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February 2016

How Libraries Are Increasing Home Broadband Adoption

[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.]

As the FCC Unlocks the Box, Privacy Remains a Top Priority

The Federal Communication Commission's proposal to "unlock the box" and enable people to access pay TV content on any device could save customers billions, by giving them easier access to cable and online video on smart, innovative devices. Many content creators, cable, and some other video distributors have opposed it. They raise a variety of arguments, including a concern that a competitive consumer device market would raise new viewer privacy concerns. Of course, it has been somewhat odd to see cable companies set themselves up as champions of privacy in this context, even as they urge the FCC to limit the scope of the privacy rules for broadband (and sue to overturn them in court). Nevertheless, as advocates of cable customer privacy, Public Knowledge takes this issue seriously. We are confident that nothing about unlocking the box will result in weaker privacy protections for consumers.

Federal Communications Commission
Thursday, March 10, 2016
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2016/db0211/DA-1...
Additional info: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2016/db0303/DA-1...

The FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, and the International Bureau will host a workshop exploring the concepts raised in the Commission’s Spectrum Frontiers NPRM and the state of technological developments in the millimeter wave (mmW) bands. In parallel to the workshop, OET, WTB, and IB will host equipment demonstrations illustrating some of the technologies enabling advanced wireless services in the mmW bands.

Workshop Agenda

9:00 am Opening Remarks

Tom Wheeler, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission

Remarks
Michael O’Rielly, Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission

Keynote
Ted Rappaport, David Lee/Ernst Weber professor of electrical engineering at NYU, and
founding Director of NYU Wireless

9:40am – 10:50am Panel 1: Envisioned Services, Applications, and Deployment of Next Generation Wireless Technologies

Asha Keddy, Vice President and General Manager, Intel
Erwin Hudson, Vice President, Australia/SE Asia, ViaSat
Dave Parish, Manager of Wireless Systems, Google
Joe Lipowski, Chief Technology Officer, Starry
Sanyogita Shamsunder, Director of Wireless Technology, Verizon Wireless

Moderators: Brian Regan, Associate Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau;
Stephen Buenzow, Deputy Chief, Broadband Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau

10:50am – 12:10pm Panel 2: Enabling Technologies of Next Generation Wireless Systems

Amitava Ghosh, Nokia Fellow and Head of Small Cell Research, Nokia Bell Labs
Kumar Balachandra, Principal Research Engineer, Ericsson
Matt Grob, Chief Technology Officer, Qualcomm
Paul Steinberg, Chief Technology Officer, Motorola
Thyaga Nandagopal, Program Director, National Science Foundation
Woojune Kim, Vice President of Next Generation Products and Business, Samsung

Moderators: Michael Ha, Deputy Chief, Policy & Rules Division, Office of Engineering and Technology; Jeff Goldthorp, Associate Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau

12:10 -- 2:00 pm Lunch Break/Exhibit Demo

2:00 -- 3:00 pm Panel 3: Creating a Regulatory Scheme for Flexible Use in the mmW Bands

Harold Feld, Senior Vice President, Public Knowledge
John Hunter, Director of Spectrum Policy, T-Mobile
Jennifer Manner, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, EchoStar
Joan Marsh, Vice President of Federal Regulatory, AT&T
Davidi Jonas, CEO and President, Straight Path
Michael Daum, Technology Policy Strategist, Microsoft

Moderators: John Schauble, Deputy Chief, Broadband Division, Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau; Bob Nelson, Chief Engineer, International Bureau

3:00 -- 4:00 pm Panel 4: Fireside Chat – Furthering Spectrum Policy and Promoting Wireless Technology

Julius Knapp, Chief, Office of Engineering and Technology
Jon Wilkins, Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
Paige Atkins, Associate Administrator, NTIA
Nada Golmie, Chief, Wireless Networks Division, NIST
Fred Moorefield, Director, Spectrum Policy and International Engagements, DOD CIO
Renee Gregory, Senior Advisor, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

4:00 -- 5:00 pm Wrap Up


Bringing Broadband to Digital Deserts

[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]

Permanent Internet Access Tax Ban Clears Congress

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.”

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