For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
SPECTRUM
Nextel Ready to Kill Spectrum Agreement
TELECOM
News from ALTS Conference
2004 Biennial Review of Telecommunications Regulations
BROADBAND
$190 Million To Support Rural Broadband Access
NCTA: Steady as Broadband Goes
COPYRIGHT
Strengthen Digital Copyright Protections
Entitled to Entertainment?
QUICKLY
Lie, and the Voters Will Believe
PBS Wins More Webby Awards
Chief of FTC to Resign; Bush Selects a Successor
For Valenti, an Impressive Cast
Judge Ties Antispammer's Hands
SPECTRUM
NEXTEL READY TO KILL SPECTRUM AGREEMENT
Nextel may walk away from the "Consensus Plan" to solve its interference=20
problems with public safety officials. The problem is that the FCC seems to=
=20
be favoring giving Nextel spectrum at 2.1 GHz instead of the 1.9 GHz it=20
asked for. =93My responsibility to Nextel=92s shareholders requires that=
Nextel=20
obtain comparable value in any returning
transaction: 2.1 GHz does not meet that test,=94 Nextel President Timothy=20
Donahue wrote FCC Chairman Powell. =93Nextel cannot and will not accept that=
=20
result.=94 Mr. Donahue accused proponents of the 2.1 GHz plan, led by the=20
Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, of trying to gain a=20
competitive advantage at Nextel=92s expense: =93The sole goal of the 2.1 GHz=
=20
advocates is to decrease competition and inflict damage on Nextel by=20
manipulating the proceeding to force Nextel to accept
=97 at great cost =97 inferior replacement spectrum.=94 Public safety=
officials=20
are fearful a solution will be reached if Nextel walks away from the deal.=
=20
Nextel contends that at higher frequencies, signals don't travel as far,=20
and existing cellular equipment cannot be used.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Howard Buskirk]
(Not available online)
WP: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19027-2004May11.html
TELECOM
NEWS FROM ALTS CONFERENCE
The Association for Local Telecommunications Services is holding a=20
conference this week. FCC Commissioner Michael Copps told the audience=20
that the FCC should have four telecom priorities the next few months: 1)=20
appealing the U.S. Appeals Court ruling on the Triennial Review Order, 2)=20
continuing to urge negotiations that preserve competition, 3) resolving=20
intercarrier compensation and 4) stopping the =93mindless=94 process of=20
broadband reclassification. Although the next likely Chairman of the Senate=
=20
Commerce Committee, Sen Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), prefers fewer hearings and=
=20
more industry meetings to developing telecom reform, an aide to Senate=20
Communications Subcommittee ranking Democrat Daniel Inouye (Hawaii) favors=
=20
a more open process soon after the next Congress convenes.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Edie Herman, Terry Lane, Susan=20
Polyakova]
(Not available online)
2004 BIENNIAL REVIEW OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATIONS
Everyone loves a quick review of FCC rules, so let's start another round.=20
The FCC is in the process of conducting its comprehensive 2004 biennial=20
review of telecommunications regulations to "determine whether any such=20
regulation is no longer necessary in the public interest as the result of=20
meaningful economic competition between the providers of such=20
service." The Commission is directed by law to repeal or modify any such=20
regulations that it finds are no longer in the public interest. The=20
Commission is seeking suggestions from the public as to what rules should=20
be modified or repealed as part of the 2004 biennial review. [All those in=
=20
favor of current regulations move to the back of the bus.] Comments are due=
=20
July 12; reply comments due August 11. For more information, see the URL=20
below and/or contact:
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau: Jeffrey Tignor, (202) 418-0774,=20
Jeffrey.Tignor( at )fcc.gov=09
Enforcement Bureau: Suzanne Tetreault, (202) 418-7450,=20
Suzanne.Tetreault( at )fcc.gov
International Bureau: David Krech, (202) 418-7443, David.Krech( at )fcc.gov=09
Office of Engineering & Technology: Karen Rackley, (202)=20
418-2431, Karen.Rackley( at )fcc.gov
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau: Harry Wingo, (202) 418-1783,=20
Harry.Wingo( at )fcc.gov
Wireline Competition Bureau: Vickie Robinson, (202) 418-2732,=20
Vickie.Robinson( at )fcc.gov
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-105A1.doc
BROADBAND
$190 MILLION TO SUPPORT RURAL BROADBAND ACCESS
Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman last week announced, as part of the=20
Bush Administration=92s effort to expand the availability of broadband=20
technology in rural areas, the approval of 20 rural broadband and=20
telecommunication loans totaling $190 million to expand access to advanced=
=20
technology in 19 states. Sec Veneman announced in January 2003 that USDA=20
would expand efforts to bring farmers, rural residents and businesses=20
greater access to improved telecommunication technology through loans and=20
loan guarantees to rural telecommunications providers. Funds for the=20
program were authorized through the 2002 Farm Bill. To date, over $206=20
million in broadband loans have been approved in this program. The rural=20
broadband access program provides loans and loan guarantees for the=20
construction, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equipment for=
=20
broadband service in eligible rural communities. Priority is given to=20
applications that are proposing to serve areas where no residential=20
broadband service currently exists. Of the $190 million announced today,=20
$150 million resulted from funding available through the 2002 Farm Bill.=20
The remaining $40 million in loans announced came from Rural Development=92s=
=20
traditional telecommunications program. Borrowers are required under the=20
traditional telecommunication loan program to ensure that all=20
infrastructure built include broadband capability. Since the beginning of=20
the Bush Administration, the traditional program has provided $2.0 billion=
=20
in funding, providing over 771,000 rural homes and businesses with access=20
to high speed broadband connections.
A list of loan recipients is available at=20
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rd/newsroom/2004/BBLoanRecipients.html
[SOURCE: Department of Agriculture Press Release]
http://www.usda.gov/Newsroom/0180.04.html
NCTA: STEADY AS BROADBAND GOES
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association told the FCC that its=20
deployment of broadband services, driven by the deregulation of the=20
Telecommunications Act of 1996, has continued at a "reasonable and timely"=
=20
pace. NCTA argued for a continued light regulatory touch which means rules=
=20
mandating nondiscriminatory access to unaffiliated Internet service=20
providers. By the end of the year, cable modem service will be available to=
=20
91% of all homes passed by cable (cable passes 95% of US homes). But only=20
50% of homes pay for Internet service and just one-third of those homes=20
subscribe to broadband services, so adoption is seriously trailing=20
deployment. NCTA characterizes the rollout as "one of the greatest success=
=20
stories" of the 1996 Act. Not so, argues Mark Cooper, of the Consumer=20
Federation of America: "If it's a success, there is no reason to forbear=20
regulation of nondiscrimination of interconnection," he says. "It's a=20
success compared to what? There are lots of people concerned about the=20
higher levels of penetration in Japan, Korea and Canada." While asking for=
=20
a continued light hand in most regulatory departments, NCTA did ask the=20
commission to wield a big stick to keep utility companies from engaging in=
=20
anticompetitive practices when it comes to their control of the "poles,=20
ducts and conduits" that are the broadband rights-of way.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton ]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA416776?display=3DBreaking+News
(requires subscription)
See Also:
NCTA WARNS ABOUT POLE-ACCESS FIGHTS
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA416668?display=3DBreaking+News
(requires subscription)
COPYRIGHT
STRENGTHEN DIGITAL COPYRIGHT PROTECTIONS
Congress should act to restore the rights of consumers to use digital=20
materials, such as DVDs and CDs in ways protected by traditional copyright=
=20
law, three major consumer groups will say today. In joint testimony to the=
=20
House Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee the groups,=20
Public Knowledge, Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America=20
will endorse legislation (H.R. 107) sponsored by Reps. Rick Boucher (D-VA)=
=20
, John Doolittle (R-CA) and House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton=20
(R-TX), that would correct some parts of the 1998 Digital Millennium=20
Copyright Act. Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge,=
=20
and Chris Murray, legislative counsel for Consumers Union, will testify at=
=20
the hearing. The legislation, the =93Digital Media Consumers=92 Rights Act=
of=20
2003,=94 would require CD makers to label their products to let consumers=20
know of any technical restrictions or limitations on their use. The bill=20
would also make clear some of the fair use exemptions that would allow=20
consumers to circumvent copy protections if no copyright violations were=20
involved. Murray will say that =93copyright law is being abused to shut out=
=20
competition in everything from garage door openers to printer=20
cartridges. The law is broken, and this bill is a significant first step=20
towards putting it back on track.=94 Mark Cooper, research director of the=
=20
Consumer Federation of America, will add, =93The American consumer is=
driving=20
the digital transition. Consumers' rights that the Boucher bill would=20
restore are essential to this transition both as a matter of principal and=
=20
as a matter of encouraging a market climate that supports technological=20
innovation and economic vibrancy.=94
=93No consumer should purchase a CD only to be surprised that it does not=20
play on his or her computer or CD player. The DMCRA will create an=20
informed marketplace where competition among new CD formats can prosper=20
without consumer confusion,=94 the groups said.
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge Press Release]
http://www.publicknowledge.org/
ENTITLED TO ENTERTAINMENT?
The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection tomorrow=
=20
is expected to hear testimony on the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act=20
(DMCRA), a bill intended to amend the Digital Millennium Copyright Act=20
(DMCA). In "Entitled to Entertainment? The Digital Media Consumers' Rights=
=20
Act," former Cato scholar Clyde Wayne Crews Jr. and Adam Thierer, Cato=20
director of telecommunications studies, wrote in January 2003: "The extent=
=20
to which government stands in the way of private efforts to protect content=
=20
via copy protection controls or licensing schemes is a violation of=20
creator's rights, not a violation of free speech for someone who intends to=
=20
make a duplicate. Government ought not interfere with such experimentation=
=20
by discouraging copy-protection schemes (or by mandating them, as Hollywood=
=20
and the record companies would prefer)."
[SOURCE: Cato Institute, AUTHOR: ]
http://www.cato.org/tech/tk/030113-tk.html
QUICKLY
LIE, AND VOTERS WILL BELIEVE
University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey shows that=
=20
people believe the claims made in political advertising while they remain=20
unaware of candidates' true positions on issues. The campaigns may get=20
around to advertising what they really stand for "but only if they run out=
=20
of fantasies about what the other guy stands for," Clymer concludes.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Adam Clymer, the political director of the=
=20
National Annenberg Election Survey]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/12/opinion/12CLYM.html
(requires registration)
See more about the importance of political advertising.
THE SHRUM FACTOR
[SOURCE: MediaChannel, AUTHOR: Rory O'Connor]
http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert193.shtml
THE SUBSIDIZED SOAPBOX
"Sen. John McCain (R-AZ.) would like nothing better than to load fall TV=20
schedules with election-year obligations, including quotas for political=20
coverage and free ad time for federal candidates," according to a recent=20
Broadcasting & Cable article. In "The Subsidized Soapbox: Senator McCain's=
=20
Free Airtime for Politicians Bill," Cato scholars John Samples and Adam D.=
=20
Thierer wrote in August of last year: "Sen. McCain wants to control the=20
editorial discretion of broadcasters to solve problems that do not exist.=20
His free airtime proposal has no place in a market-driven digital media age=
=20
wherein broadcasters give consumers the programs they want and plenty of=20
news alternatives exist for citizens who desire more political information.=
=20
Why does Sen. McCain have the right to force Americans to watch what he=20
deems good for us?"
[SOURCE: Cato Institute, AUTHOR: John Samples and Adam D. Thierer]
http://www.cato.org/tech/tk/030818-tk.html
PBS WINS MORE WEBBY AWARDS
For the fourth time, pbs.org has earn Webby Award as the best TV site on=20
the Web. With this win, pbs.org has won more TV category Webby prizes than=
=20
any other broadcast or cable network. In addition, the PBS Web site P.O.V.:=
=20
Borders won a Webby in the competition=92s Broadband category and PBS KIDS=
=20
Online won a Webby People=92s Voice Award, which is voted on by the public.=
=20
Hailed as =93the online Oscars=94 by Time Magazine, The Webby Award is the=
=20
leading international honor for Web sites. [SOURCE: PBS Press Release]
CHIEF OF FTC TO RESIGN; BUSH SELECTS A SUCCESSOR
Timothy J. Muris said on Tuesday that he had decided to step down this=20
summer as chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. Chairman Muris led the=
=20
agency in its popular crusade against telemarketers, creating a "do not=20
call" registry and then successfully defending it from court challenges=20
brought by the industry. The registry enables consumers to block=20
solicitations by registering their phone numbers."He came with a strong=20
ideological conservative bent and surprised everyone by steering a course=20
that reflected the bipartisan tradition of the Federal Trade Commission,"=20
said Gene Kimmelman, a senior director at Consumers Union. "He avoided=20
partisan rancor. While he wasn't particularly aggressive in antitrust=20
enforcement, he responded to public concern on the 'do not call' list. And=
=20
he preserved the consumer protection function of the agency." President=20
Bush had selected Deborah P. Majoras, a former top antitrust official at=20
the Justice Department, to succeed Chairman Muris. Ms. Majoras was the #2=20
official in the antitrust diving of the Dept of Justice and was=20
instrumental in negotiating the government's settlement with Microsoft=20
which has faced some criticism. She was also involved in a proposal to give=
=20
up the FTC's antitrust authority over mergers of media companies to the=20
Justice Dept. After some controversy, that proposal was scuttled.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Stephen Labaton]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/12/business/12ftc.html
(requires registration)
WSJ:=20
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108431384156908563,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
WP: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18959-2004May11.html
LATimes:=20
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-muris12may12,1,537546...
ory?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
FOR VALENTI, AN IMPRESSIVE CAST
A glimpse at the influence long-time Motion Picture Association of America=
=20
head Jack Valenti wields was on display last night at the first of many=20
retirement parties for the 82 year-old lobbyist.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ann Gerhart]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19686-2004May12.html
(requires registration)
JUDGE TIES ANTISPAMMER'S HANDS
Scott Richter, the self-professed "Spam King" and president of e-mail=20
marketing company OptIn has won a temporary restraining order to prevent=20
SpamCop, an antispam operation, from interfering with messages sent by=20
OptIn. SpamCop has been collecting complaints from Internet users about=20
unwanted e-mail and uses that information to list the offending Internet=20
Protocol addresses used to send the messages. OptIn claims that SpamCop is=
=20
interfering with his business [isn't that the point?] and causing his=20
Internet service providers to block his company's e-mail. OpIn also charges=
=20
SpamCop with not disclosing the identity of people who complain about its=20
e-mail, thereby aiding potential violations of the Can-Spam Act, which=20
requires the removal of people from future mailings if they so choose. The=
=20
case is in a Northern California District Court which will reconvene later=
=20
this month.
"More troubling is what this means for the individuals who submit=20
complaints to SpamCop with the expectation that SpamCop will not reveal=20
their e-mail addresses to the people they are accusing of spamming," said=20
Anne Mitchell, CEO of the think tank Institute for Spam and Internet Public=
=20
Policy. "This is, after all, a private enterprise, not a branch of the=20
government and certainly not a court of law, and there is no right to=20
confront your accuser in this arena."
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Stefanie Olsen]
http://news.com.com/2100-1024_3-5210518.html?tag=3Dnefd.top
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service=20
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through=20
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,=20
policy issues, and other related news events. Headlines are compiled by=20
Kevin Taglang (headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------