BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2014
Events on today’s agenda http://benton.org/calendar/2014-11-07
LOBBYING
The tech community is abandoning ALEC
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Rumored network neutrality approach might break the Internet instead of saving it - Sarah Morris op-ed
The FCC Floats a Net Neutrality Trial Balloon - Marvin Ammori op-ed
AT&T head makes personal appeal on ‘fast lane’ proposal
During Netflix money fight, Cogent’s other big customers suffered too
What Cogent Traffic Management Revelations Mean for Net Neutrality Proposal - analysis
What caused the web slow-down? Not Comcast, TWC, or Verizon - AEI op-ed
Why Is the Internet So Damn Slow? A Q&A with Chris Mitchell, who heads the Community Broadband Networks Initiative. [links to web]
Use the Web? Congrats, you’re an environmentalist. [links to web]
Governance advocates see crowd-sourcing as way to fix Internet ills
TELECOM
Consumers and the IP Transition: Communications patterns in the midst of technological change - research
Bringing the FCC’s Lifeline Program Into the 21st Century - research
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
University of Minnesota sues four wireless service carriers [links to web]
FCC Looking to Put Paging Spectrum to Better Use - analysis [links to web]
Survey says only 65 percent of broadband households have Wi-Fi [links to web]
Ericsson: 50% of all mobile traffic will be video by 2020 [links to web]
PRIVACY/SECURITY
The FBI’s Quiet Plan to Expand Its Hacking Powers [links to web]
Apps aimed at children collect a shocking amount of data [links to web]
Where’ve you been? Your smartphone’s Wi-Fi is telling everyone. [links to web]
DIVERSITY
Jesse Jackson says more pressure needed on tech firms
Quantifying the Gender Gap in Tech - research
Nation's capital has lessons for tech industry diversity
Dropbox thinks outside the box on diversity
OWNERSHIP
Comcast and AT&T Deals Put on Track for February Decision [links to web]
City that called Comcast “terrible” strikes deal for Comcast service
TELEVISION
Public Knowledge Urges Senators To Fix or Oppose STAVRA - press release
CBS Launches Ad-Supported Broadband News Feed In Effort To Vie With Cable-News Outlets
Pay-TV ‘Cord Cutting’ Accelerates [links to web]
Bewkes: Universal Video on Demand is The Future [links to web]
CONTENT
One-in-Five Americans Share Their Faith Online - Pew research
When did Facebook become my (nagging) mother? [links to web]
Lights, Camera, Android! [links to web]
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
Digital politicos admit they’re swamped by online ad data [links to web]
GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
Silicon Valley ready to fight back against intelligence agencies - analysis
POLICYMAKERS
Idaho PUC Commissioner Paul Kjellander Appointed to Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecommunications Services - public notice [links to web]
COMPANY NEWS
DT CEO: T-Mobile won't need DT's help to purchase extra spectrum [links to web]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
ITU Conference Sets 2020 Broadband Connect Agenda
Broadband: Innovation in ICT Access, Affordability and Application - press release [links to web]
What difference does a mobile operator more or less make to you? - press release [links to web]
Governance advocates see crowd-sourcing as way to fix Internet ills
LOBBYING
TECH IS ABANDONING ALEC
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Nancy Scola]
High-profile tech companies are abandoning the American Legislative Exchange Council, the 40-year old group known for quietly advancing business-centric, often conservative, bills through state legislatures. One twist in the exodus? Companies like Google created the conditions that are making it difficult, if not impossible, for them to stay in ALEC. How's that? ALEC pitches itself as a place for business and government to work together to advance legislation, and for a time, the tech community saw it as that, too -- particularly during the last decade, when West Coast Internet-based companies were just starting to engage in politics and still finding their footing. But in the last few years, those same tech companies have found their political strength and savvy (not to mention giant bank accounts). Instead of partnering with groups that represent broad interests, such as, say, the defense industry, in recent years they've been retreating to organizations such as the Internet Association that focus on what matters to them most. There's also something else behind the retreat. ALEC's main skill set is working in a distributed fashion, advancing legislation state by state -- including bans on municipal broadband like the one just rejected by voters in seven Colorado communities. By the time an issue emerged on the national stage, ALEC's take on it had the air of accepted fact. For decades, ALEC's involvement has happened below the radar. But in recent years a site called ALEC Exposed has trawled the Internet looking for signs of ALEC's influence on bills and its supporting memoranda, pulling the evidence into an online wiki that has served as fodder for countless blog posts, articles and radio news segments. That site has made it difficult to ignore ALEC's clout.
benton.org/headlines/tech-community-abandoning-alec | Washington Post
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
COULD NET NEUTRALITY PROPOSAL BREAK THE INTERNET?
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sarah Morris]
[Commentary] If current leaks are correct, the Federal Communications Commission may be on the brink of not only undermining hope for strong, enforceable and legally sound network neutrality rules, but may also be taking steps that would ultimately disrupt the very principles that have governed the way the Internet has always worked. We are fundamentally concerned about the collateral effects that a sender-side approach to network neutrality might have on the future of the Internet ecosystem. Recognizing a relationship between senders of traffic and last-mile broadband providers for the sole purpose of imposing network neutrality rules would recognize new privity among all websites around the world and all retail Internet access providers in the United States, making every website and content "sender" around the world a customer of every broadband provider in the US. There has never been this type of legally recognized relationship among all websites and broadband providers. Reclassification of retail broadband access as a Title II service remains the surest, clearest path forward for strong network neutrality protections, and it's the solution that millions of Americans have called on the FCC to implement.
[Morris is senior policy counsel for the Open Technology Institute at the New America Foundation]
benton.org/headlines/rumored-network-neutrality-approach-might-break-internet-instead-saving-it | Hill, The
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NET NEUTRALITY TRIAL BALLOON
[SOURCE: Slate, AUTHOR: Marvin Ammori]
[Commentary] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is floating a “trial balloon” for his net neutrality rule. If reports are accurate, the proposal would ignore 3.7 million comments that almost unanimously urge the FCC to ban fast and slow lanes and to adopt straightforward, solid legal authority -- after losing twice in court for lack of authority. In addition to ignoring the public, it would also ignore dozens of senators and members of Congress in Wheeler’s own party, not to mention the president who appointed him. The rule -- which will likely be adopted Dec. 11, with an internal draft circulated by Nov. 20—would permit fast and slow lanes on the Internet, in part because it rests on a new and exotic theory of legal authority that will almost certainly fail in court, for the third time -- even though judges and members of Congress keep pointing to an obvious, strong authority at the heart of communications law. While the actual proposal is not available to the public, the reports appear in line with what the FCC is telling stakeholders. Based on those reports, there are two major problems here—the rules and the authority they rest on. Both are important.
[Ammori is a Future Tense fellow at New America]
benton.org/headlines/fcc-floats-net-neutrality-trial-balloon | Slate
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AT&T VISITS THE FCC
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Julian Hattem]
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson met with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to discuss new network neutrality rules. Stephenson urged Chairman Wheeler not to enact tough regulations on Internet service providers by reclassifying broadband Internet service to treat it like traditional phone lines. Taking that potentially controversial step would be “contrary” to the FCC’s precedent and “would negatively impact” companies’ ability to build out new high-speed broadband networks, Stephenson told Chairman Wheeler. Stephenson said that the FCC had all the authority it needed to ban “fast lanes” on the Internet without resorting to that step.
benton.org/headlines/att-head-makes-personal-appeal-fast-lane-proposal | Hill, The | Multichannel News
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COGENT AND THE MONEY FIGHT
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
When Netflix and its transit providers fought with cable companies and telcos over who should have to pay for network upgrades, it’s no secret that innocent bystanders were harmed. Companies that sent data over networks that were congested because of money disputes got poorer performance, despite having no direct role in the fight. Now Cogent -- an IP transit provider whose paths into the networks of Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, and AT&T -- reveals it deployed a Quality of Service (QoS) system that de-prioritized traffic from wholesale customers so that traffic from retail customers would get through without dropping packets. Wholesale customers are the ones delivering large-scale services over the Internet. Netflix is the largest but Cogent has other, unnamed wholesale customers who suffered because of the Netflix money disputes. When Cogent had to drop packets because of congestion in its connections to ISPs, the packets of wholesale customers were dropped before those of retail customers. Retail customers are smaller businesses whose use of the Internet would more closely resemble a typical consumer than a giant Web company.
benton.org/headlines/during-netflix-money-fight-cogents-other-big-customers-suffered-too | Ars Technica
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COGENT AND NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
[Commentary] Cogent’s peering disputes with several consumer broadband providers caused performance to degrade not only for those providers but also for some other network operators. Cogent had to drop packets because of congestion on its connections to certain consumer broadband providers, Cogent dropped wholesale customers’ packets before those of retail customers because retail customers tend to use applications such as VoIP that are most sensitive to delay. Cogent critics say that move amounts to creating a slow lane and a fast lane, suggesting that it is the exact sort of traffic prioritization that network neutrality advocates want to outlaw. Cogent denies it created slow and fast lanes, saying that any dropped packets were promptly re-sent -- although some might argue against any type of packet prioritization.
benton.org/headlines/what-cogent-traffic-management-revelations-mean-net-neutrality-proposal | telecompetitor
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WHAT CAUSED SLOW-DOWN?
[SOURCE: American Enterprise Institute, AUTHOR: Bret Swanson]
[Commentary] M-Lab data actually show that Comcast, Time Warner, Verizon, and, to a lesser extent AT&T, had sharp drops in performance in May of 2013 at three monitoring points in New York, Dallas, and Los Angeles. Then, performance of all four networks all show sudden improvements in March of 2014. The simultaneous drops and spikes in performance for all four networks suggest these firms could not themselves have been the cause. Such an outcome would have required some sort of amazingly precise coordination among the four firms. Rather, the simultaneous action suggests the cause was some outside entity or event. As it happens, Netflix was moving much of its content away from third-party content delivery networks (CDNs) in the spring of 2013 and onto its own OpenConnect platform, which used Cogent and Level 3 to connect to many broadband providers. The smaller cable firms, Cablevision and Cox, meanwhile, had agreed to connect to Netflix for free and unsurprisingly show no degradation.
[Swanson is president of Entropy Economics]
benton.org/headlines/what-caused-web-slow-down-not-comcast-twc-or-verizon | American Enterprise Institute
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TELECOM
CONSUMERS AND THE IP TRANSITION
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: John Horrigan]
Americans today have a range of communications services with a variety of features that let them stay in touch with others, access information, and share their ideas and creativity with the world. Many people embrace the new, some do not, and a lot of some of both. Even “tech shy” people will send a text on a smartphone and stream video, while even the most ardent technophile might sometimes watch broadcast TV over the air after getting off a call on a landline phone. New technologies and services alter people’s communications habits, but they do not upend them completely. And they do not necessarily change the values – universal service, reliability, and connection quality – that people and society bring to the networks that enable communication. This report explores how people use telephone services in today’s communications market and their views on the values that accompany something that is deeply embedded in our society’s fabric. Here are the main findings:
Landline phones still have a strong foothold in online Americans’ phone calling patterns
Online Americans see the telephone as an anchor for household communications services and most believe that telephone service should support features such as emergency services, interconnection, and location-based services.
benton.org/headlines/consumers-and-ip-transition-communications-patterns-midst-technological-change | Public Knowledge | Telecompetitor
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MODERNIZING LIFELINE
[SOURCE: Internet Innovation Alliance, AUTHOR: ]
This white paper calls for fundamental reform of the Federal Communications Commission’s existing Lifeline Program to provide access and enhanced consumer choice to 21st Century broadband services for the nation’s low-income consumers. The report highlights how this antiquated, cumbersome and complex program currently perpetuates a market imbalance that obligates only wireline telephone providers to participate and maintain the administrative systems and processes required to operate the program. The IIA recommends streamlining the program to provide the flexibility necessary to broaden participation among various communications providers to help bring the benefits of competition to low-income consumers -- more innovation, better service, lower prices -- while also lowering administrative costs. One step toward attaining this goal is to transition the current program toward a voucher model, by providing eligible consumers with a “Lifeline Benefit Card” that empowers them to purchase a range of communications services, including broadband, wireline or wireless voice services. The report offers the following recommendations on how best to modernize and transition the Lifeline program so that it can help ensure next-generation broadband access for low-income consumers:
Bring the Lifeline Program into the 21st Century by making broadband a key part of the program’s rubric;
Empower consumers by providing the subsidy directly to eligible people instead of companies;
Level the playing field between service providers to broaden consumer choice and stimulate competition for their purchasing power;
Safeguard and simplify the program by taking administration away from companies that are not accountable to the American public, instead vesting that governmental responsibility with an appropriate government agency.
benton.org/headlines/bringing-fccs-lifeline-program-21st-century | Internet Innovation Alliance
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DIVERSITY
TECH DIVERSITY
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Marco della Cava]
Calling the battle for job parity "the fourth stage of the civil rights movement," the Rev. Jesse Jackson said technology companies have both a moral obligation and an economic incentive to create a more diverse workforce. "Those companies that don't see the black and brown communities are missing, out of their closed eye, talent, which leads to money and growth," Rev Jackson said. "When baseball, football and basketball couldn't see the field, they missed talent and growth. The same is true in the tech industry. We want to see goals, targets and time tables, even congressional hearings." "They run a rather segregated outfit there in the Valley, and the fact is there hasn't been much pressure on them from the government," he said. "We still await the government having hearings on EEOC (Equal Opportunity Employment Commission) compliance, to expose how paltry these companies are in terms of diversity. (Tech companies) get tax cuts, they have off shore tax monies, they bring in H-1B workers from abroad (under special visas), and that's all outside the realm of bringing justice to the country."
benton.org/headlines/jesse-jackson-says-more-pressure-needed-tech-firms | USAToday
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GENDER GAP IN TECH
[SOURCE: Hired, AUTHOR: ]
Numerous studies and statistics indicate a clear gender pay gap in the United States. Yet, there is little data available about this gap as it relates specifically to the technology industry. In the past six months, thousands of candidates have used Hired to search for jobs in the emerging tech industry. Our initial investigation found that women expect a lower income than men before the interview process begins. Unexpectedly, while entry-level candidates receive approximately equal compensation regardless of gender, experienced candidates see a wide disparity.
benton.org/headlines/quantifying-gender-gap-tech | Hired
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TECH DIVERSITY
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Mike Snider]
Silicon Valley may be the technology center of the high-tech world, but 3,000 miles to the east, the nation's capital has something that Silicon Valley can aspire to: a more diverse tech workforce. Blacks hold about 17% and women hold 31% of tech-related jobs in the DMV, a metropolitan area that covers the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Those are among the highest percentages of tech diversity in the nation, according to Census data, and could serve as a model for Silicon Valley as it strives to improve the diversity of its workforce, which is overwhelmingly white, Asian and male. From Apple to Google, Silicon Valley companies are looking to include more women and minorities as they compete in a global marketplace. The DMV's edge: a more diverse population. Blacks and African Americans make up half of the population in the nation's capital and 25% in the metro region. And women are in the majority here, too, where they account for more than half of Washington's residents and 51% in the region.
benton.org/headlines/nations-capital-has-lessons-tech-industry-diversity | USAToday
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DROPBOX DIVERSITY
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Jessica Guynn]
Like other major technology companies, Dropbox employed mostly white and Asian men. It was working to attract more women and minorities, but the departure of key women had exposed the company to sharp criticism. Job interview questions about a zombie apocalypse, and conference rooms named the "Bromance Chamber" and "The Breakup Room" didn't help the company's reputation for being a boy's club. Which is why Dropbox's 31-year-old CEO, Drew Houston, resolved to hack the culture of his own company much the way, seven years ago, he hacked a better way to transport files. Even with 1,000 employees, Dropbox is still young and agile enough to make profound changes to how it recruits and treats employees, Houston said. Company executives consulted leading experts in diversity including Joan Williams from the Clayman Institute. They also spoke with prominent women in tech who are passionate about the issue, notably Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Megan Smith, the former Google executive who is now the chief technology officer of the United States. In less than 10 months, Dropbox doubled the percentage of women working in engineering, product and design and tripled the percentage of women in design, said Dropbox general counsel Ramsey Homsany, who also oversees public policy and people operations. Today diversity is part of everyday business at Dropbox, from all-hands meetings to hackathons, executives say.
benton.org/headlines/dropbox-thinks-outside-box-diversity | USAToday
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OWNERSHIP
WORCESTER AND COMCAST
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Jon Brodkin]
Comcast has won approval of its Time Warner Cable purchase in one of the cities that most vehemently objected to it. Previously, the City Council in Worcester (MA) voted 8-3 to urge the city manager to deny a transfer of the city's cable TV license from Charter to Comcast. Charter is involved in the Comcast/TWC merger through a series of customer swaps that are contingent on the main deal. One Worcester councilor called Comcast "a terrible company" and said "they should not be welcome in this city." But now, City Manager Edward Augustus announced that "he will approve Comcast Corporation’s application to take over the city’s cable franchise after the company made several commitments that will protect Worcester jobs and valuable local news programming," according to a press release. "After a series of discussions with Augustus, Comcast has agreed to maintain the Worcester call center -- which is currently operated by Charter and employs more than 150 people -- and has pledged to continue to provide locally produced news." Comcast promised to maintain the local call center for at least three years. "Comcast has committed to continue a nightly news program, The Mayor’s Forum and coverage of local sports equivalent to what is currently offered," the announcement said. "In the event Comcast wants to transition these programs in the future, it will be required to meet with the City Manager and offer suitable, mutually agreeable alternatives to ensure Worcester continues to have a strong local news presence." With this deal, all 53 communities in Massachusetts that were asked to approve a franchise transfer from Charter to Comcast have done so.
benton.org/headlines/city-called-comcast-terrible-strikes-deal-comcast-service | Ars Technica
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TELEVISION
OPPOSITION TO SATELLITE BILL
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Shiva Stella]
Public Knowledge and other public advocacy groups sent letters to all 100 senators urging them to either fix provisions harmful to consumers in the Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act (STAVRA) or refrain from passing the bill at all. Each letter explains that language removing current Federal Communications Commission rules around set-top boxes will harm competition in the video device market, and potentially hurt future innovation in video devices and systems. The Senate Commerce Committee approved STAVRA's harmful provision, but several senators have objected to the bill's language and delayed its passing. Public Knowledge supports these objections and encourages all senators to demand the language be changed. Public Knowledge also opposes hiding the anti-consumer provision in important spending legislation needed to fund the U.S. government. Multiple public interest advocacy groups joined Public Knowledge’s letter, including Common Cause, Consumer Action, Consumers Union, Free Press Action Fund and the Parents Television Council.
benton.org/headlines/public-knowledge-urges-senators-fix-or-oppose-stavra | Public Knowledge
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CBSN
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: Brian Steinberg]
CBS launched what may be the modern media-industry version of a CNN with a new broadband-distributed news feed that will send live, anchored news programming to Internet-connected TVs and other devices -- an attempt by the company to monetize its CBS News unit without the old-world hassle of building a cable-TV network to do so. The new outlet, dubbed “CBSN,” will be available on CBSNews.com and its mobile website and selected connected TV devices -- including Amazon Fire TV, Roku players and Roku TV, and others, as well as a newly launched CBS News app for Windows 8/8.1 and Windows Phone 8/8.1 The company said CBSN will also be available on the CBS News apps for Android and other leading platforms before the end of the year.
benton.org/headlines/cbs-launches-ad-supported-broadband-news-feed-effort-vie-cable-news-outlets | Variety
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CONTENT
SHARING FAITH ONLINE
[SOURCE: Pew Religion and Public Life Project, AUTHOR: Alan Cooperman, Greg Smith, Becka Alper, Katherine Ritchey]
In an average week, one-in-five Americans share their religious faith online, about the same percentage that tune in to religious talk radio, watch religious TV programs or listen to Christian rock music. And nearly half of U.S. adults see someone else share their religious faith online in a typical week. Fully 20% of Americans said they had shared their religious faith on social networking websites or apps (such as Facebook and Twitter) in the past week, and 46% said they had seen someone else share “something about their religious faith” online. The percentage of Americans who shared their own faith online is similar to the proportions who said they watched a religious TV program (23%), listened to religious talk radio (20%) or listened to Christian rock music (19%). Even more (40%) said they shared something about their religious faith “offline, in a real-life setting.” By way of comparison, in Pew Research telephone surveys conducted in 2014, 35% of Americans have reported attending religious services at least once a week. The survey suggests that religious engagement through TV, radio, music and the internet generally complements -- rather than replaces -- traditional kinds of religious participation, such as going to church.
benton.org/headlines/one-five-americans-share-their-faith-online | Pew Religion and Public Life Project
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GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
NERDS VS SPIES
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Richard Waters]
In any popularity contest between the nerds and the spies, the nerds will always win. That is the conclusion Silicon Valley has come to following an extraordinary public attack from one of the UK’s chief spymasters. None of the leaders of the biggest tech companies was prepared to take Robert Hannigan, the new head of GCHQ, the UK’s electronic surveillance agency, on publicly. But the reaction of the chief executive of one prominent Silicon Valley group summed up the behind-the-scenes response: that to be publicly criticised by the spy chief was “great propaganda” for the tech industry. Given the ham-fisted way agencies such as Hannigan’s had acted in their attempted mass surveillance of the internet, this person added, there was little sympathy for his position. Before jumping to the conclusion that users will always back their favourite consumer internet brands over spy services, though, it is worth considering the risks that flow from public confrontations like this.
benton.org/headlines/silicon-valley-ready-fight-back-against-intelligence-agencies | Financial Times
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
2020 BROADBAND AGENDA
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Countries participating in the 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-14) in Busan, South Korea -- 171 of them including the US -- have unanimously committed to a Connect 2020 Agenda, a strategic plan for an "interconnected world," setting targets to be achieved by 2020. It is described as an effort to create an "information society, empowered by the interconnected world, where telecommunication/ICT enables and accelerates socially, economically and environmentally sustainable growth and development for everyone” based on what it calls the four pillars: growth, inclusiveness, sustainability, and innovation and partnerships and is meant to encompass government, the private sector, academia and civil society groups. Those include that, worldwide, 55% of households should have access to the Internet, 60% should be using the Internet, and 40% of broadband should be "more affordable."
benton.org/headlines/itu-conference-sets-2020-broadband-connect-agenda | Multichannel News
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NETMUNDIAL
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Eric Auchard]
Responding to a dizzying array of issues that threaten to break the Internet, from privacy to tax dodging to cybercrime, a group of the world's leading governance organizations say greater user involvement, not top-down control, is needed. Three organizations -- Brazil's Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br), Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) -- are setting up a new group to find solutions to Internet governance issues, instead of waiting for governments to agree. NETmundial, as the group will be known, will map out best practices for resolving complex problems, ranging from online privacy to Internet taxation, security and child protection. The group plans to turn to the Internet's own models of crowd-sourcing and crowd-funding that power web institutions such as Wikipedia to turn decade-old debates among top international technical organizations into action plans. US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said, “I welcome the NetMundial initiative announced today, which is based on the principles and roadmap developed in Brazil last April by the global Internet multistakeholder community. I hope it will be successful in advancing multistakeholder Internet governance that is open, transparent and allows for the participation of all interested parties.”
benton.org/headlines/governance-advocates-see-crowd-sourcing-way-fix-internet-ills | Reuters | Department of Commerce
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