July 2016

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2016

Today's Event: Grow2Gig+: Anchors Advance Communities, SHLB Coalition -- https://www.benton.org/node/243306

FCC OVERSIGHT HEARING
   Recap: FCC Oversight Hearing Focuses on Lifeline Program
   The Lifeline Program: Examining Recent Allegations of Waste, Fraud, and Abuse - report
   Rep. Walden: FCC Majority Has Voted Media Ownership Item [links to Broadcasting&Cable]

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Senators Launch Broadband Caucus to Bridge the Digital Divide - press release
   Senators Want USF Mobility Fund to Target Croplands
   Connecting more small businesses to superfast Internet - Google press release
   Launching Google Fiber signups in Charlotte [links to Google]
   Chairman Wheeler Responds to Letter from Rep Marchant Re: Lifeline Expansion - Wheeler Letter [links to Benton summary]
   No One Left Behind: Broadband's Role in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals - ITU blog [links to Benton summary]

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   Verizon 5G Spec Finalized, Suggesting Strong Interest in Fixed Wireless Deployments
   Preparing for a 5G World - Aspen Institute [links to Benton summary]
   How should TV shows and movies depict texting? [links to Verge, The]
   Google adds Three network to Project Fi's family to improve international speeds [links to Verge, The]

ELECTIONS & MEDIA
   Platforms Without Media? - Michael Copps op-ed
   News Coverage of the 2016 Presidential Primaries: Horse Race Reporting Has Consequences - research
   Can anyone characterize ‘media coverage’ of a presidential race? [links to Washington Post]
   The debates gave Donald Trump the nomination, and it’s the media’s fault - WaP op-ed [links to Benton summary]
   Fox News and Newt Gingrich agree to suspend contributor agreement [links to Politico]
   Journalists and news outlets prepare for security challenge during political conventions [links to Politico]

GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
   FBI to give deleted Clinton emails back to State Dept [links to Hill, The]
   Lawmakers grill Attorney General Lynch over Clinton e-mails, get few answers [links to Benton summary]
   Paul Ryan op-ed: Hillary Clinton is unfit to handle classified information [links to Washington Post]
   Clinton lawyers: ‘No personal knowledge’ of emails beyond public info [links to Hill, The]
   Op-Ed: What's the Key to Driving Better Citizen Experience? [links to nextgov]

TELEVISION
   Copyright Office Concerned About FCC Set-Top Proposal [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
   Thinking outside the box on set-top boxes [links to Verizon]
   INCOMPAS CEO Cites Cable Box Proposal 'Shortcomings' [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
   MMTC: Procurement Rule Can Be Extended [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
   Olympics TV Rights Costs Run Risk for NBCUniversal [links to Variety]

CONTENT
   28% of Americans are ‘strong’ early adopters of technology - Pew research [links to Benton summary]
   Relax, you're not going to jail for sharing your Netflix password [links to Los Angeles Times]
   YouTube says its software let content owners make $1 billion in the last year — so the music labels should stop complaining [links to Revere Digital]
   ABC is creating dozens of free, digital-only shows it wants you to watch on your phone [links to Revere Digital]

SECURITY/PRIVACY
   D.E.A. Needed Warrant to Track Suspect’s Phone, Federal Judge Says [links to New York Times]
   Chairman Wheeler Responds to Letter from Lawmakers about Broadband Privacy NPRM - Wheeler letter [links to Benton summary]
   Senator Al Franken demands Pokémon Go release privacy information [links to Guardian, The]

JOURNALISM
   Craigslist Founder: Funding Nonprofit Journalism? Be Transparent And Do No Harm [links to Huffington Post]

DIVERSITY
   Media diversity is non-negotiable - Michael Copps, Wade Henderson op-ed

LABOR
   As Competition Flags, the Rip of Inequality Widens [links to Benton summary]
   Federal Government Expects to Bring on 3,500 More Cyber Pros by 2017 [links to nextgov]

TRANSPORTATION
   The importance of Alibaba’s new ‘Internet car’ [links to Benton summary]

RESEARCH
   Modernizing the FCC's Geospatial Maps - press release

POLICYMAKERS
   John Brademas, Indiana Congressman and NYU President

COMPANY NEWS
   Google just scored a bunch of new property to make its crazy dream campus come true [links to Revere Digital]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   US Treasury Chief Lew Set for Apple Tax Showdown With EU [links to Bloomberg]

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FCC OVERSIGHT HEARING

RECAP: FCC OVERSIGHT HEARING
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
The House Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing on July 12 – just for fun. The staff for the subcommittee’s majority framed the hearing as an examination of both the FCC’s “policy decisions and the process by which it reaches them under Chairman [Tom] Wheeler’s leadership.” The staff teed up four issues in particular: privacy and broadband providers, set-top TV boxes, media ownership rules, and management of the Lifeline program. All five FCC commissioners testified.
In his written testimony, FCC Chairman Wheeler updated the subcommittee on the FCC’s progress regarding Open Internet rules recently upheld in court, the world’s first incentive auction aimed at convincing television broadcasters to relinquish spectrum licenses, efforts to accelerate the development and deployment of 5G wireless technology, a proposal to encourage competition in the Business Data Services (also known at Special Access) marketplace, the FCC’s Lifeline Modernization order, a proceeding on how to ensure consumers have the tools they need to make informed choices about how and whether their data is used and shared by their broadband providers, set-top boxes, and the need to improve the 911 system.
Press reports of the hearing focus on the sparring over the Lifeline program which makes telephone service more affordable for low-income households. FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai has expressed concerns that households may be receiving extra or unneeded subsidies, which are against the program's rules. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), the Ranking Member of the subcommittee, ripped into Commissioner Pai at the hearing, pressing him on whether he had actually found evidence of fraud and if his investigation into the program had considered that some addresses include more than one household, for example homeless shelters or veterans' homes, where residents might be entitled to multiple subsidies. “Because they exist in my congressional district, in everyone’s congressional district,” she said. “And if you’re using those multi-household addresses to allege that there’s fraud, then, you know what, you’ve got to be really careful with this.” Chairman Wheeler came armed with stats showing that more than two million people getting lifeline subsidies were in those multiple-dwelling units.
“I agree completely congresswoman,” Commissioner Pai responded. “That’s why I said we don’t know, it’s potentially fraudulent and we need to investigate given the magnitude of that number.” “So you don’t know, you’re just saying it might be?” Rep Eshoo shot back. She then repeatedly asked Pai whether he had found concrete evidence of fraud in the Lifeline program. “No, just answer me, yes for no,” she said, eventually. “Have you uncovered any fraud so far?” “To date, I have not reached that conclusion,” Pai replied.
Rep Frank Pallone (D-NJ) released a report concluding that recent Republican allegations of $500 million of waste, fraud, and abuse in the Lifeline program are based on faulty assumptions and bad data. The research found that the Republican claims relied solely on a faulty assumption that all Lifeline beneficiaries living in multi-household addresses — including veteran group homes, nursing homes, and homeless shelters — received their phones due to fraud. The investigation has uncovered no evidence to support this assumption, and found that 43 percent of the multiple-household filings were submitted out of an abundance of caution for consumers whose information had already been verified.
benton.org/headlines/recap-fcc-oversight-hearing-focuses-lifeline-program | Benton Foundation | Chairman Wheeler | Commissioner Clyburn | Commissioner Rosenworcel | Commissioner Pai | Commissioner O’Rielly | The Hill | B&C | House Commerce Dems | Fierce
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STUDY ON LIFELINE
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee, AUTHOR: ]
This interim report reviews the veracity of recent allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse in the Lifeline program. Additionally, this report seeks to examine what has been done – and what more can be done – by the Federal Communications Commission and the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to address waste, fraud, and abuse. This review has included requests for information from USAC, a review of relevant documents, communications, and briefings with numerous Lifeline experts, including: non-confidential communications with officials from the FCC’s Wireline Bureau, Wireless Bureau, Enforcement Bureau, Office of the General Counsel, and Office of the Inspector General; officials from USAC; and representatives from five companies that offer Lifeline service. The following are preliminary findings:
The evidence does not show $500 million of abuse of “IEH Overrides.” The evidence does confirm that a key assumption underlying this allegation—that every IEH Worksheet resulted in a duplicate phone being fraudulently subsidized—is wrong.
Lack of adequate safeguards in the 2008 Lifeline expansion created the environment that led to increased waste, fraud, and abuse.
Since 2010 the FCC and USAC have reined in a billion dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse. Nonetheless, more can be done.
Lifeline continues to provide essential service to low-income Americans.
The report makes the following recommendations:
USAC should continue targeted audits and In-Depth Data Validations (IDVs).
The FCC should periodically review Lifeline program data for new trends.
The FCC and USAC should work to ensure that the National Verifier implementation adequately addresses misuse of eligibility documentation as seen in the Total Call Mobile case.
The FCC and USAC should review the use of the IEH worksheet and trends related to its use.
The FCC should consider possible revisions to program safeguards.
The FCC Office of General Counsel and the FCC Office of Inspector General should continue the investigation into these allegations.
benton.org/headlines/lifeline-program-examining-recent-allegations-waste-fraud-and-abuse | House of Representatives Commerce Committee
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

CAPITO, KING, KLOBUCHAR, HEITKAMP, BOOZMAN LAUNCH SENATE BROADBAND CAUCUS TO BRIDGE DIGITAL DIVIDE
[SOURCE: US Senate, AUTHOR: Sen Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)]
Sens Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and John Boozman (R-AR) are joining together to launch the Senate Broadband Caucus. As internet access plays an increasingly important role in all sectors of our economy, from education to agriculture, telemedicine to the innovation economy, the Senate Broadband Caucus will serve as a platform to engage in discussions across Committee jurisdictions and to inform Senators and their staff about emerging broadband issues. The caucus will focus on strengthening broadband infrastructure and deployment across the country. The caucus will address broadband challenges facing Americans, promote bipartisan discussions about possible solutions to increase connectivity and close the digital divide, especially in rural America, and engage with a broad range of industries and other stakeholders. The economic benefits of broadband infrastructure are clear. For every $5 billion invested in broadband infrastructure, 250,000 jobs are created and with every percentage point increase in new broadband distribution, employment expands by 300,000 jobs. Yet, according to the FCC’s 2016 Broadband Progress Report, one in ten Americans lacks access to the FCC’s definition of broadband. In rural America, 39 percent of Americans lack access. A recent study found that after each megabit per second increase in internet speeds, the unemployment rate dropped, the rate of bachelor degrees earned increased, and the median household income increased. In rural areas, where broadband serves to bridge geographic barriers, these benefits are particularly important.
benton.org/headlines/senators-launch-broadband-caucus-bridge-digital-divide | US Senate
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SENS WANT USF MOBILITY FUND TO TARGET CROPLANDS
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: ]
A bi-partisan group of 26 senators is asking the Federal Communications Commission to establish new parameters for a Universal Service Fund mobility fund that would target broadband availability in croplands “or some other geographic measurement.” The goal would be to better support precision agriculture technology aimed at enhancing productivity and environmental sustainability. “These technologies are transforming US agriculture as American farmers and ranchers seek to feed, fuel and clothe an ever-increasing global population using limited land, water and other resources,” wrote the senators in a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. The cropland or other geographic measurement would be in addition to another metric that has been used in targeting Universal Service Fund support for mobile services — road miles. The letter, spearheaded by Sens Roger Wicker (R-MI) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), notes that cropland coverage can be assessed using US Department of Agriculture data for crop operations, the US Geological Survey’s Land Use classification or other databases.
benton.org/headlines/senators-want-usf-mobility-fund-target-croplands | telecompetitor | read the letter
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CONNECTING MORE SMALL BUSINESSES TO SUPERFAST INTERNET
[SOURCE: Google, AUTHOR: Press release]
We’ve always believed that small businesses can do big things with superfast Internet. In 2014, we launched our Early Access program to bring faster speeds to businesses in our Fiber cities. Since then, we’ve been inspired by what these businesses have been able to do. From a media company that now conducts virtual jam sessions to a coffee house that livestreams their community events, we’ve seen many unlock new possibilities with a speedy, reliable connection. At the same time, we know that businesses come in different shapes and sizes. They have varying needs and would like the flexibility to choose a plan that best fits their needs. That’s why we’re transitioning from the Early Access program and introducing three new plans. Small businesses in all of our Fiber cities will now be able to pick from speeds ranging from 100 Mbps to 1000 Mbps. We’ve also increased the number of static IP addresses available to a business—up to 13. And we continue to be committed to providing fast, reliable service tailored to the needs of small businesses.
benton.org/headlines/connecting-more-small-businesses-superfast-internet | Google | telecompetitor | Fierce
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

VERIZON 5G SPEC FINALIZED
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
Verizon’s announcement that the company has completed a specification for ultra-high-bandwidth 5G wireless is the latest example of the company’s increasingly wireless focus. The Verizon 5G spec was completed in advance of industry fifth-generation wireless standards efforts, raising the question of what is driving Verizon to push this technology so aggressively and so soon. It’s important to remember that in its initial incarnation, 5G will be a fixed wireless technology. And as Verizon’s announcement indicates, the company has been testing the technology for fixed deployments. “Propagation and penetration testing across residential single and multi-dwelling units built in field locations has validated the feasibility of millimeter wave systems,” the company said. It would appear that Verizon sees 5G as the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) alternative it has been missing for boosting residential broadband bandwidth. In late May, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said that using 5G for fixed wireless may offer enough of a business case alone to justify the carrier’s investment in 5G and that any profits from 5G mobile would be “gravy.”In the announcement, Verizon notes that the Verizon 5G spec “provides guidelines to test and validate crucial 5G technical components” and that it “allows industry partners such as chipset vendors, network vendors and mobile operators to develop interoperable solutions and contribute to pre-standard testing and fabrication.”
benton.org/headlines/verizon-5g-spec-finalized-suggesting-strong-interest-fixed-wireless-deployments | telecompetitor
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ELECTIONS & MEDIA

PLATFORMS WITHOUT MEDIA?
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Michael Copps]
[Commentary] So far 2016 has defied conventional wisdom and political history on many fronts. There are signs that even platform drafting might be affected. But so far we haven’t heard much on media policy. We ignore media policy at our own peril. An informed electorate is the essential foundation for successful self-government, and media are responsible for providing us with the news and information we need to make intelligent decisions for the country’s future. Media are a public good, as necessary to democracy’s life as oxygen is to an individual’s life. No candidate’s communications platform should be considered complete absent a discussion of the larger media issues I am discussing here. We should note that Senator Sanders has spoken often and eloquently about our country’s media shortfalls. Let’s hope the Democratic platform writers will yet heed his sage advice. Media policy matters. Regardless of which party wins, we need an administration and FCC that will hear the call of the people—and deliver. Protecting our wins—and extending them—requires policy-makers with the vision to grasp the media problem and the passion to fix it, the undue power and influence of Big Cable, Big Telecom, and Big Internet notwithstanding. Vision in communications policy is not giving each special interest group a tip of the hat here or a nod of the head there; it is about providing a program for the future of our all-important communications infrastructure. Quite simply there is no way we succeed as a nation without tackling the media challenge. As I have long maintained, no matter what issue motivates you most—job creation, economic inequality, equal rights for all, environmental protection, voting rights, or whatever—progress on these issues will remain unlikely until we have a communications ecosystem that truly informs the electorate. Communications reform really must be everyone’s priority. As for me, creating media that nourishes democracy remains my first priority. I hope it becomes yours, too. We all have responsibilities here: candidates for office, platform writers, the media, and—most importantly of all—ourselves.
[Copps served as a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission from May 2001 to December 2011; he’s now leads the Media and Democracy Reform Initiative at Common Cause]
https://www.benton.org/blog/platforms-without-media
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NEWS COVERAGE OF THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES
[SOURCE: Shorenstein Center, AUTHOR: Thomas Patterson]
A new report from Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy analyzes news coverage of the 2016 presidential primary races and how it affected the candidates’ chances of winning the nomination, concluding that coverage of the primaries focused on the horse race over the issues – to the detriment of candidates and voters alike. The report picks up where the Center’s previous report concluded, analyzing coverage of Donald Trump, Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen Marco Rubio (R-FL), Gov John Kasich (R-OH), Hillary Clinton, and Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT) from January through June 2016. Some of the questions Patterson investigates include:
Why did Trump receive so much more coverage than the other presidential candidates, and why was his coverage positive in tone when the Republican race was still being contested and yet negative in tone after it had been decided?
Why was Rubio’s coverage so much more negative than that of another unsuccessful Republican contender, Cruz?
Why was Clinton’s coverage substantially more negative than Sanders’, and why did Sanders get so much less coverage than she did?
Why did the candidates’ character and policy positions receive so little attention relative to the candidates’ chances of winning?
The Shorenstein Center study is based on an analysis of news statements by CBS, Fox, the Los Angeles Times, NBC, The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. The study’s data were provided by Media Tenor, a firm that specializes in the content analysis of news coverage.
benton.org/headlines/news-coverage-2016-presidential-primaries-horse-race-reporting-has-consequences | Shorenstein Center
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DIVERSITY

MEDIA DIVERSITY IS NON-NEGOTIABLE
[SOURCE: Medium, AUTHOR: Michael Copps, Wade Henderson]
[Commentary] While the nation is increasingly diverse, broadcasting remains mostly the province of white males. The number of Black-owned radio companies has dropped by more than 50 percent since 1995 and just 12 television stations — mostly in small markets — are Black owned. How did we get here? Like almost every industry, broadcasting historically has been dominated by white men. The Federal Communications Commission was 38 years old before it got its first Black member, in 1972; it did not get a Black chairman until 1997. Its policies generally have amplified this legacy of discrimination by allowing sweeping consolidation of media companies, further entrenching the status quo. As a practical matter, consolidation means far-away corporate owners more focused on the bottom line than on quality local journalism. And as media consolidation grows, people of color and women become less significant players in the media ecosystem. We are deeply troubled by reports that the agency is poised to approve yet another Quadrennial Review without commissioning this research. That would spark more litigation and lead the courts to conclude, as they have three times now, that the agency must root its decisions in good social science. America’s strength is its diversity; we need to take advantage of it. Consigning communities of color and women to the sidelines in media programming, jobs, and ownership not only closes doors of opportunity for them, it weakens our society. It’s precisely the wrong way to go. We hope the FCC will choose better this time.
[Michael Copps is a retired FCC Commissioner and a special adviser for the Media and Democracy Reform Initiative at Common Cause. Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights]
benton.org/headlines/media-diversity-non-negotiable | Medium
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RESEARCH

FCC’S MAPS
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Richard Mansfield, Allison Baker, Perryn Ashmore]
Maps and geospatial analysis have become increasingly important as they allow the Federal Communications Commission to display information to the public in an interactive visual format. The FCC’s maps have become useful tools for conveying data in conjunction with Commission reports and public notices. The FCC’s maps site serves as a centralized hub for data visualizations and is one of the most highly trafficked parts of the Commission’s website. The modernized look-and-feel of the new FCC’s maps site improves the user experience and provides better visual displays. Creating more design consistency across the maps we publish is one area we identified for improvement. To ensure uniform formats are used in all of our materials, we developed geospatial visualization design standards to maintain a consistent user experience across our maps and geospatial applications. These efforts directly align with the Commission’s goals of improving the usability and performance of our Information Technology systems while also making it easier for the public to access data. Recently, we moved the back-end infrastructure off of the existing legacy hardware and into a cloud-hosted environment. As a result of moving the maps site to a cloud-based platform, we’re able to provide several key benefits, including increased system stability and improved security. The new cloud-based maps site expands on the existing features of the previous maps site with some significant improvements, including:
Enhanced display - Simplified page layout improves the usability of the site and the responsive design allows the site to adapt to various devices and screen resolutions.
Improved usability - New filter and search capabilities allow you to quickly find relevant content and identify related maps.
Greater reliability – Cloud-based platform provides greater reliability and improved security.
Streamlined publishing - Maps are now integrated with the FCC.gov Content Management System to maintain a common look-and-feel and support rapid deployment of visualizations.
Flexible inputs - Use of Open Geospatial Consortium standards enables the site to embed externally hosted content and easily adapt to new technologies.
benton.org/headlines/modernizing-fccs-geospatial-maps | Federal Communications Commission
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POLICYMAKERS

JOHN BRADEMAS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Robert McFadden]
John Brademas, a political, financial and academic dynamo who served 22 years in Congress and more than a decade as president of New York University in an all-but-seamless quest to promote education, the arts and a liberal agenda, died on July 11 in Manhattan. He was 89. His death was announced by NYU. Brademas liked to say that being a university president was not much different from being a congressman: You shake hands, make speeches, remember names and faces, stump for a cause and raise money relentlessly. The difference, he said, is that you do not have to depend on voters to renew your contract every two years. As a Democratic representative from Indiana from 1959 to 1981, Brademas became known as Mr. Education and Mr. Arts. He sponsored bills that nearly doubled federal aid for elementary and secondary education in the mid-1960s and that created the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities. He was also instrumental in annual financing of the arts and humanities and in the passage of Project Head Start, the National Teachers Corps and college tuition aid and loan programs.
[Brademas served on the Board of Directors of the Benton Foundation from 1981 through 1992]
benton.org/headlines/john-brademas-indiana-congressman-and-nyu-president | New York Times
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