For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
BROADCASTING & TELEVISION
Wireless Broadband Services Using Vacant TV Channels
Speeding the DTV Transition
FCC Indecency Rules Harming Adults and Children
How Big Can Comcast Grow?
TV Ratings, Minorities and a Study in Futility
Minority Media & Telecommunications Council Opposes a la Carte
Satellite Broadcasting & Communications Association to Stations: Use It or=
=20
Lose It
TELECOM
Bush Doesn't Want Telecom Win to Backfire
Telecom Rules Are Proposed
About 2.6 Million U.S. Consumers Move Phone Numbers
QUICKLY
FEC Declines to Curb Independent Fund-Raisers
Court Takes Gag off Antispam Service
BROADCASTING & TELEVISION
WIRELESS BROADBAND SERVICES USING VACANT TV CHANNELS
In an initiative to increase the use of radio spectrum to provide greater=20
service to the American public, the FCC Thursday proposed to allow=20
unlicensed devices to operate in the broadcast television spectrum at=20
locations where the spectrum is not in use by television stations. In=20
order to ensure that no interference is caused to TV stations and their=20
viewers, the Commission proposed to require unlicensed devices to=20
incorporate "smart radio" features to identify unused TV channels. These=20
proposals advanced by the Commission are intended to allow the development=
=20
of new and innovative types of unlicensed broadband devices and services=20
for businesses and consumers by utilizing vacant spectrum that is=20
particularly well suited for these purposes. Due to the physics of signal=
=20
propagation, transmissions in the TV band can travel farther and can better=
=20
penetrate into buildings than transmissions in the spectrum where existing=
=20
unlicensed wireless broadband operations are permitted. As a result,=20
allowing unlicensed operations in the TV bands could benefit wireless=20
Internet service customers by extending the service range of current=20
providers' (WISPs) existing operations, particularly in rural and=20
underserved areas. The Commission believes that by carefully tailoring=20
this initiative to protect incumbent television service, it provides a=20
balanced proposal for the American public, for WISPs and for television=20
station operators. These proposals also have the potential to provide=20
benefits to broadcasters as well, as they may facilitate the provision of=20
interactive TV services.
The proposal does not come without opposition. "We have serious concerns=20
that the introduction of unlicensed devices into the television band could=
=20
result in unforeseen interference in broadcast service to millions of=20
television viewers," said National Association of Broadcasters President=20
Edward Fritts. "Someone could start making money in a way we did not think=
=20
of," added Benton's Headlines editor.
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-247169A1.doc
See coverage by:
Reuters:=20
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=3DinternetNews&storyID=3D5...
71&pageNumber=3D0
B&C: http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA417287?display=3DBreaking+Ne=
ws
Multichannel News:=20
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA417186?display=3DBreaking+News
New America Foundation/Media Access Project Press release in support of=
action:
http://www.mediaaccess.org/press/NAFMAP_Release51304.pdf
WSJ:=20
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108448269759511064,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
LATimes:=20
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-fcc14may14,1,4647583....
y?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
SPEEDING THE DTV TRANSITION
The New America Spectrum Policy team has released an issue brief outlining=
=20
the organization's proposal to speed the transition from analog to digital=
=20
television technology. The New America plan calls for 1) ending analog=20
broadcasts and returning spectrum by January 1, 2008, 2) allocating=20
returned spectrum for public safety, licensed and unlicensed use, 3)=20
scheduling spectrum auctions for the licensed portion for 2006, 4) using a=
=20
fraction of auction revenue to subsidize consumers switch to digital TV=20
(either set-top convertors, new digital TV sets or cable/satellite boxes),=
=20
5) beginning digital must carry on January 1, 2008 and 6) translating=20
broadcasters' public interest obligations to the digital environment. The=20
"producer subsidy" program adopted by the FCC is the 1990s is not working,=
=20
the authors conclude; it is time to try a "consumer subsidy" program.
[SOURCE: New America Foundation, AUTHOR: J.H. Snider and Michael Calabrese]
http://www.newamerica.net/Download_Docs/pdfs/Pub_File_1575_1.pdf
FCC INDECENCY RULES HARMING ADULTS AND CHILDREN
Creative, original, challenging, controversial, non-homogenized decent and=
=20
appropriate programming, already in short supply on television, is severely=
=20
endangered by the FCC=92s overly-broad, vague new indecency rules, write=20
Center for Creative Voices in Media (CCVM) Executive Director Jonathan=20
Rintels and CCVM Advisory Board Member Peggy Charren, the founder of Action=
=20
for Children=92s Television, in a May 11th letter to FCC Chairman Michael=20
Powell asking that the Commission reconsider its new indecency rules. The=20
letter notes the new, significantly expanded regulation of creative content=
=20
by the FCC, as articulated in its Golden Globes decision on Bono=92s=20
impromptu use of the F-word and the support of the new policy on the=20
grounds that it is necessary to protect =AD and in the best interests of --=
=20
America=92s children. But the Golden Globes =91cure=92 for indecent=
programming=20
is proving worse than the disease, the letter states. It goes too far and=20
is by no means the least restrictive alternative available for the problem=
=20
of indecent programming. It does not serve the public=92s interest =AD=20
including the interest of America=92s children -- in a vibrant and diverse=
=20
media.
See a link to the letter at the URL below.
[SOURCE: Center for Creative Voices in Media]
http://www.creativevoices.us/php-bin/news/showArticle.php?id=3D85&PHPSES...
=3D2bcc8a60ce5c18e364c5b47a9d8f230f
HOW BIG CAN COMCAST GROW?
A coalition of consumer groups led by the Media Access Project has asked=20
the FCC to block any acquisitions by cable giant Comcast until a cable=20
ownership cap has been decided. The FCC is required by law to set a cap for=
=20
cable ownership, but has been lax in doing so. Schwab Capital Markets=20
analyst Paul Gallant, former media aide to FCC Chairman Powell and an=20
architect of the FCC=92s broadcast media ownership rules, said media=20
consolidation issues are less predictable at the FCC than they used to be.=
=20
=93But I anticipate the Commission would approve a Comcast-Adelphia merger,=
=20
subject to compliance with its ultimate decision on a new cable cap. It=20
could be difficult for the mergers=92 opponents to establish consumer harm=
=20
through a 5% increase in Comcast=92s size.=94 An underlying issue is=20
programming. Does the size of Comcast or rival Time Warner create any=20
impediments to programming reaching an audience? The industry argues "no"=20
because of competition from satellite. Consumer groups disagree; they say=20
cable has a stranglehold over program distribution.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Brigitte Greenberg]
(Not available online)
TV RATINGS, MINORITIES AND A STUDY IN FUTILITY
More than a month after announcing the creation of a task force to=20
investigate complaints about the way it plans to gather local television=20
ratings, Nielsen Media Research has yet to appoint a single task force=20
member. Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY) has sent the company a list of=20
about 50 people who have expressed interest in serving on the task force,=20
many of them blacks and Hispanics working in the advertising and media=20
industries. Nielsen is claiming that the company has nothing to do with the=
=20
task force and is awaiting appointments by Rep Rangel.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Raymond Hernandez]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/14/business/media/14nielsen.html
(requires registration)
MINORITY MEDIA & TELECOMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL OPPOSES A LA CARTE
In a letter to key Members of Congress, including House Commerce Committee=
=20
Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX), ranking member John Dingell (D-MI), and Senate=
=20
Commerce Chairman John McCain (R-AZ), Minority Media & Telecommunications=20
Council Executive Director David Honig said that a requirement that cable=20
systems offer their service a la Carte, with subscribers able to build=20
their own lineups, would hurt diversity. "By locking in the current channel=
=20
lineup and locking out new multicultural channels," he said, "a la carte=20
would unintentionally deprive the next generation of viewers of a broad=20
spectrum of programming and opinions." He pointed out in the letter that=20
since the cable industry is using the same argument against a la carte,=20
i.e. that it would disadvantage the multicultural channels on their=20
systems, they should pledge to make sure that their basic and expanded=20
basic tiers include "channels provided by minority-controlled companies and=
=20
feature channels provided by companies that embrace diversity in their=20
workforces."
See MMTC statement at http://mmtconline.org/pr/MMTCalacarte.pdf
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA417180?display=3DBreaking+News
(requires subscription)
SATELLITE BROADCASTING & COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION TO STATIONS: USE IT OR=
=20
LOSE IT
Speaking at a Media Institute luncheon audience in Washington, Richard=20
DalBello, the new president of the Satellite Broadcasting & Communications=
=20
Association, told broadcasters that satellite operators would like to=20
borrow the customers broadcasters are serving with digital TV signals. The=
=20
satellite industry wants to secure the right to import HDTV signals in=20
markets where subscribers can't get a similar signal from a local=20
broadcaster. Broadcasters oppose the move. The proposal is one change Mr.=20
DalBello would like to see in the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act=20
moving through Congress, although he admitted the change is unlikely to be=
=20
made.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA417256?display=3DBreaking+News
(requires subscription)
TELECOM
BUSH DOESN'T WANT TELECOM WIN TO BACKFIRE
Could local phone competition become a 2004 Presidential election issue?=20
The Bush campaign hopes not. FCC Chairman Powell has a victory of sorts=20
when a federal appeals court threw out FCC rules that required the Baby=20
Bells to lease their local phone system to rivals at cut-rate prices (the=20
rules were passed without his support). But absent those rules, the baby=20
Bells are looking to raise the rates they charge competitors and those=20
companies are likely to pass those rate hikes on to consumers. Now, the=20
Republican majority at the FCC, as well as Michael Gallagher, the Commerce=
=20
Department's acting assistant secretary for communications and information,=
=20
are applying intense pressure to the nation's biggest phone companies to=20
quickly reach a resolution that keeps a lid on rates short-term. It also=20
would avoid a Supreme Court appeal that would prolong the uncertainty.=20
"They don't want a war within the Republican majority of the FCC, an=20
advertising fight between the Baby Bells and their rivals or, worst of all,=
=20
telephone prices going up," says Mark Cooper, research director for the=20
Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit group in Washington. "Any of=20
these has a political cost."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: AnneMarie Squeo=20
annemarie.squeo( at )wsj.com]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108448745878411279,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
(requires subscription)
TELECOM RULES ARE PROPOSED
For four years, California Public Utilities Commission Chairman Carl Wood=20
has been trying to adopt a telecom consumer bill of rights to protect=20
Californians against questionable practices by telephone companies. The=20
proposal has been tweaked a number of times to gain a majority on the PUC=20
and a final version of the proposal was to be voted on May 27. But two=20
commissioners, one who had been seen as supporting Chairman Wood's=20
proposal, have offered alternative plans late in the game that put the bill=
=20
of rights in jeopardy.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:James S. Granelli]
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-telecom14may14,1,6813...
story?coll=3Dla-headlines-pe-business
ABOUT 2.6 MILLION U.S. CONSUMERS MOVE PHONE NUMBERS
Roughly 2.6 million U.S. consumers have moved their telephone number=20
between wireless carriers or between a wireless phone and a home telephone=
=20
since November.
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=3DSPJGDKWF5FRYYCRBAE...
Y?type=3DtechnologyNews&storyID=3D5138540
FCC release:=
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-247162A1.doc
WSJ: 'Portability' Hasn't Boosted Churn, FCC Official Says
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108447278806210811,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_marketplace
QUICKLY
FEC DECLINES TO CURB INDEPENDENT FUND-RAISERS
Just when you thought soft money was out of elections, the Federal Election=
=20
Commission has decided to let it back in. 527 committees, named for the=20
section of the tax code that covers them, can continue to raise and spend=20
money in the 2004 election after the FEC refused to put spending limits on=
=20
these independent political groups. Campaign finance experts called the=20
commission's decision its most significant one so far concerning a sweeping=
=20
new campaign finance law enacted by Congress in 2002. The law banned=20
federal candidates and national political parties from collecting soft=20
money, which grew into the hundreds of millions and was a primary source of=
=20
support in the last presidential race. "The commission has failed to close=
=20
a loophole that dangerously undermines the purpose of the federal campaign=
=20
finance laws," said Sens John McCain (R-AZ) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) in a=20
joint statement. "As a result, a flood of soft money will enter the system=
=20
which will violate the letter and the spirit of the law."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: ]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/14/politics/campaign/14fec.html
(requires registration)
WP: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24033-2004May13.html
WSJ:=20
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108446576670510669,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
COURT TAKES GAG OFF ANTISPAM SERVICE
U.S. District Court Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong has rescinded a temporary=
=20
restraining order against antispam operation SpamCop, in an early blow to a=
=20
case brought by self-professed "Spam King" Scott Richter. SpamCop may again=
=20
transmit complaints it receives about Mr. Richter's OptIn (and its=20
subsidiaries, divisions, companies, etc.) to ISPs.
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Stefanie Olsen ]
http://news.com.com/2100-1024_3-5212233.html?tag=3Dnefd.top
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Have a great weekend; we'll be back on Monday.
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