November 2016

A MESSAGE FROM BENTON

ACCESS, DIVERSITY, AND EQUITY ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Adrianne Furniss]
[Commentary] If I learned anything during this election, it is that opposing sides are not speaking with each other. And because we are more disconnected, we need to focus on ways to connect. We should be thinking about the fundamental power of communication as a way to bring us together, not further divide us. As we prepare for a new Congress and new Administration, we at Benton are recommitting ourselves to providing the tools that policymakers and advocates need to keep abreast of developments in our field – and a platform for debating what “in the public interest” means in the Digital Age. At Benton, we aim to connect policymakers, researchers, and community practitioners working to help get everyone online. We will both publish and highlight research that we believe can inform debates about how best to bring the benefits of broadband to every community and every household. We believe that communities must play an active role in deciding their broadband futures. And we are developing tools to help them facilitate smart discussions and decisions about improving their telecommunications infrastructure. We see great potential in public-private partnerships to build and maintain next-generation broadband networks. Benton will work tirelessly to ensure Federal programs that make broadband service available and affordable in rural areas, in schools, libraries, rural health care facilities, and low-income households are adequately funded. Benton will defend policies that ensure Internet users’ rights to employ any legal applications, content, devices, and services of their choosing on the broadband networks they rely on. The Internet must remain a platform for all consumers, content creators, and innovators, regardless of their ability to pay infrastructure owners special fees for special access. Finally, Benton will work to ensure that the First Amendment is respected in the Digital Age. Freedom of religion, of speech, of the press, of assembly, and the right to petition our government should not be abridged. Sticking up for what’s right, choosing facts over fear, being a voice for good and for solutions that can make America even greater -- this is a family legacy I am proud to be a part of.
benton.org/headlines/access-diversity-and-equity-are-more-important-ever | Benton Foundation
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TRANSITION and AGENDA

FCC REGULATORY FREEZE
[SOURCE: House of Representatives Commerce Committee, AUTHOR: Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR)]
House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler regarding possible FCC decisions during the presidential transition. The most important challenge for the Commission over the next ten weeks is to ensure a successful broadcast incentive auction. The successful completion of the auction will provide needed spectrum to meet Americans wireless broadband needs and ensure that Americans continue to enjoy the local news and national programming broadcasters provide. As Rep. Henry Waxman and Senator Jay Rockefeller noted during the 2008 Presidential transition, it would be counterproductive for the FCC to consider complex and controversial items that the new Congress and new Administration will have an interest in reviewing. We strongly urge you to concentrate the Commission's attention and resources only on matters that require action under the law and efforts to foster the success of the broadcast incentive auction.
benton.org/headlines/chairmen-upton-and-walden-urge-fcc-regulatory-freeze | House of Representatives Commerce Committee
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WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE NEW TRUMP FCC
[SOURCE: Huffington Post, AUTHOR: Bruce Kushnick]
[Commentary] President-elect Donald Trump claims that he is going to ‘drain the swamp’ of ‘special interests’. It has not started out well. A recent New York Times article claims, “President-elect Donald J. Trump, who campaigned against the corrupt power of special interests, is filling his transition team with some of the very sort of people who he has complained have too much clout in Washington: corporate consultants and lobbyists.” And the New York Times article features a picture of Dr. Jeffrey Eisenach, front and center. He is formerly the founder of a coin-operated group called Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF), and is now a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute as well as working for the telco-friendly, NERA Economic Consulting as Managing Director Co-Chair, Communications, Media, and Internet Practice. But, as the Times wrote, he also works for Verizon, yet is the head of the transition team to fill the Federal Communications Commission with new staff. “Jeffrey Eisenach, a consultant who has worked for years on behalf of Verizon and other telecommunications clients, is the head of the team that is helping to pick staff members at the Federal Communications Commission.” If Trump is serious about ‘draining the swamp’, then he should worry he is instead creating a new toxic garbage dump, filling it with the same bad actors he claims he wants to clean out.
[Bruce Kushnick is the Executive Director of the New Networks Institute]
benton.org/headlines/what-expect-new-trump-fcc-more-polluted-digital-swamp | Huffington Post
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US TELECOM AND TRUMP
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR:]
Having been elected president, Donald Trump’s ambitions to become a media mogul appear to have been deferred indefinitely. Instead, he will have to settle for the opportunity to reshape the entire telecoms playing field. As quickly as technology has evolved in the Obama era, displaced market leaders have tried to use their heft to keep up. But they had to contend with a Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission that became sceptical of a laisser-faire attitude to increased market concentration. While President-elect Trump has railed against corporate power, a rally in shares of cable television and broadband providers suggests he will let companies decide for themselves what services they will provide to consumers and at what cost.
benton.org/headlines/us-telecoms-and-trump-media-frenzy | Financial Times
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INTERNET/BROADBAND

OPTIONS FOR ACCELERATING GREAT AMERICAN BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Blair Levin]
While my voting habits are partisan, I view broadband as potentially bi-partisan. The substance of my three recent speeches, written before the election, were consciously designed to communicate the same messages regardless of outcome. Today’s topic, relevant regardless of election results, is how best to utilize the bi-partisan consensus that we need better infrastructure, including our broadband networks. I will set out different approaches, not with an eye toward advocating what is best, but, rather, laying out different options for how effectively targeting funds. I can see at least seven potential targets, none of which are exclusive. Many are complementary. These are: 1) An Anchor Strategy, 2) Middle Mile Strategy, 3) A Final Mile Strategy, 4) A Next Gen Strategy, 5) Digital Enterprise Zones, 6) State Block Grant Strategy, and 7) A City Block Grants Strategy.
[Levin serves as a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Metropolitan Policy Project of the Brookings Institute]
benton.org/headlines/options-accelerating-great-american-broadband | Benton Foundation
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INTERNET ASSOCIATION RELEASES POLICY ROADMAP FOR NEW ADMINISTRATION, CONGRESS
[SOURCE: Internet Association, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Internet Association, an organization that represents several large Internet companies including Facebook, Twitter, and Google, released a policy roadmap detailing opportunities for the incoming administration and Congress to enable continued growth and success in the Internet ecosystem, and in turn, the US economy. The letter states, “From its inception, the internet was built on an open architecture that lowers entry barriers, fosters innovation, and empowers choice. The internet represents the best of American innovation, freedom, and ingenuity.” The list of policy positions include:
Upholding Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act so Internet companies can't get sued easily for things their users say or do online.
Upholding Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act so Internet companies can't get easily sued if they quickly remove copyrighted content that users upload (such as infringing photos and YouTube videos).
Reforming the 30-year-old Electronic Communications Privacy Act -- "Internet users must have the same protections for their inbox as they do for their mailbox," states the association.
Supporting strong encryption (President-elect Trump called for a boycott of Apple when it refused to comply with an FBI order to unlock an iPhone linked to terror.)
Reforming Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which lets the National Security Agency collect online communications without a warrant.
Providing similar copyright protections for companies that operate outside the US.
Reforming the US Patent Office to deter patent trolls, a term for companies that sue other companies based on patents without actually producing new products.
benton.org/headlines/internet-association-releases-policy-roadmap-new-administration-congress | Internet Association | read the letter
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GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Amelia Bryne]
Governments can play an important role in funding broadband infrastructure deployment to ensure robust, affordable access for anchor institutions beyond what the market is able to do. Failing to take action to spur broadband deployment creates risks for the community – losing businesses, jobs, services, and population. There are several ways that governments can finance broadband deployment, including subsidies for investment, equity in public-private partnerships (PPPs), preferential tax treatment, long-term loans, on-lending loans, and guarantees to offset regulatory or political risk. One strategy that can minimize risk to the government and the provider is to fund broadband builds first to community anchor institutions (CAIs) in a region: CAIs can then serve as the “anchor tenants” to support the network’s economic viability. This strategy can ensure that schools, libraries, health providers, and other anchor institutions receive the high-capacity broadband services they need, while also providing capacity that can be shared with surrounding residential and business consumers.
[Trained in cultural anthropology and new media, Amelia Bryne is co-Director of DeepTech.org, a research consultancy that focuses on the social and environmental impacts of information and communications technologies.]
benton.org/headlines/government-funding-broadband-network-providers-serving-community-anchor-institutions | Benton Foundation
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EDUCATION

FREE TOOL PROVIDES ROADMAP FOR FASTER, CHEAPER BROADBAND IN SCHOOLS
[SOURCE: EducationSuperHighway, AUTHOR: Press release]
EducationSuperHighway released Compare & Connect K-12, a new free tool that CEO Evan Marwell says will help provide high-speed broadband at lower costs for school leaders looking to amp up students’ digital access. In order to allow districts to compare their options, EducationSuperHighway first needed to gather the data school leaders wanted. They turned to E-rate, the $3.9 billion Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program that helps 96 percent of schools get more affordable broadband. Public schools can apply for annual funding through E-rate, which involves itemizing the services they currently pay for, what providers they are buying from and how much they are spending for their broadband. But all of that data was kept private. That is, until researchers at EducationSuperhighway closely examined the program back in 2012. The Commission was hesitant to give up the data. So instead, EducationSuperHighway collected the data they wanted from thousands of districts themselves. That alone was enough to convince all five commissioners of just how valuable the data could be, Marwell said, and in 2014 the FCC ultimately agreed to publicly release its information on what kind of broadband service school districts are getting and how much they pay for it. Now, Compare & Connect K-12—which maps the 2015 and 2016 E-rate application data—allows administrators, state leaders and even service providers to compare bandwidth speeds and broadband prices against school districts nearby or across the country.
benton.org/headlines/compare-connect-k-12-provides-roadmap-literally-faster-cheaper-broadband-schools | EducationSuperHighway | EdSurgeNews
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WHAT IS DIGITAL LITERACY?
[SOURCE: Education Week, AUTHOR: Liana Heitin]
While the word "literacy" alone generally refers to reading and writing skills, when you tack on the word "digital" before it, the term encompasses much, much more. Sure, reading and writing are still very much at the heart of digital literacy. But given the new and ever-changing ways we use technology to receive and communicate information, digital literacy also encompasses a broader range of skills—everything from reading on a Kindle to gauging the validity of a website or creating and sharing YouTube videos. The term is so broad that some experts even stay away from it, preferring to speak more specifically about particular skills at the intersection of technology and literacy. The American Library Association's digital-literacy task force offers this definition: "Digital literacy is the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills." More simply, Hiller Spires, a professor of literacy and technology at North Carolina State University, views digital literacy as having three buckets: 1) finding and consuming digital content; 2) creating digital content; and 3) communicating or sharing it.
benton.org/headlines/what-digital-literacy | Education Week
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ELECTIONS & MEDIA

2016 AS PROLOGUE, NOT ABERRATION
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Michael Copps]
[Commentary] I believe the American people got pretty much the 2016 Presidential campaign coverage that Big Cable and Big Broadcasters wanted us to have. The elections made Big Media piles of money, required nothing from them in the way of resource-intensive investigative journalism, and were aimed spot-on to entertain, not to inform, us. Our civic dialogue descended into the gutter, literally, and politics turned into one big reality show extravaganza with little connection to the real business of democracy. And don’t think this was a one-time aberration. Without some serious changes to how our democracy conducts its civic dialogue, we can expect more of the same. 2016 is very likely the new norm.
[Copps served as a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission from May 2001 to December 2011 and was the FCC's Acting Chairman from January to June 2009. In 2012, he joined Common Cause to lead its Media and Democracy Reform Initiative.]
benton.org/headlines/2016-prologue-not-aberration | Benton Foundation
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OWNERSHIP

VERIZON BUYS LQD WIFI, A COMPANY THAT BUILDS URBAN SMART HUBS
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Valentina Palladino]
Verizon could soon be making its presence known nearby with beacon-like smart hubs. The company announced it has acquired the NYC-based startup LQD WiFi, which makes a kiosk system called Palo that delivers free Wi-Fi, community and location information, and emergency alerts to city dwellers. Palo renderings appear similar to the Link NYC kiosks that are slowly infiltrating the five boroughs to provide similar kinds of information to New York City residents. Both Palo and Link NYC have established roots. LQD WiFi's founder and CEO Randy Ramusack worked at Microsoft Switzerland and Microsoft UK before starting the company, and Link NYC came out of the Intersection project of Google’s Sidewalk Labs. Palo appears to differ slightly from Link NYC in its design. Link NYC kiosks have a tablet installed on one side where users can search for the information they need. Palo kiosks, on the other hand, have 46-inch LCD touchscreens with interactive transit maps, real-time schedules, public safety information, and more.
benton.org/headlines/verizon-buys-lqd-wifi-company-builds-urban-smart-hubs | Ars Technica | Verizon | telecompetitor
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LABOR

ACCESS TO BROADBAND FUELS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND ENHANCES JOB SKILLS
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, AUTHOR: Jennifer Duane]
As the US workforce continues to adapt to the digital economy, it is critical that communities and their anchor institutions such as schools, libraries and hospitals have access to high-speed broadband infrastructure to ensure that working-age adults can access educational opportunities, build job skills and find employment. This is why the National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) put so much emphasis on connecting community anchor institutions as part of NTIA’s broadband grant program funded by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As part of that program, NTIA’s grantees connected more than 25,000 community anchor institutions to middle mile networks funded with the help of NTIA grants. Communities that lack broadband access have struggled to attract and to retain businesses and have placed their residents at a disadvantage in finding and training for new jobs, often forcing workers and their families to leave the area to find work. NTIA’s BroadbandUSA program can help communities address this need for broadband. BroadbandUSA provides guidance and technical assistance to communities interested in harnessing the power of broadband to increase economic growth opportunities for their residents. This support includes helping to develop strategies to improve broadband access and digital literacy, advising on the planning and execution of broadband expansion projects, and sharing best practices from NTIA’s broadband experts.
[Jennifer Duane is senior advisor for broadband and public safety at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
benton.org/headlines/access-broadband-fuels-workforce-development-and-enhances-job-skills | Department of Commerce
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STORIES FROM ABROAD

WORLD INTERNET CONFERENCE
[SOURCE: CNN Money, AUTHOR: James Griffiths]
As China hosts executives from global tech companies at its World Internet Conference, human rights advocates are warning that online censorship in the country is only getting worse. Representatives of US firms will rub shoulders with their counterparts from Chinese tech giants at the event, which begins Nov 16 in the sleepy river town of Wuzhen in eastern China. Chinese leaders have typically used the conference to push their doctrine of "internet sovereignty," under which countries would impose their own online borders and regulations. China's goal "poses a real threat to the global and open nature of the internet," said Patrick Poon, a researcher at Amnesty International. The government's use of the grand title "World Internet Conference" despite China's restrictions has spawned a mocking nickname from local web users who've labeled it the "local area internet conference."
benton.org/headlines/china-holds-world-internet-conference-censorship-intensifies | CNN Money
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November 2016

LRG: Top US Pay-TV Providers Lost 255K Subscribers in Q3

The outsize role of the press in the Trump administration

Facebook's fake news problem, explained

In the war on fake news, school librarians have a huge role to play

Why smartphone owners can't tell if their data is being sent to China

Microsoft offers antitrust concessions to EU over LinkedIn purchase

November 16, 2016 (Access, Diversity, and Equity are More Important Now Than Ever)

Mose Allison, a Font of Jazz and Blues

Trump breaks protocol again on press access