July 2015

INTERNET/BROADBAND

FCC COMMISSIONER PAI'S STATEMENT ON THE NEED TO EXTEND BROADBAND THROUGHOUT RURAL AMERICA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai]
This week, I've had the privilege of seeing firsthand the opportunities that thigh-speed broadband can bring to rural America. Time and time again, I was told that the rising level of regulatory uncertainty coming from our nation's capital was a major barrier to infrastructure investment. And I repeatedly heard that the Federal Communications Commission needed to promote rural broadband deployment, including by changing Universal Service Fund rules that are holding back investment. In this regard, I was grateful to hear that numerous companies from each state were supportive of the detailed proposal I outlined for extending federal USF support to rate-of-return companies that offer stand-alone broadband service. As I travel back to Washington (DC), I'll carry with me a renewed appreciation for those who do the hard work every day connecting rural America with next-generation services. My goal is to change the FCC's rules in order to help them to meet that challenge, to extend the broadband revolution -- in short, to give rural Americans digital opportunities comparable to those enjoyed by their urban counterparts.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-commissioner-pais-statement-need-extend-broadband-throughout-rural-america | Federal Communications Commission
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HOW TO STOP VERIZON FROM SCREWING NEW YORK CITY
[SOURCE: Medium, AUTHOR: Susan Crawford]
[Commentary] Late during the week of June 22, New York City’s internal tech auditors released a stunning seventeen-page report about Verizon and its performance in keeping its promise to the city and its inhabitants. In 2008 Verizon promised to make FiOS available to everyone in the city by June 30, 2014, and signed an agreement to that effect. It is a year past that date, and Verizon is simultaneously telling the city that its work is done while refusing or failing actually to connect residences. Here’s a plan for New York City, one that has the potential to be a win for everyone concerned: Cut a different deal with Verizon. Make Verizon into the operator of a passive, neutral fiber network that (as in Seoul and Stockholm) is connected to every single home and business. (This would require an expanded network, which is necessary in any case.) Release Verizon from the shackles of serving customers and acquiring programming. Let other Internet service providers emerge that will actually have the relationships with customers. Set a reasonable price for provision of wholesale fiber access that Verizon must charge to any ISP. Result: a thriving, competitive retail marketplace for high-speed Internet access that reaches every single New Yorker (including, particularly, the 36 percent of the city’s residents who now don’t have a connection at home). Cheap prices for world-class data connections. Economic growth for the city, as it retakes its position as a global metropolis. Cheaper healthcare costs, as residents replace expensive in-person visits with equally in-person, but remote, contacts. And on and on.
[Susan Crawford is co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University]
benton.org/headlines/how-stop-verizon-screwing-new-york-city | Medium
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BROADBAND AND HOME VALUES: FTTH COUNCIL STUDY LOOKS AT FIBER IMPACT
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
How is gigabit service like a fireplace? Both amenities can increase an average home’s value by about $5,437, according to a new report released June 30. The report, written by researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder and Carnegie Mellon University, was funded -- in part -- by the Fiber to the Home Council. Single-family homes in areas where gigabit fiber service is available have a median value that is 3.1 percent higher than homes without fiber, researchers found. “When evaluated at the sample median house price of $175,000, [research suggests] that access to fiber may be associated with about a $5,437 increase in the typical home’s value,” the researchers wrote. “This is roughly equivalent to a fireplace or just under half the value of a bathroom.” Researchers based their findings on a nationwide sample of real estate transactions from 2011 to 2013 and used broadband availability information from the National Broadband Map. The study was based on data from 520,931 homes from 116,300 census block groups (CBGs) and 1,634 counties. Even where gigabit service isn’t available, home values get a lift of 1.8 percent when a local network operator has deployed fiber infrastructure capable of supporting speeds of at least 100 Mbps, researchers found.
benton.org/headlines/broadband-and-home-values-ftth-council-study-looks-fiber-impact | telecompetitor
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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS

FCC REACHES AGREEMENT WITH TRACFOONE TO UNLOCK MOBILE PHONES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau has reached a settlement with TracFone Wireless, Inc. to provide unlocking of TracFone handsets to millions of American consumers. The Bureau's investigation found that TracFone violated agency rules by improperly certifying that it would unlock phones for its customers enrolled in the FCC's Lifeline program. To settle this violation, the company has agreed to transition all its phones to be unlockable, thus allowing both Lifeline and non-Lifeline customers the freedom to choose to use their devices on other networks. In the interim, while TracFone is transitioning to unlockable phones, eligible TracFone customers will be entitled to other benefits under the settlement. Eligible customers can contact the company to receive a new unlocked handset, credit for a handset upgrade, or a partial cash refund in exchange for their locked handset. The FCC estimates that at least 8 million TracFone customers could benefit from the settlement. With an average benefit of $10 per handset, the value of this settlement to consumers is expected to be in the range of $80 million. In addition, the company will provide a projected offset of $3.2 million to the Lifeline program tied to how quickly its unlocking program becomes active.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-reaches-agreement-tracfone-unlock-mobile-phones-provide-other-consumer-benefits | Federal Communications Commission | FCC Order
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FCC RELEASES FINAL VERSION OF TVSTUDY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission has released its final version of the TVStudy software, which it will use to calculate interference protections and coverage areas in the repack of stations following the incentive auction, as well as initial coverages based on that final version. The National Association of Broadcasters had sued the FCC over its TVStudy update (based on more current census information), arguing that coverage areas and interference should have been based on the version used when the incentive auction legislation passed the Congress. The legislation directed the FCC to make its best effort to protect station signals and contours after the auction. The court upheld the FCC decision, paving the way for release of the info. The FCC is asking for comment on that data, and points out that the stations list is not a final list of stations eligible for repacking and that it reflects current information which could, and likely will, change based on technical certifications by stations in advance of the auction. In fact, the FCC said it was putting the info out how in order to get more input, after which it will put out final baseline coverage areas "well in advance of the auction." Comments are due July 30.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-releases-final-version-tvstudy | Broadcasting&Cable
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AT&T: COMPETITION IN US WIRELESS 'HAS GONE INTO OVERDRIVE'
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Phil Goldstein]
Two vastly different narratives on the state of competition in the US wireless market emerge from various filings carriers and trade associations made with the Federal Communications Commission as it prepares its latest annual competition report. On the one hand, AT&T argues "competition has gone into overdrive." On the other, the Competitive Carriers Association wants the FCC to find that the industry is not effectively competitive, and take steps to remedy the state of the industry. It's not surprising that there are disagreements between AT&T and Sprint or between CCA, which represents smaller carriers, and CTIA. What's notable is how starkly their visions of the industry contrast with each other.
benton.org/headlines/att-competition-us-wireless-has-gone-overdrive-cca-says-not-so-fast | Fierce
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PRIVACY/SECURITY

WHY I WALKED OUT OF FACIAL RECOGNITION NEGOTIATIONS
[SOURCE: Slate, AUTHOR: Alvaro Bedoya]
[Commentary] On June 16, consumer privacy advocates walked out of talks to set voluntary rules for companies that use facial recognition technology. They explained that they were withdrawing from the talks because industry would not agree to critical privacy protections. I was one of those advocates. There is a growing divide in Americans’ right to privacy. As checks strengthen on government surveillance, tech companies are evading even basic limits on their ability to collect, share, and monetize your data. At the heart of this divide is an increasingly formidable force: industry lobbying. The fact is, there is an established business standard in favor of consumer choice. So why did companies reject a voluntary rule to codify it? I believe it had to do with the fact that most of the industry representatives in the room didn’t work for companies. Most of them came from industry associations -- entities that are financed by tech companies, advertisers, and retailers to lobby for their interests but are legally separate from their backers. The end result is a lobbying apparatus that is untethered from the realities of many of the businesses that it serves. You may have heard of “yes men.” In Washington we have “no men”: industry lobbyists whose primary purpose is to stop attempts to regulate their members’ products and services, and who have no product or brand that could be hurt by their efforts. The tech industry can increasingly afford a lot of no men.
[Alvaro Bedoya is the founding executive director of the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown Law]
benton.org/headlines/why-i-walked-out-facial-recognition-negotiations | Slate
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IS THE WHITE HOUSE SKIRTING GOVERNMENT-WIDE CYBERSECURITY RULES?
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Jack Moore]
The White House’s Executive Office of the President hasn’t submitted reports detailing compliance with federal cybersecurity rules for the past three years, according to a letter to President Barack Obama written by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) and Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI). The apparent lack of annual reporting is even more striking considering the White House’s unclassified computer networks were breached by hackers in Fall 2014, purportedly from Russia, leading to temporary outages as officials worked to suppress malicious activity. The letter says EOP hasn’t submitted annual cybersecurity reviews of its systems to either the Office of Management and Budget or congressional committees for at least the past three years. The last time White House results showed up in OMB’s annual compilation of agency reports was in fiscal 2008, according to the letter. Annual reviews of agencies' IT security posture are mandated by the 2002 Federal Information Security Management Act, which Congress last updated in December. Independent inspectors general are also required to review agencies’ FISMA compliance. The Chairmen want to know if EOP complies with mandated security requirements under FISMA and why the office has failed to comply with reporting requirements in recent years. The letter seeks a response by July 13.
benton.org/headlines/white-house-skirting-government-wide-cybersecurity-rules | nextgov
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INTRODUCING THE 'RIGHT TOE EAVESDROP ON YOUR THINGS'
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Keith Winstein]
[Commentary] There’s a pretty good argument that the Internet of Things is going to be a security and privacy disaster. It’s not just paranoia -- it’s more of a business reality. It is a software truism that anything connected to the Internet needs to be patched regularly, or else it becomes vulnerable to vandals. To address the technical issues and make these systems more robust and secure, we have started the Secure Internet of Things Project, a collaboration among Stanford, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Michigan. On the policy front, it's not yet clear what role Washington will be able to play in addressing the upcoming risks. But a good start would be for political leaders and the public to recognize the importance of communications transparency. I’d even suggest that policymakers consider a new consumer right: “the right to eavesdrop on what our Things are saying about us.” An Internet of Things where your fridge is telling mobsters about the medicine you just put inside, and you don’t even know about it, would make for a scary future. Let’s not head there.
[Keith Winstein is an assistant professor of computer science and, by courtesy, of law, and a Robert N. Noyce Family Faculty Scholar at Stanford University]
benton.org/headlines/introducing-right-eavesdrop-your-things | Politico
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EDUCATION

A NEW FRAMEWORK TO IDENTIFY TRULY 'EDUCATIONAL' APPS
[SOURCE: New America Foundation, AUTHOR: Kaycie Gillette-Mallard]
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Jennifer Zosh examine the issue of the difficulty in finding education apps in their paper "Putting the Education in “Educational” Apps: Lessons from the Science of Learning." Hirsh-Pasek and Zosh distill their years of research to create four principles, or pillars, of learning based on the areas where the research converges. The authors suggest that use of the four pillars can provide a new basis from which to evaluate existing “wave one” apps, and from which to develop new “wave two” apps. The four pillars of learning put forth by the researchers are:
Active involvement: The app must require thinking and intellectual manipulation that goes beyond mindless swiping or scrolling.
Engagement with learning materials: According to the authors, three elements of an “engaging” app are: Contingent interactions (each touch of the screen receives an immediate response), extrinsic motivation and feedback (response to child’s actions with clapping or moving to a next level), and intrinsic motivation (channel a player’s unique abilities).
Meaningful experiences: Meaning is based on the quality and quantity of connections between the app experience and the wider experience of a child’s life.
Social interaction: Social interaction itself enables learning, and social contingency, the back and forth of interaction, is a key factor in learning.
Hirsh-Pasek and Zosh’s four pillars of the Science of Learning are a logical and sensical basis from which to evaluate existing apps and develop new apps.
benton.org/headlines/new-framework-identify-truly-educational-apps | New America Foundation
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA

PETITION BACKS TWC SHAREHOLDER PROPOSAL
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Advocacy group SumOfUs.org has launched a petition backing a resolution from some Time Warner Cable shareholders calling on the company to disclose its political spending and "end the funding of shadow organizations opposed to net neutrality." They want the company to disclose how much it contributes to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association -- TWC is one of the organization's largest members -- citing NCTA's support for Broadband for America, which opposed network neutrality regulations. The petitioners also want TWC not to fund groups opposing net-neutrality rules. The NCTA has made not a secret of its opposition to the Federal Communications Commission's new network-neutrality order, having joined with other Internet service providers to challenge the FCC's Title II reclassification of Internet service. SumOfUS.org said the petition has almost 20,000 signatories.
benton.org/headlines/petition-backs-twc-shareholder-proposal | Multichannel News
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

CHINA PASSES NEW NATIONAL SECURITY LAW EXTENDING CONTROL OVER INTERNET
[SOURCE: The Guardian, AUTHOR: ]
China has passed a wide-ranging national security law expanding its legal reach over the Internet and even outer space as concerns grow about ever-tighter limits on rights. Since Xi Jinping came to power, the ruling Communist party has overseen a crackdown on activists, while unrest related to the mainly Muslim region of Xinjiang has worsened and spread. Zheng Shuna, a senior official at the National People’s Congress (NPC), said: “China’s national security situation has become increasingly severe.” The NPC standing committee passed the law by 154 votes to none with one abstention, officials at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing said. The legislation is extensive and couched in general terms, with few exact details such as the sentences for violators. The practice, which leaves the authorities ample room for interpretation, is common in China, with the government issuing detailed regulations later. The law vows to “protect people’s fundamental interests”, the state news agency Xinhua said, including “sovereignty, unification, territorial integrity ... (and) sustainable development”. It declares both cyberspace and outer space to be part of China’s national security interest, along with the ocean depths and polar regions, where Beijing has been extending its exploratory activities. The text requires key internet and information systems to be “secure and controllable”, Xinhua said, potentially raising concerns for foreign technology companies. Zheng said the Internet, which is subject to strict censorship in China, was “a significant infrastructure facility of the country” and Beijing’s sovereignty over it should be “respected and maintained”.
benton.org/headlines/china-passes-new-national-security-law-extending-control-over-internet | Guardian, The
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KENYA TO REQUIRE USERS OF WI-FI TO REGISTER WITH GOVERNMENT
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Sean Gallagher]
The head of Kenya's Communications Authority, Francis Wangusi, announced a new set of regulations aimed at combatting cybercrime in the country. The new rules would require all users of devices with wireless networking capability to register their devices with the Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC) -- much in the same way that some US states require registration of assault rifles and sex offenders. June 30, in a speech before the annual general meeting of the Association of Regulators of Information and Communications for Eastern and Southern Africa (ARICEA), Wangusi said, “We will license KENIC to register device owners using their national identity cards and telephone numbers. The identity of a device will be known when it connects to Wi-Fi." He also said that the Communications Authority would set up a forensics laboratory within three months to "proactively monitor impending cybersecurity attacks, detect reactive cybercrime, and link up with the judiciary in the fight," according to a report.
benton.org/headlines/kenya-require-users-wi-fi-register-government | Ars Technica
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July 2015

Open Internet Advisory Opinion Procedures

'Homework Gap,' Privacy, and Budget Cuts Top Agenda of Ed-Tech Advocates

With FCC Regulating Privacy, Internet Industry Braces for What’s Next

US vs. EU: Who’s got stricter net neutrality rules?

The Uncarrier’s Unmitigated Gall

21 Years After AT&T Showed Us Their Vision of the Future, How Right Were They?

July 2, 2015 (Commissioner Pai on Rural Broadband)

Time for TV in the Supreme Court

Why tech firms are set to face complex ethical issues