The Rural Utilities Service, an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, announces that it is accepting applications for fiscal year 2015 for the Rural Broadband Access Loans and Loan Guarantee program. In addition to announcing the application window, RUS announces the minimum and maximum amounts for broadband loans for FY 2015. Moreover, the Agency is concurrently publishing a proposed interim final rule that will revise the current Broadband Program regulations. Applications under this Notice of solicitation of applications will be accepted immediately, July 30, 2015 through September 30, 2015, subject to the requirements of the interim regulation published concurrently with this NOSA.
[Commentary] In March 2014, the Department of Commerce announced its intentions to relinquish oversight of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions. What was expected to be a quiet announcement of a government contract dissolving after many years has become a global policy debate over how the Internet is run.
The key to keeping the Internet free from capture by any one entity is to ensure that the IANA functions continue to be part of a depoliticized and decentralized system. This can only happen if we continue the to-date-successful strategy of viewing the management of the Internet – including the IANA functions – as a purely technical operation to be handled by engineers without political agendas. As we will explore at an upcoming event at the American Enterprise Institute, only if the technical aspects of the Internet are insulated from political pressures can we be confident that relinquishing oversight of the IANA functions will be a success.
[Shane Tews is the chief policy officer at 463 Communications, a firm that advises high-tech organizations on Internet policies]
Bill Levis has been appointed interim executive director of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates, Bob Nelson, NASUCA president announced on July 27, 2015. Levis succeeds Charlie Acquard who has stepped down after 19 years with the organization. Nicole Haslup will continue as deputy director.
Levis was Colorado Consumer Counsel for five years from 2009 through 2013. During that time, he represented residential, small business and agricultural consumers in energy and telecommunications proceedings before the state Public Utilities Commission. He also was a member of NASUCA’s executive committee and was the consumer advocate on the eight member Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service. Since retiring as Consumer Counsel, Levis has been a senior fellow with Silicon Flatirons at the University of Colorado law school and a volunteer lobbyist for AARP. He also is president of the board of directors of Rocky Mountain Health Care Services in Colorado Springs, CO as well as past president and a board member of the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado. Prior to becoming Consumer Counsel, Levis was director of public policy for MCI where for nearly 20 years he represented the company before public utilities commissions and legislatures in 20 states. He also served as an assistant attorney general with the Colorado Department of Law and was the Rocky Mountain regional attorney for the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights.
The National Hispanic Media Coalition is excited to announce additions to its Washington (DC) office, which will strengthen a team that gives voice to Latinos issues on media and telecommunications before decision makers on the Congressional level, at the Federal Communications Commission and at other federal agencies. The DC office focuses policies to eliminate hate speech in media, increase Latino media ownership, protect Net Neutrality and expand affordable broadband access, among other things. Andy Lomeli, a former NHMC Policy Fellow, will rejoin NHMC as its Policy Associate. Lomeli has worked in telecommunications policy for several years at both the federal and state levels. Most recently, he helped manage California LifeLine at the California Public Utilities Commission and worked in government affairs and public outreach at Public Knowledge in Washington, D.C.
After five years with NHMC and two years as Policy Director, Scurato has been promoted to Vice President of Policy. A graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, Scurato represented the public interest in media and telecommunications law issues at the Institute for Public Representation, one of Georgetown’s renowned legal clinics. Scurato will continue to lead NHMC’s legal and policy advocacy in D.C., as well as join upper management in steering the direction and strategic plans of NHMC.
Finally, NHMC’s current Google Policy Fellow, Daiquiri Ryan, will extend her tenure with NHMC. A rising second-year law student at The George Washington University Law School, Ryan has participated in the Student Bar Association’s Election and Student Affairs Committees, GW Street Law and the Hispanic Law Student Association. Daiquiri Ryan will continue working with NHMC as a Policy Fellow through the end of 2015.
[Commentary] Maybe I’m desperate for trustworthy news, and progress in that direction, but possibly good news surfaced recently, that I missed on first reading. First, yes, I’m very much, and only a news consumer, and want to respect the boundary between consumer and news professional. I just want news I can trust.
Several months ago I stumbled on the post about The Trust Project which is about standards for ethical conduct (trustworthiness) and other signals for “quality” news posts. The deal is that a news outlet could tag news articles with code indicating their code of ethics and related accountability, a way for them to commit to trustworthy behavior. Beyond that, an article could be tagged as original, or verified, or delivered via satire, or not original but with added value via interpretation, etc. That is, the Trust Project looks for standardized signals that both search engines and audiences can identify. (For example, a bio is present and tagged.) This way, the signals will be transparent to audiences to make decisions for themselves rather than just trust the algorithms. Big trust question: if a news org doesn’t declare trustworthiness, what are they telling us? How do we get trustworthy people who might call foul regarding a deceptive article, or a flat-out deceptive fake news site? Some hope comes from two efforts building networks to verify video and related material via social media, a form of citizen journalism. That might in itself be useful regarding fake nonprofits running scams.
[Craig Newmark is the founder of Craigslist]
[Commentary] My son Nick, a podcast aficionado, suggested recently that I’d enjoy a podcast called “StartUp,” which tells stories of companies that are just starting out. In its first season, the show’s host, Alex Blumberg, and his new business partner, Matt Lieber, train their microphones on their own company, Gimlet Media, which Blumberg, who is also the chief executive, hopes to turn into a podcast juggernaut. The second season, in which Blumberg is joined by a co-host, Lisa Chow, chronicles the highs and lows of a new dating app. Nick was right. Blumberg, a co-creator of NPR’s “Planet Money,” and Chow, formerly of NPR and WNYC, prove to be first-rate storytellers, hardly a surprise given their backgrounds. What was a surprise were the commercials spliced into each episode.
“StartUp’s” second season was sponsored by Ford Motor Company, the e-mail marketer MailChimp, and Personal Capital, a financial firm. But instead of running a traditional ad, the co-hosts crafted little stories, often conducting on-air interviews with a company official. As the Internet has eviscerated journalism’s traditional business model, news organizations have had to find new ways to generate revenue. The long sacrosanct barrier between the business side and the news side is falling. Many companies with the highest journalistic standards are adopting so-called native advertising techniques, which are meant to mimic the feel of the publication itself. (The New York Times’s native ads, called Paid Posts, do not mimic the paper.) I can’t help it: It does have the feel of a slippery slope. “The logical next step,” said Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at the Poynter Institute, “will be to set up an in-house studio that will produce ads for advertisers. And maybe ask the journalists to write the copy. I think the line is sliding.” Gimlet’s honorable intentions notwithstanding, I think he’s right.
The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) Board of Directors named Charles Benton the recipient of NATOA's 2015 Community Broadband Visionary Award to recognize Benton's lifetime of extraordinary support and advocacy for the development and proliferation of local community broadband systems.
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2015
AGENDA
House and Senate Nearing Recess
INTERNET/BROADBAND
37 million Americans don’t use the Web. Here’s why you should care.
Net Neutrality -- An Update
'First We Pray, Then We Organize' The Unlikely Coalition for Net Neutrality - HuffPo op-ed [links to web]
The danger of using history to guide modern Internet policy - AEI op-ed [links to web]
Tired of waiting for high-speed Internet? Ask your local government. [links to web]
Imagine life without Internet - Van Jones analysis
Some progress, some distance to go on multistakeholder Internet governance - Brookings analysis
Rep Shimkus: Senate must pass Internet domain bill [links to web]
Chattanooga Gigabit: EPB Looking at Next-Gen PON [links to web]
Why Can’t We Be Like South Korea? - Medium op-ed [links to web]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Recap: Wireless Broadband and the Future of Spectrum Policy
Tata finds 26 companies set to spend $1 billion on the Internet of things in 2015 [links to web]
Want to listen to radio on your phone? AT&T’s about to make it a lot easier. [links to web]
NCTA Defends Call for 'True' LTE-U Collaboration [links to web]
Sri Lanka ties with Google for Internet beamed from balloons [links to web]
TELECOM
100 Percent Overlap Public Notice - public notice
See also: Joint Statement of Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael O'Rielly on the Wireline Competition Bureau's Implementation of 100% Overlap Rule - press release [links to web]
CYBERSECURITY
The Senate's Cybersecurity Bill Is in Trouble [links to web]
The Future-Forward Cybersecurity Fix - op-ed [links to web]
The government is headed back to the drawing board over controversial cybersecurity export rules [links to web]
BROADCASTING/TELEVISION/RADIO
Netflix is accidentally inventing a new art form — not quite TV and not quite film - analysis [links to web]
RTDNA files comments with FCC over indecency fine - press release [links to web]
LPTVs Unconvinced by Chairman Wheeler [links to web]
NAB Says FCC Must Conduct Translator, LPTV Impact Study [links to web]
TELECOM
Verizon, CenturyLink say abandoning copper network is a "myth" [links to web]
CONTENT
AMC warns of increased programming costs if FCC enacts MVPD reform [links to web]
LABOR
The good, the bad and the ugly of the digital revolution’s destructive impact on jobs [links to web]
To Increase Diversity, Tech Firms Must First Rethink Their Strategy on Campus - op-ed [links to web]
Sheryl Sandberg says Facebook will publicly share its internal diversity training [links to web]
ACCESSIBILITY
Direct Video Calling Increases Access for Deaf Citizens - White House press release [links to web]
GOV COMMUNICATIONS/PERFORMANCE
Will digital Service Funding Survive Congressional Penny Pinching? [links to web]
Georgia sues legal rebel for posting state’s copyrighted law online [links to web]
New Features Added to Congress.gov Based On Your Feedback - press release [links to web]
FCC REFORM
Public Knowledge Joins Letter Opposing Act Limiting Independent Agencies - press release
MEDIA & ELECTIONS
Why Republican presidential campaigns will buy way more TV ads than Facebook ones [links to web]
JOURNALISM
Here’s today’s depressing chart about the state of journalism - analysis [links to web]
HEALTH
CBO Responds to Questions About Telemedicine - press release [links to web]
AGENDA
CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jennifer Steinhauer]
Congress will slide toward its August recess by doing what every high school student dreams of: putting off the hardest projects until later. In many ways, the last few months have been quite productive under Republican control, particularly when viewed through the lens of sheer expectations. Congress handed President Obama a major policy victory — the path to pursue a sweeping trade deal that officials are working out this week in Hawaii. A bipartisan coalition fought for, and achieved, broad revisions to the Patriot Act. The once seemingly essential appropriations bills now seem to matter less because Democrats in the Senate pledged to filibuster all of them anyway, preferring a new broad budget agreement. Instead, Congress is most likely to try to cobble together a short-term spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, to avoid a messy fight over how to pay for government services before Pope Francis arrives to address Congress. Some House Republicans are already threatening not to pass a spending bill in the fall if it has funding for Planned Parenthood. That will be followed quickly by a fight over the debt ceiling, which will be competing for attention with a potential fight over the Iran nuclear deal.
benton.org/headlines/house-and-senate-nearing-recess | New York Times
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
37 MILLION AMERICAN'S DON'T USE THE WEB. HERE'S WHY YOU SHOULD CARE.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
In 2000, nearly half of Americans didn't use the Web. Now that the figure stands at 15 percent. It's clear we've come a long way. But these remaining holdouts are likely to be the hardest to reach, because you can't just throw money at them. Of non-Internet users surveyed in 2013, just 19 percent cited the cost of Internet or owning a computer as an obstacle to adoption. Many more, 34 percent, said they didn't find the Internet relevant to them. Thirty-two percent said the Web was too difficult to use. Federal studies have shown that although 10 million disconnected Americans might be willing to get online at the right price, that still leaves some 27 million people for whom price is practically irrelevant to their decision to stay offline. "If you build it, they will come," goes the adage. But for these folks, simply building out the Internet isn't enough; convincing them that the Web could help them grow is crucial to getting them online. And it's not merely a matter of waiting for old fuddy-duddies who don't "get it" to die off: As the data show, older people have been among the quickest to adopt the Internet among the disconnected population. By contrast, there are real structural challenges (poverty and inequality) that are keeping younger, less socially mobile populations from becoming America's next great inventors or scientists or civil servants. And those people matter, too.
benton.org/headlines/37-million-americans-dont-use-web-heres-why-you-should-care | Washington Post
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NET NEUTRALITY -- AN UPDATE
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Andrew Jay Schwartzman]
[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission’s Network Neutrality rules became effective on June 12. Since then, contrary to the warnings of some opponents, the digital world has not stopped turning. On the other hand, while Net Neutrality supporters were jubilant, there has been little visible change for the good, either. That should not be surprising, since the most important impact of the new rules is in shaping future conduct. Even so, for those interested in preserving an open Internet, there are a number of developments worth noting.
https://www.benton.org/blog/net-neutrality-update
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IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT INTERNET
[SOURCE: CNN, AUTHOR: Van Jones]
[Commentary] The divide between Americans who have access and those left behind is too great. But this divide can be bridged with the Federal Communications Commission's recent proposal to expand the Lifeline program to include broadband. The Lifeline program was established in 1985 under President Ronald Reagan to help low-income Americans have access to affordable communications. Under President George W. Bush, the program was updated to include both wireline and wireless technology. It's time to bring it up to date again. The FCC is on the right track as it explores new ways to modernize the program. Research shows that broadband adoption in the home improves household income, leads to more employment opportunities and increases independence. And strong, thriving households lead to strong, thriving communities. Access to broadband also has implications for democracy. It lets people join conversations that directly impact their own communities. Increasingly, communities of color rely on broadband services to mobilize powerful movements and public voices on important issues such as immigration and the rights of low-wage workers. Groups such as Color of Change and Voto Latino come immediately to mind. Expanding the Lifeline program to include broadband would further elevate underrepresented voices and spur civic engagement. This is exactly what our country needs to help close the digital divide and ensure that everyone -- no matter who they are or where they live -- has a chance to improve their life and provide for their loved ones. The FCC gets this. We understood this under President Reagan's administration and President George W. Bush's administration. Now it's up to our current policymakers to back this up, too.
benton.org/headlines/imagine-life-without-internet | CNN
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SOME PROGRESS, SOME DISTANCE TO GO ON MULTISTAKEHOLDER INTERNET GOVERNANCE
[SOURCE: Brookings, AUTHOR: Jack Karsten, Darrell West]
Internet governance has received a great deal of attention from policymakers over the past year, and is bound to receive more attention in the coming months. In March 2014, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that it would hand over its oversight of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) contract to a multistakeholder body, setting off of a flurry of activity in preparation for the transition. Given the technical details and the number of potential stakeholders around the world, Internet governance can quickly become confusing for the uninitiated. Fortunately, Stuart N. Brotman has outlined the transition process in his most recent paper titled “Multistakeholder Internet governance: A pathway completed, the road ahead”. The multistakeholder model seeks to include participants from around the globe, but some countries remain skeptical of the approach. Russia and China would prefer greater involvement in Internet governance, a position that India also held until June 2015. In line with its transition plan, the U.S. and many of its allies have firmly opposed calls for government or multilateral control. However, deciding who to include among the many potential stakeholders could become a point of contention as the model develops. Brotman recognizes that not all stakeholders should have equal standing. After the transition occurs, the success of the new Internet governance approach should not be taken for granted. Brotman highlights the need for future assessments of the multistakeholder model to correct potential shortcomings. A non-hierarchical model may suffer from poor accountability if every stakeholder represents only their own interests. Inclusion of many voices may also come at the cost of efficiency if stakeholders cannot resolve issues in a timely manner. There will be many more details to smooth out leading up to the transition. According to Brotman, “Although the pathway toward multistakeholder Internet governance now seems well established, the contours of the road ahead largely remain undefined.”
benton.org/headlines/some-progress-some-distance-go-multistakeholder-internet-governance | Brookings | Brotman paper
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
SENATE WIRELESS BROADBAND HEARING
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
The Senate Commerce held a hearing, Wireless Broadband and the Future of Spectrum Policy, on Wednesday, July 29, 2015. The aim was to explore US spectrum policy and how it could be improved to accommodate consumers' growing demands for wireless broadband. A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing the federal government to free up more wireless airwaves. Among the ideas floated by lawmakers and witnesses were proposals to incentivize federal agencies to hand over their valuable spectrum to the private sector. That could include providing more money to federal agencies to help them move their operations to different bandwidths, freeing up airwaves. [more at the URL below]
benton.org/headlines/recap-wireless-broadband-and-future-spectrum-policy | Benton Foundation | Sen Nelson | The Hill | Multichannel News | Commissioner Rosenworcel | Meredith Atwell Baker | Blair Levin | Technology Policy Institute | Silicon Flatirons
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TELECOM
100 PERCENT OVERLAP
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau adopts the methodology used to determine rate-of-return carrier study areas subject to 100 percent overlap and publishes a preliminary list of such study areas using the adopted methodology. Pursuant to the FCC’s direction in the December 2014 Connect America Fund Order, the FCC seeks comment on this preliminary determination. Once the comment cycle is complete, the FCC will publish a final determination of the study areas subject to a 100 percent overlap. Pursuant to FCC rule, high-cost universal service support for the study areas on the final list will be frozen at the amount disbursed in the prior calendar year, and the phase-down in support will commence. Comments Due: August 28, 2015. Reply Comments Due: September 28, 2015. [WC Docket No. 10-90]
benton.org/headlines/100-percent-overlap-public-notice | Federal Communications Commission
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FCC REFORM
PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE JOINS LETTER OPPOSING ACT LIMITING INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Shiva Stella]
Public Knowledge joined more than 50 other consumer, small business, community, health, environmental and civil rights groups in a letter to the Senate’s Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee urging members to oppose the Independent Agency Regulatory Analysis Act of 2015. Public Knowledge opposes this act due to its potential consequences on independent agencies like the Federal Communications Commission. These effects could then be subject to presidential influence and new burdens that might reduce its ability to protect the public interest. Chris Lewis, Vice President of Government Affairs at Public Knowledge, said, "Public Knowledge today adds its voice to the long list of organizations concerned about the direction of this bill. In communications policy, we've spent the last eight months hearing net neutrality opponents falsely claim that net neutrality rules only happened because of undue influence by the administration on the FCC as an independent agency. Now many of the same folks are calling for the administration to direct the FCC in all its rulemakings. The FCC and other independent agencies were created by Congress with a broader public interest mandate beyond basic economic impact on companies. This bill threatens to tip the balance away from basic consumer protection and public interest rule making."
benton.org/headlines/public-knowledge-joins-letter-opposing-act-limiting-independent-agencies | Public Knowledge |
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Congress will slide toward its August recess by doing what every high school student dreams of: putting off the hardest projects until later.
In many ways, the last few months have been quite productive under Republican control, particularly when viewed through the lens of sheer expectations. Congress handed President Obama a major policy victory — the path to pursue a sweeping trade deal that officials are working out this week in Hawaii. A bipartisan coalition fought for, and achieved, broad revisions to the Patriot Act.
The once seemingly essential appropriations bills now seem to matter less because Democrats in the Senate pledged to filibuster all of them anyway, preferring a new broad budget agreement. Instead, Congress is most likely to try to cobble together a short-term spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, to avoid a messy fight over how to pay for government services before Pope Francis arrives to address Congress. Some House Republicans are already threatening not to pass a spending bill in the fall if it has funding for Planned Parenthood. That will be followed quickly by a fight over the debt ceiling, which will be competing for attention with a potential fight over the Iran nuclear deal.
The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau adopts the methodology used to determine rate-of-return carrier study areas subject to 100 percent overlap and publishes a preliminary list of such study areas using the adopted methodology.
Pursuant to the FCC’s direction in the December 2014 Connect America Fund Order, the FCC seeks comment on this preliminary determination. Once the comment cycle is complete, the FCC will publish a final determination of the study areas subject to a 100 percent overlap. Pursuant to FCC rule, high-cost universal service support for the study areas on the final list will be frozen at the amount disbursed in the prior calendar year, and the phase-down in support will commence.
Comments Due: August 28, 2015. Reply Comments Due: September 28, 2015.
[WC Docket No. 10-90]
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