While conservatives in the media have called Federal Communications Commission Chief Diversity Officer Mark Lloyd a "neo-Nazi" who wants to shut down conservative media, he has explicitly rejected the premise of the Fairness Doctrine. He simply wants to "expand media opportunities for women, people of color, small businesses, and those living in rural areas."
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has "tried to hit the ground running" on a reform agenda since taking office last summer, he told members of a House Commerce Subcommittee on Thursday. During the first FCC oversight hearing of the 111th Congress, Chairman Genachowski was joined by all four of his colleagues as the full commission appeared before the Communications, Technology and Internet Subcommittee for the first time. Many members of the subcommittee devoted significant time to praising the commission's efforts for a national broadband strategy, which is scheduled to be delivered to Congress by February 2010. But the new chairman and colleagues are looking beyond the broadband plan towards ways to improving the operations of the FCC, they said. While Genachowski's tenure is only a few months old, he said he has already begun to articulate specific strategic priorities for the commission. These include "fostering investment and innovation, promoting competition, and protecting and empowering consumers, children, and families." The commission has already begun work on these goals, he said.
At Thursday's oversight hearing, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski committed to a deadline of no later than February 17,2009 to come up with "real options" on universal service reform and a plan for re-auctioning the D block of spectrum. That is the same date that the National Broadband Plan is due to Congress. Chairman Genachowski said he supported legislation requiring the FCC to inventory spectrum, and FCC Commissioner Michael Copps seconded that, saying the country was clueless about how much spectrum was being used, where and for what. FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell said he welcomed a "careful inventory" to find the spectrum, but also pointed out that the government already knew where some of it was, pointing to spectrum in a 2006 advanced wireless services auction and the more recent 700 mhz auction that had not yet been built out, and in the white spaces between TV channels. That is all fabulous spectrum in terms of propagation characteristics he said. He also reminded the audience that technology was allowing the government to become increasingly efficient with the spectrum it had. He cautioned not to micromanage, and that a government-mandated business plan would likely be superseded by the market.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said the FCC's Chief Diversity Officer, Mark Lloyd, would be concentrating on broadband and would not be dealing with FCC broadcast license issues. Rep Greg Walden (R-OR), a former broadcaster, said he took personal offense at Lloyd's writings that "commercial broadcasters want to be public trustees but without responsibility," and said he was further troubled by a paper he suggested indicated that Lloyd supports reaching the same comes of the Fairness Doctrine via different means. Chairman Genachowski once again reiterated his opposition to the Fairness Doctrine. Saying sometimes "repeating relentlessly" was necessary, he told a House Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing audience Thursday that he did not support the doctrine's return, "either through the front door or the back door." He also said he respected the First Amendment and freedom of expression and opinion. But Chairman Genachowski also drew the distinction between that and promoting diversity. He said that there is a bipartisan consensus that media diversity is an important objective of FCC policy, as it has been since it was made part of the core principles back in 1934, as it has been supported by the Supreme Court. "The idea of having diversity as an objective of the FCC and having a staff focused on it seems to be a natural extension." Rep Walden was still not mollified given some of the "outrageous things" he said Lloyd has said in the past. "That is not going to bring balance to that diversity position you created." Also weighing in was Commissioner Michael Copps, who has been highly critical of what he sees as an attempt by critics to paint diversity initiatives as a stealth campaign to muzzle the media. He said the committee should take the chairman up on getting to know Lloyd better. He praised Lloyd's work at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, saying he was of "inestimable help with the DTV transition in helping mobilize nontraditional stakeholders in getting the word out on DTV. He has a very distinguished record."
Exclusive deals between mobile phone makers and carriers got support on Thursday from two Republican members of the Federal Communications Commission, which is probing if the arrangements harm consumers in rural markets. The backing of Commissioners Robert McDowell and Meredith Attwell Baker was the first glimpse into the positions of the commission since FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski told lawmakers in June the agency would examine deals such as the one between Apple's popular iPhone and carrier AT&T. In response to a yes-or-no question at a congressional hearing on Thursday, the three Democrats on the FCC -- Commissioners Genachowski, Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn -- declined to take a position. Exclusive arrangements are common among the biggest carriers but have recently faced opposition from rural carriers, which say they lack the clout to make deals to carry the most popular phones. At a Goldman Sachs conference, Sprint Chief Executive Dan Hesse said exclusive carrier deals with handset vendors are important for promoting innovation in the industry. He also said it was fair for regulators to ask whether handset exclusivity deals should have time limits.
House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) said Thursday that he had added himself as a co-sponsor to the Network Neutrality bill introduced by Rep Ed Markey (D-MA). At the Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing Thursday, Chairman Waxman said, "Industry will benefit from clarity, consistency, and predictability with regard to Net neutrality. I think that the time is right to formally establish, through legislation if required, the rules of the road with respect to Net neutrality." He also said fears that network neutrality will stifle investment have been proven unfounded.
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary ended its hearing on a federal shield law bill without a vote Thursday because of a lack of a quorum. The bill, which passed in the House last March, prevents journalists or their sources from being compelled to testify in federal courts, with carve-outs for national security, cases of imminent harm, and leaks of personal, medical or information related to trade secrets. Apparently, the Committee will reconsider the bill again on Sept 24. Committee Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said that, "despite weeks of debate and months of negotiations, Committee Republicans stonewalled consideration of amendments." He continued, "Today is Constitution Day and as we mark the 222nd anniversary of the adoption of our nation's charter...I had hoped the Committee could proceed with this open government legislation. I am committed to reporting a reporters' shield bill from the Judiciary Committee this year, and I hope all Senators will work with us to reach that goal." Republicans have raised concerns that the law tilted too much in favor of journalist protections and away from the interests of law enforcement and national security.
On September 17, the Federal Communications Commission help a National Broadband Plan workshop focused on issues pertaining to online content and its role in the broadband ecosystem. John Horrigan, consumer research director for the national broadband plan, said the underlying goal was to figure out what drives adoption, specifically what users want, saying content from entertainment industries plays a big part. He said it would have taken three workshops to fit all the people in the room who wanted to attend. Michael Shapiro of the Patent and Trademark Office brought a brief message. He said his department had a keen interest in the development of the broadband plan, and cited the "great peril" of the potential of the plan accelerating trends in digital piracy. Dan Glickman, head of the Motion Picture Association of America, said that the expansion of broadband could have an enormously positive impact, but said the Internet economy will not flourish if it becomes a lawless place. "It must be a safe and secure environment," he said. Michael Bracy, policy director of the Future of Music Coalition, said there was a public interest in economic structures that allow creators to be compensated. He said a big part of the new model will be universal broadband with network neutrality protections. Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn said, "The last time the FCC mandated a copy protection technology without Congressional authorization, the DC Circuit slapped it down. That case involved the infamous broadcast flag. Any copy protection mandate the FCC could devise here would suffer the same fate."
Looking at the successful broadband goals of Japan, Korea, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Taiwan, the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative demonstrates the viability of not only reaching universal broadband access, but also reaching the speeds that will allow for continued leadership in the growth and innovation of the Internet. The report highlights the broadband goals of six technology-advanced countries and their recent achievements providing universal access to broadband speeds from a low of 2 Mbps downstream to 100 Mbps symmetric speeds. "Countries that set substantive broadband speed goals have achieved far faster speeds than we have here in the United States," says Sascha Meinrath, Director of the Open Technology Initiative. "The lesson that should be learned is clear and has profound implications for U.S. broadband policy: countries that set their sights high have excelled. While more and more countries are aiming for '100Mbps or bust' the United States hasn't even set a goal 1/100th as fast."
Alaskan organizations have applied for $1.3 billion in broadband deployment stimulus funding from the US government, out of a total of $4 billion in funding available in the first round of grants and loans. The 26 applications from Alaskan groups may demonstrate both the perceived need for broadband in rural states and optimism from some groups looking for a piece of the $7.2 billion available for broadband development across the US. The money is available through a huge economic stimulus package passed by Congress early this year. The largest request for broadband money in Alaska comes from Kodiak-Kenai Cable, which asked for a $172.3 million grant and a $172.5 million loan to fund a submarine fiber-optic cable that would bring broadband to 140 communities in sparsely populated western Alaska. "I think the first step in trying to sort out all of these is to put these applications into three loosely defined categories: The dreamers, the hopeful and the planners," said Craig Settles, a community broadband consultant. "The dreamers, a.k.a. the 'In your wildest dreams' people who threw a proposal out there because lightning might strike and they'll get lucky. Like ... one state asking for a billion dollars. Entertaining reading, but not likely to get funded."
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