1. Monthly archive
  2. October 2014

October 2014

Non-Profit RFP Seeks Construction of Rural Healthcare Fiber Networks

A non-profit organization representing healthcare and educational institutions is seeking contractors that can build wide area fiber networks for these institutions in rural areas lacking broadband connectivity.

The organization, known as the Michigan Collegiate Telecommunications Association (MiCTA), was founded in 1982 to negotiate group purchasing agreements with the local incumbent carrier on behalf of state universities in Michigan, but over the years its role has expanded to include healthcare and educational institutions nationwide, explained Eileen Peck, a consultant to MiCTA who was involved in writing the request for proposal (RFP) for fiber network construction. Contractors responding to the MiCTA RFP don’t have to work nationwide, Peck said. Instead the organization hopes to establish master services agreements with multiple contractors in different geographic regions. Based on those master agreements, individual MiCTA members will be able to establish more detailed agreements about specific projects.

As another flu season approaches, health tech will play an educational role

From 1976 to 2006, between 3,000 and 49,000 people died every year due to complications from the flu. No single effort to combat the flu has been as impactful as the development of flu vaccines, first developed shortly after the virus was first isolated in 1933. But in recent years, various tech approaches are aiming to fill the information gap, boosting efforts to better inform the public about the virus and its spread, as well as where to get immunized and how to get help if you’re sick. From personal apps to big data mining and real-time interactive maps of outbreaks, the effort to revolutionize the public’s understanding of influenza has been extremely tech-driven.

AT&T wants you to design your own Internet fast lane

AT&T is proposing that the Federal Communications Commission could ban Internet service providers from making decisions about which sites get "fast lane" treatment, but leave that option open for consumers.

"Leading net neutrality proponents already have distinguished between these scenarios, because even they recognize that user-driven prioritization can enhance consumer welfare and should be permissible," AT&T said in a FCC filing. AT&T is right that groups like Free Press and the Center for Democracy and Technology have expressed cautious support for user-created fast lanes even while opposing their creation by Internet providers. The catch is that, although AT&T isn't saying so directly, it and other Internet companies would likely still look to collect fees from websites whose content gets designated by users for fast-lane treatment.

Facebook speeds up Web in Indonesia

Facebook’s project to bring the Internet to rural and developing areas around the globe worked with wireless companies in Indonesia to speed up local mobile applications by up to 70 percent.

Over the last year, Facebook’s Internet.org project has been working with two companies -- Ericsson and XL Axiata -- to analyze and speed up people’s access to the Web via their smartphones, without building major new infrastructure. “The network-wide adjustments delivered up to 70 percent improvement in network performance from the user perspective,” Internet.org said. “Thanks to this research, we now have a replicable model for analyzing, measuring and improving network performance that can be applied to any mobile network,” it added. “This will help operators cost-effectively target network improvements to the areas that affect users most, which means greater utility for the two-thirds of the world not yet connected.”

EE, Vodafone and Three give police mobile call records at click of a mouse

Three of the UK’s four big mobile phone networks have made customers’ call records available at the click of a mouse to police forces through automated systems.

EE, Vodafone and Three operate automated systems that hand over customer data “like a cash machine”, as one phone company employee described it. Eric King, deputy director of Privacy International, a transparency watchdog, said: “If companies are providing communications data to law enforcement on automatic pilot, it’s as good as giving police direct access [to individual phone bills].” O2, by contrast, is the only major phone network requiring staff to review all police information requests, the company said.

October 13, 2014 (FCC Agenda; Tech Hiring)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2014 (Happy Columbus Day)

A look at coming events http://benton.org/calendar


FCC AGENDA
   FCC To Hold Open Commission Meeting Friday, October 17, 2014 - public notice
   FCC Seeks Comment on Issues Related to Digital LPTV Stations - public notice [links to web]
   FCC Suspends Expiration Dates For LPTV Stations - public notice [links to web]
   FCC Roundtable Roundup - analysis
   CPB funds will go toward helping public TV execs make spectrum decisions

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   BTOP Grantees Improve Broadband Adoption: Foundation for California Community Colleges and Connect Arkansas
   Competitive providers get creative in local permitting processes
   San Francisco seeks to speed up fiber Internet expansion
   Rep Barton Rips Waxman’s Net Neutrality Solution [links to web]
   Rep Eshoo: Don’t let Internet be ‘hijacked’ [links to web]
   Will Ads Become Next Network Neutrality Battle? - analysis
   Upcoming FCC decision will determine your Internet speed - Sue Wilson op-ed [links to web]
   A better way to govern the Internet - op-ed

PRIVACY/SECURITY
   Chairman Leahy demands Senate action on NSA reform [links to web]
   White House will push piecemeal cybersecurity bills [links to web]
   Smile! Marketing Firms Are Mining Your Selfies
   Silicon Valley fights to lift 'gag orders' [links to web]
   What’s All That Data Worth?

TELEVISION
   RIP to Saturday Morning Cartoons - analysis
   CPB funds will go toward helping public TV execs make spectrum decisions
   Nielsen Admits ‘Technical’ Screwup Has Impacted Network TV Ratings Since March [links to web]
   Verizon To FCC: Abolish Set-Top Rules [links to web]

ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
   Information You Need to Make Up Your Own Mind - op-ed
   Campaigns Find Ad Space Finite, Even on the Web [links to web]
   NRSC hikes TV ad buys in 6 states [links to web]

LABOR
   Tech jobs: Minorities have degrees, but don't get hired

OWNERSHIP
   Time Warner Cable Trades Reflect Concern in Comcast Deal - analysis
   What’s All That Data Worth?
   Cloud Computing Is Forcing a Reconsideration of Intellectual Property [links to web]
   21st Century Fox, Apollo Finalize Pact for TV Venture [links to web]
   Amazon and Its Missing Books [links to web]
   YouTube’s ads on unauthorised content pay off [links to web]

CHILDREN AND MEDIA
   RIP to Saturday Morning Cartoons - analysis
   Is E-Reading to Your Toddler Story Time, or Simply Screen Time? [links to web]

POLICYMAKERS
   FCC Seeks Nominations by November 7, 2014 for Membership on New Task Force on Optimal Public Safety Answering Point Architecture - public notice [links to web]

LOBBYING
   Internet Freedom Business Alliance gets first lobbyists [links to web]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Google Suffers New Privacy Setback in Japan

back to top

FCC AGENDA

OPEN MEETING AGENDA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on Friday, October 17, 2014. Here’s the agenda. The FCC will consider:
a Report and Order that takes critical steps to promote the deployment of wireless infrastructure necessary to provide the public with ubiquitous, advanced wireless broadband services.
a Notice of Inquiry to explore innovative developments in the use of spectrum above 24 GHz for mobile wireless services, and how the Commission can facilitate the development and deployment of those technologies.
a Second Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to address aggregate broadcaster-to-broadcaster interference and the methodology for predicting interference between broadcast and wireless operations in the same or adjacent channels in nearby markets during and following the Incentive Auction.
a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to comprehensively reform interstate and intrastate inmate calling services (ICS) to ensure just, reasonable and fair rates and charges for consumers as well as providers.
The FCC will also hear a presentation regarding an inquiry into a major 911 service outage that affected seven states in April 2014. The presentation will include findings from a report on the causes and effects of the outage as well as recommendations on actions the industry, the Commission and state governments can take to strengthen the reliability and resiliency of 911 services as the nation transitions to Next Generation 911.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-hold-open-commission-meeting-friday-october-17-2014 | Federal Communications Commission
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


FCC ROUNDTABLE ROUNDUP
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Brynne Henn]
Over the past month, the Federal Communication Commission has hosted panels to publicly discuss the various elements of network neutrality. The Chairman and Commissioners did not take them lightly; the FCC held over six different panels on four different days, totaling more than 24 hours of straight net neutrality talk. Chairman Tom Wheeler actively participated in all, either in person or through Twitter questions. While the panels remained inside DC, allowing very few to participate in person, all panels were streamed live and the public was asked to submit question either by email or Twitter. For those of you not able to enjoy 24 hours of discussion on policy approaches, enforcement ideas, economic aspects, and the legality of an open internet, here is a roundtable roundup of what I see as the two most important discussions.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-roundtable-roundup | Public Knowledge
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

INTERNET/BROADBAND

BTOP GRANTEES
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, AUTHOR: ]
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 appropriated $4.7 billion for the U. S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to establish Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) to increase broadband access and adoption; provide broadband access, training and support to schools, libraries, healthcare providers, and other organizations; improve broadband access to public safety agencies; and stimulate demand for broadband. The NTIA is required by law to provide quarterly reports to Congress on the status of BTOP. On October 3, NTIA released the 21st quarterly report which focuses on BTOP’s activities from January 1 to March 31, 2014. The report highlights two BTOP grantees: 1) Foundation for California Community Colleges (FCCC) and 2) Connect Arkansas. [more at the URL below]
benton.org/headlines/btop-grantees-improve-broadband-adoption-foundation-california-community-colleges-and | National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


LOCAL PERMITTING PROCESS
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Sean Buckley]
Every service provider, whether it be a traditional ILEC or a competitive provider, continues to find that the largest challenges lie in dealing with state and local government agencies and gaining utility rights-of-way along existing aerial poles. A group of competitive providers -- including FirstLight Fiber, Fibertech and FiberLight -- addressed these issues during a Comptel Plus trade show panel called "Fiber, Fiber Everywhere: The Intersection of Industry Government and Policy." One of the most common issues is dealing with the "make ready" process to gain access to utility poles. Timelines to get through the make ready process vary from 180 days up to a year, a major barrier that often holds up the buildout of network facilities.
benton.org/headlines/competitive-providers-get-creative-local-permitting-processes | Fierce
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


DIG ONCE PROPOSAL
[SOURCE: San Francisco Examiner, AUTHOR: Joshua Sabatini]
Falling behind other cities in providing Internet service, San Francisco is taking steps to ensure fiber optic installations occur concurrently with other road work. Under a dig-once proposal being voted on soon by the Board of Supervisors, the Department of Technology would be required in many cases to ensure conduits for a fiber network are installed simultaneously with road trenches dug for sewer or electrical work. The requirement would ensure The City is able to expand its existing fiber network, which is the backbone of wireless networks, and at a lower cost, officials say. The fiber optic network, for example, is currently being used for the free public Wi-Fi along Market Street, in public buildings like City Hall and for the 32 public spaces where service was launched recently.
benton.org/headlines/san-francisco-seeks-speed-fiber-internet-expansion | San Francisco Examiner
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


ADVERTISING AND NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Christopher Mims]
[Commentary] Executives at an Israeli tech startup believe that some wireless carriers around the world are prepared to use the company’s technology to open a new front against Internet firms. The fresh battleground? The billions of dollars in revenue generated by advertising on content and services delivered over wireless networks. Since the wireless infrastructure is owned by the carriers, Ron Porat and Roi Carthy of Shine Technologies say, the telecom companies want and deserve a cut. It’s an audacious idea. Some Web giants already pay Internet service providers such as Verizon and Comcast to deliver their traffic to end users faster, an arrangement called peering. To make this work, Internet companies pay by the amount of speed provided. Shine is offering wireless carriers something different: In the world made possible by Shine, one kind of content – advertising -- would be treated differently than other kinds of data. AdSight would allow wireless carriers to monitor what ads are being delivered through their networks, and from whom, all the way down to the level of individual ad impressions. The same technology would also allow the carriers to selectively block ads from any source on Web pages, in videos, even in apps.
benton.org/headlines/will-ads-become-next-network-neutrality-battle | Wall Street Journal
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


A BETTER WAY TO GOVERN THE INTERNET
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Thomas Lenard, Lawrence White]
[Commentary] Our research shows that many organizations that have coordination and standard-setting functions similar to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN) are governed by their direct users, who have a strong interest in the organization doing its job effectively. In the case of ICANN, those direct users would be the Registry companies that coordinate the generic top level domains (gTLDs); the Registrar companies that assign and register the second-level domain names that companies and organizations use (such as aol.com); and the Regional Internet Registries that are responsible for distributing the specific Internet protocol (IP) addresses that are necessary for the Internet to function. Representatives from these three groups of firms should constitute ICANN's board of directors -- or at least a majority of the board. These groups have a strong incentive and the ability to focus ICANN on the technical tasks of keeping the Internet running smoothly and apolitically and of addressing potential problems that affect the Domain Name System (DNS), such as trademark issues. Their interests are also aligned with the business and individual users of the DNS.
[Lenard is president and senior fellow at the Technology Policy Institute. White is a professor of economics at New York University's Stern School of Business]
benton.org/headlines/better-way-govern-internet | Hill, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

PRIVACY/SECURITY

DATA MINING YOUR PICTURES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Douglas MacMillan, Elizabeth Dwoskin]
Most users of popular photo-sharing sites like Instagram, Flickr and Pinterest know that anyone can view their vacation pictures if shared publicly. But they may be surprised to learn that a new crop of digital marketing companies are searching, scanning, storing and repurposing these images to draw insights for big-brand advertisers. Some companies, such as Ditto Labs Inc., use software to scan photos -- the image of someone holding a Coca-Cola can, for example -- to identify logos, whether the person in the image is smiling, and the scene’s context. The data allow marketers to send targeted ads or conduct market research.
benton.org/headlines/smile-marketing-firms-are-mining-your-selfies | Wall Street Journal
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

TELEVISION

STAURDAY MORNING CARTOONS
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Spencer Whitney]
[Commentary] As of Sept. 27, Vortexx (The CW), the last remaining Saturday cartoon block, aired for the final time. The cartoon block was replaced with a series of live-action educational shows called One Magnificent Morning. The move away from networks broadcasting cartoons began in the 90′s that were dealing with Federal Communications Commission regulations, decreasing viewership, and competition from cable programming.
benton.org/headlines/rip-saturday-morning-cartoons | San Francisco Chronicle
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


PUBLIC TV AND SPECTRUM DECISIONS
[SOURCE: Current, AUTHOR: Dru Sefton]
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will spend $3 million to give public television executives access to expert advice on the upcoming broadcast spectrum auction. The extremely high value of spectrum as appraised by an Oct. 1 Federal Communications Commission report, “Incentive Auction Opportunities for Broadcasters,” created a “considerable amount of confusion” among managers, said CPB’s Michael Levy. Previous estimates had been much lower. CPB now believes, based on conversations with general managers after the report was released, that “perhaps as many as 50 to 60” of those executives now feel compelled to “revisit their thinking” about whether to participate in the auction, Levy said. Stations may need additional time with attorneys, or expert assistance to determine “the realistic value of spectrum in the market they serve,” Levy said. They may need help developing strategies for auction bids or channel sharing, or technical assistance with a UHF/VHF swap. CPB is still working out details of how the $3 million will be allocated, Levy said. The corporation is talking to stations to better understand specific needs, and it’s speaking with “a number of firms to get their suggestions for how they best can help,” he said.
benton.org/headlines/cpb-funds-will-go-toward-helping-public-tv-execs-make-spectrum-decisions | Current
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

ELECTIONS AND MEDIA

INFO YOU NEED
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Meredith McGehee]
[Commentary] Want to know who is attempting to influence your vote? As things stand now, the burden is on you to figure out who is funding the ads inundating your television and attempting to influence your vote, despite long-standing laws and regulations that clearly state that broadcasters have an obligation to ascertain the "true sponsor" of the ads they run on those airwaves. Just recently the Media Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission gave them a pass. They ruled that the burden of accurately determining who is sponsoring a political advertisement rests on the viewing public, not the broadcasters, and that viewers must present "credible, unrefuted evidence" to the broadcasters that the entity identified on air as responsible for an ad is not in fact the "true sponsor." That is why the Campaign Legal Center joined with the Sunlight Foundation and Common Cause to urge the FCC Commissioners to overrule their own bureau and instead to pursue our complaints against two broadcast stations.
[McGehee is the Policy Director at the Campaign Legal Center]
benton.org/headlines/information-you-need-make-your-own-mind | Huffington Post
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

LABOR

MINORITY HIRING
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Elizabeth Weise and Jessica Guynn]
Top universities turn out black and Hispanic computer science and computer engineering graduates at twice the rate that leading technology companies hire them. Technology companies blame the pool of job applicants for the severe shortage of blacks and Hispanics in Silicon Valley. But these findings show that claim "does not hold water," said Darrick Hamilton, professor of economics and urban policy at The New School in New York. On average, just 2% of technology workers at seven Silicon Valley companies that have released staffing numbers are black; 3% are Hispanic. But last year, 4.5% of all new recipients of bachelor's degrees in computer science or computer engineering from prestigious research universities were African American, and 6.5% were Hispanic, according to data from the Computing Research Association.
benton.org/headlines/tech-jobs-minorities-have-degrees-dont-get-hired | USAToday
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

OWNERSHIP

COMCAST/TWC CONCERNS
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Todd Shields, David McLaughlin]
Trading in Time Warner Cable stock reflects concern that regulatory approval of Comcast’s acquisition won’t be as quick or clean as anticipated. The difference between Time Warner Cable’s stock price and what Comcast promises to pay shareholders when the deal closes has more than doubled since April, reaching its widest point of 7.75 percent on Sept. 30. A decision by regulators to extend a review of the deal and opposition by large companies such as Netflix and Discovery Communications have fueled the pullback. What traders are on alert for is how far the US government will push in seeking concessions in return for allowing a merger. There was a sense early on that Comcast’s lobbying and ties to the Obama Administration meant serene passage, said Christopher Pultz, head of merger arbitrage for Kellner Capital. “This was just going to get waved through,” Pultz said. “All of a sudden people realize maybe there’s a little more risk in this than people thought.”
benton.org/headlines/time-warner-cable-trades-reflect-concern-comcast-deal | Bloomberg
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top


WHAT’S ALL THAT DATA WORTH?
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Vipal Monga]
What groceries you buy, what Facebook posts you “like” and how you use GPS in your car: Companies are building their entire businesses around the collection and sale of such data. The problem is that no one really knows what all that information is worth. Data isn’t a physical asset like a factory or cash, and there aren’t any official guidelines for assessing its value. As more companies traffic in information and use big-data analytic tools to find ways to generate revenue, the lack of standards for valuing data leaves a widening gap in our understanding of the modern business world.
benton.org/headlines/whats-all-data-worth | Wall Street Journal
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

STORIES FROM ABROAD

GOOGLE IN JAPEN
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Megumi Fujikawa]
Google has suffered another setback on privacy issues, this time in Japan. The Tokyo District Court issued an injunction, ordering Google to remove some Internet search results about a Japanese man that are considered to be violating his privacy, representatives from both sides said. Though the Tokyo court order has far less sweeping implications than the precedent-setting ruling by the European Court of Justice, it touches on similar issues. The court ordered Google to delete about 120 of 230 search results that lead to articles hinting that the man was involved in criminal activity in the past, the lawyer’s office said. The plaintiff requested an injunction in June from the Tokyo court as he felt his life was endangered by the results that came up when his name was entered in a Google search, it said.
benton.org/headlines/google-suffers-new-privacy-setback-japan | Wall Street Journal
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top

Tech jobs: Minorities have degrees, but don't get hired

Top universities turn out black and Hispanic computer science and computer engineering graduates at twice the rate that leading technology companies hire them.

Technology companies blame the pool of job applicants for the severe shortage of blacks and Hispanics in Silicon Valley. But these findings show that claim "does not hold water," said Darrick Hamilton, professor of economics and urban policy at The New School in New York. On average, just 2% of technology workers at seven Silicon Valley companies that have released staffing numbers are black; 3% are Hispanic. But last year, 4.5% of all new recipients of bachelor's degrees in computer science or computer engineering from prestigious research universities were African American, and 6.5% were Hispanic, according to data from the Computing Research Association.

Will Ads Become Next Network Neutrality Battle?

[Commentary] Executives at an Israeli tech startup believe that some wireless carriers around the world are prepared to use the company’s technology to open a new front against Internet firms.

The fresh battleground? The billions of dollars in revenue generated by advertising on content and services delivered over wireless networks. Since the wireless infrastructure is owned by the carriers, Ron Porat and Roi Carthy of Shine Technologies say, the telecom companies want and deserve a cut. It’s an audacious idea. Some Web giants already pay Internet service providers such as Verizon and Comcast to deliver their traffic to end users faster, an arrangement called peering. To make this work, Internet companies pay by the amount of speed provided. Shine is offering wireless carriers something different: In the world made possible by Shine, one kind of content – advertising -- would be treated differently than other kinds of data. AdSight would allow wireless carriers to monitor what ads are being delivered through their networks, and from whom, all the way down to the level of individual ad impressions. The same technology would also allow the carriers to selectively block ads from any source on Web pages, in videos, even in apps.

Upcoming FCC decision will determine your Internet speed

[Commentary] You’re enjoying your weekend java, wanting to learn what happened at last week’s school board meeting. Your local newspaper doesn’t cover that beat, but a local blogger does a good job, so you try to pull his site up on your laptop. Meanwhile, your 5-year-old opens up “Sesame Street” on her iPad, and on his, your teenage son is bringing up “Spider-Man” on Netflix. You instantly hear the sounds of “Spider-Man,” but your daughter is getting impatient, as her show hasn’t yet appeared. In another minute, the “Sesame Street” theme song finally plays, but your school board blog still isn’t up. You get another cup of coffee and wait. And wait. And wait. Finally, the site fills your screen. This is what the Internet will look like if the Federal Communications Commission does not pass strict “Net neutrality” rules.

[Wilson is founder of the Media Action Center]

A better way to govern the Internet

[Commentary] Our research shows that many organizations that have coordination and standard-setting functions similar to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN) are governed by their direct users, who have a strong interest in the organization doing its job effectively.

In the case of ICANN, those direct users would be the Registry companies that coordinate the generic top level domains (gTLDs); the Registrar companies that assign and register the second-level domain names that companies and organizations use (such as aol.com); and the Regional Internet Registries that are responsible for distributing the specific Internet protocol (IP) addresses that are necessary for the Internet to function. Representatives from these three groups of firms should constitute ICANN's board of directors -- or at least a majority of the board. These groups have a strong incentive and the ability to focus ICANN on the technical tasks of keeping the Internet running smoothly and apolitically and of addressing potential problems that affect the Domain Name System (DNS), such as trademark issues. Their interests are also aligned with the business and individual users of the DNS.

[Lenard is president and senior fellow at the Technology Policy Institute. White is a professor of economics at New York University's Stern School of Business]

© 1994-2026 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.