For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE FCC?
FCC Takes Next Steps to Promote Digital TV Transition
Comment Sought On Rule Changes for The Emergency Alert System
Tivo Gets Nod for Users to Share Digital Shows
FCC Takes Action To Protect Wireless Subscribers From Spam
FCC Actions Promoting Homeland Security
-Outage Reporting
-FCC: Net Phone Calls Must Be Able to Be Tapped
-Also see EAS proceeding above
Broadcast Localism Proceeding Extended
FCC Adopts Further Measures to Safeguard the E-rate Program
VoIP
Internet Phoning
AT&T Pushing Cable-Modem a la Carte
LONG DISTANCE
So Long to Long-Distance?
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE FCC? (The FCC held an open meeting Wednesday,
here's a look at what was decided)
FCC TAKES NEXT STEPS TO PROMOTE DIGITAL TV TRANSITION
The FCC adopted a Report and Order ("Order") that implements several steps
necessary for the continued progress of the conversion of the nation's
television broadcast system from analog technology to digital television
(DTV). The order addresses the transition by: 1) Commencing an open channel
election process in November 2004 that will provide certainty to the
marketplace and ultimately result in a Final DTV Table of Allotments; 2)
Establishing firm deadlines for digital stations to increase their power
levels to serve additional viewers or lose interference protection to the
un-served areas; 3) Requiring broadcasters to include PSIP information in
their digital broadcast signals, thus promoting closed captioning, v-chip,
channel numbering, and other functionality; 4) Eliminating, for now, the
simulcasting requirement to permit the transmission of additional
innovative programming on broadcast digital channels; 5) Clarifying digital
closed captioning rules in order to ensure that those services are
consistently and effectively delivered; and 6) Mandating that, after an
18-month transition period, all digital television receivers contain v-chip
functionality that will permit the current TV ratings system to be modified.
Media Bureau staff contacts: Eloise Gore and Rick Chessen at (202)
418-7200, TTY: (202) 418-7172
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250542A1.doc
Also see
Broadcasting & Cable:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA442509?display=Breaking+News
TVWeek: http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=6040
COMMENT SOUGHT ON RULE CHANGES FOR THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM
The FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) concerning the
Emergency Alert System (EAS), seeking comment on how EAS can be improved to
be a more effective mechanism for warning the American public of an
emergency. The action stems in part from recommendations of the Media
Security and Reliability Council (an FCC Advisory Committee), and the
Partnership for Public Warning. The Commission has already begun - and
will continue throughout this proceeding - to coordinate carefully with the
Department of Homeland Security and its component, FEMA and the Department
of Commerce and its component, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's National Weather Service. These Federal partners will be
active participants in the proceeding. In addition, the Commission seeks
participation of state and local emergency planning organizations as well
as all communications industries involved in alert and warning.
EAS shortcomings became apparent during the September 2001 attacks. Despite
the enormity of the attacks, the system was not activated. In fact, EAS was
designed as a failsafe way for the President to communicate with Americans
following a nuclear attack or other national catastrophe, but has never
been implemented for its original purpose. Currently broadcasters'
participation in local alert programs is voluntary and the FCC wants input
on making participation mandatory.
Enforcement Bureau Contacts: Suzanne Tetreault at (202) 418-7450 and James
Dailey at (202) 418-1199. EB Docket No. 04-296
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250534A1.doc
Also see
Broadcasting & Cable:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA442500?display=Breaking+News
TIVO GETS NOD FOR USERS TO SHARE DIGITAL SHOWS
The FCC voted to certify digital protections on TiVoToGo, which is not yet
available but would enable a user to record and send a digital broadcast
television show to up to nine other registered people who have a key
allowing them to see it. The approval came despite concerns by the Motion
Picture Association of America and the National Football League about the
risks of unfettered distribution of copyrighted shows and illegally airing
sports games outside of authorized markets. In addition to approving TiVo's
application, the FCC certified 12 other technologies proposed, including
ones by software giant Microsoft, Sony, and RealNetworks for protecting
distribution of digital television broadcasts. The agency said it did not
adopt limits on where the content could be sent because the proposed
technologies "employ different combinations of device limits, interactive
authentication and affinity-based mechanisms to restrict distribution."
TiVo plans to launch a version of TiVoToGo this fall that would allow users
to transfer recorded shows to a home computer but has not said when it
would launch its version that would allow shows to be shared outside the home.
Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn said, "By approving all the
technologies submitted for certification, including TiVo, the FCC has
ensured that the market, rather
than special interests, will play a greater role in determining the level
of protection for TV content."
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=RXCGRVKDU43VICRBAE0C...
FCC News Release:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250532A1.doc
Also see:
* TVWeek
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=6044
* LATimes
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-tivo5aug05,1,5865253....
* USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040805/6427067s.htm
* FCC Approves Content Protection Systems
The FCC today approved 13 content protection technologies under its new
broadcast flag rules for digital television (DTV), including a
controversial proposal by TiVo. TiVo's system would allow consumers to view
recorded programs from any of 9 devices they register. Under the flag
rules, DTV receivers sold after July 2005 will have to include one of the
approved technologies to protect programs from indiscriminate
redistribution online. Today's approvals were a victory for consumers, but
concerns remain about the use of the flag rules to stifle innovative new
uses of television in the digital age.
All Eyes on TiVo: The Broadcast Flag and the Internet
http://www.cdt.org/copyright/20040726tivoflag.pdf
CDT's Broadcast Flag Introduction:
http://www.cdt.org/copyright/broadcastflag/introduction.shtml
Implications of the Broadcast Flag: A Public Interest Primer
http://www.cdt.org/copyright/031216broadcastflag.pdf
[SOURCE: Center for Democracy and Technology]
(http://www.cdt.org)
FCC TAKES ACTION TO PROTECT WIRELESS SUBSCRIBERS FROM SPAM
The FCC has taken action to protect consumers from receiving unsolicited
commercial messages on their wireless phones and pagers. The action
implements the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and
Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM Act or Act). The Commission adopted a
general prohibition on sending commercial messages to any address
referencing an Internet domain associated with wireless subscriber
messaging services. To assist the senders of such messages in identifying
those subscribers, the Commission required that commercial mobile radio
service (CMRS) providers submit those domain names to the Commission for
inclusion in a list that will be made publicly available. No individual
subscriber addresses will be collected or included on this list. It also
clarified the delineation between these new rules implementing the CAN-SPAM
Act, and the existing rules concerning messages sent to wireless telephone
numbers under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250522A3.doc
For additional coverage see
*New.com
http://news.com.com/Wireless+spam+draws+regulators%27+wrath/2100-1028_3-...
* Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41009-2004Aug4.html
* NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-telecoms-spam.html
FCC ACTIONS PROMOTING HOMELAND SECURITY
During the FCC's monthly open meeting today, Linda Blair, Deputy Chief of
the Commission's Homeland Security Policy Council, gave an overview of FCC
actions in support of homeland security over the past year. Shortly after
September 11, Chairman Powell made Homeland Security one of the six pillars
of the Commission's Strategic Plan. Since that time, Homeland Security has
been an area of significant focus for the Commission. Its Homeland
Security goals are to develop policies that enhance the reliability and
security of the industries it regulates and ensure rapid recovery in the
event of disruption, to help ensure effective public safety communications,
and to promote the evolution of new technologies that support Homeland
Security. The Commission has adopted a number of rules changes to promote
Homeland Security and re-established the Media Security & Reliability
Council and Network Reliability & Interoperability Council to partner with
the industry and maximize adoption of Best Practices to ensure the security
and reliability of telecommunications and media networks.
For more, see http://www.fcc.gov/homeland/http://www.fcc.gov/homeland/
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250521A1.doc
The FCC also adopted new rules requiring wireless, wireline, cable, and
satellite telecommunications providers to report information electronically
to the Commission about significant disruptions or outages to their
communications systems.
See http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250543A1.doc
FCC: NET PHONE CALLS MUST BE ABLE TO BE TAPPED
By a vote of 5-0, the FCC said "voice over Internet protocol," or VoIP,
providers should be subject to the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law
Enforcement Act, which ensures that law enforcers will be able to keep up
with changing communications technologies. "Our tentative conclusion, while
correct, is expressly limited to the requirements of the CALEA statute and
does not indicate a willingness on my part to find that VoIP services are
telecommunications services," Powell said at a commission meeting.
Commercial "push to talk" services offered by wireless providers like
Nextel Communications should also be subject to CALEA, the FCC ruled. The
ruling on "push to talk" services is final, but the FCC will accept further
public comments before making its ruling on VoIP final.
[SOURCE: Reuters]
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=IEDGSCWNQMETCCRBAELC...
See the FCC press release at
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-250547A3.doc
* Statement of NTIA Director Michael D. Gallagher
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/2004/calea_08042004.html
* NYTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/technology/05phone.html
BROADCAST LOCALISM PROCEEDING EXTENDED
Not on FCC agenda, but released yesterday: On July 1, 2004, the FCC
initiated a proceeding, seeking comment from the public on how broadcasters
are serving the interests and needs of their communities; whether the
Commission needs to adopt new policies, practices, or rules designed to
promote localism in broadcast television and radio; and what those
policies, practices, or rules should be. After receiving three requests to
extend the comment period for the proceeding, the Commission has set new
due dates: date for filing comments in MB Docket No. 04-233 is extended
until November 1, 2004, and the date for reply comments is extended until
December 1, 2004.
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-2457A1.doc
FCC ADOPTS FURTHER MEASURES TO SAFEGUARD THE E-RATE PROGRAM
Unfortunately, due to a programming error, the FCC's News Release on this
item is not yet available online. We have not found any coverage of the
order in the press yet, either.
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://www.fcc.gov
VoIP
INTERNET PHONING
The Congressional Budget Office predicts that up to one-third of telephone
service will migrate to the Internet in the next five years. This is not,
in other words, a frail new technology in need of government protection.
But that isn't stopping some members of Congress from pushing to forbid
states to tax Internet phone service. That would put government in the
position of illogically favoring one technology over another. It also would
threaten billions of dollars that states collect annually in taxes on
telephone services. Without the ability to continue taxing telephone
service as it moves to the Internet, states stand to see a traditional tax
base worth $10 billion to $20 billion jeopardized. This revenue, which can
provide as much as 5 to 15 percent of revenue to some local government
budgets, are used to pay for 911 call centers, to bring phone service to
poor and rural residents, and to meet other public needs. The Senate
Commerce Committee acted wisely, the Post concludes, stripping provisions
from a bill that would have banned states from taxing Internet telephone
services. The House should do the same when considering similar legislation.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Washington Post Editorial Staff]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41151-2004Aug4.html
(requires registration)
AT&T PUSHING CABLE-MODEM A LA CARTE
AT&T is demonstrating how flexible a big company can be when it comes to
regulation. When AT&T was a cable operator, it rejected arguments by
America Online and other Internet-service providers that wholesale access
to cable-modem facilities was essential because Internet-access subscribers
would not want to pay twice -- once to the cable company and against to a
competing ISP. But having sold off its cable operations, AT&T sent a
request to the FCC earlier in the year asking for a rule that would require
any broadband-transport provider -- meaning cable and phone companies -- to
sell high-speed Internet access on a stand-alone basis. AT&T is concerned
that if cable and phone companies bundled access and
voice-over-Internet-protocol service, VoIP companies that do not sell
access will not be able not compete against the bundled offering. In July,
the National Cable & Telecommunications Association responded that AT&T's
proposal was unnecessary and harmful in that regulation of
broadband-facilities providers would stifle investment and innovation.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA442406?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
LONG DISTANCE
SO LONG TO LONG DISTANCE?
Whatever happened to long distance? In 1920, a 10-minute call between Los
Angeles and New York cost $26.17 -- the equivalent of almost $250 in 2004
dollars. By 1998, the price of that same call had fallen to 50 cents, said
A. Michael Noll, professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the
University at Southern California. Professor Noll no longer tracks the
per-minute cost of a long-distance call. "The problem now is that I can't
do my study anymore because with all the flat-rate plans it doesn't make
any sense," Noll said. Noll believes that the falling cost of long-distance
calls is directly related to new technologies and the growing capacity of
the long-distance networks, rather than the forces created by competition.
For millions of people, it no longer makes a difference if they call across
the country or across the street. A combination of deregulation and new
technologies has spawned a sometimes bewildering choice of pricing plans
for consumers from different players -- traditional phone giants, wireless
firms, cable systems and Internet companies. Most of them offer connections
for much less than what separate local and long-distance used to cost.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Christopher Stern]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41048-2004Aug4.html
(requires registration)
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Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
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