new reporting obligations associated with new regulations and minimize reporting burdens, especially on small businesses ACA points out (ACA represents smaller and medium-sized broadband providers). The transparency rule -- dating from the FCC's 2010 Open Internet order, requires Internet service providers to publicly disclose network management practices, performance and pricing and privacy policies, among other things. The new rules require more granular data. The FCC estimated that the new reporting requirements will take providers an additional 4.5 hours per year to respond. ACA said that "significantly understates the amount of time that BIAS [broadband Internet access service] providers expect to spend to effectively and accurately collect and disclose additional information about network practices, and to inform customers directly 'if their individual use of a network will trigger a network practice, based on their demand prior to the period of congestion, that is likely to have a significant impact on the end user’s use of the service,'" one of the new rules new requirements. ACA says the new requirement will likely require and average 16-24 hours annually just to draft the disclosures, and that to inform customers when their actions trigger a network practice and answer questions about those notices could take as much as 100 hours per month for a member with 100,000 subs.
benton.org/headlines/aca-fcc-underestimates-impact-expanded-net-neutrality-transparency | Broadcasting&Cable
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DIVERSITY
WHY DIVERSITY MATTERS TO YOUR TECH COMPANY
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Joelle Emerson]
[Commentary] As the push for diversity in tech continues, a growing number of companies and leaders are confronting the topic for the first time. Those that are new to diversity and inclusion are often unsure how to approach it -- how to talk about the subject internally and externally, how to rank it among competing priorities, and how to allocate appropriate resources. Before answering these questions, it’s helpful to identify why diversity and inclusion matters to you and your company specifically. Diversity efforts are most successful when they’re driven by a commitment from company leaders. And meaningful commitment requires leaders to understand why diversity matters. At Paradigm, we spend a lot of time brainstorming with CEOs and other company leaders about what is or should be driving their diversity and inclusion efforts. Here are five themes that have emerged from those conversations:
Diverse teams are smarter and more creative
Diverse companies perform better
Companies are losing out on great talent
Diverse companies can better serve a diverse user base
It’s the right thing to do
[Joelle Emerson is co-founder and CEO of Paradigm]
benton.org/headlines/why-diversity-matters-your-tech-company | USAToday
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OWNERSHIP
AT&T’S BID FOR DIRECTV ADVANCES
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Emily Steel]
AT&T’s proposed $48.5 billion takeover of the satellite company DirecTV is on the path to receiving a regulatory green light after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler circulated a final order to approve the deal with conditions. The Justice Department also announced that it would not challenge the acquisition. The deal would create the country’s largest television distributor with about 26 million subscribers, surpassing Comcast, the current leader. The FCC reviewed whether the deal, announced in May 2014, would serve the public interest; the Justice Department review was to determine whether it would harm competition. Chairman Wheeler said that the proposed order outlined a series of conditions that would benefit consumers by increasing competition in the broadband market. Under one condition, AT&T would be required to build its current high-speed fiber Internet connection to about 10 times its current size, extending the service to 12.5 million customer locations. To prevent discrimination in the online video market, AT&T would not be allowed to exclude affiliated video services and content from data caps on its fixed broadband connections, Chairman Wheeler said. And to create more transparency, it also would be required to submit so-called interconnection agreements to the FCC. Such agreements provide for a company like Netflix to pay a fee to a distributor, like Comcast or AT&T, for better service when it creates a lot of traffic for a network. The FCC also would require an independent officer to ensure that the company complied with these and other conditions. The final order and the conditions are subject to the approval of the F.C.C.’s other commissioners.
benton.org/headlines/atts-bid-directv-advances | New York Times | Chairman Wheeler | Department of Justice | WSJ | FT | Variety | Washington Post
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
TRUMP AND MURDOCH
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Amy Chozick, Ashley Parker]
In the rarefied world of New York moguls, Rupert Murdoch never thought much of Donald J. Trump. Now, as Trump holds on to a first-place position in the polls while being roundly denounced across the political spectrum for harsh statements about Mexican immigrants and for belittling Sen John McCain’s (R-AZ) war record, he has already lost the man who controls many of the nation’s most important media organizations. The Wall Street Journal, the crown jewel of Murdoch’s print company, News Corporation, published a scathing editorial calling Trump a “catastrophe.” And The Post’s front page screamed, “DON VOYAGE,” under a headline declaring, “Trump is toast.” Trump responded by trashing The Journal on Twitter. Recognizing that winning over the notoriously headstrong Murdoch appears unlikely, Trump has set his sights instead on wooing perhaps the only media executive who wields as much firepower among Republicans: Roger E. Ailes, the chairman and chief executive of Fox News.
benton.org/headlines/titans-clash-donald-trumps-run-fuels-his-feud-rupert-murdoch | New York Times
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TELEVISION
FCC EYEING CABLE-BILL BREAKOUTS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission appears to have a wary eye out for cable-operator efforts to show subscribers where their money is going on those oft-criticized bills. That’s according to the FCC Media Bureau’s latest request for comment and data for its next video competition report. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has made it a point to say communications providers must deliver on their advertised promises. That missive has been aimed mostly at broadband speeds, but the FCC document suggests the idea could be extended to video service. (Cable operators have argued that fee breakouts serve as transparency.) “Some [multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs)] have added various video-related fees to monthly billing statements,” the Media Bureau said. “Such fees include, for instance, a broadcast fee to partially recoup retransmission-consent fees charged by local broadcast stations and a sports fee to defray the cost of sports programming.” Retransmission-consent costs and the price of channels, such as ESPN, are often cited by cable operators as big drivers of the cable pricing at which Chairman Wheeler likes to take aim. But “some MVPDs may raise subscribers’ total monthly bills using these fees without raising the advertised package prices,” the FCC said. That could run into transparency issues with the Chairman Wheeler mantra of delivering on promises. “We seek comment on the competitive strategy associated with adding video-related fees as opposed to raising monthly subscription prices,” said the commission, seeking to make its interest crystal-clear. “Do video-related fees cause consumers to pay prices higher than some MVPDs advertised rate for video services?” the FCC asked. “How are such fees disclosed to consumers prior to becoming a customer or prior to the inclusion of a new fee on a consumer’s bill?” Cable operators have until Sept. 21 to make their case.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-eyeing-cable-bill-breakouts | Multichannel News
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
NAB OFFERS DUPLEX GAP COMPROMISE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The National Association of Broadcasters has offered up a compromise proposal on repacking TV stations in the duplex gap (buffer spectrum in the Wireless portion of the post-incentive auction band). NAB would still prefer that the FCC stick with its original plan of reserving the gap for wireless microphones and unlicensed devices, but it says that if the FCC is going to repack stations in the gap, as it is now proposing, it should limit it to impairing only six markets, with only one of those in the top 25 and only one station repacked in each market. That compromise was offered up in a letter to FCC commissioners and staff from NAB EVP and General Counsel Rick Kaplan. NAB said that the compromise is a way for the FCC to set ambitious spectrum-clearing targets without "crippling" unlicensed services and newsgathering. "This approach will enhance the auction by lessening 600 MHz band impairments and creating more unimpaired paired spectrum for the forward auction. It also fairly compensates broadcasters by not allowing the FCC to avoid paying the most valuable stations by simply shifting them to the 600 MHz wireless band," NAB told the FCC in a filing July 21. "It allows the FCC to achieve a high clearing target with the six markets it seeks to impair, while maximizing broadcaster participation and protecting, for the most part, unlicensed and licensed wireless microphone operations," NAB said.
benton.org/headlines/nab-offers-duplex-gap-compromise | Broadcasting&Cable | Katy on the Hill
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FCC REFORM
TASK FORCE ON FCC PROCESS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Diane Cornell]
[Commentary] I recently provided an update on the ongoing activities throughout the Federal Communications Commission to tackle the process reform recommendations from the Staff Working Group’s Report on FCC Process Reform from early 2014. To complement these activities, a task force has recently been formed that includes representatives from all five Commissioners’ offices at the FCC. As part of this review, the task force will seek public input from those who regularly interact with the FCC, including consumers, licensees, communications law practitioners, and anyone with an interest in improving the FCC’s decision-making processes. The task force will also review the practices of other similarly situated agencies to compare their operations with those at the FCC. Topics that will be reviewed and considered will include, but are not limited to: (a) the use of delegated authority, and practices for providing notice of matters being handled on delegated authority; (b) procedures for pre-vote circulation of Commission-level matters; (c) procedures associated with editing Commission decisions; (d) practices to encourage efficient Commission decision-making, such as the Consent Agenda; (e) approaches for providing increased transparency of FCC procedures and protocols, and (f) practices to track, disclose and encourage prompt Commissioner votes on items on circulation. We appreciate your interest and assistance in helping the FCC to continue to evolve the means by which it delivers upon its mission.
benton.org/headlines/task-force-fcc-process | Federal Communications Commission
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