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March 2016

22 Public Interest Groups Urge the FCC to Block the Charter-Time Warner Cable Merger

Twenty-two public interest organizations sent a letter urging the Federal Communications Commission to deny Charter’s bid to take over Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks.

The Center for Media Justice, CREDO Action, Daily Kos, Demand Progress, Free Press and Presente.org were among the media justice, Internet rights and public interest groups calling on the Federal Communications Commission to reject this deal, which would create a national broadband duopoly. Together, Charter and Comcast would control nearly two-thirds of the nation’s high-speed broadband subscribers and would offer service to nearly 80 percent of U.S. households. The letter notes that this substantial increase in market power, coupled with Charter’s $66 billion in debt, would give the company both the incentive and the heightened ability to raise prices at will. This would broaden the digital divide, hitting low-income communities the hardest.

“Too many Washington insiders have given up on challenging this deal despite its serious harms,” said Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood. “Instead of forecasting its chances for approval, the groups signing this letter will keep fighting to block this merger, along with the guaranteed price increases it would foist on people and communities who can least afford it. If Charter gets this merger approved, nothing will stop it from raising its rates for high-speed broadband and video customers who have nowhere else to turn. Temporary promises and weak conditions aren’t going to preserve competition and choice in the long run, and they’re not going to do anything to stop these price hikes. The FCC is charged with promoting the public interest, and there’s no way in which this merger benefits the public. Higher prices and fewer choices won’t help anyone but the companies pitching this bad bargain.”

US Says It May Not Need Apple’s Help to Unlock iPhone

The Justice Department said that it might no longer need Apple’s assistance in opening an iPhone used by a gunman in the San Bernardino rampage. The disclosure led a judge to postpone a court hearing over the issue and temporarily sidesteps what has become a bitter clash with the world’s most valuable company.

In a new court filing, the government said an outside party had demonstrated a way for the FBI to possibly unlock the phone used by the gunman, Syed Rizwan Farook. The hearing in the contentious case — Apple has loudly opposed opening the iPhone, citing privacy concerns and igniting a heated debate — was originally set for March 22. While the Justice Department must test this method, if it works “it should eliminate the need for the assistance from Apple,” it said in its filing. The Justice Department added that it would file a status report by April 5 on its progress. The emergence of a potential third-party method to open the iPhone was a surprise, as the government said more than a dozen times in court filings that it could open the phone only with Apple’s help.

How Google plans to improve Internet service in Cuba

Google is opening a cutting-edge online technology center at the studio of one of Cuba's most famous artists, offering free Internet at speeds nearly 70 times faster than those now available to the Cuban public.

President Barack Obama says Google's efforts in Cuba are part of a wider plan to improve access to the Internet across the island. Google has built a studio equipped with dozens of laptops, cellphones and virtual-reality goggles at the complex run by Alexis Leiva Machado, a sculptor known as Kcho. President Obama said that Google was also launching a broader effort to improve Cubans' Internet access across the island.

First Look: Internet Use in 2015

As the Obama Administration continues to focus on expanding broadband access and adoption, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration released new data that shows that some of the demographic groups that have historically lagged behind in using the Internet—such as senior citizens, minorities, and Americans with lower levels of educational attainment—are making big strides. Particularly promising, Internet use increased significantly among children and older Americans between 2013 and 2015. Children between the ages of 3 and 14 became substantially more likely to go online, as Internet use among this group increased from 56 percent in 2013 to 66 percent in 2015, and Internet use among those aged 65 or older increased from 51 percent to 56 percent during the same period. In contrast, usage remained largely unchanged among those who were previously most likely to go online, with 83 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 44 reporting Internet use in both 2013 and 2015. The latest data comes from the Computer and Internet Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS), which included nearly 53,000 households and was conducted for NTIA by the US.Census Bureau in July 2015. The large sample size provides a detailed picture of where, why and how Americans go online.

Remarks by Chairman Wheeler at Georgetown University

I saw that your invitation for this conference used the anniversary of the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality rules as the frame for teeing up today’s conversation, so I’ll start my remarks there. But I want to spend the bulk of my time talking about a related initiative: my new proposal to enhance the privacy of broadband users.

The real choice at the heart of the net neutrality debate is whether those who build the networks should make the rules by themselves or whether there should be a basic set of rules and a referee on the field to throw the flag if they are violated. To me, the choice remains clear. Obviously, preserving Internet openness was the central focus of our Open Internet decision, but it also contemplated another key area of broadband policy: privacy. Many of you are digital natives. You’ve grown up in a world where we’re all connected, all the time. You understand that when we are all walking around with a device in our pocket linking us to people and businesses around the globe, it’s time to think anew about how best to preserve the right to privacy. At the FCC, we believe you can have your broadband, and you can have your privacy. And earlier this month, I shared a proposal with my colleagues that would ensure that people have the tools they need to make informed choices about how and whether their data is used and shared by their residential fixed and mobile broadband providers.

Commissioner Rosenworcel Remarks at CUE16: "Closing the Homework Gap"

Thank you for having me join you today here at CUE16. Thank you because it is an honor to be a part of the largest and oldest gathering devoted to education technology. Today, as many as seven in ten teachers assign homework that requires access to broadband. But data from where I work—the Federal Communications Commission—shows that as many as one in three households do not subscribe to broadband service, due to lack of affordability and lack of interest. Think about those numbers. Where they overlap is what I call the Homework Gap—and according to the Pew Research Center the Homework Gap is real. Five million households out of the 29 million with school-aged children nationwide are falling into this gap.

The future of our economy, our country, and our success is built on digital and diverse workforce. We all know science, technology, engineering and math are the fastest growing fields in the new economy. We also know the diversity of our STEM workforce does not mirror the diversity of our population. It’s time to fix this and make our kids—all of our kids—not just digital consumers, but digital creators. And there are a lot of things we can do to make this happen. But a small step, and one we can take right now—is to make it possible for all students to do their homework. Because the Homework Gap is the cruelest part of our new digital divide—but it is within our power to bridge it.

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