December 2013

In the first of a series of remarks over the next several months, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler began to articulate a regulatory philosophy relating to how we are living in a time of revolutionary technological change and the role of the FCC in tackling the challenges and seizing the opportunities created by the new network that has engulfed us.

The FCC is the public’s representative to the ongoing network revolution. The agency was created originally in 1934 to oversee the third-generation networks of telephony and broadcast and, eventually cable and wireless carriers. Specifically, Congress charged the FCC to protect -- quote -- “the public interest, convenience, and necessity” of the nation’s networks. In serving the public interest, the FCC has focused on dual responsibilities. First, facilitating dynamic technological change to ensure the U.S. has world-class communications networks. Second, ensuring that our networks reflect our civic values, most notably our belief that communications networks should be accessible to all. As our networks evolve, so should government oversight.

There are some who suggest that new technology should essentially free the new networks from regulation; that market forces are enough to ensure that the public interest will be served. I am a rabid believer in the power of the marketplace. But I have seen enough about how markets operate to know that they don’t always, by themselves, solve every problem. Our new networks are even more important to society than were the old ones. The public has the right to be represented as we go through the transition. The evolution of network technology changes neither the responsibility of networks to the greater society, nor the FCC’s mission to protect the public interest. Congress gave the FCC authority over interstate and foreign wire and radio communications. We have an obligation to live up to that mandate. Indeed, the success of the Internet would be imperiled were that not the case. Assuring that the Internet exists, however, as a collection of open, interconnected entities is an appropriate activity for the people’s representatives. As we fulfill our responsibility, we will be guided by two lodestars: competition policy and something Chairman Wheeler calls the Network Compact. You can think of this as the basic rights of consumers and the basic responsibilities of network operators. There are three key elements of the Network Compact -- accessibility, interconnection, and public safety and security.

National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) congratulates the winners of the 2013 Digital Cities awards, which recognize cities for the innovative use of technology to expand access to government services, promote citizen engagement, increase transparency, reduce costs and improve the lives of residents.

The Center for Digital Government, a research and advisory firm focused on technology in state and local government, gave out the awards at the National League of Cities annual conference in Seattle in November 2013. NTIA is particularly pleased to note that a number of winning cities were lauded for projects and activities funded by our Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). Boston, which received two separate BTOP grants, took first-place honors in the Digital Cities “large population” category. The Digital Cities survey specifically recognized a BTOP-funded program in Boston called Technology Goes Home, which provides digital literacy training, subsidized netbooks and low-cost Internet access to low-income middle and high school students. Another big city that made the Digital Cities list was Chicago. Chicago used BTOP funds to install or upgrade more than 3,000 computers and offer digital literacy training at over 150 locations, including libraries, community colleges, public housing sites, workforce centers and senior centers.

It seems copyright-related site-blocking is becoming more popular in Europe. In the latest example, a French court has ordered not only local internet service providers but also Google and other search engines to pretend that 16 video-streaming sites don’t exist.

The Paris High Court ruled that Google, Microsoft and Yahoo must all remove links to services such as dpstream and Fifostream, which carry copyright-infringing material, from their results (or “did carry” -- it looks like Fifostream has actually shut down now). ISPs including Orange and Bouygues Telecom must block access to the services, too. This sort of thing is fast becoming the norm in Europe. Countries such as Denmark started forcing blocks on The Pirate Bay back in 2008, but the rights-holders’ anti-infringement crusade really picked up steam with the British Newzbin ruling in 2011. Europe’s top legal advisor said that such blocks are legitimate, as long as they are targeted and there’s no mass monitoring going on to support them.

The CEO of the world's biggest telecommunications equipment maker, which for years has been labeled by US officials as a proxy for Chinese military and intelligence agencies, says he's giving up on America. Ren Zhengfei, the 69-year-old founder and CEO of China-based Huawei, said he would no longer look for business in the United States, in the wake of accusations from lawmakers and government officials that the company is a de facto arm of the Chinese authorities.

"If Huawei gets in the middle of U.S-China relations," and causes problems, "it's not worth it," Ren reportedly said. "Therefore, we have decided to exit the U.S. market, and not stay in the middle." It wasn't immediately clear what Ren meant by "exit" the market, but for the company, the US market could easily be described as hostile. Lawmakers have exhorted US firms to stop doing business with Huawei, and federal regulators have tried to block the spread of the company's equipment in the United States. William Plummer, a Huawei vice president and the company's point person in Washington, told Foreign Policy, "It is true that Huawei has adjusted our priority focus to markets that welcome competition and investment, like Europe," adding that Ren is "making a comment on the current market environment." The company's overseas business is thriving. It has offices in 18 countries and has invested billions of dollars building communications networks in Africa.