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February 2017

Virginia School District Gives 49% of Students Broadband, Bill Would Take It Away

In 2016, the Appomattox County School District in Virginia used broadband in a unique way to close the “homework gap” for 49 percent. of its students. But now this visionary deployment could be declared null & void by a Virginia state legislator. The Federal Communications Commission changed its rules to allow schools to use eRate-funded broadband after school is over to provide home coverage. The School District built its own fiber network, installed Wi-Fi radios onto the network to reach un-served homes with free service, and also saves the county millions of dollars in leasing fees over five years.

Virginia state legislator Kathy Byron introduced a deceptively name bill that would stop the county’s efforts in its tracks. As the Roanoke Times states, “In the spirit of naming bills the exact opposite of what they would do, her so-called 'Virginia Broadband Deployment Act' [original title] would actually make it harder to extend broadband to areas that don’t presently have it — or don’t have enough of it.” This bill corrupts the notion that communities can best determine and meet their broadband needs.

Rep Goodlatte: Electronic Privacy, Foreign Intelligence on Judiciary Agenda

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) said the panel’s top tech priorities consist of updating a 1986 electronic privacy law and reauthorizing a provision in the foreign intelligence statute that allows US spies to intercept communications abroad.

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which was authored long before the widespread use of email and social media, doesn’t require law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant before inspecting emails stored for more than 180 days. That standard is based on a 1980s understanding of electronic messaging that assumed anything stored for that period of time has been abandoned. “This law is outdated and contains insufficient privacy protections for Americans’ email communications in today’s digital age,” Goodlatte said. Rep Kevin Yoder (R-KS) introduced a measure in Dec that would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before investigating an individual’s online communications that have been stored in excess of 180 days or kept in a cloud storage service.

Sen Rounds Is Ready to Lead New Cybersecurity Subcommittee

Sen Mike Rounds (R-SD), chairman of the recently created Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, views cyberspace like any other battleground. “Cyberwar is more than simply stealing emails,” Chairman Rounds said. “Cyberwar is where you’re doing damage that, if it was done using a different weapon — a kinetic weapon, a bomb or a missile — everyone would say, ‘Look, you just damaged our infrastructure. You just messed up the New York Stock Exchange. You just blew up a dam.’”

In Chairman Rounds’ view, there is little difference between a missile attack on key US targets and a cyberattack that accomplishes the same kind of destruction. Chairman Rounds said the cybersecurity panel’s first task will be to help the Defense Department craft guidelines for responding to cyberattacks — particularly those perpetrated by hostile states — that mirror the way the Pentagon responds to bombs and bullets.

Verizon completes purchase of XO Communications’ fiber business

Verizon Communications announced it has completed the $1.8 billion purchase of XO Communications’ fiber-optic network business. Verizon’s purchase and integration of XO’s fiber network will help the company extend its suite of high-quality network services to its enterprise and wholesale customers. In addition, it will help the company in its plans to densify its cellular network, and to deploy new 5G technologies.

Integration of all XO operations and facilities is expected to commence immediately. The company expects to achieve significant synergies by incorporating XO’s fiber assets as part of its current network operations. Verizon anticipates the transaction will deliver in excess of $1.5 billion in operating and expense savings in net present value. In addition to the fiber transaction, Verizon has entered into an agreement to lease certain wireless spectrum from former XO affiliate NextLink Wireless. Verizon has an option, exercisable under certain circumstances, to buy NextLink.

FTC Returns Nearly $20 Million in Additional Refunds to T-Mobile Customers

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing refund checks totaling nearly $20 million to more than 617,000 T-Mobile customers who had third-party charges added to their mobile bills. These refunds are the result of a 2014 settlement with T-Mobile, which also involved all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the Federal Communications Commission.

As part of the settlement, T-Mobile agreed to fully refund unwanted third-party charges to its customers who applied for a refund. The company also agreed to remit to the FTC any remaining funds up to $90 million that were not distributed under the order. The FTC is using the remaining settlement money to send checks to customers who had third-party charges placed on their bills but did not participate in T-Mobile’s refund program. The average check amount is $32. Recipients should deposit or cash checks within 60 days.

Net neutrality policy still up in the air under President Trump

While the Federal Communications Commission may repeal the net neutrality rules, the Republican-controlled Congress may take a different path. Lawmakers will likely push for legislation, similar to a proposal from early 2015, that would write basic net neutrality protections into law, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) said recently. A law passed by Congress would supersede any actions taken at the FCC. Even though the FCC may move to repeal its reclassification, Chairman Thune called for a bipartisan agreement on some baseline rules.

Meanwhile, supporters of strong net neutrality rules vow to fight any effort to repeal the rules and rescind the classification of broadband as a regulated service "Chairman Pai's FCC cannot move quickly to dismantle protections supported by the vast majority of the American people," said Matt Wood, policy director at digital rights group Free Press. "While Pai's boss, Donald Trump, may have little respect for the rule of law, administrative law still binds the FCC." Congress could pass legislation, but that's not a given, Wood added. That's "assuming this Congress can get anything done, unlike its recent do-nothing predecessors," he said. "But the current rules are the common-sense floor for any new law, not the overreach that members of the current majority in Congress and the FCC preposterously make them out to be."

CNN editor sues after being detained at Atlanta airport under Trump travel ban

A CNN editor has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s travel ban, after being detained at Atlanta’s (GA) airport recently because of the controversial executive order. Mohammed Tawfeeq, an Iraqi citizen and US green card holder since 2013, was returning from Iraq on Sunday following a CNN assignment in his role as manager for CNN’s international desk. Officials at Atlanta Hartsfield/Jackson international airport told him he could be refused entry because of the executive order, questioned him on why he was in Iraq and then “told Mr Tawfeeq to wait because they needed to seek ‘an email’ concerning whether he would be allowed into the United States”, according to the lawsuit filed in the northern district of Georgia federal court.

Is Trump giving CNN the cold shoulder?

Is the White House purposefully keeping its officials from appearing on CNN? Neither President Trump's special consultant Kellyanne Conway nor Press Secretary Sean Spicer have hit CNN's Sunday morning news talk shows such as State of the Union in the past two weeks. Meanwhile, both of them, as well as Vice President Mike Pence and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus have appeared on other major networks' shows during that time. Spicer denied that CNN is being frozen out, when asked about it recently.

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