BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2016
Today's Events --
Cyber-securing the Nation, New America -- https://www.benton.org/node/250667
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
FCC Raises Fresh Concerns Over ‘Zero-Rating’ by AT&T, Verizon
Commissioner Pai on FCC's zero-rating investigation - press release
Commissioner O'Rielly on FCC's zero-rating investigation - press release [links to Benton summary]
Editorial: AT&T's data-free TV offer poses a net neutrality problem [links to Los Angeles Times]
Users of AT&T’s new cord-cutting app are reporting a variety of problems at launch [links to Washington Post]
Op-Ed: Tech consumers are paying more attention to what’s inside their devices [links to Vox]
5G technologies will power a greener future for cities - Brookings [links to Benton summary]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Public Interest Groups Slam AT&T’s Refusal to Serve Low-Income Americans Through Lifeline Program - press release
Altice USA Bows Low-Cost 30-Meg Broadband Service
Community broadband strategies in the Trump era - Craig Settles op-ed [links to Benton summary]
Nashville fights Comcast lawsuit over rules that help Google Fiber [links to Benton summary]
Jared Kushner Might Now Be Our Best Hope for World-Class Internet - Susan Crawford op-ed [links to Benton summary]
TELECOM
FCC Proposes Fine for Unlawful Overcharging of Universal Service Fees - press release
TRUMP TRANSITION
Getting to Know Mark Jamison, President-elect Trump’s FCC Transition Team Co-Leader - analysis
President-elect Trump Chooses Ben Carson to Lead HUD
Trump Team Talks Up Sen Heitkamp as Agriculture Secretary Speculation Grows
Silicon Valley shut out from Trump's business adviser team [links to USAToday]
How Trump Term Could Shape the Internet - TVNewsCheck analysis [links to Benton summary]
Rep Goodlatte Continues Atop House Judiciary Committee [links to Benton summary]
White House: President Obama 'has no plans to enter the media business' [links to Politico]
The Orwellian nightmare for policy wonks is coming - WaPo op-ed [links to Benton summary]
SECURITY/PRIVACY
Report on Securing and Growing the Digital Economy - Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity press release
FCC Published Privacy Rules in Federal Register [links to Federal Communications Commission]
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
After ‘dangerous situation,’ the Associated Press pulled reporter off presidential campaign [links to Washington Post]
CONTENT
Google, democracy and the truth about internet search [links to Benton summary]
How a Reengineered Internet Could Protect Free Speech [links to Vice]
Seth Freeman: Technology is the cause of 'fake news' — but it's the solution too [links to Hill, The]
There’s a powerful new way to dig up dead websites [links to Washington Post]
Facebook developing artificial intelligence to flag offensive live videos [links to Reuters]
Tomi Lahren: Young, Vocal and the Right’s Rising Media Star [links to New York Times]
Greta Van Susteren: Who’s to blame for fake news? [links to Los Angeles Times]
ADVERTISING
How Free Web Content Traps People In An Abyss Of Ads And Clickbait [links to NPR]
FCC Seeks Comment on Petitions Concerning the FCC's Rule on Opt-Out Notices on Fax Advertisements [links to Federal Communications Commission]
TELEVISION
Robert Bennett, Broadcaster Who Charted a New Course at WCVB
The FCC's cable box plan is doomed [links to CNN]
Comcast loses $5.50 a month in revenue when a customer ditches video, Craig Moffett concludes [links to Fierce]
The rise of sports TV costs and why your cable bill keeps going up [links to Los Angeles Times]
DIVERSITY
Violence Cannot be the Price Women Pay to be Online [links to Medium]
OWNERSHIP
NAB Seeks Quadrennial Ownership 'Relief' From FCC [links to Benton summary]
LABOR
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Is Dead, and That's Good for Internet Freedom [links to Benton summary]
HEALTH
CBO Scores Improving Health Information Technology Act [links to Congressional Budget Office]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Maybe the Internet Isn’t a Fantastic Tool for Democracy After All - analysis [links to Benton summary]
Internet Archive Successfully Fends Off Secret FBI Order [links to Benton summary]
US Chief Data Scientist: 'Time is Now' for Technologists to Jump Into Public Service [links to nextgov]
POLICYMAKERS
President Obama Taps Level 3's Storey for Advisory Committee [links to Benton summary]
COMPANY NEWS
Facebook plans to invest $20 million in affordable housing projects [links to Benton summary]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Brussels urges US social media sites to act swiftly on hate posts [links to Financial Times]
Why We Must Work Together to Face Today's ICT Security Challenges [links to International Telecommunication Union]
ISIS tells members to stay off messaging apps [links to Hill, The]
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
FCC RAISES FRESH CONCERNS OVER 'ZERO-RATING' BY ATT, VERIZON
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Thomas Gryta]
The Federal Communications Commission raised new concerns about AT&T’s practice of excluding its new DirecTV Now streaming service from data charges and, for the first time, lobbed similar questions at Verizon Communications. In a pair of letters sent Dec 1, the FCC warned that so called zero-rating, which makes the data used by certain video services free for the carriers’ wireless customers, could harm competition and consumers. The agency argues the practice could deter consumers from accessing mobile-video services not affiliated with the carriers, such as those from Netflix or Hulu, which is co-owned by Walt Disney Co., Comcast Corp., 21st Century Fox and Time Warner Inc. Both AT&T and Verizon responded that the practice complies with existing rules and benefits consumers.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-raises-fresh-concerns-over-zero-rating-att-verizon | Wall Street Journal | AT&T reply | Fierce
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PAI ON FCC'S ZERO-RATING INVESTIGATION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai]
Two weeks ago, Congress called on the Federal Communications Commission to respect the tradition followed by Democrats and Republicans alike eight years ago during the last Presidential transition. Accordingly, a bipartisan majority of Commissioners at last month’s FCC meeting heeded Congress’s call to “avoid directing [our] attention and resources...to complex, partisan, or otherwise controversial items.” And yet, last night, Chairman Wheeler launched yet another broadside against free data for consumers, notwithstanding the objections of Republican commissioners. This end-run around Congress’s clear instruction is sad—and pointless. For any unilateral action taken by the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau at the Chairman’s direction in the next 49 days can quickly be undone by that same bureau after January 20, 2017.
benton.org/headlines/commissioner-pai-fccs-zero-rating-investigation | Federal Communications Commission
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INTERNET/BROADBAND
PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS SLAM ATTS OVER LIFELINE
[SOURCE: National Hispanic Media Coalition, AUTHOR: Press release]
Five diverse public interest groups spoke out about AT&T’s recent decision to opt out of the Lifeline broadband program and urged them to reconsider participating to offer the modest discount that Lifeline provides to low-income families struggling to afford broadband. Despite supporting the inclusion of broadband within the modernized Lifeline program, AT&T has officially filed for forbearance from the Lifeline broadband Internet access service requirements. This decision would confine their extension of Lifeline broadband to only very limited regions of its service territory. “Benton is extremely disappointed with AT&T’s decision and the impact it will have on home broadband adoption for the most vulnerable families in the US,” said Amina Fazlullah, Director of Policy at Benton Foundation: “Teamed with FCC Lifeline program subsidies, AT&T could have been a leader in providing affordable broadband service for qualified, low-income families. We could have seen an incredible rise in broadband adoption by addressing the number one barrier to subscriptions: cost. This is an unfortunate failure to take advantage of a meaningful public-private partnership. We hope AT&T will reconsider its decision.”
benton.org/headlines/public-interest-groups-slam-atts-refusal-serve-low-income-americans-through-lifeline | National Hispanic Media Coalition
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ALTICE USA BOWS LOW-COST 30-MEG BROADBAND SERVICE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Jeff Baumgartner]
Altice USA took the wraps off of Economy Internet, a low-cost broadband service for eligible families and seniors in the operator’s Optimum systems covering portions of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. Altice USA is offering the new, cap-free tier, which delivers up to 30 Mbps downstream, for $14.99 per month, plus in-home Wi-Fi via a free “smart router,” access to the operator’s Optimum Wi-Fi network of more than 1.5 million hotspots, and up to three email accounts. The rollout comes a more than five months after Altice closed its acquisition of Cablevision Systems in June. Tied in, Altice had committed to introduce the low income broadband option throughout the Cablevision service territory. That commitment is referenced in the Federal Communications Commission order allowing the deal, and, in June, the New York State Public Service Commission approved the agreement with conditions that included a pledge that included the low-cost broadband option.
benton.org/headlines/altice-usa-bows-low-cost-30-meg-broadband-service | Multichannel News
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TELECOM
FCC PLANS FINE AGAINST NECC TELECOM FOR OVERCHARGING UNIVERSAL SERVICE FEES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Press release]
The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a $392,930 fine against NECC Telecom for apparently charging excessive and unlawful universal service fees to its customers. Phone companies are required to pay into a fund to support various universal service programs and may assess fees on customers to offset that cost. Carriers are prohibited from charging customers more in fees than they pay into the Universal Service Fund (USF). The FCC Enforcement Bureau’s investigation showed that NECC, primarily an international long distance reseller, profited from overcharges labeled as USF-related fees imposed upon its international service customers despite being exempt from any USF contribution obligation. This is the Commission’s first action enforcing FCC rules prohibiting a carrier from collecting more from consumers in USF fees than the carrier actually pays into the USF. The FCC also alleges that NECC failed to pay over $80,000 in mandatory regulatory fees and transferred its authorizations to provide telecommunications services without FCC approval.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-proposes-fine-unlawful-overcharging-universal-service-fees | Federal Communications Commission | see the Notice
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TRUMP TRANSITION
MEET MARK JAMISON
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Kevin Taglang]
[Commentary] On November 21, 2016, President-elect Doonald Trump named Mark Jamison and Jeffrey Eisenach to his “agency landing team” for the Federal Communications Commission. Jamison is a Visiting Fellow with the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He is also the Gunter Professor of the Public Utility Research Center (PURC) at the University of Florida and serves as its director of telecommunications studies. [Eisenach is a Visiting Scholar at AEI and Director of its Center for Internet, Communications, and Technology Policy.] Since, as a candidate, Donald Trump did not offer a telecommunications agenda, many are trying to read the tea leaves to understand how these appointments will impact how the FCC will operate over the next four years. As a professor and visiting fellow, Jamison is a prolific writer. We've been reading through his works looking for hints of what Trump Administration priorities may be.
https://www.benton.org/blog/getting-know-mark-jamison-president-elect-tr...
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CARSON FOR HUD
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Trip Gabriel]
Ben Carson, who took Donald Trump on a tour of blighted neighborhoods in Detroit during the presidential campaign, including his boyhood home, has been chosen by President-elect Trump to oversee one of the government’s main efforts to lift American cities as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, was an early endorser of Trump after ending his own presidential bid. With no experience in government or running a large bureaucracy, Carson, 65, publicly waffled over whether to join the administration. He will oversee an agency with a $47 billion budget, bringing to the job a philosophical opposition to government programs that encourage what he calls “dependency” and engage in “social engineering.” He has no expertise in housing policy, but he did spend part of his childhood in public housing, said a close friend, Armstrong Williams.
benton.org/headlines/president-elect-trump-chooses-ben-carson-lead-hud | New York Times
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TRUMP TEAM TALKS UP SEN HEITKAMP AS AG SECRETARY SPECULATION GROWS
[SOURCE: Morning Consult, AUTHOR: Eli Yokley]
The president-elect is scheduled to huddle with Sen Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), a member of the Senate Broadband Caucus and a "clean coal" technology advocate, as part of Dec 2's round of transition meetings. There is speculation that Sen Heitkamp could lead the Agriculture Department. While in Congress, Sen Heitkamp has been a proponent for rural broadband, promoting infrastructure to support high-speed Internet connections on North Dakota's Indian reservations and small towns across the state. In October, she was one of five senators who urged the Federal Communications Commission to consider how its business data services rules could deter investment from emerging providers, especially in rural areas. It's unclear whether the Heitkamp meeting pertains to a potential position in the administration, though news of the expected sit-down fueled rumors that she could be under consideration for a role at either the Energy or Interior departments or at the USDA.
benton.org/headlines/trump-team-talks-sen-heitkamp-agriculture-secretary-speculation-grows | Morning Consult
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SECURITY/PRIVACY
REPORT ON SECURING AND GROWING THE DIGITAL ECONOMY
[SOURCE: Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity, AUTHOR: ]
Recognizing the extraordinary benefit interconnected technologies bring to our digital economy—and equally mindful of the accompanying challenges posed by threats to the security of the cyber landscape—President Barack Obama established this Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. He directed the Commission to assess the state of our nation’s cybersecurity, and he charged this group with developing actionable recommendations for securing the digital economy. The President asked that this enhanced cybersecurity be achieved while at the same time protecting privacy, ensuring public safety and economic and national security, and fostering the discovery and development of new technical solutions. The Commissioners organized their findings into six major imperatives, which together contain a total of 16 recommendations and 53 associated action items. The imperatives are:
1. Protect, defend, and secure today’s information infrastructure and digital networks.
2. Innovate and accelerate investment for the security and growth of digital networks and the digital economy.
3. Prepare consumers to thrive in a digital age.
4. Build cybersecurity workforce capabilities.
5. Better equip government to function effectively and securely in the digital age.
6. Ensure an open, fair, competitive, and secure global digital economy.
benton.org/headlines/report-securing-and-growing-digital-economy | Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity
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TELEVISION
ROBERT BENNETT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Zach Wichter]
Robert Bennett, who guided the transformation of a Boston television station into an uncommon font of original programming and went on to run the nation’s largest broadcast station group, died on Nov 29 in Newport Beach CA). He was 89. In 1971, Bennett was overseeing WNEW-TV, a successful local station in New York City, but, as he later recalled, he was getting bored. “I was very anxious to do more live television.” And a new opportunity arose. A group in Boston was trying to gain control of the license for Channel 5, which was then WHDH, and promised to create 50 hours of original programming each week. Mr. Bennett joined the group, Boston Broadcasters Inc., after securing a guarantee of creative control and an ownership stake in the station should it be granted the license. In 1972, Boston Broadcasters acquired the station, WHDH became WCVB and Mr. Bennett began work to make good on the group’s promise of original programming. While other local stations were making big profits carrying reruns, Mr. Bennett turned to homegrown content. Although it was an ABC affiliate, the station far surpassed its promise on original programming, broadcasting as much as 62 hours each week — about 30 percent of its content — at a time when most local stations devoted less than 10 percent of their airtime to shows produced in-house.
benton.org/headlines/robert-bennett-broadcaster-who-charted-new-course-wcvb | New York Times
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