November 2016

TELEVISION

DOJ SUES DIRECTV FOR ORCHESTRATING INFO SHARING AGREEMENTS WITH THREE COMPETITORS
[SOURCE: Department of Justice, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Department of Justice sued DIRECTV and its corporate successor, AT&T, for acting as the ringleader of a series of unlawful information exchanges between DIRECTV and three of its competitors – Cox Communications, Charter Communications, and AT&T – during the companies’ negotiations to carry SportsNet LA, which holds the exclusive rights to telecast almost all live Dodgers games in the Los Angeles area. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that DIRECTV unlawfully exchanged competitively-sensitive information with Cox, Charter and AT&T during the companies’ negotiations for the right to telecast the Dodgers Channel. Specifically, the complaint alleges that DIRECTV and each of these competitors agreed to and did exchange non-public information about their companies’ ongoing negotiations to telecast the Dodgers Channel, as well as their companies’ future plans to carry – or not carry – the channel. The complaint also alleges that the companies engaged in this conduct in order unlawfully to obtain bargaining leverage and to reduce the risk that they would lose subscribers if they decided not to carry the channel but a competitor chose to do so. The complaint further alleges that the information learned through these unlawful agreements was a material factor in the companies’ decisions not to carry the Dodgers Channel. The Dodgers Channel is still not carried by DIRECTV, Cox or AT&T. “As the complaint explains, Dodgers fans were denied a fair competitive process when DIRECTV orchestrated a series of information exchanges with direct competitors that ultimately made consumers less likely to be able to watch their hometown team,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Sallet of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Competition, not collusion, best serves consumers and that is especially true when, as with pay-television providers, consumers have only a handful of choices in the marketplace.”
benton.org/headlines/justice-department-sues-directv-orchestrating-information-sharing-agreements-three | Department of Justice | Washington Post | Broadcasting&Cable
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AT&T/TIME WARNER

DEMAND PROGRESS: MORE THAN 115,000 AMERICANS OPPOSE ATT-TIME WARNER
[SOURCE: Demand Progress, AUTHOR: Press release]
In just over a week since the AT&T takeover of Time Warner was announced, more than 115,000 Americans have signed petitions, hosted by CREDO Action, Demand Progress, and Free Press, opposing the deal. The petitions call on Washington policymakers to stop the mega-merger, noting the dangerous concentration of economic and political power the deal would create, and that such mega-mergers rarely benefit consumers – instead serving to line the pockets of corporate executives. “This merger would hurt consumers, stifle competition and poison our democracy,” said CREDO Deputy Political Director Josh Nelson. “It would reward Wall Street banks with huge fees while offering consumers less choice and higher prices,” he continued. “Washington’s failure to block mergers and bust up existing monopolies has already put far too much economic and political power in the hands of major corporations,” Nelson added. “Federal regulators must stop this anti-consumer merger from moving forward.”
benton.org/headlines/demand-progress-more-115000-americans-sign-petitions-opposing-att-takeover-time-warner | Demand Progress | Broadcasting&Cable
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SECURITY/PRIVACY

STANDING ROCK CHECK IN
[SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Jeff Landale]
[Commentary] In a show of "clicktivism," more than 1.4 million people on Facebook used geolocation tagging to "check in" to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation page. The flurry of check-ins spread across Facebook after reports surfaced that the local sheriff's department in North Dakota relied on Facebook to "find out who is at [Standing Rock] in order to target them in attempts to disrupt the prayer camps." But can checking in at Standing Rock actually help? Will it really confuse police? Can anyone interfere with a crackdown on protesters by clicking a button on Facebook? Without really knowing what kind of surveillance technology the police there are relying on, it's actually impossible to know. And that's a problem that should alarm anyone concerned about First Amendment rights.
benton.org/headlines/standing-rock-check-marks-turning-point-activists | Christian Science Monitor
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

COSN'S 2016 INFRASTRUCTURE SURVEY
[SOURCE: Consortium for School Networking, AUTHOR: ]
School systems in the United States are making progress in increasing broadband connectivity and Wi-Fi in classrooms. However, significant hurdles remain before all students are able to experience a digitally-enabled learning environment. These are the findings revealed today in CoSN’s 2016 Annual E-rate and Infrastructure Survey, a report conducted in partnership with AASA, The School Superintendents Association, and MDR. Gathering insights from K-12 school administrators and technology directors nationwide, the report addresses key areas of concern for school districts, including affordability, network speed and capacity, reliability and competition, digital equity, security and cloud-based services.
Affordability: In 2016, 57 percent of school leaders identified the cost of ongoing recurring expenses as the biggest barrier to robust connectivity—up from 46 percent in 2015. The cost for monthly Internet connection showed significant improvement, with nearly one-half of respondents reporting low monthly costs (less than $5 per Mbps). This is a steady improvement from 36 percent in 2015 and 27 percent in 2014.
Digital Equity: Among the school leaders surveyed, 42 percent ranked addressing digital equity / lack of broadband access outside of school as a “very high priority." Nearly two-thirds of school system leaders, however, revealed that they do not have any strategies for providing off-campus connectivity to students. This is only a slight improvement over previous years.
benton.org/headlines/school-technology-makes-progress-yet-challenges-remain-cosns-2016-infrastructure-survey | Consortium for School Networking
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26 COLORADO COMMUNITY WILL VOTE ON BUILDING OWN INTERNET NETWORKS
[SOURCE: Vice, AUTHOR: Jason Koebler]
On, November 8, 26 separate Colorado communities will vote on whether their local governments should build high speed fiber Internet networks to compete with or replace big telecommunication Internet service providers. So-called municipal fiber ballot initiatives have become an annual tradition in Colorado, as roughly 100 communities have voted on measures that provide legal cover to governments who want to build new networks. The initiatives are required under a SB152, a law enacted in 2008 after several lobbying efforts by CenturyLink made it illegal for municipalities to provide fiber Internet to private premises without first obtaining permission in a ballot measure. In 2015, a record 47 communities passed similar referenda; no communities voted it down. Not every city is going to become its own Internet service provider—the law requires cities to hold referenda even if they plan on partnering with companies on public-private fiber network initiatives. “The law uses broad definitions for what cities can and cannot do,” said Christopher Mitchell, director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative. “We only know of two that have failed in the last six years,” he added. “Many of these networks are tremendously successful.” Colorado is the only state in the country that has a ballot measure requirement for locally run networks; 22 other states have different laws that restrict local broadband efforts. With so many cities overwhelmingly voting in favor of local government-run broadband, Mitchell says that Colorado’s law hasn’t quite had the effect CenturyLink would have liked.
benton.org/headlines/26-colorado-communities-will-vote-building-their-own-internet-networks | Vice
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TELECOM

MD OFFICE OF PEOPLE'S COUNSEL CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION OF VERIZON
[SOURCE: Baltimore Sun, AUTHOR: Sarah Gantz]
The Maryland Office of People's Counsel is calling for an investigation and suspension of copper-line retirement notices Verizon has been sending some Maryland customers. Verizon and other telecommunications companies are eager to replace old copper wiring for landline telephones with fiber-optic cable, and the Federal Communications Commission has established rules to make the transition smoother for customers. The notices Verizon has been sending some customers in Howard, Baltimore, Anne Arundel and Montgomery counties are confusing and misleading, and therefore do not comply with the FCC's rules, the Maryland Office of People's Counsel alleged in a petition to the Maryland Public Service Commission and comments to the FCC. For example, some customers received notice that their copper line will be retired and they must switch to Verizon's fiber network or another provider by Dec. 14, while other notices had a deadline of September 2017. Still others received both notices, according to the Office of People's Counsel.
benton.org/headlines/maryland-office-peoples-counsel-calls-investigation-verizon-copper-retirement-notices | Baltimore Sun
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM

POLICE JAMMING CELL PHONES AT STANDING ROCK PROTEST?
[SOURCE: Tales of the Sausage Factory, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
[Commentary] Setting aside my personal feelings about democracy, freedom to peacefully protest, and how the Sioux concerns seem rather justified in light of the Alabama pipeline explosion, this has now raised an interesting communications issue that only a Federal Communications Commission investigation can solve. Are police jamming, or illegally spying, on communications at the protest and associated Sacred Stone Camp? I have seen a number of communications from the protest about jamming, particularly in the period immediately before and during the Oct 27 effort by police to force protesters off the land owned by Dakota Access Pipeline. The FCC needs to send an enforcement team to Standing Rock to check things out. Given the enormous public interest at stake in protecting the free flow of communications from peaceful protests, and the enormous public interest in continuing live coverage of the protests, the FCC should move quickly to resolve these concerns. If law enforcement in the area are illegally jamming communications, or illegally intercepting and tracking cell phone use, the FCC needs to expose this quickly and stop it. If law enforcement are innocent of such conduct, only an FCC investigation on the scene can effectively clear them. In either case, the public deserves to know — and to have confidence in the Rule of Law with regard to electronic communications.
[Harold Feld is the senior vice president at Public Knowledge]
benton.org/headlines/are-police-jamming-cell-phones-standing-rock-protest-fcc-should-investigate | Tales of the Sausage Factory
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DIVERSITY

FACEBOOK'S ACTIONS HAVE DANGEROUS CONSEQUENCES FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Dana Floberg]
Facebook talks a good game when it comes to fighting for racial justice and protecting human rights. Mark Zuckerberg has made important symbolic statements in support of the Movement for Black Lives, including putting up a giant Black Lives Matter sign at Facebook headquarters. But Facebook often fails to live up to this kind of rhetoric — and that has dangerous consequences for people of color. The company has a habit of removing documentation of human-rights abuses at the request of law enforcement and government agencies. This came up most recently in the case of Korryn Gaines: At law enforcement’s request, Facebook deactivated Gaines’ livestream of an encounter with Baltimore police that left her dead and her young son wounded. There have also been numerous other reports of Facebook censoring content from Black and indigenous activists; it’s also disabled the accounts of Palestinian journalists. By removing these kinds of recordings and documentation, Facebook is stifling activism and allowing law enforcement and government agencies to control the narrative on a platform that plays an increasingly important role in breaking news. It’s time for Facebook to make a conscious choice to change its policies and live up to the values it espouses.
benton.org/headlines/facebooks-actions-have-dangerous-consequences-people-color | Free Press
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November 2016

November 3, 2016 (Cubs win! Cubs win! Cubs win!)

Cubs win! Cubs win! Cubs win!

Standing Rock 'check in' marks turning point for activists

Senior FBI officials were told of new emails in early October but wanted more information before renewing Clinton probe

CenturyLink CEO’s Deal-Making Puts Louisiana Town at Center of Internet

We need cooperation to secure the Internet of Things

Silicon Valley job boom intensifies ‘shocking’ commutes and housing crisis

Google set to hit back at Brussels over competition probe

GigUP South Carolina: 11 Carriers Collaborate on Gigabit

Understanding Spectrum Clutter—It’s Not About Neatness!