BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010
Headlines is off to Spring Break; we will return MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2010. See ya in Sarasota.
Not much on the calendar next week -- see http://benton.org/calendar/2010-03-28--P1W
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
Hearing Recap: Oversight of the National Broadband Plan
National broadband plan cost $20 million
Cheat Sheet: Sticking Points In Broadband Plan
The National Broadband Plan: Unanswered Questions and Next Steps
The National Broadband Plan: Where do we go from here?
FCC broadband plan threatens 'golden age of broadcasting,' Goodmon says
Electric Industry Raises Concerns about National Broadband Plan
Media Access Project CEO Brown asks FCC about price competition
Pew director Raine asks FCC about citizens in broadband plan
UK regulators officially mock US over ISP "competition"
Australian Government Says Can Build Broadband Network Without Telstra
AT&T joins Verizon in calling for overhaul of telecom laws
US falls to fifth in IT rankings
Spectrum crisis, maybe; spectrum reform, absolutely
THE STIMULUS
10 More BTOP Grants
ACA Criticizes Some Broadband Stimulus Fund Distribution
Qwest seeks broadband stimulus grant
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
Who Will Defend the Rights of People of Color to an Open Internet? We Speak for Ourselves.
INNOVATION
Supporting Innovation and Ensuring Global Competitiveness
JOURNALISM
Corporation for Public Broadcasting Launches New Local Journalism Initiative
2009 Was Worst Year for the Newspaper Business in Decades
Len Downie: For-profit news orgs won't create enough journalism
Health Care Opponents Dominate the Blogosphere
Murdoch to launch UK web paywall in June
WIRELESS
Wireless survey: 91% of Americans use cell phones
Smartphone users want better access to data
Carriers to be queried on 'SIM lock'-free mobile phones in Japan
Cellphone providers look for opportunities in wireless Net
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
How China's Internet generation broke the silence
Google adds Twitter feed in China, again defying that country's rules
What Happens as Google Uncensors Search in China?
Rep Smith Blasts Microsoft
Venezuela TV Exec Arrested For Criticizing Chavez
Partner Defections, Ongoing Censorship Complicate Google's Plan to Keep Some Business in China
Google, Baidu Search Results Differ By 85%, Baigoogledu Says
With Google censorship, China is tough -- on the outside
Google out of China: Doing no evil
OPEN GOVERNMENT
Senator chides White House for ignoring existing transparency laws
House kicks off caucus to push for open government laws
House Passes File Sharing Bill
CIO survey reveals cautious embrace of emerging trends
Commercialization of University Research Request for Information
MORE ONLINE
Telework and benefits bills take one step forward | After victory, conservatives mount new challenges to campaign finance limits | Facebook helps movements ignite
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
HEARING RECAP: OVERSIGHT OF THE NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee]
The House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet held an oversight hearing exploring the details of the Federal Communications Commission's recently released National Broadband Plan. Broadcasting & Cable reports that the hearing turned into a sparring match over the potential for the FCC to reclassify Internet access service as a Title II telecommunications subject to mandatory access provisions, at least in the early rounds as legislators traded opening statements. House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman signaled he supported that move if it was necessary for the FCC to implement the plan and protect consumers. Free Press was quick to support Chairman Waxman's statement. Free Press Policy Director Ben Scott said, "We commend Chairman Waxman, he is absolutely correct. The FCC must put the needs of consumers first and ignore the 'sky is falling' claims of big ISPs like Verizon that are working to undermine the FCC's authority to promote competition and protect consumers. Just because big corporate interests don't like existing laws doesn't mean that the FCC has no power to enforce them. We are at a pivotal moment in charting our nation's digital future and repairing our international standing in broadband. The FCC must move forward to achieve its goal of universal affordable Internet access." The issue divided the subcommittee generally along political lines, with Republicans taking aim at the potential for reclassifying Internet access service from the more lightly-regulated Title I regime for information services. [much more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/33757 | House of Representatives Commerce Committee | Democratic Committee Staff | Chairman Waxman | Rep Barton | Broadcasting & Cable | CongressDaily | Reuters | B&C - Genachowski | CongressDaily | Multichannel News | MediaWeek | Chairman Genachowski | Commissioner Copps | Commissioner McDowell | Commissioner Clyburn | Commissioner Baker | Free Press
Recommend this Headline
back to top
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN COST $20 MILLION
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
The Federal Communications Commission spent $20 million on the year-long process of creating the national broadband plan. Rep Cliff Stearns (R-FL) revealed that price tag in a House hearing Thursday. The FCC told him in a letter that they spent $600,000 on printing and production, $4 million on 78 temporary full-time and part-time employees, and $340,000 on workshops and travel. But the agency also explained that large chunks of those expenses will "go on to live beyond the plan." It spent $8 million for a database and software that the FCC will continue to use to implement the broadband plan. And $2.4 million went to the salaries of employees who worked on the plan. "The investment in the IT infrastructure, software and the significant amount of data will prove invaluable to the commission on an ongoing basis," said Colin Crowell, a senior adviser to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. He said that because the data and information technology capabilities of the agency were so poor, the FCC purchased data sets "to get the best information at hand." The FCC's Republican commissioners said they felt they were well informed by the agency's broadband team of its work. The FCC paid for the creation of the national broadband plan through $13.28 million in stimulus funds and $7.34 million out of the FCC's regular budget. The agency's annual budget is $350 million.
benton.org/node/33792 | Washington Post | Genachowski letter to Stearns | Stearns letter to Genachowski | The Hill
Recommend this Headline
back to top
STICKING POINTS IN BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
Every American should have broadband access -- that's an idea every faction in the telecom world seems to endorse. Making it so is another thing altogether. While not everyone has shown their cards yet, major telecom players are sure to air grievances soon over Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski's decade-long plan to get more Americans online. In fact, with its aims to spark action from Congress and in the agencies, including heavy lifting at the FCC, the blueprint may also inadvertently pay many telecom lobbyists' salaries over the next few years in a sector that already spends exorbitantly on sway. Here's a brief overview of a few parts of the plan that will provide fertile ground for disagreement as stakeholders speak up.
benton.org/node/33791 | National Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS AND NEXT STEPS
[SOURCE: Free Press | New America Foundation, AUTHOR: ]
While the National Broadband Plan takes several critical first steps toward solving the nation's broadband deficiencies, the Federal Communications Commission must act decisively and quickly in several key areas in order to reach its goals. The FCC should take immediate action on: 1) Competition. 2) Universal Service Reform. 3) Adoption rates. 4) Spectrum. 5) Transparency. 6) Data. 7) Jurisdiction. [more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/33790 | Free Press | New America Foundation
Recommend this Headline
back to top
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Bruce Mehlman]
[Commentary] The Internet Innovation Alliance believes the plan could have a positive and powerful impact, provided it is not accompanied by heavy new regulations that depress investment. But much work remains to be done, with many details to be ironed out. It certainly raises several questions to be answered as we go forward:
Who's Driving Now? Omnibus or Piecemeal Legislation? Budget Neutral or Free to Spend? Restructure Markets or Maximize Investment? Whence Universal Service Funding? Are the Targets (100 squared) Aspirational or Mandatory? How Deep A Dive into Privacy? [more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/33789 | Fierce
Recommend this Headline
back to top
BROADBAND PLAN THREATENS 'GOLDEN AGE OF BROADCASTING'
[SOURCE: Broadcast Engineering, AUTHOR: Phil Kurz]
The National Broadband Plan raises a serious, unanswered question in the mind of Jim Goodmon, president and CEO of Capitol Broadcasting: Why target the broadcast industry for spectrum? The plan, presented to Congress March 16, calls for recouping 120MHz of spectrum currently used for DTV transmission, which can be auctioned and repurposed to support projected future demand for wireless broadband Internet service. Doing so will prevent broadcasters, who have toiled through a lengthy digital television transition, from fulfilling their highest potential, he said. "I think we are right now at our best," Goodmon said. "We've never before been able to do so much, and I have no idea why [the FCC] have abandoned us. Of all the spectrum out there, you want to pick the spectrum that provides free local news to people?" "I would say that the FCC — the chairman [Julius Genachowski] and his advisors — no longer support the idea of free over-the-air television," Goodmon said. "They can obviously expand broadband and take care of their whole broadband plan and never touch broadcast spectrum."
benton.org/node/33793 | Broadcast Engineering
Recommend this Headline
back to top
ELECTRIC INDUSTRY AND BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: Coalition of Concerned Utilities, AUTHOR: Jack Richards, Thomas Magee]
Eight electric utilities have taken their concerns about pole attachments to the Federal Communications Commission. While supportive of the deployment of broadband nationwide, the electric utility industry is concerned about recommendations in the National Broadband Plan. The industry says it is subject to unfair and discriminatory pole attachment rates, unauthorized attachments, safety violations and administrative burdens. These concerns, the commenters say, are absent in the broadband plan.
benton.org/node/33788 | Coalition of Concerned Utilities
Recommend this Headline
back to top
OFCOM MOCKS US
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
Here's how US regulators do a broadband plan: talk about competition even while admitting there isn't enough, then tinker around the edges with running fiber to "anchor institutions" and start collecting real data on US broadband use. Here's how they do it in the UK: order incumbent telco British Telecom to share its fiber lines with any ISP who is willing to pay. In places where BT hasn't yet run fiber, order the company to share its ducts and poles with anyone who wants to run said fiber. In the 14 percent of the UK without meaningful broadband competition, slap price controls on Internet access to keep people from getting gouged. Government regulations can't encourage innovation? That's not the way UK telecoms regulator Ofcom sees the world, and it takes a none-too-subtle dig at the US model. "Availability of super-fast broadband in the UK (some 46 percent of homes) is now ahead of most large economies where deployments have been funded commercially. In the US, AT&T and Verizon have upgraded their networks to cover 17 percent and 12 percent of households, respectively, while cable company Comcast is approaching coverage of around 35 percent of US households with super-fast cable broadband." In case you're not getting the message, Ofcom is prepared to bludgeon you over the head with it. "Aside from small urban countries with highly concentrated populations, like Singapore, the main countries which are currently leading in the rollout and take-up of super-fast broadband are those which have had significant government intervention to support deployment, such as Japan and South Korea."
benton.org/node/33785 | Ars Technica
Recommend this Headline
back to top
AUSTRALIA DOESN'T NEED TELSTRA
[SOURCE: Dow Jones, AUTHOR: Cynthia Koons]
Australia's communications minister, Stephen Conroy, said March 24 that negotiations are continuing between government-owned National Broadband Network Company and Telstra on how the two can work together on a planned national broadband network but NBN Co. can "absolutely" build the network without Telstra. The minister's stance indicates the tensions between the government and the formerly state-owned telecommunications giant are still riding high. While he has threatened to forge ahead without Telstra's cooperation in the past, many analysts still view the company as best-placed to build the network given its vast existing infrastructure. Conroy would not comment on what Telstra last week called a "significant gap" between the parties' financial expectations about the worth of the company's assets that could be sold into the network. He declined to say what the size of the gap is, but confidential documents accidentally leaked by the government last October valued Telstra's telecommunications-network assets at anywhere between A$8 billion and A$40 billion, illustrating how difficult it is to put a price tag on the assets.
benton.org/node/33784 | Dow Jones
Recommend this Headline
back to top
AT&T WANTS TELECOM OVERHAUL
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
Jim Cicconi, AT&T's top lobbyist, said that Congress should decide who has authority over broadband services and that lawmakers should step in before the Federal Communications Commission tries to reclassify broadband. "If there are questions about the authority of the FCC in the Internet ecosystem, the proper answer is not for the FCC to get adventurous in interpreting its authority, as some are urging. Instead, any question of the FCC's jurisdiction over the Internet should properly be referred to the Congress for resolution." Cicconi wrote, "The FCC derives its authority from Congress, and if the courts say the FCC lacks the authority it needs to do what it wants to do, the proper--and constitutionally correct--answer is to ask the Congress to address the question."
benton.org/node/33783 | Hill, The | AT&T-Jim Cicconi | dslreports.com
Recommend this Headline
back to top
US FALLS TO FIFTH IN IT RANKINGS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
The United States fell from third to fifth in the World Economic Forum's 2009-2010 information technology rankings. It currently trails Sweden, Singapore, Denmark and Switzerland in the group's annual comparison of states' IT venture capital, technology rules and standards and broadband availability, among other factors. Math and science education are lagging, while government services have yet to adopt the most current and effective information technology practices.
This headline is presented in partnership with:
benton.org/node/33782 | Hill, The | World Economic Forum | Bloomberg | Voice of America
Recommend this Headline
back to top
SPECTRUM CRISIS, MAYBE; SPECTRUM REFORM, ABSOLUTELY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sen Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)]
[Commentary] In proposed legislation and oversight of the Federal Communications Commission, I have made spectrum policy reform a priority. I intend to introduce comprehensive spectrum reform legislation in the coming weeks to modernize policy and fix fundamental deficiencies in our nation's radio spectrum management and coordination activities. Taking this corrective action will allow us to meet the future telecommunications needs of all spectrum users. For consumers, these fixes will lead to additional choices, greater innovation, lower prices and more reliable services. Specifically, this legislation will task the FCC and National Telecommunications and Information Administration to perform much-needed spectrum measurements to determine actual usage and occupancy rates. This data is fundamental to determining utilization metrics for different wireless services so that policymakers and the public can make informed decisions about future spectrum uses. Also required is a cost-benefit analysis of spectrum relocation opportunities to move certain incumbent users and services to more efficient spectrum bands. Many legacy wireless services could employ newer technologies to provide more efficient use of spectrum. [more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/33781 | Hill, The
Recommend this Headline
back to top
THE STIMULUS
10 MORE BTOP GRANTS
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today announced 10 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investments to help bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, create jobs, and improve education and healthcare across the country. The investments, totaling more than $63 million in grants, will increase broadband access and adoption in more than a dozen states. The grants will fund projects that lay the groundwork to bring enhanced high-speed Internet access to thousands of households and businesses and link hundreds of schools, hospitals, libraries, and public safety offices to the information superhighway. [read more about the grantees at the URL below]
benton.org/node/33780 | National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Recommend this Headline
back to top
ACA CRITICIZES RUS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The American Cable Association says that the Rural Utilities Service has been handing out broadband stimulus money to fund service in competition with its members -- small and medium-sized cable/telecom companies. In a letter to RUS administrator and former FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, ACA President Matthew Polka said ACA was "disappointed" to learn that some of the grant and loan money was going to areas "already sufficiently served with broadband." Polka said that the award process does not allow for operators to review the applications to ensure their accuracy. Polka wants RUS to adopt a formal review process that allows aggrieved parties to submit additional evidence, and in the meantime review all the round one applications (round two bids were due March 15) to make sure that no funding will be used to overbuild existing service.
benton.org/node/33779 | Broadcasting&Cable
Recommend this Headline
back to top
QWEST SEEKS STIMULUS GRANT
[SOURCE: Connected Planet, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
After dropping hints several weeks ago that it might apply for broadband stimulus funds in the second funding round, Qwest Communications today confirmed that it will seek a $350 million grant from the Broadband Initiatives Program administered by the Rural Utilities Service. As a requirement of that program, Qwest also said it would provide $117 million toward the cost of its proposed project, which would bring broadband at speeds of 12 to 40 Mbps to rural areas throughout its 14-state region.
benton.org/node/33778 | Connected Planet
Recommend this Headline
back to top
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Malkia Cyril]
[Commentary] In every competition, there's a winner and a loser. The open Internet protections being debated by the Federal Communications Commission right now will determine who wins and who loses in the fight over whether big companies or regular people will control the Internet. I want everyday people to win. It makes sense that the threat of digital redlining has some civil rights groups in the DC beltway concerned. This concern has resulted in some groups like the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC), run by David Honig, taking a position against the open Internet protections that would ensure that the Internet remains an un-gated platform for self-representation, innovation, and opportunity. What doesn't make sense is that groups like MMTC would deny that the financial relationship between them and the same media companies that are blackmailing the communities MMTC claims to represent, has an impact on their position on open Internet protections. I agree with Garlin Gilchrest II of the Center for Community Change that the undue pressure of big media on some civil rights groups like MMTC to advocate against strong open Internet protections has pushed those organizations dangerously close to unwittingly and unwillingly becoming astroturf groups. I don't understand why a group claiming to represent the interests of people of color like me would focus on us only as consumers of a commercial broadband and not as communities who deserve all the richness an open Internet has to offer. If MMTC won't stand for the millions of people of color and poor people outside of the DC beltway, who will? Perhaps its simply time for us to speak for ourselves, and demand the strongest open Internet protections possible. Who speaks for communities of color and the poor about open Internet protections? We speak for ourselves.
benton.org/node/33777 | Huffington Post, The
Recommend this Headline
back to top
INNOVATION
SUPPORTING INNOVATION
[SOURCE: House Science and Technology Committee]
On March 24, the House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation held a hearing to broadly examine factors and policies that foster innovation. "The importance of innovation—creating new ideas, products, and services—cannot be overstated. And in this global, highly competitive economy, it is increasingly the intangible inputs of R&D, education, and entrepreneurial risk-taking that drive that growth," said Chairman David Wu (D-OR). "Innovation is key to creating new industries, and therefore key to the creation of American jobs." In the twentieth century, innovations have moved away from physical-capital intensive technology advancements of the past, like railroads, to more research-intensive advancements, like DNA sequencing, which depend more on factors like R&D and an educated workforce. Economists agree that innovation has a significant, positive impact on the nation's economy; more than half of the growth of the GDP since World War II is attributable to the development and adoption of new technologies. Members and witnesses discussed the role of the federal government in supporting innovation in the 21st century, including fostering collaborations between federal agencies and the private sector, bolstering science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education to ensure a trained workforce, and supporting basic research. Members and witnesses also discussed the appropriate role of the federal government in supporting commercialization and entrepreneurs and state innovation-based economic discovery.
benton.org/node/33776 | House Science and Technology Committee
Recommend this Headline
back to top
JOURNALISM
CPB NEWS INITIATIVE
[SOURCE: Corporation for Public Broadcasting]
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced funding for a major journalism initiative that will increase original local reporting capacity in seven regions around the country, and a planning project to develop an open information architecture to harness the collective power of the public media network. CPB is funding the creation of seven Local Journalism Centers (LJCs), combining CPB and participating stations' resources for a ground-breaking new approach to newsgathering and its distribution. The Centers will form teams of multimedia journalists, who will focus on issues of particular relevance to each region; their in-depth reports will be presented regionally and nationally via digital platforms, community engagement programs and radio and television broadcasts. The LJC initiative builds on CPB's long-standing commitment to journalism and its ongoing funding of public media news and public affairs content and initiatives, including Project Argo, a pilot effort funded jointly with the Knight Foundation to enable a dozen NPR and PBS stations to expand their reporting and increase their expertise on topics of local relevance. In addition, CPB also announced funding for the Public Media Platform, a project administered by NPR, in partnership with PBS, APM, PRI and PRX. This coalition of public media leaders will develop a prototype for a flexible common platform to support public media innovation and collaboration. The ultimate goal is to collect, distribute, present and monetize digital media content efficiently, allowing producers and stations to devote their resources to reporting, content production and community engagement. [more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/33775 | Corporation for Public Broadcasting | NYTimes | Reuters
Recommend this Headline
back to top
WIRELESS
91% IN US USE CELL PHONES
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Chris Foresman]
Even in the face of the largest economic recession since the Great Depression, the wireless industry continues to grow as a vast majority of the US population is using a mobile phone. Over 285 million Americans are mobile subscribers, about 91 percent of the total population. That's up 15 million over the same time last year, and growth has slowed somewhat due to market saturation. Those 285 million callers used 1.12 trillion minutes of talk time in the last half of 2009, up 3.4 percent of the same period in 2008. That breaks down to an average of 6.1 billion minutes used per day, or about 21 minutes per person per day. Wireless service revenues totaled $77 billion for the last half of the year, up slightly from last year. But the real growth is coming from wireless data services -- mobile Web, text messages, and other non-voice services. In the latter half of last year, revenue for wireless data service totaled over $22 billion, nearly a third of overall wireless services revenue and up 26 percent year-over-year. 257 million "data-capable" devices are active on US carriers' networks. However, roughly 50 million of those are smartphones capable of more advanced wireless services than SMS, MMS, and WAP browsing. Another 12 million are 3G-enabled laptops. Those devices are responsible for the majority of data service revenues.
benton.org/node/33774 | Ars Technica
Recommend this Headline
back to top