March 2014

China to Boost Cybersecurity

China's defense ministry said it would take measures to boost cybersecurity after reports alleging the US spied on Chinese technology company Huawei Technologies and several Chinese leaders. Speaking at a monthly briefing, defense ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said the revelations "exposed the hypocrisy and despotism of the US side." Though Geng didn't specify how China would seek to boost its defenses against cyberattacks, China in February set up a new high-level committee on cybersecurity, over which Chinese President Xi Jinping presides.

Government Data Requests Fall at Yahoo But Rise at Google

Yahoo saw a significant drop in the number of government requests for data about its users in the second half of 2013, compared with the first half, according to the company’s semiannual transparency report. Google, on the other hand, saw a small increase in data requests over the same period.

Yahoo said it had received 21,425 requests from 17 countries for information on 32,493 accounts from July 1 to Dec. 31, 2013, with the United States accounting for about one-third of them. Google said it had received 27,477 government requests for user data in the second half of 2013, covering 42,648 accounts, with more than one-third of the requests coming from the United States. In the previous six months, the company received 25,879 requests covering 42,500 accounts. Google’s figures excluded national security and FISA requests in both periods.

Facebook Connectivity Lab will develop advanced technology to provide internet across the world

The Internet.org initiative will rely on a new team at Facebook to develop technology on the ground, in the air and in space, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced. The team will develop technology like drones and satellites to expand access to the internet across the world.

Sen Franken takes aim at 'stalker apps'

Sen Al Franken (D-MN) wants to keep mobile apps from secretly tracking users. "Right now, companies -- some legitimate, some not -- are collecting your location and giving it to whomever they want," he said. Sen Franken, who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Privacy, introduced an updated version of his Location Privacy Protection Act, which would require companies to get users' permission before collecting or sharing location information from their smartphones, tablets and in-car navigation systems. In 2012, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed Franken's original bill. The new bill, which is backed by Sens. Chris Coons (D-DE) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), would require companies collecting location information from more than 1,000 devices to disclose their data collection and sharing practices. It would also ban "stalker apps," which are designed to collect and share a user's location information without that user knowing. If enacted, the bill would allow law enforcement officials to seize proceeds from the creation and sale of such apps and redirect the proceeds to anti-stalking organizations.

Chairman Wheeler Lays Into FCC IT System at Hill Hearing

Testifying before the Senate Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said he needs the budget the FCC has asked for -- about a $36 million, or 10% increase -- to get things done. He was pressed on what he needed the money for and what the consequences would be if he didn't get it. That included why he did not ask for fewer new full-time employees (FTEs) so he could put more money into updating an FCC IT system Chairman Wheeler said was unacceptable and insecure.

He would like to split the baby, but needed money for both IT upgrades and extra people to, among other things, better police a Universal Service Reform system he said needed major overhaul and oversight. He minced no words about the state of the USF Lifeline subsidy. Chairman Wheeler had plenty of reasons for investing $13.5 million to upgrade the IT system. His frustration was palpable. "We must, simply cannot go on this way," he said. He suggested it was an embarrassment for the agency that oversees networks to have an inefficient and insecure IT infrastructure, 40% of which is more than 10 years old and not even supported by vendors. He called it a hodgepodge of incompatible and inefficient equipment, a situation that a business in the private sector would never tolerate -- he has run, bought and sold such businesses.

President Obama Statement on the Section 215 Bulk Metadata Program

Earlier this year in a speech at the Department of Justice, I announced a transition that would end the Section 215 bulk telephony metadata program as it previously existed and that we would establish a mechanism to preserve the capabilities we need without the government holding this bulk metadata. I did so to give the public greater confidence that their privacy is appropriately protected, while maintaining the tools our intelligence and law enforcement agencies need to keep us safe.

I have decided on a proposal that will, with the passage of appropriate legislation, allow the government to end bulk collection of telephony metadata records under Section 215, while ensuring that the government has access to the information it needs to meet its national security requirements. Under the proposal, a new program would be created with the following key attributes:

the government will not collect these telephone records in bulk; rather, the records would remain at the telephone companies for the length of time they currently do today;
absent an emergency situation, the government would obtain the records only pursuant to individual orders from the FISC approving the use of specific numbers for such queries, if a judge agrees based on national security concerns;
the records provided to the government in response to queries would only be within two hops of the selection term being used, and the government’s handling of any records it acquires will be governed by minimization procedures approved by the FISC;
the court-approved numbers could be used to query the data over a limited period of time without returning to the FISC for approval, and the production of records would be ongoing and prospective; and
the companies would be compelled by court order to provide technical assistance to ensure that the records can be queried and that results are transmitted to the government in a usable format and in a timely manner.

House Leaders Sideline Anti-NSA Lawmakers

Some of the most vocal critics of the National Security Agency in Congress believe they are being intentionally cut out of a looming debate on how to reform the agency's program that collects bulk telephone data.

The House parliamentarian gave primary jurisdiction of a newly introduced bill that would repurpose much of the National Security Agency program to the chamber's Intelligence Committee instead of the Judiciary Committee, leaving members and aides of the latter group to cry foul play. Matters involving the oversight of the intelligence community's broad legal authority have always fallen to the Judiciary Committee, a staffer said, adding that he could find no instance since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that his committee did not get first claim on such legislation. "Many of our members are pretty outraged," the staffer said. "They're trying to undermine this committee's clear jurisdiction, as the debate we're having is on civil liberties and constitutional rights." The maneuver, he said, puts NSA reform in "the hands of its biggest cheerleaders." One of those outraged Judiciary members is Rep Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who quickly issued a statement saying he was "deeply concerned that today, for what appears to be the first time ever, a FISA reform bill has been sent first to the House Intelligence Committee." Rep Nadler added: "The House Judiciary Committee must be the primary Committee at the center of this reform."

Sprint Partners With CCA and NetAmerica to Expand Rural 4G LTE

Sprint wants to accelerate its 4G buildout and it’s turning to rural carriers to help them achieve it. Rural carriers will soon be able to partner with Sprint through their affiliations with the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) and the NetAmerica Alliance (NAA) for preferred roaming and network build-out and “sharing,” respectively.

The programs will offer a variety of tactics to get Sprint’s network greater reach across the U.S. including a central data hub roaming clearinghouse, access to a 4G device ecosystem, and assistance in building Sprint-certified 4G networks. The new Sprint Rural Roaming Preferred Provider Program will give CCA members access to a data services hub that facilitates data roaming across their mutual networks at preferred roaming rates. CCA CEO Steven Berry said voice roaming is also included as a part of this agreement. Perhaps the more interesting feature of this program is the establishment of a device ecosystem. Access to popular and affordable 4G devices by rural carriers has long been a challenge. Sprint says they plan to build a device ecosystem that will include “band 12” chipsets for use in many rural carrier’s lower 700 MHz spectrum. Beginning in January 2015, Sprint says devices will become available and they intend to be the main driver of an ecosystem of devices that will support roaming across these different spectrum bands.

Consumer Reports: Average Spending on Telecom Bundles is $1,848 a Year

Americans don’t believe they’re getting good value from their in-home telecom services, Internet and TV services in particular, despite the fact they spend an average $1,848 a year on them, according to a new market report from Consumer Reports National Research Center.

Even bundled service subscribers don’t see their service packages as any great value. Though they rated highly for service satisfaction, Verizon FiOS and regional cable telecom services provider WOW, both received “middling or lower” grades for value. When it comes to overall customer satisfaction among bundled service subscribers (Internet, TV and phone), Verizon FiOS took top honors. Verizon FiOS received the highest ratings for reliability across all three services, though it did receive more billing complaints than average, Consumer Reports noted. WOW scored highest overall among bundled telecom providers and received high marks for all services as well. SuddenLink and Bright House Networks also received higher-than-average satisfaction scores for bundled services. Consumers are getting better at negotiating deals with telecom service providers, Consumer Reports found. Ninety-two percent of survey respondents who reported trying to negotiate a better deal with their providers said they got one. Forty-six percent of those said they received a discounted price as much as $50 lower per month, 44 percent received a new or extended promotional rate, 33 percent received additional channels, and 16% got equipment free or at a discounted rate.

FCC's Wheeler: We Can't Give Broadcasters Blanket Info On Spectrum Value

During a Senate Financial Services Subcommittee hearing. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said that the FCC will start meeting with broadcasters in individual markets to give them a sense of what their spectrum will be worth at auction, but that it cannot provide that information on a blanket basis.

Broadcasters have been looking for answers out of the FCC given that they have to make business decisions about whether to keep their spectrum and how and whether to share spectrum. The FCC is expected to vote a spectrum auction item by its May meeting, and Chairman Wheeler appeared to fuel that speculation with a timetable for discussing the plan at the FCC and on the Hill starting next week. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) asked when broadcasters would be given some regulatory certainty about how much their spectrum will be worth in the auction. "There is a lot of focus on the nature of the auction," Sen Moran said, "and how that is going to occur. What I think may be missing is whether there is going to be any spectrum to auction. You talked earlier about the business community needing certainty. When can broadcasters begin to understand what their company's spectrum may be worth.” Sen Moran pointed out that they have to enter into contracts for towers and employees and to plan their businesses. He said he was sure the question would come up when Chairman Wheeler addresses broadcasters at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks. Chairman Wheeler offered a timeline. He said next week he would start talking about the auction framework -- "working through the options and narrowing it down" -- with other commissioners, as well as sharing thoughts about how to structure the auction with members of Congress.

Benton

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