press release

Broadband can solve the global development gap

Access to broadband could be the universal catalyst that lifts developing countries out of poverty and puts access to health care, education and basic social services within reach of all, according to the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development.

The Commission reiterated its call to International community to recognize the transformational potential of high-speed networks and ensure broadband penetration targets are specifically included in the UN post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. It also urged governments and international financing bodies to work to remove current barriers to investment.

Globally, as much as 95% of telecommunications infrastructure is private sector-funded, but better incentives are urgently needed if investment is to expand in line with the coming exponential growth of connected users and so-called ‘Internet of Things’ data streams. In the world’s 200 biggest cities, the number of connected devices is forecast to increase from an average of 400 devices per square kilometer to over 13,000 devices per square kilometer by 2016.

White House Statement by the Press Secretary on Blocking of Twitter in Turkey

The United States is deeply concerned that the Turkish government has blocked its citizens’ access to basic communication tools.

We oppose this restriction on the Turkish people’s access to information, which undermines their ability to exercise freedoms of expression and association and runs contrary to the principles of open governance that are critical to democratic governance and the universal rights that the United States stands for around the world.

We have conveyed our serious concern to the Turkish government, urge Turkish authorities to respect the freedom of the press by permitting the independent and unfettered operation of media of all kinds, and support the people of Turkey in their calls to restore full access to the blocked technologies.

House Subcommittee to Vote on Legislation to Reauthorize Nation’s Satellite Television Law

The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, chaired by Rep Greg Walden (R-OR) has scheduled a markup to consider draft legislation to reauthorize the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act.

The subcommittee will convene for opening statements only on March 24, 2014, at 5:30 p.m.

“This vote will be another step toward ensuring that the 1.5 million Americans who rely on satellite television services don’t lose access to major programming at the end of the year,” said Chairman Walden. “The draft legislation, which addresses a number of discrete issues raised over the course of the subcommittee’s year-long review, strikes the appropriate balance to improve the law without offering any fundamental changes to the marketplace, which are best left to our work toward a Communications Act update. I look forward to working with the rest of the subcommittee to advance this must-pass legislation next week.”

Establish “GSA” for Government Spectrum

A Government Spectrum Ownership Corporation (GSOC) should be established to lease spectrum to government agencies, much in the same way as the General Services Administration (GSA) does with real estate, explain Thomas Lenard and Lawrence White in comments filed with the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The goal would be to provide incentives for government agencies to economize on spectrum use and free up spectrum for the private sector.

In their comments, Lenard, TPI President and Senior Fellow, and White, Robert Kavesh Professor of Economics at the NYU Stern School of Business, also recommend that spectrum allocation decisions should be a more integral part of the annual Office of Management and Budget (OMB) budgeting process. OMB should require any government agency that has a spectrum allocation to provide an annual accounting of that agency’s use of that spectrum. OMB should have a heightened awareness of spectrum as a scarce resource and should routinely search for under-utilized spectrum that could be auctioned by the FCC. In essence, OMB should become a skeptical auditor of government-held spectrum, its use, and its opportunity costs.

42 Free Speech, Open Government and Public Interest Groups Urge the FCC to Protect Net Neutrality

Free Press and 41 freedom of speech, open government, journalism and public interest groups sent a letter urging Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to reclassify broadband access services to protect freedom of expression online.

Released during Sunshine Week, the letter outlines the critical role Net Neutrality plays in guaranteeing that Americans can speak and publish freely: “The open Internet is our main conduit for freedom of expression and information. It is our library, our printing press, our delivery truck and our town square,” the letter reads. “Free speech depends on access to open and nondiscriminatory platforms for that speech. Without such principles governing online networks, we cannot guarantee the exercise of this most fundamental right.”

Representing millions of Americans, the groups include the American Civil Liberties Union, Free Press, the Government Accountability Project, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, PEN American Center, the Project on Government Oversight, Reporters Without Borders, the Society for Professional Journalists, the Sunlight Foundation and the Writers Guild of America East.

Free Press President and CEO Craig Aaron said: “We can’t separate Internet freedom from press freedom. Our rights to connect and communicate are inextricably linked. So the fight for freedom of expression must include fighting for a future where no gatekeeper -- corporation or government — can block or discriminate online. For FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, the path forward is clear.

"We can’t settle for anything less than reclassifying broadband services. As more and more of our journalism, civic information and democratic participation move online, we have to ensure that Internet service providers can’t meddle with the networks that enable the freedoms we hold so dear.”

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai Releases Results Of Broadcast Ownership Diversity Research

On March 31, the Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to vote on a proposal to restrict television broadcasters’ use of joint sales agreements (JSAs).

But the FCC currently doesn’t have the basic facts about JSAs. For example, the Office of Commissioner Ajit Pai (Office) asked how many JSAs there are in the United States among television stations and how many television stations owned by women and minorities participate in JSAs. Today, we still don’t have the answers to either of these fundamental questions. To partially fill this gap, the Office investigated whether there is a link between joint sales agreements and ownership diversity. Using publicly available sources, we estimate that:

  • 43% of female-owned full-power commercial television stations currently are parties to JSAs.
  • 75% of African-American-owned full-power commercial television stations currently are parties to JSAs.

“These findings raise serious questions,” Commissioner Pai said. “Why is the FCC targeting pro-competitive sharing arrangements that appear to disproportionately benefit female and African- American broadcasters? If the Commission forces broadcasters to terminate JSAs, how will that affect diversity? Why is the FCC rushing to a vote rather than taking the time to gather basic facts and study the effect of its proposal on ownership diversity? The Commission should not accelerate the troubling trend of declining minority ownership.”

Sen Franken: Comcast-Time Warner Cable Proposal Threatens Nature of Internet, Raises Net Neutrality Concerns

Sen Al Franken (D-MN), who recently came out in opposition to Comcast's proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable, continued to raise concerns about its potential impact on consumers.

The deal, he said, could jeopardize the open nature of the Internet by tilting the balance of power from people to huge corporations. In a letter sent to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Sen Franken called the Internet a place where everyone can participate on equal footing. But, he said, the proposed deal would give Comcast-already the nation's dominant Internet service provider-even more leverage to manipulate Internet traffic to serve its own corporate interests.

"The Internet is an open marketplace where everyone can participate on equal footing, regardless of one's wealth or influence-and I believe that's the way it should be," Sen Franken wrote. "The Internet has been a platform for innovation and economic growth since its inception. It also has connected Americans in unprecedented ways, facilitating the free exchange of information and ideas. Simply put, the Internet belongs to the people, not to huge corporations. Comcast's proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable could disrupt this balance of power, resulting in higher costs and fewer choices for consumers." Later, he added, "I am very concerned that Comcast could use its clout in the broadband market to dictate the content consumers receive and the prices they pay, and these concerns are only intensified by Comcast's proposal to acquire Time Warner Cable."

FCC To Hold Open Commission Meeting April 23, 2014

The April Open Meeting of the Federal Communications Commission has been rescheduled from Thursday, April 24, 2014 to Wednesday, April 23, 2014.

New America Announces New Leadership and Program on Technology

New America appointed Alan Davidson Vice President for Technology Policy and Strategy, and Director of the Open Technology Institute.

OTI Founder Sascha Meinrath will assume leadership of a new venture focused on tech innovation at New America, the X-Lab. Currently a Visiting Scholar at MIT, Davidson is one of the pioneers of Internet policy, starting with his work in the field in 1995 at the Center for Democracy and Technology, where he promoted civil liberties and human rights in the new digital space. Davidson then founded Google’s Washington, DC policy shop in 2005, and is the co-founder of the new MIT Information Policy Project. His start date at OTI and New America will be March 31.

Chairman Rockefeller Issues Subpoena in Wireless Telephone Cramming Investigation

Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller (D-WV) issued a subpoena to Mobile Messenger, a telephone “billing aggregator”, that has failed to provide information to the Commerce Committee related to wireless “cramming”, a practice where unauthorized third-party chargers are placed on consumers’ telephone bills.

Chairman Rockefeller initially wrote Mobile Messenger in March 2013 and again in November 2013, but noted in a new letter yesterday that “major gaps” remain in the company’s response. This action continues the Committee’s investigation into how consumers have been affected by wireless cramming, and whether the wireless industry’s voluntary procedures and practices adequately protect consumers from this practice.

“I am deeply disappointed that, nearly one full year after my initial request, Mobile Messenger has failed to produce key responsive information,” said Chairman Rockefeller. “It is also troubling that the company for many months has refused to provide information the Committee requested concerning the cramming scheme alleged by the Texas Attorney General in a November 2013 action against the company.”

Era of the digital mercenaries

Online surveillance is a growing danger for journalists, bloggers, citizen-journalists and human rights defenders.

The Spyfiles that WikiLeaks released in 2012 showed the extent of the surveillance market, its worth (more than 5 billion dollars) and the sophistication of its products. The “Enemies of the Internet” report is focusing on surveillance -- all the monitoring and spying that is carried out in order to control dissidents and prevent the dissemination of sensitive information, activities designed to shore up governments and head off potential destabilization.

On 12 March, 2014, World Day Against Cyber-Censorship, we are publishing two lists. One is a list of five “State Enemies of the Internet,” five countries whose governments are involved in active, intrusive surveillance of news providers, resulting in grave violations of freedom of information and human rights.

The five state enemies are Syria, China, Iran, Bahrain and Vietnam. The other is a list of five “Corporate Enemies of the Internet,” five private-sector companies that are “digital era mercenaries.” The five companies chosen are Gamma, Trovicor, Hacking Team, Amesys and Blue Coat, but the list is not exhaustive and will be expanded in the coming months. They all sell products that are liable to be used by governments to violate human rights and freedom of information.

Research by Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab has established that surveillance technology used against dissidents and human rights defenders in such countries as Egypt, Bahrain and Libya came from western companies.

Reporters Without Borders calls for the introduction of controls on the export of surveillance software and hardware to countries that flout fundamental rights. The private sector cannot be expected to police itself. Legislators must intervene. The European Union and the United States have already banned the export of surveillance technology to Iran and Syria. This praiseworthy initiative should not be an isolated one. European governments need to take a harmonized approach to controlling the export of surveillance technology. The Obama Administration should also adopt legislation of this kind, legislation such as the proposed Global Online Freedom Act (GOFA).

T-Mobile Celebrates 1st Anniversary of LTE Rollout By Launching Major Network Upgrade Program

Over the past year, T-Mobile US has abolished a litany of consumer pain points through a series of revolutionary new programs and services -- and Americans have responded by making T-Mobile the fastest growing wireless company in the US today, the un-carrier announced it is continuing its relentless pace of industry innovation by launching a major new program to expand what has already become the fastest LTE deployment in the US.

Less than one year since launch, T-Mobile's 4G LTE network already reaches 210 million people in 273 metro areas nationwide. Building on the unprecedented pace of its LTE rollout, T-Mobile is now kicking off a major new program to upgrade its 2G/EDGE network with 4G LTE. The company plans to complete 50 percent of the work in 2014 alone, and expects the program to be substantially complete by the middle of 2015. The upgrade will provide customers who currently experience 2G/EDGE coverage new access to 4G LTE, and many already covered by 4G LTE will enjoy access to 4G LTE in even more places.

In addition, T-Mobile plans to begin deploying 4G LTE in the new 700 MHz A-Block spectrum the company is in the process of acquiring. In a span of just six months, T-Mobile deployed its 4G LTE network coast to coast and at a pace unprecedented in the US wireless industry -- going from zero to nationwide coverage between March and September 2013.

Communications and Technology Subcommittee Reviews Draft Legislation to Reauthorize the Nation’s Satellite Television Law

The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, chaired by Rep Greg Walden (R-OR), held a legislative hearing to examine draft legislation aimed at reauthorizing the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act.

The draft legislation would reauthorize the law for five years and address a number of discrete issues raised over the course of the subcommittee’s year-long review of STELA. Reauthorizing STELA would ensure continued operation of satellite television services for 1.5 million American households. In addition to reauthorizing the law for five years, the draft legislation includes limitations on joint retransmission consent negotiations in conjunction with limitations on FCC action on broadcaster shared services arrangements, the elimination of the “sweeps” week prohibition on signal change, and the elimination of the set-top box integration ban.

Members today heard from representatives of the satellite, broadcast, cable, set-top-box, and public interest communities who discussed the provisions included in the draft legislation.

FCC Announces Tentative Agenda For March Open Meeting

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that the following items will be on the tentative agenda for the next open meeting scheduled for Monday, March 31, 2014:

  • Amendment of the Commission’s Rules Related to Retransmission Consent: The Commission will consider an Order making certain rule revisions and clarifications to facilitate the fair and effective completion of retransmission consent negotiations, and a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking commen on whether to eliminate the network non-duplication and syndicated exclusivity rules.
  • Broadcast Ownership Rules Quadrennial Regulatory Review: The Commission will consider a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that initiates the 2014 Quadrennial Review of broadcast ownership rules, addresses issues referred to the Commission by the Third Circuit’s remand of the 2008 Diversity Order, and a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to define and require the disclosure of a category of sharing agreements between broadcast television stations. The accompanying Report and Order determines that certain television joint sales agreements are attributable.
  • Increasing Utility of Unlicensed Spectrum in the 5 GHz Band: The Commission will consider a First Report and Order that would revise rules to make 100 megahertz of 5 GHz UNII-1 band unlicensed spectrum more useful for consumers and businesses, and reduce the potential for harmful interference to certain incumbent operations.
  • Meeting the Nation’s Demand for Licensed Spectrum: The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would adopt allocation, licensing, service, and technical rules to make available for auction 65 megahertz of AWS-3 spectrum for flexible use services, including mobile broadband.

Statement on Intel Committee’s CIA Detention, Interrogation Report

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) spoke on the Senate floor regarding the committee’s study on the CIA Detention and Interrogation Program:

“Over the past week, there have been numerous press articles written about the Intelligence Committee’s oversight review of the Detention and Interrogation Program of the CIA, specifically press attention has focused on the CIA’s intrusion and search of the Senate Select Committee’s computers as well as the committee’s acquisition of a certain internal CIA document known as the Panetta Review. I rise today to set the record straight and to provide a full accounting of the facts and history. The origin of this study: The CIA’s detention and interrogation program began operations in 2002, though it was not until September 2006, that Members of the Intelligence Committee, other than the Chairman and Vice Chairman, were briefed. In fact, we were briefed by then-CIA Director Hayden only hours before President Bush disclosed the program to the public.

The resulting staff report was chilling. The interrogations and the conditions of confinement at the CIA detention sites were far different and far harsher than the way the CIA had described them to us. As result of the staff’s initial report, I proposed, and then-Vice Chairman Bond agreed, and the committee overwhelmingly approved, that the committee conduct an expansive and full review of CIA’s detention and interrogation program.

In 2009, then-Vice Chairman Bond, then-Director Panetta, and I agreed in an exchange of letters that the CIA was to provide a ‘stand-alone computer system’ with a ‘network drive’ ‘segregated from CIA networks’ for the committee that would only be accessed by information technology personnel at the CIA -- who would ‘not be permitted to’ ‘share information from the system with other [CIA] personnel, except as otherwise authorized by the committee.’ It was this computer network that, notwithstanding our agreement with Director Panetta, was searched by the CIA this past January.”

[March 11]

House Advances Bipartisan FCC Process Reform Act

The House of Representatives approved HR 3675, the Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act, by voice vote.

Authored by Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), this bipartisan legislation aims to increase transparency, predictability, and accountability to the commission. “The communications sector is one of the most innovative, competitive, and robust sectors of our economy. But, for innovation and investment to continue in communications, we must not weigh industry down with needless red tape and delay,” said Chairman Walden.

“The communications industry represents a promising sector of our economy that has fostered widespread investment, innovation, job creation, and greater consumer choice,” added subcommittee Vice Chairman Bob Latta (R-OH). “As members of Congress, we have to ensure that businesses and entrepreneurs are equipped with the opportunity and flexibility to continue making that sustained progress. The FCC Process Reform Act should facilitate this effort.”

The FCC Process Reform Act now heads to the Senate where it will join the FCC Consolidated Reporting Act, which was approved by the full House in September by a vote of 415-0, in waiting for consideration. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) has introduced Senate companion legislation to both bills.

[March 11]

The FCC Must Update the Spectrum Screen

Many parties, including Verizon and Sprint, have been arguing that the Federal Communications Commission must update the spectrum screen to reflect current wireless marketplace realities.

Now, on the eve of the FCC adopting rules that will govern two spectrum auctions, Sprint has proposed a new, allegedly “easy to implement,” spectrum screen that continues to ignore the biggest defect in the Commission’s application of the spectrum screen: the exclusion of 138 MHz of 2.5 GHz spectrum, which is available and used for mobile broadband.

Instead, Sprint proposes to apply complicated calculations to various spectrum bands on an urban, suburban, and rural basis to create a “weighted” spectrum screen that, unsurprisingly, decreases the weight of Sprint’s 147 MHz of 2.5 GHz spectrum holdings to 11.1 MHz, at most. Our latest ex parte filing makes the case that the FCC should reject Sprint’s self-serving and short-sighted proposal and instead fix the spectrum screen by updating it to include all spectrum that is suitable and available for commercial mobile use.

[March 10]

T-Mobile Doubles Down on Flagship Simple Choice Plan with More 4G LTE Data, Tethering -- and Unlimited International Texting

In another industry first, T-Mobile US announced the company is offering customers more 4G LTE data and tethering and unlimited international texting -- at no extra charge. The updates reflect the latest stage in the evolution of T-Mobile's flagship Simple Choice plan, which launched the company's Un-carrier consumer movement last spring.

All Simple Choice customers will automatically enjoy the added benefits of these updates without taking any action whatsoever - in another Un-carrier departure from industry norms. First, in a move to stay out front of Americans' fast-growing demand for mobile data, the company announced it is sweetening the deal for Simple Choice customers already enjoying unlimited data, talk, and text on America's wicked-fast network - now doubling the amount of high-speed 4G LTE data and tethering to 1GB included in the $50 Simple Choice service plan.

"In the mobile age, wireless data caps and overage fees are just this side of extortion," said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. "Take the basic plans from the Big Two with ridiculously low data limits that hit you with fat overages each month. It's like getting your data from the neighborhood loan shark and paying 100 percent interest when the bill comes due. It's the classic shakedown."

The expansion of Simple Choice to include more of T-Mobile's fastest data and tethering comes as wireless data usage -- and tethering laptops and tablets to the web via connected devices -- continues to surge. T-Mobile customers use nearly 50 percent more data now than they did in 2013 when Simple Choice first launched, outpacing the industry's growth rate in mobile data usage. And monthly usage on unlimited 4G LTE plans has nearly doubled to over 5GB.

[March 7]

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Statement On The Departure Of David Turetsky

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that David Turetsky will step down from the FCC after approximately two years.

Turetsky previously served as Chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) before becoming Deputy Chief of the International Bureau and leading the Commission’s informal internal task force on FCC response to international disasters and working on “Team Telecom” issues. He plans to leave the Commission by the end of April.

Turetsky joined the FCC from private law firm practice, where he was a partner and co-chair of the antitrust practice group for several years in a large international law firm. His work included litigation, transactions and investigations, in a wide range of industries, including technology, media and telecommunications, as well as financial services, energy, electricity, sports, pharmaceuticals, consumer products and other areas.

[March 7]

‘Small Screens, Big Plans’ for K-12 Districts

For districts or school systems to build a mobile content strategy, the report outlines six steps that comprise both information and application content:

  • Evaluate where your district is and with whom it works -- compile an inventory of existing systems, people, skills sets and content, as well as evaluate their mobile readiness.
  • Prioritize what is most important -- what information should be made mobile and on which devices / app platforms.
  • Act on tactical solutions for the short-term and plan for long-term mobility needs.
  • Communicate the designed strategy to key stakeholders and actively promote the application.
  • Monitor, measure and guide your mobile strategy using mobile analytics, surveys, audience profiles and usability testing.
  • Support, maintain and adjust to changing needs, trends and technologies, including the frequency that content will require updates.

Global survey also reveals nearly a quarter of global mobile subscribers rate their operator ‘5 out of 10’ or less for customer care

A new survey conducted by Ovum on behalf of Tektronix Communications reveals that a third of all consumers still cite poor quality customer care as the most important reason for changing their mobile service provider, with over half stating it as one of the key reasons for switching.

With 23% of mobile subscribers only rating their operator ‘five out of ten’ or less for customer care and up to a quarter of subscribers planning to change providers in the next 12 months, the results underline the cause for concern that exists. The survey also points to a lack of consumer confidence in the ability of customer care agents to deal with and pinpoint the source of problems quickly. When asked to rate the ability of customer care agents to resolve an issue, respondents were least confident in an agent’s ability to address poor network coverage, followed by a lack of confidence in the Operator’s ability to deal with poor handset performance or dropped calls.