December 2009

Genachowski Mum on NBCU/Comcast

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has no comment on the possibility of Comcast buying NBC Universal. "We have nothing before us at the FCC and nothing to comment on." Asked if he would take any position on vertical integration and whether or not it would help out the media business, Chairman Genachowski stood firm. "I think if we commented on rumors and speculations we would be doing nothing but commenting on them, so we have no comment."

Broadcasters Cool To Cash-For-Spectrum

A proposal calling for reallocating broadcast television spectrum for wireless broadband use got a chilly reception from industry representatives during a forum hosted by the Progress and Freedom Foundation. Blair Levin, the head of the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan team, said the spectrum could be put to a "better, higher use." "The value of the spectrum itself is greater than the value created for broadcasters in the use of that spectrum," said Levin.

Association For Maximum Service Television President David Donovan said that broadcasters do want to work with the FCC to help explore ideas for improving broadband access in the United States. "We believe we are part of the solution,'' Donovan said. He went on to say that broadcasters have a role to play in the nation's broadband future, providing multicast services, mobile DTV, emergency information, local news and high-definition TV. "My members believe strongly that the business value proposition of over-the-air television far exceeds what would be a one-time snapshot value,'' Donovan said.

Media Access project Andy Schwartzman said broadcasters have been given an unbelievable benefit in terms of spectrum. "They sat on twice as much spectrum for 10 years. They squandered it, they haven't come up with a business model... Most of all, they have not provided the benefit to the public in terms of building a service that comes with the bargain to get free broadcast licenses," he argued. "They want all the benefits and none of the responsibilities," Schwartzman claimed. But he also says he doesn't like the idea of spectrum auctions. Instead, the public interest advocate said he is a strong advocate of the white spaces technology and its unlicensed uses.

FCC Starts Up Its Radio White Space System, New Wireless Tech En-Route

[Commentary] After a year of dithering, controversy and retro-thinking government meddling, the Federal Communications Commission has finally begun the process of enabling new whitespace broadband Wi-Fi devices. Good news. The FCC voted to start up a database to track where existing television and radio signals use up portions of the radio spectrum next to white space gaps. This is the first step to making whitespace useable by new wireless devices: The idea is that when you switch on a white space device, it checks where it is in the country by using GPS, looks up the existing occupied radio frequencies, and starts using the available white space to transmit and receive digital wireless signals. Why should you care about this? Because it's the green light for a whole new bunch of novel wireless systems. Obviously the broadband wireless access issue is the most obviously promising use, but since the whitespace is available for whoever would like to use it you can bet there'll be a number of innovative uses that surface that we can't even guess at yet.

FCC Seeks Input on Broadband Communications Transition

Driven by technology and market forces, the evolution of communications services to broadband creates many opportunities for our country, but it also has a significant impact on the circuit switched Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a system that has provided, and continues to provide, essential services to the country. Our country has been through other communications transitions, such as the transition from analog mobile service to digital mobile service or the transition from analog broadcast television to digital broadcast television. While each transition is different, policy has played an important role in ensuring consumers were protected from loss of essential services and were informed of the choices presented by the transition. Policy also has played a role in providing a glide path for all industry players, enabling more efficient planning and adjustment over the course of the transition. The intent of this Public Notice is to set the stage for the Commission to consider whether to issue a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) relating to the appropriate policy framework to facilitate and respond to the market-led transition in technology and services, from the circuit switched PSTN system to an IP-based communications world. The FCC seeks public comment to identify the relevant policy questions that an NOI on this topic should raise in order to assist the Commission in considering how best to monitor and plan for this transition. In identifying the appropriate areas of inquiry, the FCC seeks to understand which policies and regulatory structures may facilitate, and which may hinder, the efficient migration to an all IP world. In addition, the Commission seeks to identify and understand what aspects of traditional policy frameworks are important to consider, address, and possibly modify in an effort to protect the public interest in an all-IP world. For example, one line of questioning that a Notice of Inquiry may pursue is how to continue ensuring appropriate protections for and assistance to people with disabilities in the transition to an IP-based communications world. Another could focus on the role of carrier of last resort obligations. In this Public Notice, the FCC seeks comment on what policy areas should be understood in considering how best to prepare for the transition from the circuit-switched to the IP-based communications world. Comments are due December 21.

Back to the [Broadband] Future

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission needs to look back at how broadband proliferation occurred from the beginning to understand how to move it forward today. By studying the Cable Communications Act of 1984, the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, and the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the federal arm of our telecommunications regulatory system can learn valuable lessons about how to create a well oiled infrastructure with plenty of competition. Fast forward to today, and, due to years of deregulation, you have a closed infrastructure consisting of a few large operators. But you can't blame cable companies for taking steps to eliminate competition and protect their territories, because Wall Street demands it. To solve the problem, the FCC will have to look closely at network sharing, possibly viewing broadband like our interstate highway system and enabling a pipeline to share with all competitors. But the question remains as to who would build it out and at what cost. A competitive infrastructure is the right solution.

Slow Internet meets its Waterloo as 105Mbps comes to Iowa

Waterloo, Iowa isn't a name that conjures up visions of "blazing-fast Internet," but it's about to get the fastest residential connections in the country: 105Mbps. Located on a patch of wind-swept prairie, Waterloo is no high-tech haven; more typical are the surrounding farms, the John Deere plant, and a massive Target distribution center. Cable operator Mediacom is changing that perception, though, installing DOCSIS 3.0 gear that will boost the top-tier 20Mbps speeds in town up to 105Mbps, the fastest in the country. Not that it's fastest by much, of course; cable companies and Verizon have been locked in a tit-for-tat speed war for the last year or so. Cablevision is the current US champion, offering 101Mbps across the New York area.

Tribune Co. given until Feb. 28 to file Ch. 11 reorganization plan

A Delaware bankruptcy judge has granted the Tribune Co. more time to submit a Chapter 11 reorganization plan. The judge on Tuesday agreed to extend to Feb. 28 the period in which Tribune has exclusive rights to file a plan. Tribune maintains that it has many of the elements of a reorganization plan in place but needs more time to review issues surrounding the leveraged buyout that took the company private in 2007.

Survey shows cyberattacks are getting more disruptive

Cyberattacks that seek to penetrate computer networks or disrupt online services are increasing significantly, according to a survey of public and private sector information security and technology professionals released on Tuesday. Infections from software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system were "easily the most prevalent" type of cyberattack in 2009, the Computer Security Institute survey found. More than 64 percent of 443 respondents said they were victims of malware attacks, compared to 50 percent in 2008. Often these were multistage attacks, in which the malware downloaded separate tools to enhance the severity of the infection once inside the network, according to the report.

EFF sues feds for info on social network surveillance

The Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the CIA, Defense Department, Justice Department and three other government agencies on Tuesday for allegedly refusing to release information about how they are using social networks in surveillance and investigations. The nonprofit Internet rights watchdog group formally asked more than a dozen agencies or departments in early October to provide records about federal guidelines on the use of sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr for investigative or data gathering purposes, according to the lawsuit. The requests were prompted by published news reports about how authorities are using social networks to monitor citizen activities and aid in investigations.

Sprint fed customer GPS data to cops over 8 million times

Christopher Soghoian, a graduate student at Indiana University's School of Informatics and Computing, has made public an audio recording of Sprint/Nextel's Electronic Surveillance Manager describing how his company has provided GPS location data about its wireless customers to law enforcement over 8 million times. That's potentially millions of Sprint/Nextel customers who not only were probably unaware that their wireless provider even had an Electronic Surveillance Department, but who certainly did not know that law enforcement offers could log into a special Sprint Web portal and, without ever having to demonstrate probable cause to a judge, gain access to geolocation logs detailing where they've been and where they are. Through a mix of documents unearthed by Freedom of Information Act requests and the aforementioned recording, Soghoian describes how "the government routinely obtains customer records from ISPs detailing the telephone numbers dialed, text messages, emails and instant messages sent, web pages browsed, the queries submitted to search engines, and geolocation data, detailing exactly where an individual was located at a particular date and time." The fact that federal, state, and local law enforcement can obtain communications "metadata"—URLs of sites visited, e-mail message headers, numbers dialed, GPS locations, etc.—without any real oversight or reporting requirements should be shocking, but it isn't. The courts ruled in 2005 that law enforcement doesn't need to show probable cause to obtain your physical location via the cell phone grid. All of the aforementioned metadata can be accessed with an easy-to-obtain pen register/trap & trace order. But given the volume of requests, it's hard to imagine that the courts are involved in all of these.

Benton

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