press release

Simultaneous to projecting itself as a corporation that has the public’s best interest at heart in order to push through approval of the merger of Comcast with Time Warner, Comcast is waging war on Public, Educational and Government (PEG) access television in America’s heartland.

On February 13, 2014, Comcast announced its merger with Time Warner, assuring regulators and the public that ultimately they would deliver a new and improved product that benefits consumers while not harming competition and consumer choices. In that same announcement, Comcast states “In every transaction, we have over-delivered on our public interest commitments.”

Comcast states: “PEG channels would be protected from migration to digital in the acquired systems that are not yet all-digital (unless otherwise agreed by the LFA), and would be protected from material degradation.”

“Making a concession to a digital transition of PEG channels, does us no good if those channels are stripped of their funding or reduced in number,” said Rocco. “As usual, Comcast shows open hostility toward PEG access television and shows its true colors when it comes to meeting the public interest.”

There are over 40 PEG access operations in the state of Minnesota. American Community Television is monitoring the situation in Minnesota with interest.

Rep Bob Latta (R-OH) introduced legislation (HR 4752) to ensure the Internet remains open and free from government interference by limiting the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to regulate broadband under Title II of the Communications Act.

The legislation comes after the FCC released a proposal to reclassify broadband Internet access under Title II as a telecommunications service rather than an information service.

“In light of the FCC initiating yet another attempt to regulate the Internet, upending long-standing precedent and imposing monopoly-era telephone rules and obligations on the 21st Century broadband marketplace, Congress must take action to put an end to this misguided regulatory proposal,” said Rep Latta. “The Internet has remained open and continues to be a powerful engine fueling private enterprise, economic growth and innovation absent government interference and obstruction. My legislation will provide all participants in the Internet ecosystem the certainty they need to continue investing in broadband networks and services that have been fundamental for job creation, productivity and consumer choice.”

US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced the appointment of Sue Swenson as Chairwoman of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Board.

FirstNet is an independent entity within the US Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Swenson, a seasoned telecommunications and technology executive, has served as a FirstNet Board member since August 2012 and was named Vice Chairwoman last December.

Swenson replaces Sam Ginn, who has chaired the FirstNet Board since its inception. Ginn, a wireless industry pioneer, agreed to step out of retirement to shepherd the FirstNet Board through its early stage development and planning of a nationwide broadband network dedicated to public safety. His term on the Board expires August 2014 and he is not seeking reappointment. Ginn plans to fulfill the remainder of his term as a Board member.

Swenson has played a pivotal role on the Board, successfully leading FirstNet’s spectrum lease negotiations with four Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) projects. She was also instrumental in FirstNet’s development of a strategic roadmap.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that the following items will be on the tentative agenda for the next open meeting scheduled for June 13, 2014.
Technology Transitions Presentation: The Commission will hear a presentation with an update on the efforts to transition circuit-switched networks to Internet Protocol (IP) networks. The presentation will include a status report on the voluntary experiments proposed by AT&T designed to assess how the transition to IP networks affects users.
Expanding Community Access to Radio: The Commission will hear a presentation with an update on the continuing efforts to launch new and diverse voices to the American public via increased access to Low Power FM radio stations

Sen John Thune (R-SD), Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Committee and member of the Senate Finance Committee, took to the Senate floor to call on Congress to pass his Internet Tax Freedom Forever (ITFA) Act, which would make permanent the expiring provision preventing Internet access from being taxed, which would discourage and reduce deployment and investment.

Sen Thune made the following remarks on the Senate Floor, “…the Internet provides unprecedented economic and social benefits. Mom and pop businesses in South Dakota, Oregon, and across America have found access to consumers and new business opportunities that are only possible through the Internet…the moratorium on Internet access taxes has contributed to the Internet now being accessed by hundreds of millions of Americans every day.

"Thanks to this 16-year ban, consumer access to the Internet is free from state and local taxation for nearly all Americans…The moratorium also benefits consumers by prohibiting multiple and discriminatory taxes on goods and services sold over the Internet…My bill with Finance Committee Chairman Wyden provides for a permanent extension of the moratorium. By passing a permanent extension, we’ll provide certainty to Internet consumers in every state.”

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting applications for grants to enhance telecommunications and broadcast services in rural areas.

The funding is available from the Community Connect Grant Program, the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program, and the Public Television Station Digital Transition Grant Program. Through the Community Connect Grant Program, USDA plans to provide up to $13 million to fund broadband in unserved areas to support economic growth and deliver enhanced educational, health care and public safety services.

Awardees must serve an area where broadband does not exist, provide a community center with broadband access, and offer broadband service to all residential and business customers. Also, USDA is making available up to $19.3 million in Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) program grants to fund access to rural education, training and health care resources. The DLT program finances telecommunications-enabled equipment and advanced technologies for people who live and work in rural areas.

On Facebook you can share whatever you want with whomever you want, from a one-to-one conversation, to friends or to everyone. While some people want to post to everyone, others have told us that they are more comfortable sharing with a smaller group, like just their friends.

We recognize that it is much worse for someone to accidentally share with everyone when they actually meant to share just with friends, compared with the reverse. So, going forward, when new people join Facebook, the default audience of their first post will be set to Friends. Previously, for most people, it was set to Public.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll start rolling out a new and expanded privacy checkup tool, which will take people through a few steps to review things like who they’re posting to, which apps they use, and the privacy of key pieces of information on their profile.

The Obama Administration announced in March plans for a process that could remove the United States, specifically the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, from its oversight role of critical Internet functions.

Members of Congress are concerned that this move could result in a clampdown on the openness and freedom of the Internet by authoritarian regimes in countries like Russia and China. The Internet has flourished as a model of social connectivity and economic activity since its inception. To preserve freedom and openness as tenets of the Internet’s future, Rep John Shimkus (R-IL) introduced HR 4342, the Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters (DOTCOM) Act of 2014.

Co-sponsored by 10 members of the committee, the legislation requires that the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office study any potential consequences before NTIA may take action. The DOTCOM Act was approved by the full committee on May 8 and is expected to be considered as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.

Time Warner Cable is now delivering Internet speeds up to 300 Megabits per second (Mbps) to customers in several New York City and Los Angeles communities following network upgrades to transform the customer experience, boosting speeds for all its residential Internet plans in Costa Mesa and West Hollywood in California and in areas of Woodside (in Queens) and Staten Island in New York City.

Most notably, TWC customers in these communities who subscribe to the Standard Internet plan, formerly up to 15 Mbps, will now receive up to 50 Mbps, and customers who subscribe to the Ultimate plan, formerly up to 100 Mbps, will receive up to 300 Mbps -- more than three times their current speeds, at no extra charge.

Customers will need a DOCSIS 3.0 modem to enjoy the full benefits of the speed increases, and will be contacted by Time Warner Cable about their choices for receiving a new device.

The network and Internet speed upgrades will soon come to the LA areas of Covina, Cypress, Hoover, Crenshaw District and Jefferson Park, and to upper Manhattan and additional neighborhoods in Queens and Staten Island in New York City. By the end of June, TWC will be delivering the new, faster speed plans to more than 200,000 customers and small businesses.

While advertisers are looking for primetime ad space, they shouldn’t forget where the real opportunities lie -- with the viewers, who continue to access and engage with TV content in a variety of ways.

Knowing when and where to find consumers is crucial to reach them and ensure ads break through the clutter and catch attention.

• TGI…Sunday? When it comes to primetime television programming, gone are the days where the Friday night line up or must-see-TV Thursdays ruled our content consumption. Now people TV viewing takes place on Sundays.
• Time (Spent) Is Money. TV still dominates viewers’ time. In the US, people watched an average of 155 hours of traditional TV a month during the fourth quarter of 2013. But it’s no secret that audiences are viewing more content across screens. Americans watched an average of 14 hours of time-shifted TV per month and spent an average of 34 hours and 27 hours using smartphone apps and the Internet, respectively, during the same period. And when it comes to online video consumption, Americans now average 7.5 hours per month streaming video on their computers.
• Extending The TV Screen. With social media now a routine element of the TV-viewing experience, audiences are moving seamlessly across platforms to view and talk about their favorite shows. According to Nielsen, a whopping 86 percent of US smartphone owners say they use their devices while watching TV, and nearly half do it every single day.