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BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2011

Today's events include More Than a Broadband Map

AT&T|T-MOBILE DEAL (see all our coverage at http://benton.org/taxonomy/term/7436)
   Flashback: Wireless, Competition and the National Broadband Plan
   Sprint says AT&T, T-Mobile merger would ‘stifle innovation’; Verizon will not oppose deal
   CCIA Calls AT&T-T-Mobile Deal ‘Most Anti-Consumer’ in History
   AT&T Takes America Back to the Future
   Despite Claims, AT&T Has Lots of Spectrum
   Good Consolidation Coverage for a Change on AT&T Deal - video
   AT&T vs ... Apple?
   AT&T's Big Bet on Spectrum Folly
   More Spectrum, Please
   Risk of Supply Shock From AT&T
   Caution over AT&T and T-Mobile USA deal
   AT&T’s Acquisition of T-Mobile May Hurt Startups, Gurley Says
   FCC's Clyburn to focus on consumers in AT&T merger review
   In pursuit of T-Mobile, AT&T has fierce lobbying clout
   Broad coalition taking shape to battle AT&T, T-Mobile merger
   For telecoms, success rests in mobile Web access
   Additional AT&T|T-Mobile Coverage

MORE ON SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
   Genachowski Visits CTIA Wireless 2011
   Spectrum: The looming question for wireless innovation
   New Wireless Data Likely to Fuel Spectrum Debate
   NAB tells handset makers to 'look in their own spectrum-inefficient glass houses'
   Oracle survey reveals people of different ages experience mobile differently
   The upstart company that made the AT&T-mobile merger possible
   LightSquared gets its first wireless broadband deal with a phone company
   CTIA Launches App Rating Initiative

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Google maps 300TB of real-world Internet speed data
   Bandwidth.com Launches a Better Broadband Map
   NTIA's Strickling Addresses NTCA Legislative and Policy Conference
   Municipal broadband service is a matter of fairness
   High-speed Internet connections outnumber landlines in Illinois
   Google spends $1 million on censorship and throttling detection
   Are you an online tax cheat?

CONTENT
   Judge Rejects Google books Settlement
   Amazon cuts off Lendle, other book lending services
   Court: Posting Entire News Article Was Fair Use
   Google Rebuilds DoubleClick Search

BROADCASTING
   FCC's Copps Responds to Call for Political Ad Disclosure
   FCC takes steps to end discrimination in broadcast ad contracts

POLICYMAKERS
   FCC Seeks Nominees for USAC Board
   FCC Seeks Nominations for Communications Security Advisory Panel

DIVERSITY
   Women Hold Fewer Than a Third of Top News Media Jobs, Foundation Reports

EDUCATION
   Giving Literature Virtual Life
   Researchers Evaluate Technology-Oriented, Personalized Learning

HEALTH
   HHS releases details on Direct Project

PRIVACY
   Sen Wyden pushes for mobile privacy reform

CYBERSECURITY
   Talks heat up behind cybersecurity law
   Security Breach May Have Compromised Federal Login Fobs

GOV AND COMMUNICATIONS
   The Right to Sue Over Wiretapping

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Tear down the great firewall
   New Canadian regulations allow mobile, Internet, TV consumers to be choosy
   China says Google's accusations about Gmail tampering are 'unacceptable'
   China still restricting foreign media, US complains
   Metered Internet just a matter of "fairness" -- and profits
   State Department to Pay for BBC's Anti-Jamming Campaign in China, Iran
   Web piracy showdown due in court
   The difficult balance of intellectual property
   Inflation to dictate BBC squeeze, says Thompson
   Internet filtering, parental controls remain ISP challenge, opportunity
   Japan's Nuclear Crisis Overwhelms the News

MORE ONLINE
   Tribune bankruptcy judge indicates he will allow state lawsuits alleging fraud in 2007 buyout
   Science Settles It: NPR’s Liberal, But Not Very
   WNET Local News, Via the Web
   Media Matters boot camp readies liberal policy wonks for the camera’s close-up
   Groupon President and COO Solomon leaving company

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AT&T|T-MOBILE DEAL

FLASHBACK: DOJ, NTIA ON WIRELESS COMPETITION
[SOURCE: Department of Justice, AUTHOR: Christine Varney, Carl Shapiro, Philip Weiser, Gene Kimmelman, Nancy Goodman, Laury Bobbish, W Robert Majure]
Kudos to Politico's Morning Tech for dusting off this January 4, 2010 filing from the Department of Justice which Politico offers may offer a few clues as to how DOJ might receive the AT&T-T-Mobile merger. The gist of the argument, filed as part of its comments on the National Broadband Plan, went like this: High-speed wireless service could serve as a competitive check on wired broadband providers, and there are a few ways to promote that competition. Freeing up spectrum is key, DOJ antitrust lawyers wrote, as is stimulating competition in the wireless market. "Promoting competition," the DOJ concluded, "is likely to take the form of enabling additional entry and expansion by wireless broadband providers," among other things. Justice could adopt a tough line on a merger that would reduce the number of major wireless carriers.
Recall, too, that on the same day, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration filed comments, too, at the Federal Communications Commission.
"A key question looking forward," wrote NTIA head Lawrence Strickling "is whether emerging 'fourth generation' (4G) wireless services will have price and performance characteristics that might make them a viable alternative to wireline services for a significant number of customers."
The NTIA filing reads: "The next several years will test the limits of wireless broadband, including the adequacy of in-building coverage and the ability of wireless networks to accommodate large numbers of data-intensive users. It remains to be seen, for example, whether WiMax and Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology services will be offered at prices and on terms (e.g., speed and quality) that make them attractive to wireline users. The [FCC] also must keep in mind that the two largest US wireless providers, Verizon and AT&T, also offer wireline services in major portions of the country, raising the question of whether these providers will market these services as replacements for wireline services, either within the region where they provide wireline services or at all."
"Given the projections of explosive growth in wireless bandwidth requirements," NTIA wrote, "a primary tool for promoting broadband competition should be to make more spectrum available for broadband wireless services. The Administration supports exploring both commercial and government spectrum available for reallocation, and favors a spectrum inventory to determine how radio frequencies are currently being used and by whom. The [FCC] and NTIA also should explore ways to create incentives for more efficient use of limited spectrum resources, such as dynamic or opportunistic frequency sharing arrangements in both licensed and unlicensed uses. NTIA also supports research and development that leads to innovative new spectrum access technologies, because these can spur a new round of innovation that will increase domestic spectrum efficiency through sharing and opportunistic use."
NTIA concludes: "Based on the Department of Justice’s experience with other highly concentrated telecommunications markets, NTIA agrees with the Department that 'there are substantial advantages to deploying newly available spectrum in order to enable additional providers to mount stronger challenges to broadband incumbents.'"
benton.org/node/53569 | Department of Justice | Bloomberg - Jan '10 | NTIA
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SPRINT OPPOSES AT&T DEAL
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Hayley Tsukayama]
Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, speaking on a panel at the CTIA wireless association’s annual conference, said that the proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile would stifle innovation in the industry. Hesse was joined on stage in Orlando by Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead and AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets CEO Ralph de la Vega for a panel discussion. Hesse said that a merger would result in Verizon and AT&T controlling 79 percent of the market. He told the audience that he has concerns the proposed deal puts “too much power into the hands of just two.”
Reuters reports that Verizon Wireless CEO Daniel Mead said his company will not oppose the deal because it does not want to be distracted from its goal of being the most profitable US wireless operator. "We're not interested in Sprint. We don't need them," said Mead. Asked about the prospects of the deal being approved by regulators, mead said: "Anything can go through if you make enough concessions."
benton.org/node/53601 | Washington Post | Connected Planet
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CCIA OPPOSES AT&T DEAL
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
The Computer and Communications Industry Association attacked AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile, calling it a “lose-lose” deal because it would damage competition and drive up prices. The CCIA, a tech-industry trade group whose members include T-Mobile USA, as well as eBay, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo, said that the deal could drive up prices for wireless services and harm smaller wireless carriers. “This may be the most aggressive and anti-consumer merger proposal in history, with many antitrust issues to be unraveled in the coming months,” CCIA President Ed Black said. CCIA said that AT&T’s purchase of the nation’s fourth-biggest wireless provider would be particularly harmful for smaller regional wireless carriers and handset makers that would be negotiating deals with only one carrier at a time because the two biggest nationwide carriers, Verizon and AT&T, use different wireless-technology standards. “A deal like this, if not blocked on antitrust grounds, is of deep concern to all the innovative businesses that build everything from apps to handsets,” Black said.
benton.org/node/53599 | National Journal
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AT&T HAS LOTS OF SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Peter Svensson]
AT&T says it wants to buy T-Mobile USA to acquire more airwaves to support the growing use of data-hungry devices such as the iPhone. But if that's the case, the T-Mobile deal isn't much of a solution. Having the right to use airwaves, or wireless spectrum, is essential to phone companies. More spectrum means more phone calls and more data can be carried in the same area. But AT&T Inc. already has an ample supply of unused wireless spectrum that it plans to use to expand its network over the next several years. And much of T-Mobile's spectrum is already in use, so the deal won't result in fresh airwaves becoming available. "The notion that there's a spectrum crisis has been greatly exaggerated for (the) political purposes of a few select companies like AT&T," said Derek Turner, research director at public-interest group Free Press. In fact, AT&T has made great strides in addressing network congestion in such cities as New York and San Francisco not by tapping its unused spectrum, but by upgrading its cell-tower equipment. AT&T has enough airwaves that it agreed to transfer some of its spectrum holdings to T-Mobile USA, along with a $3 billion breakup fee, if the deal is blocked by regulators.
benton.org/node/53644 | Associated Press
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ADDITIONAL COVERAGE
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
Sometimes, even with digital ink, there's too much news to fit. here's additional insight (and links!) into the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA.
benton.org/node/53563 | New York Times | WashPost | SF Chronicle | LATimes | NYTimes | WSJ | WSJ | WSJ | WSJ | FT | IDG News Service | SJ Merc | SF Chronicle | WashPost | Bloomberg | Bloomberg | National Journal | House Commerce Committee GOP Leadership |
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MORE ON SPECTRUM/WIRELESS

GENACHOWSKI'S CTIA SPEECH
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski delivered a speech to CTIA Wireless 2011, noting that spectrum is at the top of his agenda. There are four core reasons why: American competitiveness, opportunity, the enormous dollar benefits of freeing up spectrum, and the enormous costs of delay.
"Always challenging ourselves; always adapting; always looking to the next horizon. That's the American way," Chairman Genachowski said -- and then he challenged the audience to apply that same spirit to our broadband challenges. "The bottom line," he said, "mobile broadband is being adopted faster than any computing platform in history, and could surpass all prior platforms in their potential to drive economic growth and opportunity. But there's a catch. This explosion in demand for mobile services places unsustainable demands on our invisible infrastructure - spectrum. Spectrum is the oxygen that allows all of these mobile innovations to breathe."
benton.org/node/53602 | Federal Communications Commission | Fierce | B&C | Connected Planet | The Hill
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SPECTRUM AND WIRELESS INNOVATION
[SOURCE: Government Computer News, AUTHOR: Dan Rowinski]
The Federal Communications Commission is the cross between the wireless industry and federal, state and local governments. When it comes to creating new technological opportunities for industries ­ health care, small business, municipal governments and the like ­ the biggest issue is spectrum. A panel at the CTIA Wireless conference discussed how wireless technology is changing the fabric of society and the opportunities it brings. Dean Brenner, vice president of government affairs at Qualcomm, noted that there are billions of mobile devices deployed in the world and providing just basic functionality to the population can change the fabric of society. “We have the largest communications platform in the history of the world,” Brenner said. The panel touched on a variety of topics but one particular topic keeps coming up in the wireless discussion ­ health care. Qualcomm has partnered with the National Institutes of Health to create a mobile health summer institute, and various initiatives are being undertaken to transform the entire health care industry with mobile technology.
benton.org/node/53571 | Government Computer News | see video of the panel
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CTIA SURVEY RESULTS RELEASED
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
Data traffic on the nation’s wireless networks jumped by 110 percent in 2010, CTIA, the wireless industry’s lobbying group, reported in a finding that it says underscores the urgency of its calls for regulators to free up more spectrum for wireless broadband. The big jump in wireless data use was matched by a 64 percent rise in MMS messaging, which involves sending data files, music, video, or pictures, CTIA found in its biannual survey of the wireless industry. The survey found a 57 percent jump in the number of Americans with smart phones such as the iPhone or Droid. Texting also remains popular, with 31 percent more sent. Overall, the report found that 96 percent of Americans had some kind of mobile phone at the end of 2010, compared to 91.2 percent in 2009. The number of wireless subscribers increased by 6 percent to 302.9 million.
benton.org/node/53604 | National Journal | survey results
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NAB TARGETS HANDSET MAKERS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
The broadcast industry called on the lawmakers to tighten performance standards for mobile phones before reallocating spectrum to wireless firms in the latest exchange over the Obama Administration's planned incentive auctions. "Stone-throwing receiver manufacturers need to look in their own spectrum-inefficient glass houses," tweeted National Association of Broadcasters spokesman Dennis Wharton followed by a link to the letter from NAB president Gordon Smith addressed to the leadership of the Senate and House Commerce Committees. Broadcasters have resisted any attempted transfer of spectrum that isn't completely voluntary, while pointing to the millions of Americans who lack cable or broadband and rely on over-the-air television. The letter argues handset makers don't consume spectrum efficiently and cited published comments by former Federal Communications Commission officials.
benton.org/node/53648 | Hill, The | read the letter
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

GOOGLE MAPS INTERNET SPEED DATA
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
How fast is your broadband? M-Lab, a partnership between the New America Foundation and Google meant to measure Internet connections, has given Google two years worth of actual broadband connection data, as measured by users. That's more than 300TB of data, which Google has imported into its Public Data Explorer for easy viewing and analysis. The results are remarkable. Measuring Internet access has been tricky for years. Sascha Meinrath of the New America Foundation told Ars back in 2009, when M-Lab got underway, that detailed network data about speeds, latency, jitter, and more used to be in the public domain until the government-run NSFnet was privatized in the earlier 1990s. Today, though, it's hard to know what speeds ISPs are actually offering (knowing what speeds they advertise, by contrast, is simple). M-Lab has distributed testing tools for two years now and its servers have recorded data on the results. One of the most basic measurements is pure speed, measured in megabits per second. When these real-world speeds are charted on a map, they make Internet speed differences obvious in a way often obscured by simple lists and numbers. For instance, the two images below compare Internet download speeds in US states to Internet download speeds in European countries (many of which are the same size as US states). Speeds are medians.
benton.org/node/53619 | Ars Technica
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A BETTER BROADBAND MAP?
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
The folks at Bandwidth.com, which offers wholesale voice services to many application providers, launched a website with a broadband map that will offer people insights about the quality of service, the speeds of service and the price others have paid for broadband available in their area. The map borrows from the National Broadband Map ­ launched last month by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration — in the form of an API call that takes some of the data shown on the federally funded map, but it also adds true crowdsourcing and machine learning to deliver a greater variety of information. David Morken, the CEO of Bandwidth.com, says his map, found at broadband.com, uses information pulled from a variety of other broadband services in addition to the broadband map. For example, it uses data from Ookla as well as information carriers provide to Bandwidth.com in order to sell their services to the small and medium-sized businesses. Generally, carriers have been reluctant to deliver the level of detail in their mapping data that Bandwidth.com will deliver, but Morken is confident carriers will see the benefits form greater transparency through greater sales. He added that having a level of accountability that high-quality data will provide is a benefit as consolidation continues across the wireline and wireless industry.
benton.org/node/53618 | GigaOm
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STRICKLING AT NTCA
[SOURCE: BroadbandBreakfast.com, AUTHOR: Rahul Gaitonde]
The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association, a rural telecommunications association, kicked off its Legislative and Policy Conference with a speech by National Telecommunications and Information Administration Administrator Lawrence Strickling. Strickling provided the audience with an update on the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). He said that the goal of BTOP in rural America was not last-mile connectivity but rather building middle-mile networks and connecting anchor institutions. “Before dispersing grants, we talked with our counterparts at the Rural Utility Service to determine how best we could use our resources. We felt that RUS was better suited to handle the last mile while [NTIA] should focus on more community based projects.” Strickling said. The middle-mile projects that NTIA has funded have already begun gaining attention from last-mile providers. Strickling stated that in the fall, middle-mile projects and last-mile providers had signed 90 agreements; currently, more than 200 agreements are being negotiated. The Middle mile is the segment of the network between the backbone and the connection reaches homes which is the last mile. “By mandating our middle-mile networks be open, it allows anyone to connect to the network and benefit from access to fiber [optic networks],” Strickling said.
benton.org/node/53582 | BroadbandBreakfast.com
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GOOGLE SUPPORTS TRANSPARENCY
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
Google has awarded $1 million to Georgia Tech researchers so that they can develop simple tools to detect Internet throttling, government censorship, and other "transparency" problems. That money will cover two years of work at Georgia Tech, with an additional $500,000 extension possible if Google wants an extra year of development. At the end of the project, the Georgia Tech team hopes to provide "a suite of Web-based, Internet-scale measurement tools that any user around the world could access for free. With the help of these tools, users could determine whether their ISPs are providing the kind of service customers are paying for, and whether the data they send and receive over their network connections is being tampered with by governments and/or ISPs." Wenke Lee, a computer science professor at the school and the grant's principal investigator, says that the work will create a "transparency ecosystem" on the 'Net.
benton.org/node/53593 | Ars Technica
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CONTENT

JUDGE REJECTS GOOGLE BOOKS SETTLEMENT
[SOURCE: Associated Press AUTHOR:]
US Circuit Judge Denny Chin has rejected a deal between Google and lawyers for authors and publishers to let the gigantic search engine make money presiding over the world's largest digital library, saying the creation of a universal library would benefit many but would "simply go too far" by "grant[ing] Google significant rights to exploit entire books, without permission of the copyright owners." Judge Chin said the deal gives Goggle "a significant advantage over competitors." He said the deal would be "rewarding [Google] for engaging in wholesale copying of copyrighted works without permission, while releasing claims well beyond those presented in the case."
Google issued a statement: "This is clearly disappointing, but we'll review the Court’s decision and consider our options. Like many others, we believe this agreement has the potential to open-up access to millions of books that are currently hard to find in the US today. Regardless of the outcome, we'll continue to work to make more of the world’s books discoverable online through Google Books and Google eBooks."
Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge, said: "We are pleased that Judge Chin has rejected this settlement, even though we agree with him that there are benefits to Google’s book project. We were also pleased that the judge agreed with us in the specific issue of orphan works, as he ruled: ‘Google’s ability to deny competitors the ability to search orphan books would further entrench Google’s market power in the online search market.’ We look forward to continued discussion to work out a settlement agreeable to all along the lines Judge Chin recommended.”
benton.org/node/53650 | Associated Press AUTHOR: | paidContent.org | Public Knowledge
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BROADCASTING

COPPS ON DISCLOSURE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Michael Copps]
It helps neither voters nor democracy when special interests are allowed to keep under wraps their financial sponsorship of political advertisements in our media. In the most recent election cycle last year, way over $2 billion was funneled into political ads, a record high for a midterm campaign. We, the People have a right to know who is bank-rolling these ads. This is not a partisan issue, but rather it is a transparency issue with a substantial impact on the health of our civic discourse. The law of the land issued in the Citizens United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court allows corporations and unions to buy political advertisements, but it does not mean that citizens should be left in the dark as to who is making an argument to voters. In fact, Section 317 of the Communication Act dictates that 'listeners are entitled to know by whom they are being persuaded.' If some group called 'Citizens for Spacious Skies and Amber Waves of Grain' is actually under-written by a chemical company that doesn't want to clean up a toxic dump, viewers, listeners and voters should know this. I welcome the petition received today from Media Access Project urging the Commission to exercise the authority I believe it already possesses to require full and complete disclosure of political ad sponsorship. We can work out the details promptly if we get this moving right away. I urge the Commission to begin working on this important issue today. Anonymous ads sidetrack our civic dialogue. I think it's better to put faces on them and let informed voters decide their merit.
benton.org/node/53640 | Federal Communications Commission
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DIVERSITY

WOMEN IN NEWS MEDIA
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Romaine Bostick]
Women represent less than one third of the main decision makers at news companies worldwide as gender inequality leaves top management and governance dominated by males, the International Women’s Media Foundation said. Women occupy about 27 percent of the leading managerial jobs such as chief executive officer and about 26 percent of governing board positions, according to a survey of 522 newspaper, radio and television companies by the Washington- based advocacy group. Women hold 39 percent of the senior management positions that include managing editor and bureau chief, the two-year study released today shows. A so-called glass ceiling exists at companies in 20 of the 59 nations studied, mainly for senior jobs and in middle management, which includes chief correspondents and design directors, the IWMF said. The foundation, which surveyed 170,000 people, said it will discuss strategies to “level the playing field.” Women are close to reaching parity in news-gathering, editing and writing jobs, representing 41 percent of those positions, the study shows. Overall, women represent 35 percent of the full-and part-time journalism workforce worldwide.
benton.org/node/53584 | Bloomberg
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CYBERSECURITY

CYBERSECURITY UPDATE
[SOURCE: Washington Technology, AUTHOR: Matthew Weigelt]
Senators are beginning talks on pushing cybersecurity legislation, hoping for a successful run this time. Top Senate staff members have been in discussions for several weeks, working to parse language from at least two separate cybersecurity bills that were introduced but not passed in the previous Congress, while senators have just joined the talks, according to Molly Wilkinson, counsel for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, introduced the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010 last June. The committee approved the legislation by voice vote in December, but it died in the full Senate. A similar bill, the Cybersecurity Act of 2010, was introduced by Sens. John Rockefeller (D-WV), chairman of the Commerce Committee, and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), a committee member, in April 2009. The panel approved the legislation, but the Senate never acted on it. Now, Wilkinson said, staff members from the two committees, as well as the intelligence committee and others, are trying to find the best of both bills and merge them into one.
benton.org/node/53573 | Washington Technology | Federal Computer Week
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

NEW SWITCHING RULES IN CANADA
[SOURCE: ,Montreal Gazette AUTHOR: James Sturgeon]
The national telecommunications regulator has put in place new rules to make switching mobilephone, Internet and television providers easier for consumers, and perhaps net them a better deal. "The new rules will make the transfer process a seamless and convenient experience, while enabling Canadians to benefit from receiving retention offers from their current providers," Konrad von Finckenstein, chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said. The new framework will force Shaw Communications Inc., Telus Corp. and BCE Inc. and others to make "all the arrangements" to have services transferred over to them from their competitors, the commission said. In the past, consumer advocacy groups have complained customers face delays in switching between providers, and have had to pay unexpected charges and fees. The regulator is now requiring that transfers of accounts be completed within two business days, except in the case of wireless products, which providers will be given a short window of two and a half hours to complete the switch.
benton.org/node/53588 |
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