March 8, 2011 (Cybersecurity)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2011
The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology meets today and more! http://benton.org/calendar/2011-03-08/
INTERNET/BROADBAND
House Commerce Committee Democrats Urge Open Debate and Regular Order on Open Internet Legislation
Why the Unconnected are Second-Class Digital Citizens
How the Joint Center is Promoting Broadband Adoption
Ookla enhances broadband speed testing capabilities
Investing to Keep America’s Economy Strong - Broadband Performs
CYBERSECURITY/GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
The new cyber arms race
Cybersecurity needs complete plan
How to make Internet more secure?
Feds not best guard of cyberspace
Tyrants can use Facebook, too
Could feds ever shut down the Web?
Google Takes Heat Over App Security
WIRELESS
The Technical Basis for Spectrum Rights: Policies to Enhance Market Efficiency
Tax rates on cell phones can be steep
Google Controls 97 Percent Of Mobile Paid Search: Report
The Missed Opportunity With Mobile
Microsoft Is Said to Pay Nokia More Than $1 Billion in Deal
UK’s 3 fights to stay in bandwidth race
Tycoon in India telecoms scandal quits
TELEVISION/RADIO
Turning Down the Radio, Slice by Budgetary Slice
NPR President Makes Public Plea Not To Have Federal Funds Cut
APTS: GOP will help protect broadcast funds
The Fading Power of Beck’s Alarms
With Fairy Tales and Alternate Realities, TV Pilots Go High Concept
In YouTube, Google finds a nimble model to compete with Facebook
OWNERSHIP
Google Cranks Up M&A Machine, Will Continue to Pursue Start-Ups
YouTube Acquires A Producer Of Videos
Tribune bankruptcy confirmation hearing begins
POLICYMAKERS
Sen Ensign, ranking telecom senator, to retire
The speculation begins: Obama's next Commerce Secretary?
Comcast promotes top two lobbyists
MORE ONLINE
Verizon meets with FCC to discuss 911 problems
Battle for Techies Intensifies
Cable Economic Impact Up In Down Economy
INTERNET/BROADBAND
INTERNET LEGISLATION DEBATE
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee]
House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA), and the other Democratic members of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee sent a letter to Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) protesting their decision to deny members the opportunity to amend their legislation to overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s open Internet rule. In the letter, the members state, “The process you propose would deprive members of one of their most fundamental rights: the right to offer amendments. We recognize there is disagreement about the role of the Commission with respect to the Internet, but we do not believe that justifies denying us the right to amend your legislation.”
http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?q=news/committee-dem...
Dems want to amend anti-net neutrality resolution (The Hill)
benton.org/node/52134 | House of Representatives Commerce Committee | The Hill
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2ND CLASS DIGITAL CITIZENS
[SOURCE: Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, AUTHOR: David Honig]
[Commentary] It is no secret that the recession has hit our nation hard, particularly in low-income and minority communities. Naturally, many government institutions and private organizations have turned to broadband to help them cut costs by streamlining various processes and keeping productivity levels high. In general, this is a productive use of a transformative technology and embracing it to improve efficiency is certainly the right thing for these organizations to do. But what about the millions of Americans who lack a home computer and who remain unconnected to broadband? How are they supposed to apply for government benefits online, access Web-based job search sites, and otherwise participate in this digital revolution? The short answer is that those who remain unconnected are relegated to second-class digital citizenship. Enhancing the broadband adoption rate across every demographic group must be priority number one for policymakers at every level of government. Without more robust broadband adoption, too many Americans will be stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide. Social justice and continued economic prosperity demand a concerted effort to get these non-adopters on a path toward first-class digital citizenship.
benton.org/node/52118 | Minority Media and Telecommunications Council
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CYBERSECURITY/GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
CYBERSECURITY NEEDS A PLAN
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Sen Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)]
[Commentary] The Internet has nurtured a remarkable amount of innovation, commerce, freedom of expression and economic connectivity. But these great benefits are accompanied by an ever-growing number of serious cybersecurity threats. Resolving this crucial issue will enhance our effectiveness in combating cybersecurity threats. But it is merely one of many technical, legal, and political issues our nation faces in the cybersecurity realm. Six areas need particular attention. First, the public has little awareness about cyberthreats. Second, we need to improve the means for industry sectors to deploy common defense strategies — like the westward pioneers circling their wagons. Third, we need to provide end-users, ISPs and software and hardware suppliers with basic rules of the road. Fourth, we must provide the federal government adequate authority and capability to protect critical private infrastructure — including our financial, communications, transportation and energy sectors. Fifth, we must put more cybercriminals behind bars. Finally, we must more clearly define the rules of engagement for covert action against cyberthreats. The president must have access to as many lawful and appropriate tools as possible — subject to clear executive policies and procedures, as well as vigilant congressional oversight. [Sen Whitehouse
served as chairman of the bipartisan Cyber Task Force in 2010]
benton.org/node/52129 | Politico
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HOW TO MAKE INTERNET MORE SECURE
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Sen Susan Collins (R-Maine)]
[Commentary] We must be mindful that the Internet is vulnerable to exploitation and attack. Those vulnerabilities increase every day as more and more activity finds its way onto cyberplatforms. Clearly, the Internet must be made more secure, but in a manner that does not infringe on our constitutional rights to receive information and express views. Last year, Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Tom Carper (D-Delaware) and I introduced legislation to strengthen the government’s efforts to safeguard U.S. cybernetworks from attack and prevent presidential overreach. That bill was unanimously approved by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Last month, we introduced a new version with stronger, more explicit provisions that would prevent the president from ever shutting down the Internet. It would also provide an opportunity for judicial review of designations of our most sensitive systems and assets as “covered critical infrastructure.”
benton.org/node/52128 | Politico
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FEDS NOT BEST GUARD OF CYBERSPACE
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Rep Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)]
[Commentary] More than 90 percent of the nation’s critical information infrastructure is operated by the private sector. Protecting cyberspace, however, is not just about securing our nation’s critical information infrastructure, but promoting economic security. The online and physical worlds have become so intertwined that vulnerabilities in the information infrastructure now pose real risks to physical establishments and individuals. One can easily envision a situation in which a hacker could electronically break into a critical infrastructure and cause the failure of a physical establishment — such as a hospital — which would result in serious injury or death. While the government has a crucial role to play, any policy to improve private-sector cybersecurity should not be overly burdensome and counterproductive to economic prosperity. Regulatory mandates are not only unlikely to lead to private-sector cybersecurity improvements, they would likely hinder economic growth. [Rep Goodlatte is chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet]
benton.org/node/52131 | Politico
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TYRANTS CAN USE FACEBOOK, TOO
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Sen Richard Durbin (D-IL)]
[Commentary] There has been much talk lately about the “Facebook revolution” in the Middle East. But the rhetoric oversimplifies a more complicated reality. The Internet has helped activists from Morocco to Iran organize demonstrations and publicize human rights abuses. The world had a front-row seat at the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions thanks to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. This publicity likely helped restrain government crackdowns on protesters. It is important to remember that the Internet, like every sea change in communications technology does not inevitably lead to social progress. It is merely a tool for brave men and women willing to put their lives on the line to improve their lot. Technological advancement also has a downside. The Internet makes it easier for repressive regimes to crack down on dissidents. The Belarusian and Iranian governments have used what Internet expert Evgeny Morozov calls the “digital panopticon” created by social-networking technology to track down and arrest activists. With a few notable exceptions, the technology industry is failing to address serious human rights challenges. Filtering software produced by U.S. companies like McAfee — recently acquired by Intel — has been used by repressive governments to censor political content on the Internet. Cisco routers are part of the architecture of China’s Great Firewall. Search engines such as Google and Yahoo censor political content. US technology companies allow millions around the world to express themselves more fully and freely. But the industry has a moral obligation to ensure that its products and services do not help repressive governments. If U.S. companies are unwilling to take reasonable steps to protect human rights, Congress must step in. [Sen Durbin is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights]
benton.org/node/52127 | Politico
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COULD FEDS EVER SHUT DOWN THE NET?
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: David Hansen]
Could the Internet be shut down in the US like it was in Egypt? Experts say that it may be technically possible. However, only a fool in the Oval Office would take such irrational steps. Still, revelations about torture at Guantanamo and domestic spying and wiretapping after Sept. 11 have created a heightened sense of anxiety about giving the federal government more leeway to intrude or restrict behavior in times of conflict. While there are thousands of Internet service providers in the U.S., there are only a dozen or so “Tier 1 ISPs” — the providers that carry the bulk of Internet traffic around the country. Shutting down those companies would kick about 80 percent of Americans off the Web, said Jonathan Zittrain, a Harvard Law School professor who also teaches computer science at the university. “Imagine the government went completely off the rails, and someone went thundering around and said, ‘Do X,’” Zittrain said. “Ten phone calls to Internet service providers who can't say no would make the Internet virtually inaccessible to the vast majority of people in the country.” Many politicians and government officials dismiss as “unrealistic” the idea of the government silencing the Internet in the US.
benton.org/node/52124 | Politico
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WIRELESS
SPECTRUM PAPER
[SOURCE: Brookings Institution, AUTHOR: Robert Matheson, Adele Morris]
The inefficiencies inherent in the traditional command-and-control spectrum regulatory system are increasingly costly as demand for spectrum-dependent services explodes. This paper describes a conceptual framework to articulate clear rights of access to spectrum in a way that fosters a market-based allocation of the resource. We also offer simple rules that reasonably account for imperfect receivers and challenging physical properties of radiowaves. The key features of the system we propose are:
Regulators construct an initial partition of spectrum rights across the dimensions of space, time, frequency, and direction of propagation. Each partition is called a licensed electrospace right (LER). Regulators devolve these rights to LER owners.
Licensees may buy, sell, aggregate, and subdivide their LERs at will.
Licensees must keep all signals within their respective LER, including its frequency band, geographical area, angle of propagation range, and authorized time of operation. In particular, all signals must have a power level of less than a regulated limit (E0) outside the LER, with exceptions allowed with a probability no greater than an amount specified by regulators (such as one percent).
Licensees must limit transmitter power or field strength within their LER to below a regulator-set level for the band in which they operate (Emax).
Regulators or other parties must establish and maintain a detailed database and propagation model that facilitates transactions and enforcement.
In this system, regulators set up the rights database and establish a few core parameters for each band. Thereafter their role is limited to enforcing compliance with the simple set of rules on signal strength. Importantly, this system includes no protection of, or constraints on, receivers, so it does not directly control interference. Rather, through transactions and negotiations between LER owners, the system we outline here would induce an efficient level of interference in which the costs of controlling interference are balanced by the benefits.
benton.org/node/52117 | Brookings Institution | read the paper
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GOOGLE DOMINATES MOBILE SEARCH
[SOURCE: search engine land, AUTHOR: Greg Sterling]
Almost 5 percent of paid search spending in the US is now in mobile, according to a report released last week from banking and investment firm Macquarie Group, using Efficient Frontier data. That mobile search spend could double to almost 10 percent by the end of this year if growth continues at an aggressive pace. Using some very rough math that would mean US mobile paid search could be worth approximately $1.1 billion (at least) by the end of 2011. And almost all that money would be Google’s.
benton.org/node/52170 | Search Engine Land
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THE MISSED OPPORTUNITY WITH MOBILE
[SOURCE: ClickZ, AUTHOR: Jeremy Lockhorn]
Most marketers look to the mobile channel as a way to connect with their consumers who are on the go. It's a way to stay connected with their audience 24/7, regardless of their location. You can reach them while they're in your store. You can hit them while they're waiting for the bus. Or while they're in line at the coffee shop. Or while they're at the playground sneaking a look at the gossip sites while the children frolic. And that's smart. Mobile is good at that. In many scenarios, mobile fills a void. It reaches people in certain situations that used to be completely free of marketing messages. As long as all sides of the ecosystem (publisher and advertiser) remain focused on delivering value to people in those scenarios, then the sudden appearance of marketing messages may not be a bad thing. In fact, it may be welcomed by many consumers.
To address this "on-the-go" consumer, content producers, app developers, and marketers tend to pursue two key categories:
Utilities: Things like communication (speech to text, for example), social networking, maps, weather, movie times, restaurant reviews, location-relevant coupons/offers, and so on.
Snack-sized entertainment: Video clips, news, sports scores, games, e-reading, music, camera fun (you know you love IncrediBooth and Hipstamatic), etc.
Again, that's smart. These are the kinds of things people need when they're on the go. But, here is an important note of caution: to focus entirely on that "out and about" consumer misses a significant opportunity. It turns out that nearly 40 percent of time spent on the mobile Internet happens at home. And another nearly 20 percent happens at work. In other words, almost 60 percent of time spent on the mobile Internet happens when there's presumably a Web-connected PC available. Yet, people are choosing to go to mobile first, foregoing the PC in favor of the small form factor and convenience of the mobile device.
benton.org/node/52169 | ClickZ
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MICROSOFT'S DEAL WITH NOKIA
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Dina Bass]
Apparently, Microsoft will pay Nokia Oyj more than $1 billion to promote and develop Windows-based handsets as part of their smartphone software agreement. Nokia will pay Microsoft a fee for each copy of Windows used in its phones, costs that will be offset as Nokia curtails its own budget for software research and development. As part of the deal, Microsoft will use Nokia’s Navteq mapping products for functions such as geolocation services and selling local advertising and coupons tied to a user’s position. If successful, that also could generate additional revenue for Nokia, which will share in the sales. The two companies will also divide revenue from services like search and advertising.
benton.org/node/52176 | Bloomberg
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TELEVISION/RADIO
PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND THE BUDGET
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: David Coates]
[Commentary] These are frenzied days in Washington DC. They are also particularly dangerous ones for publicly-supported institutions that Republican politicians happen to dislike. With the threat of a complete government shut-down as their ultimate weapon, House Republicans are entering this year's budget round with some very clear targets in mind. High on that list of targets is the $445 million federal subsidy to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The President's 2011 budget proposed to increase that subsidy by a meager $6 million. By contrast, the finance bill passed by the Republican-controlled House in February proposed the entire elimination of the subsidy by 2013. The sums involved are minute, given the size of the federal budget as a whole. They amount to roughly $1.39 per American per year: so removing the entire $445 million from the federal accounts will affect the overall budget arithmetic hardly at all. But for the Republicans, if not for the Democrats, there is more than money at stake here. For Republicans, the budget provides an opportunity, rather than a reason: a cover under which to deal finally and decisively with a target that has long loomed large in conservative demonology. The danger before us therefore is that - in the give and take of this year's torrid budget round, with negotiators caught between a call for a modest increase and one for total elimination - the Administration will give and the Republicans will take, and will take totally. We need to stop them.
benton.org/node/52173 | Huffington Post, The
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NPR AND THE BUDGET
[SOURCE: The Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Sam Stein]
In a rare move, National Public Radio President and CEO Vivian Schiller appeared at the National Press Club to make a public case against Republican efforts to cut federal funding for public broadcasting. The NPR chief executive not only argued that her outlet fills a void left by a wave of cuts to private media companies, she claimed that public-radio listeners in rural areas would have no other access to news if their stations stopped broadcasts. As for the bottom line, Schiller noted that while government funding is just one source of revenue -- approximately 10 percent, she said -- it is a “critical cornerstone” and its removal would seriously hamper the outlet’s operations.
benton.org/node/52172 | Huffington Post, The | The Hill
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YOUTUBE'S ASPIRATIONS
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Mike Swift]
Once derided as Google's folly, the home of cheesy cat videos and the money-losing stepchild of an otherwise wildly profitable company, YouTube is emerging as a model for the more nimble, faster-paced company Google co-founder Larry Page hopes to foster as he takes the reins as CEO. That's quite a shift. While YouTube was a cultural phenomenon when Google bought it in 2006, for years it was bleeding money -- losing nearly half a billion dollars as recently as 2009, by one estimate. And while YouTube wasn't Google's Siberia, it wasn't exactly a mecca for many ambitious Googlers. But now, YouTube's revenue has grown dramatically. Many Google employees increasingly see it as an attractive place to work, with a less bureaucratic environment that lets them run with their ideas. Page, by all accounts, is looking to inject that same energy into Google, spurring the mother company to innovate more quickly in its rivalry with fast-moving Facebook. YouTube is not trying to have less emphasis on video contributed by individuals; in fact, Kamangar said the site wants to make it even easier for people to upload video from their phones, wherever they are. But YouTube is also now focusing on becoming a platform that could host hundreds of hyper-specialized channels that would appeal to the most specific of interests. Some YouTube channels, like Mystery Guitar Man, a sunglass-wearing maker of inventive music videos that have been viewed over 90 million times, already have several million subscribers.
benton.org/node/52139 | San Jose Mercury News
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OWNERSHIP
GOOGLE STILL LOOKING TO BUY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amir Efrati]
Google doesn't seem daunted about acquisitions in the wake of its failure last year to land online coupon site Groupon. Indeed, the Internet giant's deals chief plans to be very active, despite challenges that include soaring valuations for some Web start-ups. Coming off a record 48 acquisitions last year, Google is "going to continue to be aggressive," said David Lawee, Google's vice president of corporate development. Rather than large targets like Groupon, the main focus for Google continues to be small start-ups that can be a source of new technology, talented engineers and revenue. But courting those start-ups has seldom been harder. The skyrocketing valuations of Internet and mobile device-related start-ups don't appear to worry Lawee, who said they were "high, but they reflect the real possibilities." He added: "these are truly exciting times" for entrepreneurs. Besides the possibility of competing offers from other well-heeled Internet firms, such as Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc., many entrepreneurs can easily raise money from venture-capital firms to hold off the need to seek a buyer.
benton.org/node/52140 | Wall Street Journal
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YOUTUBE BUYS NEXT NEW NETWORKS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Claire Cain Miller]
YouTube, the video site owned by Google, formally announced that it had acquired Next New Networks, a Web video production company, in its biggest effort yet to move beyond short, quirky home videos to professionally produced content. Google will pay less than $50 million for the company. The acquisition of Next New Networks, which produces original programming and helps video creators distribute their films and make money, is YouTube’s biggest leap into creating its own programming. But that will be minimal, the companies said. Original programming has taken a back seat at Next New Networks, and Google has shied away from producing its own content. Improving its original programming is crucial for YouTube, which faces competition from Web video services like Hulu, iTunes and Netflix. For its part, Google, which is trying to popularize its Google TV service, needs more Web video that people will watch for hours at a time.
benton.org/node/52202 | New York Times
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