Prince, an Artist Who Defied Genre [a story too sad for one Headline, please follow link to coverage]
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2016
Sneak peek at next week’s agenda https://www.benton.org/calendar/2016-04-24--P1W
AGENDA
FCC To Hold Open Meeting April 28, 2016 - public notice
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Broadband Data Caps Pressure ‘Cord Cutters’
Roku CEO: How the FCC’s ‘Set-Top Box’ Rule Hurts Consumers [links to Wall Street Journal]
Sec John Kerry Remarks at the Global Connect Initiative Event - speech
Digital Dividends - research
Unprecedented Collaboration among Development Partners to Improve Infrastructure Implementation - press release
WiredWest: a Cooperative of Municipalities Forms to Build a Fiber Optic Network - research
DIGITAL INCLUSION
National Digital Inclusion Alliance Names The City Of Seattle’s David Keyes The Charles Benton Digital Equity Champion - press release
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Smartphones could transform our response to homelessness - op-ed
How the FCC’s massive airwaves auction will change America — and your phone service [links to Verge, The]
How To Create a New 5G Mobile System in Just Four Years [links to International Telecommunication Union]
The rise of the $400 smartphone—you want how much for a flagship? [links to Ars Technica]
Viacom, Dish Reach Carriage Agreement [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
OWNERSHIP
$32.5 Million From "New Charter" For Digital Inclusion In California: A National Model? - NDIA [links to Benton summary]
Consumer Watchdog Seeks FTC Action Against Google [links to Benton summary]
Univision Buys Out Disney’s Stake in Fusion [links to New York Times]
TELEVISION
Comcast’s bid to kill the cable box is good for consumers — and for Comcast [links to Benton summary]
Roku CEO: How the FCC’s ‘Set-Top Box’ Rule Hurts Consumers [links to Wall Street Journal]
NCTA: We'll Sue If FCC Set-Top Box Proposal Stands [links to Benton summary]
Video Streaming Habits: 65% of TV OTT Viewing is Spent Using Subscription VOD [links to telecompetitor]
PRIVACY
Internet provider trade groups ask for more time for privacy comments [links to Benton summary]
SECURITY
FBI paid more than $1.3 Million to hack terrorist’s iPhone [links to Benton summary]
The National Coordinating Center for Communications: The Cell Phone-Monitoring Agency You've Never Heard Of [links to nextgov]
Energy bill gives DOE greater power to fight grid hackers [links to Hill, The]
Homeland Security Wants Government To Get Better at Mobile Security [links to nextgov]
Editorial: Weakening the security of our devices in the name of fighting terrorism doesn't make us safer [links to Los Angeles Times]
EDUCATION
White House Fact Sheet: Advancing Active STEM Education for Our Youngest Learners - press release [links to Benton summary]
Facebook's TechPrep hits the road to reach kids [links to USAToday]
LABOR
Uber Settles Cases With Concessions, but Drivers Stay Freelancers [links to New York Times]
Sen Rubio: Politicians Dont' Talk Enough About Tech Jobs [links to Benton summary]
DC travel trends show power of telecommuting [links to Washington Post]
TaskRabbit joins Black Caucus effort to boost tech industry diversity [links to Benton summary]
PR Is The Field in Tech That Is Totally Dominated By Women [links to Vice]
HR Comes Last at Startups, and Women Pay the Price [links to Vice]
BROADCASTING
With young people trading AM/FM for streaming, will radio find a home in your next car? [links to Benton summary]
ADVERTISING
Bureau of Consumer Protection: Keeping Up with the Online Advertising Industry [links to Federal Trade Commission blog]
Google is funding screenplays that change the image of computer science [links to CNNMoney]
Digital Advertising Revenue Jumped 20% in 2015, According to IAB Report [links to AdWeek]
Google parent Alphabet sees a worrisome slowdown in online advertising [links to Washington Post]
CONTENT
Online Media Is Tested When Social Platforms Come to Town [links to New York Times]
PATENTS
Public Knowledge Urges Supreme Court to Protect Consumer Ownership Rights in Patent Case [links to Public Knowledge]
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
Trump’s Media Makeover Game [links to Media Matters for America]
$1.2 billion has been raised already in the 2016 race. The general election is in 201 days. [links to Washington Post]
Zuckerberg, Facebook increasingly in political spotlight [links to Hill, The]
JOURNALISM
Rethinking the mission and purpose of local reporting - Steve Gray
Local journalism matters more than ever - Radio Television Digital News Association speech [links to Benton summary]
In Defense of the First Amendment - press release [links to Benton summary]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Redesigning We the People - White House press release [links to Benton summary]
POLICYMAKERS
Reid Fears Career of FCC’s Rosenworcel Will End Prematurely
Sen Reid Expected to Push GOP on Rosenworcel Vote [links to Benton summary]
From Uber to Eric Schmidt, tech is closer to the US government than you'd think
The Federal Communications Commission: Current Structure and Its Role in the Changing Telecommunications Landscape - research
COMPANY NEWS
Verizon Said to Start Talks for Bonds Backed by Mobile Phones [links to Bloomberg]
YouTube, Advanced Technology, And The "Billion-People Problem" [links to Fast Company]
Verizon warns strike could hit earnings [links to Hill, The]
Zuckerberg, Facebook increasingly in political spotlight [links to Hill, The]
Google parent Alphabet sees a worrisome slowdown in online advertising [links to Washington Post]
Uber Settles Cases With Concessions, but Drivers Stay Freelancers [links to New York Times]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Apple No Longer Immune to China’s Scrutiny of US Tech Firms
Facebook and Twitter hit by EU kids rules -- Social networks will need parental consent for users under 16 [links to Financial Times]
US reluctant to change data pact after EU watchdogs' concerns [links to Reuters]
Documents Reveal Inner-Workings of UK's Spying Databases [links to Vice]
AGENDA
FCC TO HOLD OPEN MEETING APRIL 28, 2016
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public notice]
The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on the subjects listed below on Thursday, April 28, 2016:
Transition from TTY to Real-Time Text Technology: The FCC will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks comment on proposals to support real-time text communications over Internet Protocol communications networks, to improve the accessibility of these networks for consumers who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, and speech disabled.
Business Data Services in an Internet Protocol Environment; Investigation of Certain Price Cap Local Exchange Carrier Business Data Services Tariff Pricing Plans (WC Docket No. 15- 247); Special Access for Price Cap Local Exchange Carriers (WC Docket No. 05-25); and AT&T Corporation Petition for Rulemaking to Reform Regulations of Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier Rates for Interstate Special Access Services (RM- 10593): The FCC will consider a Tariff Investigation Order and a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing a new regulatory framework for the provision of business data services. Amendment of the Commission's Rules with Regard to Commercial Operations in the 3550-3650 MHz Band (GN Docket No. 12-354): The FCC will consider an Order on Reconsideration and a Second Report and Order that will finalize rules for the innovative spectrum sharing regime it created for making 150 megahertz available in the 3.5 GHz band.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-hold-open-meeting-april-28-2016 | Federal Communications Commission
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
BROADBAND CAPS AND CORD CUTTERS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Thomas Gryta, Shalini Ramachandran]
Data limits once seemed like a problem confined to smartphones. But millions of Americans are facing them in their living rooms as their home Internet providers require them to ration Web usage or pay surcharges. That is a threat to Netflix and video upstarts that depend on broadband to deliver their service. Fearful of crossing data limits, some customers say they are canceling the streaming services, including Netflix, Sling TV and Sony PlayStation Vue. Many have complained about it to federal regulators: Consumer complaints to the Federal Communications Commission about data caps rose to 7,904 in the second half of 2015 from 863 in the first half. As of mid-April, this year’s total was 1,463.
benton.org/headlines/broadband-data-caps-pressure-cord-cutters | Wall Street Journal
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SEC KERRY REMARKS AT THE GLOBAL CONNECT INITIATIVE EVENT
[SOURCE: Department of State, AUTHOR: Sec John Kerry]
I’m very grateful, very pleased to see so many ministers of finance, presidents of multilateral development banks, and NGO, others here, because your presence really underscores a fundamental truth, and it’s pretty simple: The Internet is essential to economy prosperity in the 21st century. As President Barack Obama said in 2015, the Internet is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. So when we talk about infrastructure today, we have to include the Internet, right alongside roads and ports and bridges and dams and airports and power grid. And that’s why I want this morning to urge every single one of you who are making decisions about investment and making budget decisions and making decisions about allocation of capital, please think deeply about the long-term contributions that increased connectivity produces. This is really mostly common sense – not even a revelation – but it, nevertheless, takes effort to create a critical mass and to move people. To turn an enormous tanker around, as we know, it takes a while. According to a report that was released by the World Bank, for every 10 percent increase in broadband access, a developing country can see up to 2 percent increase in GDP. Now, none of this is headline news. But here’s the fact: We are not – we are still not taking full advantage of the – of all of the advantages that connectivity – all the opportunities that connectivity affords. And I want to say to you – and we’re not doing it by a long shot. That’s the irony. Out of every five people in the world, there remain three without internet access in 2016. It’s unacceptable. And in the poorest countries the figure can top 95 percent. With that reality in mind, in 2015, the State Department launched the Global Connect Initiative precisely to bring at least an additional 1.5 billion people online by 2020. And this initiative has three interrelated goals: One, to encourage finance ministers to make Internet access central to all development and growth initiatives. Two, to work in cooperation with multilateral development institutions in order to double public and private lending for connectivity and digital technologies. And three, to harness the knowledge, skills, and resources of the tech community itself to implement solutions for high-speed, affordable broadband access.
benton.org/headlines/sec-john-kerry-remarks-global-connect-initiative-event | Department of State
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DIGITAL DIVIDENDS
[SOURCE: World Bank, AUTHOR: Uwe Deichmann, Deepak Mishra]
Digital technologies have spread rapidly in much of the world. Digital dividends—that is, the broader development benefits from using these technologies—have lagged behind. In many instances, digital technologies have boosted growth, expanded opportunities, and improved service delivery. Yet their aggregate impact has fallen short and is unevenly distributed. For digital technologies to benefit everyone everywhere requires closing the remaining digital divide, especially in internet access. But greater digital adoption will not be enough. To get the most out of the digital revolution, countries also need to work on the “analog complements”—by strengthening regulations that ensure competition among businesses, by adapting workers’ skills to the demands of the new economy, and by ensuring that institutions are accountable.
benton.org/headlines/digital-dividends | World Bank
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UNPRECEDENTED COLLABORATION AMONG DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS TO IMPROVE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPLEMENTATION
[SOURCE: World Bank, AUTHOR: Press release]
The inaugural Global Infrastructure Forum 2016 brings together for the first time the leaders of the multilateral development banks (MDBs) -- African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank Group, Islamic Development Bank, New Development Bank, and the World Bank Group – as well as development partners and representatives of the G20, G24, and G77, to enhance multilateral collaborative mechanisms to improve infrastructure delivery globally. The Forum is organized in close partnership with the United Nations. Infrastructure plays a critical role in growth, competitiveness, job creation, and poverty alleviation. Yet increasing access to basic infrastructure services remains a critical challenge in developing countries. Sixty percent of the world’s population lacks Internet access, while 1.2 billion people in the world still live without electricity. At least one-third of the world’s rural people are not served by an all-weather road. Addressing the infrastructure gap requires a boost in investment including better leveraging of private investment, but also better governance, capacities, and improving efficiency to get more from existing spending on infrastructure.
benton.org/headlines/unprecedented-collaboration-among-development-partners-improve-infrastructure | World Bank | Global Connect Initiative
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WIREDWEST: CO-OP OF MUNICIPALITIES FORM TO BUILD FIBER NETWORK
[SOURCE: Berkman Center for Internet & Society, AUTHOR: David Talbot, Waide Warner, Susan Crawford]
WiredWest is a legal cooperative of 31 western Massachusetts towns that has put forward a detailed proposal to provide “last-mile” high-speed Internet access connections to homes and businesses in a rural region suffering from poor Internet access. The project has encountered delays in obtaining approvals and funding from a state agency called the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI), which is responsible for providing $50 million in subsidies to solve the region’s Internet access problems. In this case study, we detail how WiredWest plans to finance the construction of a state-of-the-art fiber optic network and then operate and provide services over that network. WiredWest has already secured deposits in the amount of $49 from more than 7,100 pre-subscribers, developed a financial model, and drafted an operating agreement. It has taken a regional approach to spread risk and achieve economies of scale, making the model nationally relevant. The WiredWest cooperative network would connect to an $89.7 million “middle-mile” fiber optic network built by MBI to connect community institutions such as libraries, schools, hospitals, and government buildings in 45 towns considered “unserved” (because they lack any cable service), plus 79 other towns that had partial or full Internet access services. While the middle-mile network was meant to be the starting point for last-mile networks serving homes and businesses, at the time of this report’s publication, only one of the 45 unserved towns, Leverett, had built such a network. WiredWest would extend fiber’s benefits to a far wider region. So far 24 of WiredWest’s member towns have authorized borrowing a total of $38 million and most of those towns support going forward as part of WiredWest. Under the plan, they will pay about two-thirds of the network’s costs. To cover the remainder, they will need to receive a portion of the $50 million in available subsidies. But at the time of this report MBI had tabled any decision on the project amid a wider review of the last-mile program by the administration of Gov Charlie Baker (R-MA).
benton.org/headlines/wiredwest-cooperative-municipalities-forms-build-fiber-optic-network | Berkman Center for Internet & Society | Susan Crawford Op-Ed
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DIGITAL INCLUSION
NDIA NAMES SEATTLE'S DAVID KEYES THE CHARLES BENTON DIGITAL EQUITY CHAMPION
[SOURCE: National Digital Inclusion Alliance, AUTHOR: Angela Siefer]
The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) has named David Keyes, the Digital Equity Manager for the City of Seattle (WA), as the first recipient of the Charles Benton Digital Equity Champion Award. Named for Charles Benton, the founder of the Benton Foundation, the award was created by NDIA to recognize leadership and dedication in advancing digital inclusion: from promoting the ideal of accessible and affordable communications technology for all Americans, to crafting programs and policies that make it a reality. The award will be presented on May 18, 2016 at Net Inclusion: The National Digital Inclusion Summit, by Adrianne B. Furniss, Executive Director of the Benton Foundation. In nearly 20 years of public service in Seattle, David Keyes has used data to document community needs and direct programs, been committed to racial and social justice, and built a movement over time by engaging local elected officials, businesses, education partners, and community organizations in solutions. Seattle recently unveiled a new Digital Equity Action Plan. NDIA’s Director, Angela Siefer states, “In 1997 David was appointed Seattle’s Community Technology planner and within a couple of years he was a leading figure nationally in the movement we then called 'community technology'. Despite being busy leading the City of Seattle’s model digital equity programs, David continually lends his leadership skills and thoughtful guidance to state and national efforts. NDIA is proud to award David the first Charles Benton Digital Equity Champion Award.” “Charles Benton dedicated his life to ensuring everyone, especially the most vulnerable, have affordable access to the communications tools and the skills required to fully participate in our society,” said Benton’s Furniss. “David Keyes embodies that dedication."
benton.org/headlines/national-digital-inclusion-alliance-names-city-seattles-david-keyes-charles-benton-digital | National Digital Inclusion Alliance | For More Details
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
SMARTPHONES COULD TRANSFORM OUR RESPONSE TO HOMELESSNESS
[SOURCE: American Enterprise Institute, AUTHOR: Kevin Corinth]
[Commentary] At a time when technology is disrupting so many aspects of our lives, from the way we communicate to the way we get around, our approaches to homelessness remain stubbornly resistant to change. Indeed, in San Francisco (CA) — home to some of the most forward-looking innovators in the world — a disturbing number of people still sleep on the streets. This resistance to change has taken a major human toll, but fortunately, there is a cheap tool that could turn the tide: the smartphone. Smartphones offer a way to bridge the gap between the needs of the homeless and the services that are available to them. Imagine if every homeless person had a smartphone, and he or she provided daily data on his or her health, happiness, income, family connections, use of services, and where he or she slept each night. And now imagine that a team of researchers, data scientists, and formerly homeless people had real-time access to that data. These researchers could try delivering all sorts of interventions to individuals via their smartphones — for example, cash deposits in online bank accounts for taking positive actions, or referrals to particular service providers. The team could then track the results in real time using the data they receive. And as they learned what interventions work best for which people, they could be charged with actually implementing and refining them as people’s situations change and as they tested even more innovative ideas.
benton.org/headlines/smartphones-could-transform-our-response-homelessness | American Enterprise Institute
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JOURNALISM
RETHINKING THE MISSION AND PURPOSE OF LOCAL REPORTING
[SOURCE: MediaReset, AUTHOR: Steve Gray]
[Commentary] How do you define the mission and purpose of local reporting? Cover the news? Hold institutions accountable? Maintain a well-informed citizenry? Hold up a mirror to the community?Search around the Web for statements of journalism’s purpose and you’ll find all of the above, and more like them. And there’s a lot of anxiety these days about the present and future of this mission. With local advertising and circulation revenues spiraling steadily downward, and with newsrooms shrinking along a parallel line, two things are evident. Whatever the mission of local reporting is: 1) A lot less of it is happening now. 2) Even less will be happening in the future. In many places in this business, the central question these days is: How can we drive revenue from new sources, so we can keep supporting the functions of journalism that are critical to a free society. I think the facts call for a different conclusion — one that local media companies are ignoring to their great peril. That conclusion: We’re not producing the right content, or at least not nearly enough of it. If we were producing content that large numbers of people felt they really needed every day, we wouldn’t be losing our audience. So we need to start with a different question. Not, “How do we fund journalism?” but “What is the content that local people really want and need?
benton.org/headlines/rethinking-mission-and-purpose-local-reporting | MediaReset
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POLICYMAKERS
SEN REID FEARS CAREER OF FCC'S ROSENWROCEL WILL END PREMATURELY
[SOURCE: Morning Consult, AUTHOR: Amir Nasr]
On April 21, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) bemoaned how long it has taken Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to schedule a confirmation vote for Federal Communications Commission Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel for her second term at the agency. “I spoke with him yesterday on the telephone, again urging him to move her forward and he said to me, ‘We’ll do it next year,’” Minority Leader Reid said in a floor speech. “Next year, she’s out of a job. Her term expires at the end of this year. Her career will basically be over because of my accepting my counterpart’s word.” Minority Leader Reid’s speech served as an opportunity for him to air his grievances about false promises. He said he felt offended by a “personal affront.” The Nevada Democrat spoke of how Majority Leader McConnell has promised for a few years that the Senate would vote to confirm Commissioner Rosenworcel. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler applauded Minority Leader Reid’s call to confirm Commissioner Rosenworcel. “I was pleased to see Senator Reid’s comments today on the floor,” Chairman Wheeler said in a statement. “Jessica Rosenworcel is an integral part of this Commission and should be confirmed. All nominees, no matter their party affiliation, deserve an up or down vote.”
benton.org/headlines/reid-fears-career-fccs-rosenworcel-will-end-prematurely | Morning Consult | Wheeler's Statement
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TECH AND THE GOVERNMENT
[SOURCE: The Guardian, AUTHOR: Danny Yadron]
Technology companies face a delicate balancing act as they are forced to expand overseas to grow. In the US, Silicon Valley, like any industry, has embraced and relied on close relationships with former government officials both for technical talent and to help grease the wheels as they confront regulatory issues. The fact these connections are so accepted illustrates how tech’s leaders – even amid current fights over encryption and surveillance – are still seen as mostly US firms that back up American values.
benton.org/headlines/uber-eric-schmidt-tech-closer-us-government-youd-think | Guardian, The
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CRS REPORT ON FCC STRUCTURE
[SOURCE: Congressional Research Service, AUTHOR: Patricia Moloney Figliola]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent federal agency with its five members appointed by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate. It was established by the Communications Act of 1934 (1934 Act) and is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. The mission of the FCC is to ensure that the American people have available—at reasonable cost and without discrimination—rapid, efficient, nation- and world-wide communication services, whether by radio, television, wire, satellite, or cable. Although the FCC has restructured over the past few years to better reflect the industry, it is still required to adhere to the statutory requirements of its governing legislation, the Communications Act of 1934. The 1934 Act requires the FCC to regulate the various industry sectors differently. Some policymakers have been critical of the FCC and the manner in which it regulates various sectors of the telecommunications industry—telephone, cable television, radio and television broadcasting, and some aspects of the Internet. These policymakers, including some in Congress, have long called for varying degrees and types of reform to the FCC. Most proposals fall into two categories: (1) procedural changes made within the FCC or through congressional action that would affect the agency’s operations or (2) substantive policy changes requiring congressional action that would affect how the agency regulates different services and industry sectors. For FY2017, the FCC has requested a budget of $358,286,000, all derived from regulatory fees collected by the agency. This request is $25,726,497 less than the FY2016 funding of 384,012,497. Part of the FY2016 budget, $44,168,497, was specifically made available for expenses associated with moving to a new facility or reconfiguring the existing facility space to reduce space consumption and associated budget costs. For FY2017, the FCC requested $16,866,992 for that same purpose.
benton.org/headlines/federal-communications-commission-current-structure-and-its-role-changing | Congressional Research Service
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
APPLE IN CHINA
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Paul Mozur, Jane Perlez]
Apple’s iBooks Store and iTunes Movies were shut down in China, just six months after they were started there. Initially, Apple apparently had the government’s approval to introduce the services. But then a regulator, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, asserted its authority and demanded the closings, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “We hope to make books and movies available again to our customers in China as soon as possible,” an Apple spokeswoman said. The about-face is startling, given Apple’s record in China. Unlike many other American tech companies, Apple has succeeded in introducing several new products — like its mobile payments system Apple Pay — in China recently. New resistance from the Chinese government to that expansion could potentially hurt the company. To a degree more than many tech companies, Apple relies on the smooth operation of its software — including its App Store and services like iTunes, which are tightly integrated with the iPhone and iPad — to keep customers coming back to its devices. Apple, which is facing a slowdown in sales of its iPhones, is also reliant on China for growth, so further moves by Beijing to curtail services could crimp sales.
benton.org/headlines/apple-no-longer-immune-chinas-scrutiny-us-tech-firms | New York Times
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