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  2. October 2015

October 2015

Competify Launches Broadband Competition Campaign

Competify, the coalition of competitive carriers pushing the Federal Communications Commission to promote more broadband competition and access (at lower prices), has taken to the streets, literally. On Oct 5 they launched a "Partners for the Cure" campaign in DC with transit signs -- airport and bus -- positioning Competify as a medicine that will help cure "chronic broadband access control issues." The campaign also included a tchotchke mailing to journalists of a Competify branded coffee mug, pen, foam capsule and mini-mint tin.

The FCC is currently working on reforms to the broadband special access (business services) to insure competitive access to legacy nets when those have migrated to fiber from traditional copper. Competify members want to insure that competitive access does not get lost in the IP transition and are looking for better prices out of AT&T and Verizon for that service. The web site provides a sign-up sheet and urges surfers to tell the FCC to "try Competify," which it is pushing as a cure for "some companies" addiction to control and "price gouge." Competify was launched in July, and its backers include the Competitive Carriers Association, Sprint, Comptel and Public Knowledge.

US Department of Education Awards $20 Million to Increase Access to ICT for Individuals with Disabilities

The US Department of Education announced a grant of $20 million to the University of Wisconsin for a pilot project through the Disability Innovation Fund -- Automated Personalization Computing Project (APCP). The grant is designed to improve broadband infrastructure so that devices automatically adjust into a format based on the user’s preferences and abilities. The project will help individual users find and specify the formats and accommodations that work best for them. Individuals with disabilities often face barriers trying to access information or communication technologies in the various aspects of their lives, whether it is in education, employment, or day-to-day activities.

The APCP has the chance to bring the maximum potential of the 21st century to the lives of people with disabilities by increasing access to information and communications technology and reducing barriers for people with disabilities. People with disabilities would be able to access, on a secure basis, this computer information no matter where they were, no matter what type of computer they were on, or what software programs were being used, so long as the computer was APCP-enabled with web access. The grant is being funded under the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services’ (OSERS) Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA).

The Question Isn't Whether Technology is Good For Your Kid

[Commentary] You’ve heard the worry -- or maybe you harbor it yourself: App mania, video games, and TV are sucking children into a vortex of mindless entertainment, replacing the social interactions they need to help develop their minds as well as the focused concentration on letters, words, and sentences they need to become strong readers. Digital media is so powerful that it is essentially crippling their chances of success.

But recently, guests at New America’s Washington (DC), office heard my co-author Michael H. Levine and me provide a different narrative. Yes, digital media is a powerful force in the lives of children and families, which is exactly why we have to harness that power to promote literacy. No more cheerleading for technology nor chastising parents and teachers for the use of it. Parents, educators, and policymakers should take a “third way” approach that is human-powered first and tech-assisted second.

Tennessee Lawmakers Plan Push to Extend Muni-Broadband Boundaries

At first they didn't succeed, but two Cleveland (TN)-area lawmakers will try, try again to change state law so EPB and other municipal utilities can expand the boundaries of their high-speed Internet service to reach rural areas that don't have broadband. Tennessee state Reps Dan Howell (R-TN 22) and Kevin Brooks (R-TN 24) reiterated their support to tweak state law to expand the reach of public utilities' broadband to reach unincorporated community of McDonald near Bendabout Farm.

The lawmakers joined with a national group working to expand municipal broadband, Next Century Cities, during an evening meeting that drew about 85 people. The proposed legislation would strike a few words from state law, state Rep Howell said, and remove the requirement that utilities keep their broadband within the "footprint" of their electric service. If that happened, EPB could extend its gigabit fiber optic service into areas it now can't serve, such as McDonald. The proposed legislation got pulled in 2014 by its sponsors when it looked like it might die. State Rep Howell thinks it will do better in the next session of the Tennessee Assembly, which gets underway in January.

Eight quotes from “Spectrum Wednesday” that show how Capitol Hill is thinking about spectrum

It was Spectrum Wednesday on Capitol Hill Oct 7, when both chambers held hearings discussing the importance of spectrum to consumers, the economy, and our national competitiveness. The House Communications Subcommittee held it’s hearing, “Improving Federal Spectrum Systems,” while at the same time, the Senate Commerce Committee held its “Removing Barriers to Wireless Broadband Deployment” hearing. Instead of recapping the sessions, here are a few quotes that convey how policymakers are thinking about spectrum policy.

From the House Hearing

“Though there are many hurdles to overcome in clearing and reallocating federally held spectrum, we’ve proven it can be done with great success.”
- Rep. Greg Walden, R-OR

“Whether you use it to browse apps or news articles on your mobile phone, or you’re a first responder, just trying to get resources to an emergency situation, we all rely on [spectrum].”
- Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-KY

“The consumers' insatiable demand for wireless service is a critical engine driving our economy and this engine is powered by spectrum.”
- Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., D-NJ

“It’s not just our phones, or our tablets; we are moving towards a world of connected cars, connected homes, connected lives. … It is our job to make sure that these consumers and these innovators have the spectrum they need.”
- Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-NY

“… we need a plan, a spectrum pipeline for the future that fits with consumer expectations and also ensures a seamless user experience.”
- Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-CA

From the Senate Hearing

“Opening more spectrum for commercial use can bring in revenue to pay down our national debt and fund other priorities.”
Sen. John Thune, R-SD

“We are all here because Americans’ demand for – and reliance on – wireless broadband services seems to know no bounds.”
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-FL

“Every large ag piece of equipment going into the North American market today is going out equipped with a 3G modem. In the future it’ll be 4G and in the future 5.”
- Cory Reed, Deere & Company (witness)

The Need for (Broadband) Speed

Although broadband Internet service has expanded over the past few years, there are still millions of Americans for whom a fast connection to the Web remains unavailable or unaffordable. In June, the Federal Communications reported that 17 percent of the US population -- 55 million people -- lacks access to advanced broadband, which the agency defines as providing download speeds of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of 3 Mbps. The broadband gap is widest in rural communities, where half of Americans can’t get advanced broadband service.

But this isn’t just a rural issue. Big cities struggle connectivity with too. Los Angeles CIO Ted Ross says almost a third of residents in the nation’s second-largest metropolis don’t have broadband Internet in their homes. Affordability often is an issue. A recent report from the Pew Research Center found that high-speed service often is too expensive for lower income families with school-age children. About a third of these families don’t have broadband at home, according to the report, putting these students at a serious disadvantage. Given the importance of high-speed Internet access to everything from finding jobs and doing homework to e-commerce and entertainment, we asked representatives from government, industry and nonprofits why the broadband equity gap exists and how to fix it.

In a first, Chinese hackers are arrested at the behest of the US government

The Chinese government has quietly arrested a handful of hackers at the urging of the US government -- an unprecedented step to defuse tensions with Washington at a time when the Obama Administration has threatened economic sanctions. The action came a week or two before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington late in Sept. The hackers had been identified by US officials as having stolen commercial secrets from US firms to be sold or passed along to Chinese state-run companies.

The arrests come amid signs of a potential change in the power balance between the US and Chinese governments on commercial cyberespionage, one of the most fraught issues between the two countries. Now, Administration officials are watching to see if China will follow through with prosecutions. A public trial is important not only because that would be consistent with established principles of criminal justice, but because it could discourage other would-be hackers and show that the arrests were not an empty gesture. Administration officials say they are not sure whether the arrests mark a deeper shift in China’s stance -- or whether they were a short-term move to avoid getting hit by sanctions.

Securing RF Devices Amid Changing Technology

In the summer of 2015, the Federal Communications Commission opened a rulemaking proceeding with the goal of modernizing our approval process for radio devices to help us keep pace with the accelerating introduction of an ever-expanding breadth of wireless devices and products into the marketplace. But flexible use requires manufacturers, users, and the FCC to be even more vigilant in monitoring and preventing harmful interference -- and that’s where this new rulemaking proceeding plays a critical role. The rulemaking will establish for all device approvals a policy that the FCC has adopted for individual device categories over the last few years of requiring manufacturers to certify that a device cannot be modified by the installation of third party software in a way that causes those devices to create harmful interference.

Our 2014 guidance on the 5 GHz rules has prompted some question as to whether the intent of the current proceeding is to ban third party firmware installation on devices, particularly for Wi-Fi routers. To be clear, it is not: like the U-NII rules we adopted, the proposed rules do not require device makers to prevent installation of third party firmware or otherwise favor specific security solutions. The cornerstone of a flexible use spectrum regime is interference prevention and, this requires that devices operate within their authorized parameters. The proposed rules aim to create a certification process that recognizes this goal without creating burdensome red tape for manufacturers and headaches for users while also allowing innovative solutions by 3rd party vendors. It’s critical that we get the details right, and we look forward to fielding comments in the record this fall.

Public Knowledge Urges Wireless Industry to Protect Personal Data of Low-income Americans

Public Knowledge and 11 other consumer advocacy groups filed an Opposition to the CTIA - The Wireless Association’s petition asking the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its authority to safeguard sensitive information of Lifeline program participants. The FCC’s June 2015 Order permits telephone providers to copy and store highly sensitive personal data of Lifeline applicants, including social security numbers, tax records and addresses. Public Knowledge argues in this Opposition that failure by carriers to protect this extremely personal data would expose Lifeline applicants to identity theft and predatory marketing practices. The organizations further explain that CTIA’s arguments are procedurally flawed and without legal merit.

Harold Feld, Senior Vice President at Public Knowledge, said, "It is disgraceful that the wireless industry disputes their obligation to protect information collected to qualify for a federal anti-poverty program. The information collected is exactly what a hacker would want for identity theft, or what unscrupulous providers would want to sell to predatory marketers. This petition is even more outrageous because the carriers themselves asked for permission to digitally scan and store the information rather than keep cumbersome -- but unhackable -- paper files. Having gotten permission to keep digital files, the industry now wants to go back on its pledge to protect the information through enforceable rules. Essentially, the wireless industry is presenting the most vulnerable among us with a choice -- ‘give up your privacy rights in exchange for federal aid.’ The FCC should move quickly to protect the privacy of low-income Americans and deny CTIA’s petition.”

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