July 2016

NEWS FROM THE FCC

FCC STREAMLINES APPROVAL PROCESS FOR NETWORK TECHNOLOGY TRANSITIONS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Landline phone network technology is changing rapidly; the Federal Communications Commission further updated its rules to help ensure that consumers, industry and the economy reap the benefits of this ongoing, innovative transformation. The action will eliminate outdated, unnecessary regulations and establish clear criteria that can expedite the review process required when providers update service from legacy to modern voice technologies. The new framework will give carriers the clarity they need to transition quickly to innovative services and at the same time ensure continued protections for consumers, competition, public safety and universal service, all important values that must endure even as technology changes. The test expedites transitions in which:
Network performance, reliability and coverage is substantially unchanged for customers
Access to 911, cybersecurity and access for people with disabilities meets current rules and standards
Compatibility with a defined list of legacy services still popular with consumers and small businesses, including home security systems, medical monitoring devices, credit card readers and fax machines, subject to sunset in 2025, is assured.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-streamlines-approval-process-network-technology-transitions | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

SPECTRUM FRONTIERS ORDER
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules for wireless broadband operations in frequencies above 24 GHz, making the United States the first country in the world to make this spectrum available for next generation wireless services. Building on the successful, flexible approach to spectrum policy that enabled the explosion of 4G (LTE), these rules set a strong foundation for the rapid advancement to next-generation 5G networks and technologies in the United States. This high-frequency spectrum will support innovative new uses enabled by fiber-fast wireless speeds and extremely low latency. While 5G technologies are still under development, today’s action by the FCC to put rules in place will provide vital clarity for business investment in this area. These new rules open up nearly 11 GHz of high-frequency spectrum for flexible, mobile and fixed use wireless broadband – 3.85 GHz of licensed spectrum and 7 GHz of unlicensed spectrum. The rules adopted today creates a new Upper Microwave Flexible Use service in the 28 GHz (27.5-28.35 GHz), 37 GHz (37-38.6 GHz), and 39 GHz (38.6-40 GHz) bands, and a new unlicensed band at 64- 71 GHz. The FCC also adopted a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which seeks comment on several issues. The FNPRM seeks to apply the flexible use service and technical rules to another 18 GHz of spectrum encompassing 8 additional high-frequency bands, and seeks comment on a variety of other issues, including refinements to the performance requirements and mobile spectrum holdings policies, and the sharing framework adopted for the 37-37.6 GHz band.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-takes-steps-facilitate-mobile-broadband-and-next-generation5g-wireless-technologies | Federal Communications Commission | FCC fact sheet
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

FCC ANNOUNCES TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR AUGUST OPEN MEETING
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the August Open FCC Meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 4, 2016:
Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, Section 105, Relay Services for Deaf-Blind Individuals: The FCC will consider a Report and Order that would convert the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program from a pilot to a permanent program. (CG Docket No. 10-210)
Improvements to Benchmarks and Related Requirements Governing Hearing Aid-Compatible Mobile Handsets: The FCC will consider a Report and Order that would implement changes to the scope of the wireless hearing aid compatibility rules. (WT Docket No. 15-285)
Ensuring Just, Reasonable, and Fair Rates for Inmate Calling Services: The FCC will consider an Order on Reconsideration, responding to a petition filed by Michael S. Hamden, that would ensure that the rates for Inmate Calling Services (ICS) are just, reasonable, and fair and explicitly account for facilities’ ICS-related costs. (WC Docket No. 12-375)
benton.org/headlines/fcc-announces-tentative-agenda-august-2016-open-meeting | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

FCC FACT SHEET ON INMATE CALLING
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn asked their fellow FCC commissioners to consider an item that will both ensure that the rates for inmate calling services (ICS) are just, reasonable, and fair for local and long-distance calls, and that the nation’s jails and prisons are compensated for reasonable costs of inmate calling services. The proposed item takes a careful look at the costs that facilities incur by providing ICS and covers these ICS-related costs through modest increases in the inmate calling rate caps previously set by the FCC. The FCC will vote on the item at its August 4 Open Meeting. The Order modifies the proposed rate caps to account for costs facilities incur in offering ICS, particularly the higher costs smaller institutions may face. These changes are as follows:
13 cents/minute for debit/prepaid calls, in state or federal prisons (up from 11 cents/minute stayed Oct. 2015 rate)
19 cents/minute for debit/prepaid calls in jails with 1,000 or more inmates (up from 14 cents/minute stayed Oct. 2015 rate)
21 cents/minute for debit/prepaid calls in jails with 350-999 inmates (up from 16 cents/minute stayed Oct. 2015 rate)
31 cents/minute for debit/prepaid calls in jails of up to 349 inmates (up from 22 cents/minute stayed Oct. 2015 rate)
benton.org/headlines/providing-affordable-sustainable-inmate-calling-services | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

UPDATE ON OUR REVIEW OF GOOD FAITH RETRANS CONSENT NEGOTIATION RULES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler]
Today I announce that we will not proceed at this time to adopt additional rules governing good faith negotiations for retransmission consent. Now let me be clear; this does not mean the Federal Communications Commission will turn a blind eye to disputes. Nor does it mean that Congress couldn’t expand the scope of the Commission’s authority in this space. What this decision does mean is that “totality of circumstances” is pretty broad and ought not to be constrained. There is nothing in the record that suggests that our current totality of the circumstances test, which is intentionally broad, is inadequate to address the negotiating practices of broadcast stations or multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) in the marketplace today. What we need is not more rules, but for both sides in retransmission consent negotiations to take seriously their responsibility to consumers, who expect to watch their preferred broadcast programming without interruption and to receive the subscription TV service for which they pay. The Commission can investigate a potential good faith violation on its own and take enforcement action when a party fails to fulfill its statutory obligations.
benton.org/headlines/update-our-review-good-faith-retransmission-consent-negotiation-rules | Federal Communications Commission | B&C
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

FCC REAUTHRIZATION
[SOURCE: Congressional Budget Office, AUTHOR: Stephen Rabent, Rachel Austin, Logan Smith]
The FCC Reauthorization Act of 2016 (S 2644) would authorize appropriations totaling $728 million for the operations of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) for 2017 and 2018. Assuming appropriation of those amounts, CBO estimates that implementing S. 2644 would have a gross cost of $705 million over the 2017-2021 period. CBO estimates that all appropriations to the FCC would be offset by fees authorized to be collected under current law. Assuming that future appropriation acts allow the FCC to continue to collect such fees, CBO estimates that net discretionary spending under S. 2644 would be reduced by $23 million over the 2017-2021 period. Enacting S. 2644 would affect direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that the net effects would be negligible over the 2017-2026 period. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues. CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027. S. 2644 contains an intergovernmental mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA), but CBO estimates that the mandate would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. S. 2644 would impose private-sector mandates, as defined in UMRA. Based on information from industry sources and information about existing state laws, CBO estimates that the aggregate costs of the mandates would fall below the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($154 million in 2016, adjusted annually for inflation).
benton.org/headlines/cbo-scores-fcc-reauthorization-act | Congressional Budget Office
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

SECURITY/PRIVACY

MICROSOFT WINS LANDMARK APPEAL OVER SEIZURE OF FOREIGN E-MAILS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jonathan Stempel]
A federal appeals court said Microsoft and other companies cannot be forced to turn over customer e-mails stored on servers outside the United States. The 3-0 decision by a panel of the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York was a victory for privacy advocates, as well as for technology companies hoping to offer cloud computing and other services to customers around the world. Circuit Judge Susan Carney said communications held by US service providers on servers located outside the United States are beyond the reach of domestic search warrants issued under the Stored Communications Act, a 1986 federal law. "Congress did not intend the SCA's warrant provisions to apply extraterritorially," she wrote. "The focus of those provisions is protection of a user's privacy interests." Microsoft had been challenging a warrant seeking e-mails stored on a server in Dublin, Ireland, in a narcotics case. It was believed to be the first US company to challenge a domestic search warrant seeking data held outside the country. July 14's decision reversed a July 2014 ruling by then-Chief Judge Loretta Preska of the US District Court in Manhattan requiring Microsoft to turn over the e-mails. It also voided a contempt finding against the company.
benton.org/headlines/microsoft-wins-landmark-appeal-over-seizure-foreign-e-mails | Reuters
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

INTERNET/BROADBAND

DISTANCE LEARNING AND TELEMEDICINE FUNDING
[SOURCE: Department of Agriculture, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) will fund 81 Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) projects in 32 states. These projects will help connect rural communities with medical and educational experts in other parts of the country, increasing access to health care, substance misuse treatment and advanced educational opportunities. USDA is awarding $23.4 million in grants to support 45 distance learning and 36 telemedicine projects. Some of the awards will help communities provide services to address opioid misuse, a problem that is especially prevalent in rural areas. Secretary Vilsack is leading an interagency effort to address the rural opioid crisis. On June 30, Vilsack hosted a town hall meeting in Abingdon, Va., to address how the crisis is affecting rural America and parts of Appalachia, and while there he announced funding for five DLT projects in rural Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia to respond to the issue.
benton.org/headlines/usda-funds-81-distance-learning-and-telemedicine-projects-32-states | Department of Agriculture
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

WIRELESS

ADVANCED WIRELESS RESEARCH INITIATIVE
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Advanced Wireless Research Initiative will build on President Obama’s seven-and-a-half-year track record of accomplishment in wireless and wireline broadband policy. The National Science Foundation is committing $50 million over the next 5 years, as part of a total $85 million investment by NSF and private-sector entities, to design and build four city-scale advanced wireless testing platforms, beginning in FY 2017. As a part of this investment, NSF also announces a $5 million solicitation for a project office to manage the design, development, deployment, and operations of the testing platforms, in collaboration with NSF and industry entities. Each platform will deploy a network of software-defined radio antennas city-wide, essentially mimicking the existing cellular network, allowing academic researchers, entrepreneurs, and wireless companies to test, prove, and refine their technologies and software algorithms in a real-world setting. These platforms will allow researchers to conduct at-scale experiments of laboratory-or-campus-based proofs-of-concept, and will also allow four American cities, chosen based on open competition, to establish themselves as global destinations for wireless research and development. NSF is also announcing plans to invest $350 million over the next 7 years in fundamental research on advanced wireless technology projects that can utilize NSF’s share of time on these platforms. This will allow a broad base of NSF-funded experiments on potential breakthrough technologies to be taken from proof-of-concept to real-world testing at scale, here in the United States. In addition to these testing platforms and research investments, the Administration is also announcing additional coordinated efforts and investments across Federal agencies to help accelerate the growth and development of advanced wireless technology.
benton.org/headlines/nsf-build-four-city-scale-advanced-wireless-testing-platforms | White House, The | NSF
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

ELECTIONS & MEDIA

OPEN LETTER FROM TECH SECTOR LEADERS ON TRUMP'S CANDIDACY
[SOURCE: Medium, AUTHOR: Katie Jacobs Stanton]
We are inventors, entrepreneurs, engineers, investors, researchers, and business leaders working in the technology sector. We are proud that American innovation is the envy of the world, a source of widely-shared prosperity, and a hallmark of our global leadership. We believe in an inclusive country that fosters opportunity, creativity and a level playing field. Donald Trump does not. He campaigns on anger, bigotry, fear of new ideas and new people, and a fundamental belief that America is weak and in decline. We have listened to Donald Trump over the past year and we have concluded: Trump would be a disaster for innovation. His vision stands against the open exchange of ideas, free movement of people, and productive engagement with the outside world that is critical to our economy — and that provide the foundation for innovation and growth. We also believe in the free and open exchange of ideas, including over the Internet, as a seed from which innovation springs. Donald Trump proposes “shutting down” parts of the Internet as a security strategy — demonstrating both poor judgment and ignorance about how technology works. His penchant to censor extends to revoking press credentials and threatening to punish media platforms that criticize him. We stand against Donald Trump’s divisive candidacy and want a candidate who embraces the ideals that built America’s technology industry: freedom of expression, openness to newcomers, equality of opportunity , public investments in research and infrastructure, and respect for the rule of law. We embrace an optimistic vision for a more inclusive country, where American innovation continues to fuel opportunity, prosperity and leadership.
benton.org/headlines/open-letter-technology-sector-leaders-donald-trumps-candidacy-president | Medium
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

STORIES FROM ABROAD

NET NEUTRALITY IN EUROPE
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: Amar Toor]
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the man who created the world wide web, is calling on regulators in Europe to protect network neutrality and "save the open internet." Berners-Lee, Stanford law professor Barbara van Schewick, and Harvard law professor Larry Lessig urged European regulators to implement guidelines that would close loopholes in net neutrality legislation that the European Parliament approved in October 2015. They also called on internet users to voice their opposition online, before the public consultation period on the guidelines ends on July 18th. "Network neutrality for hundreds of millions of Europeans is within our grasp," their letter reads. "Securing this is essential to preserve the open Internet as a driver for economic growth and social progress. But the public needs to tell regulators now to strengthen safeguards, and not cave in to telecommunications carriers’ manipulative tactics." The rules approved by European lawmakers last year contained several loopholes that activists say could be exploited to undermine net neutrality. Among the most troubling, according to Berners-Lee, Lessig, and van Schewick, is a provision that would allow ISPs to create "fast lanes" for "specialized services," and a guideline that would allow for "zero-rating" — a practice whereby select apps and services are exempt from monthly data limits.
benton.org/headlines/sir-tim-berners-lee-makes-last-minute-plea-save-net-neutrality-europe | Verge, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

GOOGLE FACES NEW ROUND OF ANTITRUST CHARGES IN EUROPE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Mark Scott, James Kanter]
When it comes to Europe’s lengthy investigations into Google, Margrethe Vestager, the region’s competition chief, is hoping that the third time’s a charm. Vestager announced a new round of antitrust charges against the company — the third set since early 2015 — claiming that some of the company’s advertising products had restricted consumer choice. The efforts are part of her continuing push to rein in Google’s activities in the European Union, where the Silicon Valley company has captured roughly 90 percent of the region’s online search market. “Google’s conduct, based on our evidence, is harmful to consumers,” she said. “Google’s magnificent innovations don’t give it the right to deny competitors the chance to innovate.” The announcement represents a setback for Google, which vigorously denied any wrongdoing in two previous European antitrust charges linked to Android, its popular mobile operating system, and some of its dominant online search services. It also comes at a difficult time for Europe’s competition authorities, which have been unable to land a knockout punch against Google’s perceived abusive activities in the region, despite investigations that date back to 2010. The stakes are high. Google could face fines of up to 10 percent, or about $7 billion, of its global annual revenue if it is found to have broken Europe’s tough competition rules.
benton.org/headlines/google-faces-new-round-antitrust-charges-europe | New York Times | The Guardian
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

Benton

Search

Benton

Daily Digest

Analysis

July 2016

Cruz campaign still facing copyright and breach of contract liability over songs used in political ads

Dennis Cooper fears censorship as Google erases blog without warning

Viacom’s Effort to Sell Paramount Stake Takes Another Blow

Female, non-white professionals added to emoji

Phone companies allow free calls, texts to France after attack

It took nearly three hours for France's terror alert app to respond to Nice attack

July 15, 2016 (News from the FCC Meeting)