October 7, 2010 (Verizon seeking USF money for LTE)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2010
Two events of note today: the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council meets at the FCC and The Broadband Connection: Jobs, Justice, and Sustainable Communities benton.org/calendar/2010-10-07
INTERNET
Research Shows Broadband Adoption Related to Clear Need for Its Use
Could BITAG have stopped Comcast's network neutrality breach?
Internet Traffic up 62% in 2010
Where's All the Free Wi-Fi We Were Promised?
District of Columbia pays a lot per broadband bit
Baker: Cable, Satellite Need Freedom To Package Programming
McSlarrow: First Amendment Is Shield, Not Sword
TELECOM
Lawmakers tell FCC that CenturyLink-Qwest merger will benefit rural America
WIRELESS
Verizon seeking USF money for rural LTE buildout
Surprise $2,000 Phone Bills Add to Scrutiny of Verizon, AT&T
CTIA Semi-Annual Wireless Industry Survey
Android Invasion
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Writers Guild wants Comcast cash for public programming
TELEVISION
Cable TV Subscribers More Annoyed About Prices: J.D. Power
NAB, CEA Backing TV-on-Net Technology
The Battleground For The Future Of TV. And The Candidates Are...
Baker: Cable, Satellite Need Freedom To Package Programming
McSlarrow: First Amendment Is Shield, Not Sword
CONTENT
CDT: Meritless Take-Down Notices Could Chill Online Free Speech
Battle Over Music Royalties May Erupt In November
ADVERTISING
Spending on Campaign TV Ads Expected to Break Record
See also: Republicans See a Political Motive in IRS Audits
Should Behavioral Targeting Be Opt-In?
JOURNALISM
Confidence In Mass Media Continues to Falter
GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
One agency wants Internet wiretaps, another wants privacy protected
Law enforcement's limits in wiretapping the Internet
CYBERSECURITY
Executive Branch Is Making Progress Implementing 2009 Cyberspace Policy Review Recommendations
Half of critical private-sector networks hit by politically motivated cyber attacks
HEALTH
Opportunities Exist to Improve Management of DOD's Electronic Health Record Initiative
BUDGET
Tech CEOs go to the White House
POLICYMAKERS
Meet Ari Ne'eman
STORIES FROM ABROAD
ACTA text shows US caved in on Internet provisions
BT Must Let Its Competitors Access Fiber Broadband Network, UK Regulator Says
MORE ONLINE
Schools Urged To Teach Youth Digital Citizenship
Motorola files patent suit against Apple
Brainstorming: the FCC Mobile App
PBS Aims To Make Local Content More 'National'
Illinois court decision could jeopardize ComEd smart grid initiative
Recent Comments on:
Awareness needed, along with laws, to end dangers of distracted driving
Texting bans may add risk to roads
Texters, you'd be better off driving drunk
INTERNET
BROADBAND ADOPTION AND NEED FOR USE
[SOURCE: BroadbandBreakfast.com, AUTHOR: Rahul Gaitonde]
The final day of the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference looked at broadband adoption and universality. The problems addressed are key in helping the government determine how broadband is being adopted and where intervention is necessary. The panel on adoption included a presentation by John Horrigan from the Federal Communications Commission, who showed that non-adopters claim price is a major factor in their lack of access. When controlling for price, however, the paper found that one of the most powerful factors to get non-adopters to subscribe is the support of a social network that includes adopters. This theory is key to the FCC's digital literacy corps program. That initiative aims to train young people in technology in the hopes that they in turn will teach their families and communities. The lack of a social network that finds the Internet useful may be key in why the final non-adopters do not use the Internet. If these individuals do not have any adopters in their social network then they are not exposed to the benefits of broadband. Janice Hauge from the University of North Texas discussed her paper on demand side policies that reinforced Horrigan's findings by showing that when individuals find technology relevant they are more likely to adopt it. "A program should motivate non-users to adopt, make broadband affordable, employ content in the training that relates to everyday life or the use of public services, and focus on the accessibility and usability of broadband and online services." Nocil Tuner-Lee from the Joint Center observed that among African Americans, younger people are actively helping their community learn about the value of the Internet. This research mimics findings that the Rural Electrification Administration found in the 1930s when trying to expand electricity. The final panel of the day looked at the issues surrounding universal access. While it is clear to both the FCC and researchers that the Universal Service Fund is broken, there are numerous possible solutions.
benton.org/node/43215 | BroadbandBreakfast.com
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BITAG ND NETWORK NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
A group for Internet service providers could reduce litigation by building consensus between technical experts on whether certain network management practices are acceptable, according to Dale Hatfield, executive director of the Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group (BITAG). Companies such as Comcast, Verizon and AT&T formed BITAG in June along with Google, Microsoft, Intel, and a few others. The effort came as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) considered making rules about how phone and cable companies manage Internet traffic. The techniques Internet service providers use to manage their networks can become controversial. Comcast launched years of litigation when it was caught interrupting service to people who use the high-bandwidth application BitTorrent, a file-sharing program. The company has since renounced the tactic, but the consequences of the litigation still have lawyers reeling. Hatfield said some details still need to be worked out, but took a question on how BITAG would approach an Internet service provider that wants feedback on a new network management practice. "An ISP contemplating a new or revised network management practice would submit a request to the BITAG asking for a review of the practice," he said. If a special committee of a working group accepts the request, he said, it would be assigned to a subcommittee. That might sound very bureaucratic, but at that point the engineers would start making technical headway. The first step is to understand how the practice works from a technical perspective.
benton.org/node/43218 | Hill, The
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TELECOM
LAWMAKERS BACK CENTURYLINK-QWEST MERGER
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
A bipartisan group of 21 House members wrote the Federal Communications Commission on Friday hailing the potential benefits of the merger between CenturyLink and Qwest Communications, which they said would help bring technology services to the most rural regions of the country. "We believe this merger will benefit consumers in rural America by enhancing the new company's ability to invest in much-needed broadband infrastructure and expand its offerings of innovative services," the letter said. "Continued investment in broadband networks in rural areas will enhance the economic competitiveness of each community served." The group encouraged "timely consideration" of the companies' application. The merger has won the approval of the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission. The letter included House Communications Subcommittee leaders Reps. Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL), as well as Reps Lee Terry (R-NE), Bart Stupak (D-MI), Betsy Markey (D-CO), and others. Many of the signatories come from rural districts.
benton.org/node/43250 | Hill, The
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WIRELESS
VERIZON SEEKS USF SUPPORT
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Mike Dano]
Verizon Wireless executives are pushing a proposal at the Federal Communications Commission that would funnel government subsidies to rural carriers that enter into the operator's LTE licensing program. If Verizon's effort is approved, rural carriers that license LTE spectrum from Verizon could receive money from the government's Universal Service Fund to aid in the rollout of LTE network technology in underserved areas of the country. Verizon executives Chris Miller, Maggie McCready and Tamara Preiss this week met with representatives from FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker's office, as well as staff from the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Wireline Competition Bureau to discuss the proposal. The FCC is working to overhaul the outdated Universal Service Fund--intended to help fund the deployment of telecommunications services in rural America--as part of its overarching national broadband plan. The cell phone industry has argued that wireless is an ideal technology to bring telecommunications to rural areas since cell towers generally cover more people at a lower cost than wired transmission lines.
benton.org/node/43208 | Fierce
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WIRELESS BILL SHOCK
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Amy Thomson]
The Federal Communications Commission may make it mandatory for carriers to warn customers before they get hit with high bills. Next week, the agency will consider requiring companies to alert customers when they approach limits on their contracts. Carriers including Verizon Wireless have fought against such requirements, saying they already give customers ways to monitor their usage. The CTIA, the wireless industry association, has resisted the idea of legislation, saying it will cause "customer confusion and frustration" and that carriers already offer customers ways to control their usage. Subscribers can check their usage with online monitors or via text message.
benton.org/node/43247 | Bloomberg
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CTIA SURVEY
[SOURCE: CTIA, AUTHOR: Press release]
CTIA, the wireless industry's lobbying organization, released the results of the association's bi-annual report documenting trends in wireless subscribership, revenue, capital investment and infrastructure. Among the many results showing the wireless industry's growth, there were dramatic increases in wireless data usage, smart phone adoption, capital expenditures and SMS and MMS traffic. The survey, which tracks data submitted by carriers through June 2010, proves yet again that U.S. consumers are benefiting from the wireless innovation and competition made possible in the current light regulatory environment. The survey found that wireless subscriber connections rose to 292.8 million, an increase of roughly 16 million since June 2009 and represents a penetration rate of 93 percent. These subscribers used 2.26 trillion minutes (up by 19 billion minutes), 1.8 trillion SMS messages (up by 33 percent) and 56.3 billion MMS messages (an increase of 187 percent). Despite these increases in usage, the average local monthly bill fell by 4.2 percent to $47.47 over the same period. Smart phones and wireless-enabled PDAs also grew substantially over the past year, increasing from 40.7 million in July 2009 to 61.2 million in June 2010. This brings the total number of data-capable devices on carriers' networks to 264.5 million. Wireless carriers reported handling 161.5 billion megabytes of data in the six months ending in June 2010, up 49.8 percent from the last half of 2009. SMS-capable devices increased to 243.7 million as of June 2010, which is up from 235.3 million in June 2009. There were more than 243.5 million Internet-capable devices during this survey period, which was an increase of more than 6.4 million since June 2009. While there are challenging economic conditions, the industry continued to invest heavily in wireless infrastructure. Starting in of July 2009, carriers spent $21.6 billion in capital expenditures in the past year for a cumulative total of $295.2 billion since CTIA began tracking the data in 1985.
benton.org/node/43249 | CTIA
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ANDROID INVASION
[SOURCE: Newsweek, AUTHOR: Daniel Lyons]
Nobody ever imagined how quickly the Android mobile-phone platform would take offnot even Andy Rubin, the Silicon Valley engineer who created it. Five years ago Rubin was leading a startup that had just been acquired by Google and was trying to develop software that could power a smart phone. Two years ago the first Android phone hit the market and, frankly, it was a bit of a dud. But the software kept getting better, and top handset makers like HTC, Motorola, and Samsung jumped on board, rolling out dozens of Android-based devices. What began as a trickle now has turned into a tidal wave. In August Google announced it was activating 200,000 Android phones each day. On at least one day since then, that number surged to more than 250,000, Rubin says. Android now has leapt past Apple to become the biggest smart-phone platform in the United States, the third-biggest worldwide, and by far the fastest growing.
benton.org/node/43210 | Newsweek
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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
NEW CONDITION FOR COMCAST MERGER?
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
The Writers Guild of America East want Comcast and NBC Universal to set aside at least $100 million for public affairs programming as a condition for approving their proposed merger. Writers Guild president Michael Winship wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski and the Department of Justice requesting that if the transaction is approved, the new entity be required to set aside at least $10 million per year for ten years "for the creation of thoughtful, independent, well-researched public affairs programs for television and the Internet." Winship argued the merger would limit the amount of independent content produced and distributed, particularly in the areas of news and public affairs programming. "Fewer and fewer entities creating news and public affairs programming for broadcast or cable television or for the Internet means less diversity of news content," Winship wrote. "By definition, fewer points of view are presented, fewer stories are reported in-depth and fewer resources are utilized to pursue them. True investigative reporting has almost vanished completely from commercial on-air news or has often been reduced to sensationalized, trivial coverage of no lasting significance."
benton.org/node/43251 | Hill, The | TechDailyDose
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TELEVISION
SUBSCRIBERS ANNOYED WITH CABLE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
Consumers today are less satisfied with their monthly pay-TV bills compared with last year, according to J.D. Power and Associates' annual TV customer-satisfaction service survey -- and cable subscribers are more likely to feel ripped off than telco or satellite TV customers. The average satisfaction rating for the cost of pay-TV prices fell 2.5% on the research firm's "2010 U.S. Residential Television Service Satisfaction Study," from 555 on a 1,000-point scale last year to 541 in 2010. At the same time, overall customer satisfaction with television service providers was essentially unchanged, with an average score of 629 in 2010 (down three points from 632 last year). About 74% of customers who say they "definitely" or "probably" will switch TV providers in the next year cite price as a major factor, the survey found. The takeaway, according to J.D. Power director of telecommunications Frank Perazzini, is that TV providers must "better communicate their price-value proposition, as customers are increasingly voicing irritation with the amount of their monthly bill." Cable operators were rated much lower on satisfaction with the value of the service, a phenomenon attributable in part to their incumbent status versus competitors. The cable TV average for satisfaction on cost was 22% lower than for telco services -- AT&T U-verse TV and Verizon FiOS TV -- and 18% lower than satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network.
benton.org/node/43245 | Multichannel News | MediaPost
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CONTENT
CHILLING FREE SPEECH WITH TAKEDOWN NOTICES
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
The Center for Democracy and Technology argues that "meritless" calls to take down online campaign ads because they allegedly infringe copyrights are stifling online free speech. CDT examined a dozen cases in which YouTube and other online sites were sent notices demanding that online videos be taken down because they allegedly infringed the senders' copyrighted material. CDT claimed in its report that all 12 cases it examined involved short clips of copyrighted works that are covered under the U.S. doctrine of fair use and therefore should not have been removed. The 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act provides protection from liability for Internet service providers, online sites and other intermediaries who take down infringing material when notified of its existence on their networks or Web sites. "We actually think the DMCA notice and take-down process ... is a good and balanced approach," CDT Senior Policy Counsel David Sohn said during a conference call with reporters. "The problem is that the process is being abused." Given the growing importance of online ads in modern campaigns, meritless requests for take-downs under the DMCA sent to sites like YouTube threaten online political speech, Sohn said.
benton.org/node/43244 | CongressDaily | read CDT's report
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ADVERTISING
POLITICAL ADS TO BREAK RECORD
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Ashley Parker]
How many television commercials can $3 billion buy? Enough to set a record for political spending on TV ads this election cycle, which is on track to hit $3 billion by the November election, breaking the previous highs of roughly $2.7 billion in 2008 and $2.4 billion in 2006. As of last week, spending for federal candidates had already hit the $223 million mark, $90 million more than the $133 million spent by the same point in the 2006 midterms, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which monitors political advertising. State candidates, meanwhile, have already poured almost $380 million into their television buys, $68 million more than they'd spent at this point in 2006. Those candidate numbers don't include political ads bought for this campaign by special interest and issue advocacy groups. And with the election less than a month away, those numbers are only going to increase as the advertising intensifies, said Evan Tracey, president of the analysis group. He said that roughly 75 percent of all advertising spending comes in the last 60 days, and of that, roughly 60 percent comes in the last 30 days, a period that just began.
benton.org/node/43258 | New York Times
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OPT-IN BEHAVIORAL TARGETING?
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Laurie Sullivan]
Privacy clearly went from a topic ignored by most to a word on many consumers' lips. The industry's self-regulation steps taken Monday provide a sign online advertisers will eventually have a structure for their privacy efforts. Advertisers have been asked to implement an Advertising Option Icon near ads where behavioral tracking technology is in use. The program implements practices of Self Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising that address questions of choice, security, and accountability, as well as the Federal Trade Commission's call for more transparent ad-targeting practices. A Web site has been set up to provide more information on why the ad gets served up and gives consumers an opportunity to opt out of future targeted ads. The participating organizations in Monday's announcement include the American Association of National Advertisers, the Association of National Advertisers, the Direct Marketing Association, and the Better Business Bureau, and others. Beginning next year, the Council of Better Business Bureaus and Direct Marketing Associate will enforce compliance. The groups plan to promote adoption by businesses through a national education campaign.
benton.org/node/43243 | MediaPost
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JOURNALISM
CONFIDENCE IN MEDIA FALTERS
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Jack Loechner]
According to Gallup's annual Governance poll, conducted Sept. 13-16, 2010, 57% of Americans say they have little or no trust in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly, for the fourth straight year... a record high by one percentage point. The 43% of Americans who express a great deal or fair amount of trust ties the record low, and is far worse than three prior Gallup readings on this measure from the 1970s. Trust in the media is now slightly higher than the record-low trust in the legislative branch but lower than trust in the executive and judicial branches of government, even though trust in all three branches is down sharply this year. These findings also further confirm a separate Gallup poll that found little confidence in newspapers and television specifically. Nearly half of Americans (48%) say the media are too liberal, tying the high end of the narrow 44% to 48% range recorded over the past decade. One-third say the media are just about right while 15% say they are too conservative. Overall, perceptions of bias have remained quite steady over this tumultuous period of change for the media, marked by the growth of cable and Internet news sources. Americans' views now are in fact identical to those in 2004, despite the many changes in the industry since then.
benton.org/node/43242 | MediaPost
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GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
INTERNET WIRETAPS AND PRIVACY
[SOURCE: nextgov, AUTHOR: Aliya Sternstein]
A Federal Bureau of Investigation initiative that would make it easier for law enforcement to wiretap the Internet works at crosses purposes with a recently launched cybersecurity public awareness campaign, privacy advocates said. Bureau officials are pushing Congress to pass a bill that would require manufacturers of Web-based technologies to equip their products with programs that allow the government to intercept messages from suspected criminals, according to media reports published last week. Simultaneously, Obama administration officials are beginning an initiative aimed at teaching Americans how to defend themselves against hackers. The seemingly conflicting policies raise questions about the ability of the government to protect the security of the Internet while at the same time protecting the nation's security. The Homeland Security Department on Monday kicked off its 7th annual National Cybersecurity Awareness Month with its Stop. Think. Connect campaign. The department is suppling communities, organizations and individuals with materials that instruct Internet users how to safeguard personal information and online communications.
benton.org/node/43241 | nextgov
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WIRETAPS ON THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Wiretapping the Internet is nothing new. Law enforcement agencies for years have been able to seize information from communications providers, as long as they obtain a court order. But new technologies have hampered law enforcement officials' ability to quickly retrieve information that a judge has determined they are entitled to. Some problems appear to have relatively easy fixes. For example, some e-mail services are not subject to the wiretap law because their parent companies are classified as information services and not as communications providers. A change in the statute to include all e-mail -- regardless of the classification of the parent company -- should bring such products into the fold. The tougher choices involve products such as Research in Motion's BlackBerrys, which are attractive to consumers precisely because they provide highly secure means of communication. The FBI is drafting a proposal that would require the retrofit of such products to allow for quicker and easier access to targeted communications. The proposal , which likely would not be introduced as legislation until early 2011, would also require new products to have these capacities built in. Manufacturers would decide how to achieve the desired result and would be responsible for retrieving the information. The FBI would simply get the results after a judge's approval. The policy question is not difficult: The FBI should be able to quickly obtain court-approved information, particularly data related to a national security probe. Companies should work with the FBI to determine whether there are safe ways to provide access without inviting unwanted intrusions. In the end, there may not be a way to perfectly protect both interests -- and the current state of technology may prove an impenetrable obstacle. But the FBI is right to seek a way forward, and companies would be smart to work in good faith to try to fashion a solution.
benton.org/node/43256 | Washington Post
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CYBERSECURITY
CYBERSPACE POLICY REVIEW
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: David Powner]
To address pervasive computer-based (cyber) attacks against the United States that posed potentially devastating impacts to systems and operations, the federal government has developed policies and strategies intended to combat these threats. A recent key development was in February 2009, when President Obama initiated a review of the government's overall strategy and supporting activities with the aim of assessing U.S. policies and structures for cybersecurity. The resulting policy review report--issued by the President in May 2009--provided 24 near- and mid-term recommendations to address these threats. GAO was asked to assess the implementation status of the 24 recommendations. In doing so, GAO, among other things, analyzed the policy review report and assessed agency documentation and interviewed agency officials. Of the 24 recommendations in the President's May 2009 cyber policy review report, 2 have been fully implemented, and 22 have been partially implemented. [more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/43237 | Government Accountability Office
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HEALTH
DOD EHR INITIATIVE
[SOURCE: Government Accountability Office, AUTHOR: Valerie Melvin]
The Department of Defense (DOD) provides medical care to 9.6 million active duty service members, their families, and other eligible beneficiaries worldwide. DOD's Military Health System has long been engaged in efforts to acquire and deploy an electronic health record system. The latest version of this initiative--the Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA)--was expected to give health care providers real-time access to individual and military population health information and facilitate clinical support. However, the system's early performance was problematic, and DOD recently stated that it intended to acquire a new electronic health record system. GAO was asked to 1) determine the status of AHLTA, 2) determine DOD's plans for acquiring its new system, and 3) evaluate DOD's acquisition management of the initiative. To do this, GAO reviewed program plans, reports, and other documentation and interviewed DOD officials. [more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/43236 | Government Accountability Office
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BUDGET
CEOs VISIT WHITE HOUSE
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
The leaders of six technology companies are heading to the White House to send a message about how the government can reduce the deficit. They will meet with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Council of Economic Advisers Director Austan Goolsbee, National Economic Council Director Larry Summers and other economic officials. The tech leaders include the heads of IBM, Dell, Applied Materials, EMC, Intel, Motorola and Micron. IBM's chairman, Sam Palmisano, and Dell's chief executive, Michael Dell, will be in tow. They will deliver their plan on reducing the deficit by $1 trillion over the next 10 years without new legislation. Their idea is to foster greater innovation in areas ranging from healthcare to education and energy to spur economic growth and create jobs. The Technology CEO Council believes the government can cut 30 percent of its IT overhead from the $76 billion it spends annually in this area, can cut money from its procurement processes by reducing duplication, and should reduce fraud and go digital rather than using paper.
benton.org/node/43220 | Hill, The | NY Times
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POLICYMAKERS
MEET ARI NE'EMAN
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Steve Silberman]
A Q&A with Ari Ne'eman. In December, Ne'eman was nominated by President Barack Obama to the National Council on Disability (NCD), a panel that advises the President and Congress on ways of reforming health care, schools, support services and employment policy to make society more equitable for people with all forms of disability. Ne'eman himself is autistic and is the first openly autistic White House appointee in history -- and one of the youngest at age 22. His nomination proved controversial, in part because some self-proclaimed allies of the autistic community think national dialogue on the subject should focus primarily on finding causes and cures so that autism can be prevented in future generations. In March, the editor of an anti-vaccine website called The Age of Autism challenged Ne'eman's ability to serve the needs of more profoundly impaired autistic people. "Do the highest functioning with the community," wrote Kim Stagliano, "have a right to dictate the services and research that should be available for their less fortunate 'peers?' I don't think so." Some of these online attacks escalated into threats. In the wake of the controversy, an anonymous Senate hold was put on Ne'eman's nomination. While this hold was in place, he was unavailable to talk to the press.
benton.org/node/43248 | Wired
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
ACTA DRAFT RELEASED
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has been three years in the making, and at one point included language advocating "three strikes" regimes, ordering ISPs to develop anti-piracy plans, promoting tough DRM anticircumvention language, setting up a "takedown" notification system, and "secondary liability" for device makers. Europeans were demanding protection for their geographic marks (Champagne, etc). Other countries wanted patents in the mix. That's all gone in today's release of the "near-final" ACTA text. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, whose office negotiated the US side of the deal, issued a statement this morning about the "tremendous progress in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy," but the real story here is the tremendous climbdown by US negotiators, who have largely failed in their attempts to push the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) onto the rest of the world. Apparently, a face-saving agreement is better than no agreement at all -- but even the neutered ACTA we see today could run into problems. Mexico's Senate yesterday approved a nonbinding resolution asking for the country to suspend participation in ACTA, while key members of the European Parliament have also expressed skepticism about the deal.
Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge, said, "The final text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) should be seen as a qualified victory for those who want to protect the digital rights of consumers around the world. Some of the most egregious provisions from earlier drafts have been removed on topics ranging from digital protection measures to the liability of intermediaries like Internet Service Providers and search engines. The agreement would give more flexibility to the signatories than did previous versions. We can attribute these changes in part to the willingness of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to open the ACTA discussions to public-interest groups in a way that had not been done before. We appreciate the inclusiveness USTR has shown in the negotiations. However, the way this agreement was produced is still deeply flawed."
benton.org/node/43246 | Ars Technica | Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement | TechDailyDose | Public Knowledge
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OFCOM OPENS BT'S FIBER
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Jonathan Browning]
BT, the UK's largest phone company, must allow competitors to control fiber lines in its high-speed broadband network, regulator Ofcom said. Rivals including TalkTalk should have access to BT's fiber lines through a "virtual link" or could deploy their own fiber via BT's underground ducts and overhead telegraph poles, Ofcom said. The regulator decided not to set pricing for access to the lines. Virgin Media had asked Ofcom to set fees, arguing that the absence of any pricing controls could undermine alternative network investment, according to the regulator. BT's charges will be subject to rules against anti-competitive pricing, Ofcom said.
benton.org/node/43252 | Bloomberg
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