press release

Nokia Networks is pioneering the technology needed to efficiently use LTE for nationwide TV broadcasting. The company is working with a range of partners in the world’s first field trial of wide-area TV broadcasting using a single LTE frequency within UHF spectrum.

House Commerce Committee Leaders opened an investigation into the Federal Communications Commission’s decision-making process ahead of granting a waiver of auction rules to Grain Management. The leaders have requested documents from the commission related to the following questions by August 15, 2014:

• Copies of all draft versions of the order granting Grain Management a waiver of the AMR (attributable material relationship) rule.
• All communications from November 4, 2013, to present between Grain Management and the Commission.
• All communications from November 4, 2013, to present between or among the members or employees of the Commission relating to Grain Management, the application of the AMR rule, or the Commission’s designated entity rules, or to the grant of the waiver of the AMR rule for Grain Management. This request includes all communications regarding the use of delegated authority, options memos, and timelines for Commission action.
• All materials maintained or produced by the FCC’s Electronic Chairman’s Lifecycle Agenda Tracking System (eCLAS) related to the Grain Management waiver.
• All written and electronic communications from April 25, 2006, to present between Grain Management and the Commission regarding the FCC's auction rules or procedures.
• All documents created by the FCC or submitted to the Commission on or after April 25, 2006, relating to the AMR rule.

The White House Rural Council announced a $10 billion dollar investment fund to promote rural economic development.

This fund will continue to grow the rural economy by increasing access to capital for rural infrastructure projects and speeding up the process of rural infrastructure improvements. The fund is immediately open for business and more investors can now add to the initial $10 billion in available capital.

Large-scale US surveillance is seriously hampering US-based journalists and lawyers in their work, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union said.

The report documents how national security journalists and lawyers are adopting elaborate steps or otherwise modifying their practices to keep communications, sources, and other confidential information secure in light of revelations of unprecedented US government surveillance of electronic communications and transactions.

The report documents how government surveillance and secrecy are undermining press freedom, the public’s right to information, and the right to counsel, all human rights essential to a healthy democracy.

The Federal Communications Commission has approved Frontier’s proposed acquisition of AT&T's local wireline, broadband and video operations in Connecticut.

The company is currently seeking approval from the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), and has already received Justice Department approval. Pending PURA approval, the company expects to close the Connecticut acquisition transaction in the fourth quarter.

The Department of Education announced new guidance for schools and districts on how to keep parents and students better informed about what student data is collected and how it is used.

The new guidance recommends that schools and districts provide parents with information, such as:

• What information are you collecting about students?
• Why are you collecting this information?
• How is the information protected?
• Do you share any personal information with third parties? If so, with whom and for what purpose(s)?
• Who should parents contact if they have questions about your data practice

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Mobile Video Apps: User Dimensions finds that 49% of US adult broadband users engage some form of mobile video app at least once a month, with 17% engaging weekly and 16% daily.

Mobile video app engagement is inversely proportional to age -- that is, the younger the consumer, the more likely they are to engage mobile video apps.

The House of Representatives approved bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the nation’s satellite television law to ensure that millions of satellite subscribers continue to receive broadcast programming.

H.R. 4572, the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (now christened the STELA Reauthorization, or STELAR, act) of 2014, which was approved by voice vote, reauthorizes the communications and copyright provisions of existing law for five years and makes a number of narrow reforms to better meet the needs of today’s video marketplace.

The legislation is a joint product of the House Commerce and Judiciary Committees. Authored by Upton, Walden, full committee Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), and Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo (D-CA), H.R. 4572 makes the following targeted reforms to the video marketplace:

• Prohibits joint retransmission consent negotiations;
• Provides broadcasters additional time to unwind business arrangements deemed no longer in the public interest by the FCC through its recent changes in how it calculates ownership interests under the media ownership rules;
• Eliminates the “sweeps” week prohibition on signal change; and
• Eliminates the set-top box integration ban.

Wireless broadband penetration has grown to 72.4% in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) area, according to December 2013 data, meaning there are almost three wireless subscriptions for every four inhabitants.

Wireless broadband subscriptions in the 34-country group were up 14.6% from a year earlier to a total of 910 million, driven by continuing strong demand for smartphones and tablets. Seven countries (Finland, Australia, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Korea and the United States) now lie above the 100% penetration threshold.

The Voices for Internet Freedom coalition filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on behalf of more than 50 civil rights, human rights, community-based and media organizations in support of strong network neutrality rules that protect the digital rights of communities of color.

In the filing, the groups called on the FCC to treat Internet Service Providers (ISPs) as common carriers, which would allow the Commission to reestablish its legal authority to adopt Net Neutrality rules that prevent telecommunications companies from blocking, discriminating against and interfering with Web traffic.

The coalition also called on the agency to ensure Net Neutrality protections are applied equally to both wireline and wireless Internet access. The group opposes the framework for FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposed rules, which would allow ISPs to discriminate by creating fast and slow lanes online.