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  2. October 2015

October 2015

Remarks of FCC’s Gigi Sohn on the Digital Divide

When thinking about the digital divide in America, I find that a useful number to wrap your brain around the nature of the challenge is 50/50. Let me elaborate. If you look at the broadband adoption numbers in the US, there are two categories where we have pretty much reached universal adoption -- people under the age of 50 and people earning over $50,000. So what are we doing at the Federal Communications Commission to close the digital divide and make sure every American can enjoy the benefits of the Internet revolution? For starters, we at the FCC strongly believe that it’s not enough to make sure the Internet is accessible to all. The Internet must also be fast, and the Internet must be open. Now let me walk through some of the FCC’s key initiatives to close America’s broadband gaps. The use of the plural “gaps” is purposeful. As you all know, there is not just one digital divide -- there is the rural gap, the income gap, the homework gap and the accessibility gap, among others....

Access to broadband equals access to opportunity. Opportunities for jobs; for education; for health care; for civic participation; for our environment. This is less about technology, and more about people. This is less of an infrastructure challenge, and more of a civil rights and human rights challenge.

FCC Chief Vows to Require "Equal Time" on TV for Candidates

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler promised to enforce FCC regulations requiring television stations to give political candidates equal opportunities for airtime. "The rules are pretty clear. Rules are rules," Chairman Wheeler said. "I hope that we have developed a reputation as folks who enforce the rules."

Hillary Clinton's appearance earlier in Oct on "Saturday Night Live" could trigger the so-called "equal time" rules, as could Donald Trump's plan to host the long-running NBC comedy show in Nov. That doesn't necessarily mean Lincoln Chaffee will be the next host of "SNL" -- but it could mean that local NBC affiliates across the country will have to give presidential candidates access to equal TV time. Lawrence Lessig, a Harvard University law professor who is running a long-shot presidential campaign to draw attention to campaign-finance issues, has already filed requests with dozens of NBC affiliates for three minutes and 12 seconds of airtime following Clinton's appearance on "SNL" in Oct.

Google Books’ Win May Threaten Other Media

A decade ago, Google announced plans to scan and make searchable the world’s books, and it’s been fighting copyright lawsuits from authors and publishers ever since. After a seven-year legal battle, in 2012 the major US publishers reached a settlement with Google that allows them to keep copyrighted books from being displayed. On Oct 16 the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a lower court ruling in favor of Google and against the Authors Guild, meaning writers can’t stop the search giant from adding their work to its online library of more than 20 million books. The saga has had enough twists and turns to fill a -- well, you know.

Media companies struggling to shift online are worried about the spread of the transformative use standard from artistic expression, like a musician’s sampling, to a massive undertaking, like Google Books. Both the Motion Picture Association of America and the music licensing organization ASCAP filed amicus briefs arguing for the Authors Guild. “If scanning all the books in the world and making parts of them available is fair use, you could do this with movies or music or television,” says Authors Guild executive director Mary Rasenberger.

What the Google Books Victory Means for Readers

[Commentary] In a narrow sense, the decade-long litigation over Google Books ended with a judgment about the balance of various factors for a specific project: a large company scanning and indexing the contents of millions of volumes. But critically, and with greater and lasting impact, the case also helped to clarify fair use in general.

Authors Guild v. Google stands to make fair use much more muscular. Because many institutions want to avoid legal and financial risk, many possible uses that the courts would find fair -- including a number of non-commercial, educational uses -- are simply never attempted. A clearer fair-use principle, with stronger support from the courts, will make libraries and similar organizations more confident about pursuing forms of broader digital access. After all, as Judge Leval emphasized: “While authors are undoubtedly important intended beneficiaries of copyright, the ultimate, primary intended beneficiary is the public.” It may have taken 10 years, but that crucial reminder of copyright’s goal is anything but dated and inconsequential. It will serve all of us as we think about how books are written, read, and preserved for future generations.

FCC Takes Next Big Steps In Reducing Inmate Calling Rates

Acting on its mandate to ensure that rates for phone calls are just, reasonable and fair for all Americans, the Federal Communications Commission took further steps to rein in the excessive rates and egregious fees on phone calls paid by some of society’s most vulnerable: people trying to stay in touch with loved ones serving time in jail or prison.

With the cost of a call sometimes ballooning to $14 per minute once inside prison walls, the FCC for the first time capped rates for local and in-state long-distance inmate calling, and cut its existing cap on interstate long-distance calls by up to 50 percent. At the same time, the FCC closed loopholes by barring most add-on fees imposed by inmate calling service (ICS) providers, and set strict limits on the few fees that remain. Extra fees and charges can increase the cost of families staying in touch by phone with loved ones who are incarcerated by as much as 40 percent. The new caps fully cover the enhanced security requirements of inmate calling, while allowing providers a reasonable return.

FCC Proposes Streamlined Ownership Procedures for Broadcasters

The Federal Communications Commission proposed to extend the same streamlined procedures and rules used to review ownership in common carriers licensees to broadcast licensees, with certain tailored modifications. Oct 22's proposals modernize the filing and review procedures for the current business environment, adopting a standardized process for broadcast licensees' requests to exceed the 25 percent statutory foreign ownership benchmark.

The proposals do not modify or change the statutory foreign ownership limits or the public interest standard of review. The proposed process changes could facilitate investment from new sources of capital at a time of growing need for investment in this important sector of our national's economy. The proposals will also provide the broadcast sector with greater transparency and predictability, and reduce regulatory burdens and costs.

FCC Promotes Higher Frequency Spectrum for Future Wireless Technology

The Federal Communications Commission took steps to maintain the US leadership in wireless by proposing new rules for wireless broadband in wireless frequencies above 24 GHz. These proposed rules are an opportunity to move forward on creating a regulatory environment in which these emerging next-generation mobile technologies -- such as so-called 5G mobile service -- can potentially take hold and deliver benefits to consumers, businesses, and the US economy. It was previously assumed physical and tech limitations could not support mobile service in these bands. New tech developments may allow the use of these high frequencies for mobile applications -- like 5G serve -- with significantly more capacity and faster speeds for next generation mobile service.

Building off of years of successful spectrum policy, this NPRM proposes to create new flexible use service rules in the 28 GHz, 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 64-71 GHz bands. The NPRM proposes to make these bands available using a variety of authorization schemes, including traditional wide area licensing, unlicensed, and a shared approach that provides access for both local area and wide area networks. In addition, the NPRM provides a path for a variety of platforms and uses, including satellite uses, to coexist and expand through market-based mechanisms. The NPRM seeks extensive comment on the service, licensing, and technical rules for facilitating flexible use in these bands. Finally, the NPRM seeks comment on other bands above 24 GHz that may be considered in the future.

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