January 2011

Unnecessary intervention

[Commentary] Over the past 20 years, the Internet has grown and flourished without burdensome federal regulations, becoming an integral part of American society. Internet-related innovation, strengthened by the free market, has spurred the development of new businesses, fueled job creation and has become a major part of Americans' day-to-day lives.

This could soon change because of new regulations issued on a 3-2 vote by the Democratic members of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This unelected group of government regulators has given itself broad new authority to intervene in the area of Internet development and accessibility. With their action, the FCC establishes itself as a turnstile through which companies seeking to offer new services must pass. The message the FCC has sent with this action is unmistakable: Innovate at your own risk because the FCC can impose sanctions. So, how would an innovator avoid sanctions? By seeking prior approval. The delay and loss of proprietary protection will surely slow down new product development.

BT service could pave the way for two-tier web

BT is starting to sell a new service that gives broadband providers the tools to create a two-tier Internet, where some video content would reach consumers in a better condition than other material.

The service devised by BT’s wholesale unit gives broadband providers the opportunity to charge content owners for high quality distribution of their video products to consumers. BT is seeking to capitalize on the fast-growing volume of video being downloaded over fixed-line and mobile infrastructure, led by services such as Google’s YouTube and the BBC’s iPlayer. A new content distribution network built by BT should ensure that bandwidth-hungry video can be streamed to consumers without interruption, even at peak web usage times. BT is starting to give its retail unit, and other telecoms companies, the chance to use the network by selling a wholesale service called Content Connect. BT Retail is using Content Connect to supply the company’s television customers with the BBC iPlayer. The Open Rights Group, a consumer campaigns organization, expressed concern that BT’s content distribution network could clash with the principle of net neutrality, or the idea that all web traffic should be treated equally.

Taiwan press freedoms are eroding, critics say

For the past two years, Freedom House has downgraded Taiwan’s rating in its annual report on global press freedom. Critics say it's common for government propaganda to masquerade as 'news.'

Freedom of speech and press are among the most lauded achievements of Taiwan’s democratic transition since martial law was lifted more than two decades ago. Yet many observers say that the glitter of the island republic’s free press has been overrated, especially in a highly commercialized news culture that is both deeply partisan and prey to political favors. For the past two years Freedom House has downgraded Taiwan’s rating in its annual report on global press freedom.

Storm Led News, But No Story Dominated Online

A powerful East Coast winter storm -- and complaints about the cleanup effort that followed it -- topped the online news agenda last week, according to a special News Coverage Index from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.

No single subject really dominated the news websites during the week of December 27-31. But the story that led—the first Eastern “snowpocalypse” of the season—managed to surpass coverage of the U.S. economy, a story that had recently led the news overall, as well as in the online sector. The storm filled 12% of home page coverage on the 12 websites studied in PEJ’s weekly index. Although PEJ’s weekly NCI normally includes more than 50 media outlets in five different sectors, this report focused solely on the news agenda in the nation’s most-viewed news websites. PEJ’s index studies news websites that attract the largest audiences of their kind. The snowstorm, which struck along the coast from Philadelphia to Boston on December 26 -- dropping as much as 20 inches of snow -- snarled the Eastern Seaboard as holiday travelers tried to make their way along busy and treacherous highways. But unlike the Midwestern storms of mid-December, which among other things, caved in the roof of the Minneapolis Metrodome, online sites devoted a significant portion of their coverage to the Eastern event. (During the week of December 13-19, that storm did not even make the top 10 stories on the web). News about the economy accounted for just 7% of the week’s online news coverage, a drop from recent weeks. Between November 1 and Dec. 19, for example, news about the economy accounted for 15% on the web. Last week, the news was good as many of the reports jumped on the drop in jobless claims.

So long, broadband duopoly? Cable's high-speed triumph

Broadband users have long been skeptical of the duopoly situation in the US Internet market, which often feels like “pick your poison”: telephone company or cable company. "Where's the real competition?" they cry, pointing to other countries with healthy ISP markets thanks to regulated line-sharing or even direct government control of the underlying fiber infrastructure (Australia's new plan). But will they one day look back at the US duopoly situation with something like longing? When the Federal Communications Commission rolled out its National Broadband Plan last year, it shied away from any bold calls to transform ISP competition. But it did note that the US is quickly moving to a situation where many markets have only a single truly high-speed Internet provider. To put it in the plainest possible terms, if your home isn't served by Verizon's fiber optic FiOS system, you could be looking at a local high-speed monopoly. And that monopoly will probably come courtesy of an industry routinely rated low for customer satisfaction: cable. The good news is that cable operators are upgrading speeds at a rapid clip, thanks largely to the modest expense associated with doing so. But DSL, provided by telephone companies over aging copper wiring, has simply not kept pace.

Gay and lesbian characters are popping up on shows for young people

As it becomes more common for teenagers to realize — and then tell others — that they are gay or lesbian, there is also a growing number of teen characters on TV programs geared toward teens going through the same thing.

The CW's "90210," which returns on Jan. 24, joins the ranks of shows like "Glee," "Gossip Girl," "Pretty Little Liars," "Hellcats," "Greek" and the new MTV series "Skins" in showcasing young, gay roles. Teen coming-out stories seem especially relevant, after reports of physical and cyber bullying reached a boiling point last year with a number of gay teen suicides. "Hellcats," a new CW series about college cheerleading, tweaked a plot line this season after it ended up too closely mirroring the events that reportedly led to the death of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi. Shows like "Glee" and "Degrassi" have presented intense story lines about bullying, while "Pretty Little Liars" and "Gossip Girl" — both based on young adult novels in which every character has something salacious jangling in his or her closet — have included "I know your secret" cyber threats.

Tech firms strut their stuff at CES

The Consumer Electronics Show kicks off the new year with a sneak peek at products that will be on retailers' shelves in the spring and fall. The show brings together most of the top manufacturers -- including Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic, Samsung and others -- to strut their stuff with their latest and greatest. This year's push: 3-D TV, Internet connected TVs, digital cameras, and connected cars.

FCC Reviewing Telecommunications Regulations

The Federal Communications Commission issued a Public Notice seeking comment on whether its rules should be modified or repealed as part of the FCC’s 2010 biennial review.

The Communications Act requires the FCC to review biennially its regulations that apply to the operations or activities of any provider of telecommunications service, and to determine whether such regulation is no longer necessary as the result of meaningful economic competition between providers of such service. The FCC said it will pay special attention to rules that relate to data gathering and is undertaking a zero baseline review of its data collections to improve data quality and processes, identify areas where additional data collection is needed, and eliminate unnecessary collections. Part 69 (Access Charges), Part 54 (Universal Service), Part 36 (Jurisdictional Separations), and Part 64 (TRS) are among the many rules to be reviewed.

Comments due Jan. 31; replies due Feb. 22.

FCC Report Tracks Trends Related to Universal Service

The Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service released its USF Monitoring Report. The report contains information designed to monitor the impact of various universal service support mechanisms and the methods used to finance them, based on data filed by the telephone industry with the FCC through October 2010. A monitoring program was established in the mid 1980's, at the recommendation of the Separations Joint Board, to track trends related to universal service and related matters. Since then, Joint Board staff prepared Monitoring Reports at least once a year a compendium of statistical data on subscribership and penetration, loop costs, separations factors, universal service fund payments, etc. The report is the only FCC document that includes information on every incumbent local telephone company in the nation.

Numbering Resource Utilization in the United States

The Federal Communications Commission released its latest report on telephone number utilization in the United States.

Telephone number utilization refers to the percentage of telephone numbers assigned to customers compared to the total of telephone numbers assigned to carriers. The Numbering Resource Utilization Report details how those telephone numbers are being used. The report presents numbering resource utilization statistics based on December 2009 data that carriers submitted to the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA), as well as other information. Tracking number utilization is one of a number of initiatives taken by the Commission to ensure that limited numbering resources are used efficiently.

Benton

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