May 2010

FCC Approves Frontier purchase of Verizon Rural Lines

On May 21, the Federal Communications Commission approved the transfer of 4.8 million lines in primarily rural and smaller-city areas to Frontier Communications from Verizon Communications.

This transaction -- which includes significant deployment commitments from Frontier -- will help advance the goals of the National Broadband Plan by bringing broadband to millions of consumers, small businesses, and anchor institutions in 14 states across the West, Midwest, and South. The FCC issued the Order after carefully reviewing the record, requesting extensive additional data from the applicants, and accepting substantial commitments offered by Frontier and Verizon to mitigate potential harms and ensure public interest benefits.

Coming one week after the final state approval for the transaction, the FCC's Order holds the applicants, Verizon and Frontier, to enforceable voluntary commitments, including:

1) Frontier will significantly increase broadband deployment for the lines involved in this transaction, only 62 percent of which are broadband-capable today.

2) Frontier will launch an anchor institution initiative to deploy fiber to libraries, hospitals, and government buildings, particularly in unserved and underserved communities.

3) Frontier and Verizon have made a series of commitments to protect wholesale customers, including honoring all obligations under Verizon's current wholesale arrangements that are in effect at closing.

4) Frontier will make available to the Commission data on its broadband deployment progress at an unprecedented level of detail to enable effective monitoring of Frontier's compliance with its commitments.

Broadband Subscription and Usage Supplement to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey

The Department of Commerce is inviting comment -- from both the public and other federal agencies -- on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's proposal to add eight questions to the Census Bureau's October 2010 Current Population Survey (CPS) in order to gather reliable data on broadband.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Written comments must be submitted on or before July 23, 2010.

Like more info? Contact James McConnaughey, Senior Economist, Office of Policy and Analysis Development, NTIA. (202) 482-1880, jmcConnaughey@ntia.doc.gov

Broadband Researchers' Data Workshop

On June 3, the NTIA will convene a on the nature of data related to broadband Internet access and use that the agency collects, data needs of researchers, and future broadband research.

The meeting will include a discussion of the following topics, including specific areas of inquiry:

1. Internet access at home and outside the home.
2. Internet use at home and outside the home.
3. Computer access at home and outside the home.
4. Computer use at home and outside the home.
5. Key demographic variables.
6. Key geographic variables.
7. Non-adoption issues: Internet.
8. Non-adoption issues: Computers

RUS Extends Deadline for Public Notice Requests on Pending Round Two BIP Applications

The Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service extended, by one day, the deadline for submitting Public Notice Requests (PNRs) on pending applications filed under Second Round Notice of Funds Availability (Second Round NOFA) for the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP).

As a result, PNRs on pending Second Round NOFA applications must be filed by May 24, 2010, at 11:59 p.m. Central Time (CT); and applications for satellite, rural library broadband, and technical assistance projects must be postmarked by June 8, 2010.

FCC Seeks Lots More Data From NBCU

On May 21, the Federal Communications Commission issued an "information and discovery" request to NBC Universal asking for specific information (59 separate requests, with multiple parts to many of those) on everything from an organizational chart for all of its divisions to a timeline for how it will divest KWHY-TV Los Angeles and take care of a newspaper/station issue involving KXAS-TV Fort Worth. Online video distribution gets a lot of attention.

There are plenty of questions about delivery of video both via traditional means and over the Internet, including all discussion with online video distributors (Boxee, YouTube) and why they did or did not come to a deal. It also wants "all strategic plans, policies, analyses, and presentations prepared for, presented to, reviewed by, discussed by, or considered by the company's board of directors or the company's executive management, or any member thereof, relating to the Company's entry into the distribution of video programming over the Internet. The deadline for the request is June 11. The FCC has stopped the clock on the merger review (after only 29 days), but plans to restart it June 3.

Wider European Scrutiny of Google on Privacy

In a sign that Europe is taking an increasingly unified line on Internet privacy, six European countries have joined Germany in asking Google to preserve data it improperly collected from unsecured wireless networks as part of Street View, its photo-mapping service.

The growing number of requests by the European countries, and Hong Kong, raised the possibility that Google might be required to disclose for the first time exactly what its employees collected in 33 countries while compiling Street View. And that in turn increased the likelihood that Google, the world's largest search engine company, could face fines or other penalties. The company said Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland had asked it to retain the data collected from their citizens. Google has described the data as fragments of Web pages and e-mail messages recorded by its roving fleet of specially equipped vehicles. In a statement, Google said that it had received the multiple requests to retain the Wi-Fi data and that privacy officials in Denmark and Austria, by contrast, had joined Ireland, in asking the search engine to destroy data collected in their countries.

Army announces plans for Cyber Command HQ

The Army announced May 21 it will establish a new headquarters for its Cyber Command forces inside the capital region by October 2010 at the latest.

The Army Forces Cyber Command is the Army's portion of the U.S. Cyber Command, under the direction of National Security Agency chief Keith Alexander. The command coordinates the country's network defenses and oversees any offensive cyber attacks by the United States. The total command will be based at NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland, and is expected to exceed 21,000 soldiers and civilians. It will include units from each of the four branches of the armed services. Supporters say Alexander's role at the NSA will give the new Cyber Command exceptional leverage and influence. The Army indicated Friday that it expects to have everything in place for the October deadline.

Online gambling gets boost as lawmakers eye revenue prospects

Online gambling supporters are betting high that the federal government's current cash crunch will help turn the table again in support of legalization.

While all agree a scheduled ban on online gambling will still enter effect on June 1, many point to this week's hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee as an early sign that lawmakers might nix their Internet gambling prohibition in favor of a plan that would heavily tax and regulate the industry. A study by the Joint Committee on Taxation found the House's two companion online gambling bills could rake in up to $42 billion in new federal tax money during the next decade. Even if early debate slims down some of those proposed fees, decreasing the projected revenue, the new dollars might still prove convincing enough to push skeptical lawmakers into backing legislation that allows Americans to bet online once again.

China says US copyright piracy claim are 'groundless"

The Foreign Ministry has dismissed as "groundless" U.S. accusations that China is failing to crack down on copyright piracy, ahead of talks with top U.S. officials next week, Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.

It quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu as saying China had implemented policies to combat piracy in copyrighted films, music, videogames and other entertainment products. "The involved U.S. Congress members should respect the fact and stop making groundless accusations against China," he said. Chinese leaders will hold talks on Monday and Tuesday in Beijing with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. While a range of issues will be addressed, including Chinese trade policies and the yuan exchange rate, intellectual property rights will be of major importance.

Verizon Wireless loses appeal on cellphone charges

A federal appeals court on Friday threw out a ruling requiring Verizon Wireless customers to resolve disputes over alleged fraudulent cell phone charges individually through arbitration rather than as a class.

The ruling, by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, is a defeat for the largest U.S. mobile service provider, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc and Britain's Vodafone Group Plc. Lawyers for the plaintiffs and for Verizon Wireless either had no comment or were not immediately available for comment. Many consumer contracts require that disputes be arbitrated individually. Consumer advocates say this can unreasonably favor companies by making it prohibitively costly to arbitrate, especially small claims. In the Verizon Wireless case, plaintiffs Keith Litman and Robert Wachtel sought to sue on behalf of a class over the imposition of administrative charges on cellphone contracts.

Benton

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