BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016
Today’s busy agenda: https://www.benton.org/calendar/2016-04-19
INTERNET/BROADBAND
New data: Americans are abandoning wired home Internet
BTOP Quarterly Program Status Report, April 2016 - public notice
New E-Rate Toolkit Helps School Systems Meet Connectivity Needs With Fiber - press release
Municipal Broadband Debate: Should Broadband be Free?
Cost or Benefit? A Review of the Consumer Federation of America’s Report on Regulating Special Access Services - analysis
USDA Seeks Applications for Nearly $12 Million in Broadband Grants for Rural Communities - press release [links to Benton summary]
Remarks of Deputy Assistant Secretary Simpson at the NTCA 2016 Legislative and Policy Conference - speech [links to Benton summary]
A Simple Experiment Perfectly Illustrates How Fiber Optic Cables Work [links to Vice]
Broadband debate heats up at Minnesota Capitol [links to Minneapolis Star Tribune]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Sen Thune floats investigation on FCC leaks
Software Savings Bill Advances in House [links to nextgov]
Lobbyists and Corporations, Arm-in-Arm [links to Benton summary]
GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
FCC Commissioner Pai Letter to USAC Re Lifeline Program Abuse - press release
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Declaratory Ruling About Reimbursement of Pre-Auction Expenses - public notice
Demise of two-year cellphone contract stops many consumers from routine device upgrades [links to Wall Street Journal]
LABOR
Technology is helping Verizon ride out one of its biggest strikes ever
Three Paths to Update Labor Law for the Gig Economy [links to Information Technology and Innovation Foundation]
SECURITY/PRIVACY
CommLawBlog: What Can ISPs Do With YOUR Personal Information? The FCC Has Some Ideas … [links to CommLawBlog]
How the Senate encryption bill resembles Chinese law (and how it does not) [links to Defense One]
ITIF’s Castro: Fix Burr-Feinstein encryption bill by requiring companies to comply with lawful court orders when doing so is technically feasible [links to Hill, The]
Poll: Voters trust tech companies ahead of FBI on data security [links to Benton summary]
Your phone number is all a hacker needs to read texts, listen to calls and track you [links to Guardian, The]
Internet Security Attitudes: 57% More Concerned This Year, Survey Finds [links to telecompetitor]
Apple Gets Thousands of Requests From Law Enforcement, Transparency Report Shows [links to Wall Street Journal]
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
Campaigns Urged to Buy Minority Media [links to Benton summary]
How Facebook Could Tilt the 2016 Election [links to Benton summary]
Trump doesn't buy idea that Facebook would try to derail his campaign [links to CNNMoney]
CNN pursued Ivanka Trump for a network role [links to Washington Post]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
FirstNet seeing 'multiple different' possible carrier partners, won't delay RFP deadline anymore [links to Benton summary]
CONTENT
Supreme Court won’t hear case against Google Books
Verizon, Hearst Agree to Buy Complex Media [links to Benton summary]
Facebook advances new era in which information comes to you, no humans required
Amazon targets Netflix with standalone video sub [links to USAToday]
A toxic web: what the Victorians can teach us about online abuse [links to Guardian, The]
TELEVISION
Dish Sues Over Online Streaming Device [links to Benton summary]
Tech Policy Institute Fellow Scott Wallsten Slams Set-Top Proposal [links to Benton summary]
NAB President Smith: TV For All, Not Broadband For Some [links to Benton summary]
China Cracking Down on Children on Reality TV [links to Benton summary]
TELECOM
A purported nonprofit that allegedly benefitted from a massive landline phone bill cramming operation has agreed to turn over most of its assets in order to settle FTC charges [links to Federal Trade Commission]
ADVERTISING
How Will Facebook Make Money Off Live Video? Just Look at TV. [links to Revere Digital]
HEALTH
Remarks of FCC Commissioner Clyburn at 2016 California Telehealth Network Annual Summit - speech [links to Benton summary]
JOURNALISM
2016 Pulitzer Prizes: AP Wins Public Service Award; ‘Hamilton’ Is Honored [links to New York Times]
Journalism isn’t dying. But it’s changing WAY faster than most people understand. - WaPo analysis [links to Benton summary]
DIVERSITY
Campaigns Urged to Buy Minority Media [links to Benton summary]
In Romania, Vestiges of Communism Boost Women in Tech [links to Vice]
This Week We’re Exploring Gender Inequality in Tech—Starting With Ourselves (Vice) [links to Vice]
Automation Was Supposed to Liberate Women. What Happened? [links to Vice]
POLICYMAKERS
Amanda Bennett to Serve as Director of the Voice of America - press release [links to Benton summary]
COMPANY NEWS
Silicon Valley’s Legendary ‘Coach’ Bill Campbell Has Died [links to Revere Digital]
IBM inks video deals with AOL, CBC, more; debuts quality live-stream over ‘commodity’ Internet [links to TechCrunch]
Amazon may Sell E-Books to New York City’s Schools [links to Wall Street Journal]
Verizon, Hearst Agree to Buy Complex Media [links to Benton summary]
Facebook advances new era in which information comes to you, no humans required
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Europe Tried to Rein In Google. It Backfired. [links to Benton summary]
EU’s Google Probe Focuses on Preloaded Apps [links to Benton summary]
China Cracking Down on Children on Reality TV [links to Benton summary]
In Romania, Vestiges of Communism Boost Women in Tech [links to Vice]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
NEW DATA: AMERICANS ARE ABANDONING WIRED HOME INTERNET
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
For the most part, America's Internet usage trends can be summed up in a few phrases. The Internet is now so common as to be a commodity; the rich have better Internet than the poor; more whites have Internet than do people of color; and, compared with low-income minorities, affluent whites are more likely to have fixed, wired Internet connections to their homes. But it may be time to put an asterisk on that last point, according to new data on a sample of 53,000 Americans. In fact, Americans as a whole are growing less likely to have residential broadband, the figures show: They're abandoning their wired Internet for a mobile-data-only diet — and if the trend continues, it could reflect a huge shift in the way we experience the Web. The study, which was conducted for the Commerce Department by the US Census Bureau, partly reaffirms what we already knew. Low-income Americans are still one of the biggest demographics to rely solely on their phones to get online. In 2016 nearly one-third of households earning less than $25,000 a year exclusively use mobile Internet to browse the Web. That's up from 16 percent of households falling in that category in 2013. But even people with higher incomes are ditching their wired Internet access at similar or even faster rates compared with people who don't earn as much. In 2013, eight percent of households making from $50,000 to $75,000 a year were mobile-only. Fast-forward a couple years, and that figure now stands at 18 percent. Seventeen percent of households making from $75,000 to $100,000 are mobile-only now, compared with eight percent two years ago. And 15 percent of households earning more than $100,000 are mobile-only, versus six percent in 2013. Stepping back a bit, as many as one in five U.S. households are now mobile-only, compared with one in 10 in 2013. That's a doubling in just two years. This suggests that having only one form of Internet access instead of two may no longer be explained simply as the result of financial hardship — as might be the case for lower-income Americans — but could be the product of a conscious choice, at least for wealthier people, who are deciding that having both is unnecessary.
benton.org/headlines/new-data-americans-are-abandoning-wired-home-internet | Washington Post
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BTOP QUARTERLY PROGRAM STATUS REPORT
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications & Information Administration, AUTHOR: ]
Pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) provides this Quarterly Report on the status of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP or Program). This Report focuses on the Program’s activities from July 1 to September 30, 2015. The Recovery Act appropriated $4.7 billion for NTIA to establish BTOP to increase broadband access and adoption; provide broadband access, training and support to schools, libraries, healthcare providers, and other organizations; improve broadband access to public safety agencies; and stimulate demand for broadband. In 2009 and 2010, NTIA invested approximately $4 billion in 233 BTOP projects and $293 million in 56 State Broadband Initiative (SBI) projects benefitting every state, as well as five territories and the District of Columbia. As of September 30, 2015, nine projects remained in active status, and 271 projects had completed their project activities.
benton.org/headlines/btop-quarterly-program-status-report-april-2016 | National Telecommunications & Information Administration
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NEW E-RATE TOOLKIT HELPS SCHOOL SYSTEMS MEET CONNECTIVITY NEEDS WITH FIBER
[SOURCE: Consortium for School Networking, AUTHOR: Press release]
A new toolkit will give school system leaders the guidance to leverage the expanded fiber connectivity opportunities in the federal E-rate program. Produced by the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, Maximizing K-12 Fiber Connectivity Through E-Rate: An Overview comes at a time when schools are feeling a bandwidth crunch. A recent CoSN survey revealed that 68 percent of district technology officers believe their school systems do not have the bandwidth to meet their district’s connectivity demands in the next 18 months. K-12 broadband demands, meanwhile, are growing at an annual rate of more than 50 percent. The toolkit comprises three parts:
Part One, which provides an overview of the E-rate program and the types of fiber eligible through the program. Through case studies, it also shares how three school systems managed their fiber connectivity challenges.
Part Two, which describes important considerations for schools to assess their options. It also includes an additional case study that details how a school district’s E-rate reimbursement for a fiber “self-build” could support wider fiber build-out.
Part Three, which issues a call to action for school systems to begin taking measurable steps toward deciding on and making effective use of today’s fiber connectivity options.
“Communities across the nation need world-class Internet access. The expanded options for fiber network construction allowed under E-rate make it particularly important for school, municipal and county leaders to coordinate with one another,” said David Talbot, a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and co-author of the toolkit.
benton.org/headlines/new-e-rate-toolkit-helps-school-systems-meet-connectivity-needs-fiber | Consortium for School Networking
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MUNICIPAL BROADBAND DEBATE: SHOULD BROADBAND BE FREE?
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Bernie Arnason]
[Commentary] The municipal broadband debate often centers on the role municipal governments should play in delivering broadband to its citizens. Many municipals are entering the broadband access business by building and operating their own networks. Others are building public-private partnerships and inviting private broadband access providers to work in concert with them for better broadband. Danbury (CT) is adding an interesting twist to this debate, by suggesting a public-private municipal broadband service should lead to free broadband service. The concept, according to a Danbury News Times report, would have a private broadband service provider build and operate a broadband network that offers a minimum 20 Mbps service. The service would be offered for $15/month for five years, then drop to $5/month for an additional five years. The service would then become free. The idea is this approach would pay for the network and the eventual ‘free’ access will prevent a digital divide, as well as bring economic development to the region. At least that’s how Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton sees it. “After five years, because the infrastructure will be built out, it will go down to $5 a month, and then five years after that the rate should go down to zero,” Mayor Boughton said. “It will be self-sustaining with new enrollees.” The Connecticut city is conducting a phone survey of its citizens to gauge interest. Mayor Boughton says that at least 50% of the city’s 50,000 residents need to support the concept for it to work.
benton.org/headlines/municipal-broadband-debate-should-broadband-be-free | telecompetitor
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PHOENIX CENTER REPORT
[SOURCE: Phoenix Center, AUTHOR: George Ford]
In this perspective, I provide a detailed review of the Consumer Federation of America’s attempt to calculate a “big number” in the context of the Federal Communications Commission’s development of a new regulatory scheme for special access services. CFA’s claim is based on a method that is internally inconsistent, economically unsound, and computationally flimsy. Justifiable changes in CFA’s assumptions results in multi-billion dollars reductions in economic output and the method leads to ridiculous policy prescriptions. Is there market power in special access markets? Perhaps. But poorly crafted and clumsily implemented efforts to measure revenue changes are entirely unhelpful. What the Commission needs to know is how to properly define market power in these markets, “how much” market power there is, and if the answer is “a lot,” then what regulations, if any, can be designed and implemented that will make society better off.33 Thus far, the Commission and the advocates for more regulation have no reasonable plan. By far, however, the most critical misunderstanding in the Commission’s thinking is its failure to trace out the implications of its choice for market definition. If special access services are sold in markets defined as individual customers, then there is countervailing market power. Economic theory indicates that regulation cannot improve economic welfare under such conditions. Nevertheless, the Commission, the alleged “expert” agency, blindly proceeds to develop regulations incompatible with its own characterization of special access services.
benton.org/headlines/cost-or-benefit-review-consumer-federation-americas-report-regulating-special-access | Phoenix Center
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
SEN THUNE FLOATS INVESTIGATION ON FCC LEAKS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Mario Trujillo]
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) is asking the Federal Communications Commission to investigate any employee misconduct in the hours ahead of a hectic meeting in March, where the agency approved rules to offer Internet subsidies to low-income Americans. Chairman Thune expressed concern that agency officials might have leaked nonpublic information in an attempt to thwart a last-minute agreement between three commissioners — two Republicans and one Democrat — to change FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's proposal ahead of the vote. "Does the commission plan to investigate who leaked information about the deliberations, pursuant to commission rules? If not, why not?" Chairman Thune asked in a four-page letter sent to Chairman Wheeler April 15. The agency should "consider this letter a complaint requiring an investigation," according to Chairman Thune. A spokesperson for Chairman Wheeler said the agency had received the letter but had no further comment on a potential investigation.
benton.org/headlines/sen-thune-floats-investigation-fcc-leaks | Hill, The
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
DECLARATORY RULING ABOUT REIMBURSEMENT OF PRE-AUCTION EXPENSES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public notice]
In this Declaratory Ruling, we determine that the Spectrum Act’s reimbursement mandate encompasses “costs reasonably incurred” prior to the close of the auction that otherwise are eligible for reimbursement. We take this action in order to remove uncertainty regarding the eligibility of expenses incurred before and during the auction for reimbursement. Of course, only stations that ultimately are reassigned to a new channel in their pre-auction band in the repacking process will be eligible for reimbursement of such expenses, which will be subject to the same reimbursement process as postauction expenses. By allowing broadcasters to get a jump start on the relocation process, this Ruling will promote a rapid, non-disruptive transition following the broadcast television spectrum incentive auction.
benton.org/headlines/declaratory-ruling-about-reimbursement-pre-auction-expenses | Federal Communications Commission | Broadcasting & Cable
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LABOR
TECH IS HELPING VERIZON RIDE OUT ONE OF ITS BIGGEST STRIKES EVER
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
Verizon's worker strike is about to enter its second week as tens of thousands of employees, outraged about the telecommunication company's efforts to outsource jobs and redeploy labor from one part of the country to another, remain on the picket line. But a decision Verizon made at least two years ago to cut the human out of many customer interactions is blunting some of the strike's effects, company executives say. The technology-driven shift — from hold music and long wait times toward instant, digital self-service — could give Verizon a greater ability to withstand one of the biggest walk-offs in company history. And that may have implications for continuing negotiations between union leaders and management. In 2014, about 1 in 5 customer service interactions was resolved by customers themselves using Verizon's website or its interactive phone menus, Senior Vice President Tami Erwin said. The figure covers home network and router troubleshooting, as well as requests ranging from billing inquiries to bundling upgrades.
benton.org/headlines/technology-helping-verizon-ride-out-one-its-biggest-strikes-ever | Washington Post
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CONTENT
SUPREME COURT WON'T HEAR CASE AGAINST GOOGLE BOOKS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Mario Trujillo]
The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the Authors Guild alleging that Google Books infringes upon writers' copyrighted works. The high court’s decision not to hear the case means the lower court decision in favor of Google remains in place. Last October, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Google’s project falls within the limits of fair use. The news could finally shut the door on the case brought by a series of authors who sued over the decade-old project. Google, which makes digital copies of books picked out by major libraries and allows the public to search and view snippets online, estimated it could be out billions if it lost the case. Lower courts had ruled that Google's project falls within the limits of fair use because the works are meaningfully transformed and the project does not offer the public a meaningful substitute to buying the book. The 2nd Circuit Court ruled Google’s search function is a transformative use of the works and it expands the public’s knowledge. The court also ruled that Google’s profit motivations do not exclude it from fair use protections.
benton.org/headlines/supreme-court-wont-hear-case-against-google-books | Hill, The | Public Knowledge
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MESSENGER BOTS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jennifer Van Grove]
Facebook now wants to expand your social circle in its messaging app, Messenger, beyond friends to include chatbots, which are designed to shop, search and generally just get things done for you. "It's not completely weird for people 35 or younger to interact with machines," said EMarketer analyst Yory Wurmser. "The freakout factor is gone." Though seemingly unfriendly, chatbots, or bots for short, are just software systems that simulate conversations. And, thanks to your smartphone, you probably already encounter a handful of different bots every day, as Wurmser suggested. Take Apple's Siri, Google Now or Amazon's Alexa, the virtual assistant that powers the e-commerce giant's Echo device. Other bots are even more commonplace, say automated text messages confirming a package shipment.
benton.org/headlines/facebook-advances-new-era-which-information-comes-you-no-humans-required | Los Angeles Times
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GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
PAI LETTER TO USAC RE LIFELINE PROGRAM ABUSE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai]
I seek your aid in combating the waste, fraud, and abuse that has riddled the Universal Service Fund's Lifeline program since wireless resellers began participating in this program in earnest in 2009. The Federal Communications Commission's recent investigation of Total Call Mobile revealed much about the dubious practices of the industry. American taxpayers deserve to know that the money they contribute each month to the Fund is not wasted or put to fraudulent use. Therefore, I request that the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) provide the following information to my office:
For each of the four Lifeline wireless resellers named by Total Call Mobile sales agents, a description of any investigations, audits, or reviews that USAC has conducted.
A list tof any and all Lifeilne wireless resellers that overrode the safeguards of the NLAD more than 500 times between October 2014 and the present, noting the number and type of such overrides.
An explanation of USAC's plan for reviewing, auditing, and investigating eligibility documentation retained by Lifeline wireless reselleers since Feb 17, 2016.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-commissioner-pai-letter-usac-re-lifeline-program-abuse | Federal Communications Commission
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