1. Monthly archive
  2. June 2017

June 2017

Nomination Hearing
Senate Commerce Committee
Thursday, June 8, 2017
10:00 a.m.
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings?ID=45F84816-53...

Witnesses

  • Derek Kan, of California, to be Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy
  • David J. Redl, of New York, to be Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, Department of Commerce
  • Robert L. Sumwalt, III, of South Carolina, to be Member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for a 5-year term expiring December 16, 2021, and to be designated Vice Chairman for a term of 2 years

Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Thursday, June 8, 2017
10:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m.
https://itif.org/events/2017/06/08/how-municipalities-and-industry-can-c...

While federal policies play a major role in U.S. broadband deployment, municipal-level efforts can make all the difference in establishing a successful, sustainable network—especially when it comes to infrastructure for next-generation wireless networks. Robust connectivity to advanced broadband will enable innovative new services for consumers, businesses, and governments, but building out this network will require additional access to rights of way, utility poles, and public structures. Streamlining these processes will be more important than ever, but some local communities may be overwhelmed by permit applications, unsure of the best way to proceed, or continue to think in terms of old franchise-agreement models that are no longer effective.

Join ITIF for a conversation with FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn followed by a panel discussion with both industry and municipalities to discuss opportunities and challenges for spurring broadband deployment.


Council on Foundations
Thursday, June 15, 2017
2:00pm to 3:00pm
https://www.cof.org/event/how-essential-broadband-your-community

Broadband is essential for communities – it can mean more robust economic development, more access to health care, stronger and more diverse educational options, and enhanced public safety.

Because every community has different needs and resources, there is no “one size fits all” approach to deploying and accessing broadband. This can sometimes stall community efforts as they struggle with beginning the process of planning for current and future broadband needs. But help is available for community and private foundations.

This webinar explores:

  • the why behind broadband as an essential 21st century infastructural need for communities
  • free technical assistance, resources, and tool-kits available for your communities and foundations
  • the experiences from Blandin Foundation in helping communities around broadband
  • the work of Cleveland Foundation as they seek to engage in the issue of broadband capacity

Presenters

  • Karen Hanson, Partnerships and Interagency Affairs, BroadbandUSA
  • Bernadine Joselyn, Director of Public Policy and Engagement, Blandin Foundation
  • Leon Wilson, Chief Digital Innovation and Chief Information Officer, Cleveland Foundation

Amazon, Kickstarter, Reddit and Mozilla are staging a net neutrality online protest July 12

Some of the Internet's biggest names are banding together for a “day of action” to oppose the Federal Communications Commission, which is working to undo network neutrality regulations for Internet providers that it passed during the Obama Administration. Among the participants are Etsy, Kickstarter and Mozilla, the maker of the popular Firefox Web browser. Also joining the day of protest will be Reddit, the start-up incubator Y Combinator, and Amazon.

On July 12, the companies and organizations are expected to change their websites to raise awareness of the FCC effort. Mozilla, for example, will change what users see on their screens when they open a new browser window. The digital rally recalls a similar online effort in 2012 by Google, Wikipedia and others to protest federal legislation on Internet piracy. The companies blacked out their websites in an effort to show how the bill could lead to censorship.

The End of Net Neutrality Could Shackle the Internet of Things

Network neutrality doesn’t just cover streaming video. It also ensures that you can use the devices that you want. Under the current net neutrality rules, your internet provider can’t stop you from connecting any laptop, tablet, smartphone, or Wi-Fi router you want to your home network. Without net neutrality, the days when broadband companies and cell carriers could let traffic flow faster to one brand of phone or computer over another could be coming. And that’s just the start.

With people connecting more and more devices, from voice-controlled personal assistants like Apple’s forthcoming Home Pod to thermostats to cars, net neutrality becomes that much more important, even as the federal government moves to drop its own protections. Dismissing the rules could be a big problem for the future of the Internet of Things, since companies like Comcast–which is already working on its own smart home platform–certainly have the motivation to create fast and slow lanes for particular gadgets and services. If your internet provider can decide which personal assistant or smart home gadgets you can or can’t use, the broadband can dictate the winners and losers in the Internet of Things race. That wouldn’t bode well for competition, innovation, or you.

USTelecom and its Aftermath

As detailed in this BULLETIN, a proper implementation of Title II precluded the Federal Communications Commission’s approach, forcing the Agency to ignore the “vast majority of rules adopted under Title II” and “tailor[] [Title II] for the 21st Century.” Surprisingly, the DC Circuit found in United States Telecom Association v. FCC that the agency had wide latitude to interpret the Communications Act and not only upheld the agency’s decision to reclassify but also its gross distortion of Title II. In so doing, the DC Circuit has extended Chevron deference beyond any reasonable limit, greatly expanding the Commission’s authority well beyond its statutory mandate.

This BULLETIN first presents several examples of how the 2015 Open Internet Order ignores both the plain language of Title II and the extensive case law to achieve select political objectives, followed by a discussion of the DC Circuit’s acceptance of such legal perversions. Next, this BULLETIN discusses how the FCC attempted to use the same theory of the case found in USTelecom to regulate the prices of Business Data Services. Conclusions and policy recommendations are at the end.

The new FCC can only do so much; keeping the internet free requires legislation

[Commentary] What America needs is clear, consistent, and sustainable internet policy. That can only come through legislation. We need a diligent rewriting of the 21-year-old act that guides telecommunication and internet policy. At the time of the law’s passage, there were just 13 million internet users in the United States. Today, there are 287 million.

The new telecom and internet law doesn’t have to be long and complicated, but it does have to be comprehensive. It has to enshrine the Clinton-era principles into law. It’s time to remove any ambiguity about whether the internet’s infrastructure is a public utility. It should not be. Competition and light-touch regulation built the internet, and they should keep on building it.

[Glassman was a former president of The Atlantic, publisher of The New Republic, executive vice president of US News & World Report, and editor-in-chief and co-owner of Roll Call.]

The Internet of Things Connectivity Binge: What Are the Implications?

Despite wide concern about cyberattacks, outages and privacy violations, most experts believe the Internet of Things will continue to expand successfully the next few years, tying machines to machines and linking people to valuable resources, services and opportunities. As billions more everyday objects are connected in the Internet of Things, they are sending and receiving data that enhances local, national and global systems as well as individuals’ lives. But such connectedness also creates exploitable vulnerabilities. As automobiles, medical devices, smart TVs, manufacturing equipment and other tools and infrastructure are networked, is it likely that attacks, hacks or ransomware concerns in the next decade will cause significant numbers of people to decide to disconnect, or will the trend toward greater connectivity of objects and people continue unabated?

It would be a mistake for Congress to prohibit targeted advertising online

[Commentary] On its face, the BROWSER Act seems like pro-consumer privacy legislation. But it’s actually an awful deal for Americans who’ve come to depend on free online content and services.

The BROWSER Act would disallow interest-based ads by default. In doing so, the act would erase $340 billion in advertising revenue from American websites over the next five years. That’s because the Act requires users to opt-in to interest-based advertising and studies have shown that such an opt-in regime reduces online ads’ effectiveness by 65 percent. Some might initially celebrate this change. But celebration will change to mourning when they realize the price we’ll be paying when websites lose all this ad revenue.

[Carl Szabo is senior policy counsel for NetChoice, a trade association of eCommerce businesses including AOL, Facebook, and 21st Century Fox.]

FCC Kidvid Rule: What is Your Function?

[Commentary] After 20 years, it's time to reconsider the Federal Communications Commission guideline effectively requiring TV stations to air three hours of educational and informational children programming each week. If it cannot be demonstrated that such programming is effective, the intrusion on broadcasters' First Amendment rights cannot be justified.

[Jack Goodman practices communications law in Washington. He was previously general counsel of the National Association of Broadcasters]

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