May 2013

It is down to democracies to protect the most precious of freedoms

[Commentary] May 3 was World Press Freedom Day, but you would be forgiven for wondering what there is to cheer about.

The previous day, Freedom House, an American non-governmental organization, produced research suggesting global freedom of expression is at its lowest ebb for a decade. It charts the many countries whose record had deteriorated during 2012, from out-and-out dictatorships and more “modern” authoritarian regimes to self-proclaimed democracies. Some of the worst performances, in countries such as Mali, were the result of political turmoil and civil war. Russia and China continued on their grim ways, armed with a combination of legislation, thuggery and increasing technical nous. State-dominated media hampered free elections from Venezuela to Ukraine. New laws prevent effective investigative journalism in South Africa. Ecuador is going downhill; Thailand, too. The list goes on.

There are several rays of hope.

European Commission sends Statement of Objections to Motorola Mobility on potential misuse of mobile phone standard-essential patents

The European Commission has informed Motorola Mobility of its preliminary view that the company's seeking and enforcing of an injunction against Apple in Germany on the basis of its mobile phone standard-essential patents ("SEPs") amounts to an abuse of a dominant position prohibited by European Union antitrust rules.

While recourse to injunctions is a possible remedy for patent infringements, such conduct may be abusive where SEPs are concerned and the potential licensee is willing to enter into a license on Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (so-called "FRAND") terms. In such a situation, the Commission considers at this stage that dominant SEP holders should not have recourse to injunctions, which generally involve a prohibition to sell the product infringing the patent, in order to distort licensing negotiations and impose unjustified licensing terms on patent licensees. Such misuse of SEPs could ultimately harm consumers. The sending of a Statement of Objections does not prejudge the final outcome of the investigation. Commission Vice President in charge of competition policy Joaquín Almunia said: "The protection of intellectual property is a cornerstone of innovation and growth. But so is competition. I think that companies should spend their time innovating and competing on the merits of the products they offer – not misusing their intellectual property rights to hold up competitors to the detriment of innovation and consumer choice."

UK government sets out reform plans to improve mobile coverage

Reform plans to speed up the process around building mobile masts and other phone infrastructure have been set out as the government seeks to improve mobile coverage across the UK.

The proposed changes will clarify and simplify the planning restrictions around mobile broadband infrastructure, although they will focus on operators sharing existing sites to avoid installing new masts wherever possible. The reforms were agreed by government as part of the 4G auction negotiations, according to a person familiar with the situation. They have met opposition from campaigners worried about the effect on the environment. The proposals will be opened for consultation, although those close to the process said that they could still come into effect this year.

American Library Association highlights library and community impacts from Broadband Technology Opportunities Program in new report

The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Information Technology Policy released a new report that details U.S. library engagement with the federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.

The report is the first to highlight state and local library BTOP projects nationwide and the improvements they have made to public access technology resources, digital literacy, and workforce development. Library projects in 29 states and the District of Columbia are featured in the report. ALA estimates about 20 percent of U.S. public libraries have benefited from BTOP funding. Highlights from the report:

Nearly all statewide library projects included digital literacy training. More than 367,000 Coloradans increased their digital literacy skills through that state’s BTOP project. Ninety-five percent of those who took formal classes in Colorado stated they learned a valuable skill and would recommend the classes to others.
Nearly 600 people who participated in New York State Library’s “Broadband Express @ your library” programs and used online job resources went on to secure employment. The Nebraska Library Commission has more than double its grant goal (45 libraries) for upgrading broadband speeds in this mostly rural state. Of the 101 libraries upgraded so far, the average speed moved from 2.9 Mbps to 21.4 Mbps.
Alaska, Delaware, Maine, Oklahoma and Rhode Island have established new videoconferencing capabilities in several, if not all, libraries in their states. The Maine State Library is deploying its statewide network to provide legal information clinics through the Volunteer Lawyers Project. The clinics are offered in real time, allowing patrons at multiple locations, and especially in rural locations, to attend and ask questions directly of the presenting attorney.

Chairman Rockefeller Weighs in on FCC, Commerce Nominees

Senate Commerce Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-WV) released the following statement after President Obama nominated Tom Wheeler to be Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

“I respect President Obama’s decision to nominate Tom Wheeler as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He has a long and diverse career in both communications policy and business. The FCC will work toward promoting universal access to broadband, expanding the E-Rate program, and making sure incentive auctions generate funds to create a communications network for our first responders. I look forward to meeting soon with Mr. Wheeler and discussing the challenges facing the Commission.”

Chairman Rockefeller released the following statement after President Obama nominated Penny Pritzker to be U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

“The last four years have seen the U.S. return from the brink of a depression to showing encouraging signs of sustained job creation. But our economy remains fragile, as millions of Americans who are unemployed or underemployed know all too well. The federal government can do much more to support private sector expansion and the creation of quality jobs. Penny Pritzker’s decades of business experience would greatly assist her in leading this effort as President Obama’s Commerce Secretary nominee. I look forward to meeting with Ms. Pritzker and discussing how the Commerce Department’s work in export promotion, advanced manufacturing, weather forecasting, and ocean resource management can continue to foster economic growth and help create American jobs.”

Obama’s Bad Pick: A Former Lobbyist at the FCC

[Commentary] Memo to a President who said, in November, 2007, “I am in this race to tell the corporate lobbyists in Washington that their days of setting the agenda are over”: If you are going to name a former lobbyist for big cable and wireless companies as head of the federal agency that regulates the cable and wireless industries, you had better find a public-interest-group advocate to say something positive about him (or her) before you make the announcement.

Job done. By May 1, when the White House confirmed that it was nominating Tom Wheeler, a veteran Washington insider who has headed not one powerful industry association but two, as the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, the nomination had already secured the support of Public Knowledge, an advocacy group that promotes open and unlimited access to the Internet. “Certainly we will have disagreements with the new Chairman (assuming Wheeler is confirmed), but we expect that Wheeler will actively work to promote competition and protect consumers,” Harold Feld, a senior vice-president at Public Knowledge, wrote in a blog post. That’s a relief—or is it? The closer you look at Wheeler’s selection, the more questionable it appears.

Good News from Washington (and it’s about the FCC)

If you were looking for some good news out of Washington, you finally got some with the President’s announcement that he is nominating Tom Wheeler to be the next Chairman of the FCC.

Tom will be an outstanding Chairman. I am confident of that because I have known Tom for almost three decades and I have watched him succeed at everything else he has done over a long career. If you were putting together the ideal candidate for an FCC Chairman, you would want someone who understands the industry, possibly with experience in the broadband and wireless industries. You likely would seek a candidate who understands the regulatory and legislative processes. It would be helpful if that candidate had business experience, had advised businesses, started businesses, run businesses or served on the boards of businesses. If that candidate had relationships with key industry leaders, that would be a major plus. But it would also be helpful if the public interest community had worked with and trusted that candidate. And since America is the global technology leader, how about some international experience? That would be a good thing, as would be service on boards of global technology organizations and nonprofit organizations that use technology to solve societal issues. America faces significant challenges in protecting our telecommunications infrastructure. The next Chairman of the FCC needs to have an understanding of the prospects of disruptive attacks or systems failures caused by natural disasters and should have a knowledge of and working relationship with the organizations and the officials tasked with protecting that infrastructure. And an ideal candidate should have a close working relationship with key leaders in the White House and yet be strong enough to be the independent leader and thinker that an independent regulatory agency requires. On all of the above criteria, Tom Wheeler passes the test. He is an experienced leader with exceptional communications skills AND organizational skills. Those are not qualities found in one person very often.

What to Expect from a Tom Wheeler FCC

[Commentary] What will the Tom Wheeler-led Federal Communications Commission mean for broadcasters?

Expect little or no change in the incentive auction policy. Look for Wheeler to push the auction with all the zeal of the outgoing FCC chairman, Julius Genachowski. What emerges from Wheeler's prolific blogging is a belief that much of the broadcast spectrum is being wasted and that it would be put to better use in wireless broadband. So, when broadcasters think of Wheeler and spectrum, they should think status quo. What's near impossible to divine is where Wheeler will go on two issues that should be of more immediate concern to broadcasters: ownership and retransmission consent.

BTOP’s Emy Tseng

Many people spend their working lives in one career. Emy Tseng, a program officer with NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), is working on three.

Tseng has worked at NTIA since it launched BTOP in 2009. But working to expand broadband adoption and digital literacy wasn’t her first calling. After graduating from Brown University with a math and physics degree, Tseng went to work as a software engineer. After years of working with technology, she decided she was more interested in working on ways to provide access to new technologies. In 1999, she left her job to obtain a degree in technology and policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The degree eventually led her to San Francisco, where she landed a job with ZeroDivide.org, an organization aimed at promoting digital inclusion. She went on to lead the City of San Francisco’s efforts to close its digital divide.

USDA Changes Community Connect Broadband Grant Program Rules

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), a Rural Development agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), amends its regulations for the Community-Oriented Connectivity Broadband Grant Program. The purpose of this regulatory change is to provide the Agency the ability to target limited resources to geographical as well as technological areas of need. The new regulations seek to simplify the grant application process, will let the USDA prioritize rural and poor areas and will increase flexibility for using matching funds that grant applicants have to provide. This rule is not applicable to Community Connect grant applications filed for funding prior to the publication of a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) under this regulation. This rule is effective June 3, 2013.

Benton

Search