January 2016

AGENDA

FCC ANNOUNCES TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR JANUARY 2016 OPEN MEETING
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The following items are tentatively on the agenda for the January Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 28, 2016 at the Federal Communications Commission:
Expansion of Online Public File: The FCC will consider a Report and Order which modernizes the public inspection file rules by requiring cable and satellite TV operators and broadcast and satellite radio companies to post public inspection files on the FCC’s online database. (MB Docket No. 14-127)
Improving the Nation’s Public Alert and Warning Systems: The FCC will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to strengthen the Emergency Alert System (EAS) by promoting participation on the state and local levels, supporting greater testing and awareness of EAS, leveraging technological advances, and bolstering EAS security (PS Docket Nos. 15-91, 15-94).
Broadband Progress Report: The FCC will consider the 2016 Broadband Progress Report examining whether advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion, pursuant to Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (GN Docket No. 15-191)
benton.org/headlines/fcc-announces-tentative-agenda-january-2016-open-meeting | Federal Communications Commission
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BROADBAND PROGRESS REPORT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires the Federal Communications Commission to determine whether “advanced telecommunications capability” -- broadband -- is being deployed to all Americans in a “reasonable and timely fashion.” If the answer is negative, the Act requires the FCC to “take immediate action” to speed deployment. The FCC released a summary of Chairman Wheeler’s draft of the 2016 Broadband Progress Report, which he is circulating to his fellow commissioners for their consideration at the January 28 Open Meeting. The Conclusion: While the nation continues to make progress in broadband deployment, advanced telecommunications capability is not being deployed in a reasonable and timely fashion to all Americans. Approximately 34 million Americans still lack access to fixed broadband at the FCC’s benchmark speed of 25 Mbps for downloads, 3 Mbps for uploads
A persistent urban-rural digital divide has left 39 percent of the rural population without access to fixed broadband. By comparison, only 4 percent living in urban areas lack access. 10 percent lack access nationwide
41 percent of Tribal Lands residents lack access
41 percent of schools have not met the Commission’s short-term goal of 100 Mbps per 1,000 students/staff. These schools educate 47 percent of the nation’s students. Only 9 percent of schools have fiber connections capable of meeting the FCC’s
long-term goal of 1 Gbps per 1,000 students
Internationally, the U.S. continues to lag behind a number of other developed nations, ranking 16th out of 34 countries
benton.org/headlines/2016-broadband-progress-report-chairmans-draft | Federal Communications Commission | AT&T’s reaction
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

T-MOBILE ADDRESSES BINGEON CRITICISM
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Jeff Baumgartner]
T-Mobile said more than 50 video streaming services have lined up to join the company’s controversial (but optional) zero-rated Binge On streaming program that delivers video at DVD quality (480p or better) without counting against the mobile subscriber’s monthly data caps using a bandwidth-saving proprietary adaptive bit rate system. Amid criticism from network neutrality advocates and OTT providers such as YouTube, which claims that T-Mobile’s approach is akin to “throttling,” T-Mobile has steadfastly maintained that Binge On falls within the scope of the Federal Communications Commission’s new open Internet rules. T-Mobile CEO and president John Legere addressed the recent rash of criticism about Binge On in a blog post and via an accompanying video. “There are people out there saying we’re ‘throttling.’” He wrote. “They’re playing semantics! Binge On does NOT permanently slow down data nor remove customer control.”
benton.org/headlines/t-mobile-ceo-addresses-binge-criticism | Multichannel News | T-Mobile video | T-Mobile blog
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IS BINGEON THROTTLING?
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
We consulted advocacy groups Public Knowledge—which supported the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet Order—and TechFreedom, which opposed it. While the two groups have different views on network neutrality, they each have lawyers who believe the case against T-Mobile is far from clear-cut. Public Knowledge Senior VP Harold Feld said he doesn’t have a solid opinion on whether T-Mobile is violating the no-throttling rule. “What T-Mobile is really arguing is: (a) they inform subscribers that this will happen to all video if they don't opt out of Binge On; and (b) this should not count as ‘throttling’ under the rules because it is user-controlled and has positive benefits to the user of extending the amount of video a user can get under the cap. Hence T-Mobile's use of the word ‘optimizing.’ It's like the Internet meme, ‘see I fixed it for you.’ This makes for a very complicated case and not a simple slam dunk.”
Berin Szoka, who practiced Internet and communications law and is now president and founder of TechFreedom, said, “It’s not entirely clear whether the no-throttling rule bars throttling programs where users can opt-out (or where they have to opt-in).” The FCC’s Open Internet Order says the no-throttling rule “does not address a practice of slowing down an end user’s connection to the Internet based on a choice made by the end user.” T-Mobile could also argue that reducing data usage of video is reasonable network management because extensive video usage can cause congestion, and Binge On is "a way of better managing the huge crunch of video on its network," Szoka said.
benton.org/headlines/t-mobiles-binge-when-throttling-may-not-break-rules | Ars Technica
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USAGE-BASED PRICING
[SOURCE: American Enterprise Institute, AUTHOR: Daniel Lyons]
[Commentary] Netflix announced a revolutionary initiative that should significantly reduce this digital footprint. Like most other streaming video providers, Netflix codes a low, medium, and high-resolution version of each title and streams the appropriate selection to a customer based on his or her available bandwidth. But each movie is coded in substantially the same fashion. Netflix coders realized that this one-size-fits-all model is inefficient. So the company will embark on an expensive project to recode its entire collection, giving each title its own set of rules. If all goes according to plan, the project will result in improved video streams while using up to 20 percent less data. One could argue that broadband providers are encouraging Netflix to be a more responsible netizen. Netflix’s existing coding practices are inefficient, consuming more bandwidth than necessary to deliver the product to the consumer. Given Netflix’s scale and business model, this inefficiency translates to significant wasted network capacity, especially at peak times when congestion is most likely to occur. Before usage-based pricing, Netflix had little incentive to change its inefficient behavior. Usage-based pricing forced Netflix to be more mindful of the size of its digital footprint. One lesson of the Netflix recoding vignette is that price signals are important. The paid prioritization ban has prevented price signals from helping broadband providers route network packets efficiently. Now, with its inquiry into usage-based pricing practices, the Federal Communications Commission may potentially make the same mistake again. The agency should appreciate the role that usage-based pricing played in encouraging Netflix to incur a cost that will improve the efficiency of its operations and that of the network as a whole.
[Lyons is an associate professor at Boston College Law School]
benton.org/headlines/usage-based-pricing-encourages-netflix-become-better-corporate-netizen | American Enterprise Institute
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

NEW CALIFORNIA LAW
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Eyragon Eidam]
When the clock struck midnight Dec. 31 and rolled over into 2016, a new law mandating how law enforcement agencies could collect electronic communications and data took effect in California. Under the new rule, formally known as the California Electronic Communication Privacy Act (CalECPA), law enforcement agencies in the state are responsible for obtaining search warrants before they go after forms digital communications and information stored on devices like cellphones. For civil rights advocates, the new law was a big win in a nationwide movement to halt the haphazard use of controversial tools and tactics. For law enforcement, the law would mean changes in how they employ certain technologies, like use of bulk data collection tools.
benton.org/headlines/californias-new-law-affects-search-warrants-electronic-communications-data-how-much | Government Technology
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KIDS AND MEDIA

PARENTS, TEENS AND DIGITAL MONITORING
[SOURCE: Pew Internet Science and Tech, AUTHOR: Monica Anderson]
The widespread adoption of various digital technologies by today’s teenagers has added a modern wrinkle to a universal challenge of parenthood – specifically, striking a balance between allowing independent exploration and providing an appropriate level of parental oversight. Digital connectivity offers many potential benefits from connecting with peers to accessing educational content. But parents have also voiced concerns about the behaviors teens engage in online, the people with whom they interact and the personal information they make available. Indeed, these concerns are not limited to parents. Lawmakers and advocates have raised concerns about issues such as online safety, cyberbullying and privacy issues affecting teens. A Pew Research Center survey of parents of 13- to 17-year-olds finds that today’s parents1 take a wide range of actions to monitor their teen’s online lives and to encourage their child to use technology in an appropriate and responsible manner. Moreover, digital technology has become so central to teens’ lives that a significant share of parents now employ a new tool to enforce family rules: “digitally grounding” misbehaving kids. Some 65% of parents have taken their teen’s cellphone or internet privileges away as a punishment. But restrictions to screen time are not always consequences of bad behavior, parents often have rules in place about how often and when their teen can go online. Some 55% of parents say they limit the amount of time or times of day their teen can be online.
benton.org/headlines/parents-teens-and-digital-monitoring | Pew Internet Science and Tech
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January 2016

Why tech firms hate new UK surveillance law

How Satellites Spy On Us

Majority of US Households Have Internet-Connected TVs: Magid/TubeMogul Study

As Time Warner Cable crows, David Lazarus is cutting the cord

2016 Google Tracker: Everything Google is working on for the new year

What I Learned in 12 Weeks of Therapy for Social Media Addiction

January 8, 2016 (FCC's Broadband Progress Report )

2016 Broadband Progress Report Chairman’s Draft

Study Finds Four Broadband Adoption Success Factors

T-Mobile’s Binge On: When throttling may not break the rules