June 2016

INTERNET/BROADBAND

PRIVATIZING A CORE PART OF THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
Senior officials from the Commerce Department announced that they've approved a pending proposal aimed at offloading oversight of the Internet's name-and-address system to an international body made up of technologists, businesses, governments and public interest advocates. It's a move that's filled with symbolism: Supporters say it reflects the fulfillment of a longstanding promise by the United States to keep the Web an open place where no single government, corporation or other entity can singlehandedly influence how the Internet evolves. Opponents say it's a risky bid to win goodwill abroad and lacks enough safeguards to prevent authoritarian regimes from seizing control of the California-based organization, known as ICANN, or the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ICANN is the international nonprofit that today does everything from managing the list of generic top-level domains such as .com — and approving new ones such as .app — to developing policies on how the Internet should function. It was created in 1998 to perform many of the day-to-day tasks of "running" the Internet, after a decision by the Commerce Department to begin outsourcing those responsibilities. The proposal greenlighted by the Commerce Department will effectively complete that process.
benton.org/headlines/us-just-took-one-step-closer-privatizing-core-part-internet | Washington Post
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NY STATE'S AG SAYS TWC MISLEADS CONSUMERS ABOUT ITS INTERNET SPEEDS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
The ink is barely dry on Charter's massive acquisition of Time Warner Cable but New York's attorney general is wasting no time pressing the firm on customer complaints about their Internet service. Thousands of Time Warner Cable's customers have written in to the attorney general's office saying they aren't getting the download speeds they paid for as part of an ongoing investigation by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman into Internet providers' advertised speeds. And on June 8, Schneiderman sent a letter to Charter calling for the cable company to "clean up Time Warner Cable's act" in the wake of the acquisition. Calling TWC's performance "abysmal" compared with other Internet providers, the letter sent by Schneiderman's office to Charter says TWC's customers have been subjected to slow-loading movies and websites while online video games stutter and lag. "In advertisement after advertisement, Time Warner Cable promised a 'blazing fast,' 'super-reliable' Internet connection," the letter reads. "Yet it appears that the company has been failing to take adequate or necessary steps to keep pace with the demand of Time Warner Cable customers. …" "What we have seen in our investigation so far suggests that Time Warner Cable has earned the miserable reputation it enjoys among consumers," the letter reads. "Overcoming this history will require more than a name change; it will require a fundamental revolution in how Time Warner Cable does business and treats its customers." The letter also claims that Time Warner Cable has effectively misled some of its customers by giving them network equipment that can't reach customers' promised speeds and by "advertising its Wi-Fi in ways that defy the technology’s technical capabilities." Leading Schneiderman's probe into advertised Internet speeds is Tim Wu, the former Columbia University law professor who coined the term "net neutrality".
benton.org/headlines/new-york-states-attorney-general-says-time-warner-cable-misleads-consumers-about-its | Washington Post | read the letter | USAToday
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ELECTIONS & MEDIA

INSIDE CLINTON'S TECH POLICY CIRCLE
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
Hillary Clinton's campaign is quietly assembling a roster of high-powered tech and telecommunication advisers as the Democratic front-runner develops a digital agenda focused on protecting network neutrality and modernizing government. Unlike her Republican foe, Donald Trump, who has little policy infrastructure, Clinton is cultivating a network of tech advisers comprised of former officials, industry lobbyists and generous donors — many of whom could be in line for key positions at the Federal Communications Commission and other agencies if she becomes president. Leading the charge for Clinton is a trio of government veterans, apparentlyt: Alec Ross, a well-connected former Clinton aide at the State Department who has championed global Internet freedom and the power of social media; Ben Scott, who also worked under Clinton at State and was a leading figure at public interest group Free Press; and Jennifer Pahlka, who helped found the US Digital Service, an effort launched by the Obama Administration to bring better tech to government after the HealthCare.gov meltdown.
benton.org/headlines/inside-clintons-tech-policy-circle | Politico
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

FACEBOOK'S POLITICAL CONTROVERSY
[SOURCE: Brookings, AUTHOR: Blair Levin]
[Commentary] The technology and political worlds collided in May when some conservatives accused Facebook of suppressing conservative political views. This issue continues to evolve, as the social media platform addressed the concerns with a private roundtable with leading conservative voices and further promises to reform its “Trending Topics” news section. I believe that, while Facebook did the right thing by its shareholders, comforting its critics swept under the rug a number of constitutional and regulatory issues related to big data platforms. Unlike Facebook, local government will eventually have to face those issues head-on. Cities were not involved with this particular controversy. Nonetheless, every level of government, from multi-national bodies to local municipalities are increasingly involved with policy issues related to big data. Protecting the security and privacy of information will largely be left to the state and national level. But cities, particularly as they become “smart,” are all going to need cyber-security plans to protect essential infrastructure that depends on big data.
benton.org/headlines/facebooks-political-controversy-points-emerging-issues-between-cities-and-big-data | Brookings
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GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE

LETTER FROM PAI TO CEO OF USAC
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai]
Thank you again for your May 25 letter, which contained detailed data on how wireless resellers have used the National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD). My staff has concluded further analysis of that data, and I am now concerned that abuse of the Universal Service Fund's Lifeline program is more widespread than I first thought...The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC)'s data reveal that carriers enrolled 4,291,647 subscribers between October 2014 and April 2016 using the IEH override process. That's more than 35.3 percent of all subscribers enrolled in NLAD-participating states during that period...I ask that you respond with the requested information by June 28, 2016.
benton.org/headlines/letter-commissioner-ajit-pai-chris-henderson-ceo-universal-service-admininstrative-company | Federal Communications Commission | The Hill
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POLICYMAKERS

REPORT: SEN REID BLOCKING MOBILE NOW ACT OVER ROSENWORCEL VOTE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) appears to be holding up a Senate vote on the bipartisan Mobile Now Act in an effort to get Republicans to bring up the renomination of FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel for a vote in the Senate. Commissioner Rosenworcel's renomination was unanimously approved by the Commerce Committee late in 2015, but the full Senate has yet to vote. Apparently, a spokesperson for the Senate Majority Leader, when asked about the hold, said: "Sen Reid continues to expect Chairman [John] Thune and Sen [Mitch] McConnell to keep their word and re-confirm Commissioner Rosenworcel." Sen Thune (R-SD) is chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and co-sponsor of the bill with Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL). The bipartisan bill, which specifically targets the buildout of 5G mobile broadband, was the result of months of negotiations. Among the reasons for the tough negotiations on the bill were the tensions between licensed and unlicensed, as well as commercial and incumbent government users of the spectrum.
benton.org/headlines/report-sen-reid-blocking-mobile-now-act-over-rosenworcel-vote | Broadcasting&Cable
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Analysis

June 2016

June 9, 2016 (Clinton's tech policy circle)

The US just took one step closer to privatizing a core part of the Internet

Alphabet Looks to Wirelessly Connect Homes to Internet

Department of Justice weighs in on Apple v Samsung patent case

New York state’s attorney general says Time Warner Cable misleads consumers about its Internet speeds

Letter from Commissioner AJit Pai to Chris Henderson, CEO of Universal Service Admininstrative Company

Privacy, profits and broadband investment