1. Monthly archive
  2. July 2015

July 2015

Facebook Gives Users More Control Over Their News Feeds

A perennial complaint from Facebook users is that they don’t have much control over what appears in their news feed, the main flow of posts on their Facebook home page or app screen. The social network’s mysterious computer algorithm analyzes thousands of signals, then spits out what it thinks you want to see based on the kinds of posts you have liked in the past and who you tend to interact with or ignore on the service. On July 9, Facebook announced a set of features that will give each person more control over what he or she wants to see. In essence, you get to reprogram the algorithm.

The most important new control allows you to tell Facebook that certain friends and pages -- your spouse, your best friend, your child’s school -- are so important to you that you want to see everything that they post. Facebook will then put those posts at the top of your feed. “It’s really for the things you care about most,” said Adam Mosseri, the Facebook product management director who oversees the news feed.

All this digital technology isn't making us more productive

The modern office appears to be awash in exciting new productivity technology that didn't exist 15 years ago, but a disturbing new report from Wells Fargo notes that measured productivity is slowing down in almost every industry. Of particular note is professional and technical services, where economic data says there has been no increase in the productivity of your basic office worker.

This is interesting because the information technology sector has certainly continued to march ahead at a rapid pace. And that's equipped the modern professional and technical services worker with all kinds of cool new tools. You can collaborate on cloud-based documents. You can videoconference with your remote colleagues. You can schedule meetings with Google Calendar. You can read and answer e-mails on the fly with your iPhone. Your laptop is far more powerful than 2003's desktop, and it's far more flexible as well. Your office might have a Wi-Fi network and an Internal chat system, and you can manage your benefits online. Yet even though we are getting way better at producing technology tools, the tools themselves don't seem to be helping white-collar workers actually get more done.

Most US Smartphone Owners Check Phone at Least Hourly

About half of US smartphone owners check their devices several times an hour or more frequently, including 11 percent who say they check it every few minutes and 41 percent who check it a few times an hour. Another 20 percent of Americans claim to check their phones about once an hour, leaving 28 percent who check them less frequently. These data are based on a special Gallup Panel survey conducted among 15,747 US adults who say they have a smartphone.

The survey was conducted April 17-May 18 by Web and included a mail survey component for these questions. The frequency with which Americans check their smartphones essentially means that they must be keeping their smartphones by their sides during the day. The data bear that assumption out: 81 percent of smartphone users say they keep their phone near them "almost all the time during waking hours." Americans' attachment to their smartphones is so strong that 63 percent report keeping it near them at night even while sleeping.

Connecting 21st Century Communities: A Policy Agenda for Broadband Stakeholders

In the 21st century, broadband Internet access has emerged as more than just an information superhighway -- it has become critical infrastructure to connect citizens, businesses, and communities alike to new opportunities. Yet for too many communities, the promise of fast, affordable, and reliable Internet access remains unrealized. That is why over 100 cities and towns have formed Next Century Cities, a nonpartisan, city-to-city collaborative. Next Century Cities (NCC) is dedicated to elevating the voices of communities in the broadband policy discussion and sharing resources and knowledge among members. This Policy Agenda offers policies that will move communities in the direction of fast, affordable, and reliable Internet access available to all.

The development of fast, affordable, and reliable broadband Internet for communities often requires a wide range of stakeholders contributing in a variety of ways, from providing a broadband-friendly regulatory climate, to demonstrating the value of networks, to empowering key voices. NCC’s Policy Agenda identifies the roles each ally can play to develop broadband at each level of government, offers guidance on how policymakers and community members can fulfill these roles with examples of what’s working, and proposes concrete actions government and civil society can take to lay the groundwork for a broadband-ready future.

July 9, 2015 (Control of the Internet)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015


INTERNET/BROADBAND
   The United States wants to push back the date it gives up symbolic control of the Internet
   CBO Scores DOTCOM Act - research [links to web]
   Remarks of Commissioner Clyburn at National Action Network -- Legislative and Policy Conference - speech
   Deadlines Set for FCC Transparency Rule Comments
   Alabama residents sue Windstream to get higher wireline broadband speeds
   Moffett: AT&T FTTH Commitment is Bad News for Cable Companies
   Verizon: Let us install fiber -- or we’ll shut off your phone service
   New Detailed Data Add to Understanding of the Net Vitality Index - Media Institute press release
   Lifeline needs revolutionary, not evolutionary, change - AEI op-ed

SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
   Nearly Halfway to Meeting Spectrum Target - NTIA press release
   Public Knowledge Joins Letter to FCC to Protect Next Generation Wi-Fi for Consumers - press release [links to web]

SECURITY/PRIVACY
   How the audacious Pentagon agency that invented the Internet is now trying to save it
   Obama administration policies exacerbate spectrum exhaust - Lawrence Spiwak op-ed
   Public Knowledge Sends Comments to ICANN to Protect User Privacy Rights - press release [links to web]
   How to stop your smartphone from tracking your moves [links to web]

CONTENT
   What will happen to the Internet if Reddit shuts down - analysis
   It’s 2015 -- You’d Think We’d Have Figured Out How To Measure Web Traffic By Now - 538 analysis [links to web]
   Should Google Always Tell the Truth? - analysis [links to web]
   How to see everyone who’s unfriended you on Facebook (and everywhere else, welp) [links to web]
   How a subtle change to Facebook icons could make huge difference for gender equality [links to web]

TELEVISION
   28 Percent Of TV Viewing Done Via Streaming [links to web]

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
   CBO Scores the Emergency Information Improvement Act of 2015 - research [links to web]

JOURNALISM
   What’s Your Hour in ‘Silicon Valley Time’? - op-ed
   How The Rolling Stone Rape Story Failure Has -- And Hasn't -- Changed Media Coverage - analysis [links to web]
   Hillary Clinton dusts off the ‘vast right-wing conspiracy’ charge. Does she have a point? - Philip Bump analysis [links to web]

POLICYMAKERS
   FCC Review Team Announced for Proposed Charter-Time Warner Cable-Bright House Networks Transaction - press release
   Invasion of the Innovators - analysis [links to web]
   Trying to bring more diversity to the NSA [links to web]

COMPANY NEWS
   Cutting Jobs, Microsoft Turns Page on Nokia Deal [links to web]
   Paramount to Speed Up Home Release of Movies [links to web]
   Judge tosses jury’s $533 million patent verdict against Apple, orders new trial [links to web]
   Comcast: Let Us Be Your ‘Co-Pilot’ [links to web]

MORE ONLINE
   Everything Science Knows About Reading On Screens [links to web]

back to top

INTERNET/BROADBAND

US WANTS TO PUSH BACK THE DATE IT GIVES UP SYMBOLIC CONTROL OF THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
The United States will likely need to retain its historical oversight authority over the Internet's naming and addressing system for a little longer, a delay that will keep the US government from moving ahead with a plan to give up some of its legacy powers over the Web. The extension could last through July 2016 or even longer, said Larry Strickling, head of the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, before a congressional panel on July 8. The United States' old contract with ICANN expires on Sept. 30, but will need to be extended to give ICANN a chance to finalize a proposal for handling the new responsibility, Strickling said. The proposal is expected to be delivered to US officials by November 2015 -- a move that will kickstart a lengthy review process by Washington. The transition has been at times controversial, with critics saying it would give foreign governments such as China or Russia an opportunity to manipulate the future of the Web. But those concerns were largely addressed in June when the House passed the DOTCOM Act, which imposes accountability requirements on the transition process. ICANN president Fadi Chehadé said that governments have not asked for new or expanded powers.
benton.org/headlines/united-states-wants-push-back-date-it-gives-symbolic-control-internet | Washington Post | The Hill | Broadcasting & Cable
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


REMARKS OF COMMISSIONER CLYBURN AT NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn]
This afternoon I wish to highlight what I think is a significant, yet too rarely discussed issue, in the fight for equality and opportunity: ensuring that everyone has access to the Internet. The Federal Communications Commission is responsible for a program known as Lifeline, which was created during the Reagan Administration to aid low-income Americans when it comes to their communications needs. [We have] the ability to design an entirely new program that I propose to be known as iBridge Now, which could help those persistent digital divides and opportunity gaps by supporting 21st century advanced communications services. Not only is the Internet a necessity today, but Congress actually directed the FCC to ensure that everyone, regardless of income, has access to advanced communications services. Congress also directed that such access should be affordable. So not only can we, but we are mandated to, CLOSE the digital divide. Collectively, we can make this happen. So I ask that you accept the FCC's challenge, and participate in our public comment period on modernizing the Lifeline program.
benton.org/headlines/remarks-commissioner-clyburn-national-action-network-legislative-and-policy-conference | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


DEADLINES SET FOR FCC TRANSPARENCY RULE COMMENTS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission has set comment deadlines on its request for input on whether it should maintain a temporary exemption from enhanced transparency requirements under its new Title II-based network neutrality rules. Comments will be due Aug 5 and reply comments Sept 4. The American Cable Association had urged the FCC not to boost the transparency requirements and, if it did, to make it a permanent exemption. The FCC's "enhanced" transparency requirements include data on packet loss, geographic area performance, average performance over time, prices, fees, data cap allowances, network practices including application agnostic degradation of service, and more. The exemption means smaller operators don't have to report on the source of congestion, packet corruption, and jitter, and are not required to make their disclosures in real time. The FCC wants info about whether the waiver, which applies to systems with 100,000 or fewer broadband subscribers, should be made permanent or whether it should have been granted at all, as well as whether 100,000 was the right cut-off. In the FCC's open Internet order, the FCC gave the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau until Dec 15, 2015 to adopt an order on whether to maintain the exemption, and at what level of subscriber.
benton.org/headlines/deadlines-set-fcc-transparency-rule-comments | Multichannel News | FCC public notice
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


ALABAMA RESIDENTS SUE WINDSTREAM TO GET HIGHER WIRELINE BROADBAND SPEEDS
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Sean Buckley]
A number of Windstream's customers in Alabama aren't happy about the wireline DSL speeds they are getting from Windstream, and they are suing the company in the hopes the telecommunication company will respond by upgrading its wireline infrastructure. In St. Clair County, three lawyers are collaborating with the goal of motivating Windstream to upgrade its infrastructure in these areas, stemming from complaints residents have had about the service they get today. A number of users in Broadband DSL Reports' User Reviews site say that many customers have reported they can't even get 1 Mbps DSL speeds. Michael Teague, a Windstream spokesman, said that the lines in the area were never upgraded with next-gen technology such as ADSL2+ or VDSL2 because of the belief that more consumers would just use their wireless devices as the primary means to get Internet services. Being a wireline-centric provider itself, Windstream capitalized on the 4G LTE buildout boom by building out fiber to cell towers in its service area to provide wireless backhaul services. What changed in the home was the advent Wi-Fi and the growing consumer appetite for streaming video services such as Netflix and Hulu. "Industry-wide, we found people still want that broadband delivered to their homes so they can stream multiple devices wirelessly," said Teague. "It created a kind of shift in the thinking, and it's come back around."
benton.org/headlines/alabama-residents-sue-windstream-get-higher-wireline-broadband-speeds | Fierce
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


MOFFETT: AT&T FTTH COMMITMENT IS BAD NEWS FOR CABLE COMPANIES
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
Pending approval of its DirecTV acquisition, AT&T’s commitment to a major expansion of its fiber-to-the-premises network could create some major challenges for cable companies, notes Craig Moffett, senior analyst for financial research firm Moffett Nathanson in a research note. An AT&T Federal Communications Commission filing revealed that the company had agreed to extend its FTTP network to reach a total of 11.7 million locations if the DirecTV acquisition is approved -- and according to news reports that approval is expected during the week of July 6. The carrier also agreed to make gigabit service available to an undisclosed percentage of new locations passed. “[N]obody to whom we’ve spoken had expected a number as high as this,” commented Moffett. “The number disclosed last week is fully nine million higher than their previously published commitments.” And that doesn’t bode well for cable companies, according to Moffett and his research team, who reminded readers that telecommunication company fiber builds of the mid-2000s “weighed on” cable stocks for five years.
benton.org/headlines/moffett-att-ftth-commitment-bad-news-cable-companies | telecompetitor
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


VERIZON: LET US INSTALL FIBER -- OR WE'LL SHUT OFF YOUR PHONE SERVICE
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
A union of Verizon workers recently accused the company of failing to maintain copper landlines. Customers and consumer advocacy groups have been making similar allegations for well over a year. Verizon denies the allegations and argues that phone customers will get more reliable service when they’re switched to fiber. “Verizon’s goal is to serve customers over the best facilities we have available and, for a growing number of our customers, those facilities are all-fiber,” a company spokesperson said. Despite the power limitations, Verizon and similar companies are allowed to shift customers from copper to fiber as long as they continue providing traditional landline service over the fiber lines. Verizon's fiber network can handle either VoIP, which is lightly regulated, or the more heavily regulated circuit-switched phone traffic. Despite its statement that fiber is superior to copper, Verizon has slowed fiber deployments due to the cost, leaving millions with copper phone lines and DSL Internet as the only options. Switching to fiber lowers Verizon's maintenance costs, but the initial construction is expensive. In Herndon (VA), Verizon isn’t switching all customers to fiber immediately -- just those who complain about service problems. “We’re migrating customers on our copper-based network with repair issues to fiber on a case-by-case basis,” the company said.
benton.org/headlines/verizon-let-us-install-fiber-or-well-shut-your-phone-service | Ars Technica
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


NEW DETAILED DATA ADD TO UNDERSTANDING OF THE NET VITALITY INDEX
[SOURCE: Media Institute, AUTHOR: Richard Kaplar]
The Media Institute released The Net Vitality Index In Detail, a companion collection of detailed data used to develop the analysis released in the April 2015 report, Net Vitality: Identifying the Top-Tier Global Broadband Internet Ecosystem Leaders. This new report provides substantial background and additional context for the Net Vitality assessment, which identifies five countries leading in their development of a robust broadband Internet ecosystem. Harvard Law School faculty member and Media Institute Global Internet Freedom Advisory Council member Stuart N. Brotman authored both reports. Brotman’s composite analysis takes into account 52 indices developed independently to evaluate countries on an apples-to-apples basis. Overarching categories assessed encompass applications and content, devices, networks, and macroeconomic factors. The analysis examines ways to sustain long-term Internet vibrancy, both in the United States and around the world, and inform future government policies that impact the deployment and adoption of broadband technologies.
benton.org/headlines/new-detailed-data-add-understanding-net-vitality-index | Media Institute
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


LIFELINE NEEDS REVOLUTIONARY, NOT EVOLUTIONARY, CHANGE
[SOURCE: American Enterprise Institute, AUTHOR: Daniel Lyons]
[Commentary] In June, the Federal Communications Commission voted along party lines to update the Lifeline program for the digital age. Established in 1985, Lifeline was designed to help low-income consumers afford telephone service, access to which “has been crucial to full participation in our society and economy.” Now that the Internet has displaced the telephone as the nation’s primary communications network, the agency has decided that the Lifeline program should evolve as well. The FCC is right to focus on broadband access and to work towards narrowing America’s digital divide. But its proposed order is notable for how little the agency has dared to dream. The change to Lifeline should not be evolutionary -- it should be revolutionary. The better solution would be to craft a new broadband-specific program from the ground up. Which segments of the population are at risk of being left behind in the digital revolution, and therefore need a subsidy? What services do they need in order to meaningfully participate in digital society? What type of broadband plan do those services require? And how much of a subsidy is needed to help the target population secure that plan? Only after these questions are answered can we design a revolutionary new broadband Lifeline program that assists those truly in need at minimal cost to the public.
[Daniel Lyons is an associate professor at Boston College Law School]
benton.org/headlines/lifeline-needs-revolutionary-not-evolutionary-change | American Enterprise Institute
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

SPECTRUM/WIRELESS

NEARLY HALFWAY TO MEETING SPECTRUM TARGET
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, AUTHOR: Associate Administrator of the Office of Spectrum Management Paige Atkins]
[Commentary] Recognizing the growing importance of wireless broadband to the US economy, President Barack Obama five years ago set a bold new goal aimed at ensuring that enough spectrum is available to meet the surging demand for wireless connectivity. I’m happy to report that we are making steady progress toward meeting the President’s 500 megahertz goal. In the last five years, National Telecommunications & Information Administration and the Federal Communications Commission have repurposed 245 megahertz of spectrum that will enable the deployment of licensed and unlicensed broadband technologies. We will continue to work with the FCC, federal agencies, Congress and industry stakeholders to identify additional spectrum for potential repurposing, including through shared access, while ensuring federal agencies have access to spectrum needed to perform their critical missions. It is a process that only increases in difficulty. However, we are confident that our recent collaborative efforts have laid a foundation for us to build upon and charted a course for producing additional success stories. Stay tuned.
benton.org/headlines/nearly-halfway-meeting-spectrum-target | National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

SECURITY/PRIVACY

HOW DARPA IS TRYING TO SAVE THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Christian Davenport]
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the audacious Pentagon research agency that invented the Internet, is trying to figure out how to protect it. The agency’s conclusion: We’re doing cybersecurity all wrong. Today, most network protective systems are like fire alarms; they sound when there’s smoke, and then the firefighters arrive to extinguish the flames. But DARPA, dubbed the “Department of Mad Scientists,” envisions a massive, automated computer system that not only detects the smoke, but prevents the fire from happening in the first place -- or snuffs it out almost immediately. “The computer security industry is basically a bunch of automated detectors set up to let us know when it’s time to call the cavalry -- those people who can do the job computers can’t,” said Michael Walker, a DARPA program manager. “And when we call in the cavalry, most of the time we’ve already lost.” To build a fully automated, computer-driven system that would find bugs in software and patch them on its own, DARPA has invited teams from all over the country to compete in a major cyberbattle it calls the Grand Cyber Challenge, with a $2 million first prize. The goal is to level a playing field that today is wildly in favor of hackers, Walker said. If a computer system could be envisioned as being 1 million miles long, he said, hackers only have to find a single crack, while “the defense has to guard the entire wall.” Only a computer system is capable of the immense task of finding every crack and patching them before they can be exploited, he said.
benton.org/headlines/how-audacious-pentagon-agency-invented-internet-now-trying-save-it | Washington Post
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
   DHS Secretary: 'Federal Cybersecurity Is Not Where It Needs To Be' [links to web]
   Cyberthreats and Data Breaches Illustrate Need for Stronger Controls across Federal Agencies - GAO research [links to web]
   FBI chief tells Senate committee we’re doomed without crypto backdoors [links to web]


OBAMA ADMINISTRATION POLICIES EXACERBATE SPECTRUM EXHAUST
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Lawrence Spiwak]
[Commentary] Given the significant benefits of licensed spectrum to the US economy, why is the Obama Administration making things worse by actively promoting policies that exacerbate spectrum exhaust? Like it or not, the federal government's failure to reallocate more spectrum to commercial providers and its alleged protection of consumers with poorly conceived network neutrality regulations forces providers to respond to demand with price changes. And when mobile broadband prices do rise, will the Administration claim success? It won't, but it is to blame anyway; higher prices are the inevitable consequence of the Administration's actions. Fortunately, the carriers will try to offset prices increases (their customers don't like them), but they must do so with their hands tied behind their backs. The Obama Administration's spectrum policies, at present, point only to higher prices for mobile broadband services. Consider yourself warned.
[Lawrence Spiwak the president of the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies]
benton.org/headlines/obama-administration-policies-exacerbate-spectrum-exhaust | Hill, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

CONTENT

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE INTERNET IF REDDIT SHUTS DOWN
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Caitlin Dewey]
If Reddit went offline tomorrow, you would see immediate ripples across the Internet. First, and perhaps least importantly, traffic to porn sites would plummet. Later, major news, entertainment and e-commerce sites, including YouTube and Amazon, would feel a notable, if not debilitating, hit. And then, concur a dozen Reddit power-users, academics and social media experts, life would go on as normal across the Internet. To be clear, no one actually expects the Internet’s “front page,” and its 35th most popular Web site, to shut down -- not now, anyway. But in the wake of Reddit’s latest and most traumatic bout of internal drama, several pundits have found themselves pondering the hypothetical worst case: one in which the tensions between Reddit’s leadership and its user base topple the site, entirely.
benton.org/headlines/what-will-happen-internet-if-reddit-shuts-down | Washington Post
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

JOURNALISM

WHAT'S YOUR HOUR IN 'SILICON VALLEY TIME'?
[SOURCE: Medium, AUTHOR: Aaron Zamost]
[Commentary] A company’s narrative moves like a clock: it starts at midnight, ticking off the hours. The tone and sentiment about how a business is doing move from positive (sunrise, midday) to negative (dusk, darkness). And often the story returns to midnight, rebirth and a new day. Over the years, I developed the idea by filling in the times on the clock. It has helped to be in tech; startups in particular, always begin with a “founding story,” and follow a typical path through Silicon Valley Time (SVT). It’s not perfect, of course. Companies can skip an hour  --  or in some cases several. Others get stuck along the way, and with a stalled narrative (and broken clock) cease to be relevant. Knowing the general time of a company has made it easier for me to see around corners and better do my job.
[Aaron Zamost is currently head of communications at Square]
benton.org/headlines/whats-your-hour-silicon-valley-time | Medium
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

POLICYMAKERS

FCC REVIEW TEAM ANNOUNCED FOR PROPOSED CHARTER-TWC-BRIGHT HOUSE NETWORKS TRANSACTION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced the members of an inter-bureau steering committee and the working team leaders established to coordinate the FCC’s review of merger applications from Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks. Jonathan Sallet, General Counsel, will chair the steering committee that will oversee review of the transaction. Bureau chiefs on the steering committee include Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake, International Bureau Chief Mindel De La Torre, Wireline Competition Bureau Chief Matthew DelNero, and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Chief Roger Sherman. Owen M. Kendler will join the Office of General Counsel to lead the working team responsible for the review of the proposed transaction. Kendler comes to the FCC on a detail from the Department of Justice, where he has been since 2003, most recently as Assistant Chief, Telecommunications & Media Enforcement Section, in DOJ’s Antitrust Division. Betsy McIntyre from the Wireline Competition Bureau will be Kendler’s deputy. The Charter-Time Warner Cable-Bright House Networks working team will report to the steering committee. William Rogerson will serve as senior economist overseeing the review of the proposed CharterTime Warner Cable-Brighthouse Networks transaction. Most recently, Rogerson served as the senior economist on the Comcast-Time Warner Cable and AT&T-DirecTV transactions. In addition to being a former Chief Economist of the FCC, Rogerson is a Professor at Northwestern University, where he has served as Chair of the Department of Economics.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-review-team-announced-proposed-charter-time-warner-cable-bright-house-networks | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

Cutting Jobs, Microsoft Turns Page on Nokia Deal

When Microsoft announced its deal to acquire Nokia’s mobile phone business, Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive at the time, boasted that the deal was a “bold step into the future.” But on July 8, Microsoft’s current chief executive, Satya Nadella, sought to leave that deal in the past. He announced a broad rethinking of the company’s phone strategy, a change that includes cutting up to 7,800 jobs, mostly from the phone business, and writing off nearly all of the value of its Nokia acquisition.

The move is a clear acknowledgment that the deal was a multibillion-dollar strategic blunder by Ballmer, who had envisioned it as a way to make Microsoft more competitive in the mobile market dominated by Apple, Google and Samsung. Nadella is said to have disliked the acquisition originally, though he publicly endorsed it after becoming chief executive.

Paramount to Speed Up Home Release of Movies

Paramount Pictures has struck a deal with two major cinema chains to make new movies available to watch at home just two weeks after they leave most theaters. The new arrangement will begin with two smaller films, but the Viacom-owned studio hopes to continue with the strategy, potentially changing the calculus of movie distribution for studios and exhibitors alike.

Since the rise of the VCR in the 1980s, studios have waited at least 90 days after a movie debuts on the big screen before making it available elsewhere, regardless of when it stopped playing in theaters. Most movies play for less than two months, but cinema owners have argued that people wouldn’t go to the multiplex if they knew they could watch a film at home in less than three months. In recent years, however, a growing chorus in Hollywood has complained that the 90-day “window” encourages piracy and fails to acknowledge shifting consumer behavior. A recent study commissioned by Paramount found 72% of consumers weren’t aware of the 90-day delay. Even so, shortening that window is a much-debated idea for an industry that continues to wrestle with shrunken DVD sales, a rise in digital competitors and worrisome attendance trends at the multiplex.

By reaching a pact with two of North America’s largest exhibitors — AMC Entertainment Holdings and Canada’s Cineplex — Paramount has crafted the most legitimate threat yet to the traditional theatrical model. To sweeten the pot, the studio will share a portion of revenue from iTunes downloads, video-on-demand, and other digital channels with exhibitors that play the films, giving them a hedge in case box-office revenue declines.

Remarks of Commissioner Clyburn at National Action Network -- Legislative and Policy Conference

This afternoon I wish to highlight what I think is a significant, yet too rarely discussed issue, in the fight for equality and opportunity: ensuring that everyone has access to the Internet. The Federal Communications Commission is responsible for a program known as Lifeline, which was created during the Reagan Administration to aid low-income Americans when it comes to their communications needs. [We have] the ability to design an entirely new program that I propose to be known as iBridge Now, which could help those persistent digital divides and opportunity gaps by supporting 21st century advanced communications services.

Not only is the Internet a necessity today, but Congress actually directed the FCC to ensure that everyone, regardless of income, has access to advanced communications services. Congress also directed that such access should be affordable. So not only can we, but we are mandated to, CLOSE the digital divide. Collectively, we can make this happen. So I ask that you accept the FCC's challenge, and participate in our public comment period on modernizing the Lifeline program.

Nearly Halfway to Meeting Spectrum Target

[Commentary] Recognizing the growing importance of wireless broadband to the US economy, President Barack Obama five years ago set a bold new goal aimed at ensuring that enough spectrum is available to meet the surging demand for wireless connectivity. I’m happy to report that we are making steady progress toward meeting the President’s 500 megahertz goal.

In the last five years, National Telecommunications & Information Administration and the Federal Communications Commission have repurposed 245 megahertz of spectrum that will enable the deployment of licensed and unlicensed broadband technologies. We will continue to work with the FCC, federal agencies, Congress and industry stakeholders to identify additional spectrum for potential repurposing, including through shared access, while ensuring federal agencies have access to spectrum needed to perform their critical missions. It is a process that only increases in difficulty. However, we are confident that our recent collaborative efforts have laid a foundation for us to build upon and charted a course for producing additional success stories. Stay tuned.

Deadlines Set for FCC Transparency Rule Comments

The Federal Communications Commission has set comment deadlines on its request for input on whether it should maintain a temporary exemption from enhanced transparency requirements under its new Title II-based network neutrality rules. Comments will be due Aug 5 and reply comments Sept 4. The American Cable Association had urged the FCC not to boost the transparency requirements and, if it did, to make it a permanent exemption.

The FCC's "enhanced" transparency requirements include data on packet loss, geographic area performance, average performance over time, prices, fees, data cap allowances, network practices including application agnostic degradation of service, and more. The exemption means smaller operators don't have to report on the source of congestion, packet corruption, and jitter, and are not required to make their disclosures in real time. The FCC wants info about whether the waiver, which applies to systems with 100,000 or fewer broadband subscribers, should be made permanent or whether it should have been granted at all, as well as whether 100,000 was the right cut-off. In the FCC's open Internet order, the FCC gave the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau until Dec 15, 2015 to adopt an order on whether to maintain the exemption, and at what level of subscriber.

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