Lauren Frayer

The House draft telecom reform bill's "broad scope" "suggests final passage before the 2006 elections remains an uphill battle," Stanford Washington Research Group said. Because it seems to have support on both sides of the aisle, the bill is a "credible framework for how the final legislation may look," Stanford said. However, complications exist: 1) Provisions on how IP voice, video and data services are regulated could trigger involvement by others in the House such as the Judiciary Committee; 2) Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) hasn't said what he plans to do on telecom reform; and 3) "Katrina legislation and the budget reconciliation process will complicate movement of telecom bills in the near term." A coalition of consumer and public interest groups said Congress should hold hearings on telecom reform. "Telecommunications legislation has for too long been negotiated behind closed doors," said the 20-group coalition, which includes Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Free Press, Media Access Project and Common Cause. Introduction of the draft bill "should be the first step in an open and transparent legislative process that involves the public in meaningful ways," they said. [see Groups Respond to New Telecommunications Bill]
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The WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), a division of Boston's public broadcaster WGBH, is uniting emergency alert providers, local information resources, telecommunications industry and public broadcasting representatives, and consumers in a collaborative effort to research and disseminate approaches to make emergency warnings accessible. This three-year project is funded by the Department of Commerce's Technology Opportunities Program (TOP). This project is addressing a most urgent need - to develop and encourage adoption of standardized methods, systems and services to identify, filter and present content in ways that are meaningful to people with disabilities leading up to, during and after emergencies. People who are deaf or hard of hearing and who rely on captioned television news alerts are often left out when emergency broadcasts are not, in fact, captioned. And people who are blind or have low vision watch television to stay informed, but are at a loss when on-screen graphics or text crawls are used to convey information. The use of wireless systems-- the Web, cell phones and other personal devices-- promise greater freedom, independence and even safety when traditional electronic media fails or service is interrupted, but these technologies hit the market with access barriers which present new challenges as well. The Access Alerts project will identify the gaps that exist between alert systems that deliver information, and the unrealized potential of these systems to serve the entire population. Project activities, overseen by project director Marcia Brooks, include: 1) a needs and resource assessment, with diverse consumers and within the public warning community; 2) development of an information model that provides recommended accessibility extensions to emergency system protocols, technologies and services for wired, wireless , DTV- and IP-based delivery; and 3) end-user testing that will identify key usability factors that must be addressed to serve people with disabilities, including cross platform and cross-environment issues.

Hearst-Argyle Television senior vp for news Fred Young has a message for the rising chorus of officials telling TV broadcasters to move, and soon, off the spectrum they've used for decades: Look at the example of WDSU in New Orleans, and think about whether it's smart to take away TV signals that are a lifeline for many people. Beginning two days before Hurricane Katrina laid waste to the city, the Hearst-Argyle NBC affiliate preempted all normal programming with bulletins about the approaching storm and how to survive it. "There were no car races, there were no sitcoms, no movies, no golf-nothing associated with television in the traditional sense," Young told federal regulators on Sept. 15. Even after rising waters knocked WDSU off the air, staff fed a Web site that garnered 25 million page hits over several days. "The role that we play may not be fully understood by those who advocate premature return of the analog spectrum," Young said.

In a letter to House and Senate Commerce Committee leaders Thursday, Common Cause, Media Access Project, the Campaign Legal Center, among others, pushed the legislators to require "meaningful public interest obligations" if they grant broadcasters multicasting must-carry. The groups recommend three hours per week--mirroring stations' educational kids TV requirements--of civic or electoral programing on "[their] most-watched channel. It also says that six weeks before any election, some minimum number of hours such programming airing "when most adult viewers were watching," which would translate to prime time. As the FCC has with educational/informational programming, the groups also want it to come up with a definition of what would qualify as civic and electoral programming.
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The House now has a telecommunications reform bill to kick around. House Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX), ranking member John Dingell (D-MI), Telecom Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton, ranking Subcommittee member Ed Markey (D-Mass) and Rep. Pickering (R-Miss.) agreed on a "discussion draft" of a bill Wednesday and began distributing copies to members of the House Thursday. The bill would give federal regulators authority over video franchises for phone companies, require franchise fees of 5% of local revenue, discourage redlining services, and require E-911 for Internet telephony providers. The bill also creates the among "broadband Internet transmission service" (BITS) classification, which includes DSL, cable modem and other broadband services. BITS would be considered interstate services regulated by the federal government. But the bill preserves state and local authority to manage local rights-of-way in a nondiscriminatory way. The FCC would retain authority over spectrum licensing. BITS providers would be required to connect and exchange traffic with other telco carriers. A company that's a telecom carrier and a BITS provider would keep rights to access unbundled network elements and collocation under the Communications Act. Leaders vowed to move the bill to a vote on the floor of the House this year.
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Also see:
* Draft Bill Would Ease Franchising
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6257455.html?display=Breaking+News
(require subscription)
* Telecom Bill Would Streamline Franchises
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6257447?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
* House Telecom Bill Features New Approach To Video Services
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-MKKR1126823799471.html
* Draft Legislation Aims To Aid Competition In Broadband Services
The House Energy and Commerce Committee draft is a victory for advocates of "net neutrality" -- the idea that Internet providers have to stand aside and allow customers to access any Web pages as long as the content is legal. The principle is considered crucial to preserving the open nature of the Internet and preventing big broadband providers from squeezing out smaller competitors that offer voice, video or other services.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/15/AR200509...
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One of the NTIA's most recent Technology Opportunities Program grantees - the in Chicago - has dispatched two people from their TOP-funded Wireless Community Network Team to Rayville, Louisiana, to work with other telecomm volunteers to connect shelters with broadband connections, VOIP capability, and computers. At the moment, they are working out of Mac Dearman's farm in Rayville. Mr. Dearman is a local ISP who has opened his home and business to relief efforts. After connecting a number of shelters in the area, the group has pushed closer to the Gulf Coast and has set up camps in both Ponchatoula, Louisiana, and Bay St Louis, Mississippi. Paul Smith, from CNT's staff, is working with other volunteers to connect 25 shelters (through the Emergency Operation Center) with wireless access. All of this work was made possible in large part by TOP's support for the Wireless Community Network. "Our ad hoc mesh wireless approach allowed for quick deployment," CNT's Nicole Friedman told me. "There are hundreds of people who are making calls, connecting with their families, and getting access to emergency services." As an outgrowth of their work with Hurricane Katrina survivors, CNT has also been talking with Illinois Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn's office about translating CNT's experiences in the Gulf Coast into disaster preparedness kits for Illinois.

[Commentary] There's a new tech bubble emerging nationwide, complete with eager Silicon Valley companies lining up to sell their wares, that could start deflating this morning. The bubble is forming around the notion of city-run WiFi wireless systems, where municipalities buy relatively inexpensive WiFi transmitters, stick them on light poles, and blanket their jurisdictions in a wireless Internet "cloud.'' These networks would reduce the cost of cities meeting their own wireless data needs, at least in theory, while offering low-cost Internet service to residents that undercuts the high-priced duopoly formed by big cable and DSL broadband providers. But Langberg offers some cautions. Wireless Philadelphia is behind schedule and over budget. More than a year after its launch, there are still no details on exactly how much the project will cost or how it will be financed. If the Philadelphia project fails, or ends up owned and operated by a private company, the muni wireless bubble could suddenly grow smaller. Cost-justified projects will move forward, while grandiose dreams will shrivel in the harsh light of fiscal reality.

As the FCC prepares its pay-to-play probe, fueled by N.Y. Attorney Gen. Eliot Spitzer's recent payola investigation, music industry experts Tues. welcomed any reforms to level the playing field for lesser known artists to get their songs on the radio. Musicians and activists cited frustrations and personal stories about the major record labels' dominance over the airwaves at the Future of Music Coalition summit in Washington, DC. Speaking at the Summit, Media Access Project President Andy Schwartzman said, "We're in the midst of a highly deregulatory Republican Administration that has signaled to the radio industry that 'we're going to look the other way.'" He said payola involves "greedy people out breaking the law at the expense of independent artists who expect more from publicly owned spectrum operators." While there's no law against pay-for-play, there are rules governing disclosure, Schwartzman said. "What's wrong is a failure to disclose. A marketplace works better when all sides have complete information," he said.
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Wall Street probably would be impressed by a media outfit that managed to double its weekly audience from 13 million to 26 million in a little more than six years. Yet the folks who run National Public Radio insist it's because they don't have to impress Wall Street that they've been able to increase their listenership and, with it, revenue through listener contributions, sponsorships, and foundation support. While the radio world has contracted in upon itself through consolidated ownership and copycat formats, public radio has only become more distinct, important and valuable. It looms ever larger on the U.S. dial simply as guardian of its niche. It's expanding its news operation at a time when most others are cutting back. It's in the midst of a $15 million, three-year plan to add 45 staffers and open new bureaus, including one in West Africa. But more important, listen to an NPR program for 30 seconds and you know you're listening to NPR. Unlike its TV cousin, PBS, whose specialties have been cloned by cable networks that siphon off the viewers underwriters want to reach, it's tough to argue NPR is redundant.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting's Inspector General, Kenneth Konz, is eyeing a November 1 release for his report on the various allegations against Board Chairman Ken Tomlinson. Yesterday, Konz was on the Hill briefing legislators about his findings. Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Konz had concluded that Tomlinson "may have violated internal rules" in hiring a consultant without the board's knowledge to gauge the bias in noncommercial programming, including Bill Moyers' Now program, but Konz took issue with the story.