Friday, December 23, 2022
Headlines Daily Digest
Headlines will return Tuesday, January 3, 2023. Enjoy the holidays.
Advocates Applaud Passage of the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022
Don't Miss:
90% of US Households Get an Internet Service at Home
Senate BEAD Oversight and Reliable Broadband Service
26 Senators Tell the FCC to Fix the New National Broadband Map
Broadband Funding
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Broadband Data and Mapping
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Government & Communications
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Ownership
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TV
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Company News
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Stories From Abroad
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Broadband Funding
Biden-Harris Administration Awards Nearly $5.7 Million to Kansas in ‘Internet for All’ Planning Grants
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The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Kansas received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative. Kansas is receiving $5,692,606.99 in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet service throughout the state. Kansas will receive $4,999,942.61 in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) grants to fund various activities including:
- Development of a 5-year action plan;
- Identification of unserved and underserved locations;
- Capacity building of the Kansas Office of Broadband Development programming.
Kansas will receive $692,664.38 in Digital Equity Act grants to fund various activities including:
- Development of a statewide digital equity plan to support closing the digital equity gap;
- Recruit staff and contractual expertise to aid in plan development;
- Conducting digital inclusion asset mapping and stakeholder engagement.
Biden-Harris Administration Awards More Than $5.7 Million to New Mexico in ‘Internet for All’ Planning Grants
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The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that New Mexico received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative. New Mexico is receiving $5,740,534.91 in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet service throughout the state. New Mexico will receive $5 million to fund various activities including:
- Helping close the broadband availability gap and the development of a Five-Year Action Plan;
- Research and data collection, including initial identification of unserved locations and underserved locations;
- Publications, outreach, and communications support; Providing technical assistance to potential subgrantees, including through workshops and events;
- Conducting surveys of unserved, underserved, and underrepresented communities to better understand barriers to adoption.
New Mexico will also receive $740,534.91 to fund various activities including:
- Helping close the digital equity gap and the development of a Statewide Digital Equity Plan;
- Assessing the current state of digital equity programs across New Mexico;
- Analyzing the needs and barriers to digital equity for all residents, specifically for covered populations;
- Creating measurable objectives to advance digital equity and create impact on state-wide economic development, education, health, civic engagement, and essential services;
- Creating an implementation strategy that includes clear goals and performance measures, prioritizes investments, and articulates governance and oversight for the strategy.
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On November 22, seven Republican US senators led by Sen Steve Daines (R-MT) wrote to National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) head Alan Davidson about the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program: "Unfortunately, in your recent BEAD Notice of Opportunity Funding (NOFO), NTIA excluded broadband service using entirely unlicensed spectrum from its definition of reliable broadband, a stark contrast to Congress’s tech-neutral intent and previous determinations reached by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)." On December 20, Administrator Davidson replied saying that BEAD contains provisions specifically designed to address concerns about overbuilding:
- First, as required by the statute, the NOFO defines unserved locations as “those without any broadband service at all or with broadband service offering speeds below 25 megabits per second (Mbps) downstream/3 Mbps upstream,” and underserved locations as “those without broadband service offering speeds of 100 Mbps downstream/20 Mbps upstream.”
- Second, the NOFO includes a specific provision to prevent overbuilding due to potentially duplicative federal funding commitment.
- Further, the ACCESS BROADBAND Act established the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OICG) within NTIA and directed OICG to, among other things, “track the construction and use of and access to any broadband infrastructure built using any Federal support in a central database.” NTIA is coordinating closely with the FCC, Treasury, USDA, and others to fully implement NTIA’s statutory coordination duties under the ACCESS BROADBAND Act and to ensure that states, tribes, and communities have the information they need for planning and coordination purposes
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A new study, Broadband Internet in the U.S. 2022, finds that 90% of US households get an Internet service at home, compared to 84% in 2017, and 74% in 2007. Broadband accounts for 99% of households with Internet service at home, and 89% of all households get a broadband Internet service – an increase from 82% in 2017, and 53% in 2007. 90% of households use a laptop or desktop computer, an increase from 85% in 2017. Of those that use a laptop or desktop computer at home, 96% have Internet service at home. Those that do not use a laptop or desktop computer at home account for 58% of all that do not get Internet service at home. These findings are based on a survey of 1,910 households from throughout the United States. Other related findings include:
- Individuals ages 65+ account for 34% of those that do not get an Internet service at home
- 56% of broadband subscribers are very satisfied (8-10 on a 1-10 scale) with their Internet service at home, while 6% are not satisfied (1-3).
- 44% of broadband subscribers do not know the download speed of their service – compared to 60% in 2017
- 61% reporting Internet speeds of >100 Mbps are very satisfied with their service, compared to 41% with speeds <50 Mbps, and 57% that do not know their speed
- 40% of broadband households get a bundle of services from a single provider – compared to 64% in 2017, and 78% in 2012
- 59% of adults with Internet service at home watch video online daily – compared to 59% in 2020, 43% in 2017, and 17% in 2012
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Twenty-six US senators—led by Sens Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Roger Wicker (R-MS), John Thune (R-SD)—sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel highlighting important next steps in ensuring that the National Broadband Map provides a reliable depiction of broadband availability across the country. The senators are calling on the FCC to:
- work with stakeholders to make sure that all serviceable locations are represented on the map,
- make it easier to make adjustments to the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (the Fabric),
- update the Fabric more than twice each year,
- make sure broadband providers are accountable for their reports prior to the map being finalized (do not allow a provider to claim coverage at locations where challengers can demonstrate they can't receive service), and
- ensure that the crowdsourcing challenge process works effectively and promptly in response to parties filing robust testing data.
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What counts as a fiber passing, anyway? It seems the answer varies slightly by operator, though most consider a passing to be any location which can be connected to fiber running along the main road. A Consolidated representative said passings are locations that are in “close proximity” to its network. And depending on the length of the fiber drop and other factors, “there could be additional costs [for installation] in exceptional circumstances.” That some homes considered “passed” may have to pay to actually be connected is notable given those locations are not eligible for certain federal grant funding. A US Department of Agriculture (USDA) representative said that under program rules, a passing is considered a location near enough to broadband facilities that service can be provided in a reasonable amount of time if requested. Passings fall into a different category than “connected” locations, which actually have facilities constructed on the premises. The Federal Communications Commission notes that service is only considered “available” at a given location “if the provider has, or previously had, a connection in service to the location, or if the provider could initiate service through a routine installation within 10 business days of a request with no extraordinary monetary charges or delays attributable to the extension of the provider’s network.”
Telecommunications
Advocates Applaud Passage of the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022
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The Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022 was passed by the House of Representatives and is headed to the President’s desk. This historic victory comes a decade after Color Of Change, its members and partners pressured Securus, the largest prison telecom company, to publicly support the prison phone justice legislation after decades of opposing it. The legislation gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the authority to establish maximum service rates in prisons for communication providers. This will allow incarcerated individuals to stay in contact with their families and loved ones, without paying exorbitant fees and is a step toward ending carceral profiteering, once and for all. “Enactment of the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022 helps everyone, not just the incarcerated and their families,” stressed Benton Senior Counselor Andrew Jay Schwartzman on the broader impact of the new legislation. “Our entire society benefits when families can stay together; reducing recidivism reduces taxes for all of us and also makes the job of law enforcement easier and cheaper.”
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Too many families of incarcerated people must pay outrageous rates to stay connected with their loved ones. This harms the families and children of the incarcerated—and it harms all of us because regular contact with kin can reduce recidivism. The FCC has for years moved aggressively to address this terrible problem, but we have been limited in the extent to which we can address rates for calls made within a state’s borders. [Thanks] to the leadership of Senators Duckworth, Portman and their bipartisan coalition, the FCC will be granted the authority to close this glaring, painful, and detrimental loophole in our phones rate rules for incarcerated people.
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Congress passed the bipartisan Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022, which restores the Commission’s authority to ensure service providers charge “just and reasonable rates” for intrastate and interstate calls and other communications methods used by incarcerated individuals in correctional facilities. The legislation is the result of the dedication of the late Martha Wright, who led the charge in 2003 to create positive change and ensure families with incarcerated individuals had the ability to stay in contact with their loved ones by eliminating the burden of exorbitant inmate calling rates. Commissioner Starks issued the following statement: “Jails and prisons have charged predatory rates to incarcerated individuals for far too long. [This] action ensures the Commission has clear authority to act to ensure that rates charged for incarcerated individuals are just and reasonable no matter the phone technology used to make the call or whether the call crosses state lines. I hope the FCC moves quickly to implement the rulemaking as required by the statute soon after President Biden signs the legislation.
Health
Senators Rosen (D-NV), Fischer (R-NE) and Young (R-IN) Bipartisan Data Mapping to Save Mom's Lives Act Signed Into Law
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Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Todd Young (R-IN) applauded news that President Biden has signed their bipartisan Data Mapping to Save Moms’ Lives Act into law. The legislation would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to identify areas where high rates of poor maternal health outcomes overlap with lack of access to broadband services in order to pinpoint where telehealth services can be most effective. Senator Rosen has been a leading voice in advocating for effective and accessible health care. Recently, the Maximizing Outcomes through Better Investments in Lifesaving Equipment for (MOBILE) Health Care Act, legislation Senator Rosen introduced with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03), was signed into law by President Biden. The law provides community health centers with the flexibility to use federal funds to establish new, mobile healthcare delivery sites to increase access to healthcare services in rural and underserved communities.
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A bill that would free up more money for the Federal Communications Commission suspect tech rip-and-replace program — mandated by Congress — did not make it into the $1.7 trillion must-pass omnibus appropriations bill, according to an unhappy Competitive Carriers Association. The fact that the bill did extend FCC auction authority for a few more months, though, was some solace. In the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks legislation, Congress mandated, and the FCC fully supported, a program for compensating providers with 10 million customers or fewer for removing and replacing network technology the agency has concluded is a potential national security threat — a list that started with Chinese companies ZTE and Huawei and has since expanded. The proposed cap on reimbursing providers of advanced telecom services for the reasonable costs of removing, replacing, and disposing of equipment had been for providers with 2 million customers. Now, the cap is 10 million. (The FCC in July 2021 voted to extend the reimbursement program to larger players.) Congress set aside $1.98 billion of funding in the legislation mandating the program, while the FCC said in February it had received more than $5.5 billion in funding requests. The FCC may not approve all of those asks, but it will clearly need more money than Congress set aside.
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Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) introduced the Amateur Radio Communications Improvement Act (HR 9664) to eliminate the current Symbol Rate Limit set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and replace it with a 2.8 kilohertz (kHz) bandwidth limit. The bill brings regulations up to speed with modern technology advances in amateur radio. This legislation eliminates the Symbol Rate Limit in 47 CFR part 97, and replaces it with the 2.8kHz bandwidth limit. 2.8kHz is already used to set the maximum bandwidth of an amateur station in the 60-meter band.
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Twitter executives have claimed for years that the company makes concerted efforts to detect and thwart government-backed covert propaganda campaigns on its platform. Behind the scenes, however, the company provided direct approval and internal protection to the US military’s network of social media accounts and online personas, whitelisting a batch of accounts at the request of the government. The Pentagon has used this network, which includes US government-generated news portals and memes, in an effort to shape opinion in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, and beyond. The accounts in question started out openly affiliated with the US government. But then the Pentagon appeared to shift tactics and began concealing its affiliation with some of these accounts — a move toward the type of intentional platform manipulation that Twitter has publicly opposed. Though Twitter executives maintained awareness of the accounts, they did not shut them down, but let them remain active for years. Some remain active.
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The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau started the 2022 Quadrennial Review of the FCC’s media ownership rules. The Bureau seeks comment on whether the media ownership rules remain “necessary in the public interest as the result of competition.” Although the FCC has not yet adopted final rules in the 2018 Quadrennial Review proceeding, it remains cognizant of the statutory obligation to review the broadcast ownership rules every four years. Just as the previous (2018) quadrennial review was initiated in December of 2018, the FCC seeks to commence this subsequent (2022) review before the end of the 2022 calendar year. [MB Docket No. 22-459] [Comment Date: 45 days after publication in the Federal Register]
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Democrats in a vacant Richmond-based congressional district nominated Virginia State Senator Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond) for the seat, putting her on a path to becoming the state’s first Black woman in Congress. State Sen McClellan received 85 percent of the vote, compared to 14 percent for State Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond), and less than 1 percent each for two other candidates. State Sen McClellan is the vice chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and a former gubernatorial candidate. She spent more than 10 years in Virginia’s House of Delegates and succeeded Don McEachin in the state Senate after he was elected to Congress in 2016. Rep. McEachin died on Nov. 28, just weeks after winning reelection. McClellan raked in dozens of endorsements from local and national Democratic politicians and groups including the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, EMILY’s List, End Citizens United/Let America Vote, NewDem Action Fund, Virginia’s entire Democratic congressional delegation and Colette McEachin, the wife of the late congressman. The district is heavily blue, so McClellan is very likely to win the special election on Feb. 21, when she’ll face off against Republican Leon Benjamin.
Ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt helps fund dozens of jobs in Biden’s administration through the non-partisan Federation of American Scientists
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Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google who has long sought influence over White House science policy, is helping to fund the salaries of more than two dozen officials in the Biden administration under the auspices of an outside group, the Federation of American Scientists. The revelation of Schmidt’s role in funding the jobs, the extent of which has not been previously reported, adds to a picture of his growing influence in the White House science office and in the administration – at a time when the federal government is looking closely at future technologies and potential regulations of Artificial Intelligence. Schmidt has become one of the United States’ most influential advocates for federal research and investment in AI, even as privacy advocates call for greater regulation. A Schmidt spokesperson said, “Eric, who has fully complied with all necessary disclosure requirements, is one of many successful executives and entrepreneurs committed to addressing America’s shortcomings in AI and other related areas.” The person added, “While it is appropriate to review the relationship between the public and private sectors to ensure compliance and ethics oversight, there are people with the expertise and experience to make monumental change and advance our country, and they should have the opportunity to work across sectors to maintain our competitive advantage for public benefit.”
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Iran’s government has throttled down bandwidths, stepped up filtering of social-media sites and taken down virtual private networks, according to analysts and reports by nongovernment organizations. It has also sought to intercept Starlink and other satellite internet devices, which are illegal in Iran. The number of Iranians with access to Starlink is a tiny fraction of the millions who use virtual private networks and other platforms to evade government restrictions, users say. But the terminals provide internet access free from the government’s controls, making them especially useful for protesters seeking to send video files and communicate securely. Social-media apps have been widely used to organize and share footage of the protests. One of the main efforts to get Starlink gear into Iran is by a group of Iranian-American activists and tech entrepreneurs in California, who began making plans to buy and ship the devices only days after the protests broke out.
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France’s privacy watchdog fined Microsoft for not making it easy enough for users of its Bing search engine to reject cookies used for online ads, as part of a broader increase of enforcing Europe’s privacy laws. France’s data-protection regulator, the CNIL, fined a Microsoft subsidiary in Ireland 60 million euros, equivalent to almost $64 million. The company hadn’t—until earlier in 2022—offered users the option to reject so-called cookies alongside the button to accept them, the regulator said. Cookies are a type of digital identifier that websites can leave in web browsers, and which are often used to help target advertising. The regulator also ordered Microsoft to seek consent for another type of cookie that it places in web browsers for the purposes of detecting fraudulent views of ads—something the CNIL said wasn’t necessary to make the search engine function. If Microsoft doesn’t comply within three months, it could face additional fines of €60,000 a day, the CNIL said. France’s CNIL has been able to take on the cookie-consent issue because it is governed in part by an older EU law, the ePrivacy directive, which doesn’t include the same provisions to shift investigations to the country where the company in question is based.
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. 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 sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org) and Grace Tepper (grace AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.
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