June 2016

Britain plunges into constitutional crisis after vote to leave European Union

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016

Today's FCC Open Meeting: https://www.benton.org/node/233048

AGENDA
   FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for July 2016 Open Meeting - press release
   Unleashing Next-Generation Networks - Chairman Wheeler blog
   Spectrum Frontiers Proposal To Identify, Open Up Vast Amounts Of New High-Band Spectrum For Next Generation (5g) Wireless Broadband - FCC press release [links to Benton summary]

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Network Neutrality: Now What?
   White House warns Congress not to kill net neutrality and cable box rules

TELEVISION
   Hearing Recap: Customer Service and Billing Practices in the Cable and Satellite Television Industry
   Permanent Subcommittee On Investigations Joint Staff Report: Some Cable and Satellite Companies Do Not Refund Customer Overcharges [links to Benton summary]
   Inside the Box: Customer Service and Billing Practices in the Cable and Satellite Industry [links to Benton summary]
   INCOMPAS: Senate Report Should Spur Box Unlocking [links to Multichannel News]
   FCC May Budge on Cable Box After Hearing From Google and AT&T [links to Benton summary]
   The Sports TV Well Has Run Dry [links to AdAge]

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   Unleashing Next-Generation Networks - Chairman Wheeler blog
   Fact Sheet: Spectrum Frontiers Proposal To Identify, Open Up Vast Amounts Of New High-Band Spectrum For Next Generation (5g) Wireless Broadband - press release [links to Benton summary]
   With Wireless ISP Acquisition, Google Fiber Wireless Intentions Becoming More Clear [links to Benton summary]

ELECTIONS & MEDIA
   CNN just hired the guy who ran Donald Trump’s CNN-hating campaign
   Facebook will require political bias training for employees [links to CNNMoney]
   Donald Trump had no choice but to give his campaign almost $50 million [links to Washington Post]
   Sheryl Sandberg, Eric Schmidt and a bunch of other tech heavyweights are endorsing Hillary Clinton [links to Benton summary]

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   C-Span, Gun Control and a Protest Made for Streaming [links to New York Times]
   C-Span Delivers on Sit-In, Even With Cameras Off [links to New York Times]
   Live-streamed videos from House sit-in viewed on Facebook 3M times [links to Hill, The]
   Politicians have a powerful new tool in Periscope, and democracy is better off for it [links to Benton summary]
   Sec of State John Kerry wants tech to help solve the world's biggest problems [links to CNNMoney]
   Can cops use phone left at scene of crime to call 911 to find its owner? [links to Benton summary]
   House panel delays consideration of FTC bills [links to Hill, The]

CONTENT
   YouTubers are expanding their fanbases—using books [links to Ars Technica]
   Facebook Will Train Employees to Spot Their Own Political Bias [links to Benton summary]

TRANSPORTATION
   FACT SHEET: Obama Administration Announces Columbus (OH) Winner of the $40 Million Smart City Challenge to Pioneer the Future of Transportation - press release [links to Benton summary]

EDUCATION
   5 Schools of Education Making Ed Tech a Top Priority [links to Education Week]

ADVERTISING
   Did Facebook Just Deliver A Crushing Blow To Native Advertising? [links to Fast Company]

SECURITY
   Microsoft proposes international code of conduct for cyberspace [links to Benton summary]
   Op-Ed: How to craft a meaningful cyberarms pact [links to Christian Science Monitor]
   Sec John Kerry rallies tech entrepreneurs to tackle extremism [links to Financial Times]

back to top

AGENDA

FCC’S JULY 2016 AGENDA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the July Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, July 14, 2016:
Spectrum Frontiers – The Commission will consider a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would make spectrum in bands above 24 GHz available for flexible use wireless services, including for next-generation, or 5G, networks and technologies. (GN Docket No. 14-177; IB Docket No. 15-256; RM-11664; WT Docket No. 10-112; IB Docket No. 97-95).
Advancing Technology Transitions – The Commission will consider a Declaratory Ruling, Report and Order, and Order on Reconsideration that adopts a framework to guide transitions to next-generation communications technologies while protecting the interests of consumers and competition. (WC Docket No. 13-5; WC Docket No. 13-3; RM-11358). benton.org/headlines/fcc-announces-tentative-agenda-july-2016-open-meeting | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

INTERNET/BROADBAND

NOW WHAT
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Andrew Jay Schwartzman]
[Commentary] The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has upheld the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality rules. So what does that mean, and what will happen now? There is no shortage of analyses of what the two-judge majority and the partial dissenter said, so there is little value in discussing that in detail yet again. However, much less has been written about what will happen now and some of that has not been very thoughtful. This was a sweeping vindication of the FCC and, unless modified on appeal, the decision gives the FCC a great deal of latitude to regulate broadband Internet service.
benton.org/headlines/network-neutrality-now-what | Benton Foundation
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

WH WARNS CONGRESS NOT TO KILL NET NEUTRALITY AND CABLE BOX RULES
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
The White House has urged Republican lawmakers to give up efforts to strip the Federal Communications Commission of regulatory powers and tens of millions of dollars in budget funding. President Obama's senior advisers would recommend that he veto the House of Representatives' budget bill for fiscal 2017 because of these and other provisions. The Republican budget proposal "includes highly problematic ideological provisions," like ones that "prevent the Federal Communications Commission from promoting a free and open Internet and encouraging competition in the set-top box market, impacting millions of broadband and cable customers," the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement of administration policy. The budget plan includes sections delaying or preventing implementation of the FCC's net neutrality rules, which were just upheld by an appeals court despite a lawsuit filed by broadband providers. With the case possibly heading to the Supreme Court, a budget rider would prevent enforcement of net neutrality rules until broadband providers have exhausted all appeals. The budget plan would also prevent the FCC from stopping unjust and unreasonable pricing and data cap practices, regardless of the lawsuit's outcome.
benton.org/headlines/white-house-warns-congress-not-kill-net-neutrality-and-cable-box-rules | Ars Technica
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

TELEVISION

HEARING RECAP: CUSTOMER SERVICE AND BILLING PRACTICES IN THE CABLE AND SATELLITE TV INDUSTRY
[SOURCE: US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, AUTHOR: ]
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held the hearing "Customer Service and Billing Practices in the Cable and Satellite Television Industry" to review billing and customer service practices in the cable and satellite television industry. The hearing reviewed the Joint Staff report, "Some Cable and Satellite Companies Do Not Refund Customer Overcharges" and the Minority Staff Report "Inside the Box: Customer Service and Billing Practices in the Cable and Satellite Industry". Witnesses included Tom Karinshak, Senior Vice President, Customer Service at Comcast; John Keib, Former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Residential Services at Time Warner Cable; Kathleen "Kip" Mayo Executive Vice President, Customer Operations at Charter; Rasesh Patel, Senior Vice President, Product Management at AT&T Entertainment Group (DirecTV); and Kathleen Schneider, Senior Vice President, Operations at Dish Network. Ranking Member Claire McCaskill (D-MO) slammed cable operators for customer service at the opening of the hearing. Ranking Member McCaskill's report outlined the issues addressed and problems discovered related to a year-long investigation and based on information supplied by pay-TV companies. "All of the companies in this investigation have increased their prices since 2011, with the cost of some packages increasing by as much as 33%," said the report, "while all of the providers notified customers of upcoming price increases, this notification was not always effective."
benton.org/headlines/hearing-recap-customer-service-and-billing-practices-cable-and-satellite-television | US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee | Chairman Portman (R-OH | Ranking Member McCaskill (D-MO | B&C | The Hill
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

UNLEASHING NEXT-GENERATION NETWORKS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler]
Topping July’s meeting agenda will be our Spectrum Frontiers Report and Order and FNPRM, which will accelerate the development and deployment of the next generation of wireless connectivity, a fifth generation – or 5G. As I outlined in recent remarks at the National Press Club, 5G connectivity will likely be more than an incremental evolutionary step forward in wireless technology. It promises quantum leaps forward in three key areas: speeds resembling fiber that are at least 10 times and maybe 100-times faster than today’s 4G LTE networks; responsiveness less than one-thousandth of a second, which enables real-time communication; and network capacity multiples of what is available today. Coupling this ultra-fast, low-latency, high-capacity connectivity with the almost unlimited processing power of the cloud will enable autonomous vehicles, smart-city energy grids and water systems, immersive education and entertainment, and, most important, killer applications yet to be imagined. The interconnected world of the future will be the result of decisions we must make today. That is why 5G is a national priority, and why I am circulating to my colleagues proposed new rules that will identify and open up vast amounts of spectrum for 5G applications. If the Commission approves the Spectrum Frontiers item, the United States will be the first country in the world to open up high-band spectrum for 5G networks and applications. That’s a big deal because it means U.S. companies will be first out of the gate.
benton.org/headlines/unleashing-next-generation-networks | Federal Communications Commission | Fact Sheet
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

ELECTIONS & MEDIA

CNN HIRES COREY LEWANDOWSKI
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Callum Borchers]
It's natural for top political aides to jump to the media after being fired. They need new jobs, after all, and news outlets want analysts with first-hand insights. When Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) dumped communications director Rick Tyler in February, for instance, MSNBC picked him up almost immediately. But Corey Lewandowski's hiring by CNN seems a bit less natural than most. We would even venture to say that it could be problematic on a couple of levels. First, Donald Trump's former campaign manager, who was relieved of his duties June 20, obviously brings knowledge of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee that few can match. But he also brings unparalleled baggage, including an incident in which he reportedly pushed a reporter from the channel that now employs him — CNN's Noah Gray — away from Trump as the reporter tried to ask a question. Lewandowski had previously threatened to "blacklist" Gray, saying he would revoke the reporter's access to campaign events. More broadly, Lewandowski ran the campaign of a candidate who has repeatedly disrespected CNN's reporting. Trump has taken to calling the cable channel the Clinton News Network lately, reviving a disparaging nickname that dates to the 1990s.
benton.org/headlines/cnn-just-hired-guy-who-ran-donald-trumps-cnn-hating-campaign | Washington Post | Media Matters
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top