1. Monthly archive
  2. July 2016

July 2016

FCC Confirms Agenda for July 2016 Meeting

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on the subjects listed below on 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.
Advancing Technology Transitions: The Commission will consider a Declaratory Ruling, Second 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.

Several Democratic Senators Push Broadband Privacy Proposal

Sens Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Al Franken (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) called on the Federal Communications Commission to finalize its broadband privacy proposal. “An [Internet service provider] has a duty to protect the privacy of consumers who use the company’s wired and wireless infrastructure to connect to the world,” the Sens wrote in a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. “We strongly support the commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and believe that this framework will strengthen the privacy protections for consumers’ personal information.” They told the FCC it needed to:

Adopt a comprehensive definition of customer proprietary information.
Apply protections to both current and former ISP customers.
Promote transparency by requiring ISPs to disclose what information is being collected and how it is used.
Require ISPs to obtain consent before using or sharing consumers’ proprietary information.
Establish data security protections and breach notification requirements.
Mandate that the FCC and ISPs create clear complaint processes if consumers believe their privacy has been violated.

Broadband Access: We're All in the Middle of Somewhere

[Commentary] Fast Internet access is the critical element in building healthier rural economies that create opportunity and improve quality of life. Here are some ways to get your community focused on the need for speed:

Lack of local leadership buy-in is a deal breaker.
Asking why you need faster Internet today is like asking why you needed electricity when candlelight was the standard 100 years ago.
Broadband connectivity and applications are quality-of-life issues.
Demonstrating usefulness is critical.
Urban density is no longer an advantage.
“Middle of nowhere” mentality is no longer applicable.

[Dr Roberto Gallardo is the leader of the Mississippi State University Extension Service Intelligent Community Institute]

NAB: Retaining Newspaper/TV Crossownership Ban Untenable

In an ex parte submission, armed with colorful charts showing the decline of print readership and advertising, the National Association of Broadcasters was trying to convince the Federal Communications Commission to finally scrap the newspaper/broadcast crossownership ban. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has circulated a quadrennial media ownership review item that concludes the newspaper/crossownership ban is still necessary in the public interest, though he is proposing a failing paper waiver similar to the failing station waiver.

NAB said the rule is outdated and fails to serve the public interest. It calls the decision to retain it arbitrary and capricious, which would make it a violation of the Administrative Procedures Act. NAB also said the FCC needed to start counting competition from online news sources. "The FCC can no longer ignore the Internet’s transformative effects on the media marketplace and on consumers’ access to news and information," it said. Even as NAB was citing statistics on declining newspaper audience, Pew Research released a report that found only two in 10 people "often" get their news from a print source. It also showed that while TV news remains the top choice for news consumers, younger demos more often get their news online. NAB also pitched ditching the radio/TV crossownership rule, which Chairman Wheeler also proposed retaining.

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