September 2010

FCC Releases Data Tools

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski and Managing Director Steven VanRoekel announced a suite of new tools designed to unlock FCC data and drive innovation across the public and private sectors.

The suite of tools released by the FCC includes a number of APIs (Application Programming Interface) -- interfaces that enable communication between independent databases -- for use by developers across a broad range of industries, including federal, state, and local government. The FCC also announced the creation of a developer community designed to help drive future releases through feedback and collaboration. The datasets and tools released by the agency include the results of the FCC Consumer Broadband Speed Test, which has tallied more than 1 million tests taken since the release of the tool in March. The FCC developed and released an API that unlocks the results of those tests and enables citizen developers to re-purpose the data in innovative ways. The agency also released a tool that can match geographic location with government data aggregated at the census block level, the first tool of its kind developed by a federal agency.

Prize Platform Invites Citizens to Solve Nation's Challenges

Citizen solvers are at the heart of the Obama Administration's commitment to increase the use of prizes and challenges to solve tough problems. Prizes allow the government to articulate bold goals -- such as building a super-fuel-efficient car, developing a low-cost launch technology for small satellites, or solving the risks to human health that come with space flight -- without having to predict which team or approach is most likely to succeed. With a strict focus on results, prizes empower new, untapped talent to deliver novel solutions that accelerate innovation.

As of today, it is easier than ever for Federal agencies to mobilize American ingenuity to solve our Nation's most pressing problems. In a joint keynote presentation at the Gov 2.0 Summit in Washington, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra and U.S. Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra unveiled Challenge.gov, a one-stop-shop where entrepreneurs, innovators, and citizen solvers can compete for prestige and prizes by providing novel solutions to tough problems, large and small. Challenge.gov features over 35 challenges posed by more than 15 government agencies. They range from the Environmental Protection Agency's Game Day Challenge for the university that best reduces and recycles waste at college football games to a $15 million Department of Energy prize for the lighting manufacturer that meets stringent requirements for the next generation of high-quality, high-efficiency light bulbs.

[Tom Kalil is Deputy Director for Policy in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy]

Obama On Government: Results Bigger Than Size

President Obama is trying to change the political debate in Washington. The standard tension is between big government and small. Obama has spent the past two years urging people to ask not how large their government has grown, but whether it is effective.

"Government is the roads you drove in on and the speed limits that keep you safe," he told graduating seniors at the University of Michigan in May. "Government is what ensures that mines adhere to safety standards and that oil spills are cleaned up by the companies that caused them." The Obama administration has tried using technology to improve accountability. On the Web site Recovery.gov, people can type in a ZIP code and see the exact projects that recovery act money has funded in any neighborhood. Those who judge government by its size may not like the amount of money being spent on the Recovery Act, but people who evaluate government by its effectiveness see this as a step forward.

Markle Foundation's recommendations for 'blue button' backed by 46 organizations

Forty-six organizations have showed their support for the Markle Foundation's recommendations for privacy and security practices for the "blue button," which would allow patients to have instant access to their healthcare records. Markle is calling on the Department of Health and Human Services to make patients' access to their records a priority in all health IT efforts, including:

Specifying the download capability as an allowable means for providers to deliver electronic copies of health information to individual patients consistent with the policy and technology recommendations of the Markle Connecting for Health Common Framework.
Making the download capability and our policy recommendations a requirement of qualified health IT so that providers using qualified systems will have this capability.
Making the download capability a core requirement for federal- and state-sponsored health IT grants and projects.

Bohemian neutrality

[Commentary] Well my friends, last week Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the FCC, called for nearly two more months for public comment on his proposed net neutrality policy. With this policy fossilizing on the table for more than a year, the addition of yet two more months following a series of closed door meetings with the telcos and cable companies is, well, pretty transparently political. In a statement announcing the delay Genachowski stated, "As we have seen, the issues are complex, and the details matter." Jules, I'm sure they are and they do. This kind of scheming and drama is not your everyday tale of politics and power, it is more like an opera and thus I am proud to present my libretto for "Bohemian Neutrality."

President Obama: New infrastructure will benefit the spread of high-speed Internet

In a Labor Day address in Milwaukee, President Barack Obama touted his proposed $50 billion in new infrastructure spending, indicating that while road and highways will see cash, so will advanced infrastructure projects. That includes building an electric grid that relies on communications technology to be more efficient, and building out and upgrading the infrastructure people rely on to access the Internet.

"We're talking about the smart grid..and broadband Internet," President Obama said, arguing that the US should have the best infrastructure "in the world." Obama's announcement Sept 6 precedes a speech promoting business tax relief he will make near Cleveland on Sept 8. This is expected to include expanding a research and development tax credit by about 20 percent, or $100 billion, over the next 10 years, simplifying it, and making the credit permanent. The technology sector has rallied around the measure. The president wants Congress to approve this first-year $50 billion "as soon as possible" and pay for it by scaling back oil and gas industry tax incentives.

Two ARRA Broadband Grants for Virginia

The Rural Utilities Programs will fund two broadband infrastructure projects that will create jobs and provide rural residents in southwestern Virginia access to improved service. In all, $45 million will be invested in the two broadband infrastructure projects with funding made available through the Recovery Act. Broadband access plays a critical role in expanding economic, health care, educational and public safety services in underserved rural communities. Today's announcement is part of the second round of USDA broadband funding through the Recovery Act.

Scott County Telephone Cooperative will receive a $7.45 million loan and a $17.4 million grant to deploy Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) infrastructure to bring advanced broadband service to the rural communities of southwest Virginia. This project will provide broadband access to about12,000 residents, 80 businesses and 16 community institutions. The company estimates this project will save or create approximately 150 jobs.

The Lenowisco Planning District Commission will receive a $6.06 million loan and a $14.16 million grant to build a fiber-optic network to one of the most economically challenged regions of Virginia. Over 42,000 residents will be given broadband access, along with an estimated 1,550 businesses and 100 community institutions. The company estimates this project will save or create approximately 70 jobs.

RUS rescinds stimulus award to TierOne Converged Networks

The Rural Utilities Service has rescinded a $19 million broadband stimulus award made on August 18 to TierOne Converged Networks, a Dallas-based Internet service provider. The move apparently was made after a news report questioned the award, noting that TierOne had been charged with alleged security violations in April. The award to TierOne was made as a combination of a loan and grant. It is unlikely that the company has actually been able to draw against any of those funds, as the award was made in the second funding round of the RUS broadband stimulus program. Organizations awarded funding more than six months ago in the first funding round only received authorization to draw against those funds within the last few weeks. Privately held TierOne has pursued an aggressive strategy of network expansion through acquisition. The suit filed against the company by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleges, among other things, that TierOne made certain misrepresentations in materials used to solicit potential investors. These included failing to disclose CEO Kevin Mark Weaver's disciplinary history with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority or loans made to senior management.

UCAN taps Infinera for stimulus-funded network

Infinera will supply optical transmission equipment to the Unified Community Anchor Network, which is one of the biggest winners of broadband stimulus funding.

The organization, lead by Internet2, National LambdaRail, and other education and research networks, received a grant for $62.5 million from the National Telecommunications and Infrastructure Agency for a high-speed broadband network to interconnect existing research networks and bring broadband connectivity to community anchor institutions. Several broadband stimulus winners have chosen Infinera equipment because it is well suited to bringing sophisticated connectivity previously only available in large cities to more rural areas, says Jeff Ferry, director of broadband marketing for Infinera.

ABC/Bloomberg, CBS/CNN?

There's a lot of juicy gossip swirling in media circles these days regarding who may be getting into bed with whom -- and the potential players involved are big.

The question of "how big" leads right to ABC News. Deep cuts earlier this year ginned up the rumor mill that the division was being readied for a sale or merger with cash-rich Bloomberg TV. At the same time, persistent speculation about a CBS News deal with CNN bobbed to the surface once again. While those two networks have a history of sharing talent, Katie Couric and her lucrative CBS News contract have been an added, tangential aspect of the merger speculation this time around. It's all understandable: With the news industry battered by a still-foundering economy and splintered media landscape, questions of whether such marriages of convenience and economic viability are the future for broadcast news become inevitable. Meanwhile, NBC Universal and cable provider Comcast await the blessing of regulators on a $28 billion deal that will most certainly have an impact on NBC's news division. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts has heaped vociferous praise on NBC News, calling it the "single most awesome asset" of the deal. But NBC staffers remain curious as to exactly what a Comcast-owned NBC News will look like.

Benton

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