BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013
For updates throughout the day, follow us on Twitter @benton_fdn
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
Wireless woes in Boston
CYBERSECURITY
House Dems rally against CISPA over concerns about privacy protection
Stakes high for White House on CISPA - analysis
Cyber Tops Intel Community’s 2013 Global Threat Assessment [links to web]
Pentagon Quietly Backing CISPA [links to web]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
The fastest way to speedy networks: ignore Uncle Sam - op-ed
ACA: National Broadband Map Is Good Enough
Is the web getting faster? - research [links to web]
High-Speed Wi-Fi? Not So Fast [links to web]
Google Fiber Springs Into Action [links to web]
AT&T Researchers Set a Long-Haul Data Record [links to web]
Fresh Wave of 2013 State Bills Seeks to Limit PUC VoIP, IP Regulation
House Commerce Committee to Mark Up Internet Governance Bill
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Verizon Wireless Pursues Clearwire Spectrum
MetroPCS Board Backs Deutsche Telekom's Improved Offer
Sprint’s tough choice: Dish might be a more attractive suitor than Softbank - analysis
Ergen: Mobile Video Driving Sprint Proposal [links to web]
Dish turns Sprint race into marathon - analysis
What would Dish-Sprint deal mean for consumers? [links to web]
Softbank says its bid for Sprint Nextel superior [links to web]
Is the web getting faster? - research [links to web]
Deputies brace for backlash as cellphone ban kicks in Monday at Chicago Court House [links to web]
Blame your mobile-phone company AND the US government for your dropped calls - analysis
The FCC Report on Wireless Competition – Another Angle on How Competition Works - editorial [links to web]
High-Speed Wi-Fi? Not So Fast [links to web]
UK speeds up signals on 5G introduction
Urgent need to improve mobile networks
CONTENT
The More Mobile Devices You Have, the More Valuable Mobile Content Becomes [links to web]
71% of Facebook Users Engage in 'Self-Censorship' [links to web]
Simon & Schuster launches e-book lending pilot with New York City public libraries [links to web]
PRIVACY
Senate panel to take up e-mail privacy bill [links to web]
FTC Approves Final Order Settling Charges Against Software and Rent-to-Own Companies Accused of Computer Spying - press release [links to web]
Start-Up Lets Users Track Who Tracks Them [links to web]
HEALTH
The Health IT Performance Challenge [links to web]
TELEVISION
Ownership Limits Shackle Local Broadcasting - op-ed
For Broadcast Nets, Cable Path Is Twisty [links to web]
Comcast is encrypting basic cable now [links to web]
College sports, business and realignment entangled [links to web]
Malone: Split sports nets from cable lineup
DIVERSITY
NAMIC, WICT, Kaitz Team On Cable Diversity Survey [links to web]
CHILDREN & MEDIA
Facebook teams up with attorneys general on safety campaign
POLICYMAKERS
FCC’s Genachowski to be Aspen Institute Senior Fellow - press release [links to web]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
UK speeds up signals on 5G introduction
Urgent need to improve mobile networks
MORE ONLINE
In A Fragmented Cultureverse, Can Pop References Still Pop? [links to web]
Tech industry may pay price for bump up in H-1B visas [links to web]
Library Association Lists Frequently Challenged Books [links to web]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
WIRELESS WOES IN BOSTON
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
The aftermath of the deadly explosions that ripped through the Boston Marathon overwhelmed wireless networks, which struggled to complete calls and process messages. Contrary to initial reports from The Associated Press and elsewhere, law enforcement did not shut down the system to prevent another detonation by wireless device. The AP later retracted that claim. Still, congestion proved debilitating for many wireless users trying to contact loved ones. At one point, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency offered a plea over Twitter: "If you are trying to reach friends or family and can't get through via phone, try [texting] instead (less bandwidth)." A Federal Communications Commission spokeswoman said the agency is working with the Department of Homeland Security and top wireless carriers to address the difficulties. Some of the nation's largest wireless carriers acknowledged disruptions.
benton.org/node/149787 | Politico | Public Knowledge | The Verge
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CYBERSECURITY
CONCERNS OVER CISPA
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jennifer Martinez]
A group of House Democrats circulated a letter calling on lawmakers to oppose a controversial cybersecurity bill up for a vote this week unless additional privacy protections are adopted into the measure. Four Democratic members say the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) as written "would undermine the interests of citizens and their privacy" despite the addition of five privacy-focused amendments adopted to the bill last week. They argue that the amendments do not go far enough to ease their concerns. "Without further amendments to protect privacy and civil liberties, we cannot support the bill," the House Democratic lawmakers write in the "Dear Colleague" letter. "The bill has improved from earlier versions, but even with the amendments adopted, CISPA unacceptably and unnecessarily compromises the privacy interests of Americans online," they add. Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Rush Holt (D-NJ) signed the letter.
benton.org/node/149766 | Hill, The | B&C
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CISPA STAKES
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
The Obama administration didn't mince words in 2012 when it threatened to veto what it saw as a horrible House cybersecurity bill — one that fell short on consumer privacy. A year later, that bill is back, and the White House may be hedging its bets. As a House vote draws near, the White House remains caught between large technology companies that support the measure, powerful privacy advocates who vocally oppose it and congressional leaders it can't afford to alienate if it seeks a cybersecurity deal in 2013. For President Barack Obama, the stakes are high. He’s made improving the country's digital defenses one of his top national security priorities, but the House bill, known as the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, has incurred the wrath of the Internet’s loudest activists, and the administration must tread carefully to avoid becoming a target as well. For now, the White House's allies are urging it to speak with the same forceful tone it adopted in 2012.
benton.org/node/149786 | Politico
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
SPEEDY NETWORKS
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Blair Levin, Ellen Satterwhite]
[Commentary] Local leaders are starting to crack the code for how to broadband drive network upgrades in their communities. They are learning to build agreements with private enterprise that work for both the private and public interests. These efforts lower deployment and operating costs as well as risk, while at the same time creating numerous public benefits including attractive service levels and reasonable consumer pricing. These agreements, in effect, are new versions of the social contracts that enabled phone companies and cable companies to build out their networks in the last century. While the network upgrade may seem to be only about speed, in actuality it will also drive other public improvements as well. Federal policymakers certainly understand the importance of faster networks, but as a recent workshop at the Federal Communications Commission demonstrated: The federal government’s actions, other than a one-time Recovery Act investment, have been neutral, at best, and probably negative. There are positive steps that can, and should, be taken.
[Blair Levin is the Executive Director of the University Community Next Generation Innovation Project, or Gig.U; he led the development of the National Broadband Plan in 2010 for the Federal Communications Commission. Ellen Satterwhite is Program Director at Gig. U]
benton.org/node/149723 | GigaOm
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NATIONAL BROADBAND MAP
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The National Telecommunications and Information Association's National Broadband Map may be imperfect, but it is good enough for the Federal Communications Commission to use to determine where broadband is already being delivered and should not be overbuilt. That was the word from the American Cable Association to the FCC in reply comments on the commission's second phase of broadband subsidies in the Connect America Fund, which the FCC created to migrate traditional phone support to broadband. In reply comments to the commission, ACA, which represents smaller and mid-sized cable operators, said there were a number of reasons to use the map even though it conceded it is a flawed "work in progress."
benton.org/node/149725 | Broadcasting&Cable
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ALEC AGENDA
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: John Hendel]
The push to keep states from regulating Internet Protocol-enabled services goes strong in 2013. Legislators in more than half a dozen states introduced such IP bills this year. More than two dozen states had already passed laws before 2013 began, California prominent among them. The IP transition’s urgency escalated when AT&T introduced an FCC petition urging transition trials last November, and it’s widely accepted that much voice traffic will shift to VoIP and IP-enabled frameworks in the next decade amid these transforming state roles. Proponents and observers told us these state laws will keep appearing, while NASUCA and AARP fear they’ll create public safety and affordability risks. States that introduced such bills include Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Nevada, North Dakota and Wyoming. Some bills lost their fire, while others have already become law. Industry coalitions helped craft some of these bills, as national trade groups urge them forward. They tend to exclude states from regulation but often include exceptions for 911 charges and other funding mechanisms.
benton.org/node/149714 | Communications Daily
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INTERNET GOVERNANCE BILL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The House Commerce Committee has scheduled an April 17 markup of a bill that would codify the earlier sense of the Congress resolution endorsing the multistakeholder model of Internet governance. The bill was voted out of the Communications subcommittee on a voice vote last week, but only after Republican bill backers agreed to talks with Democrats about some of their problems with the bill. Democrats say that language in a sense of Congress resolution, which lacks the force of law, is different from a bill saying the same thing. They fear unintended consequences like undercutting the FCC's authority to impose network neutrality regulations or oversee the transition to IP delivery.
benton.org/node/149780 | Broadcasting&Cable
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
VERIZON AND CLEARWIRE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Sharon Terlep, Dana Cimilluca, Spencer Ante]
Verizon Wireless has offered to pay as much a $1.5 billion to buy spectrum leases from Clearwire, people familiar with the matter said. The move would give the largest U.S. wireless carrier the right to use airwaves currently controlled by Clearwire in big markets in the U.S. It also further complicates a three-way series of deals in which Clearwire had agreed to sell itself to part-owner Sprint Nextel and Sprint agreed to sell a controlling stake in itself to Japan's Softbank. Verizon's offer, as well as Sprint's bid to buy the rest of Clearwire, highlights how the U.S.'s biggest carriers are trying to lock up the airwaves needed to carry fast-growing volumes of wireless data. It is unclear whether Verizon Wireless, which is a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group, has any ambitions with Clearwire beyond the spectrum purchase or how it might fit in with Sprint's agreement to buy the roughly 50% of Clearwire it doesn't already own. Clearwire said in the filing that it would evaluate the proposal and discuss it with "Party J" and Sprint. Any bid for Clearwire spectrum could face hurdles if Sprint doesn't approve. Sprint has a number of contractual rights that pose steep obstacles for any outsider trying to do a deal.
benton.org/node/149730 | Wall Street Journal
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METROPCS BOARD OK’s DEUTSCHE TELEKOM’S IMPROVED OFFER
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Saabira Chaudhuri]
MetroPCS Communications said its board has unanimously approved the amended terms of its proposed merger agreement with Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA. MetroPCS will reduce the combined company debt issued to Deutsche Telekom by $3.8 billion to $11.2 billion, a move the carrier said creates additional financial flexibility and significantly increases the combined company's equity value. Deutsche Telekom has agreed to lower the interest rate on the T-Mobile debt by half a percentage point. The amendment also extends the lock-up period for Deutsche Telekom-owned stock to 18 months from six. A shareholder vote on the proposed merger is scheduled for April 24. Now Deutsche Telekom's strategy is to strengthen T-Mobile through the MetroPCS merger, which would give it new customers and valuable rights to the airwaves. The merged entity's publicly traded stock could give Deutsche Telekom an avenue to sell down its stake in T-Mobile over time.
benton.org/node/149765 | Wall Street Journal
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SPRINT: DISH OR SOFTBANK?
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Kevin Fitchard]
Dish Network’s bid for Sprint presents Dan Hesse and Co. with an interesting choice. Analysts point out that Softbank has more than enough money to counter Dish’s $25.5 billion bid, but money aside Dish would make a much better strategic fit for Sprint. Softbank offers much-needed investment to the still struggling No. 3 U.S. wireless operator. But Dish doesn’t just bring cash; it’s got 4G spectrum and a huge pay TV network to boot. Informa Telecoms & Media Principal Analyst Mike Roberts lays out all of the advantages of a Sprint-Dish marriage: “First and most importantly, Dish could combine its 2GHz LTE spectrum with the LTE spectrum of Sprint and Clearwire to build one of the strongest LTE spectrum portfolios in US, which would be the foundation for a powerful new competitor in the US telecoms market. Second, using Sprint’s newly-modernized mobile network would give Dish a cost-effective way to deploy LTE in its 2GHz spectrum and meet the FCC’s rollout requirements. Third, if the deal goes ahead, Dish and Sprint could quickly offer TV, broadband and mobile bundles to compete more effectively with larger integrated telecoms players such as Verizon and AT&T.”
benton.org/node/149761 | GigaOm
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SPECTRUM RACE
[SOURCE: Quartz, AUTHOR: Gina Chon]
The last time there was a major auction for spectrum was 2008. So instead, mobile phone companies have been scrambling to buy existing spectrum from each other and from cable companies. Mobile phone companies have long complained that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) isn’t auctioning spectrum fast enough. But companies also have a lot of spectrum they aren’t fully using. And other tech firms like Google and Microsoft have lobbied for saving some wireless spectrum for mobile services that haven’t been invented yet. The FCC is trying to make more spectrum available, but wants to do it in a way that gives more people access to high speed internet. Next year, TV broadcasters will put spectrum up for sale in a complex arrangement and share in the proceeds with the government, which should help in the spectrum crunch. But the US Justice Department has warned the FCC that it shouldn’t let the two largest mobile phone carriers, Verizon and AT&T, dominate the auction, but that smaller carriers like T-Mobile and Sprint, which have also been scrambling for spectrum, should also have a shot. That has caused TV stations to worry that the spectrum sale could fail because companies that have the resources to bid, like Verizon, are being discouraged.
benton.org/node/149705 | Quartz
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SPRINT MARATHON
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Jonathan Soble]
Charlie Ergen’s move to snatch Sprint Nextel from the grasp of Japan’s Masayoshi Son has set the stage for a potential bidding war between strong-willed billionaires who have disrupted telecoms industries on two continents. Investors in Son’s SoftBank, however, are not keen to see the drama play out. Shares in SoftBank fell as much as 10 per cent on Tuesday after Dish Network, Ergen’s satellite TV operator, unveiled an unsolicited $25.5bn offer for Sprint, the third-largest US mobile phone provider with 46m subscribers. His bid trumped a $20.1bn offer for Sprint made by Son last October. Industry experts suggested that investors sold SoftBank stock, which closed down 6.8 per cent, not because they were worried the company would miss out on a lucrative acquisition opportunity. Rather, it was more likely that they feared Son would come back with a more generous offer – one that could stretch SoftBank’s finances and possibly lead to a dilutive issue of new shares.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/24810308-a674-11e2-bc0b-00144feabdc0.html
Ergen Serves Up Sprint on a Dish (Wall Street Journal)
benton.org/node/149784 | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal
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TELEVISION
CABLE BUNDLING
[SOURCE: New York Post, AUTHOR: Claire Atkinson]
It’s time to break up the bundle. Cable pioneer John Malone warned that the runaway cost of sports programming poses a threat to the pay-TV industry. Malone, who recently jumped back into the cable business with the $16 billion purchase of Virgin Media, said rising cable bills may be reaching the breaking point for consumers. He said it’s time for sports channels to be moved to a separate tier, allowing customers to decide whether to pay for them. “The sports guys may face reality that you may need to segregate your market like everyone else,” he said in an interview with CNBC. As cable and satellite-TV companies start to lose customers to Web-based viewing alternatives such as Netflix and Hulu, Malone predicted that sports programmers would shoulder the blame. “Some of the economics will be reflected back on the sports guys,” he said. The cost of sports programming continues to skyrocket, driven in part by advertiser demand for TiVo-proof programming. Cable and satellite-TV providers that agree to pay sports leagues big increases end up passing these costs on to their customers.
benton.org/node/149711 | New York Post
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BROADCASTING OWNERSHIP
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: John Hane]
[Commentary] I am perplexed that people actually believe it’s a good thing for the government to mandate that broadcasters be the underdogs in all major negotiations that affect the quality and availability of their programming. If anything, government policy should encourage broadcasters to grow to a scale that is meaningful in today’s complex television marketplace. Not one of the other major distributors makes its programming available for free. If independent broadcasters aren't permitted to achieve a scale large enough to negotiate effectively with upstream programmers and downstream distributors you won't long see high-cost, high-quality, high-value programming available for free to those who choose to opt out of the pay TV ecosystem. It’s much better to have two, three or four strong competitors in each market, owned by companies that can compete for rational economics in the upstream and downstream markets, than to have eight or more weak competitors, few of which can afford to invest in truly local service or negotiate at arms-length with suppliers and distributors. [John Hane is counsel in Pillsbury’s Communications practice group in Washington]
benton.org/node/149779 | TVNewsCheck
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CHILDREN & MEDIA
FACEBOOK AND AGs
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Hayley Tsukayama]
Facebook and 19 state attorneys general announced they’re joining forces to educate young people about the basics of online security. Maryland state attorney general Doug Gansler, currently the president of the National Association of Attorneys General, said the attorneys general and Facebook will distribute public service announcements outlining how teens and their parents can control online information on Facebook and across the Web. Facebook will post the announcements on its Facebook Safety page, while state attorneys general will do the same on their own Facebook pages and official Web sites. “We hope this campaign will encourage consumers to closely manage their privacy and these tools and tips will help provide a safer online experience,” Gansler said in a Facebook release. Facebook will also release a video answering top questions it has heard from teachers, parents and teens about online privacy, bullying and Internet safety. Those participating in the initiative will also distribute a tip sheet on what users can do to protect their online privacy. Privacy advocate Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy and a critic of Facebook’s past privacy efforts, said he was not that impressed with Facebook’s latest initiative.
benton.org/node/149729 | Washington Post | ABC News
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
5G WIRELESS
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Daniel Thomas]
Just weeks after the end of the long delayed auction of 4G spectrum, British policy makers are already turning to plans for the next generation of superfast mobile broadband that will be called, inevitably, 5G. Ofcom, the communications regulator, will this week launch an industry consultation about freeing radio frequencies for 5G internet services many times the speed and capacity of today’s best 4G networks. The early start to 5G planning signals determination by policy makers and industry to avoid the delays that have seen the UK fall behind many other developed countries in rolling out 4G services. It also reflects fears of a future capacity crunch in the airwaves as rapidly growing usage of mobile broadband devices, such as smartphones and tablet computers, increases pressure on networks.
benton.org/node/149771 | Financial Times
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NEED TO IMPROVE MOBILE NETWORKS
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Daniel Thomas]
There are few who can argue against the rapid increase in data use in most countries around the world. This has led to an urgent need to improve mobile networks so that they can withstand the sharp increase in demand for internet on the move, particularly given the emergence of mobile devices as the main means for internet access. Although 5G has different meanings for different countries and organizations, the term can generally be taken to mean the next generation of high-speed and ultra-reliable internet access that can accommodate data-heavy applications such as high-definition video, as well as other future technologies not yet developed.
Ubiquitous and high-speed 5G services could, according to industry experts, support always-connected mobile devices that host multiple applications from high-definition video streaming to navigation aids and social media. Better networks will also continue to underpin the growth of smartphone and tablet use, as well as applications such as mobile TV and gaming. Much of the innovation associated with 5G will be unseen by consumers, with devices simply better able to utilize constrained spectrum in a way that will not only improve services but reduce the environmental impact of doing so. So-called “machine to machine” communication will also become more important, with utilities hooked up to constantly updated national networks, household appliances able to talk to owners and health monitoring systems connected to local hospitals.
benton.org/node/149770 | Financial Times
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