1. Monthly archive
  2. August 2014

August 2014

US: NSA leaks should be no excuse for local storage mandates, which harm “organic” Internet

The US State Department has warned against countries such as Russia forcing web service providers to store citizens’ data locally, even though such moves are at least in part inspired by Edward Snowden’s revelations of the National Security Agency spying on foreigners’ personal data.

“[People should not] use the Snowden revelations as an excuse for taking what are essentially protectionist measures that will harm the ability of the Internet to work in an organic way,” a State Department official said, ahead of the annual Internet Governance Forum meeting in Istanbul.

New Initiative on Internet Governance

The World Economic Forum has announced the launch of the NETmundial Initiative on Internet governance cooperation.

Through close collaboration with key government, industry, academic and civil society partners, including the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the new initiative will provide a venue for leaders from many regions and sectors of society to discuss and collaboratively address a range of emerging policy challenges related to the Internet.

Specifically, the initiative seeks to provide an international, multistakeholder platform that brings together government, business and civil society leaders, along with the representatives of technical communities, to sustain and strengthen an effective and distributed approach to Internet governance.

The initiative will seek to make a contribution to the positive evolution of multistakeholder Internet governance in two concrete respects:

  • First, taking advantage of the World Economic Forum’s uniquely interdisciplinary, leader-level multistakeholder communities, it aims to support a broader policy dialogue on issues that would benefit from the engagement of additional relevant ministries, industries and academic and civil society expertise beyond those specializing in the ICT sector and participating regularly in traditional Internet governance fora.
  • Second, it will serve as a platform for galvanizing support for capacity building in two respects: to support developing countries that wish to enhance their access to the Internet and build their own multistakeholder governance frameworks; and to explore ways to strengthen the capacity of the decentralized Internet governance ecosystem to respond to specific issues or problems that arise, including those encountered by developing countries which may not be in a position to readily identify relevant expertise and resources.

Cloud Computing: The Concept, Impacts and the Role of Government Policy

Cloud computing is changing the way computing is undertaken.

It provides the ability to access IT resources on demand without the need for significant capital expenditure, thereby lowering the entry barriers for new entrants in multiple sectors. Cloud computing has thus become a platform for innovation.

This report presents the concept of cloud computing, the services it provides and deployment models, and thus give a clear overview of what it is and what it is not. It provides an overview of how cloud computing changes the way computing is carried out, and evaluates the impacts of cloud computing (including its benefits and challenges as well as its economic and environmental impacts).

Finally, the report discusses the policy issues raised by cloud computing and the role of governments and other stakeholders in addressing these issues .

Why big data has some big problems when it comes to public policy

[Commentary] For all the talk about using big data and data science to solve the world’s problems -- and even all the talk about big data as one of the world’s problems -- it seems like we still have a long way to go.

Most obstacles standing in the way of using data science to solve society’s problems have little to do with the data itself.

It’s easier to gather and easier to analyze than ever before. Rather, the problem is that data scientists and researchers -- even those who really care about tackling important issues -- can often have a difficult time overcoming the much more powerful forces fighting against them: fear, politics and the law.

And although they’re all distinct in some ways, they’re also very closely connected.

The Case against Binge-Watching TV

[Commentary] Americans are increasingly engaging in a practice known as television binge-watching -- going through several episodes of a TV show in a single stretch. So why am I unhappy about this new way to watch TV?

The biggest challenge with binge-watching is avoiding mentions of plot twists and other spoilers in the news media, on social networks and in casual conversations. Aware of how it feels to hear about spoilers, I'm careful not to "spoil" others. But it's hard to keep track of what I can say to whom.

I lose the sense of time by binge-watching, whether something I watched just four hours ago really took place four weeks or four months ago. I've also let too much of my life slide trying to catch up on shows. There's a temptation to start from the beginning, even as new episodes air, such that it becomes overwhelming to catch up and keep up.

August 28, 2014 (Accessibility; Comcast-TWC, Municipal Broadband, Net Neutrality)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2014

Find opinion, commentary, analysis on the Digital Beat blog http://benton.org/blog


ACCESSIBILITY
   T-Mobile USA Forfeiture Order Concerning Hearing Aid-Compatible Handsets - public notice
   Request for Comment on Petition Filed by Sprint Corporation Regarding Access to the Internet-based Telecommunications Relay Service Numbering Directory - public notice [links to web]

OWNERSHIP
   14 years ago, DOJ said letting one broadband company run half the country was a bad idea
   The Netflix Case Against Comcast, in One Chart
   With Internet outage, anger rises over proposed Time Warner-Comcast merger
   FCC Requests Additional Information from Charter in Comcast/Time Warner Cable Review - press release
   Gray TV Lines Up Minority/Female Owners For Six Stations
   Entravision: Comcast/TWC Threatens Latino Programmers [links to web]

LABOR
   Silicon Valley’s diversity reboot [links to web]

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   How big telecom smothers city-run broadband
   Nixing Net Neutrality Would Produce More Healthcare.govs - op-ed
   Fighting for Online Equality for Latinos - NHMC press release

WIRELESS
   New Smartphone Laws Could Mean Headaches for Employers
   Building our mobile life - Meredith Baker op-ed
   The smartphone “kill switch,” explained - analysis
   Judge Rejects Apple Bid for Injunction against Samsung [links to web]
   Microsoft: Africa TV White Spaces Broadband Network is World’s Largest [links to web]

TELEVISION
   Future of Broadcast TV under Scrutiny: ‘Everyone Should Be Reevaluating’ [links to web]
   Broadcasters: Senate TV plan would cripple emergency alerts, journalism
   Cable group hits airwaves to overhaul TV
   NAB Seeks Expedited Hearing of Auction Challenge [links to web]
   California Agrees on Deal to Expand Film and TV Incentive to $330 Million a Year [links to web]
   AFL-CIO Opposes FCC Axing Sports Blackout Rule [links to web]
   Studio Deals Unlock a Trove of Reruns [links to web]
   Satellite Firms Get Opportunity to Offer Service to Iranian State Broadcasts [links to web]

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
   Cell Phone Calls to 911 More Common than Landline, Yet Gaps Exist [links to web]

PRIVACY/SECURITY
   JPMorgan and Other Banks Struck by Cyberattack [links to web]

LOBBYING
   Microsoft targets vacationing Hill staffers with e-mail privacy ad campaign [links to web]
   Net sales tax move is biggest gripe for Web companies [links to web]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Germany mulls ban on after-hours work emails and calls [links to web]
   Microsoft: Africa TV White Spaces Broadband Network is World’s Largest [links to web]

MORE ONLINE
   CPB Awards American Graduate Community Grants to 33 Public Media Stations - press release [links to web]
   Student-Built Apps Teach Colleges a Thing or Two [links to web]

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ACCESSIBILITY

FORFEITURE ORDER TO T-MOBILE USA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
Although the Federal Communications Commission’s wireless hearing aid compatibility rules have been in place for nearly a decade, T-Mobile USA failed to provide the minimum number of hearing aid-compatible handset models required under the rules during calendar years 2009 and 2010. To that end, the FCC imposes a penalty of $819,000 against T-Mobile, for failing to offer to consumers the required number of hearing aid-compatible digital wireless handset models for nearly two years.
benton.org/headlines/forfeiture-order-t-mobile-usa | Federal Communications Commission | Revere Digital
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OWNERSHIP

AT&T-MEDIAONE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
In 2000, the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission approved the merger of AT&T and MediaOne. You may not remember MediaOne, but back in 2000 it was one of the biggest Internet providers around. Comcast had initially planned to buy it before being outmaneuvered at the last minute by AT&T, which submitted a higher bid. A merger would've given AT&T control not only over MediaOne's operations, but also part ownership in Road Runner -- and together with its stake in Excite@Home, AT&T would've controlled an estimated 40 percent of the country's access to broadband. The Justice Department believed that if AT&T-MediaOne went through, AT&T's newfound position as a gatekeeper would let it dictate outcomes across a national market for broadband. While regulators have been wary of gatekeeping for decades, this marked the first time that the concept had been raised in the Internet industry, policy analysts say. What does this have to do with the Comcast merger? According to Netflix, Dish and others, regulators currently face a similar situation where you have two major Internet service providers who don't compete against each other in local markets, but whose combination would create an entity that would be similarly empowered to dictate outcomes across a range of other industries nationally.
benton.org/headlines/14-years-ago-doj-said-letting-one-broadband-company-run-half-country-was-bad-idea | Washington Post
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NETFLIX VS COMCAST
[SOURCE: Revere Digital, AUTHOR: Peter Kafka]
We’ve already heard Netflix executives explain why they signed an Internet deal with Comcast, even though they say they didn’t want to: They say they had to pay Comcast for access to its broadband pipes because their video streams were suffering. But here’s a new version of the same argument: Netflix says it had to pay Comcast for access to its broadband pipes because Netflix was starting to lose customers. “For many [Comcast] subscribers, the bitrate so poor that Netflix’s streaming video service became unusable,” Ken Florance, Netflix’s vice president of content delivery told the Federal Communications Commission. He noted that Comcast representatives eventually told subscribers to take their beef to Netflix. “Those customers complained to Netflix and some of them canceled their Netflix subscription on the spot, citing the unacceptable quality of Netflix’s video streams and Netflix’s inability to do anything to change the situation.” Florance doesn’t say how many customer his company lost. But he does include a chart that shows a huge spike in customer complaints last fall , at the same time Netflix said its streams were compromised. The subtext: Guess what happens if Comcast gets even more powerful?
benton.org/headlines/netflix-case-against-comcast-one-chart | Revere Digital
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INTERNET OUTAGE
[SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Jacob Axelrad]
A widespread Internet outage August 27 that affected Time Warner Cable has raised eyebrows as to whether the company's proposed merger with rival cable provider Comcast will be good for consumers. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) told the New York State Department of Public Service to look into the outage in conjunction with its review of the proposed merger.
benton.org/headlines/internet-outage-anger-rises-over-proposed-time-warner-comcast-merger | Christian Science Monitor
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FCC REQUESTS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM CHARTER IN COMCAST/TIME WARNER CABLE REVIEW
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: William Lake]
On August 21, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission sent Charter Communications a request for information and data with respect to the applications for transfer of control of certain licenses that the company filed on June 4, 2014. Now, the FCC asks that Charter provide additional written responses and supporting documentation for each request listed below:
Describe in detail Charter’s plans to migrate subscribers acquired as a result of the proposed divestiture transactions, including but not limited to:
a projected timeline for the transition of all the acquired customers;
any plans for relevant services and devices necessary to access the services to be offered to the acquired subscribers;
any plans for the acquired customers to retain their current service plans and if so, the length of time the acquired customers may remain enrolled under their existing service plans;
the features and services accessible from each device that will be offered to acquired customers;
any services or features that an acquired subscriber received from its previous provider that it will not be able to obtain from the Company after the consummation of the proposed the proposed divestiture transactions, and plans to introduce that lost service or otherwise compensate the subscriber; and
all documents discussing customer migration and transition of the acquired customers to the Company.
For the proposed divestiture transactions, provide: (i) a timetable for each transaction, a description of all actions that must be taken prior to consummation of each transaction, and any harm that will result if the transactions are not consummated; and (ii) a description of any other terms or conditions of the transactions that are not reflected in the transaction agreements between the parties.
The FCC requested responses no later than September 11, 2014. [Lake is Chief, FCC Media Bureau] [MB Docket No. 14-57]
benton.org/headlines/fcc-requests-additional-information-charter-comcasttime-warner-cable-review | Federal Communications Commission
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GRAY TV LINES UP MINORITY/FEMALE OWNERS FOR SIX STATIONS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Michael Malone]
Gray Television has entered into definitive agreements to transfer six TV stations to new owners. Gray retained the brokerage arm of the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) to find owners for the stations that it has acquired in multi-station deals, but cannot technically own. Gray will provide services to the stations, which include markets in North Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska and Louisiana. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler praised the move: “We applaud the commitment of MMTC and Gray Television to find buyers for each of the six Gray stations that would increase diversity of ownership and programming in each of these markets. Such actions demonstrate how our rules can actively promote both competition and diversity, keep stations on the air, and serve the public interest.”
benton.org/headlines/gray-tv-lines-minorityfemale-owners-six-stations | Broadcasting&Cable | FCC Chairman Wheeler | Gray press release | TVNewsCheck
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

BIG TELECOM VS MUNICIPAL BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Center for Public Integrity, AUTHOR: Allan Holmes]
For more than a decade, AT&T, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and CenturyLink have spent millions of dollars to lobby state legislatures, influence state elections and buy research to try to stop the spread of public Internet services that often offer faster speeds at cheaper rates. The companies have succeeded in getting laws passed in 20 states that ban or restrict municipalities from offering Internet to residents. Now the fight has gone national. The Federal Communications Commission is considering requests from Chattanooga (TN) and Wilson (NC) to pre-empt state laws that block municipalities from building or expanding broadband networks, hindering economic growth, the cities argue. If the FCC rules in favor of the cities, and the ruling survives any legal challenges, municipalities nationwide will be free to offer high-speed Internet to residents when they aren’t satisfied with the service provided by private telecommunications companies. To better understand the municipal broadband debate, the Center for Public Integrity traveled to two southern cities. Tullahoma (TN), which has a broadband network, and Fayetteville (NC), which doesn’t.
benton.org/headlines/how-big-telecom-smothers-city-run-broadband | Center for Public Integrity
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NIXING NET NEUTRALITY WOULD PRODUCE MORE HEALTHCARE.GOVS
[SOURCE: Slate, AUTHOR: Marvin Ammori]
[Commentary] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is proposing to adopt an online discrimination rule that could hurt government technology in at least three ways:
irst, in a two-tiered Internet, sites in the slow lane will load slowly, buffer sporadically, and return errors. Wheeler has proposed letting cable giants “discriminate” so long as they offer sites a “minimum level of access.” The public knows that level as the “slow lane.”
Second, if there are slow, congested lanes, government sites will probably be in them.
Third, if governments do pay cable companies to avoid the slow lane, they simply transfer money from average citizens to cable companies . [Anmori is a Future Tense fellow at New America]
benton.org/headlines/nixing-net-neutrality-would-produce-more-healthcaregovs | Slate
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FIGHTING FOR ONLINE EQUALITY FOR LATINOS
[SOURCE: National Hispanic Media Coalition, AUTHOR: Alex Nogales]
[Commentary] Facing discrimination and unjust laws, for Latinos, the Internet has played a critical role in the movement for equality in this country. Battles were fought over an Internet with a level playing field that is now in jeopardy. Our ability to raise an equal voice online is under attack. Network neutrality rules will do a few things to protect the online rights of consumers:
Ban ISPs from blocking our access to lawful websites on the Internet;
Ban ISPs from adopting a paid prioritization system that would create fast lanes for the wealthy and slow lanes for the rest of us;
Protect Latinos, other people of color and low-income individuals who are more likely to use wireless connections to access the Internet, by enforcing these bans equally on wireless devices and wired broadband connections;
Prevent ISP discrimination before it happens, and not after the fact; and
Regulate ISPs as utilities by reclassifying broadband as a Title II service, the only sure way that the FCC can sustain legal challenges to its authority.
benton.org/headlines/fighting-online-equality-latinos | National Hispanic Media Coalition
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WIRELESS

NEW SMARTPHONE LAWS COULD MEAN HEADACHES FOR EMPLOYERS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Rachael King]
Companies that let employees use their smartphones at work will have to sort out the implications of two new policies. First, all smartphones sold in the state must come with a “kill switch” to remotely disable phones if they are lost or stolen. And employers need to reimburse employees who use personal cell phones for work-related calls.
benton.org/headlines/new-smartphone-laws-could-mean-headaches-employers | Wall Street Journal
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BUILDING OUR MOBILE LIFE
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Meredith Baker]
[Commentary] The infrastructure needed to support our mobile use needs to be modern and flexible, but does not get the focus it warrants in policy debates. The good news is the Federal Communications Commission is in a position to take critical steps to facilitate smarter and faster deployments.
First , the FCC should limit the ability of state and local authorities to delay the collocation and replacement of wireless infrastructure that have minimal impact on communities. Second, the FCC should permit the speedy deployment of temporary towers used to respond to local emergencies and newsworthy events and to assist local law enforcement. Third, the FCC should curtail unnecessary delays at the local level by imposing a 45-day limit on collocation approvals. After all, as Congress recognized, these wireless facilities already have received the necessary zoning approval, so why impose further impediments? Fourth, the small size and flexible placement of DAS and small cells warrant streamlining the environmental and historic review processes — including the adoption of certain exclusions — for deployment of these facilities.
[Baker is president and CEO of CTIA - The Wireless Association]
benton.org/headlines/building-our-mobile-life | Hill, The
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THE SMARTPHONE “KILL SWITCH,” EXPLAINED
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Hayley Tsukayama]
A kill switch allows a smartphone user to remotely wipe the contents of their phones and make them unusable in case they get stolen. So what could change about your phone if it gets a kill switch? Possibly not that much. In fact, many smartphone owners already have the capability. Between Apple and Samsung apps, at least 68 percent of US smartphones already have something akin to the "kill switch" capability. And that number is only expected to grow: Google and Microsoft have also announced plans to put these kinds of features in their Android and Windows Phone systems. Doing so would essentially offer the option to all smartphone buyers, regardless of what state laws require.
benton.org/headlines/smartphone-kill-switch-explained | Washington Post
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TELEVISION

BROADCASTERS: SENATE TV PLAN WOULD CRIPPLE EMERGENCY ALERTS, JOURNALISM
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Julian Hattem]
Broadcasters are warning that a Senate plan to change the way people pay for TV channels could have dire consequences for viewers. The 50 state broadcaster associations have prepared a letter to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Sen John Thune (R-SD), warning that their Local Choice plan will “destroy” the idea of giving consumers local content. That would make it harder for people to find out information about emergencies, get weather reports and watch local news, and would hurt diversity, the state organizations wrote. In their letter, the organizations wrote that they "oppose this proposal because of its likely devastating impacts on broadcast localism and the nation’s viewers."
benton.org/headlines/broadcasters-senate-tv-plan-would-cripple-emergency-alerts-journalism | Hill, The
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CABLE GROUP HITS AIRWAVES TO OVERHAUL TV
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Julian Hattem]
A coalition that includes major cable and satellite television companies is launching a national campaign in support of a Senate proposal to transform the way people watch TV. The American Television Alliance -- which includes companies including Verizon, DirecTV and Time Warner Cable, as well as consumer interest groups like Public Knowledge and the Parents Television Council -- has launched a radio and print ad campaign in more than a dozen states to back the plan from Sens Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and John Thune (R-SD). The proposal from the two leaders of the Senate Commerce Committee would dramatically change the way people get broadcast networks like NBC and ABC through their cable or satellite company. For the TV lobbying group, the senators’ “Local Choice” proposal, which would have consumers choose whether to purchase individual broadcast channels as part of their subscriptions, lays the groundwork for “the biggest viewer celebration ever.”
benton.org/headlines/cable-group-hits-airwaves-overhaul-tv | Hill, The
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How big telecom smothers city-run broadband

For more than a decade, AT&T, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and CenturyLink have spent millions of dollars to lobby state legislatures, influence state elections and buy research to try to stop the spread of public Internet services that often offer faster speeds at cheaper rates.

The companies have succeeded in getting laws passed in 20 states that ban or restrict municipalities from offering Internet to residents. Now the fight has gone national. The Federal Communications Commission is considering requests from Chattanooga (TN) and Wilson (NC) to pre-empt state laws that block municipalities from building or expanding broadband networks, hindering economic growth, the cities argue. If the FCC rules in favor of the cities, and the ruling survives any legal challenges, municipalities nationwide will be free to offer high-speed Internet to residents when they aren’t satisfied with the service provided by private telecommunications companies. To better understand the municipal broadband debate, the Center for Public Integrity traveled to two southern cities. Tullahoma (TN), which has a broadband network, and Fayetteville (NC), which doesn’t.

14 years ago, DOJ said letting one broadband company run half the country was a bad idea

In 2000, the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission approved the merger of AT&T and MediaOne.

You may not remember MediaOne, but back in 2000 it was one of the biggest Internet providers around. Comcast had initially planned to buy it before being outmaneuvered at the last minute by AT&T, which submitted a higher bid. A merger would've given AT&T control not only over MediaOne's operations, but also part ownership in Road Runner -- and together with its stake in Excite@Home, AT&T would've controlled an estimated 40 percent of the country's access to broadband. The Justice Department believed that if AT&T-MediaOne went through, AT&T's newfound position as a gatekeeper would let it dictate outcomes across a national market for broadband. While regulators have been wary of gatekeeping for decades, this marked the first time that the concept had been raised in the Internet industry, policy analysts say. What does this have to do with the Comcast merger? According to Netflix, Dish and others, regulators currently face a similar situation where you have two major Internet service providers who don't compete against each other in local markets, but whose combination would create an entity that would be similarly empowered to dictate outcomes across a range of other industries nationally.

The Netflix Case Against Comcast, in One Chart

We’ve already heard Netflix executives explain why they signed an Internet deal with Comcast, even though they say they didn’t want to: They say they had to pay Comcast for access to its broadband pipes because their video streams were suffering. But here’s a new version of the same argument: Netflix says it had to pay Comcast for access to its broadband pipes because Netflix was starting to lose customers.

“For many [Comcast] subscribers, the bitrate so poor that Netflix’s streaming video service became unusable,” Ken Florance, Netflix’s vice president of content delivery told the Federal Communications Commission. He noted that Comcast representatives eventually told subscribers to take their beef to Netflix. “Those customers complained to Netflix and some of them canceled their Netflix subscription on the spot, citing the unacceptable quality of Netflix’s video streams and Netflix’s inability to do anything to change the situation.” Florance doesn’t say how many customer his company lost. But he does include a chart that shows a huge spike in customer complaints last fall , at the same time Netflix said its streams were compromised. The subtext: Guess what happens if Comcast gets even more powerful?

With Internet outage, anger rises over proposed Time Warner-Comcast merger

A widespread Internet outage August 27 that affected Time Warner Cable has raised eyebrows as to whether the company's proposed merger with rival cable provider Comcast will be good for consumers. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) told the New York State Department of Public Service to look into the outage in conjunction with its review of the proposed merger.

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