November 2015

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2015

Looking at next week’s events https://www.benton.org/calendar/2015-11-08--P1W

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Four paths to abundant Internet bandwidth - Blair Levin analysis
   Will TPP undermine the global Internet? (Hint: wait and see) - op-ed
   Is the FCC’s Open Internet order making Luddites of us all? - op-ed [links to Benton summary]
   Comcast brings data caps to more cities, says it’s all about “fairness”
   Not so fast Frontier and CenturyLink: Oregon regulators raise the bar for gigabit tax breaks

WIRELESS
   Judge orders Sprint to keep WiMax network up after nonprofits sue
   South Carolina Public Service Commission considers adding universal fees to mobile phone bills
   Commissioner Pai: The Future of Mobile Broadband in the Americas LTE to 5G Network Innovation - speech

OWNERSHIP
   Charter Pushes FCC To Clear Merger With Time Warner
   Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook, Ebay and Liberty Interactive grab 70 percent of your online dollars [links to Benton summary]

SECURITY/PRIVACY
   FBI official: It’s America’s choice whether we want to be spied on
   FCC Fines Cox for Data Breach [links to Benton summary]
   The kernel of the argument: Linux and Growing Unease About Security [links to Benton summary]
   US Detects Flurry of Iranian Hacking [links to Wall Street Journal]
   FCC to tackle broadband privacy in 'next several months'
   EU Data Protection Law: The First 25 Years - op-ed [links to Benton summary]

EDUCATION
   School System Leaders: Affordability Is Chief Infrastructure Challenge

TELEVISION
   Hispanic lawmakers call for SNL to drop Trump as guest host [links to Benton summary]
   Rep Cárdenas: SNL Is Fanning the Flames of Hatred - op-ed [links to Benton summary]
   Trump, Focus on Primaries Helping SNL Stay Buzzy Before Election Year [links to Wrap, The]
   Age of Denial in Broadcast TV [links to Hollywood Reporter]
   To save pay TV, give us more Video On Demand [links to American Public Media]
   Disney’s Iger: Viewers today “don’t just want to sit in a living room on a couch and watch” [links to Washington Post]
   Using TiVo? Your personal choices may be going straight to advertisers [links to Benton summary]

ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
   Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's Citizens United Disclosure Salve 'Not Working'
   Hillary Clinton is Actually Winning the TV War [links to Benton summary]
   Democracy dollars’ can give every voter a real voice in American politics - Bruce Ackerman, Ian Ayres op-ed
   Trump, Focus on Primaries Helping SNL Stay Buzzy Before Election Year [links to Wrap, The]
   Candidates blast media over winnowing debate stage [links to Politico]

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   Here's How Much the Pentagon Paid Sports Teams for Military Tributes [links to Benton summary]
   Doing More with Data [links to Department of Commerce]

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
   FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Seeks Comment on FirstNet's Incumbent Relocation Proposal - public notice [links to Benton summary]

RESEARCH
   CompTIA: 30% of Millennials Use Social Media for Work [links to telecompetitor]

POLICYMAKERS
   Senator Chris Coons to Serve as ITIF Honorary Co-Chair - press release [links to Benton summary]
   Wade Henderson to step down as national civil rights leader [links to USAToday]
   David Springe Named Executive Director of National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates [links to NASUCA]

COMPANY NEWS
   Broadband Provider Consolidation: Hargray Buys Plantation Cablevision [links to telecompetitor]
   Rise Broadband Aims for 50 Mbps Broadband with LTE Fixed Wireless [links to Benton summary]
   Cable One Guns for a Gigabit [links to Benton summary]
   Facebook Plans to Use Your Location to Lure New Advertisers [links to Benton summary]
   With Apple in Mind, Google Seeks Android Chip Partners [links to Information, The]
   Twitter engineering chief pledges 'faster progress' on diversity [links to USAToday]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   If the UK government collects browsing data, one day it will be public - analysis [links to Benton summary]
   EU Data Protection Law: The First 25 Years - op-ed [links to Benton summary]
   Spain’s News Media Are Squeezed by Government and Debt [links to New York Times]
   Google to Try Again With Low-Cost Smartphone for India [links to Wall Street Journal]

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INTERNET/BROADBAND

FOUR PATHS TO ABUNDANT BANDWIDTH
[SOURCE: Brookings, AUTHOR: Blair Levin]
[Commentary] Can cities stop worrying about whether they’ll have the affordable, abundant bandwidth needed to thrive in the future? No. Announcements are not deployments. There are now four kinds of communities. Each has to address the challenge of assuring abundant bandwidth differently. For communities that have or are likely to attract Google Fiber, the starting strategy is detailed in the handbook Google itself commissioned. If Google arrives, the incumbent telecommunications company and cable provider will do what they have always done: accelerate their own gigabit efforts. Google Fiber could expand to, at most, 20 million homes in six to eight years. Communities serving those other 100 plus million homes should follow the sensible recommendations within the Google handbook, but they’ll need to develop different growth strategies. One set of such communities are those that don’t fit the Google algorithm but enjoy the scale and density necessary to create an attractive next generation investment case. Another set of communities are smaller, less dense communities but with characteristics that can attract private capital to accelerate next generation deployments. The fourth set of communities are rural, where government involvement must play a larger role. One lesson from the last year is that in a few years, the gigabit divide will not be about wealth or density; it will between those communities that had a plan and those who didn’t.
benton.org/headlines/four-paths-abundant-internet-bandwidth | Brookings
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WILL TPP UNDERMINE THE GLOBAL INTERNET?
[SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Susan Ariel Aaronson]
[Commentary] Analysts of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have concerns about the deal’s intellectual property provisions, but it appears they have not taken into account the e-commerce chapter which makes the free flow of information a default and essentially says nations can only limit information flows to protect privacy, public morals or national security. Under this chapter, the US could challenge a TPP partner’s censorship because that nation is undermining free flow (e.g. Vietnam) as a violation of trade rules. While the critics are quite right to note that the process of negotiating TPP did not engender trust, the US and its negotiating partners have not figured out how to update trade negotiations (which require trust among negotiating partners) and the transparency necessary for good governance in the Internet age (which requires greater openness and dialogue with the public). I am not excusing them, but rather explaining why it is so hard for trade negotiators to catch up to good governance expectations.
[Susan Ariel Aaronson is research professor of International Affairs at George Washington University]
benton.org/headlines/will-tpp-undermine-global-internet | Christian Science Monitor
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COMCAST BRINGS DATA CAPS TO MORE CITIES, SAYS IT'S ALL ABOUT "FAIRNESS"
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
Comcast has expanded the list of cities where it imposes data caps, with customers in parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Virginia facing new data limits and overage charges. Newly capped areas include Little Rock (AR); Houma, LaPlace, and Shreveport (LA); Chattanooga, Greeneville, Johnson City, and Gray (TN); and Galax (VA). Cities and towns in Comcast's "Data Usage Plan Trials" already included Huntsville, Mobile, and Tuscaloosa (AL); Tucson (AZ); Fort Lauderdale, the Keys, and Miami (FL); Atlanta, Augusta, and Savannah (GA); Central Kentucky; Maine; Jackson and Tupelo (MI); Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville (TN); and Charleston (SC). A few zip codes in Texas near the Louisiana border are also affected, as are some in Illinois and Indiana near the states' borders with Kentucky. Comcast has steadily introduced caps into new areas, testing customers' responses before a potential nationwide rollout. Comcast, which has poor customer satisfaction ratings, insists that data caps add some "fairness" into the system. "About 8 percent of all Comcast customers go over 300GB," according to an Associated Press story. (The figure was 2 percent in late 2013.) "Data caps really amount to a mechanism 'that would introduce some more fairness into this,' says Comcast spokesman Charlie Douglas."
benton.org/headlines/comcast-brings-data-caps-more-cities-says-its-all-about-fairness | Ars Technica
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NOT SO FAST FRONTIER AND CENTURYLINK: OREGON REGULATORS RAISE THE BAR FOR GIGABIT TAX BREAKS
[SOURCE: The Oregonian, AUTHOR: Mike Rogoway]
Oregon utility commissioners overruled their staff, opting for a broad definition of the term "broadband" in a rebuke to two of the state's largest telecommunication companies. The three commissioners agreed during a public hearing in Salem (OR) that broadband means anything faster than dial-up connection, at least as it applies to determining eligibility for tax breaks Oregon lawmakers approved in March. That definition encompasses nearly all Internet service in the state. Commission staffers had proposed a narrower definition, classifying broadband as service with download speeds of 10 megabits per second and uploads of 3 Mbps. In practical terms, Nov 3's decision means it will be harder for Frontier Communications and CenturyLink to qualify for the new tax breaks. Those companies warned lawmakers the decision may slow their rollout of hyperfast "gigabit" Internet service in Oregon.
benton.org/headlines/not-so-fast-frontier-and-centurylink-oregon-regulators-raise-bar-gigabit-tax-breaks | Oregonian, The
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WIRELESS

JUDGE ORDERS SPRINT TO KEEP WIMAX NETWORK UP AFTER NONPROFITS SUE
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: Colin Lecher]
Sprint had planned to shut down its aging WiMax network Nov 5 at midnight, but after a last-minute emergency decision, that won't be happening. A judge has ordered Sprint to keep the network up until a lawsuit brought by nonprofit groups can be resolved. The lawsuit accused Sprint of shutting down the network while making it impossible for groups to efficiently switch over to the modern LTE standard. The nonprofits -- two Educational Broadband Services, or EBS's, called Mobile Beacon and Mobile Citizen -- cut a deal with the company Clearwire that let them provide affordable Internet access on the network to customers like schools and libraries. But the nonprofits say that when Sprint fully took over Clearwire and the WiMax network in 2013, data speeds for the nonprofits' customers were unfairly throttled. Sprint has countered that other customers on the network have switched over without issue. The nonprofits filed for an injunction that would stop the network from being shut down until the issues are resolved, and a judge has now allowed the motion. "Plaintiffs have demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on the merits," the decision reads. The decision's "intent is to put plaintiffs in that position that they would occupy under their existing agreements with Clearwire," but does not have any bearing on parts of the network that Sprint has already shut down.
benton.org/headlines/judge-orders-sprint-keep-wimax-network-after-nonprofits-sue | Verge, The
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SOUTH CAROLINA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION CONSIDERS ADDING UNIVERSAL FEES TO MOBILE PHONE BILLS
[SOURCE: The State, AUTHOR: Roddie Burris]
Is making a call on your mobile phone the same as calling on a traditional landline in South Carolina? If the state Public Service Commission (PSC) says it is, you likely will face a higher monthly mobile phone bill in the future. Representatives of the burgeoning wireless phone industry and the shrinking landline phone business argued before the PSC about whether they compete for the same customers. At issue is the universal service fund, which is mandated by federal law to increase access to affordable phone service in rural areas where it’s costly to extend and maintain lines. A shrinking pool of landline customers pay a fee for the fund but the swelling tide of wireless customers currently do not pay. State law provides that phone services in competition with landline carriers may be subject to the universal service fund fee. Landline phone companies emphatically say mobile phone service directly competes with the landline phone service they provide. But the wireless industry contends the two services are not in competition.
benton.org/headlines/south-carolina-public-service-commission-considers-adding-universal-fees-mobile-phone | State, The
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COMMISSIONER PAI: THE FUTURE OF MOBILE BROADBAND IN THE AMERICAS LTE TO 5G NETWORK INNOVATION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai]
I’d like to focus my remarks on what I see as three key pieces of that 5G framework: freeing up more spectrum, removing barriers to infrastructure deployment, and encouraging innovation and investment in the network and mobile technologies. And in all three of these areas, there is more that the federal government can do and should be doing to ensure that America continues to lead the world as we move from 4G to 5G.
Spectrum: To enable our 5G future, we must free up more of this invisible resource for consumer use. Unfortunately, we have fallen behind our own goals for repurposing spectrum for mobile broadband. The Federal Communications Commission’s 2010 National Broadband Plan called for the agency to make 300 MHz of spectrum available by 2015. But it’s almost 2016, and the FCC has moved less than half of that amount into the commercial marketplace. I point this out not to assign blame, but to focus attention on the fact that we need to redouble our efforts and refill the spectrum pipeline.
Infrastructure: As important as spectrum is to making 5G a reality, we cannot lose sight of another key piece of the regulatory framework, which is removing barriers to infrastructure deployment. To support 5G, providers will have to densify their networks. And to help them do that, we need to expedite the siting of wireless infrastructure. There are going to be many more small cells in a 5G network, and greater densification means better wireless coverage, capacity, speed, and reliability.
Innovation and Investment: I’d like to turn now to what I think is a third key piece of the 5G regulatory framework -- promoting innovation and investment in our networks and mobile technologies.
when it comes to spurring the innovation and investment in 5G networks, I think it’s important that the FCC return to the light-touch approach we pursued for years. After all, those are the policies that allowed the US to become the world leader in 4G, and I believe those are the policies will serve us well in the transition to 5G.
benton.org/headlines/commissioner-pai-future-mobile-broadband-americas-lte-5g-network-innovation | Federal Communications Commission
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OWNERSHIP

CHARTER PUSHES FCC TO CLEAR MERGER WITH TIME WARNER CABLE
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Wendy Davis]
Advocacy groups recently warned that Charter's proposed $67 billion merger with Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks could leave the new company in a position to stifle competition from online video companies. Charter is now countering that its planned buying spree "will yield significant benefits." The company says in a new Federal Communications Commission filing that the merger will result in a host of benefits, including better broadband service and new jobs. Charter, which will be called New Charter after the acquisitions, emphasizes the company's strongest selling points for the merger: For at least three years after the deal closes, the company won't impose data caps, won't charge Netflix or other video companies extra fees to "interconnect" directly with Charter's network, and will follow network neutrality principles. "The transaction will enable New Charter to enshrine its consumer-friendly broadband policies throughout the applicants' combined footprints," the company writes. Charter also says in its filing that it should not be compared with Comcast, the largest cable company in the US.
benton.org/headlines/charter-pushes-fcc-clear-merger-time-warner | MediaPost
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SECURITY/PRIVACY

FBI OFFICIAL: IT'S AMERICA'S CHOICE WHETHER WE WANT TO BE SPIED ON
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
FBI General Counsel James Baker spoke about how encryption is making it increasingly difficult for law enforcement agencies to conduct surveillance. While the FBI has previously argued in favor of backdoors that let authorities defeat encryption, Baker said the issue must ultimately be decided by the American people. “We are your servants,” Baker said. “The FBI are your servants, we will do what you want us to do.” But while FBI officials are America’s servants, Baker argued that encryption is making it harder for the bureau to protect the nation from terrorism and other criminal activity. Even when law enforcement agencies get a warrant, they aren’t always able to get the information they want, he said. “We go to judges, we do what the law requires, we show up with the order and we can’t get the fruits of surveillance for a variety of technical reasons, increasingly due to encryption,” he said.
benton.org/headlines/fbi-official-its-americas-choice-whether-we-want-be-spied | Ars Technica
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FCC TO TACKLE BROADBAND PRIVACY IN 'NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS'
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Mario Trujillo]
The Federal Communications Commission will take on the issue of online privacy in the “next several months,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said. He said the agency’s action would address the privacy practices of Internet service providers and how they are protecting the information of their customers. “In other words, do I know what information is being collected?” he said. “Do I have a voice in whether or not that is going to be used one way or another? And those are two very important baseline rights that individuals ought to have.” At another point he said, “I’ve told the Congress and others you will see us in the next several months addressing the question of privacy.” Chairman Wheeler has previously said a notice of proposed rulemaking on the issue would come this fall. The FCC did not respond to a question about a more specific timeline.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-tackle-broadband-privacy-next-several-months | Hill, The
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EDUCATION

SCHOOL SYSTEM LEADERS: AFFORDABILITY IS CHIEF INFRASTRUCTURE CHALLENGE
[SOURCE: Consortium for School Networking, AUTHOR: Dave Burstein]
School system leaders identified affordability as the primary obstacle for robust connectivity, according to the Consortium for School Networking’s (CoSN's) 3rd Annual Infrastructure Survey. The report collected data from K-12 school leaders and technology directors nationwide. In addition to affordability, the nationwide survey reveals that districts continue to face significant challenges with improving network speed and capacity and increasing competition for broadband services. The results also detail the impact of changes to the E-rate program, as well as the growing issue of digital equity for technology access outside of the classroom. For the third consecutive year, nearly half of school systems identify the cost of ongoing recurring expenses as the biggest barrier to robust connectivity. More than one-third of districts said that capital or upfront expenses are also a challenge to increasing robust Internet connectivity.
benton.org/headlines/school-system-leaders-affordability-chief-infrastructure-challenge | Consortium for School Networking
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA

SUPREME COURT JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY'S CITIZENS UNITED DISCLOSURE SALVE 'NOT WORKING'
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Paul Blumenthal]
When Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy penned the 2010 Citizens United decision allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited sums of money on elections, he did so with a promise that instant disclosure of election spending over the Internet would be enough to prevent corruption. "With the advent of the Internet, prompt disclosure of expenditures can provide shareholders and citizens with the information needed to hold corporations and elected officials accountable for their positions and supporters,” Justice Kennedy wrote in the decision. The problem with Justice Kennedy’s belief in instant online disclosure is that, at the time of his opinion, plenty of loopholes in campaign finance disclosure law already made it possible to cover up unlimited spending. Many opponents of Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion noted this at the time. Now, Kennedy has admitted that his belief in disclosure hasn’t turned out the way he thought it would. Justice Kennedy defended his Citizens United ruling. “You live in this cyber age. A report can be done in 24 hours,” he said. But he also added that disclosure is “not working the way it should.”
benton.org/headlines/supreme-court-justice-anthony-kennedys-citizens-united-disclosure-salve-not-working | Huffington Post
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DEMOCRACY DOLLARS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Bruce Ackerman, Ian Ayres]
[Commentary] The “Seattle idea” is straightforward: Provide each registered voter with a “democracy voucher” of $100 that he or she can spend for only one purpose — to support their favorite candidates for municipal office. One person, one vote, one voucher: This is the formula for reclaiming democracy in the United States. With the approval of Seattle’s Initiative 122, candidates will remain free to rely exclusively on old-fashioned campaign contributions to fund their campaigns. But if they want to compete for the new democracy dollars, they must agree to an overall expenditure limit. The challenge is to transform Seattle’s approach into a plausible national program.
[Ackerman and Ayres are professors of law at Yale Law School]
benton.org/headlines/democracy-dollars-can-give-every-voter-real-voice-american-politics | Washington Post
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