April 1, 2011 (A Marriage of Equals)
Headlines is going on Spring Break; we will return MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2011
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2011
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) is the star of two big events on today's agenda -- see http://benton.org/calendar/2011-04-01/
... and there's lots going on next week. See http://benton.org/calendar/2011-04-03--P1W/
MERGERS
Verizon official: merger must not be pretext to regulate
Live Nation Said to Bid for Warner Music Group
Competitive Implications of the Proposed Acquisition of T-Mobile by AT&T Mobility - research
Chairman Upton: AT&T-T-Mobile Not on Short-Term Agenda
FCC's Copps Knocks AT&T|T-Mobile Deal
MetroPCS unopposed to a combined AT&T, T-Mobile
MORE ON OWNERSHIP
The Microsoft-Google feud comes to DC
DOJ's Microsoft prosecutor: Google is a monopoly - analysis [links to web]
March 26-April 1: It's all about... Google - analysis
LABOR
Why should writers work for no pay? [links to web]
Online news staffs: Where's the diversity? - op-ed [links to web]
MORE ON WIRELESS
Brookings Panel Debates Wireless Spectrum Policy, AT&T-T-Mobile Deal
TELEVISION/RADIO
Hollywood studios agree pay-TV deal
Time Warner Cable Yanks 12 Networks From iPad App
See also: News Corp. Tells Time Warner Cable To Stop Streaming Channels On iPad App [links to web]
EEO Audits Begin [links to web]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
New Lift for Kansas Town
Kansas City Gets Gigabit Speeds. What About the Rest of Us? - op-ed
Washington Addressing Digital Divide With New Fiber Network
Calix bags two more broadband stimulus projects
Wait until June for a fix? Throttled WoW player wants ISP fined
CONTENT
The Rise of the “Second Internet” and What It Means
Backlist E-Books Find an Audience [links to web]
PRIVACY
Rep Eshoo: Google-FTC settlement should apply to all firms
HEALTH
National health groups team up for quality
TELECOM
Chairman Rockefeller expands phone industry probe [links to web]
Traffic pumping minutes rose 48% in 2010 [links to web]
New Comptel chairman wants access to copper -- or whatever replaces it [links to web]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Open Sourcing the IT Dashboard & the TechStat Process [links to web]
POLICYMAKERS
Benton Foundation Welcomes Jim Kohlenberger to Board of Directors - press release
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Google Losing Ground in China [links to web]
BT faces tougher oversight on pricing [links to web]
Australia’s NBN Says Costs Are Too High, Suspends Tenders [links to web]
Olympic Tube phone plan dropped [links to web]
MERGERS
MARRIAGE OF EQUALS
[SOURCE: Wireless Alley Insider, AUTHOR: F. J. Schlink]
In an announcement we're likely to be hearing much more about, AT&T and Verizon announced this morning what the two companies are calling a "merger of equals." The deal would bring together the nation's two largest local exchange carriers and the two largest wireless phone carriers. The combination would bring together nearly 200 million wireless subscribers -- or two out of every three Americans. The combined companies have approximately $230 billion in annual revenues -- approximately the gross national product of Denmark. "In the intensely competitive telecommunications industry,” said AT&T Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson, "companies need to continue to grow to realize economies of scope and scale. The industry is intense before we do this transaction, it will be intense after we do this transaction -- mainly because we never dared compete against eachother in our core businesses before.” Verizon Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg was mainly silent during the announcement but did add that the merger would be of great benefit to consumers across the country and would accelerate the deployment of high speed Internet services where the companies already planned to expand service. He said the combination would be the only way teleco TV could ever break the "Comcast-Time Warner pay TV duopoly" and for the carriers to compete against "government-backed, international telecommunications giants." Asked if regulators could accept a combination of this size, AT&T's chief lobbyist Jim Cicconi said, "There was a great deal of misgivings about our acquisition of T-Mobile and the creation of a wireless duopoly. With this move, we've given policymakers another option. We see it as a better one." Asked about the future of T-Mobile, Cicconi answered, "We feel that $3 billion and a chunk of valuable spectrum to a strong competitor would be an unprecedented merger condition when this deal is approved. Perhaps as surprising as the size of the deal was the initial reaction of consumer advocacy groups. Parul P. Desai, policy counsel for Consumers Union, said, "In some ways, this deal will help fulfill Arthur Kallet's dream of consumers united. When any customer has a telecommunications problem, there's no doubt it will be AT&T Verizon's fault and regulators will be able to act accordingly."
benton.org/node/54593 | Wireless Alley Insider
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MERGER NO REASON TO REGULATE
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
Verizon's top policy executive Tom Tauke is concerned that federal regulators could use AT&T's merger with T-Mobile as a pretext for the government to create new regulations. Verizon does not have a position for or against the merger, but feels strongly the government must not use the transaction as an excuse to introduce onerous new mandates on industry, he said. "We do not want the government to use this transaction as a vehicle for government management of the marketplace," he said. The Federal Communications Commission should also refrain from adding merger conditions that are not related to the transaction or that would otherwise require a rulemaking process, Tauke said, calling that a "perversion of the process." Tauke said it is important Capitol Hill and the FCC maintain a strong focus on freeing up more spectrum.
benton.org/node/54493 | Hill, The
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LIVE NATION BID FOR WARNER MUSIC
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Ben Sisario]
Live Nation Entertainment, the concert and ticketing giant created by the merger of Ticketmaster and the promoter Live Nation, has emerged as a bidder for the Warner Music Group, according to a person apprised of the bidding who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because the process was intended to be confidential. Live Nation’s chairman is Irving L. Azoff, whose long history in the music business includes a stint as chairman of MCA Records. He also controls Front Line Management, which manages the careers of more than 200 acts, including the Eagles and Christina Aguilera. If Live Nation succeeds in its bid for Warner Music, the third-largest of the four major record companies, it would control a vast supply chain that could potentially make Live Nation the management, record company, merchandiser, concert promoter and ticketing service, all for the same act. That would likely pose a regulatory challenge for the company, whose merger with Ticketmaster was investigated by the Department of Justice Department for nearly a year.
benton.org/node/54588 | New York Times | WSJ | Financial Times
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RESEARCH SHOWS CONCENTRATED WIRELESS MARKET
[SOURCE: Stanford University, AUTHOR: Roger Noll, Gregory Rosston]
AT&T's proposed acquisition of AT&T appears to run seriously afoul of the merger policy of federal antitrust enforcement agencies. The first step in merger analysis is typically to measure concentration -- an indicator of the extent of competition.
The standard measure of concentration is the Hirschman-Herfindahl Index (HHI), which is the sum of the squares of the market shares of the sellers in the market. According to the Federal Trade Commission and Antitrust Division Merger Guidelines, if the post-acquisition HHI exceeds 2500, an acquisition that causes the HHI to increase by more than 200 is likely to cause a significant reduction in competition if the market also has substantial barriers to entry. At present, nationwide concentration in wireless telecommunications services is roughly equal to the 2500 threshold, and the acquisition would increase the HHI by more than 600.
These numbers probably understate the effective concentration in the industry for two reasons. First, only the four major carriers can serve customers who seek mobile access in most of the nation. For connections outside their service territories, smaller carriers often resell Sprint’s service. Second, the available data do not distinguish between mobile voice service, which is more competitive, and high-speed data service, which is more concentrated.
benton.org/node/54496 | Stanford University
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MERGER NOT ON AGENDA
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Juliana Gruenwald]
"It's not on our short-term agenda," said House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) of the proposed purchase of T-Mobile by AT&T. He said given the recent history of big mergers, it will likely take the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission a year or more to decide whether to approve the deal between the second and fourth largest wireless firms. While declining to give a date, Chairman Upton said he expects the committee will hold a hearing later this year to "walk through" the issues related to the merger.
benton.org/node/54561 | National Journal
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COPPS KNOCKS AT&T DEAL
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Kim Hart]
Federal Communications Commission member Michael Copps appears on this week's The Communicators on C-SPAN -- and he has serious concerns about AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile. Commissioner Copps says the transaction is an even steeper climb for him than Comcast’s merger with NBC Universal. He also said the deal could negatively impact other proceedings at the agency. " What is the impact going to be on American jobs? I'm trying to find that out. I haven't had a satisfactory answer yet, but I hope and trust that we will. There’s a lot of money on the table, and how much of that money will end up in Europe supporting telecommunications there rather than the United States? It’s a big deal, but as much as anything, what troubles me is that it kind of sucks the oxygen out of so many issues that are pending before the Federal Communications Commission. We can chew gum and walk at the same time, I guess, but this affects so much of what we’re doing. I think whether this goes forward or not has an effect on the whole issue of spectrum auctions. I think it has an impact on public safety. It’s a lot to absorb. I've been at the Commission almost 10 years now and it seems sometimes that we’re the federal merger commission. That’s because companies bring us so many mergers, and it’s always ‘The last one. We’re not going to be back.’ But as soon as you approve one, someone else is at the door saying ‘Hey you let the other guy get real big so you've got to let us too, or else it’s not fair.’"
benton.org/node/54494 | Politico | The Hill
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METROPCS DOES NOT OPPOSE DEAL
[SOURCE: Connected Planet, AUTHOR: Kevin Fitchard]
While Sprint is decrying AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile, claiming it will marginalize all other operators apart from AT&T and Verizon Wireless, the country’s largest Tier II operator doesn't have a problem with it. According to MetroPCS chief operating officer Tom Keys, “too big” is a relative term when you’re operator of 8 million customers staring down giants. From Metro’s perspective, the leading operator having 100 million customers versus having 80 million customers makes little difference, Keys said. In fact, Keys sees the acquisition giving Metro a competitive advantage. It not only would knock one of the Big 4 operators out of the business, but it would also remove the one nationwide operator with the most similar market focus to Metro’s, Keys said. T-Mobile has always targeted the lower-end of the postpaid market and the prepaid markets -- Metro’s sweet spot. If T-Mobile were swallowed up by AT&T, that could leave 34 million abandoned customers, many of whom are ripe for Metro’s plucking.
benton.org/node/54492 | Connected Planet
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MORE ON OWNERSHIP
MICROSOFT-GOOGLE FEUD
[SOURCE: Politico, AUTHOR: Tony Romm, Mike Zapler]
Microsoft may have filed its antitrust case against Google in Europe for the same reason Willie Sutton robbed banks: That’s where the money is. The European Commission has a history of levying big fines against monopolists — and Brussels is widely seen as friendlier terrain than Washington for trust-busting — so it makes sense that Microsoft would take a shot at Google far from Redmond or Mountain View. But the Microsoft-Google feud didn't start in Europe, and it’s not going to end there. Sooner or later, it will be back in Washington — and, in fact, it already is. The Justice Department is in talks with Google over its move into travel — and is threatening to take the search giant to court if it doesn't scale back its plans. Lawmakers from both parties are calling for congressional hearings into Google’s expansion beyond search. And Microsoft is probably hoping against hope that its antitrust case against Google in the EU will prod the Justice Department into launching a similar one here.
benton.org/node/54570 | Politico
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IT'S ALL ABOUT GOOGLE
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
Yes, sure, the combination of AT&T and T-Mobile continues to grab the most headlines. But there were a few additional policy developments in the last week and the common actor in each seems to be search giant Google. Google tops paidContent.org's recently released list of the "Most Successful Digital Media Companies in the US" -- that is, the companies bringing in the most money from online content and online advertising. paidContent estimates that Google reaped $14.1 billion in digital revenue in 2010. The company has created a massive business off of others that do create content online. Its search engine culls billions of web pages to return results, which it then sells ads against. Google's AdSense is the largest ad network in the world and funds the operations of thousands of sites. And Google's YouTube hosts videos that are played more than two billion times a day.
http://benton.org/node/54475
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MORE ON WIRELESS
BROOKINGS EVENT RECAP
[SOURCE: BroadbandBreakfast.com, AUTHOR: Rahul Gaitonde]
The Brookings Institution assembled leading telecommunications experts and business representatives on Wednesday to discuss the future of spectrum policy and the impending merger between AT&T and T-Mobile. “Mobile broadband is exploding in demand,” said James Cicconi, Senior Executive Vice President-External and Legislative Affairs at AT&T at the start the discussion. “By 2015 we expect our network to carry 19 billion exabytes of data which is equivalent to 400 quadrillion DVDs annually.” Cicconi proceeded to explain why AT&T views the merger between it and T-Mobile a necessity to solve the spectrum crisis. He stated that T-Mobile currently lacks the necessary spectrum licenses to create a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network and its parent company Deutsche Telekom does not have the capital necessary to buy more licenses. “We already carry more wireless data than any other company,” Cicconi said. “When we acquire the additional spectrum owned by T-Mobile we will be able to expand our 4G network to cover 95 percent of the population.” Former Broadband Plan Executive Director, Blair Levin, called access 4G “critical” and said that mobile broadband is vital to future economic growth. Levin went onto say that a spectrum crunch will occur if broadcasters do not sell off some of their holdings, but he opposed taking spectrum away from the owners without proper compensation. “The best way to reallocate spectrum is with voluntary incentive auctions,” Levin said, “but if the current owners are not able to profit from the auction no one will participate.”
benton.org/node/54489 | BroadbandBreakfast.com
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TELEVISION/RADIO
STUDIOS ENRAGE THEATER OWNERS
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Matthew Garrahan]
Four Hollywood movie studios are heading for a showdown with America’s largest cinema chains after they agreed to make their films available on pay-television two months after their theatrical release. Warner Brothers, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox have signed up to release their films on a “premium video-on-demand” basis with DirecTV, the satellite operator. Consumers will have to pay about $30 to watch a particular film. With DVD sales – once Hollywood’s biggest cash generator – facing inexorable decline, the studios have created the premium video-on-demand release “window” to squeeze more money out of each title. The new release window comes as cinema admissions in the US have dipped. Revenues from admissions have held steady, thanks to ticket price increases, but the number of people paying to watch films in cinemas fell close to 10 per cent in 2010. If the premium video-on-demand window is a success it could potentially change the economics of the film business, creating a new revenue stream between a film’s theatrical release and its eventual release on DVD and Blu-ray. But the new window has angered the National Association of Theatre Owners, which represents cinema chains. It released a terse statement saying it had “repeatedly, publicly and privately, raised concerns and questions about the wisdom of shortening the theatrical release window to address the studios’ difficulties in the home market”.
benton.org/node/54583 | Financial Times
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TWC YANKS 12 NETWORKS FROM APP
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Todd Spangler]
Time Warner Cable pulled 12 networks from Discovery Communications, Fox Cable Networks and Viacom off its iPad streaming-video application -- after those companies complained that the service violated the terms of their distribution agreements -- although the MSO continues to insist it has the right to deliver that programming to the tablets. The networks removed from the app are: Discovery's Animal Planet, Discovery and TLC; Fox's FX and National Geographic Channel; and Viacom's BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nick, Spike and VH1. For now, Fox News Channel is still available through the app. Originally TWC was offering 32 channels through the free app, TWCable TV for iPad, but is currently offering 20.
benton.org/node/54560 | Multichannel News | Bloomberg
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
LIFT FOR KANSAS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Kevin Helliker]
Technology companies tend to target markets teeming with highly educated professionals.
But this week, Google Inc. turned that tradition on its head. After a yearlong search for a place to build a super-fast Internet network, Google eschewed places like Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle in favor of blue-collar Kansas City, Kansas. Google is planning to launch the service in a city where only one in eight residents over the age of 25 had a bachelor's degree, and one in four failed to graduate from high school, according to U.S. census data. In 2008, the median household income in KCK, as the city is known, was $39,000, well below the Kansas average of $50,000. The unlikely nature of Google's choice was perhaps most deeply appreciated across the state line in three-times-larger Kansas City, Mo., home of art museums, professional sports teams and high-tech companies. Until recently, "Kansas City, Kan., was disparaged as the armpit of the metro area—if not all of Kansas," said a Thursday column in the Kansas City Star, based in Kansas City, Mo. Yet the Google decision represents the latest in a series of comebacks for a city that 15 years ago was on the brink of disaster. The closing of steel plants and meatpacking factories reduced KCK's population to below 150,000 from a 1970 high of 168,000. Its public finances, meanwhile, were so strained that residents voted in 1997 to merge the city and county governments, largely to cut costs. Meanwhile, the rest of metropolitan Kansas City was largely thriving, thanks in part to high-tech companies like Sprint, based in a prosperous suburb called Overland Park. Then the leadership of KCK began offering tax incentives for businesses and entertainment companies to develop the city's western acreage, and the balance of power in metropolitan Kansas City, home to about two million people, started to shift. A racetrack featuring Nascar competitions opened, followed by a shopping center, hotels and amusement parks. Suddenly, 10 million visitors annually, many from several states away, began pouring into KCK.
benton.org/node/54586 | Wall Street Journal
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WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF US?
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Craig Settles]
[Commentary] Google's announcement that it will wire Kansas City with a gigabit network is going to throw a big spotlight on the deficiency between goals promoted in the National Broadband Plan and the vision promoted and amplified by Google. Whereas the Broadband Plan’s 10-year goal is to have 100 Mbps in 100 million homes, and just 4 Mbps in rural areas, Google asked, what can you do with a gigabit in the next year or two? One great thing that should come from news coverage of Kansas City’s community stakeholders is that the real value of broadband finally will sink into more people’s minds. Google redefines the general perception of public-private partnerships in broadband. Google is going to win in a number of ways. The publicity alone is going to be huge when you consider how much it costs to generate the print and digital coverage it’s getting from this project. Then there’s the R&D value of Kansas City as a test bed for potential Google apps and networking. Ultimately, there is also a dollars-and-cents value of being a part or partial owner of the infrastructure, depending on how Google structured the deal with the city.
benton.org/node/54487 | GigaOm
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DC-CAN
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Brian Heaton]
This week Washington (DC) broke ground on a new high-speed fiber network aimed at providing broadband access to underserved areas. Called the DC Community Access Network (DC-CAN), the program will focus on rolling out high-speed Internet services to residents, businesses, schools libraries and other public centers. The new $25 million network is funded primarily through a $17.5 million grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The DC government will also provide matching funds for the network Specifically DC-CAN will offer service to 223 health clinics, charter schools and senior centers, and will upgrade 68 public library and public safety sites. DC-CAN will service areas that have broadband adoption rates of less than 40 percent. DC-CAN is managed by the district’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer DC-Net program. DC-Net is the district’s high-speed fiber-optic network, but the two entities aren't connected and will serve different purposes. Washington (DC) is divided into eight wards, and high-speed Internet services will be available later this year in wards seven and eight. Ward five is scheduled for rollout in spring 2012. Other wards and areas will receive broadband capability as fiber construction continues through 2013.
benton.org/node/54547 | Government Technology
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CALIX STIMULUS PROJECTS
[SOURCE: Connected Planet, AUTHOR: Dan O'Shea]
Broadband access equipment vendor Calix continues to clean up on broadband stimulus-related deployment contracts, announcing two more projects with week, both with Minnesota stimulus winners.
Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services (SMBS) , a consortium of Minnesota communities, will use Calix’s Ethernet Extensible Architecture-powered (EXA) E7 Ethernet Service Access Platform and 700GE family of optical network terminals (ONTs) to deliver broadband to eight rural communities across southwest Minnesota. The deployment is modeled on a nearby fiber to the premises (FTTP) network in Windom (MN) that Calix also built, and will leverage the experience and many key components of the Windomnet network infrastructure.
Calix’s other stimulus-related announcement this week was for a project with Minnesota’s Red River Telephone, which won about $10 million in stimulus money. Red River is building a 690 route-mile fiber network using GPON and gigabit Ethernet technologies via the Calix C7 Multi-Service Access Platform and 700GE family of ONTs. The network will cover several communities in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
benton.org/node/54551 | Connected Planet
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ROGERS THROTTLE
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
You can only frustrate your customers for so long before one of them decides to become an expert on the issues at hand and starts filing complaints with government regulators. That's the situation at Rogers, one of the top three Internet providers in Canada, which has admitted to regulators that it had been throttling World of Warcraft for months. One angry customer now wants fines levied against the company and reimbursement for her subscription to the popular game.
benton.org/node/54476 | Ars Technica
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CONTENT
THE SECOND INTERNET
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Mathew Ingram]
What is the thread that ties together the rapid rise of companies as different as Facebook, Zynga, Twitter, The Huffington Post and Quora? Wedbush Securities, a brokerage firm that analyzes the valuations of private companies, says they are all players in what it calls the “Second Internet.” Wedbush says there are certain attributes that allow such players to grow and thrive while more traditional players — including some of the leaders from the early days of the Internet — fail to prosper and gradually recede into history. The most important of these attributes, the firm says, is an understanding of the value of the social web. The social nature of this new wave of Internet companies is such a major factor that Wedbush also calls it the rise of the “Social Internet” in a new report on the sector, and says successful companies are powered by similar features, including:
Platforms open up their API to developers
Continuous and rapid pace of innovation (see Facebook)
The company/brand must listen to the dialogue and participate with customers
Customer contribution is a large percent of the value/experience
Every customer has a personalized experience
Social graph connections drive discovery rather than search
benton.org/node/54545 | GigaOm
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PRIVACY
APPLYING GOOGLE SETTLEMENT TO ALL FIRMS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
The privacy practices outlined in the settlement announced Wednesday between Google and the Federal Trade Commission should apply to all firms, according to Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA). Going forward, Google will have to obtain users' consent whenever it changes how one of its products uses or shares consumer data. Rep Eshoo said that same standard should apply to all Web firms. “Personal privacy is a closely held American value. When we share our personal data with business, its use should be transparent and secure," Rep Eshoo said. “Google’s agreement to obtain consumer consent before sharing new information with third parties should apply to all companies that collect or use personal data.”
benton.org/node/54553 | Hill, The
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HEALTH
GUIDELINE ADVANTAGE
[SOURCE: ModernHealthcare.com, AUTHOR: ]
Three major health organizations, the American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association and American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, have collaborated to create a quality improvement program aimed at improving outpatient care nationwide. Working with electronic health records providers from around the country, the program will provide doctors with the ability to easily gather, access and report on important data that can ultimately lead to improved care and outcomes for patients. The program, called The Guideline Advantage, targets four of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States today, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes. Modeled after the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines quality suite of programs, the program was first launched in 2009 as Get With The Guidelines-Outpatient, and focused on cardiovascular health. Now, as The Guideline Advantage, the program provides the basis for evaluating and improving outpatient treatment for -- and prevention of -- these four diseases, which share many similar risk factors. Through the use of electronic health records, the program will also develop a rich database of information for future heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes research.
benton.org/node/54549 | ModernHealthcare.com
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POLICYMAKERS
KOHLENBERGER JOINS BENTON FOUNDATION BOARD
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Benton Foundation is honored to announce that former White House staffer Jim Kohlenberger has agreed to join our Board of Directors. Most recently, Kohlenberger served as Chief of Staff of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) under Director Dr. John Holdren. While in the White House, he helped craft the President’s innovation strategy, advanced policies to help spur a mobile broadband revolution through spectrum reform, worked to secure cyberspace, helped put the U.S. space program on a bold new course for the future, and sought to harness innovation as an engine of economic growth and opportunity for all Americans.
From 2004-2008, Kohlenberger was a Senior Fellow at Benton. In that position, he guided Benton's media policy work and strengthened the foundation's collaborations in the field. Kohlenberger headed Benton's advocacy for universal, affordable broadband, tangible public interest obligations for digital broadcasters, diversified media ownership and open communications networks. Previously, Kohlenberger helped shape the Clinton Administration's approach to the Internet. He served as Vice President Al Gore's senior domestic policy adviser and worked to help pass and implement the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Before joining OSTP, Kohlenberger was executive director of the Voice on the Net (VON) Coalition, and ran his own innovation focused consulting practice.
In his new role, Kohlenberger will assist in the governance of the Benton Foundation. In addition, he will join the Board's Program Committee, headed by Elizabeth Daley, dean of the School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California. This committee is charged with providing guidance and direction for the programmatic efforts undertaken by Benton staff. Also serving on the Program Committee are Henry Rivera, former FCC commissioner and partner, Wiley Rein, LLP, and Joanne Hovis, president of Columbia Telecommunications Corp., and president-elect of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA).
benton.org/node/54503 | Benton Foundation
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