July 25, 2011 (FCC Stops the Clock on AT&T/T-Mobile Review)
(sorry we're late this morning)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, JULY 25, 2011
The California Public Utilities Commission discusses AT&T's purchase of T-Mobile tonight in San Diego http://benton.org/calendar/2011-07-24--P1W/
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
FCC Stops the Clock on AT&T/T-Mobile Review
Sen Kohl: AT&T, T-Mobile merger should be blocked
House Dems call AT&T/T-Mobile merger a 'troubling backward step'
Analysts put bets on AT&T, T-Mobile merger, even with setbacks
Lawmakers call for public safety network [links to web]
CBO Scores the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act - research
T-Mobile to Offer Lower Rate Plans to Those Who Bring/Buy Own Phone
MMTC Hosts Spectrum Auction Debate [links to web]
Verizon’s New CEO Brings ‘Entrepreneurial Culture’ From Wireless [links to web]
JOURNALISM
Sens. Call for Inquiry Related to News Corp. Hacking Scandal
Senate Dem reminds DOJ of previous hacking allegations against News Corp
Rep Rush: Congress Needs To Preserve Ethical Media
Fox News Channel Trails rivals in Murdoch Coverage - research
The Wall Street Journal Under Rupert Murdoch
Facebook Is Getting Into the News Business [links to web]
FCC's Copps calls for news education in schools
News Corp Scandal Leads Twitter - research [links to web]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
M-Lab Launches Tool for Tracking Broadband Performance - press release
Industry Consensus Plan on USF Reform in Offing
CYBERSECURITY
Political Squabble Interrupts Hearing on SAFE Data Act
PRIVACY
Lawmakers ask for information on Groupon’s privacy policy [links to web]
The Right to Privacy from Brandeis to Flickr - analysis
OWNERSHIP
FCC Releases Three Studies on Media Ownership - public notice
Kobo, WSJ Halt Direct Sales on Apple-Device Apps
Judge tosses Oracle's $6.1 billion damage estimate in claim against Google [links to web]
Scandal Splinters a Family Business - analysis
McDowell: Time for FCC to Re-Start Diversity Committee [links to web]
POLICYMAKERS
FCC Names New Consumer Advisory Committee - public notice
McDowell: Time for FCC to Re-Start Diversity Committee [links to web]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
These headlines presented in partnership with:
Enabling China - editorial
Ofcom cuts rural broadband prices
France Télécom to Bid Adieu to Minitel
Japan Ends All Analog TV Broadcasts in Asia’s First Transition to Digital
Baidu strikes deal to pay record companies for music
EU considers stricter data breach notification rules [links to web]
Belgium confirms open cable networks regulation [links to web]
South Korea moves to replace paper with digital textbooks for its tech-savvy students [links to web]
MORE ONLINE
Critics: FCC not policing kids' TV [links to web]
Social media finds place in classroom [links to web]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
FCC STOPS MERGER CLOCK
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Rick Kaplan]
In a letter to AT&T, Federal Communications Commission Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Rick Kaplan indicates that the FCC has stopped its informal 180-day clock on the review of AT&T's purchase of T-Mobile. Within the past week, AT&T has indicated that, since filing its public interest statement supporting its proposed acquisition of T-Mobile and its opposition comments to various petitions to deny the merger, it has developed new models upon which it now relies. Indeed, AT&T is now expressly relying on these models to bolster its arguments concerning the size of the efficiencies made possible by the merger as weighed against the potential anti-competitive effects. The FCC first learned of the scope of these models on July 13, 2011, during an ex parte meeting on economic issues held at the FCC, and now understands that its first opportunity to access the finalized versions of the new models will be on July 25, 2011.
Kaplan writes that the delay is necessary to allow sufficient time not only for the FCC to evaluate and test this new evidence, but also for third parties to have an opportunity to provide feedback to the FCC on the contents and construction of the yet-unseen models.
The FCC will restart the clock once the new evidence has been provided in a format and with sufficient explanation and back-up information to enable the FCC, and third parties entitled to have access to the information, to adequately evaluate it. The FCC will also allow time before restarting the clock for those third parties to have a meaningful opportunity to comment on the submission.
benton.org/node/82276 | Federal Communications Commission
Recommend this Headline
back to top
SEN KOHL OPPOSES AT&T/T-MOBILE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
Sen Herb Kohl (D-WI), the chairman of the Senate antitrust subcommittee, called for regulators to block AT&T’s $39 billion bid for T-Mobile, saying the union would harm consumers and competitors and violate antitrust law. Chairman Kohl said in a letter to the heads of the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission that wireless industry competition is particularly important as Americans have come to rely on mobile devices as a primary tool for communications. He said that the removal of T-Mobile — a lower-cost competitors to the three biggest national carriers — would end up costing consumers. The lawmaker doesn't technically oversee the federal reviews of AT&T’s bid for T-Mobile. But analysts say agencies put a great deal of weight on the views of lawmakers, particularly those in antitrust subcommittees of both chambers. Chairman Kohl is the first of the key lawmakers to call for the deal to be rejected.
benton.org/node/82262 | Washington Post
Recommend this Headline
back to top
HOUSE DEMS QUESTION AT&T/T-MOBILE
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
In a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski and Attorney General Eric Holder, Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Edward Markey (D-MA) and John Conyers (D-MI) termed AT&T's proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA a "troubling backward step in federal public policy." And they urged the FCC and the Department of Justice to closely scrutinize the transaction and AT&T's promised benefits. They argue the deal would reverse two decades of promoting competition and open markets, leaving the wireless market as a duopoly with AT&T and Verizon Wireless in dominant positions. However, the lawmakers stopped short of urging the FCC and Justice to block the transaction.
benton.org/node/82260 | Hill, The | B&C | National Journal | WashPost
Recommend this Headline
back to top
AT&T/T-MOBILE STILL LIKELY, SAY ANALYSTS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
AT&T’s bid for T-Mobile? Possibly, but not enough to stop the deal, some analysts say. They say a call by Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) to block the deal and a delay in the Federal Communication’s review will embolden critics and put greater focus on how the deal will affect competition in the wireless industry and ultimately change monthly bills for consumers. But in the end, that may just mean more conditions on the $39 billion merger, some experts say. “The ebbs and flows of merger reviews create moments of pause that sometimes imply greater uncertainty and risk than what actually exist,” said Jeffrey Silva, an analyst at Medley Global Advisors in a research note. “This appears to be one of those moments, though the warning signs should not be ignored.”
Silva and other industry analysts say there are factors that can affect the final decision by federal regulators beyond the analyses being done within Justice and the FCC. Among them: Who will replace Christine Varney as head of Justice’s antitrust division and can AT&T or merger critics influence who is nominated? How much weight with regulators put on state attorney generals objections to the merger and hearings by California’s Public Utilities Commission?
benton.org/node/83228 | Washington Post
Recommend this Headline
back to top
NEW T-MOBILE PLAN
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Ina Fried]
T-Mobile is rolling out a set of new “value” rate plans that cut the monthly costs for people that either have their own phone or are willing to pay full price in exchange for the lower service fees. The move is interesting in that it cuts a long-standing tie here in the U.S. of subsidizing phones in exchange for long-term commitments. T-Mobile is far from the first to do this, of course. Metro PCS and Leap Wireless handle things similarly as do many of the prepaid arms of the major carriers. Those who don’t want to pay the entire cost of their phone upfront can still sign up for the new value plans and pay for their phones in installments, with a certain amount upfront and then $5 to $15 per month based on the cost of the device. The plans range from $39 a month for 500 minutes and unlimited texting to $75 a month for unlimited talk, text and Web (with up to 5GB of that data being of the high-speed variety; T-Mobile doesn't charge overages, but throttles the speed way down once customers hit their allotted limit.) A series of family value plans are also available starting at $49.99 per line — an option that T-Mobile says can save customers hundreds of dollars, even after tacking on the cost of buying the smartphones at full price. The new plans could particularly pay off for someone who plans to keep a phone longer than the length of a typical two-year contract. It also has some appeal to bargain hunters who get their phone off Craigslist or to families who have a phone to pass down from one user to another.
Of course, the other question is just how many people want to sign up for a unique T-Mobile plan at all considering the company is working hard to get itself swallowed by AT&T.
benton.org/node/82259 | Wall Street Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top
CBO SCORES S. 911
[SOURCE: Congressional Budget Office, AUTHOR: Kathleen Gramp, Susan Willie, Matthew Pickford, Andrew Stocking, Philip Webre, Elizabeth Cove Delisle, Samuel Wice]
S. 911 would modify existing law regarding federal management of the electromagnetic spectrum. It would extend and expand the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) authority to auction licenses for commercial uses of the radio spectrum and would authorize agencies to spend some of those receipts for new purposes. Other provisions would create a Public Safety Broadband Corporation, which would receive federal financing to develop a wireless broadband network using spectrum provided by the bill.
Finally, the bill would require several agencies to conduct studies and issue regulations related to spectrum management, including measures aimed at expediting the siting of telecommunications facilities.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 911 would reduce net direct spending by $6.5 billion over the 2012-2021 period; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply to the bill. The projected savings reflect an estimated increase in offsetting receipts from FCC auctions of $24.5 billion (which count against direct spending) and an increase in direct spending of $18.0 billion. Enacting this bill would not affect revenues.
In addition, CBO estimates that implementing this bill would increase discretionary spending by $43 million over the 2012-2016 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts.
benton.org/node/82281 | Congressional Budget Office
Recommend this Headline
back to top
JOURNALISM
HACKING SCANDAL PROBE REQUEST
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) have asked the Dow Jones & Co. Special Committee to make sure that "no News Corporation senior executives at United States properties were aware of or complicit in any wrongdoing in the burgeoning hacking scandal and that no misconduct occurred in our country." The special committee, made up of journalism professional, was formed during News Corp.'s purchase of Dow Jones in 2007 to insure "continued journalistic integrity." They say they want to be able to assure the American people that the UK scandal did not spread to this side of the pond. Dow Jones' own news wire reported that last week, the committee released a statement saying that no similar hacking had occurred at Dow Jones. Rockefeller and Boxer said they were concerned the statement appeared to suggest the case was closed. They particularly want the committee to investigate the hiring of Les Hinton, who was forced to resign as Dow Jones CEO and Wall Street Journal publisher in the wake of the hacking revelations at News International's UK tabloid, News of the World. Hinton was formerly head of News International.
benton.org/node/82274 | Broadcasting&Cable
Recommend this Headline
back to top
PREVIOUS HACKING ALLEGATIONS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) wrote to the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation to remind them of previous hacking allegations against News Corp. subsidiary News America Marketing. Sen Lautenberg wrote a letter in 2005 to then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales highlighting a complaint from the New Jersey marketing firm FLOORgraphics, which provided in-store advertising in competition with News America Marketing. FLOORgraphics accused News America of illegally hacking its computer system in order to obtain confidential business data. According to the letter, the Justice Department informed the senator that as a matter of policy it couldn't confirm or deny an investigation into News America's conduct. News Corp. reportedly settled with FLOORgraphics during a 2009 trial for $29.5 million and purchased the firm a few days later.
benton.org/node/82272 | Hill, The
Recommend this Headline
back to top
CONGRESS AND ETHICAL MEDIA
[SOURCE: National Journal, AUTHOR: Josh Smith]
As Britain continues to be embroiled by allegations of hacking and bribery at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) says members of Congress should help ensure that American broadcasters serve the public interest. "Media ownership in America is a privilege, not a right, and it's based upon trust and responsibility," he said. "First Amendment freedom of the press is critical to our democracy and must never be compromised by corrupt and illegal practices." He said, "The public airwaves belong to the American people... And we are elected to make sure that those who are licensed to serve the public interest really do so and reflect who we are as a nation."
benton.org/node/82271 | National Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top
FNC TRAILS FAR BEHIND RIVALS IN MURDOCH COVERAGE
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
Fox News dominates the ratings in prime-time cable, with popular hosts such as Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. How have they responded to their own parent company being in the news? The answer is they haven't considered it nearly as much of a story as their rivals. The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism analyzed the content of four hours of daily prime time and an hour a day of daytime programming. The analysis finds that the Murdoch- owned Fox News Channel devoted about one-fifth as much time to the story as MSNBC and about one-sixth as much time as CNN. The study looked at cable coverage from July 6-8 and from July11-15, a period that began right after reports that the News of the World tabloid had hacked into the phone of a murdered 13-year-old girl and ended with the resignations of two top Murdoch confidants. In that time frame, CNN and MSNBC devoted virtually the same amount of prime-time attention to the story -- 129 minutes and 41 seconds on CNN and 125 minutes and 24 seconds on MSNBC, or roughly 16 minutes per night in prime time. The Fox News Channel, in contrast, devoted 23 minutes and 34 seconds to the subject, or an average of about three minutes per night.
benton.org/node/82270 | Project for Excellence in Journalism
Recommend this Headline
back to top
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL UNDER RUPERT MURDOCH
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
Rupert Murdoch’s news Corp purchased the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones for $5 billion in 2007. Under the Australian-born media magnate, coverage has clearly moved away from what had been the paper’s core mission under previous ownership -- covering business and corporate America. In the past three and a half years, front-page coverage of business is down about one-third from what it had been in 2007, the last year of the old ownership regime. That, to some degree, reflects the Journal’s move toward a more general interest publication. And some categories of news, such as coverage of government, foreign news involving the U.S. and lifestyle subjects, have increased noticeably in recent years. Yet attention to other subject areas has fallen. Front-page coverage of health and medicine has been de-emphasized the past few years. Education issues have virtually disappeared from the front pages as has -- ironically enough, given the current state of affairs -- attention to the media industry.
benton.org/node/82256 | Project for Excellence in Journalism
Recommend this Headline
back to top
NEWS EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Gautham Nagesh]
Federal Communications Commission member Michael Copps called for schools to teach K-12 students news literacy during a speech to the National Newspaper Association. "If we expect there to be a demand for quality news, then we need to teach the lessons on how to determine quality," Commissioner Copps said, stressing that the programs would be voluntary for local schools. "Who knows? Maybe we could actually move from the Information Age to the Comprehension Age." He argued the decline of local and print journalism has helped degrade the discourse, while the Web has given rise to a host of new information sources that require greater scrutiny to parse what is credible and what isn't. "We need to be a news literate people. Our goal should be that every American possesses the skills to discern news from infotainment, fact from opinion, and trustworthy information sources from untrustworthy," Commissioner Copps said.
benton.org/node/83223 | Hill, The | read the speech | National Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top
INTERNET/BROADBAND
NEW BROADBAND PERFORMANCE TOOL
[SOURCE: New America Foundation, AUTHOR: Press release]
The New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative announced the launch of a new hardware-based tool for Measurement Lab (M-Lab). M-Lab, founded by OTI, the PlanetLab Consortium, Google Inc.and academic researchers, has nearly 400 terabytes of broadband performance data that is publicly available. To take M-Lab to the next level, researchers have developed a new tool, BISMark (the Broadband Internet Service BenchMARK).
For those who would like to better understand their broadband performance, sign up today to receive a free BISMark measurement router. Working with SamKnows and the FCC, the BISMark team will be selecting participants in the coming weeks, and routers will be shipped shortly thereafter.
BISMark, a project being led by Georgia Tech and the University of Napoli, aims to measure Internet performance continuously over time. BISMark is different from many existing tools in that it runs on a user’s home router instead of a user’s computer. This allows BISMark to measure Internet performance continuously over time and will help differentiate any performance problems caused by a user’s ISP from those caused by a user’s home network setup.
benton.org/node/82253 | New America Foundation
Recommend this Headline
back to top
USF UPDATE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
At the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council conference, Verizon's Tom Tauke indicated that some major telecom firms may soon jointly file a universal service reform plan with the Federal Communications Commission. That plan is on how to transition the fund from phone service to broadband, which is a major goal in the FCC's push for USF reform.
benton.org/node/83219 | Broadcasting&Cable
Recommend this Headline
back to top
CYBERSECURITY
SAFE DATA ACT RECAP
[SOURCE: AdWeek, AUTHOR: Katy Bachman]
A House subcommittee's markup of a bill called the SAFE Data Act is usually the kind of thing that would put most observers to sleep. It's certainly not likely to lead to much excitement. A hearing on Wednesday, though, proved to be the exception to that rule. "We don't get called up. We don't get consulted. This is not the way for Congress to enact legislation," a very peeved Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) said during the hearing. The dustup was over a bill, introduced by Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA)that would tighten data security standards and compel companies to notify consumers more quickly in the event of a data breach. Despite changes made to the bill to appease the Democrats, the minority would have none of it, complaining that the legislation had too many loopholes and lacked some consumer privacy protections. They also seemed insulted that the bill in markup wasn't a bipartisan bill that had cleared the committee last year and was passed last December by the House but died in the Senate. And, to top it off, the subcommittee's Democrats were angry that the markup was taking place at the same time that the Subcommittee on Energy and Power was holding an oversight hearing. To send a message to the majority, Waxman called for a full reading of the bill -- all 32 pages. That was finally interrupted by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), chairman of the full committee, who asked the Energy and Power Subcommittee to halt its hearing. The bill ended up being passed by the subcommittee.
benton.org/node/82267 | AdWeek
Recommend this Headline
back to top
PRIVACY
NEW MEDIA PRIVACY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: L Gordon Crovitz]
[Commentary] Snakes have rudimentary hind limbs, and some flightless birds have wings last used in the distant evolutionary past. For digital-era humans, it seemed the expectation of privacy was likewise vestigial, a remnant of a more innocent time. The phone hacking scandal involving the News of the World newspaper is a reminder that privacy is not dead, but it could use an updated definition. The debate about the right to privacy over the past few years has focused on new media. Privacy advocates have lobbied to regulate Facebook and other social media, with the goal of limiting how much information people share. But when we post details about ourselves on social media or reply to online marketing, we are choosing to become less private. In exchange, we get the ability to find friends, communicate with relatives, or get relevant information. We are determining our own level of privacy, with some people staying away from social media and others embracing it. In contrast, when phones are hacked, there is no individual choice involved. It's a clear-cut violation of privacy.
benton.org/node/83232 | Wall Street Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top
OWNERSHIP
MEDIA OWNERSHIP STUDIES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
The Federal Communications Commission released three additional research studies on media ownership. The three studies are intended to inform the FCC’s quadrennial review of its media ownership rules pursuant to rulemaking docket MB Docket No. 09-182. On June 15, 2011, the Media Bureau released the Protective Order that established the procedures for public review of the proprietary portions of data sets created by the authors of the studies. The FCC will seek formal comment on all eleven studies within the context of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in this proceeding and requests that all comments on the studies be submitted to the FCC for consideration at that time. The FCC released the studies earlier, in order to provide parties additional time to review the results and the underlying data.
Media Ownership Study 1, Local Media Ownership and Media Quality, by Adam D. Rennhoff and Kenneth C. Wilbur
Media Ownership Study 4, Local Information Programming and the Structure of Television Markets, by Jack Erb
Media Ownership Study 10, Broadcast Ownership Rules and Innovation, by Andrew S. Wise
benton.org/node/83214 | Federal Communications Commission
Recommend this Headline
back to top
APPLE APPS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Trachtenberg, Russell Adams]
In a pair of moves that suggest Apple Inc. is enforcing rules for selling content on its devices, Kobo Inc., the Canadian e-book retailer, and The Wall Street Journal said they will no longer sell content directly to customers through their apps for Apple devices. Mike Serbinis, Kobo's chief executive, said Apple told Kobo that it could no longer operate its digital bookstore from its Kobo apps and had to stop selling e-books directly through them. Kobo subsequently altered the apps so that they no longer sell digital titles. Now Kobo customers who want to buy digital books via their Apple devices will have to visit kobo DOT com via Apple's Safari browser to make their purchases, a potentially more laborious process for customers used to buying e-books directly through a Kobo app. Customers will continue to be able to access and read Kobo-purchased books from their library on various Apple devices. Meanwhile, News Corp.'s Wall Street Journal, which has been circumventing Apple's payment system by providing links to its website from inside the iPad app, will soon remove all purchasing options in the app in response to Apple's new rules. People who download the app and want to subscribe will have to either call customer service or visit WSJ DOTcom.
benton.org/node/83231 | Wall Street Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top
NEWS CORP SCANDAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Carr]
The News Corporation, the global enterprise controlled by Rupert Murdoch, has a history of living by its own rules and operating beyond consequence. That ended last week. Murdoch, long a spectral presence who made his plays on a chess board of his own making, was brought low before a committee of Parliament composed of people he could not have been bothered with three weeks ago. In testimony last week, he appeared as a supplicant, a faltering one at that, who interrupted his son James in the opening moments of the hearing, not to correct him, but to tell the members of the committee how sorry he was. He is very sorry. Sorry that one of his tabloids hacked into the voice mail of a 13-year-old murder victim. Sorry that the scandal threatens to derail his plans of succession. And sorry to find himself suddenly in the public stockade. Is he sorry that he and his employees created a culture and a business where all that seemed cricket? Probably not so much.
James Murdoch is done. He and his father both know that. His testimony curdled as he emitted it, and within two days a couple of former News Corporation executives publicly challenged it. The hooks are still in him, as Prime Minister David Cameron made clear when he said James still had “questions to answer.” And so he will, gradually sinking further into the mess he has overseen. Oddly, the News Corporation’s stock began to tick up during the hearings as Rupert Murdoch testified, his large hands thumping as he dropped them to the table. But it was less about his performance than about the clear message that emerged: an era had ended. The family business is splintering. If James is out, as would seem to be the case, will his other offspring, Elisabeth and Lachlan, come swinging into view? I and others doubt that the charms of a global media enterprise being run as a corner grocery store will continue.
benton.org/node/83234 | New York Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top
POLICYMAKERS
NEW CAC
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
The Federal Communications Commission renewed the charter and named members to its Consumer Advisory Committee. The FCC established the CAC in November 2000 for the purpose of making recommendations regarding consumer issues within the jurisdiction of the Commission and to facilitate the participation of consumers, including people with disabilities and underserved populations, such as Native Americans and persons living in rural areas. The CAC's focus is on 1) Consumer protection and education, 2) Access by people with disabilities, and 3) the impact upon consumers of new and emerging technologies.
The CAC is comprised of 31 members: 11 represent the interests of consumers; 6 represent the interests of the disability community; 2 represent the interests of
government/regulators; 7 represent the interests of industry, and 3 represent the interests of tribal/low income/minority communities. CAC will again be chaired by Debra Berlyn representing the National Consumers League. Cecilia Garcia represents the Benton Foundation on the CAC.
benton.org/node/82257 | Federal Communications Commission
Recommend this Headline
back to top
STORIES FROM ABROAD
These headlines presented in partnership with:
ENABLING CHINA
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] American technology companies are eager to do business in China, sometimes too eager. Cisco Systems and others are working on a government project in the city of Chongqing, for example, that includes creating the biggest police surveillance system in the world. A year and a half after Google pulled its search engine out of China to avoid censorship, Microsoft’s Bing still censors searches in China. Earlier this month, it agreed to provide search results in English for Baidu, China’s leading — and heavily censored — engine. The United States needs enforceable standards of ethical behavior when American companies work with authoritarian governments. Internet companies should not keep user data inside countries where courts convict people for what they write, speak or think. They should warn users about their risks, and they should never censor content.
benton.org/node/83210 | New York Times
Recommend this Headline
back to top
OFCOM CUTS RURAL BROADBAND PRICES
[SOURCE: BBC, AUTHOR: ]
Rural broadband bills could fall after telecoms regulator Ofcom moved to cut the wholesale price that BT charges other Internet providers. The company is the only operator in many smaller telephone exchanges and ISPs have to factor 'renting' BT's equipment into their price plans. That means customers often miss out on cheaper deals available in towns and cities. The reduction only affects broadband services of up to 8Mbps. From mid August until March 2014, Ofcom has ruled that BT must cut its rates by 12% below inflation per year. Rural campaigners welcomed the news.
benton.org/node/83200 | BBC
Recommend this Headline
back to top
BYE, BYE MINITEL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Max Colchester]
Next year, Minitel -- France's precursor to the Internet -- will finally meet its maker. For 30 years the toaster-sized screen weathered the Internet revolution. Despite a text-only service, basic graphics and snail-like speed, the terminal generated €30 million ($43.1 million) in revenue in 2010, with around 85% redistributed to service providers such as banks and weather forecasters, according to France Télécom SA, which operates the service. Despite the service still being profitable, the telecommunications operator has decided to swing the axe. "The Minitel will die on June 30, 2012," said a France Télécom spokeswoman, explaining that the architecture the Minitel runs on has become obsolete.
benton.org/node/83209 | Wall Street Journal
Recommend this Headline
back to top
JAPANESE TV
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Yoshinori Eki, Mariko Yas]
Japan ended a 58-year era of analog television broadcast yesterday, becoming the first Asian nation to complete the transition to digital transmission. Cathode-ray tube TVs, usually with a curved screen and a protruding box at the back, could no longer display programs without adding a special tuner after the switchover July 23. Public broadcaster NHK news and Pocket Monsters cartoon series were among the popular shows that shifted completely to digital beaming. The switch by Japan, which follows similar moves by the U.S. and Germany in the past three years, frees up air waves that may later be allocated to mobile-phone operators such as Softbank who want to improve service. With more than 90 percent of Japanese households already owning flat-screen TVs, some purchased with recent incentives, the switchover may damp sales of new sets.
benton.org/node/83207 | Bloomberg
Recommend this Headline
back to top
BAIDU STRIKES DEAL TO PAY RECORD COMPANIES FOR MUSIC
[SOURCE: IDG News Service, AUTHOR: Michael Kan]
China's leading search engine Baidu will now pay three major record companies for music downloads on its site, after years of facing criticism for hosting links to pirated songs. Baidu announced that it had signed an agreement with One-Stop China, a joint venture which Universal Music, Warner Music and Sony Music are shareholders of. Under the agreement, the three major record companies will license their Chinese and International music catalogues to be streamed or downloaded from Baidu.
benton.org/node/83206 | IDG News Service
Recommend this Headline
back to top