December 5, 2014 (Operation AURORAGOLD)

AGENDA

FCC MEETING AGENDA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on Thursday, December 11, 2014. The FCC will consider:
A Second Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration in WC Docket No. 13-84 and a Report and Order in WC Docket No. 10-90 to close the school and library connectivity gap by adjusting program rules and support levels in order to meet long-term program goals for high-speed connectivity to and within all eligible schools and libraries.
A Report and Order finalizing decisions necessary to proceed to Phase II of the Connect America Fund.
A Public Notice that asks for comment on the detailed procedures necessary to carry out the Broadcast Incentive Auction. The Public Notice includes specific proposals on auction design issues such as determination of the initial clearing target, opening bid prices, and the final television channel assignment process
The meeting also includes a 14 item consent agenda.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-confirms-agenda-open-commission-meeting-thursday-december-11-2014 | Federal Communications Commission
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REMARKS BY ASSISTANT SECRETARY STRICKLING AT THE PLI/FCBA TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY & REGULATION INSTITUTE
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, AUTHOR: Lawrence Strickling]
Remarks by Assistant Secretary Lawrence Strickling at the PLI/FCBA Telecommunications Policy & Regulation Institute outlined the three major priorities for 2015:
1) Promoting spectrum sharing as a key part of our ongoing efforts to find more spectrum for commercial wireless broadband
2) Continuing to expand broadband access and adoption to help close the digital divide
3) Supporting and strengthening the bottom-up, consensus-based approach to Internet governance known as the multistakeholder process, which has allowed the Internet to flourish and thrive
benton.org/headlines/remarks-assistant-secretary-strickling-plifcba-telecommunications-policy-regulation | National Telecommunications and Information Administration
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATION
OPERATION AURORAGOLD: HOW THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY HACKS CELLPHONE NETWORKS WORLDWIDE
[SOURCE: The Intercept, AUTHOR: Ryan Gallagher]
According to documents provided by National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, the NSA has spied on hundreds of companies and organizations internationally, including in countries closely allied to the United States, in an effort to find security weaknesses in cellphone technology that it can exploit for surveillance. The documents also reveal how the NSA plans to secretly introduce new flaws into communication systems so that they can be tapped into -- a controversial tactic that security experts say could be exposing the general population to criminal hackers. Codenamed AURORAGOLD, the covert operation has monitored the content of messages sent and received by more than 1,200 e-mail accounts associated with major cellphone network operators, intercepting confidential company planning papers that help the NSA hack into phone networks. Karsten Nohl, a leading cellphone security expert and cryptographer, said that the broad scope of information swept up in the operation appears aimed at ensuring virtually every cellphone network in the world is NSA accessible.
benton.org/headlines/operation-auroragold-how-national-security-agency-hacks-cellphone-networks-worldwide | Intercept, The
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EDUCATION

HOW RURAL SCHOOLS PAID FOR STUDENTS' HOME INTERNET TO TRANSFORM LEARNING
[SOURCE: KQED, AUTHOR: Katrina Schwartz]
After obtaining funds to send devices home to 1,240 students in the rural Alabama Piedmont City School District, school officials found they needed a way for students to use the Internet at home. Superintendent Matt Akin applied for a “Learning on the Go” grant, part of the E-rate program that helps subsidize the cost of Internet for schools and libraries. The district used the money to contract with a vendor that partnered with the city to build a wireless network on existing fiber optic cables that weren’t being used. Then, the school district used E-rate funds to lease use of the network. But, as so often happens with pilot programs, E-rate didn’t renew the program the following year, so the district had to shoulder the costs of maintaining the network. It costs the district about $10,000 per month to lease the network and pay for mobile hot spots given to students who live outside the range of the city network. That’s 3 percent of the district’s budget. It sounds expensive, but Akin says it was the single-biggest factor in transitioning the district toward new ways of teaching and learning. Blending online courses with what can be offered in person has also given students who have fallen behind a real chance at catching up and graduating. The district’s total commitment to this experiment is paying off. Not only are teachers using a variety of tools to change how they approach instruction, but online learning has also expanded the course offerings.
benton.org/headlines/how-rural-schools-paid-students-home-internet-transform-learning | KQED
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URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL RECOMMENDS HIGHER LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR LIBRARIES THAT SERVE THE MOST USERS FROM THE FCC
[SOURCE: Urban Libraries Council, AUTHOR: Susan Benton]
In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, the Urban Libraries council demonstrates that a small number of libraries provide Wi-Fi service to a larger percentage of the nation's users, and that these libraries require a budgetary allocation for internal connections significantly higher than the commission proposed in its July E-Rate Modernization Order. Allowing the heaviest users to qualify for needed funding guarantees that the top 7% of libraries, which serve over 63% of all public Wi-Fi users, are eligible to receive the requisite funding.
benton.org/headlines/urban-libraries-council-recommends-higher-level-support-libraries-serve-most-users-fcc | Urban Libraries Council | ULC
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TECH FIRMS SAY SCHOOLS NEED MORE SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Kevin Fitchard]
If President Barack Obama really wants to put Wi-Fi in every US classroom, then the government will need to release more unlicensed spectrum for public use -- or so says WifiForward, a spectrum lobbying group backed by Google, Microsoft, the cable companies and the Consumer Electronics Association. WifiForward released a paper that calls for regulators to open up or lift restrictions on big swathes of the 5 GHz band so it can be used to build bigger, badder gigabit Wi-Fi networks. It also calls for the government to open up more white space spectrum and move forward with its plans to create a shared public-private band at 3.5 GHz, which could be used to link those Wi-Fi networks to the Internet proper without using wires or fiber.
benton.org/headlines/tech-firms-say-schools-need-more-spectrum | GigaOm
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

IN THE 'GLOBAL STRUGGLE FOR INTERNET FREEDOM,' THE INTERNET IS LOSING
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Nancy Scola]
The year 2014 marks the moment that the world turned its attention to writing laws to govern what happens on the Internet. And that has not been a great thing, according to an annual report from the US-based think tank Freedom House. In response to circumnavigation tactics by online activists, repressive regimes have begun opting for a "technically uncensored Internet," Freedom House finds, but one that is increasingly controlled by national laws about what can and can't be done online. In 36 of the 65 countries surveyed around the world the state of Internet freedom declined in 2014. According to Freedom House, "Some states are using the revelations of widespread surveillance by the US National Security Agency (NSA) as an excuse to augment their own monitoring capabilities, frequently with little or no oversight, and often aimed at the political opposition and human rights activists."
benton.org/headlines/global-struggle-internet-freedom-internet-losing-report-finds | Washington Post
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NETWORK NEUTRALITY

OBAMA’S NEW WEB TAX
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] It’s now almost unanimous: President Obama’s new plan to regulate the Internet would cost consumers billions. The Progressive Policy Institute reports that state and local regulators would join with the feds in gouging Internet consumers. That’s because states and localities have their own levies that would kick in if the Internet is officially deemed a monopoly telephone network. Authors Robert Litan of the Brookings Institution and PPI’s Hal Singer optimistically expect regulators to reduce the federal levy from the current 16.1%. But the analysts still forecast significant pain for Internet users. These taxing consequences haven’t received as much attention as they deserve amid the debate over President Obama’s demand that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler regulate the Internet like a public utility. But if Chairman Wheeler obliges, the new Congress should make clear who’s responsible.
benton.org/headlines/obamas-new-web-tax | Wall Street Journal | Free Press
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CLAIMS THAT REAL NET NEUTRALITY WOULD RESULT IN NEW INTERNET TAX SKEW THE MATH AND CONFUSE THE LAW
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Matt Wood]
[Commentary] The anti-Network Neutrality crowd at the Progressive Policy Institute claims that Internet service providers and users would pay billions of dollars in new fees if the Federal Communications Commission reasserts its Title II authority. PPI insists that following the law and reclassifying broadband Internet-access service under Title II would allow federal, state and local governments to collect for broadband the same kind of Universal Service Fund (USF) fees that are already levied on phone companies. PPI also claims that reclassification would lead to new state taxes. There’s a problem with this argument: Authors Hal Singer and Robert Litan have let their pro-ISP bias skew their math and confuse the law. PPI’s main mistake -- or attempt to mislead -- comes from ignoring the difference between services that cross state lines and those that exist entirely within one state. If the FCC reclassifies broadband access as a Title II service, it will also (based on precedent) declare that broadband is a purely interstate telecom service. Because broadband access is interstate and not intrastate, none of the intrastate taxes or special telecom fees would apply. PPI’s argument also ignores the possibility that the FCC and Congress could take additional steps to remove or limit any future taxes or fees. The bottom line is this: If the FCC does nothing more than stick with precedent and designate broadband as an interstate telecom service, the average potential increase in taxes and fees per household would be far less than PPI estimates. If Congress extends and updates the Internet Tax Freedom Act and the FCC declines to include broadband in the revenue base at this time, the increase would be exactly zero.
benton.org/headlines/claims-real-net-neutrality-would-result-new-internet-tax-skew-math-and-confuse-law | Free Press
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

AT&T STILL THROTTLES "UNLIMITED DATA" -- EVEN WHEN NETWORK NOT CONGESTED
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
AT&T has changed its policy to stop the automatic throttling of many unlimited data plans, but the company’s older throttling policy still applies to customers with unlimited LTE data. AT&T said the policy will be changed for all customers sometime in 2015, but it did not say whether that will happen closer to the beginning of the year or the end of the year. AT&T’s goal is moving customers off unlimited data plans and onto plans that hit customers with automatic overage fees when they exceed data limits.
benton.org/headlines/att-still-throttles-unlimited-data-even-when-network-not-congested | Ars Technica
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OWNERSHIP

FCC OK'S NEXSTAR'S PURCHASE OF COMMUNICATIONS CORP. AMERICA
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Commission has approved Nexstar's $370 million purchase of Communications Corp. of America, so long as it spins off WEVV-TV, the CBS (and Fox) affiliate in Evansville (IN) to Bayou City Broadcasting. Nexstar had already said back in August that it was selling the station to Bayou in order to secure Department of Justice and FCC approval. The Department of Justice had signaled it was OK with the deal contingent on that spin-off. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and fellow FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said the approval of that deal, and other recent deals, shows that the FCC has moved to reign in "sidecar" joint sales agreements was creating new business models that promoted independent voices.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-oks-nexstars-purchase-communications-corp-america | Broadcasting&Cable | FCC | FCC blog | TVNewsCheck
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TELEVISION

STELAR IS NOW THE LAW
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
With the stroke of a pen, the relatively drama-free Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization (STELAR Act or HR 5728) became law Dec. 4 after President Barack Obama signed the bill, which reauthorizes the satellite compulsory distant signal license for another five years, and makes some retransmission consent-related changes, as well as sunsetting the Federal Communications Commission's ban on integrated set-tops after a year. It also renews the FCC's authority to enforce good faith retransmission consent negotiations, with a mandate to the FCC to study the definition of good faith, as well as extending the FCC's prohibition on coordinated retransmission negotiations among non-commonly owned TV stations in a market from the top four to all stations.
benton.org/headlines/stelar-now-law | Multichannel News | The Hill
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POLICYMAKERS

ROCKEFELLER EXISTS WITH CALL FOR BIPARTISANSHIP
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Sen Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), retiring Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, took to the Senate floor to say farewell to the body he has served for 30 years. Sen Rockefeller's message was aimed at calling his colleagues to the more bipartisan angels of their nature. He also praised the E-rate program, saying that was an example of when the government needed to step in, when private industry couldn't or wouldn't, to insure that the Internet got to schools and libraries. He also said that the government should not outsource its security to telecommunications companies, saying he had "seen what telecommunications companies can do when they can get away with it." That appeared to be a reference to Congress' inability to pass legislation on data collection or cybersecurity.
benton.org/headlines/sen-rockefeller-exits-call-bipartisanship | Broadcasting&Cable
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TELCOM PROM
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Federal Communications Bar Association hosted its annual Federal Communications Commission Chairman's Dinner and a good time was had by all. Chairman Wheeler’s speech included these gems: "Yes, I can fit in a Mini Cooper," he said and pointed out that the car was equipped with Wi-Fi, so he called it "the network compact." (The first joke for which a snare and cymbal riff were needed). He paused, then added: "It is not a hybrid" -- loud applause -- a reference to the hybrid Title II/Sec. 706 proposals that the FCC is entertaining for new network neutrality rules. Chairman Wheeler relayed that Sen Ted Cruz had called the dinner the "Obamacare of Humor." One attendee cracking wise after the dinner said it was the only crowd where "3.5 GHz" is a punchline, and everybody gets it.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-general-charges-field | Broadcasting&Cable
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December 5, 2014 (Operation AURORAGOLD)