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  2. October 2016

October 2016

Remarks of Assistant Secretary Strickling on the Self-Governing Internet

We have finally fulfilled the promise the United States made nearly two decades ago to privatize the Internet domain name system. We took the final steps with the expiration of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions contract with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) as of October 1 and last week by modifying our cooperative agreement with Verisign to remove National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA's) role in authorizing changes to the authoritative root zone file. I know many of you understand the significance of this historic moment in the evolution of the Internet. But I think it is also important to understand it in the context of the development of the multistakeholder approach to Internet governance and policymaking. This transition is a powerful testament to the strength of the multistakeholder model and what it can achieve.

After the community completed the IANA transition plan, there were those who tried to delay or block the transition at the eleventh hour. Of course, there will always be those who are not happy with the outcome. But if you believe in the process, you must respect the process. However, you do not show respect for the multistakeholder process when you wait until the process is over and the community has reached consensus and then propose major changes in the plan without ever asking the community to consider such an option. You do not show respect for the multistakeholder process when you do not participate for two years and then afterward say you object to the outcome.

Report: US Fixed Broadband Subscribers Decline in 2Q 2016

The number of US fixed broadband subscribers dropped by nearly 200,000 on a net basis in 2Q 2016, a decline of 0.2 percent, according to the latest market data from Point Topic. A 4 percent decline in the number of copper-based broadband connections was the main factor, the market research specialist says. AT&T, Century Link and Verizon’s DSL lines dropped 7.7%, 1.6% and 27.2%, respectively quarter over quarter.

That contributed to a drop in AT&T’s overall fixed broadband customer base, which fell 123,000 in 2Q. It appears AT&T has shifted its strategic focus to LTE wireless and satellite broadband service provision, Point Topic, as well as other industry observers point out. AT&T recently acquired DirecTV and called a halt to U-verse set-top box (STB) production earlier this year. Management in Sept announced it is phasing out the U-verse brand completely, with the intention of folding its assets and resources into initiatives that enhance its DirecTV-driven and future service offerings and market presence. Notable among these is an effort to build a home gateway that can connect to AT&T’s broadband satellite and wireless networks.

Why Google Fiber is no longer rolling out to new cities

After rolling out its Fiber product in about a dozen cities, Google is hitting pause on its project to deploy superfast Internet across the country. The news may come as a disappointment to those who were hoping the search giant would bring competition and faster speeds to their area. So, what happened? Here are a few explanations:

Financial pressure from higher-ups: Like many of its siblings in the broader Alphabet family, Google Fiber is likely feeling the heat from top executives who are trying to show investors that their money is being well spent.
Not enough demand: Just like Google Glass — the company's ill-fated attempt to build an augmented-reality visor — Google Fiber may be just a little ahead of its time.
Big incumbents made Google's job harder: Google had an unenviable task in many of its chosen cities: It had to compete with large, established broadband providers who were already there or could benefit from regulations that raised the bar for new entrants.
Providing bundled TV is expensive: There was another major cost Google had to account for when offering its Fiber service. Americans love their double- or triple-play bundles, which reduce the cost of buying Internet from traditional providers.
Wireless broadband is the future: Even as Google Fiber pays lots of money to lay down cables and secure access to TV programming, a different type of technology is coming down the pike: wireless fiber.

Chicago gets reprieve in Google Fiber 'pause'

Google is hitting the pause button, rethinking the scale of its ambitious plans to become a major provider of low-cost high-speed internet as it weighs options beyond laying expensive fiber-optic cables. The company said it would “pause” rollouts of Google Fiber to new cities. But it will provide some service in Chicago—one of the cities that was on the bubble—because it's served by Webpass, a wireless broadband provider that Google acquired in June. “In Chicago, Google Fiber and Webpass will work together to extend and accelerate deployments via point-to-point wireless,” a Google spokeswoman said. Google also has a stake in telecom provider RCN, which serves Chicago, where Google employs more than 600.

Robocall Strike Force Update

The released three main goals, with what the strike force delivered and the work that remains:
Goal 1: Robust Call Blocking & Filtering Tools for Consumers
Goal 2: Faster Implementation of Caller ID Authentication Standards
Goal 3: Solutions to Detect & Mitigate Unwanted Calls
They offered the following next steps:
Industry Must Ensure Continued Progress
Industry Must Be Aggressive in Achieving Concrete Deliverables
Providers Must Commit to & Comply with Implementation Deadlines
Providers Must Give Regular Updates, Particularly Where Work is Handed Off to
Other Industry Groups

How Donald Trump Used Hollywood to Create ‘Donald Trump’

Most politicians have a public record of speeches and votes on issues of the day, but Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee for president, has left a different type of record: a near-constant presence in TV shows, movies, documentaries, pageants and even professional wrestling events over 30 years. His first television appearance seems to have been an uncredited 1981 cameo on the sitcom “The Jeffersons.”

Since then, Trump has seized on opportunities to create a recurring character over three decades: a larger-than-life New York billionaire named Donald Trump. His cameos have included numerous TV shows (“The Nanny,” “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Sex and the City”) and movies (“Home Alone 2,” “Zoolander” and Woody Allen’s “Celebrity.”). Including his many interviews on late-night talk shows, appearances on beauty pageant and professional wrestling shows, and a recurring role on his reality program “The Apprentice,” his credits have numbered in the hundreds, according to the Internet Movie Database. His memorable cameos have been collected in at least one YouTube supercut.

Education Groups Call for FCC Action on Huge Tech Resource

Possibly billions of dollars’ worth of a public educational telecommunications resource has languished unused and unlicensed within the federal government for decades, some estimates show. If it were managed more effectively, experts say, the resource could be used to essentially eliminate the "homework gap," the divide that exists between students who have access to high-quality learning technologies in school and at home and those who don't.

Eleven education groups—including the National Association of State Boards of Education, the National Education Association, the Consortium for School Networking, and the International Society for Technology in Education—jointly filed documents eight years ago petitioning the Federal Communications Commission to give educators access to the unlicensed remnants of the Educational Broadband Service, or EBS. Although the FCC has been formally deliberating over what to do with the unlicensed spectrum since at least 2008, the agency has yet to issue a ruling, and the proceeding remains open—indefinitely.

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