BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2015
Today -- Task Force on Optimal Public Safety Answering Point Architecture https://www.benton.org/calendar/2015-09-29
INTERNET/BROADBAND/TELECOM
NTIA Publishes Guide to Federal Funding of Broadband Projects - research
US State Department Launches Global Connect Initiatives at UN General Assembly - press release
Republicans Question Constitutionality of President Obama's Plan to Give Up Internet Authority
NTIA Says BTOP Delivered on Broadband Promises
USTelecom says special access regulation 'distorts the scope' of FCC's discretion
A Lifeline Argument Not Rooted in Reality - Rich Boucher op-ed
Remarks of FCC Commissioner O'Rielly Before the Professional Association for Customer Engagement - speech
Comcast doubled my speed and lowered my bill: competition works, sort of [links to Ars Technica]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
FCC and Columbia Team to Reduce Mobile Device Theft - public notice [links to Benton summary]
Statement of FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai On Sprint's Decision Not to Participate in the Incentive Auction - press release
To counter skeptics, LTE-U backers are rolling out a new lobbying group [links to Benton summary]
New America Foundation Slams 'Anti-Wi-Fi' Coalition [links to Benton summary]
In praise of the $50 smartphone [links to GigaOm]
Study: Poor management of Wi-Fi assets could cost operators $18 Billion in lost revenue [links to Benton summary]
PRIVACY
Give Gmail address to a retailer? They'll have an easier time showing you ads on Google
Microsoft Responds to Windows 10 Privacy Concerns [links to Benton summary]
OWNERSHIP
Nexstar Offers to Buy Media General for $1.85 Billion [links to Benton summary]
Media General in Driver's Seat to Choose Nexstar's Pure-Play Broadcasting Proposal Over Meredith's Publishing Assets [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
How Media General Could Save Its Deal With Meredith [links to Wall Street Journal]
Apple buys 11 map startups -- but still trails Google [links to CNNMoney]
FTC misses mark with new 'unfair methods of competition' statement - Lawrence Spiwak op-ed [links to Benton summary]
JOURNALISM
Americans' Trust in Media Remains at Historical Low - press release [links to Benton summary]
Tribune Publisher Says Kids Are Going to Start Reading Newspapers Any Day Now [links to Revere Digital]
TELEVISION
ACA, NCTA Back FCC on Effective Competition [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
ACCESSIBILITY
Disability rights must evolve with dynamic communications technology [links to Brookings]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
Cell phone lobby win means 'more people will die'
Tools for Public Safety Answering Points - FCC press release [links to Benton summary]
CYBERSECURITY
Analysis: China-US hacking accord is tall on rhetoric, short on substance [links to Ars Technica]
Anup Ghosh op-ed asks, Is US entering cyber detente with China? [links to American Enterprise Institute]
As Online Data Theft Escalates, Banks Look to Retailers to Bear the Losses [links to New York Times]
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
Republican Presidential Candidates Weigh In On Trump And Coverage Of The Primary [links to Media Matters for America]
Hillary Clinton Returns to Silicon Valley in Fund-Raising Swing [links to Revere Digital]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
FISA Court Gets First Public Advocate
Director of NSA: Loss of Access to Metadata will Hurt Intelligence [links to Defense One]
Covert Electronic Surveillance Prompts Calls for Transparency
LOBBYING
To counter skeptics, LTE-U backers are rolling out a new lobbying group [links to Benton summary]
New America Foundation Slams 'Anti-Wi-Fi' Coalition [links to Benton summary]
Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition Disbanding [links to Benton summary]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
UN Broadband Commission affirms new focus on Sustainable Development Goals - press release [links to Benton summary]
What can the UN do for press freedom? - analysis [links to Benton summary]
Indians are wary of Mark Zuckerberg's free Internet [links to Benton summary]
Vodafone Ends Talks on a Deal With Liberty Global [links to New York Times]
MORE ONLINE
Texting and What It Does To Our Conversations [links to New York Times]
MacArthur Foundation Names 2015 Fellows [links to MacArthur Foundation]
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INTERNET/BROADBAND/TELECOM
NTIA PUBLISHES GUIDE TO FEDERAL FUNDING OF BROADBAND PROJECTS
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, AUTHOR: ]
As part of the BroadbandUSA initiative, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is releasing its Broadband Funding Guide, which provides a roadmap on how to access federal funding to support broadband planning, public access, digital literacy, adoption, and deployment. The guide details a wide range of opportunities. The guide is not meant to provide an exhaustive list of all federal funding opportunities. Instead, it can serve as a starting point for communities to explore potential federal financing options. Communities should consider additional funding sources, including state grants and local resources. Communities may also want to consult NTIA's Introduction to Effective Public-Private Partnerships released earlier in 2015, which provides information on developing a successful partnership model for broadband investments. In the coming weeks and months, BroadbandUSA will be releasing additional publications to assist communities as they seek out ways to ensure their residents have access to cutting-edge broadband technology.
benton.org/headlines/ntia-publishes-guide-federal-funding-broadband-projects | National Telecommunications and Information Administration
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US STATE DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES GLOBAL CONNECT INITIATIVES AT UNGA
[SOURCE: Department of State, AUTHOR: Press release]
The US Department of State unveiled a new initiative called “Global Connect,” which seeks to bring 1.5 billion people who lack Internet access, online by 2020. On behalf of the Secretary of State, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Catherine Novelli delivered a key-note address at UN Headquarters on “Development in the Digital Age” to announce this new diplomatic initiative. In her remarks, the Under Secretary highlighted how, through Global Connect, major US development agencies will begin to make Internet access a top priority in their work around the world. To accomplish this, the Dept of State lead by example. Major U.S. development agencies will begin to make Internet access a top priority in their work around the world. The Dept of State will also urge international development banks to recognize the Internet as an essential element of every country’s infrastructure – as the World Bank has already done. It will also partner with other governments from highly connected countries and enlist their expertise. The Dept of State will work with private industry which has created innovative solutions to connect people in remote areas. In short, we will pursue an “all of the above” approach. Early in 2016, the Dept of State will bring together governments and stakeholders to further advance our “Global Connect” initiative and help bridge the digital divide. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2015/09/247374.htm?goMobile=0
benton.org/headlines/us-state-department-launches-global-connect-initiatives-unga | Department of State
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REPUBLICANS QUESTION CONSTITUTIONALITY OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S PLAN TO GIVE UP INTERNET AUTHORITY
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
The Obama Administration's plan to give up its role in the technical management of the Internet could be unconstitutional, according to top Republican lawmakers. The Commerce Department announced in 2014 that it will end its authority over the severs and other infrastructure necessary for computers around the world to reach websites. In a letter released Sept 28 dated Sept 22, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA) argued that the plan could violate the constitutional provision that only Congress has the power to "dispose of...property belonging to the United States." "If the contact governing US oversight of the Internet is indeed government property, the Administration's intention to cede control to the 'global stakeholder community' -- including nations like Iran, Russian and China that do not value free speech and in fact seek to stifle it -- is in violation of the Constitution and should be stopped," Sen Cruz said in a separate statement.
benton.org/headlines/republicans-question-constitutionality-president-obamas-plan-give-internet-authority | National Journal | The Hill | Lawmaker Letter
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BTOP DELIVERED
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a speech at a BroadbandUSA regional broadband workshop in Portland (Maine), National Telecommunications & Information Administration head Lawrence Strickling was taking stock of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) broadband subsidy program that has drawn fire from congressional Republicans and some cable operators over how it spent $4 billion in subsidies, both in terms of potential misuse and of how targeted it was, or wasn't, to areas where there was no service. Strickling said the program financed 230 projects that deployed more than 114,000 miles of new or upgraded plant, as well as upgrading or launching public computer centers and promoting adoption. He said the new plant had connected "nearly 26,000 community anchor institutions such as schools and hospitals and installed or upgraded more than 47,000 personal computers in public access centers." Strickling also said that translated into "hundreds of thousands of people as subscribers to broadband services."
benton.org/headlines/ntia-says-btop-delivered-broadband-promises | Broadcasting&Cable
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USTELECOM SAYS SPECIAL ACCESS REGULATION 'DISTORTS THE SCOPE' OF FCC'S DISCRETION
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Sean Buckley]
The United States Telecom Association (USTelecom) fired back against competitive local exchange carriers (CLECS), saying that regulating incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) special access services would overstep the Federal Communications Commission's legal boundaries. The association referred to a joint letter filed by Birch Communications, BT Americas and Level 3 in which the trio said the FCC has broad power to adopt regulations governing rates for ILEC special access services. However, USTelecom said in its own filing that the FCC can't rewrite existing laws and that the letter "distorts the scope of the agency's discretion, which is constrained by the Communications Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Commission's own decisions, and mischaracterizes the level of deference that courts typically afford agencies under Chevron and other precedent that hold agencies to a considerably higher standard in carrying out their rulemaking responsibilities." USTelecom said that while the joint CLEC letter asks the FCC to re-regulate Ethernet and increase regulation of ILEC special access pricing, "the current regulatory scheme has been in place for some time, and enterprise broadband services, in particular, were deregulated by a grant of forbearance almost a decade ago."
benton.org/headlines/ustelecom-says-special-access-regulation-distorts-scope-fccs-discretion | Fierce
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A LIFELINE ARGUMENT NOT ROOTED IN REALITY
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Rich Boucher]
[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission is now modernizing its Lifeline program, originally designed to connect low-income Americans to the telephone network. The reform now underway would broaden the program to cover high-speed Internet service. That change is urgently needed. Only 36 percent of individuals with incomes below $10,000 have access to broadband, even though broadband is the bridge to success in today’s economy. Lifeline is unique in that service providers, and not the government, today determine whether consumers qualify for and remain in the program. That means service providers maintain an incentive to qualify as many subscribers as possible, which can lead to waste and misallocation of program resources. That’s why my organization, the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), has joined FCC commissioner Mignon Clyburn and many others in calling for fundamental reform of the Lifeline program. We seek to enhance consumer choice, expand the number of carriers willing to offer Lifeline-supported services and promote greater financial accountability to ward off waste, fraud and abuse. To enhance accountability, IIA supports having states, not self-interested companies, determine who is eligible to receive Lifeline service. A state agency determination that an individual is eligible for other federal benefit programs, such as food stamps, would automatically qualify that person in the Lifeline program.
[Rick Boucher was a member of the US House for 28 years (D-VA) and is honorary chair of the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA). He is a partner in the Washington office of law firm Sidley Austin]
benton.org/headlines/lifeline-argument-not-rooted-reality | Multichannel News
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REMARKS OF FCC COMMISSIONER O'RIELLY BEFORE THE PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly]
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act was intended to protect consumers from abusive so-called "robocalls" and junk faxes while enabling legitimate businesses to reach customers that expressed interest in being contacted. Unfortunately, prior decisions by the Federal Communications Commission and courts throughout the country have expanded the boundaries of the TCPA far beyond what Congress intended. In July, the FCC issued an extensive Declaratory Ruling and Order addressing most of the pending petitions. In some regards, this is a case of be careful what you wish for. To be sure, the FCC provided some clarity that many of you and I were seeking. But the item expanded the scope of the TCPA even further, increasing legitimate companies' litigation risk while doing virtually nothing that would actually protect consumers from abusive calling practices. I dissented from most of it. I will spend some time describing how the FCC's recent decisions, including the latest enforcement actions against Lyft and First National Bank, show that the FCC does not understand how the tech economy works.
benton.org/headlines/remarks-fcc-commissioner-orielly-professional-association-customer-engagement | Federal Communications Commission
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
STATEMENT OF FCC COMMISSIONER AJIT PAI ON SPRINT'S DECISION NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE INCENTIVE AUCTION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai]
Sprint’s decision not to participate in the incentive auction highlights the folly of the Federal Communications Commission’s attempt to pick winners and losers before the auction begins. It also
intensifies doubts about how competitive the bidding will be for set-aside spectrum and whether American taxpayers will receive fair compensation for that scarce public resource. Sprint’s announcement only strengthens my belief that the FCC should not have granted a spectrum giveaway in this auction or placed artificial limits on carriers’ participation.
benton.org/headlines/statement-fcc-commissioner-ajit-pai-sprints-decision-not-participate-incentive-auction | Federal Communications Commission
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PRIVACY
GIVE GMAIL ADDRESS TO A RETAILER? THEY'LL HAVE AN EASIER TIME SHOWING YOU ADS ON GOOGLE
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Paresh Dave]
Gmail addresses are about to become a valuable advertising tool. At an advertising industry conference in New York during the week of Sept 28, Google is expected to debut a system for businesses to direct ads specifically to consumers whose e-mail addresses they already have on file. Someone who has signed up for, say, a frequent-flier program with a Gmail account, or has an e-mail linked to a Google account, might get ads from the airline that show up just to that person and other existing customers. The airline could already buy ads that display alongside search results for “flights to new york.” But with the new program, it can focus attention on loyal customers, theoretically spending less money to have ads show up only to people who already have some relationship with the airline. The targeted ads work just as well on other Google properties, wrote Sridhar Ramaswamy, Google’s senior vice president for ads and commerce. Google said the new tool helps advertisers message their “highest-value customers on Google Search, YouTube, and Gmail -- when it matters most.”
benton.org/headlines/give-gmail-address-retailer-theyll-have-easier-time-showing-you-ads-google | Los Angeles Times
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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
CELL PHONES AND 911 LOCATION
[SOURCE: Center for Public Integrity, AUTHOR: Allan Holmes]
More than 10,000 people, who would otherwise be saved, die every year when calling 911 from a cellphone because emergency dispatchers can’t get a quick and accurate location on them, the Federal Communications Commission calculated, when it proposed new 911 location rules last year for wireless phones. The problem isn’t the dispatchers, police officers or firefighters who respond to the emergency calls. The failure is that the technologies used by wireless carriers fail repeatedly to locate indoor callers. The real tragedy, say emergency workers and cellular engineers, is that this doesn’t have to be: Technical solutions exist that can locate people calling on cellphones within seconds. But tough rules proposed by the FCC in February 2014 aimed at requiring more accurate indoor locations of callers to 911 were weakened through a nearly year-long lobbying campaign by wireless carriers. Wireless carriers said the new rules relied too heavily on expensive proprietary technology that was untested and that accuracy claims were overhyped. They argued that commercially available technology already widely deployed, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices found in almost every business and most homes, promised to provide better location accuracy because it would give a specific street address with an apartment, floor and room number. But more than a dozen associations representing firefighters, police, emergency medical technicians, the elderly, the deaf and technology companies said the commercial technology wasn’t developed for the demands of a 911 system and would fail during major disasters when electricity was lost.
benton.org/headlines/cell-phone-lobby-win-means-more-people-will-die | Center for Public Integrity
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
FISA COURT GETS FIRST PUBLIC ADVOCATE
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Cyrus Farivar]
A well-known Washington (DC) lawyer has been appointed to be the first of a total of five amici curae -- friends of the court -- who will act as a sort of ombudsman or public advocate at the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC). The move was one of the provisions in the USA Freedom Act, which passed in June 2015 as a package of modest reforms to the national security system. The attorney, Preston Burton, was named to the post by the FISC earlier in Sept, which was not widely reported until Sept 25. Burton was likely selected because he has dealt with many security-related cases in the past, including former CIA intelligence agent Aldrich H. Ames, and former FBI Special Agent Robert Hanssen. In addition, according to his own biography, he "has held a Top Secret/SCI level security clearance at numerous points in his career," which he will likely need again. Previously, hearings before the FISC were ex parte, or one-sided, with the judge only hearing from government representatives. Prior to the Snowden leaks, all FISC opinions, as well as its entire docket, had been totally secret. In the court’s history, warrants (and related orders) are approved more than 99 percent of the time.
benton.org/headlines/fisa-court-gets-first-public-advocate | Ars Technica
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STINGRAY TRANSPARENCY
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Timothy Williams]
Law enforcement officials across the United States have become enamored of the StingRay, an electronic surveillance device that can covertly track criminal suspects and is being used with little public disclosure and often under uncertain legal authority. Now, though, some states are pushing back, and are requiring the police to get a court order and local consent before turning to the high-tech tool. Washington, Utah and Virginia recently approved laws requiring court orders for the use of such cell-site simulators by state and local police officers. California lawmakers this month approved such legislation by a wide margin. The California law would also require police agencies to get City Council approval before employing the devices, and to disclose on an agency website that they use the technology. Similar bills have been introduced in Texas and in Congress.
benton.org/headlines/covert-electronic-surveillance-prompts-calls-transparency | New York Times
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