December 2010

Comcast Agrees To Online Access Condition For Unaffiliated Nets

According to a filing at the Federal Communications Commission, Comcast will agree to make an online access provision, though one involving outside suppliers rather than its owned content, a binding condition on its proposed Comcast/NBCU deal.

Comcast says that its contracts already generally allow unaffiliated nets to make content available online, but "to assuage any concerns in this area," it will agree to the following-worded condition, subject to some caveats: “Comcast will not require unaffiliated content suppliers, as a condition of carriage on Comcast cable systems, to refuse to sell their programming to MVPDs and Online Video Distributors (‘OVDs’).” The caveats are that "Comcast should have the right, consistent with industry practice, to require that unaffiliated content suppliers not provide their programming for free over the Internet during an initial window," that the company "should also have the right to obtain from content suppliers parity treatment with other distributors, online or otherwise," and that "Comcast should be able to negotiate for a limited period of exclusivity for promotional programming."

Is GOP all Bark on Network Neutrality?

Former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell suggested the volume of Republican opposition to network neutrality might be related to the fierce battle for the House Commerce chairmanship.

And outgoing House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) said Republicans are unlikely to put a priority on dismantling net-neutrality rules if the affected companies say they can live with the regulations. "If it is under Title I [of the Communications Act] and the broadband providers support it, I would have doubts that there would be a legislative effort to undo it," Chairman Boucher said. "There wouldn't be a constituency."

Bruce Mehlman, co-chairman of the pro-industry group Internet Innovation Alliance, said, "I don't believe the new majority is going to undo a deal the majority of investors and carriers have said they can live with."

But Rep Joe Barton, one of the men aiming to be the next House Commerce Committee chairman, said, "We represent the American people, not companies, and our constituents don't want the FCC grabbing authority over an Internet that has succeeded precisely because it remains free of government intrusion."

Preserving Openness to Protect Jobs

Small businesses and start-ups have accounted for more than 22 million new American jobs over the last 15 years. And broadband has played a central part, enabling small business to lower their costs and reach new customers in new markets around the country and, indeed, the globe. The success of these businesses has made America’s tech economy the envy of the world. These businesses are proof that the Internet’s open principles have helped clear the way for unfettered growth. Changing those principles, or regulating this growing market in a way that disfavors innovation, is unacceptable. This founding principle -- the openness of the Internet -- is at issue today. Interfering with this growth threatens jobs at a time when Americans can hardly afford the risk.

This is not just a plan to protect a free and open Internet -- this is a plan to protect jobs, now and in America’s future. It is my responsibility to make sure that the economic and legal environment that allowed these jobs to grow remains just as healthy and competitive for future generations. I'm proud to oversee the FCC at a moment of unprecedented technological advancement. It’s my responsibility to act as a just steward for America’s technology economy and protect these valuable jobs. I've seen what works from some of the most dazzling entrepreneurs America has ever known. It’s my responsibility to fight to uphold the free and open principles that have brought us to where we are -- and I am committed to this goal.

Comcast says no plan for usage-based pricing

Who us? No way. Comcast president Neil Smit says the company has no plans to start charging customers based on how much broadband is consumed by online video and other content. Smit said the company allows for 250 gigabytes to be streamed each month and the average customer is using nowhere close to that. Comcast provides meters to allow customers to monitor usage.

Study links cellphones to child misbehavior

Researchers studying the health effects of cellphones say they have found evidence that when pregnant women use them regularly, their children are more likely to have behavioral problems. The study, sure to renew controversy over the safety of mobile telephones, does not demonstrate that cellphone use causes the behavioral problems and does not suggest a possible way that they could. But the researchers say their findings are worth checking out.

Microsoft puts 'Do Not Track' function in next browser

Microsoft said a new version of its browser, Internet Explorer, will come with technology that can block third-party firms from tracking a user's activity on the Web. The announcement comes after the Federal Trade Commission last week recommended a blanket anti-tracking mechanism that would protect users' privacy online. Specifically, the IE9 browser will allow a user to set up a Tracking Protection list of Web sites that it doesn't want to track its information. A user would have to proactively set up the list. The default would be that Web sites -- including third-party firms -- could gather information about users as they do today.

NTIA Likely To Get Broadband Oversight Funding

The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration will receive an additional $20 million for oversight of broadband stimulus grants, according to a draft of the next proposed continuing resolution Congress is likely to pass.

Low-Rated Cable Channels Soon to be History?

In this age of testy retransmission battles, a remark from a DirecTV executive -- that some low-rated cable networks might be on the outs -- came as no surprise.

Retransmission wars have been eating into TV/video programmers' revenue for some time -- all because big TV networks are selling the point that their viewership is big and valuable. Derek Chang, executive vice president of content development and strategy for DirecTV, didn't single out any networks, but did say some questions should be asked, perhaps "just to remove certain channels from our platform if they are not relevant." He might also make a case for those networks that cost satellite, cable, or telco video operators too much, or aren't a big local-advertising-generating machine for cable operators and other video retailers. What about program diversity, you say? The cable industry, for all its history, has never been a big philanthropic organization in this way.

Copyright and the Free Flow of Information

In a Department of Commerce proceeding on the Impact of Global Free Flow of Information on the Internet, Public Knowledge says copyright law can "easily act as a barrier to the free flow of information," and it recommends that Commerce look at domestic, as well as foreign restrictions on free flow of information. In addition, Public Knowledge said that there should be more public input for industry-derived policies and agreements. Public Knowledge also addresses the ACTA trade agreement and the new Combatting Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA).

FCC Sets Out To Overhaul Experimental Licensing

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission has always been friendly to experimenters, whether they are basement hobbyists or industrial researchers. Since 1934 the Communications Act has enjoined the FCC to “[s]tudy new uses for radio, provide for experimental uses of frequencies, and generally encourage the larger and more effective use of radio . . . .” Just as important, many of the engineers at the FCC who began as teenage hams and tinkerers are eager to encourage the next generation.

The FCC imposes only minimal regulation on amateur radio equipment, allows DIYers to design and operate home-brew transmitters with hardly any regulation at all, and offers “experimental licensing” so researchers and commercial innovators can test out new devices. Nonetheless, while the pace of innovation accelerates, the rules on experimental licensing have stagnated. They require, among other things, separate FCC approval for each individual project. Ironically, considering their purpose, the rules are highly hospitable to minor variations on established uses of radio, while experimental licenses for more creative technologies can be hard to obtain. The FCC staff who do this work are technically capable and usually sympathetic to the applicants, but they are bound by the rules on the books.

In a burst of candor that may surprise equipment manufacturers and scientists, the FCC now concedes that the process for issuing these licenses can be a “roadblock to innovation.” With this new self-awareness comes a comprehensive Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on experimental licensing rules so the FCC can (in its own words) “inspire researchers to dream, discover, and deliver” innovations to promote “a better way of life for all Americans.” The path to this Norman Rockwell ideal entails both updating the current rules and creating new licensing arrangements for research and development.

Benton

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