October 2014

What Does the FCC’s Authority on Net Neutrality Really Mean?

As the Federal Communications Commission debates how to regulate Internet traffic, two areas of legal doctrine have surfaced as the commission’s potential authority to create and enforce open Internet rules -- Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 and Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. But while millions have advocated for the approach they think best applies, the nuances of Title II and Section 706 often can be difficult to understand. Government Technology has summarized the impact of both options to cut through the clutter and clarify how each approach may affect Internet use in the future.

How and why Facebook’s Internet.org wants to connect 5 billion more people

With only one-third of the world’s population using the internet, there’s still a majority of people that don’t have internet access today. Facebook is one of many company’s hoping to change that, having started its Internet.org initiative in 2013 for what it expects to be a ten or more year effort.

Why invest the time and resources to bring internet access to the remaining two-thirds of the planet? It benefits us all, not just those five billion people who would be first time web users says Facebook’s Director of Global Connectivity, Chris Weasler. He explained both the challenges and the benefits faced by Internet.org: “Our strategy looks a network coverage data and there are two main hurdles. First, around 85 percent of the world’s population already lives near a network connection, but they’re not all on the web. So awareness is a huge barrier because people who don’t use the internet don’t know the value of the internet. Second is affordability of services.”

Unraveling the Cable Bundle

[Commentary] Executives at media and cable companies have been resisting the idea of selling TV channels à la carte for years, saying it was not financially feasible. But that resistance is starting to give way to a more pragmatic approach that should benefit consumers.

Earlier this year, Netflix complained that some of its customers had a hard time watching its movies on their Internet connections from Comcast, Verizon and other companies. Those problems were resolved when Netflix agreed to pay the broadband companies to connect its system directly to their networks. That is why it is important that the Federal Communications Commission enact strong rules prohibiting broadband companies from blocking or interfering with Internet content. Regulators must also be careful not to allow the industry to become even less competitive as large companies like Comcast and AT&T seek to acquire smaller companies like Time Warner Cable and DirecTV.

US spectrum auction: cash, or carry on

The Federal Communication Commission has hired boutique company Greenhill & Co to gin up interest in an auction of the 600MHz spectrum band owned by local US broadcast television stations.

The FCC/Greenhill pitchbook puts the value of the spectrum at up to $45bn. Broadcasters, who can tender spectrum voluntarily, have shown limited enthusiasm thus far. Though the sector has wobbled in 2014, TV station companies have had a good run. The local advertising market has been excellent. The fees pay-TV providers pay for local broadcasts have rocketed as well. Executives must now weigh cashing in against continued operation in each of their markets. The scenarios on how the auction unfolds are mind-numbingly complex. But the indicative values, by single market and in aggregate, have served the FCC’s objective of getting TV stations’ attention. Private investors will seek to buy independent operators to then flip them. Wells Fargo says that listed station groups Sinclair and Nexstar, based on FCC numbers, have spectrum values worth half their enterprise values. Marketing documents can exaggerate final deal prices. But that is no excuse for station bosses to simply ignore them.

Americans Sick Of Gossip, Sports In News Coverage, Want More Substance

A new Harris survey finds that a large proportion of Americans are fed up with news coverage that skews toward the sensational, superficial, and sports-centric.

Harris found that 76% of US adults surveyed believe that celebrity gossip and scandal stories receive too much coverage, while 49% believe that entertainment news in general gets too much attention. Meanwhile, 44% believe that the news focuses too much on professional spectator sports, and 33% believe the same for politics and elections. Other topics receive too little attention, according to the Harris respondents, including humanitarian issues in the U.S., cited by 47%; education, also 47%; science, at 45%; government corruption and scandals, at 44%; corporate corruption and white collar crime, at 42%; global humanitarian issues, at 33%; and health, at 30%.

Silicon Valley spends big on lobbying

Spending on lobbying was up at many major Silicon Valley companies last quarter. Quarterly disclosure reports showed beefed up lobbying at many major firms, as the industry continues to grow its presence in Washington. Immigration, cybersecurity, surveillance reform and trade issues were all top for many companies.

Google spent a total of $3.94 million this quarter, a $600,000 boost from the same period in 2013.
Facebook spent more than $1 million more this quarter than the same period in 2013 -- $2.45 million compared to 2013’s $1.44 million.
Yahoo ticked up its spending from $630,000 a year ago this period to $730,000 this quarter.
Amazon bumped its K Street cash up to $1.18 million, a $400,000 increase from last year.
Microsoft actually bucked the trend, dropping $1.66 million this quarter compared to $2.23 million the same time last year.
Comcast padded K Street’s wallet by $4.23 million in the last three months, a $250,000 increase from last year, though actually a $220,000 drop from the second quarter.
AT&T spent $3.47 million, an $830,000 drop from last year. Its merger partner, DirecTV, spent $640,000, a slight increase from last year.

Social Media in a Time of Terrorism

[Commentary] In the debate about whether supporters of groups like Islamic State should be legally banned from social media, one argument runs that having material out in the open allows law enforcement to monitor Islamic radicals and those cheering on acts of terror. But online manifestations of terrorism can kill.

Facebook and Twitter users in places like Libya, Syria, Iraq and other countries with no rule of law are especially vulnerable. Social-media postings can lead to assassination, which is followed by online gloating and used to threaten other individuals. Much of the threatening online activity by Islamic State and other jihadists could be eliminated with common-sense measures, such as checking account names against lists of al Qaeda figures and designated terrorists. Online hosts could refuse to take accounts with Islamic State, or ISIS, and other names popular among terrorists and their supporters. Until steps like that are taken, we can expect to see brave men and women in Libya and elsewhere pay with their lives for using social media. [Marlowe is a visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute]

On TV, Hong Kong Openly Debates Democracy

After weeks of protests that have shaken Hong Kong’s 7.2 million people, residents thought they had seen it all. Then, on Oct 21, something even more extraordinary happened, on live television: a polite debate between earnest students wearing black “Freedom Now” T-shirts and top Hong Kong leaders over the future of democracy. Five student leaders, hair disheveled, took on the officials, who were old enough to be their parents, in the frank discourse. They spoke Cantonese, the prevailing local Chinese dialect, with simultaneous translations into English and sign language.

Government promotes UK’s fast rural broadband scheme

A £1.7 billion project to bring superfast internet to rural parts of the UK is set to be bolstered by a national advertising campaign as the government tries to encourage use of the heavily subsidised broadband network.

Ministers want to make sure people are aware of the plans to connect rural areas to high-speed broadband, which is a central aim of a digital strategy being led by Sajid Javid, the culture secretary. But the state-backed broadband scheme, being led by BT, has been criticised for focusing on supply of superfast networks rather than encouraging people to use internet services that are already available.

FCC ‘shouldn’t be hiding’ in Washington, Commissioner Pai says

Federal Communications Commission member Ajit Pai is criticizing the agency for staying in Washington instead of getting feedback from the rest of the country.

“I was disappointed when the FCC decided to hold each one of its recent net neutrality roundtable discussions at our Washington headquarters,” he said at the start of the forum hosted by the George Bush School of Government and Public Service. “And that’s why I wish that my colleagues were here with me today." He added, “On this issue and other critical issues, the FCC shouldn’t be hiding in our nation’s capital.”

Commissioner Pai hosted a forum in College Station (TX) to discuss possible new rules for Internet service providers and said that more of his fellow commissioners should follow his lead.

Benton

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