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July 2015

July 3, 2015 (Happy 4th of July)

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

Headlines will return on TUESDAY, July 7

INTERNET/BROADBAND
   Open Internet Advisory Opinion Procedures - public notice
   American Registry for Internet Numbers Runs Out of IPv4 Addresses
   With FCC Regulating Privacy, Internet Industry Braces for What’s Next [links to web]

BROADCASTING/TELEVISION
   With eye on growing clout of Latinos, Univision files for IPO
   FCC Seeks Comment on the Status of Competition in the Market for the Delivery of Video Programming [links to web]

CONTENT
   SlingTV, Yahoo NFL Streaming, and What Online Video Means for Sports Fans - Public Knowledge [links to web]
   Multicultural Viewers Streaming to Digital [links to web]

WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
   Internet of Things Momentum Is Starting to Build - Revere Digital op-ed [links to web]
   The Uncarrier’s Unmitigated Gall - Verizon press release [links to web]

TELECOM
   What Happens When Your Phone Network Fails? - Public Knowledge [links to web]

EDUCATION
   'Homework Gap,' Privacy, and Budget Cuts Top Agenda of Ed-Tech Advocates

LABOR
   Salon’s Editorial Staff Plans to Unionize [links to web]

ADVERTISING
   21 Years After AT&T Showed Us Their Vision of the Future, How Right Were They? - Medium op-ed [links to web]

JOURNALISM
   Newsonomics: On end games and end times - analysis [links to web]

STORIES FROM ABROAD
   Jitters in Tech World Over New Chinese Security Law
   US vs. EU: Who’s got stricter net neutrality rules? - AEI op-ed [links to web]

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INTERNET/BROADBAND

OPEN INTERNET ADVISORY OPINION PROCEDURES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Public Notice]
The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau provides information about Open Internet advisory opinions and the process for submitting a request for an opinion. Advisory opinions are a tool available to companies that are concerned about whether a potential activity or new business practice they are considering will comply with the Open Internet rules. Companies may request an advisory opinion from the Bureau regarding such proposed conduct. The opinions will provide guidance about how the Bureau will evaluate the conduct and the factors that will be considered in determining whether the conduct would be consistent with the Open Internet rules. Specifically, parties may request advisory opinions regarding conduct that potentially could implicate the existing Open Internet rules or any rules or policies related to the Open Internet that may be adopted in the future. Questions addressed:

  • What is the purpose of advisory opinions?
  • Who can request an advisory opinion?
  • Am I required to request an advisory opinion? Are there any consequences if I don’t? [Spoiler alert: No]
  • What are proper subjects for advisory opinions?
  • How do I request an advisory opinion?
  • What information will I need to include with my request?
  • Will the Enforcement Bureau respond to every request for an advisory opinion?
  • What will happen after I submit my request for an advisory opinion?
  • How long will it take for the Enforcement Bureau to issue an advisory opinion?
  • Are advisory opinions binding? Can I rely on the findings of an advisory opinion?
  • Will advisory opinions and requests be public?
  • Can I withdraw my request for an advisory opinion?
  • Do any other government agencies issue advisory opinions?
  • Where can I find the Commission’s rules governing advisory opinions?
  • Where can I find more information about Open Internet advisory opinions?

benton.org/headlines/open-internet-advisory-opinion-procedures | Federal Communications Commission
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ARIN RUNS OUT OF NUMBERS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Fung]
The American Registry for Internet Numbers, the North American organization responsible for handing out new IP addresses, says its banks have run dry. ARIN has had to turn down a request for the unique numbers that we assign to each and every smartphone, tablet and PC so they can talk to the Internet. For the first time, ARIN didn't have enough IP addresses left in its stock to satisfy an entire order — and now, it's activated the end-times protocol that will see the few remaining addresses out into the night. If you haven't already guessed, we have a backup system in place so that Xboxes and Playstations of the future can continue to get online. Internet engineers have actually been anticipating this day for decades. The solution is known as IPv6, short for "version 6." It's an upgrade of the old IP numbering system, known as IPv4. While it won't replace the old system, it's considered the future of the Internet. It has to be, by necessity. At ARIN, large requests for IPv4 addresses will now be subject to rationing or waitlisting.
benton.org/headlines/american-registry-internet-numbers-runs-out-ipv4-addresses | Washington Post | ars technica
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BROADCASTING/TELEVISION

UNIVISION FILES FOR IPO
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Ryan Faughnder, Yvonne Villarreal]
Univision, the largest Spanish-language broadcaster in the US, is going public. The New York media titan filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission without disclosing the number of shares it would offer or the price range. But analysts believe Univision could be valued at up to $20 billion in its market debut.The move comes at a time when the Spanish-speaking audience remains one of the nation's fastest-growing demographics, and has proved to be an increasingly vital group for advertisers. A recent report by Spain-based nonprofit Instituto Cervantes said that the US now has more Spanish speakers than any country other than Mexico. The Hispanic US population is expected to reach 77 million by 2030 and account for more than a fifth of the nation's population, up 35 percent from 2014, according to a Univision regulatory filing released July 2. The demographic represents $1.3 trillion in buying power, a number expected to grow 30 percent by 2019. The Hispanic market also skews younger, with 60 percent of it in the 34-and-under group favored by advertisers. Univision, whose networks reach 49 million people each month, has long been expected to tap the public markets to help pay down a heavy debt load the company projects to be about $10 billion.
benton.org/headlines/eye-growing-clout-latinos-univision-files-ipo | Los Angeles Times
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EDUCATION

'HOMEWORK GAP,' PRIVACY, AND BUDGET CUTS TOP AGENDA OF ED-TECH ADVOCATES
[SOURCE: Education Week, AUTHOR: Benjamin Herold]
Fresh off a major victory in overhauling and expanding the federal E-rate program, proponents of educational technology are turning their attention to a trio of policy issues they say could threaten the spread of personalized digital learning. Chief among them: expanding out-of-school access to high-speed broadband. "The 'homework gap' is the cruelest part of our new digital divide," said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel of the Federal Communications Commission, speaking at the annual conference of the International Society for Technology in Education. Commissioner Rosenworcel cited research suggesting that 70 percent of teachers assign homework requiring online access, even though one-third of households do not subscribe to broadband. Other concerns include a slew of federal and state bills related to student-data privacy, as well as a potentially significant reduction in ed-tech-related funding that could result from negotiations over the federal budget and reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. "I think we're looking at a real fight come September," said Jon Bernstein, an ISTE lobbyist who spoke along with Commissioner Rosenworcel at the conference. The ed-tech community has reason for hope, however. Advocacy groups played a big role in the successful effort to increase by $1.5 billion the annual cap on the federal E-rate program, which helps subsidize telecommunications services and broadband for schools and libraries. Now, Commissioner Rosenworcel said, the challenge is to move from improved connectivity in schools to expanded access at home.
benton.org/headlines/homework-gap-privacy-and-budget-cuts-top-agenda-ed-tech-advocates | Education Week
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

JITTERS IN CHINA
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Paul Mozur]
When a draft of China’s new national security law was made public in May, critics argued that it was too broad and left much open to interpretation. In the final form of the law, Beijing got more specific, but in a way that is sending ripples through the global technology industry. New language in the rules calls for a “national security review” of the technology industry — including networking and other products and services — and foreign investment. The law also calls for technology that supports crucial sectors to be “secure and controllable,” a catchphrase that multinationals and industry groups say could be used to force companies to build so-called back doors — which allow third-party access to systems — provide encryption keys or even hand over source code. As with many Chinese laws, the language is vague enough to make it unclear how the law will be enforced, but it suggests a new front in the wider clash between China and the United States over online security and technology policy.
benton.org/headlines/jitters-tech-world-over-new-chinese-security-law | New York Times
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With eye on growing clout of Latinos, Univision files for IPO

Univision, the largest Spanish-language broadcaster in the US, is going public. The New York media titan filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission without disclosing the number of shares it would offer or the price range. But analysts believe Univision could be valued at up to $20 billion in its market debut.The move comes at a time when the Spanish-speaking audience remains one of the nation's fastest-growing demographics, and has proved to be an increasingly vital group for advertisers.

A recent report by Spain-based nonprofit Instituto Cervantes said that the US now has more Spanish speakers than any country other than Mexico. The Hispanic US population is expected to reach 77 million by 2030 and account for more than a fifth of the nation's population, up 35 percent from 2014, according to a Univision regulatory filing released July 2. The demographic represents $1.3 trillion in buying power, a number expected to grow 30 percent by 2019. The Hispanic market also skews younger, with 60 percent of it in the 34-and-under group favored by advertisers. Univision, whose networks reach 49 million people each month, has long been expected to tap the public markets to help pay down a heavy debt load the company projects to be about $10 billion.

Multicultural Viewers Streaming to Digital

Multicultural viewers have always been cable’s most loyal customers, even in the midst of the growing popularity of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. A new Horowitz Associates report, however, shows that urban multicultural viewers are quickly migrating to digital platforms to consume video content.

Horowitz’s “State of Cable & Digital Media: Multicultural Edition 2015” reports that 51 percent of Hispanic viewers, 46 percent of Asian viewers and 45 percent of black viewers spend more than 20 percent of their total TV viewing time watching OTT services, compared with only 39 percent of white viewers. Plus, more than 88 percent of urban multicultural TV viewers have the ability to stream video content to a computer, mobile device or directly to a TV. “Multicultural consumers have always paved the way for new technology, especially when it comes to television and entertainment,” Adriana Waterston, Horowitz’s senior vice president of Insights & Strategy, said. The report comes as a recent Nielsen Total Audience Report showed that traditional TV viewing is down among multicultural viewers. For example, while African-Americans continue to watch far more broadcast and cable TV than any other group, monthly viewership among African-Americans was down by 12 hours in the first quarter compared with Q1 2014, Nielsen officials said.

Internet of Things Momentum Is Starting to Build

[Commentary] Sometimes the signs of change are more obvious than others. When a spokesperson for the Linux Foundation calls to talk about an open-source contribution from Microsoft into the Qualcomm-driven AllSeen Alliance that’s about bridging older industrial automation standards into the sexy new world of the Internet of Things (IoT), you know something must be happening. And so it is. These interesting bedfellows announced the release of the AllJoyn Device System Bridge (DSB), a Microsoft-created open-source addition to AllJoyn that incorporates an overall framework for bridging specialized and/or proprietary protocols into AllJoyn, and specifically includes two example “bridges.” One is designed to communicate with older building automation systems using BACnet, and the other is for connecting to existing ZWave-based smart lighting and other home automation products. This work extends Microsoft’s previously announced intention to build AllJoyn support into Windows 10. As I’ve said in the past, it’s a lot easier to talk in theory about making everything connect to everything than it is to actually do it. Then again, there is the question of whether or not that ought to be the right goal. The truth is, to make IOT really start to happen, all we need is to get enough of the right things to talk to enough of the other right things (albeit, in a secure manner). So, I’m encouraged by efforts that -- in theory, at least -- look to make it possible to try and connect more devices together.

The optimist in me hopes that developments like AllJoyn DSB can help overcome not only the technical challenges of interconnecting the currently separated islands of IOT activity, but also some of the many political challenges from intra-industry battles that have kept IOT from moving forward at a faster pace. The realist in me thinks that’s probably too idealistic. Nevertheless, the creation of physical and “metaphysical” bridges across the IOT archipelago has got to be seen as movement in the right direction.

[Bob O'Donnell is Founder and Chief Analyst at Technalysis Research LLC]

SlingTV, Yahoo NFL Streaming, and What Online Video Means for Sports Fans

[Commentary] For many Americans, live sports are the last piece of television content that is appointment viewing. And for many Americans, the only thing of value on television is the NFL. The fact that fans want to watch sports live, along with the sheer number of viewers of NFL games, makes live streaming of sports content vital to the future of online video.

If the NFL again takes on the role of content distribution innovator, it could lay the groundwork for an entire sea change in the way Americans consume all types of entertainment and video content. To meet the needs of NFL-sized audiences, network capacity will have to improve, customer service will be required to be more responsive to fix outages, and bandwidth caps will give way -- all setting the stage for even more robust over-the-top video services. (There’s a reason why a company rooted in sports streaming -- MLB Advanced Media -- is probably the leading streaming technology company.) As a result, Americans could have more choices (which is exactly what sports fans want) -- leading to lower prices -- and content creators will have more distribution options. All that it takes is realizing that the Internet is not just where the audience is -- it’s where there’s money to be made, as well.

Newsonomics: On end games and end times

[Commentary] We’ve read so many obituaries for news media over the past 10 years that you’d think we’d be inured to yet another. But the onslaught of off-site distribution initiatives -- from Facebook’s soon-to-expand Instant Articles to Apple News to Snapchat Discover, and most recently Twitter Lightning and whatever may next emerge as an offspring of Google News -- now offers yet another existential moment. Will anyone go directly to a news or media site or app in 2020? Or are the platforms, now becoming quasi-publishers, all that will matter? Of course, the big question is what the money will look like when the dust settles. Will this round of changes stop or deepen the struggles of print-based companies?

Overall, this new age of distribution may be a significant historical marker, as long as publishers try to take the future in their own hands and don’t expect Facebook to come up with its own brainstorm to “save” the news industry. As Mark Zuckerberg took questions on Facebook on June 30, he said all the right things -- and showed himself to be as uncertain as publishers on where all this would or could lead. “There’s an important place for news organizations that can deliver smaller bits of news faster and more frequently in pieces,” he wrote. “This won’t replace the longer and more researched work, and I’m not sure anyone has fully nailed this yet.”

American Registry for Internet Numbers Runs Out of IPv4 Addresses

The American Registry for Internet Numbers, the North American organization responsible for handing out new IP addresses, says its banks have run dry. ARIN has had to turn down a request for the unique numbers that we assign to each and every smartphone, tablet and PC so they can talk to the Internet. For the first time, ARIN didn't have enough IP addresses left in its stock to satisfy an entire order — and now, it's activated the end-times protocol that will see the few remaining addresses out into the night.

If you haven't already guessed, we have a backup system in place so that Xboxes and Playstations of the future can continue to get online. Internet engineers have actually been anticipating this day for decades. The solution is known as IPv6, short for "version 6." It's an upgrade of the old IP numbering system, known as IPv4. While it won't replace the old system, it's considered the future of the Internet. It has to be, by necessity. At ARIN, large requests for IPv4 addresses will now be subject to rationing or waitlisting.

FCC Seeks Comment on the Status of Competition in the Market for the Delivery of Video Programming

This Public Notice solicits data, information, and comment on the state of competition in the delivery of video programming for the Federal Communications Commission’s Seventeenth Report. The FCC seeks to update the information and metrics provided in the Sixteenth Report and report on the state of competition in the video marketplace in 2014. Using the information collected pursuant to this Notice, the FCC seeks to enhance its analysis of competitive conditions, better understand the implications for the American consumer, and provide a solid foundation for FCC policy making with respect to the delivery of video programming to consumers. Comments due Aug 21; reply comments due Sept 21, 2015. (MB Docket No. 15-158)

What Happens When Your Phone Network Fails?

Fun fact: unlike traditional copper lines, most new “land line” phone technologies don’t run on their own power. When the power goes out, so does the phone line—and your ability to call for help. It’s even more dangerous for those in rural areas. A severed copper line can isolate a remote community from the outside world. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the small customer base and the high cost of repairs means that phone companies don’t have an incentive to replace—or even service—damaged copper in these areas. Instead, companies have pushed to offload these communities onto cheap, less reliable technologies such as wireless “landline” services and VoIP. The result is a one-two punch against marginalized communities who need access the most.

This public safety catch-22—you can’t call for help at exactly the moment you’re most likely to need it, especially if you’re in a community that needs it the most—is one of the many reasons Public Knowledge, along with 28 other public interest groups [including the Benton Foundation], is calling for the FCC to include backup power requirements for consumer premises equipment (CPE) in their ongoing tech transition rulemaking. The phone companies, unfortunately, don’t see any problem at all with the way they do business. The Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance (ITTA) recently argued that there’s “virtually no consumer demand for” backup power solutions—and that when it is offered, “in nearly all cases, customers decline the option.” However, what’s more likely is that:

this phone technology is relatively new, so
consumers don’t fully realize that their new phone network will stop working when the power goes out, and thus
underestimate the risk of losing service in an emergency.

Salon’s Editorial Staff Plans to Unionize

The editorial staff of the online magazine Salon plans to unionize. Salon, which was started in 1995, has opted to work with the Writers Guild of America, East.

The decision represents an embodiment of Salon’s progressive values, the 26 members of the editorial staff who signed the letter said, and provides “an opportunity to help establish standards and practices in Internet journalism. It’s an exciting moment for our field, and we want Salon to be at the forefront of change.” The Salon employees, said Lowell Peterson, the executive director of the Writers Guild of America, East, “can make a real difference in their own lives, and in the standards of digital media generally, by negotiating a collective bargaining agreement with their employer.”

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