August 2010

Rep. Boucher lists conditions for NBCU-Comcast merger

Rep Rick Boucher (D-VA), chairman of the House Communications Subcommittee, wrote to the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice on August 2 expressing his support for the proposed merger between NBC Universal and Comcast, provided the two firms agree to a set of conditions aimed at protecting consumers.

Boucher's letter urges the FCC to approve the merger, but only if Comcast and NBC Universal agree not to start restricting access to content that is currently available for free on the Internet or via over-the-air broadcasts. Specifically, Chairman Boucher says content currently available for free on NBC's website should not migrate to any other paid online platform. The letter also states that the new entity created by the merger should not be allowed to enter into exclusive contracts that would restrict online video content to proprietary platforms. Chairman Boucher also urges the FCC not to impose any net-neutrality conditions on Comcast as part of the merger, citing the discussions underway between government and industry stakeholders over potential legislation. He writes that such conditions should apply equally to all broadband providers and that imposing them on Comcast alone would be highly inappropriate.

PTC Asks Potential Sponsors to Steer Clear of New CBS Comedy

The Parents Television Council issued a stern warning letter to 300 advertisers urging them to steer clear of CBS's new show $#*! My Dad Says. The new show with the "s-word" in its title is scheduled to air at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursdays, starting Sept. 23. "The Parents Television Council and its members want to know the names of each and every advertiser that chooses to associate its products and services with excrement," said PTC President Tim Winter. "The second edition of the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary contains full entries for 171,476 words in current use; yet CBS decided to use the 's-word' in the title of this show, putting its blatant contempt for children and families front and center."

CBS, Comcast Sign 10-Year Contract to Carry TV Shows

CBS signed a 10-year agreement allowing Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator, to carry programming from its television stations. The retransmission consent deal expires in 2020. The contract also provides Comcast customers with Showtime Networks, the new Smithsonian channel, expanded distribution of CBS College Sports and more on-demand access to CBS and Showtime online and on TV. CBS Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves, the first broadcast network owner to seek retransmission fees to add to advertising revenue, said the deal boosts the future prospects for such fees and gives long-term stability for the Showtime pay-TV channel. CBS and Comcast's agreement offers flexibility for making money from shows and movies across new media, including putting programs online for paying cable customers. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Yang to Spearhead National Broadband Plan Implementation

Phoebe Yang will serve as Senior Advisor to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on Broadband. As part of the Office of the Chairman, Yang heads the core team managing the FCC's broadband priorities, as set forth in Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan. Yang works with other federal, international, state and local entities on advancing the Commission's broadband agenda; and serves as the Commission's primary point of contact to enable the use of broadband to promote key national priorities, such as improving heath care, education, and energy efficiency. She serves as the Commission's representative to the Executive Branch inter-agency working group charged with implementation of the National Broadband Plan across the federal government and works closely with all the Commission's Bureaus and Offices to advance the goals and recommendations of the National Broadband Plan.

Yang most recently served as General Counsel of the Omnibus Broadband Initiative at the Commission, in which role she was Chair of the Broadband Steering Committee. Her prior experience includes executive roles at Discovery Communications, as Vice President of Corporate Development and Vice President of Digital Media Operations and Strategy; and at AOL Time Warner as Vice President of International Strategy and Policy focused on China. She served under President Bill Clinton as Special Coordinator for China Rule of Law and practiced corporate law at Hogan & Hartson. She served as law clerk to The Honorable William Schwarzer (N.D., California). She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in government and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. She received her J.D. from Stanford Law School, where she was President and Editor-in-Chief of the Stanford Law Review.

Policymakers press for public health IT measures

Public health experts lobbied for including more public health goals into the "meaningful use" incentive plan, including ways to make it easier for public health minders to measure population health trends in chronic and virus-borne diseases.

One idea floated during the July 29 meeting of Health IT Policy Committee's meaningful use work group was to have certified electronic health record systems carry a feature or "button" that would transmit data to state public health agencies to make case reporting easier for physicians and hospitals. Dr. Paul Tang, the panel's chairman and chief medical information officer of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, told the workgroup that the Health IT Standards Committee could potentially take on the task "to come up with standards of interoperability for the public health sector."

Evaluating BTOP - A Step in the Right Direction

[Commentary] On Thursday, July 30th, the federal government indicated it's in the market for a rigorous examination of its investment in broadband. A Request for Quote was issued for an evaluation study of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). Benton and our allies in academia and the public interest sector have been encouraging the NTIA and other agencies to evaluate our investment in broadband networks for some time now. Understanding what works and having the courage to invest in it is, I believe, very much at the heart of the American entrepreneurial free enterprise system. I also believe that all the sectors...government, business, and non-for-profit...must work together with each making its unique contribution toward the common good. If we are to make decisions rationally based on facts/evidence and fair arguments, then research is the key methodological tool to understand and create new realities on the ground.

What Americans Do Online: Social Media And Games Dominate Activity

Americans spend nearly a quarter of their time online on social networking sites and blogs, up from 15.8 percent just a year ago (43 percent increase) according to new research released from The Nielsen Company. The research revealed that Americans spend a third their online time (36 percent) communicating and networking across social networks, blogs, personal email and instant messaging.

Online games overtook personal email to become the second most heavily used activity behind social networks - accounting for 10 percent of all U.S. Internet time. Email dropped from 11.5 percent of time to 8.3 percent.
Of the most heavily-used sectors, videos/movies was the only other to experience a significant growth in share of U.S. activity online. Its share of activity grew relatively by 12 percent from 3.5 to 3.9 percent. June 2010 was a major milestone for U.S. online video as the number of videos streamed passed the 10 billion mark. The average American consumer streaming online video spent 3 hours 15 minutes doing so during the month.
Despite some predictions otherwise, the rise of social networking hasn't pushed email and instant messaging into obscurity just yet. Although both saw double-digit declines in share of time, email remains as the third heaviest activity online (8.3 percent share of time) while instant messaging is fifth, accounting for four percent of Americans online time.
Although the major portals also experienced a double digit decline in share, they remained as the fourth heaviest activity, accounting for 4.4 percent of U.S. time online.

Roadmap to Broadband Britain released

The UK government has published its roadmap to introduce national universal access to a minimum 2Mbps broadband service. The broadband commitment is to "deliver universal broadband at speed of 2Mbps and stimulate private sector investment to deliver the best superfast broadband network in Europe by 2015".

Among the broadband targets were to level the playing field between "incumbents and new providers" by November this year. This would include a review of barriers to entry for new fibre network operators. Culture minister Jeremy Hunt promised to deregulate infrastructure such a poles, ducts and wayleaves that could be shared to extend broadband, and if needed, to pass enabling legislation by November 2012.

Connecticut Attorney General Investigates Potentially Anticompetitive E-Book Deals With Amazon And Apple

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is investigating agreements between the country's largest e-book publishers and two of the largest sellers -- Amazon.com, Inc. and Apple, Inc. -- that may block competitors from offering cheaper e-book prices.

Both Amazon and Apple have reached agreements with the largest e-book publishers that ensure both will receive the best prices for e-books over any competitors -- contract provisions known as "most favored nation" (MFN) clauses. In letters to Amazon.Com and Apple, Blumenthal is calling on the companies to meet with his office to address these concerns. Publishers that have reached such agreements with Amazon and Apple include Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, HarperCollins and Penguin. These agreements appear to deter certain publishers from offering discounts to Amazon and Apple's competitors -- because they must offer the same to Amazon and Apple. This restriction blocks cheaper and competitive prices for consumers.

Stimulus to increase rural broadband may not be enough

Vermont's rugged terrain and low population density leave an estimated 15-20 percent of the population without access to high-speed Internet. Last month, the Obama administration promised $795 million in stimulus money to increase rural broadband access. But some tech experts and rural residents aren't sure that's enough -- and some wonder if broadband development will slow down once stimulus money dries up.

"Broadband is capital-intensive, and the level of available funding in the future will influence the ability to achieve big leaps in the level of broadband availability and the rate of upgrades," said Chris Campbell, director of the Vermont Telecommunications Authority, which won $33 million in Commerce Department grants this month. Vermont received $47 million from the Commerce Department in the latest round of broadband stimulus funding. The state will use the money to build a 770-mile fiber optic network that will extend affordable high-speed Internet to rural "anchors," such as libraries, schools, and hospitals. Now, Vermont Telephone Company, the East Central Vermont Community Fiber Network and other Vermont businesses are waiting to hear if they've been awarded Agriculture Department grants-also funded with stimulus dollars-to extend service from these anchors to homes and small businesses. The department says it expects to announce recipients soon. The decision will help determine which rural Vermonters get broadband access at their homes and businesses, and how quickly.

Benton

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