October 2015

FCC AGENDA

FCC MEETING AGENDA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the October Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 22, 2015:
Rates for Inmate Calling Services (ICS): The Commission will consider a Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would adopt comprehensive reform of intrastate, interstate, and international ICS calls to ensure just, reasonable and fair ICS rates, and seek comment on additional measures the Commission could take to ensure that interstate and intrastate ICS are provided consistent with the statute and public interest. (WC Docket 12-375)
Review of Foreign Ownership Policies: The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would streamline the foreign ownership review process for broadcast licensees and applicants, and standardize the review process for broadcast, common carrier and aeronautical licensees and applicants. (GN Docket 15-236)
Spectrum Frontiers: The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to create new flexible use service rules in certain bands above 24 GHz to support multiple uses, including mobile wireless. (GN Docket 14-177, RM-11664, WT Docket 10-112, IB Docket 97-95)
benton.org/headlines/tentative-agenda-fccs-october-2015-meeting | Federal Communications Commission
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THINKING GLOBALLY, ACTING ON MOBILE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler]
One of the Federal Communications Commission’s biggest challenges is to make sure our rules and policies evolve to reflect major changes in the communications and technology landscape. Two of the biggest developments of the digital age are that the economy has gone global and everything is going mobile. I’m circulating two items to boost US competitiveness in our global economy by removing barriers to private investment and unleashing mobile innovation. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is an important step toward creating an environment for this next generation of wireless to develop, take hold, and explode across the United States. This NPRM proposes a framework for flexible spectrum use rules for bands above 24 GHz, including for mobile broadband use. Promoting flexible, dynamic spectrum use has been the bedrock that has helped the United States become a world leader in wireless.
The second is a proposal that builds on the 2013 Broadcast Clarification Order by modernizing the processes for broadcasters to demonstrate compliance with foreign ownership rules. In particular, the NPRM seeks comment on simplifying the foreign ownership approval process for broadcast licensees by extending the rules and procedures that currently apply to other classes of licensees to broadcast licensees. As a result, the proposed rules will update the filing and review process – all so it is better adapted to the current business environment – while at the same time preserving the Commission’s case-by-case public interest review and national security protections.
benton.org/headlines/thinking-globally-acting-mobile | Federal Communications Commission
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FINISHING THE JOB ON PRISON PHONE CALLS
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Andrew Jay Schwartzman]
[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission is about to finish its long-delayed proceeding to reform the rate structure for prisoner phone calls. The FCC has announced that it will take up the issue at its next meeting on October 22. The FCC will cap rates, allowing slightly higher rates for local jails and smaller institutions. It will allow a few fixed additional transaction fees, such as for credit card calls paid through a live operator, but ban all other ancillary fees. As in its earlier order, phone companies will have to bear the cost of site commissions and may not pass them on to prisoners. Not surprisingly, the reform effort raises many legal and policy issues.
https://www.benton.org/blog/finishing-job-prison-phone-calls
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CHAIRMAN WHEELER PROPOSING STREAMLINED BROADCAST FOREIGN OWNERSHIP REVIEW
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has circulated a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to simplify the process for exceeding the FCC's 25 percent trigger for further review of the proposed foreign ownership of a US broadcast property, aligning the broadcast review more with the way it handles common carrier requests for foreign ownership above 25 percent.
The FCC is proposing to provide greater flexibility for requests by broadcasters for more than 25 percent foreign ownership and guidance on how to calculate that ownership interest. In part the decision stems from a FCC declaratory decision earlier in Sept upholding its decision allowing Pandora's investment in a radio station. The proposal would also increase the requirement to identify and seek approval for such petitions from every foreign shareholder to those with at least 5 percent of stock. Apparently, what it does not do is change the prohibition on foreign government ownership in broadcast stations, or the 20 percent cap on direct foreign investments, or the fact that the FCC has to coordinate with other agencies on issues like national security.
benton.org/headlines/chairman-wheeler-proposing-streamlined-broadcast-foreign-ownership-review | Broadcasting&Cable | Commissioner O’Rielly
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HOW IS THE FCC PROTECTING CONSUMERS IN THE DIGITAL AGE?
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
[Commentary] Speeches by Federal Communications Commission chairmen and commissioners don’t often get big headlines, so you’ll be forgiven if you missed the news of two interesting speeches by key FCC staffers recently that address the commission’s role in protecting consumers. Both speeches highlight the need for the FCC’s expertise in overseeing telecommunications – and working with the other agencies with jurisdiction in this area. On September 24, Gigi Sohn, Counselor to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, was in Providence, Rhode island, to deliver a speech titled, Consumer Protection in the Broadband Era: The Role of the FCC. Sohn highlighted what Chairman Wheeler sees as the two core responsibilities of the FCC: 1) to facilitate dynamic technological change and world-class networks that drive innovation, economic growth and improvements in the lives of the American people; and 2) to ensure that our networks reflect core values: universal access, public safety, and consumer protection. On September 25, FCC General Counsel Jon Sallet visited the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference to deliver a keynote, The Federal Communications Commission and Lessons of Recent Mergers & Acquisitions Reviews. Sallet’s aim was to give insight into the FCC’s thinking as it considered the suggested Sprint-T-Mobile merger, AT&T’s acquisition of DIRECTV, and Comcast’s abandoned bid to buy Time Warner Cable.
https://www.benton.org/blog/how-fcc-protecting-consumers-digital-age
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

COGENT AND NETWORK NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Sean Buckley]
Cogent is seeing its efforts to alleviate traffic congestion with AT&T and Verizon finally paying off with these networks becoming nearly free of any issues. Cogent CEO Dave Schaeffer said that the Federal Communications Commission's adoption of network neutrality rules that include Title II regulation, and passage of similar rules in the European Union, have led to ports on other networks becoming unclogged. "The adoption of the Open Internet order and Title II jurisdictional authority were mirrored in the EU and on June 30 the European Commission adopted a set of regulations that were passed by the parliament and the council," Schaeffer said. "As a result of that we have seen significant port augmentations." In particular, Cogent has seen its connections to Comcast become uncongested, while it continues to add capacity to AT&T and Verizon where it has signed agreements.
benton.org/headlines/cogents-schaeffer-our-interconnections-att-verizon-are-nearly-congestion-free | Fierce
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YOUR NEXT COMCAST BILL MAY BE PRICED PER GIGABYTE
[SOURCE: Fortune, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
Beginning Oct 1, residents of Florida communities Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and the Florida Keys will become part of what feels like a never-ending experiment in pricing by America’s No. 1 broadband provider. Comcast plans to implement what it calls a new data usage trial. Everyone else calls it a data cap. Under the plan, customers who use more than 300 gigabytes of data in a month will pay $10 to buy 50 additional gigabytes or $30 for unlimited data use. Comcast is testing a variety of such plans across the country with a common goal -- to bring the per-gigabyte pricing prevalent in wireless smartphone contracts to broadband Internet. Its rationale for such a move? To ensure that it can preserve its income as more customers drop classic cable TV service in favor of broadband Internet and the data-devouring TV services (known as “over the top” or “OTT”) from Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Apple, and others.
benton.org/headlines/your-next-comcast-bill-may-be-priced-gigabyte | Fortune
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SPECTRUM/WIRELESS

DISH AFFILIATES TO SURRENDER SPECTRUM LICENSES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Ryan Knutson, Shalini Ramachandran, Thomas Gryta]
Two affiliates of Dish have surrendered their claims on about $3.5 billion of spectrum licenses after they failed to secure small-business discounts. The entities, however, will retain about $9.8 billion of the licenses they won in an auction by the Federal Communications Commission. They paid the FCC a $413 million penalty for defaulting on about 200 licenses. The default on the roughly 200 licenses resulted in a penalty of more than $500 million. Stepping away from the access to airwaves comes after the FCC concluded this summer that the $13.3 billion in winning bids by the two Dish-backed companies—Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless—didn’t qualify for a 25% small-business discount because Dish effectively controlled the entities.
benton.org/headlines/dish-affiliates-surrender-35-billion-airwaves-licenses-won-fcc-auction | Wall Street Journal
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POTENTIAL $60 BILLION AUCTION
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Mike Dano]
Despite Sprint's announcement that it will not participate in the Federal Communications Commission's planned incentive auction of TV broadcasters' 600 MHz spectrum in 2016, analysts still expect the event to generate as much as $60 billion in total bids. That amount would make the auction by far the government's most successful spectrum auction ever in terms of total money raised. However, some analysts are predicting that average spectrum license prices might be lower in next year's auction than this year's AWS-3 auction due to the FCC's tightened bidding rules, the 30 MHz spectrum reserve, and wireless carriers' tightening balance sheets. "In 2016, we expect large M&A deals to be limited due to the upcoming broadcast-spectrum auction, which is scheduled to start on March 29, 2016," reported Moody's. "The Advanced Wireless Services (AWS-3) spectrum auction that ended in January 2015 raised nearly $45 billion in provisional winning bids. We anticipate bids in the broadcast-spectrum auction could approach $60 billion if non-traditional bidders -- cable MSOs and technology companies, such as Comcast, Dish Network, and Google -- decide to participate."
benton.org/headlines/analysts-600-mhz-incentive-auction-could-generate-60-billion-mhz-prices-could-be-lower-aws | Fierce
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WI-FI CALLING
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Mike Dano]
AT&T said that it wants to offer Wi-Fi calling services on the iPhone via Apple's new iOS 9 software, but that it is still waiting for an Federal Communications Commission waiver on rules that require calling services to also offer options for deaf and hard-of-hearing users. AT&T reiterated its request for a waiver and blasted Sprint and T-Mobile US for offering Wi-Fi calling services without requesting waivers from the FCC's rules.
benton.org/headlines/att-sprint-and-t-mobile-are-offering-wi-fi-calling-defiance-fcc-rules | Fierce
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CYBERSECURITY

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE OKS BILL TO HELP STATES FIGHT CYBERCRIME
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Cory Bennett]
The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would authorize the Secret Service to train state and local law enforcement officials on combating cybercrime. The Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act, from Rep John Ratcliffe (R-TX), is an attempt to close the gap between federal and local cybercrime-fighting capabilities. Rep Ratcliffe called his offering a “much-needed bill that will help law enforcement fight back against increasingly sophisticated cyber crimes.” “It is imperative that we equip them to address these challenges in an effort to protect the most vulnerable from being exploited,” added Rep Ratcliffe, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies. Specifically, the measure would direct the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI) -- part of the Secret Service -- to educate local law officers, prosecutors and judges on all aspects of computer crime, from conducting computer and mobile device examinations to investigating cyberattacks. The NCFI has already trained personnel from more than 500 different law enforcement agencies, but Rep Ratcliffe said his bill would give it the proper oversight and accountability.
benton.org/headlines/house-judiciary-committee-oks-bill-help-states-fight-cybercrime | Hill, The
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CYBERSECURITY BILL'S OPPOSITION HASN'T GONE ANYWHERE
[SOURCE: Morning Consult, AUTHOR: Amir Nasr]
The Senate’s cybersecurity bill, abandoned just before the August recess, could be back on the floor soon. But passing it isn’t getting any easier as pushback from privacy advocates appears to be growing. A Senate Republican notice on Sept 30 listed the cybersecurity bill as one of only a few items on the upcoming floor agenda. The exact date for debate is still unknown, but the verbiage about the bill has already kicked off. The bill, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA, S. 754), would incentivize private companies to share data with government agencies to combat cyberattacks. Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR), an opponent of the bill who played a major role in the Senate punting it in late July, told reporters that he wouldn’t be surprised if the delay continued. “Based on what I’ve been told last, it’s very up in the air. And I think it’s because our [Democratic] side continues to show the flaws in the strategy of the sponsors,” he said. There is also new partner in the opposition to the bill. The Business Software Alliance, a trade group representing big tech companies such as Microsoft, IBM, or Intel, recently sent a letter to House and Senate leaders urging action on multiple tech-related bills. In that letter, BSA said it does not support the Senate cybersecurity bill and asked for more privacy protections.
benton.org/headlines/cybersecurity-bills-opposition-hasnt-gone-anywhere | Morning Consult
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REP ESHOO BILL VACCINATES AGAINST MAJORITY OF HACKS WITH 'CYBER HYGIENE' & NETWORK SECURITY MANAGEMENT
[SOURCE: House of Representatives, AUTHOR: Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA)]
House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo (D-CA) introduced legislation to combat the alarming rate of cyberattacks and cybercrime against US computer networks. The Promoting Good Cyber Hygiene Act builds on President Barack Obama’s 2013 Executive Order by instructing the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Homeland Security, to establish voluntary best practices for network security, such as not using a default password and regularly applying software updates. The Promoting Good Cyber Hygiene Act would help both system administrators and consumers better protect their networks and devices against known cyber threats by:
Establishing a baseline set of voluntary best practices
Ensuring these practices are reviewed and updated annually
Making the established best practices available in a clear and concise manner on a publicly accessible website
Instructing the Department of Homeland Security to study cybersecurity threats relating to mobile devices.
benton.org/headlines/rep-eshoo-bill-vaccinates-against-majority-hacks-cyber-hygiene-and-network-security | House of Representatives
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BROADCASTING

STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER PAI ON AM RADIO REVITALIZATION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai]
On Sept 30, I proposed to my colleagues that we include in the AM radio revitalization item an exclusive window for AM broadcasters to obtain new FM translators. This was the lead proposal in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking unanimously adopted in 2013 under the leadership of then-Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn. It has received overwhelming support, including previously from a majority of the Federal Communications Commission’s current members. The moment of decision has arrived; Commissioners will now have to decide with whom they will stand. Will they stand with AM broadcasters across the country?...Will they stand for revitalization of a communications service that predates the FCC itself and has exemplified localism, competition, and diversity in broadcasting?
benton.org/headlines/statement-commissioner-pai-am-radio-revitalization | Federal Communications Commission
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AM REVITALIZATION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn]
The tone and substance of the discussions surrounding the AM Revitalization Window item proposed during my tenure as interim chair are both incendiary and misleading. I believed then – as I do today – that AM radio plays a significant role in our media landscape, contributing to the diversity of voices and ownership that are vital to the functioning of our economy and our democracy. At that time, I expressed appreciation – as I do again now – for the support of an AM station in South Carolina that helped to buoy my professional career. At that time, I acknowledged the challenges, notably interference with station signals and standards, related to community coverage that made it difficult for station owners to survive and thrive. And at that time, I acknowledged the steps that the FCC had taken during my tenure to provide relief to AM broadcasters, including our efforts designed to increase the number of FM translators by more than 25%. Today, I am proud that these efforts have seen some success. While I remain convinced that opening an AM only window for broadcasters to receive one new FM translator is sound policy, revisiting this proposal closer to the time of the Incentive Auction, would make this relief effective. I carefully considered Chairman Wheeler’s proposal to provide immediate relief to AM broadcasters through a 250 mile waiver, and believe that it would increase the availability of translators for AM broadcasters.
benton.org/headlines/statement-fcc-commissioner-clyburn-am-revitalization-proceeding | Federal Communications Commission
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CONTENT

HOW OUR LOVE AFFAIR WITH AD-BLOCKING RISKS GIVING INTERNET PROVIDERS EVEN MORE POWER
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
For consumers, the case for using an ad-blocker seems evident. Web pages load faster, you use less of your mobile data and you save money as a result. The New York Times took a look at this and It found that for many online news sites, it takes longer to load the ads than the news content visitors are presumably there to see. Though an average Internet user might consider using an ad-blocker after seeing these results, the study offers even more compelling evidence to Internet providers that they should start blocking ads at the network level. Here's why. It takes 19.4 megabytes of data to load the Boston.com homepage once, according to the Times. Of that, advertising accounts for a whopping 15.4 MB. To the consumer, this is wasted data. To the wireless carrier, it's a waste of network capacity. That's a piece of the pipe it would otherwise devote to a new customer, or to improving Internet speeds for everyone else. Advertisements contribute to network congestion, and nobody likes that. So, filtering out ads offers Internet providers two main benefits: They look good in front of their customers. And they ease the demand on their own infrastructure.
benton.org/headlines/how-our-love-affair-ad-blocking-risks-giving-internet-providers-even-more-power | Washington Post
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THE PRIVACY CONSEQUENCES IN THE RISE OF AD BLOCKERS
[SOURCE: International Association of Privacy Professionals, AUTHOR: Eleanor Treharne-Jones]
[Commentary] “Content Blockers a Boon for Privacy” ran the headline from GigOm in a recent Daily Dashboard, but is it as simple as that? Having dug a little deeper into the announcement that Apple was opening up iOS9 to content blocking apps, I quickly uncovered that apps such as Blockr that were advertised as "privacy protectors" were also offering to block the “annoying cookie warnings” required by European Union laws under the e-Privacy Directive. This capability has been available for a while through ad blocker extensions such as http://prebake.eu but it seemed ironic that an app marketed as a privacy management tool would seek to remove the privacy protections required in EU law. As we know in the privacy profession, privacy best practices and laws are built on the pillars of Transparency, Notice and Choice. It now appears that some ad blockers, acting under a banner of privacy, are achieving exactly the opposite by removing consumer visibility into the tracking that’s taking place and consumers’ ability to chose which cookies and trackers they want to accept.
[As Global Communications Director at TRUSTe]
benton.org/headlines/privacy-consequences-rise-ad-blockers | International Association of Privacy Professionals
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

SINCLAIR BRINGS LOCAL NEWSCASTS TO CONGRESS
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: ]
Sinclair Broadcast Group introduced a news segment called Connect to Congress, a multimedia initiative that lets members of Congress in Sinclair news markets communicate with their constituents on a regular basis. Combining broadcast, Internet and social media technologies, Connect to Congress offers Sinclair’s local market viewers “new ways to get answers to questions about what matters most to them at home,” according to the company. Connect to Congress was created by Scott Livingston, Sinclair’s VP of news, who is using Sinclair’s presence in Washington, through its acquisition of ABC affiliate WJLA in 2014, to create what the company calls “a more regular dialogue” between viewers in local markets nationwide and their members of Congress. The first step in this plan was establishing a national bureau on Capitol Hill. “When Congress is in session, we have cameras set up weekly in the Rotunda, connected via remote to our local stations. Local anchors conduct the interviews about the key issues constituents and lawmakers are passionate about and not just topics that everyone else is covering,” said Colleen Wordock, Sinclair’s Capitol Hill bureau chief.
benton.org/headlines/sinclair-brings-local-newscasts-congress | TVNewsCheck
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

THE SURPRISINGLY OPTIMISTIC REASON WHY EUROPE IS BATTLING GOOGLE
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Damon Beres]
[Commentary] Competition commissioner for the European Union Margrethe Vestager respects Google. She's also spearheaded a major investigation into the company's business practices. Earlier in 2015, her efforts resulted in antitrust charges against the search giant. One might call that ironic. "Everyone would congratulate Google when it comes to their success," Vestager said. "But everyone would expect them to play by the book." Vestager made plain her hope that European citizens might be afforded the same capacity to innovate that's allowed Google to evolve into one of the most powerful multinational tech corporations on the planet. "What we're aiming for has nothing to do with Google as such -- it has to do with the market allowing innovation," Vestager said. The antitrust allegations hinge on one very important concept: Google is the go-to source for information, but it's also a business that generates billions of dollars every year. (Its total revenue was $66 billion in 2014 alone.) So, can it abuse its ability to generate search results by surfacing its own products first? That's the thrust of the EU's case.
benton.org/headlines/surprisingly-optimistic-reason-why-europe-battling-google | Huffington Post
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October 2015

FTC Chairwoman Ramirez speech on The Horizontal Merger Guidelines Five Years Later

Sprint Expected to Cut Jobs, Up to $2.5 Billion in Costs

Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton dominate Facebook in early states

October 2, 2015 (FCC's October Agenda)

Thinking Globally, Acting on Mobile

Dish Affiliates to Surrender $3.5 Billion in Airwaves Licenses Won at FCC Auction

Experian says data from 15 million T-Mobile customers hacked

Unwired Planet – the company that “invented the mobile Internet” – takes Samsung, Huawei, and Google to court