July 2015

INTERNET/BROADBAND

PROMOTING BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT HEARING
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Robbie McBeath]
The House Communications Subcommittee, in a hearing titled, "Promoting Broadband Infrastructure Investment", discussed ways to promote broadband infrastructure investment in an environment with ever-growing demand for fixed and mobile broadband access. “Broadband Internet access has become the communications and commerce tool of our time…It has literally changed the old rules for how we live our lives. Which begs the question: why are we using old rules to regulate new networks?” said Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR). “We hope that today’s hearing will start a discussion that reinvigorates a national debate on the best policies for continuing the model of private network investment that has made the United States a world leader in broadband.” In Ranking Member Anna Eshoo's (D-CA) opening statement for the hearing, she said that key ingredients are a "dig once" policy that includes laying broadband pipes during federal highway construction, better access to utility poles that reduce the cost for deployment, freeing up more unlicensed spectrum, and the Federal Communications Commission's preemption of state laws limiting municipal broadband buildouts. Witnesses included Jonathan Adelstein, President and CEO of PCIA; Craig Moffett, senior research analyst at Moffett Nathanson; Michael Slinger, Director of Google Fiber Cities; Deb Socia, Executive Director of NextCentury Cities; and the Honorable Stephen Roe Lewis, Governor of Gila River Indian Community, Arizona. [more at the url below]
benton.org/headlines/house-communications-subcommittee-hearing-promoting-broadband-infrastructure-investment | Benton Foundation | Broadcasting & Cable | Broadcasting & Cable | Fierce | The Hill | Google
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THERE'S MORE TO MUNICIPAL BROADBAND THAN PUBLIC FUNDING, SAYS REPORT
[SOURCE: IDG News Service, AUTHOR: Grant Gross]
US communities looking for faster broadband service than incumbent Internet service providers provide have alternatives to the increasingly controversial choice of seeking to publicly fund a network, according to a new handbook for city officials. Public funding of broadband is just one of several possibilities, according to “The Next Generation Connectivity Handbook: a Guide for Community Leaders Seeking Affordable Abundant Bandwidth,” released July 21 by Gig.U, a coalition of universities focused on building high-speed broadband networks, and the Benton Foundation, an advocacy group focused on media and telecommunication issues. Most city officials say that their local broadband networks aren’t good enough in the long term, according to the report, which advises that “the time to begin thinking about faster speeds, more competition and better service is now. Network upgrades do not happen overnight.” When Gig.U launched in 2011, “there was no map for communities that wanted to accelerate next-generation network deployment,” said Blair Levin, Gig.U’s executive director. The new guidelines aim to fill that gap. “Nearly every community we worked with saw public money as a last resort, when no other options for next generation networks were available,” Levin said. “But our group view was that the decision should be made by the local community.”
benton.org/headlines/theres-more-municipal-broadband-public-funding-says-report | IDG News Service
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PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CONNECTHOME PROGRAM SEEN TO BENEFIT ISPS AND LOW-INCOME RESIDENTS ALIKE
[SOURCE: Morning Consult, AUTHOR: Amir Nasr]
President Barack Obama’s push to expand Internet access among public housing residents may provide a boost not just to the intended beneficiaries, but to Internet service providers as well. ConnectHome aims to expand broadband Internet connection to more than 275,000 low-income households by providing high-speed access at reduced prices of $9.95 a month, and in some cases for free. The initiative will be funded by ISPs, who will partner with the government on a volunteer basis. And those companies stand to gain financially from their involvement, according to some industry experts. Doug Brake, a telecommunications policy analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington-based think tank focused on formulating and promoting innovative tech policies, said the downside for ISPs was minimal. “It’s in everybody’s interest -- the cost for them to add that additional user is pretty marginal,” Brake said. “This is 10 bucks of revenue they wouldn’t get anyways. So I think it could do well.” Sprint, CenturyLink, Google Fiber and Cox Communications will provide free or discounted Internet service, funded by their own capital, to low-income families in 27 US cities and the Choctaw Tribal Nation in Oklahoma as part of the pilot program. Some of the partnering ISPs said their costs will be small, especially for places where they already provide broadband connections.
benton.org/headlines/president-obamas-connecthome-program-seen-benefit-isps-and-low-income-residents-alike | Morning Consult
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SENATE REPUBLICANS PUSH RIDER TO LIMIT FCC'S NET NEUTRALITY RULES
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Mario Trujillo]
Senate Republicans are pushing a measure to bar the Federal Communications Commission from regulating broadband Internet rates under its network neutrality rules. While the FCC has vowed not to regulate rates under net neutrality, Republican Senators oppose the rules and are wary of expanding the FCC's powers. The measure is included as a policy rider in the Senate's Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill that was reported out of an Appropriations subcommittee on July 22. It doesn't go as far as a House provision that would outright block the FCC's net neutrality rules until court challenges are settled. Asked why the upper chamber isn't going as far as the House to restrict net neutrality, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Issues Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) noted that Commerce Committee Senators have been trying to hash out a compromise on the issue. He also noted that the GOP has a slimmer majority in the Senate than in the House. "We are really trying to work with our authorizing committee, and Commerce is trying to come up with a solution to this. And so what we are doing is deferring to them," he said. "It could be strengthened," he added. "Ultimately there will be some sort of a conference, if we have an omnibus or whatever, there's the opportunity to strengthen." The full Appropriations Committee will take up the bill July 23.
benton.org/headlines/senate-republicans-push-rider-limit-fccs-net-neutrality-rules | Hill, The
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OWNERSHIP

CHAIRMAN WHEELER'S AT&T/DIRECTV APPROVAL PLAN: ANY RURAL CONDITIONS?
[SOURCE: telecompetitor, AUTHOR: Joan Engebretson]
AT&T could be required to submit all of its interconnection agreements, along with regular network performance reports, to the Federal Communications Commission as a condition of FCC approval of the company’s plan to acquire DirecTV in a $48.5 billion deal announced in May 2014. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said he was circulating an order to his fellow commissioners that would approve the acquisition provided that AT&T agrees to that and other conditions. Proposed conditions include:
A commitment to bring fiber-to-the-home to more than three times as many metropolitan areas as previously announced
AT&T would not be allowed to exclude affiliated video services and content from data caps on its fixed broadband networks
A requirement for an independent officer to help ensure compliance with these and other proposed conditions
With Chairman Wheeler and two other Democrats having control of the five-commissioner FCC, there is a strong likelihood that the order will be adopted. The Department of Justice already has approved AT&T’s acquisition plans.
benton.org/headlines/chairman-wheelers-att-directv-approval-plan-any-rural-conditions | telecompetitor
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SECURITY/PRIVACY

SENS URGE OPT-IN REGIME FOR BROADBAND PRIVACY
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) was joined by seven other senators in a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler calling on the FCC to apply privacy protections to broadband, including an opt in regime for Internet service providers using and sharing broadband consumer information. The FCC has opened an inquiry into how to do just that given that its reclassification of ISP's under Title II shifts that broadband network privacy oversight responsibility from the Federal Trade Commission. The senators said they supported the FCC's decision to apply common carrier regulations protecting proprietary customer information. Sen Markey and company praised that effort. Also signing on to the letter were Sens Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Al Franken (D-MN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). The senators had some specific directions for the FCC's inquiry:

Adopt a comprehensive definition of “Customer Proprietary Network Information,” which should include data pertaining to consumers’ Internet usage, online activity, and broadband service payments.
Ensure transparency around data collection by Internet service providers (ISPs).
Require consumer consent before ISPs use and share consumer information.
Protect consumers’ information by requiring ISPs implement strong data security measures and notify consumers in the event of a breach.
Create a clear complaint process at both the FCC and ISPs for consumers who have evidence or reason to believe their privacy has been violated.

benton.org/headlines/sens-urge-opt-regime-broadband-privacy | Multichannel News
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

US STATES URGE PHONE CARRIERS TO PUT AN END TO ROBOCALLS
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Christie Smythe]
State law enforcement officials are urging US phone carriers to end one of the most complained-about consumer annoyances: the automated telemarketing call. A coalition of 45 state attorneys general sent a letter to AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile and CenturyLink asking them to put in place technology that would allow consumers to block so-called robocalls, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said. Companies earlier hesitated to implement a fix over concerns it may violate federal law, but the Federal Communications Commission in June made it clear there are “no legal barriers” to such a move. “Every year, our offices are flooded with consumer complaints pleading for a solution to stop intrusive robocalls,” attorneys general including Schneiderman, Tom Miller of Iowa and Connecticut’s George Jepsen said in the letter. “Your organizations are now poised to offer your customers the help they need.”
benton.org/headlines/us-states-urge-phone-carriers-put-end-robocalls | Bloomberg
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DIVERSITY

WHY AREN'T THERE MORE MINORITY JOURNALISTS?
[SOURCE: Columbia Journalism Review, AUTHOR: Alex Williams]
[Commentary] According to the 2014 American Society of News Editors (ASNE) census, the number of black newsroom employees has increased from “fewer than 5 percent” in 1968 to … 4.78 percent. So why aren’t there more minority journalists? A common sentiment is that there are not enough qualified candidates. In 2013, graduating minorities that specialized in print were 17 percent less likely to find a full-time job than non-minorities; minorities specializing in broadcasting were 17 percent less likely to find a full-time job; and minorities specializing in public relations were 25 percent less likely to find a full-time job. In contrast, minorities specializing in advertising were only 2 percent less likely to find a full-time job than their white counterparts. Overall, only 49 percent of minority graduates that specialized in print or broadcasting found a full-time job, compared to 66 percent of white graduates. These staggering job placement figures help explain the low number of minority journalists. The number of minorities graduating from journalism programs and applying for jobs doesn’t seem to be the problem after all. The problem is that these candidates are not being hired. There are likely three key factors that help explain this hiring discrepancy:
First, Nieman Reports has noted that minority students are less likely to serve on campus newspapers because they are more likely to attend colleges without the resources to support a newspaper or to feel ostracized by a mostly white newsroom.
Second, minority students are less likely to complete unpaid internships. As The Atlantic wrote in 2013: “Unpaid internships compound diversity concerns by reserving entry-level journalism positions to financially advantaged youth who can afford to work for free.”
Lastly, minority students often aren’t in the hiring networks that editors rely on to find job candidates.
Rather than approaching hiring with a one-size-fits-all mentality, newsrooms should try to interview a variety of candidates. If a job candidate is a solid, curious writer with drive and a good work ethic, they deserve consideration. By making this small adjustment, more minority candidates will get their foot in the door -- literally -- which could help address the decades-long criticism that newsrooms need more diversity.
[Alex T. Williams is a PhD student at the University of Pennsyvlania]
benton.org/headlines/why-arent-there-more-minority-journalists | Columbia Journalism Review
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LABOR

YOU ARE WORKING FOR FREE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Caitlin Dewey]
[Commentary] What do you call a multimillion-dollar, for-profit company that’s run in large part by unpaid or underpaid grunt laborers? A century ago, you might’ve dubbed it robber-barony or sharecropping — if not, you know, outright slavery. In 2015, though, we call it the social Web: a glorious dystopia where everybody works for likes — as in, “for free” — while a handful of tech tycoons profit. “Digital labor is like a meeting with free pizza and soda,” quips the new media scholar Trebor Scholz, “but the Stasi is listening in.” That may seem like a dramatic analogy — the Stasi were, after all, a Cold War-era secret police — but it goes pretty far toward explaining exactly how blurred the lines have become between things we used to consider distinct: things like pizza parties and espionage. Or playing and working. Uploading a selfie to Facebook, for instance, seems like something we do for fun. But Facebook, the very company that convinced us that online “sharing” was a natural facet of the human condition, uses that selfie to target ads and boost its profits.
benton.org/headlines/you-dont-know-it-youre-working-facebook-free | Washington Post
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

EU ANTITRUST CASE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: James Kanter]
The European Union’s top antitrust authority charged major American film studios and a television company in Britain with unfairly blocking access to movies and other content. The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, sent the charges, which are known as a statement of objections, to Sky UK and to six Hollywood film studios: Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures, Sony, 21st Century Fox and Warner Bros. The studios license movies to the pay-TV broadcaster under contracts that require Sky UK to block access for consumers outside the United Kingdom and Ireland, the regulator said. The commission, which opened the investigation in January 2014, said the limits were imposed by blocking access to the satellite pay-TV services from abroad and through a technique called geo-blocking, which prevents consumers from, for example, watching Disney movies on Sky on the iPad of a Londoner who is traveling to Rome. The practices prevented consumers who buy films, music or articles from Sky UK online from retrieving that content while traveling elsewhere in Europe, the commission said. The practices, in some cases, also stopped rival broadcasters from making their services available in Britain and Ireland, it said.
benton.org/headlines/eu-opens-antitrust-case-against-major-us-studios-and-sky-uk | New York Times | WSJ
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July 2015

Why cracking down on hackers would be bad for innovation

FCC Said Poised to Deny T-Mobile Help to Get More Airwaves

Comcast has finally become an Internet-first company

Why your Internet prices are bound to go up

Five years after Verizon abandoned FiOS build, Alexandria still seeking fiber

Getting the future of spectrum right

July 23, 2015 (Broadband Hearing Recap)

EU Opens Antitrust Case Against Major US Studios and Sky UK

You don’t know it, but you’re working for Facebook. For free.

Public Knowledge Sends Letter Against Senate Funding Bill Targeting the FCC