July 2014

Commerce's NIST to Host Next Meeting on Developing a Collaborative Nationwide Disaster Resilience Framework

As part of President Barack Obama's Climate Action Plan, Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is leading a collaborative nationwide effort to develop a framework that US communities can use to prepare for, resist, respond to, and recover from hazard events more rapidly and at a lower cost.

On July 30, NIST will host the second in a series of regional workshops devoted to developing a community-centric "disaster resilience framework" to minimize the impacts of hazards and quickly restore vital functions and services in the aftermath of disasters.

The disaster resilience framework will establish overall performance goals; assess existing standards, codes, and practices; and identify gaps that must be addressed to bolster community resilience.

The workshop will begin with a session on resilience lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy, the 2012 "superstorm" that affected many states along the Atlantic seaboard. Topics will include buildings and facilities, transportation systems, energy systems, communication and information systems, water and wastewater systems, and social vulnerabilities.

NIST seeks input from a broad array of stakeholders, including planners, designers, facility owners and users, government officials, utility owners, regulators, standards and model code developers, insurers, trade and professional associations, disaster response and recovery groups, and researchers.

Fox Pitches Ninth Circuit on Dish Injunction

Fox has been seeking a preliminary injunction and argues the district court was wrong, and in fact abused its discretion, in not finding Dish's allegedly infringing AutoHop DVR service culpable of irreparable harm, and denying the injunction, as did the Ninth Circuit on appeal in January 2014.

At issue are PrimeTime Anytime and AutoHop, key features of the Hopper Whole-Home HD DVR. Fox, which sued for breach of contract and copyright infringement, appealed the denial of the injunction, and argument was held on July 7 in the circuit's Pasadena courtroom.

Fox was looking to use broadcasters' recent victory in the Aereo case in the Supreme Court to buttress its argument, including pointing out that Dish had argued that it was merely an equipment provider, an Aereo argument that the Supremes rejected. It also pointed out the Supremes had reflected Aereo's argument (which it said was Dish's as well) that a performance was not public under the Copyright Act if each sub watches a unique stream.

Verizon’s “deteriorated” phone lines cited in demand for investigation

Dozens of lawmakers, municipal officials, and consumer advocacy groups want a thorough investigation of New York's phone system, accusing Verizon of raising prices substantially while allowing landline service to deteriorate throughout the state.

Rate deregulation has harmed customers, the lawmakers and groups wrote in a petition to the New York Public Service Commission (PSC). Verizon has been shifting wireline service from copper to fiber and building out its cellular network, but in the process it's leaving many consumers behind, the petition claims.

The letter quotes New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and previous PSC documents that say Verizon failed to meet quality standards. The petition was signed by 49 State Assembly members (out of 150), seven State Senate members (out of 63), and a member of Congress, US Rep Tim Bishop (D-NY).

Mayors and other officials representing a dozen cities, towns, and counties signed the letter, as did consumer advocacy groups including the AARP and Common Cause New York. The letter was also signed by the New York State AFL-CIO and a Communications Workers of America representative.

Comcast-TWC would control 29% of the US pay TV market, nearly 36% of broadband: report

Culling through all the various due diligence and Securities and Exchange Commission filings, SNL Kagan released what is perhaps the clearest numerical snapshot yet of what a combined Comcast-Time Warner Cable would look like, post-merger.

The newly merged giant would control nearly 29.1 million US residential video subscribers, after Comcast divests 3.9 million pay TV customers in the joint venture with Charter Communications known as SpinCo. The wedded Comcast-TWC would house about 29 percent of the US pay TV market, just under the Federal Communications Commission's unofficial 30 percent limit.

The combined company would also control 27.9 million residential fixed broadband customers, accounting for nearly 36 percent of the market, and 13.4 million residential voice customers. In terms of business customers, the behemoth would have around 900,000 video customers, 1.7 million fixed broadband clients and 1 million voice subscribers.

Paxio Emeryville Gigabit Network Launches

The latest network operator with a gigabit network announcement is Paxio, which has launched gigabit residential service in Emeryville (CA), based on fiber-to-the-home technology.

Paxio’s business model is to partner with municipalities, property owners and the like -- sometimes overbuilding incumbent carrier networks. According to the Paxio website, the company is part of a public/private partnership known as EmeryConnect, which is “committed to delivering and maintaining a state-of-the-art fiber optic network for businesses and residential users in Emeryville.”

Several other network operators -- including Cogent, Hurrican Network, Level3 and Unwired -- also are part of EmeryConnect. Paxio did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Telecompetitor asking for more information.

But according to the company’s website, the company’s Emeryville fiber network is open access, meaning that other network operators also can use it. The company also sells dark fiber and other services -- including 10 Gbps connectivity for businesses based on fiber-to-the-premises.

Education groups back $2 billion Wi-Fi plan

A coalition of education groups is backing a proposal at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that would funnel billions of dollars into wireless Internet for schools and libraries.

The proposal “is a necessary first step toward providing students with the educational infrastructure they need to excel,” ten education groups said in a letter to FCC commissioners sent.

Signatories include the Consortium for School Networking, the National Association of State Boards of Education and the State Educational Technology Directors Association.

The letter comes as the agency prepares to vote on the new proposal from Chairman Tom Wheeler to expand the FCC’s E-Rate funding. Opposition to Chairman Wheeler’s plan could put the vote in jeopardy.

How Americans Value Public Libraries in Their Communities

Most Americans say they have only had positive experiences at public libraries, and value a range of library resources and services. Regarding the importance of public libraries to their communities, when those surveyed were asked if their library were closed, what impact it would have, some 90% of Americans ages 16 and older said that the closing of their local public library would have an impact on their community, with 63% saying it would have a “major” impact.

Asked about the personal impact of a public library closing, two-thirds (67%) of Americans said it would affect them and their families, including 29% who said it would have a major impact. Moreover, the vast majority of Americans ages 16 and older say that public libraries play an important role in their communities:

95% of Americans ages 16 and older agree that the materials and resources available at public libraries play an important role in giving everyone a chance to succeed;
95% say that public libraries are important because they promote literacy and a love of reading;
94% say that having a public library improves the quality of life in a community;
81% say that public libraries provide many services people would have a hard time finding elsewhere.

Women, African-Americans and Hispanics, adults who live in lower-income households, and adults with lower levels of educational attainment are more likely than other groups to declare all the library services we asked about “very important.” Adults ages 30-64 are also more likely than younger or older respondents to say many of the services are “very important,” as are parents with minor children. Libraries are also particularly valued by those who are unemployed, retired, or searching for a job, as well as those living with a disability and Internet users who lack home Internet access:

56% of Internet users without home access say public libraries’ basic technological resources (such as computers, Internet, and printers) are “very important” to them and their family, compared with 33% of all respondents.
49% of unemployed and retired respondents say they librarian assistance in finding information to be “very important,” compared with 41% of employed respondents.
47% of job seekers say help finding or applying for a job is “very important” to them and their families.
40% of those living with a disability say help applying for government services is “very important,” compared with 27% of those without a disability.

Why Facebook Should Follow Ethical Standards -- LIke Everybody Else

[Commentary] On July 2, 2014, Facebook's Chief Operating Officer, Sheryl Sandberg, defended the company's recent controversial experiment, which manipulated users' newsfeeds to change their moods. But in so doing, she raised more concerns than she answered. She argued that the company and other social media sites regularly engage in research, and that the practice is thus acceptable.

Facebook defenders say that the company could instead simply conduct its experiments secretly and not publish the results. But past errors do not justify future ones. Social science can help us all, but depends on trust -- which can be fragile. Social media companies can now strengthen users' trust by agreeing to follow ethical standards.

It is not clear that Facebook broke the law -- the regulations apply technically to federal-funded research -- but have been universally adopted by researchers as the standard. Facebook should agree to follow these guidelines as well. Doing so need not be onerous. The company could simply submit its studies an established independent review board. Facebook could also, for instance, not include children in mood-manipulation experiments, which could easily be done, since users indicate their age.

[Klitzman, MD is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Masters of Bioethics Program, Columbia University]

Broadcast Evening News Telecasts All Grew Their Audiences This Season

Despite the greatly exaggerated reports over the years that the broadcast evening news daypart was on the demise, it is still alive and doing very well from a ratings standpoint.

Ironically, however, the fact has gone somewhat underreported -- the trade press and other media outlets give the evening news telecasts very little coverage compared to the morning shows, late-night and even the daytime soaps.

Media buyers know it as a place where the clients who want to reach a bit of an older audience can buy commercial time at a fraction of the cost of broadcast primetime -- 30% to 40% cheaper for a 30-second spot in the average primetime entertainment show. And while the big battle for viewers between ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today show in the mornings has been receiving continuous media coverage, those networks’ half-hour evening news shows are drawing virtually the same number of 18-49 viewers and viewers in the 25-54 “news” demo as the morning shows.

Of course, much like the morning news shows, the bulk of the audience is 55-plus for all three networks. Some 17 million of the nearly 25 million total viewers of the three networks’ evening news shows are 55-plus. While the evening news daypart has been losing viewers steadily over the past few decades, during the 2013-14 season, each of the networks’ evening news telecasts grew in viewers.

Overall this past season, the three networks cumulatively grew their viewership by 1.44 million -- not a huge amount but a gain nonetheless.

Overland Park appears set to sign on for Google Fiber

Well, it appears that Google Fiber will finally arrive in Overland Park (KS). The Overland Park City Council is poised to approve two agreements that would allow the California-based tech giant to bring super-high-speed Internet to the city.

The proposals are similar to ones presented last September, but action on those was delayed.

“Everything appears to be in order. We have been ready to deal with Google for several months now, so I am looking forward to it,” said Councilman David White. “We’ve wanted it all along, and if this can be pulled off it will be a good thing for Overland Park and for the citizens. I think they will all be happy.”

Under one of the agreements, Overland Park would allow Google Fiber to install network huts on city-owned property. This would enable Google Fiber to string its fiber-optic lines to neighborhoods throughout the city. The second agreement would permit Google Fiber to use the city’s existing fiber network conduit.

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