February 2016

AGENDA

MEETING AGENDA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on Thursday, February 18, 2016. The FCC will consider:
A Notice of Inquiry that seeks comment on the current state of programming diversity and the principal obstacles that independent programmers face in obtaining carriage on video distribution platforms
A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks comment on a framework for providing innovators, device manufacturers and app developers the information they need to develop new technologies to access video content A Second Report and Order that allocates responsibilities for the delivery of closed captions on video programming and the handling of captioning complaints.
There’s also three enforcement items on a consent agenda if you’re planning on bringing the kids.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-confirms-february-18-open-meeting-agenda | Federal Communications Commission
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

BRINGING BROADBAND TO DIGITAL DESERTS
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Amina Fazlullah]
[Commentary] For nearly 35 years, the Benton Foundation has promoted policy solutions to make sure all Americans have equitable and affordable access to information infrastructure and to information and knowledge essential to community and individual development.
Today’s priority is broadband. It has a crucial impact on the economy – creating efficiencies, improving productivity, and accelerating innovation. And it is an essential service that is for education, public health, and public safety. Some segments of the U.S. population have reached near-100 percent broadband adoption rates. For these populations, market forces have been sufficient to get us toward our goal of universal adoption. But there are nagging, persistent divides in broadband deployment and adoption – what Benton’s executive director, Adrianne Furniss, calls “digital deserts.” To reach universal adoption and realize a truly inclusive digital society, we must understand why market forces are not enough to connect everyone and we must seek solutions that close these digital divides. To go from desert to oasis, you need water. To go from digital desert to oasis of opportunity, we need broadband. Market forces, acting almost like rain, have been sufficient for the populations that face no significant broadband barriers. But for too many areas and households, we are seeing the limits to the power of free markets to drive universal broadband deployment and adoption. That means policymakers are obligated to step in to help create policies that drive investment and encourage adoption. What we need is a little irrigation so we can start to grow digital opportunity where the rain has yet to fall.
[Fazlullah is the Director of Policy at the Benton Foundation]
benton.org/headlines/bringing-broadband-digital-deserts | Benton Foundation
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INTERNET ACCESS TAX BAN CLEARS CONGRESS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Senate passed the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (PITFA), which would permanently bar states and localities from imposing taxes on Internet access. The bill has already passed the House, so now goes to the President's desk. PITFA was included on a Trade Customs Enforcement bill that passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 75 to 20. Paving the way for passage of the Internet tax ban was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's agreement to consider a version of Internet sales tax legislation in this session of Congress. Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai responded to the bill’s passage saying, “This is a great day for American consumers. The U.S. Senate passed the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act with a strong bipartisan vote. This confirms a national consensus that state and local taxes on Internet access should be taken off the table once and for all. These taxes would make (and in some places already have made) broadband more expensive, reducing consumers’ ability and willingness to get online. This, in turn, would reduce private sector investment in deploying broadband, especially in rural areas, and inhibit entrepreneurship. I hope the bill is enacted soon—Americans need and want the certainty that the digital world will be spared the taxman.”
benton.org/headlines/permanent-internet-access-tax-ban-clears-congress | Broadcasting&Cable | FCC Commissioner Pai
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INTERNET RATE REGULATION
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Mario Trujillo]
Republicans advanced a bill meant to prevent the Federal Communications Commission from regulating the rates charged for Internet service. The House Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on communications passed the bill over objections from Democrats, who said it could have overly broad implications because “rate regulation” is not defined. The subcommittee rejected two Democratic amendments aimed at limiting the reach of the bill. Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and other Republicans said negotiators seemed close to reaching an agreement before Democrats walked away at the last minute. Ranking Member Anna Eshoo (D-CA), however, said she was never offered a proposal that had a clear definition of rate regulation.
benton.org/headlines/republicans-advance-ban-internet-rate-regulation | Hill, The | B&C | Public Knowledge | Free Press
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RATE REGULATION DOUBLESPEAK
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Matt Wood]
[Commentary] Republicans on the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology are marking up that says little more than this: The Federal Communications Commission may not regulate the rates companies like Comcast charge for broadband Internet access. Why is the legislation needed when there’s practically no difference in the top-level talking points that both sides use when it comes to letting market forces determine the rates most Internet users pay for access. But there are meaningful differences between the rate-setting power Congress granted the FCC in the laws on the books today—which are the same ones that Chairman Wheeler and the FCC have already chosen not to use—and the consumer-protection authority the newly proposed bill endangers. The FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order treats broadband like a communications service as Congress always intended—instead of treating it like a website for regulatory purposes. Contrary to the fibs and fabrications some lobbyists and lawmakers favor, this is exactly the right dividing line. The FCC has no business (and no authority for) regulating Internet content, but it does have a congressional mandate to ensure we have world-class broadband communications networks. The FCC’s reclassification of broadband provides a deregulatory, flexible and technology-neutral framework: it preserves absolutely essential principles, like the guarantees of universal, affordable, reasonable and nondiscriminatory telecommunications services. But the bill under consideration now endangers those very same principles. It doesn’t just take rate setting off the table, or cement in a new statute what the FCC has already decided to do by forbearing from Sections 203 and 205. It would prevent the FCC from assessing entire categories of unfair broadband-provider practices.
[Wood is the policy director for the Free Press Action Fund]
benton.org/headlines/truth-behind-doublespeak-internet-rate-regulation | Bloomberg
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TRANSPARENCY WAIVER
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The House Commerce Committee’s Communications Subcommittee approved the Small Business Broadband Deployment Act, a bill that would grant a permanent waiver to smaller Internet service providers from the Federal Communications Commission's enhanced transparency requirements under network neutrality rules. The bill defines "small businesses" eligible for the permanent waiver as 1,500 or fewer employees and 500,000 or fewer subscribers. A Democratic amendment was offered, then withdrawn, that would have sunset the waiver after five years and set the cut-off at 100,000. Another amendment with a five-year sunset and 200,000 subs cut-off was not offered.
benton.org/headlines/communications-subcommittee-oks-permanent-enhanced-transparency-waiver | Broadcasting&Cable
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HOW LIBRARIES ARE INCREASING HOME BROADBAND ADOPTION
[SOURCE: TechSoup, AUTHOR: Katherine Bates, Angela Siefer]
[Commentary] Cutting-edge libraries are addressing all aspects of broadband adoption: home Internet access, public Internet access, digital literacy training, and support and access to devices. As part of this effort, libraries are searching for and experimenting with innovative digital divide solutions that include increasing home broadband access. The barriers to broadband adoption are well-documented: digital literacy, relevancy, and cost. Digital literacy and relevancy are often addressed simultaneously; libraries and nonprofit organizations teach digital literacy skills by showcasing the relevant use of the Internet and providing direct training classes. To successfully increase broadband use in communities, all three barriers must be addressed through a diverse set of local partners with established roots in the community. Libraries are an integral piece of this partnership. They are addressing these barriers through partnerships with cities and local community-based organizations and developing engagement strategies that meet the unique needs of their residents. Each solution must tailored to the individual community. Trust of the individual and organization providing the instruction on technology use and broadband provider options is essential. As one of the most trusted institutions in every community, libraries are an important piece of the solution. Two great examples of how libraries are playing this visible role include the Kansas City Public Library (KCPL) and The New York Public Library (NYPL).
[Katherine Bates is a senior program manager at the Urban Libraries Council (ULC). Angela Siefer is the director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance.]
benton.org/headlines/how-libraries-are-increasing-home-broadband-adoption | TechSoup
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PRIVACY/SECURITY

FCC PRIVACY FIGHT
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: David McCabe]
Some of Washington’s most prominent trade groups want to dissuade Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler from significantly changing the way data privacy issues are regulated for Internet service providers. The groups argue that any new privacy regime for Internet providers stemming network neutrality rules should reflect the way the Federal Trade Commission currently handles privacy concerns. The seven signatories to the letter — CTIA, USTelecom, the Consumer Technology Association, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the American Cable Association, the Competitive Carrier Association and the Internet Commerce Coalition — are trade groups that represent a wide range of companies, from cable providers like Comcast to wireless providers like AT&T, with a stake in the broadband business. “If the courts determine that the FCC has authority to regulate broadband privacy, we encourage you to develop a framework that offers consumers robust privacy protection, while at the same time allowing broadband providers to continue to innovate and compete,” they said in the letter. “We recommend that any FCC framework be consistent with the successful FTC approach, which is grounded on prohibiting unfairness and deception.” They say in the letter that keeping an FCC proposal consistent with the FTC’s standards “will continue to provide Internet service providers with the flexibility to update their practices in ways that meet the evolving privacy and data security needs of their customers and ensure they can provide their customers new products and customized services.” “Rules dictating specific methods quickly become out of date and out of step with constantly changing technology, and will only hamper innovation and harm consumers." They argue that having similar regulations for Internet providers, which are governed under the new rules by the FCC, and other tech companies that answer to the FTC, would prevent consumers from having to deal with a complex system involving two regulators.
benton.org/headlines/broadband-industry-groups-fire-salvo-fcc-privacy-fight | Hill, The | Broadcasting&Cable
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TELECOM ACT

WHEELER ON TELECOM ACT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler]
The Telecommunications Act was a watershed between the era of analog networks and the competition-enhancing, converged networks of the digital era. Its authors had a vision – the vision to enact flexible and sensible policies that would allow the bounteous effects of digital networks to benefit consumers by stimulating competition and innovation. But of course, neither the authors of the legislation – nor anyone – could have imagined the digital communications cornucopia that was to come. The Telecom Act of 1996 was a kick in the pants that focused and accelerated trends that had been percolating in both Congressional and [Federal Communications Commission] policy debates. With the Telecom Act, Congress moved from percolating to a full boil the shift in policy to encourage competition rather than the previous micromanagement of scarcity. Then that boiling bucket was passed to [FCC Chairman] Reed Hundt and the FCC to implement; a prodigious lift that led to 84 implementation decisions in 18 months. Those of us today who operate in the shadow of the leaders who charted this new course have the incredible privilege of continuing what they started…. The Telecom Act recognized the importance of access to networks. The establishment of E-Rate connected America’s schools and libraries to the Internet. The creation of a Universal Service Fund to support access by those in high-cost areas as well as low-income Americans established as national policy that broadband connectivity must reach all Americans, regardless of location, means, or ability. And, of course, access to networks goes hand-in-hand with access on open, fast and fair networks.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-chairman-wheelers-remarks-20th-anniversary-telecommunications-act | Federal Communications Commission
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

CELL PHONE SAFETY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Roger Sherman, David Michaels]
Wireless services have opened up avenues of communication and resources unlike any in history. We rely on these connections to stay in touch with friends and family members, operate businesses and communicate on a global scale. But providing these innovative services through networks of communication towers should not come at the cost of any worker’s life. The tower industry is small, with roughly 10,000 to 20,000 workers, but can be incredibly dangerous: in 2014 alone, 12 tower workers were killed on the job and dozens were significantly injured. To reverse the alarming trends in tower climber deaths, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Federal Communications Commission established a partnership in October 2014 with a focus on improving safety in this industry. Today we hosted our second workshop with telecommunications and tower industry leaders and worker advocates to discuss our shared commitment to keeping workers safe. Through this collaboration, we work to honor the legacy of climbers who were killed on the job by improving our efforts to make sure that no family has to experience the anguish of losing a loved one in a workplace fatality.
[Dr. David Michaels is the assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health at the US Department of Labor. Roger Sherman is the chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission.]
benton.org/headlines/cell-phone-your-pocket-shouldnt-cost-workers-life | Federal Communications Commission
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MOBILE NOW ACT
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) and Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL) have introduced the MOBILE NOW (Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless) Act. The legislation is meant to light a fire under next-generation 5G wireless gigabit broadband service and directs various federal agencies to evaluate spectrum bands for 5G, including high-band millimeter wave frequencies. Among the bill highlights are:
1) making a statutory mandate the President's 2010 executive order that the government make 500 MHz of federal spectrum available for private use by 2020;
2) speeding up the placement of wireless structures on federal property;
3) assessing spectrum in the 3 GHz and millimeter wave bands--mostly in the millimeter wave bands--for the feasibility of authorizing licensed or unlicensed broadband services, and if feasible which is best suited;
4) encouraging "dig once" policies that place broadband conduit when below-ground projects like highway constructions are undertaken;
5) creating a central online inventory of federal government assets available for private-sector broadband deployment;
6) requiring the Commerce Department to issue a report within 18 months on what other legislative or regulatory levers could be moved to push federal entities to relinquish or share spectrum;
7) and allow spectrum relocation fund balances to be transferred to agencies for transition efforts immediately after an auction rather than after actual receipt of the funds.
benton.org/headlines/mobile-now-act-introduced-senate | Broadcasting&Cable
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ELECTIONS AND MEDIA

GOOGLE SEARCH AND THE PRIMARY
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Tim Higgins]
Google’s ability to look into the future of political contests just notched another win: New Hampshire. Searches of presidential candidates conducted by Google users in New Hampshire on Feb. 9 corresponded closely with the voting results of the state’s primary. The top-searched Democratic candidate was Bernie Sanders, who won with 60 percent of the vote in New Hampshire, according to the Associated Press. He got 72 percent of the searches, according to Google, while Hillary Clinton got 28 percent of the queries and 38 percent of the vote.
benton.org/headlines/how-google-searches-pretty-much-nailed-new-hampshire-primary | Bloomberg
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GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE

FCC PERFORMANCE REPORT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler]
This report summarizes the Federal Communications Commission’s progress in fulfilling its strategic goals and meeting its performance commitments as expressed in the Commission’s FY 2015 Annual Performance Plan. Unleashing spectrum for broadband remains one of the Commission’s most effective strategies for spurring economic growth and job creation. At the top of our spectrum agenda is the unprecedented Incentive Auction, the most complex in Commission history, and we have been advancing a number of actions to put us on track for a successful auction. And the AWS-3 auction raised over $40 billion in net revenues. The FCC adopted the Open Internet Order, which will protect and promote the Internet as a platform for innovation, expression and economic growth. The FCC granted – with conditions – approval of the acquisition of DIRECTV by AT&T. The FCC approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to reform the FCC’s Lifeline program, exploring new ways to expand access to broadband while strengthening protections against waste, fraud, and abuse. Building on reforms adopted in 2012, which helped annual Lifeline spending drop nearly 23% from almost $2.2 billion to $1.7 billion, the Lifeline reform NPRM proposes to streamline and tighten the process of verifying consumer eligibility by taking it out of the hands of providers. The FCC improved the E-rate program's cost-effectiveness and set specific, ambitious goals for the broadband capacity delivered to schools and libraries – a short term target of 100 Mbps per 1,000 students, and a longer term target of 1 Gbps per 1,000 students. The FCC also re-purposed funding for Wi-Fi and robust broadband connections capable of supporting cutting-edge, one-to-one digital learning
benton.org/headlines/annual-performance-report-fcc-fiscal-year-2015 | Federal Communications Commission
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

GOOGLE MAPS IN THE UK
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Patrick Gower]
Google won a lawsuit against online mapping company Streetmap EU after a London court found the Internet-search engine hadn’t abused its power to crush the tiny British rival. Google’s introduction of an image displaying its own maps at the top of search results in 2007 was not "reasonably likely" to affect competition in the markets for online maps, judge Peter Roth said in a judgment published Friday. The change gave Google an unfair advantage over other mapping providers and resulted in a "dramatic loss of traffic," Streetmap said in court documents. Though "Google held a dominant position, it did not commit an abuse," Judge Roth said in the judgment.
benton.org/headlines/google-did-not-abuse-dominance-maps-uk-court-rules | Bloomberg
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Daily Digest

Analysis

February 2016

Radio: Reliable Communications in Emergency and Disaster

February 12, 2016 (Bringing Broadband to Digital Deserts)

Love is in the Air: President Obama Proposes (a Budget) and a Sentimental Anniversary

FCC Confirms February 18 Open Meeting Agenda

How Google Searches Pretty Much Nailed the New Hampshire Primary

The Cell Phone in Your Pocket Shouldn’t Cost a Worker’s Life

No (Pass) Interference at Super Bowl 50

Mobile Now Act Introduced in Senate

AT&T, Like Verizon, to Begin Testing 5G Wireless This Year, as US Aims to Stay Ahead of the Pack

Qualcomm Announces First Gigabit Cellular Chip