October 2014

White House will push piecemeal cybersecurity bills

In an effort to push cybersecurity legislation through Congress, the Obama Administration has given up trying to pass one big bill and is opting to break up the legislation into bite-size chunks that lawmakers are more likely to approve, said White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Michael Daniel.

"I think it's easier to get smaller pieces through rather than one big cybersecurity bill," said Coordinator Daniel. He said the administration will now focus on "getting whatever we can passed" using whatever legislative vehicle is available. He also acknowledged it will be difficult to make that happen this year, meaning the issue will likely be passed to the new Congress in January.

Chairman Leahy demands Senate action on NSA reform

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the author of a Senate bill to rein in the National Security Agency, is forcefully demanding that his legislation get a floor vote, when lawmakers return to Washington next month.

“When the Senate returns next month, it must swiftly take up and pass the USA Freedom Act,” Chairman Leahy said. “There is no excuse for inaction, as the important reforms in this bipartisan bill are strongly supported by the technology industry, the privacy and civil liberties community, and national security professionals in the intelligence community,” he added.

Internet Freedom Business Alliance gets first lobbyists

The Internet Freedom Business Alliance has hired the Jochum Shore & Trossevin PC law firm, according to federal disclosure documents.

The firm’s team includes a number of former Capitol Hill and Commerce Department staffers. According to the federal filing, the lobbyists will be focused on “advocacy for rules and legislation that preserve net neutrality,” the notion that Internet service companies should not be able to slow or block people’s access to particular websites.

Smile! Marketing Firms Are Mining Your Selfies

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.

Rep Barton Rips Waxman’s Net Neutrality Solution

Appearing on C-SPAN's Communicators, Rep Joe Barton (R-TX) had a succinct reaction to the proposal of Rep Henry Waxman (D-CA) that suggests the Federal Communications Commission use a hybrid Sec. 706/Title II approach to regulation when it restores network neutrality rules: "He's wrong."

He called Title II "old law" from the 1930s that some are trying to apply to 21st century networks. Rep Barton says the best governor of allocation and usage issues is a free market with appropriate oversight by the federal government and, "in some cases," state and local governments. He said for Rep Waxman or the FCC to try and use the hundred-year-old common carrier law to regulate the Internet was "flat out wrong." Rep Barton said Congress could override the FCC if it decides to go the Title II route, but suggested that would be a high hill to climb. "With President Obama and a Democratic majority in the Senate, it would be difficult to do, but not impossible," he said.

Verizon To FCC: Abolish Set-Top Rules

Verizon Communications is taking advantage of a petition by TiVo to urge the Federal Communications Commission to “seize this opportunity” to waive all technology mandates tied to set-tops and other navigation devices that are distributed by multichannel programming distributors (MVPDs).

Verizon’s comments are in response to TiVo’s request for a waiver or a clarification on rules that it use a standardized home networking interface on products supplied wholesale to pay-TV providers. Verizon, in comments filed October 6, argued that TiVo’s petition shows that not even companies that were supposed to benefit from the FCC’s mandates “want to abide by all of them,” and offers further proof that CE technology “is fast outpacing the Commission’s regulations.”

Competitive providers get creative in local permitting processes

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.

San Francisco seeks to speed up fiber Internet expansion

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.

Nielsen Admits ‘Technical’ Screwup Has Impacted Network TV Ratings Since March

Nielsen has admitted to recently discovering a “technical error” that has impacted national network television ratings over the past several months. It made the find after investigating “recent ratings irregularities.” The error dates back to March 2, 2014, and was “generally imperceptible” before fall premiere week. In the “vast majority” of cases, the impact was minimal, in Nielsen's words. In some cases, however, it was “more significant.” The mistake does not affect cable and local TV ratings.

BTOP Grantees Improve Broadband Adoption: Foundation for California Community Colleges and Connect Arkansas

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. In 2009 and 2010, NTIA invested approximately $4 billion in 233 BTOP projects and $239 million in 56 State Broadband Initiative (SBI) projects benefiting every state, as well as five territories and the District of Columbia. As of March 31, 2014, 82 projects remained in active status, and 198 projects had completed their project activities.

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.

The FCCC project showcases many of the ingredients necessary to improve broadband adoption. FCCC used BTOP funding to provide training in digital literacy, work force development, and lifelong learning, resulting in decreased dropout rates, 9,000 household broadband subscribers, and students earning more than 1,100 certifications in Microsoft Office programs. FCCC, a nonprofit that works with two-year colleges throughout California, provided computer training, laptops, and wireless cards for low-income and minority students enrolled in the Math, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) program. Each participating student was required to teach a computer skill, such as how to send emails or use Skype, to at least seven people from his or her home community. Students used their laptops to apply for jobs, internships, and admission to four-year colleges. Results show that the programming helped boost student retention rates. For example, East Los Angeles College (ELAC) measured only a 12 percent dropout rate among its MESA students, compared to an 80 percent dropout rate among the entire student population. In early 2014, NTIA published the full evaluation report on the FCCC project.

Connect Arkansas offers another prime example of a project using multiple tools to expand broadband adoption in targeted communities. It used BTOP funding to offer classes in 144 high schools and train more than 6,000 people, including 2,000 students and 4,000 healthcare professionals. Connect Arkansas seeks to be a catalyst for success in communities by providing the necessary tools to create equal opportunities for all Arkansans regardless of socioeconomic distinction. The project performed outreach in high-schools to connect with low-income families, providing free computers and training to more than 1,000 students, along with their parents or guardians. The students used those computers for homework, job searches, and college applications. Connect Arkansas originally proposed to train 2,600 people, but it eventually trained more than 6,100. In collaboration with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the project provided a broadband-based health awareness campaign and hands-on training to more than 4,000 healthcare professionals. The project also offered classes in 144 high schools that taught 2,108 students how to leverage the Internet to support entrepreneurial activities. For example, one student obtained the funding necessary to launch a bamboo fiber t-shirt company using a crowdsourcing website. NTIA recently published the full evaluation report on Connect Arkansas’s project.

Additional BTOP materials are available online, including prior quarterly reports, press releases, Congressional testimony, information on grants awarded, and quarterly performance progress reports for each funded project. The next quarterly report to Congress will cover April 1 to June 30, 2014.

Benton

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