Happy 10th birthday Telecom Act of 1996! AEI hosts a discussion of
the Act today. For this and other upcoming media policy events, see
http://www.benton.org
REPORT ON NET NEUTRALITY HEARING
Broadband, Content Firms Fight over Net Neutrality
Stevens for Net Neutrality, in Theory
Dueling Network Buzzwords: 'Neutrality' Versus 'Diversity'
Cable, Telco Pledge Not To Block 'Net
TELEVISION
Digital TV Transition Affects Telecom Agency's Budget
Verizon: Bills, Franchise, Launch
TELECOM
NTCA: FCC Commissioner Calls for Sweeping Regulatory Reform
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Icahn Sees 4-Way Time Warner Split
Univision Considers Going on the Block
QUICKLY -- Unions To Protest For Plug Bucks; Downloads Make Singles a
Hit Again; Stop the Wi-Fi Tax Rumor; Did the Bells Rip Off America?
and Is There An Alternative?; The Telecommunications Act of 1996: Did
it Really Matter?; New Lifeline Website; Can Blogs Revolutionize
Progressive Politics?; Rolling Stones say Super Bowl Censors
"Ridiculous"; 'Will & Grace' Will Not Include 'Crucifixins' Scene; DC
Turns Out For Fritts Salute
REPORT ON NET NEUTRALITY HEARING
BROADBAND, CONTENT FIRMS FIGHT OVER NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky]
High-speed Internet providers and Internet content companies clashed
before lawmakers on Tuesday, in a dispute over whether a law
enshrining the right to surf anywhere on the Web would help or harm
consumers. Representatives of local telephone and cable companies
that offer fast Internet access, known as broadband, said passing a
new law could stymie innovation while companies like Google said that
could happen without legislation. Broadband providers have largely
pledged that consumers will be able to access any Internet site. But
some also said they may charge more for services that use faster
private Internet networks, like downloading movies. In the middle
were lawmakers who were divided and uncertain about whether they
should act. Republicans and Democrats both expressed support for
unfettered Internet surfing, but a few Republicans cautioned about
legislating too quickly.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&story...
There's a good deal of coverage, here's some other articles --
* 'Net Neutrality' Debate Heats Up at Senate Hearing
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113937487289668158.html?mod=todays_us_ma...
(requires subscription)
* Politicos divided on need for 'net neutrality' mandate
http://news.com.com/Politicos+divided+on+need+for+net+neutrality+mandate...
* Ensuring Open Internet an Issue Before Congress
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=10019...
* Network Neutrality Hearing Reactions
http://mediapolicy.blogspot.com/
* Links to testimony
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=1705
STEVENS FOR NET NEUTRALITY, IN THEORY
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
A new telecommunications law will likely include "network-neutrality"
provisions, but finding the right words is far from settled, Senate
Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) said Tuesday after
conducting a hearing that exposed division among committee members on
the need to prevent cable- and phone-network owners from harming
voice, video and content rivals. "I do believe that net neutrality
ought to be the basic principle of whatever legislation we pursue,"
Chairman Stevens told reporters, saying that he hoped the committee
would pass a bill in March. The challenge, he added, was finding a
consensus on defining net neutrality and codifying it in law. "I
can't put it in words. I'm going to have to take a look at it in
terms of how you define real neutrality. It's sort of like defining a
vacuum, isn't it? It's not easy to do," Sen Stevens said.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6305622.html?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
DUELING NETWORK BUZZWORDS: 'NEUTRALITY' VERSUS 'DIVERSITY'
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR:David Hatch]
Opponents of "network neutrality" introduced a new phrase into the
telecommunications lexicon: "network diversity." Does it mean making
sure the demographics of network users matches the population as a
whole? Ah, no. Cable-funded Vanderbilt University law professor
Christopher Yoo argues that operators of broadband networks should be
allowed to "experiment" with varying network architectures. If the
government does not interfere, he said, some broadband operators
might choose net neutrality and others might offer "walled gardens"
with proprietary content. Rather than being a troubling development,
he said, exclusive content deals would "differentiate" high-speed
networks and spur competition. With today's bandwidth-hungry Internet
applications, such as telephony and video streaming, a quarter-second
interruption can hurt the "commercial viability" of services,
Professor Yoo said. Under network diversity, broadband operators
could manage Internet traffic to ensure that demanding operations
receive priority treatment. The FCC could respond to any harms to
competitors, he explained, insisting that it is unfair to restrict
network operators based on hypothetical problems.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-MBSE1139339451850.html
See also --
* Network Neutrality Counter-Point
[Commentary] Network neutrality is a pointless, emotionally-charged
distraction from the real issues involved in monetizing Internet
content. The Internet is rapidly becoming a retail and marketing
vehicle, just as shopping malls and other retail chains. A sound
distribution channel, with economic benefits and motiviations must be
built which satisifes both the needs of telcos as well as those of
content creators. This adversarial relationship between the
storefronts and the product makers will kill us.
http://garywiz.typepad.com/trial_by_fire/2006/02/network_neutral.html
* The Nuclear Option for Network Neutrality: Eminent Domain
http://blobservations.net/dasblog/TheNuclearOptionForNetworkNeutralityEm...
CABLE, TELECO PLEDGE NOT TO BLOCK NET
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Representatives of the major telco and cable trade associations
pledged to the Senate Commerce Committee Tuesday that they would not
"block, degrade, or impair" Internet services or applications or
limit access by their Internet customers to legal content on the
Internet. But they also argued that if the Congress mandates network
neutrality--nondiscrimination in access to their networks by
independent Internet service providers--it will sour Wall Street on
investing in continued network build-outs and innovation in services.
Everyone, senators and witnesses alike, seemed to agree that the
ability to access Internet content should not be dictated by a
consumer's choice of ISP, but whether Congress should mandate that
through network neutrality was the $100 billion issue.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6305438?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
TELEVISION
DIGITAL TV TRANSITION AFFECTS TELECOM AGENCY'S BUDGET
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration would
receive $18 million under the Bush administration's fiscal 2007
budget, versus $40 million in fiscal 2006. But because of the digital
television transition, the agency still plans to spend more money
next year than this year. On top of its $18 million budget proposal,
NTIA plans to spend $45 million in borrowed funds expected to be
recouped later from the auction of spectrum in the DTV transition.
Under a budget-cutting measure that Congress cleared last week,
analog broadcasting will cease Feb. 17, 2009, freeing 60 megahertz of
spectrum for auction. Revenue from the auction will be slated in
future years to fund various communications priorities and to reduce
the deficit. Those frequencies are expected to recoup $12 billion to
$29 billion, according to government and industry estimates. But
because the auction is not scheduled until January 2008, NTIA must
borrow money for aspects of the DTV transition that it aims to
accomplish in fiscal 2007. The money will be repaid, without
interest, to the Treasury upon availability of auction revenue.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-OOIM1139339306046.html
Also see --
* Getting to February 2009: Implementing the Digital TV Transition
http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=node/1257
VERIZON: BILLS, FRANCHISE, LAUNCH
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted, Karen Brown & David Cohen]
Telecom giant Verizon received good news from three states about the
company's ability to offer video services. Virginia's Senate and
House of Delegates Monday approved bills to speed market entry into
the multichannel-video business by telephone companies there. The
small community of Hulmerville, Pa., became the first in the state to
grant the regional Bell operating company a franchise to offer TV
service using its FiOS fiber-to-the-home network. And Verizon FiOS TV
debuted in Beaumont, Calif., Tuesday, with the telco saying it will
begin taking orders immediately in the city with a population of
21,000. Finally, Verizon said Tuesday that it applied for video
franchises in seven Rhode Island communities. The Virginia bills 1)
compel cities to act on a local franchising request in 120 days, 2)
have franchises last for 15 years, 3) require telco would pay a fee
of 5% of revenue or the lowest franchise fee paid by an incumbent
within the area the telco also serves and 4) let communities require
buildout commitments (they could require new entrants to serve 65% of
eligible residents in a franchise area within seven years and 80% in 10 years).
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6305618.html?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
See also --
* Verizon Seeks Franchise to Bring Rhode Island Residents Choice for
Their TV Service
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/0...
TELECOM
NCTA: FCC COMMISSIONER CALLS FOR SWEEPING REGULATORY REFORM
[SOURCE: Telecommunications Online, AUTHOR: Bob Wallace]
The U.S. lacks a broadband strategy, is operating with a broken
inter- carrier compensation system and a universal service fund in
need of fast reform, said FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, in his
keynote address at the National Telecommunications Cooperative
Association (NTCA) annual conference. Echoing concerns of other
speakers at the NTCA event, Copps voiced concern that the goals of
urban regions and legislators are taking precedence of the goals of
rural telcos, creating a dangerous gap that appears to be growing.
"If high-speed broadband is permitted to become a primarily urban
phenomenon, the digital gap will grow wider, [resulting in] rural
America being worse off," warned the FCC commissioner. Copps called
for focused reform of the Universal Service Fund, the system which
helps rural telcos provides core communications services to their
typically far flung constituents. "A broader base is needed to make
the USF more viable," said Copps in reference to the need for all
providers to contributed to the fund based on revenues. "I predict
2006 will be the year when action will be taken on the contribution
methodology. We will see reform that will put us on firming
footing." Alternative methodologies have been discussed, driven
largely by two issues that have created huge challenges to the fund.
The first is the classification of some operators' offerings as
information services as opposed to telecommunications services. The
second is "the growth if IP services and any distance pricing plans,"
according to Copps. "The revenue-based approach is only equitable if
people who use the system pay for the system," said the FCC
Commissioner, who added he won't commit to a numbers or connections
approach at this time.
http://www.telecommagazine.com/newsglobe/article.asp?HH_ID=AR_1706
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
ICAHN SEES 4-WAY TIME WARNER SPLIT
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Matthew Karnitschnig
matthew.karnitschnig( at )wsj.com]
A long-awaited analysis of Time Warner commissioned by dissident
investor Carl Icahn concludes that breaking up the company and
increasing its share-buyback program could boost its value by about
$40 billion -- or nearly half of its current market worth. The report
calls for Internet division America Online, as well as Time Warner's
publishing and cable units, to be spun off into separate companies.
It recommends the cable-network assets, which include CNN and Home
Box Office, be folded together with Warner Bros., the Hollywood
studio. It says such a division would result in leaner companies that
could better react to rapidly changing markets. The report also
estimates that shutting down Time Warner's corporate center would
save hundreds of millions of dollars in overhead. The analysis didn't
explain how breaking up the company would address the challenges
facing traditional media from new digital technologies. Investor
worries about those challenges have been cited as a major reason for
a slump in the stock prices of media companies in the past few years.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113933381553467361.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)
See also --
* Icahn, Lazard: Split TW in Four
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6305652.html?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
* Plan Would Split Media Giant Into 4
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-split08feb08,1,747720...
(requires registration)
UNIVISION CONSIDERS GOING ON THE BLOCK
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Ross Sorkin]
Univision Communications, the Spanish-language media company, is
considering a plan to put itself up for sale. An auction for
Univision, which is worth nearly $10 billion, could set off a
scramble among the country's media giants -- the News Corporation,
Time Warner and CBS -- as they vie for a slice of the lucrative and
growing Spanish-language market. The attraction of such a media asset
is obvious: the buyer would immediately gain the biggest gateway into
a rapidly growing Latino market with some $480 billion in annual
buying power. Univision owns the No. 1 Spanish-language television
network, radio broadcaster, music company and online operations. The
nation's second-largest Spanish-language broadcaster, Telemundo, was
acquired by the NBC unit of General Electric in 2001. But Univision
dwarfs Telemundo, eclipsing its audience by nearly four times. It is
the fifth-largest television network in the country behind Fox and
ahead of the WB network, reaching some 98 percent of Spanish-speaking
households through its 62 television stations, more than 90 affiliate
stations and more than 2,000 cable affiliates.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/business/media/08network.html
(requires registration)
QUICKLY
UNIONS TO PROTEST FOR PLUG BUCKS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Jim Benson]
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and Writers Guild of America, West
(WGAw) are planning a protest Wednesday as they step up their
campaign to get members compensated for branded entertainment
(product integration), a prelude to what's expected to be contentious
upcoming contract negotiations. The guilds have called for a "code of
conduct" to govern the placement and notification of branded
entertainment programming. Their demands on this and other issues
have so far fallen on deaf ears among industry leaders, who have
lashed out at the union leaders' fiery rhetoric and tactics of
protesting at entertainment business events.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6305621?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
DOWNLOADS MAKE SINGLES A HIT AGAIN
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: J. Freedom du Lac]
Commercially released singles, which were on the music industry's
endangered-species list at the turn of the 21st century, have come
roaring back to life in the digital age. In some ways, it's like the
singles-driven 1950s and '60s all over again -- only with MP3s
replacing 45s. As iPods and other MP3 players outsell CD players,
sales of downloaded singles are booming accordingly: Though sales of
full-length albums were down 7.2 percent last year, the digital
singles market grew by 150 percent, with 352.7 million individual
songs sold online. It was by far the highest figure for singles sales
in any format since 1973, the first year for which Recording Industry
Association of America shipment data are available for singles. In
late December 2005, weekly singles sales topped CD sales for the
first time, as American consumers -- many of them flush with holiday
gift cards and loading new MP3 players -- purchased 19.9 million
digital tracks but just 16.8 million albums.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/07/AR200602...
(requires registration)
STOP THE WIFI TAX RUMOR
[SOURCE: Tales from the Sausage Factory, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
[Commentary] OK all you virus spreaders -- including Headlines --
this is what the President's budget proposal really says about
spectrum fees. Feld gets annoyed about this stuff because people get
all excited about it and then, when they find out it's not real, they
tune out policy that does matter. There are plenty of assaults on
open spectrum that we don't need to get distracted by the imaginary ones.
http://www.wetmachine.com//item/426
DID THE BELLS RIP OFF AMERICA? AND IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE?
[SOURCE: Tales from the Sausage Factory, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
[Commentary] A look at Bruce Kushnik's magnum opus "The $200 Billion
Broadband Scandal", accusing the Bell Companies of ripping off the
U.S. public to the
and Bob McChesnney's and John Podesta's visionary "Let There Be
Wi-Fi" talking about the power of unlicensed spectrum as a broadband solution.
http://www.wetmachine.com/totsf/item/424
THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1996: DID IT REALLY MATTER?
[SOURCE: Telecommunications Online, AUTHOR: Dr. A. Michael Noll]
[Commentary] A review of the Telecommunications Act, ten years later.
http://www.telecommagazine.com/NewsGlobe/Commentary/Article.asp?Id=AR_1707
NEW LIFELINE WEBSITE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Joint FCC/National Association of Regulatory Utility
Commissioners (NARUC)/National Association of State Utility Consumer
Advocates (NASUCA) Working Group on Lifeline and Link-Up has launched
a new Web site to provide consumers, industry and state and local
governments with information about these two important programs. The
Commission's Lifeline and Link-Up programs provide discounts on
telephone service and installation for income-eligible
consumers. The address of the new Web site is: www.lifeline.gov.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-263674A1.doc
CAN BLOGS REVOLUTIONIZE POLITICS?
[SOURCE: AlterNet, AUTHOR: Lakshmi Chaudhry, In These Times]
[Commentary] Bloggers tout the rise of the netroots as changing how
politics works, but will the Internet just become a new method of
conducting politics as usual?
http://www.alternet.org/story/31955/
ROLLING STONES SAY SUPER BOWL CENSORS "RIDICULOUS"
[SOURCE: Reuters]
The Rolling Stones considered the decision to censor two of their
songs during the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday "ridiculous" and
unnecessary, a representative for the band said on Tuesday. Stones
spokeswoman Fran Curtis took issue with a comment by a National
Football League spokesman on Monday that the band was not only aware
of the plan to lower the volume on Mick Jagger's microphone for two
lines but also "fine with it." She said the members of the band were
far from happy with the decision to cut the lines on the broadcast
which was carried by ABC. "The Rolling Stones thought the censorship
of their songs by the NFL/ABC was absolutely ridiculous and
completely unnecessary," Curtis said, adding that they were aware of
the plan before the show. Asked whether the Stones had felt strongly
enough to take any action, such as pulling out of the show, she said:
"The band did the songs they were supposed to do and they sang all
the words. There were many, many conversations back and forth and the
band clearly was not happy about it." ABC Sports has said any
alteration of the lyrics was done by the NFL and its production company.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&st...
'WILL & GRACE' WILL NOT INCLUDE 'CRUCIFIXINS' SCENE
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Abbey Klaassen]
Apparently, Britney will not be serving "Crucifixins" for everyone.
The American Family Association had targeted the network after NBC
sent out a press release that included the storyline for Ms. Spears's
guest appearance. "Some erroneous information was mistakenly included
in a press release describing an upcoming episode of 'Will & Grace'
which, in fact, has yet to be written," an NBC spokesperson said.
http://adage.com/news.cms?newsId=47781
DC TURNS OUT FOR FRITTS SALUTE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
All hail, Fritts! The (Washington) stars turned out Tuesday night to
salute National Association of Broadcasters President Emeritus Eddie
Fritts, who, after 23 years, has handed the reins of the organization
over to David Rehr. Back in the day, then-Senate Commerce Committee
Chairman Bob Packwood pronounced, at Fritt's first NAB convention,
that the association couldn't lobby its way out of a paper bag.
Fritts leaves the NAB one of the strongest lobbying organizations in
Washington. The salute portion of the evening began with an
introduction by NAB Board Chairman Bruce Reese, who said Fritts
deserves the thanks of every radio and TV broadcaster for his
victories on Capitol Hill, at the FCC, and in the courts. He ticked
off the victories: The 1992 Cable Act; the 1996 Telecommunications
Act; DTV spectrum allocations; the roll-out of DTV; and digital
radio. Joe Barton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce
Commission, said that Fritts' biggest victory was probably the 1992
Cable Act's inclusion of must carry, which Barton pointed out he had
voted against. David Rehr faces the same uphill climb on digital
must-carry, which Barton also opposes.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6305659?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
--------------------------------------------------------------
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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