May 10, 2013 (Open Data Rules)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013
A look at next week’s agenda http://benton.org/calendar/2013-05-12--P1W/
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Obama Administration Releases Historic Open Data Rules to Enhance Government Efficiency and Fuel Economic Growth - press release
NEWS FROM THE FCC
FCC Proposes to Expand the Availability of In-Flight Wi-Fi - press release
FCC Takes Steps to Make Spectrum Available for Commercial Space Launches and Facilitate U.S. Government Use of Commercial Satellite Services - press release
Quarterly Report of Consumer Inquiries and Informal Complaints for Fourth Quarter of Calendar Year 2012 Released - press release [links to web]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Rep Eshoo Seeks GAO Study of Usage-Based Pricing
House Republicans Welcome IG Audit of EAGLE-Net, Request Additional Information on Controversial $100 Million Stimulus Grant - press release
House Intel chairman urges White House to elevate cyber talks with China [links to web]
A Simpler Internet Sales Tax - op-ed
State-by-state, America keeps betting on online poker and gambling [links to web]
Building Our Broadband Future - press release [links to web]
Program teaches seniors how to use the Internet
TELECOM
AT&T Spearheading State-Level Deregulation
Verizon: Sandy Victims Should Be Customers, Not Guinea Pigs - editorial
Misuse of Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service; Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities [links to web]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
ESPN Eyes Subsidizing Wireless-Data Plans
Lake: FCC Won’t Delay Auction for ATSC 3.0
Many Air Passengers Never Turn Off Electronics, Survey Finds
Dish's Ergen, SoftBank's Son Press Cases for Sprint [links to web]
Google Ordered to Answer Apple’s Android Questions in Samsung Case
A 'novel' idea for spreading literature in Africa: The cellphone [links to web]
TELEVISION
Sen McCain takes aim at 'unfair' cable TV bundles
Lake: FCC Won’t Delay Auction for ATSC 3.0
Now the TV Heavyweights Have Their Week [links to web]
CONTENT
Members of Congress finally introduce serious DMCA reform
New ways to support great content on YouTube - press release [links to web]
OWNERSHIP
In Nook, Microsoft sees a chance to compete against Amazon and Apple
Google Says Authors Can’t Sue Over Digital Books as Group
Google Ordered to Answer Apple’s Android Questions in Samsung Case
LABOR
Toward a New Front of Labor Struggle: Media Rights and Access for a 21st Century Labor Movement
COMPANY NEWS
Ergen could end up selling Dish if he doesn't win Sprint [links to web]
Dish’s Ergen: we prefer working with broadcasters over Aereo [links to web]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
New Zealand Government Announces That Software Will No Longer Be Patentable [links to web]
A 'novel' idea for spreading literature in Africa: The cellphone [links to web]
MORE ONLINE
Proper Role of Ed-Tech in Pre-K a Rising Issue [links to web]
Are Tech Gadgets Killing Workplace Etiquette? [links to web]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
OPEN DATA RULES
[SOURCE: The White House, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Obama Administration took groundbreaking new steps to make information generated and stored by the Federal Government more open and accessible to innovators and the public, to fuel entrepreneurship and economic growth while increasing government transparency and efficiency. The actions—including an Executive Order signed by the President and an Open Data Policy released by the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy—declare that information is a valuable national asset whose value is multiplied when it is made easily accessible to the public. The Executive Order requires that, going forward, data generated by the government be made available in open, machine-readable formats, while appropriately safeguarding privacy, confidentiality, and security. The move will make troves of previously inaccessible or unmanageable data easily available to entrepreneurs, researchers, and others who can use those files to generate new products and services, build businesses, and create jobs.
Along with the Executive Order and Open Data Policy, the Administration announced a series of complementary actions:
A new Data.Gov. In the months ahead, Data.gov, the powerful central hub for open government data, will launch new services that include improved visualization, mapping tools, better context to help locate and understand these data, and robust Application Programming Interface (API) access for developers.
New open source tools to make data more open and accessible. The US Chief Information Officer and the US Chief Technology Officer are releasing free, open source tools on Github, a site that allows communities of developers to collaboratively develop solutions. This effort, known as Project Open Data, can accelerate the adoption of open data practices by providing plug-and-play tools and best practices to help agencies improve the management and release of open data. For example, one tool released today automatically converts simple spreadsheets and databases into APIs for easier consumption by developers. Anyone, from government agencies to private citizens to local governments and for-profit companies, can freely use and adapt these tools starting immediately.
Building a 21st century digital government. As part of the Administration’s Digital Government Strategy and Open Data Initiatives in health, energy, education, public safety, finance, and global development, agencies have been working to unlock data from the vaults of government, while continuing to protect privacy and national security. Newly available or improved data sets from these initiatives will be released today and over the coming weeks as part of the one year anniversary of the Digital Government Strategy.
Continued engagement with entrepreneurs and innovators to leverage government data. The Administration has convened and will continue to bring together companies, organizations, and civil society for a variety of summits to highlight how these innovators use open data to positively impact the public and address important national challenges. In June, Federal agencies will participate in the fourth annual Health Datapalooza, hosted by the nonprofit Health Data Consortium, which will bring together more than 1,800 entrepreneurs, innovators, clinicians, patient advocates, and policymakers for information sessions, presentations, and “code-a-thons” focused on how the power of data can be harnessed to help save lives and improve healthcare for all Americans.
benton.org/node/151548 | White House, The | Executive Order | White House blog | The Hill | nextgov | ars technica | GigaOm | The Hill
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NEWS FROM THE FCC
FCC PROPOSES TO EXPAND THE AVAILABILITY OF IN-FLIGHT WI-FI
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission took action to expand the availability of in-flight broadband connectivity to airline passengers. The FCC proposes to establish an air-ground mobile broadband service, using a ground-based network to communicate with planes, by taking advantage of technical innovations to expand sharing of certain spectrum among users. Expanded availability of in-flight Wi-Fi will help meet demand from travelers to connect to a full range of communications services while flying in the contiguous United States. More options for in-flight broadband are likely to increase competition, improve the quality of service, and lead to lower prices. Improved connectivity benefits business and leisure travelers alike in their desire for ubiquitous broadband access to keep in touch with work, family, and friends while flying. The FCC proposes to establish this air-ground mobile broadband service as a secondary allocation in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band, the same band used by satellite companies for Fixed-Satellite Service (FSS) uplinks on a primary basis and by certain Federal services on a secondary basis. The service would be required to protect primary FSS in the band from harmful interference and to coordinate with other users in the band. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Notice) proposes technical rules to assure that the service’s operations will not cause harmful interference. It also seeks comment on licensing rules by which the FCC would license the service in either two 250-megahertz blocks, one 500-megahertz block, or some other spectrum block size. The Notice proposes to award these licenses by auction.
benton.org/node/151581 | Federal Communications Commission | Chairman Genachowski | Commissioner Clyburn | Commissioner Rosenworcel | Commissioner Pai | The Wrap
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SPECTRUM FOR COMMERCIAL SPACE LAUNCHES AND U.S. GOVERNMENT USE OF COMMERCIAL SATELLITE SERVICES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission took steps to advance the U.S. commercial space launch industry by proposing to improve commercial access to spectrum used for communications services required for controlling, monitoring, and tracking launch vehicles. The FCC proposed several alternatives for making available spectrum for use during commercial space launches. This proposal is a first step towards enabling commercial space launch operators to directly acquire licenses needed for use during launches, using well-defined application and coordination processes. The FCC also sought comment on future spectrum requirements of the commercial space industry, including what other spectrum needs may be important as the commercial space sector continues to develop.
The FCC also took action to facilitate the use of commercial satellite services by U.S. government agencies. Specifically, to advance the goals of the National Space Policy, the Commission sought comment on two alternative proposals to provide Federal earth stations that communicate with non-Federal Fixed-Satellite Service (FSS) and Mobile-Satellite Service (MSS) space stations interference protection identical to that afforded to non-Federal earth stations communicating with the same FSS and MSS space stations.
benton.org/node/151580 | Federal Communications Commission | Chairman Genachowski | Commissioner Clyburn | Commissioner Rosenworcel | Commissioner Pai
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
USAGE-BASED INTERNET PRICING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), the Ranking member of the House Communications Subcommittee, has asked the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study of usage-based wired and wireless broadband pricing. Rep Eshoo wants to know how widespread usage-based pricing is, the rationale behind imposing data caps, how tier prices are determined, how they change in response to Internet usage, how much data the average wired and wireline customer uses monthly, how they are notified about usage, whether prices vary according to competition, the cost difference between the amount of downloads and what complaints the FCC and FTC have received about usage-based pricing.
benton.org/node/151571 | Broadcasting&Cable
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EAGLE-NET AUDIT
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee, AUTHOR: Press release]
House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), subcommittee member Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO) sent a letter to the Department of Commerce’s Inspector General Todd Zinser to applaud plans to audit the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s stimulus grant awarded to EAGLE-Net and request the IG gather additional information to assist the committee’s examination. The committee has been conducting rigorous oversight of the Obama Administration’s $7 billion broadband stimulus program to examine allegations of waste and overbuilding. In February, the subcommittee held its fourth hearing on the broadband spending and committee leaders recently requested the Government Accountability Office conduct additional oversight of loans and grants in an effort to protect taxpayer dollars. In a letter to the Commerce IG, the members wrote, “The award —at $100.6 million, one of the largest broadband grants under the ARRA — has been a source of controversy. The grant to EAGLE-Net Alliance, originally made to the Colorado Centennial Board of Cooperative Educational Services and subsequently transferred to EAGLE-Net, has been criticized for overbuilding existing infrastructure rather than delivering service to unserved communities.”
benton.org/node/151594 | House of Representatives Commerce Committee
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A SIMPLER INTERNET SALES TAX
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Raymond Dever]
[Commentary] The proponents of the Marketplace Fairness Act -- which would force online retailers to collect and remit state sales taxes on purchases -- want to level the competitive playing field for local retailers. Opponents argue that it's unfair and maybe impossible to burden Internet retailers with the job of complying with the rules of thousands of state, county and local tax jurisdictions. My suggestion: Have each state designate one agency to receive a once-a-year online submission from each Internet retailer that lists the name and address of every person who made a purchase in that state, the item purchased, and the amount of the purchase. After that submission, the Internet retailer is done. Internet retailers might also include a statement to consumers in the online confirmation of each purchase to the effect that "This purchase will be reported to your state of residence. It is your obligation to determine whether this purchase is subject to your state's sales tax, and if so to report it." What I have in mind is similar to the annual submission of W-2 or 1099 forms by employers, banks, brokers and others to the IRS.
benton.org/node/151596 | Wall Street Journal
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OLDER ADULTS TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Tara Bahrampour]
Older Adults Technology Services developed a $250,000 pilot program which will bring iPads, computer training and home Internet service to 100 seniors over the next year. It is a program of the AARP Foundation, an AARP-affiliated charity, and is being administered in Washington (DC) by Family Matters of Greater Washington, a social-services organization. The initial recipients, most of whom live in Ward 2, will attend classes twice a week for six months to learn how to use the Internet, Skype, email and social-media platforms such as Facebook. Fifty more will begin classes in July. Comcast is providing discounted Internet service, and Netgear is donating modems. The goal of the program is to combat the isolation that can set in as seniors retire and their close friends and family members die, lose touch or move away.
benton.org/node/151592 | Associated Press
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TELECOM
STATE-LEVEL DEREGULATION
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
The nation’s largest service providers would like to see regulations governing local phone service relaxed – and as data compiled by the National Regulatory Research Institute illustrates, AT&T has been particularly active on this front. Twenty-five states limited or eliminated public service commission oversight of local telecom service between 2006 and the first quarter of 2012, including 16 in states where AT&T is the dominant local carrier, one Verizon state, five CenturyLink states and three Fairpoint states, according to the NRRI. Another nine states, primarily AT&T states, have legislation pending, said Sherry Lichtenberg, principal of the NRRI, who presented the data on a webcast yesterday organized by broadband association USTelecom, whose members include large telcos. It’s not surprising that AT&T has been so active in pursuing telecom deregulation, as the company wants to phase out its traditional voice network but may be prevented from doing so in some states until the states are deregulated. Telecom deregulation has occurred in two separate waves. Initial legislation focused on getting rid of some elements of the carrier of last resort concept, which traditionally required telcos to make phone service available to anyone in their territories who wanted it. Some states also re-defined home phone service. More recently telecom legislation has had a different focus – and states that already passed bills are already looking at updates. The bills state, ‘Thou shalt not touch VoIP or IP-enabled services even if we haven’t defined them yet.’
benton.org/node/151546 | telecompetitor
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VERIZON VOICE LINK
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
[Commentary] Ever since Hurricane Sandy destroyed huge pieces of its landline network last October, Verizon made it clear it did not want to rebuild its traditional copper network. Most folks assumed that meant replacing damaged copper with fiber. While some consumers have grumbled about being upgraded to a more expensive service, no one doubts fiber to the home represents a step up – especially on the broadband side. But what about those communities where Verizon does not want to spend the money upgrading to FIOS? Turns out, rather than an upgrade to fiber, these communities will play guinea pig for Verizon’s new, cheaper, more limited wireless alternative called “Voice Link.” Verizon filed an application with the State of New York to replace traditional copper lines destroyed by Sandy on Fire Island with a brand new fixed wireless product called Voice Link. Whether or not Verizon is right that Voice Link is “just as good or better” than copper lines, that does not justify making a community recovering from a natural disaster into test subjects. If Verizon does not want to replace its copper system, it should offer customers that don’t want a never-before-deployed fixed wireless system an upgrade to FIOS.
benton.org/node/151539 | Public Knowledge
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
ESPN TO SUBSIDIZE WIRELESS?
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amol Sharma, Spencer Ante, Anton Troianovski]
ESPN, the cable sports channel majority-owned by Walt Disney, has had discussions with at least one major U.S. carrier to subsidize wireless connectivity on behalf of its users. Under one potential scenario, the company would pay a carrier to guarantee that people viewing ESPN mobile content wouldn't have that usage counted toward their monthly data caps. No such arrangement is imminent, and ESPN isn't sure if the economics will work out, the people familiar with the matter said. There are also concerns that deals of this nature could attract the scrutiny of telecom regulators. Such a deal would mark a significant development in the wireless business, creating a new model for media and telecom companies to share the costs of bringing bandwidth-guzzling services to consumers. Another way media companies could compensate carriers is by sharing advertising revenue with them.
benton.org/node/151599 | Wall Street Journal
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INCENTIVE AUCTIONS
[SOURCE: TVNewsCheck, AUTHOR: Andrew Dodson]
Federal Communications Commission Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake shot down the idea of syncing the rollout of a next-generation television standard and the pending spectrum auction and subsequent channel repack to a crowd of broadcast engineers in Washington. Lake, the keynote speaker at the 2013 Advanced Televisions Systems Committee annual meeting, said all members of the FCC are determined to have a spectrum auction as quickly as possible, adding he doesn't believe that ATSC 3.0 — the next-generation and non-backwards compatible television standard — can be completed and deployed on the commission’s aggressive timetable. "We do perceive a crunch for spectrum coming," Lake said to about 100 people at the Ronald Reagan Center. "We encourage the ATSC to work as fast as they can, but feel it's unrealistic to think the incentive auction would slow down and wait for it to be done." The FCC has said it wants to complete a spectrum auction and channel repack in 18 months.
benton.org/node/151590 | TVNewsCheck
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IN-FLIGHT ELECTRONICS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Nick Bilton]
In a study by two industry groups, the Airline Passenger Experience Association and the Consumer Electronics Association, as many as 30 percent of all passengers said they had accidentally left a device on during takeoff or landing. About 67 percent said they had never done this, always ensuring that their electronics were turned off. Four percent were unsure. In another segment of the study, passengers were asked if they turn their devices to “off” when instructed to do so by the pilot. Although 59 percent of passengers said they do fully turn their electronics off, 21 percent said they often simply switch to “airplane mode,” which disables the main radios of a gadget. Five percent sometimes adhere to the rule. And others were either unsure or do not carry electronic devices on a plane. The device most often left on is the smartphone, the study found. The study found that four out of 10 passengers would like to use their devices during all phases of flight, including takeoff and landing.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/30-percent-of-passengers-accide...
Confirmed: Lots of Folks Are “Forgetting” to Turn Off Their Phones Before Takeoff (WSJ)
benton.org/node/151600 | New York Times | WSJ
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TELEVISION
TELEVISION CONSUMER FREEDOM ACT
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Brendan Sasso]
Sen. John McCain (R-AR) introduced legislation, the Television Consumer Freedom Act, aimed at pressuring cable and satellite TV providers to allow their customers to pick and choose the channels they pay for. Cable companies usually require customers to purchase a tier or bundle of channels. The system means that consumers often have to pay for dozens of channels just to gain access to the few they watch. “This is unfair and wrong — especially when you consider how the regulatory deck is stacked in favor of industry and against the American consumer," Sen McCain said. The legislation would void a copyright benefit for cable providers that insist on bundling their channels. The punishment would create legal headaches for cable companies when they try to offer local broadcast stations. The bill would also put regulatory pressure on media companies to grant cable providers the right to offer their programming "a la carte." McCain's legislation would repeal the sports blackout rule for events that take place in publicly financed stadiums. Leagues use the rule to block viewers from watching their local team on TV to encourage them to buy tickets to see the game live. His bill would pull the broadcast licenses of TV stations that move their programming to cable channels.
benton.org/node/151573 | Hill, The | B&C
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CONTENT
UNLOCKING TECHNOLOGY ACT
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Timothy Lee]
Reps Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and Jared Polis (D-CO) have introduced the Unlocking Technology Act of 2013, a bill that would explicitly legalize cell phone unlocking as well as modify the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to clarify that unlocking copy-protected content is only illegal if it's done in order to "facilitate the infringement of a copyright." If a circumvention technology is "primarily designed or produced for the purpose of facilitating noninfringing uses," that would not be a violation of copyright. Lofgren's bill attracted enthusiastic support from activists and advocacy groups.
benton.org/node/151566 | Ars Technica
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OWNERSHIP
NOOK TO MICROSOFT?
[SOURCE: paidContent.org, AUTHOR: Laura Hazard Owen]
Apparently, Microsoft, which already has a stake in Barnes & Noble’s Nook and college bookstore businesses, is offering to buy them outright for $1 billion. Barnes & Noble plans to discontinue its line of Nook tablets by the end of fiscal year 2014, while letting the e-readers stick around for a while longer. It’s not surprising that Microsoft reportedly has no interest in Barnes & Noble’s tablets, which have never taken off. In fact, as of last week, the Nook HD and HD+ incorporate a full host of Google services, including Google Play, Gmail and the Chrome browser. While B&N has claimed it is committed to the Android platform and to the tablet business overall, Microsoft obviously has no incentive to keep a line of poorly performing Android tablets up and running. What Microsoft does need is a reading ecosystem for its Surface tablets and other Windows 8 devices. That’s why the company bought a stake in Nook in the first place, but so far it hasn’t resulted in much more than a Nook app for Windows 8.
benton.org/node/151542 | paidContent.org
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GOOGLE VS AUTHORS GUILD
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Don Jeffrey]
Google asked an appeals court to deny class status to a group of authors who claim in a $3 billion lawsuit that the company’s project to digitally copy millions of books from libraries violates their copyrights. Lawyers for Google and three writers, including Jim Bouton, the author of “Ball Four,” argued their case before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan. Google is seeking to overturn a lower-court order that let the authors proceed as a class on behalf of other writers. “Plaintiffs cannot claim to represent the many class members who benefit from and approve of Google Books,” Seth Waxman, a lawyer for Google, told the judges, who said they would issue a ruling later. The Authors Guild, which represents writers, and individual authors sued in 2005, alleging that Google, owner of the world’s most popular search engine, was making digital copies of books from libraries without seeking permission from copyright owners or paying fees.
benton.org/node/151544 | Bloomberg
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GOOGLE FORCED TO REVEAL SEARCH TERMS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: John Paczkowski]
A U.S. magistrate judge has granted Apple’s request for an order forcing Google to reveal the search terms it’s using to compile the Android documentation Apple has requested as part of the discovery process in the company’s second patent infringement case against Samsung. U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal ordered Google to comply with Apple’s request, gave the company two days to do so and teased the search behemoth for complaining that the request was burdensome in the first place. Said Judge Grewal, “The court cannot help but note the irony that Google, a pioneer in searching the Internet, is arguing that it would be unduly burdened by producing a list of how it searched its own files.”
benton.org/node/151597 | Wall Street Journal
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LABOR
MEDIA RIGHTS AND LABOR
[SOURCE: Organizing Upgrade, AUTHOR: Brian Mercer, Betty Yu]
[Commentary] Today, the U.S. labor movement is at a critical crossroads, presented with opportunities to elevate local and national workers' fights. In several recent moments of struggle in the United States, collaborations between the labor movement and the media justice movement - independent journalists, policy advocates, and grassroots organizers have begun to emerge. But recent experiences have made clear that these collaborations need to deepen for both movements to grow stronger. On a teleconference panel hosted by Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net) and the Media Mobilizing Project this past February labor organizers in union and nonunion workplaces, media producers, and media policy experts shared recent organizing experiences like Wisconsin with each other. A conclusion from the call we could not ignore is that the larger labor movement is facing an unprecedented attack to roll back the gains and victories that have improved the lives of working people in exchange for deeper corporate profits. To fight back this corporate agenda, which has used the U.S. media system as a central pillar, the labor movement can and must challenge, transform and wield the media system and media policy to advance the struggle for working-class people's dignity and rights. This includes building community-owned media alternatives, such community broadband networks, low power FM radio stations, or public access TV stations. Outlets such as these allow organized labor to bypass the corporate media system, allowing their rank-and-file members to communicate directly with the community and build real solidarity through deepening communications strategy. Beyond this, organized labor has an immediate stake in winning media policies that close the digital divide, keep the Internet open and broaden access to the communication platforms that allow workers to organize and exchange ideas.
benton.org/node/151557 | Organizing Upgrade
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