August 2008

White Spaces Update: It's Amazing What You Learn From Field Testing

[Commentary] The primary opponents of opening the broadcast white spaces for use, the broadcasters and the wireless microphone manufacturers insisted that the FCC conduct field tests on the white spaces prototypes. Of course, because these are concept prototypes and not functioning devices certified to some actual standard, everyone knew this would leave lots of leeway for the broadcasters and the wireless microphone folks to declare the tests a "failure" regardless of the actual results. Which, of course, they did. Needless to say, Phillips (which makes one of the prototypes) said the opposite, and it all depends on whether success means "the device functioned perfectly as if there were actually some standards for building a functioning device" or "the device proved it could detect occupied channels at whatever sensitivity the FCC decides is necessary." But one of the nice things about field testing is that you learn the most amazing things that you can never learn in a lab, as demonstrated by this ex parte filed by Ed Thomas for the White Spaces Coalition, the industry group that backs opening the white spaces. Apparently, in front of eye witnesses (including the FCC's engineers), both broadcasters and unauthorized wireless microphone users in the Broadway field test operated wireless microphones on active television channels, at power levels well above what white spaces advocates propose for mobile devices. All apparently without interfering with anybody's television reception or even — in the case of the unauthorized Broadway users — screwing up the hundreds of other illegal wireless microphones in the neighboring theaters. A few rather important take aways here:

1) the danger of interference claims by broadcasters and Shure are utterly bogus, as the wireless microphones do not screw up either television reception or each other;

2) the broadcasters and Shure know their interference claims are bogus.

(Feld is Senior Vice President of the Media Access Project, a non-profit, public interest telecommunications law firm.)

White House may have lost 7 months of e-mail since 2003

Apparently, the White House is missing as many as 225 days of e-mail dating back to 2003, and there is little likelihood that a recovery effort will be completed by the time President Bush leaves office. An outline of the White House's e-mail problems invites companies to bid on a project to recover the missing electronic messages. The work would be carried out through April 19, 2009, according to the Office of Administration request for contractors' proposals dated June 20. The new president will be inaugurated three months before that completion date.

Internet radio booming but threatened

With a growing audience of up to 54 million monthly listeners, Internet radio is one of the biggest trends in digital music. But if you believe the industry's leaders, it's threatened with extinction. They say the rates they have to pay the recording industry are bankrupting them. They're appealing the government-set rates, pressing Congress to change the rate structure and pursuing negotiations with the industry. A recording industry representative acknowledged that the new rate structure put in place last year is burdensome to some Webcasters. But Michael Huppe, general counsel of Washington, DC-based SoundExchange, which collects royalties from Internet radio firms on behalf of the recording industry, suggested that the problem is the business models of some of the Internet radio firms.

FTC to ban prerecorded sales messages

After a barrage of consumer complaints, the government is banning phone calls of prerecorded sales messages unless consumers agree to receive the calls. The Federal Trade Commission also announced that by December all prerecorded calls must provide an opt-out selection to make it easy for consumers to stop getting those calls. Effective Sept. 1, 2009, sellers and telemarketers may place prerecorded calls only to consumers who have provided signed and written agreements to receive them. The FTC said the rules will not affect informational prerecorded messages, such as messages to notify consumers of appointments and cancellations, because they do not attempt to sell goods or services.

Youth TV Takes the Lead in Diversity Casting

Entertainment Weekly, rarely a fierce critic of the television business, recently published a report subtitled "Why Is TV So White?" The article noted that when the broadcast networks announced their new shows for the coming season last May, their presentations "looked largely like a parade of Caucasian stars." With over one-third of the US population non-white, its becoming more of a priority for the television industry to serve this population. None of which should be particularly surprising in the 21st century, except that television in general seems to be caught in one of a series of repeating cycles in which diversity all but disappears from the small screen. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is preparing a fourth edition of a report, "Out of Focus, Out of Sync," for publication later this year. The first report, in 1991, noted that blacks were underrepresented "in each and every aspect" of the entertainment business. While some strides have since been made, the new edition is likely to draw much the same conclusion.

A Major Milestone in the Fight for Internet Rights

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission published its order lowering the hammer on Comcast for derailing Internet users' Web access and then pretending that the cable giant was doing nothing wrong. The order, approved by a bipartisan FCC majority at the beginning of the month, demands that Comcast "must stop" its ongoing practice of blocking Internet content by year's end. The action carries considerable weight. It's the first time the FCC has gone to such lengths to assert users' right to an open Internet. And it sends a warning shot across the bow of other major ISPs that are flirting with the idea of blocking, filtering or degrading content, or favoring certain Web sites and services over others. Comcast has 30 days to "disclose the details" of its "unreasonable" network practices, as well as its plan for replacing them by year's end with network-management practices acceptable to the FCC. If Comcast does not comply with that disclose order or fails to end the network practices at issue, the FCC will be temporarily enjoined from those practices, and permanently so if it could not justify why it should not be, and the issue would be put before an administrative law judge. Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, "This order marks a major milestone in Internet policy. For years, the FCC declared that it would take action against any Internet service provider caught violating the online rights guaranteed by the agency. Today, the commission has delivered on that promise." Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge: "With today's Order, the FCC acted to protect the rights of Internet users and set the precedent that unreasonable, discriminatory behavior like Comcast's will not be tolerated. It agreed with public interest advocates and technical experts that Comcast's conduct violated FCC principles and was not reasonable network management."

For Sale: Your Browser History

[Commentary] Though they're all approaching it in different ways, a bunch of large Internet firms -- including ISPs like Charter and AT&T and Web companies like Yahoo, Microsoft, and perhaps even Google -- are crawling toward adopting "behavioral targeting" systems. Predictably, privacy advocates are pushing lawmakers to outlaw or significantly limit this sort of invasive advertising. Proponents of behavioral targeting defend the practice saying Web surfers will benefit from close monitoring of our habits because we'll soon be getting more "relevant" ads. Considering the large networks that Web companies now manage and the money they can make by selling ads tailored to your surfing habits, it seems obvious that behavioral targeting will soon rule the Internet ad market. As the targeted-ad boom approaches, we Web surfers need to prepare ourselves -- and think of how we might be able to take advantage even as we have targets on our backs. Privacy advocates are asking Congress to make all behavioral targeting opt-in -- Google, your ISP, or any other company wouldn't be able to trade on your online actions without asking for your permission first. But marketers balk at this suggestion. Surveys show that most of us would refuse to sign away our Web history to marketers in return for nothing more than better-targeted ads. How's this for a compromise: If Web companies want to sell my personal information to advertisers, they ought to pay me for it.

Poor Results in NFL White Spaces Test, says Shure

Prototypes of spectrum sensing devices performed poorly at a White Spaces test the Federal Communications Commission conduced on August 9 before and during the preseason NFL game between the Washington Redskins and the Buffalo Bills, according to Mark Brunner, senior director of public and industry relations at pro-audio vendor Shure. The FCC has been exploring the idea of opening unused parts of the analog broadcast TV spectrum -- dubbed white spaces -- to transmit high-speed data to portable devices. While the idea is backed by major technology firms, including Microsoft and Google, it has been criticized by broadcast and pro audio companies. They fear the devices might interfere with the transmission of DTV signals and wireless microphones. The issue is particularly important for high-def content, both in the transmission of HD broadcast signals and the use of wireless microphones in sporting or concert events using wireless microphones, Brunner said.

NBCU Acquires Carnival

NBC Universal acquired British production company Carnival Film & Television which produces Hotel Babylon for the British Broadcasting Corp. and Midnight Man, Harley Street and the upcoming Whitechapel for ITV. Under the terms of the deal, NBCU will acquire 100% of the company's shares, which are split between Southern Star (75%) and Carnival CEO Gareth Neame (25%). Once the acquisition is complete, Carnival will be merged into NBCU's international-TV-production division. The deal is part of NBCU's strategy to more than double its non-U.S. revenue by 2010, and it follows the acquisitions of Sparrowhawk Holdings and a 26% stake in India's NDTV.

BBG Boosts Broadcasts to Georgia

The Broadcasting Board of Governors has implemented surge broadcasting in Georgian in response to the continuing crisis in the breakaway province of South Ossetia. News and information from the Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reaches audiences in Georgia via shortwave radio, in-country FM broadcasts, television, and the Internet.

Benton

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