For upcoming media policy events, see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm
AGENDA ITEMS
Improving Spectrum Management for the 21st Century
White House Seeks to Speed DTV Switch
Upcoming Congressional Agenda
MEDIA
CBS, NBC Refuse to Air Church's Television Advertisement
Networks' New Wave of News
BROADBAND
Fast Internet Service for The People
Carriers Throw their Weight Around Towns
Verizon Concessions Tip Balance In Favor of PA Broadband Law
High Tech Players Urge Opening TV 'White Spaces' to Broadband
QUICKLY -- Minnesota Backs Away from VoIP Regulation; Comcast Seeks
Deregulation in Dallas; EU Review of
Microsoft-ContentGuard Deal;
Digital Forensics
AGENDA ITEMS
IMPROVING SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
President Bush has directed the heads of executive departments and agencies
to implement the recommendations in the of two Department of Commerce
reports titled Spectrum Policy for the 21st Century: The Presidents
Spectrum Policy Initiative. Specifically, the President is asking 1) the
Office of Management and Budget, within six months, to provide guidance for
improving capital planning and investment control procedures to better
identify spectrum requirements and the costs of investments in
spectrum-dependent programs and systems -- and for agencies to adopt these
recommendations by 12/05; 2) any agency head chosen by the Secretary of
Commerce to provide strategic spectrum plans including a) spectrum
requirements, b) plans for new technology adoption, and c) suggestions for
efficient approaches to meeting identified spectrum requirements; and 3)
the Secretary of Homeland Security to present public safety spectrum needs
and a plan to meet these needs.
[SOURCE: The White House]
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/11/20041130-8.html
Reaction from NTIA:
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/2004/execmemo_12012004.html
WHITE HOUSE SEEKS TO SPEED DTV SWITCH
One of the recommendations in "Spectrum Policy for the 21st Century" (see
story above) concerns the transition to digital television. The Commerce
Department is to establish a private-sector advisory committee to help the
federal government keep the digital-TV transition on track and to resolve
other tricky telecommunications issues, such as promoting nationwide,
affordable access to high-speed Internet service. Although the FCC has said
it will be hard to complete the switch to all-digital TV before 2009, the
White House still insists that the Commerce Department's National
Telecommunications and Information Administration try to wrap it up by Dec.
31, 2006, the government's target date for reclaiming old analog channels.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA484757?display=Breaking+News&...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
UPCOMING CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA
Incoming Senate Commerce Committee staff director Lisa Sutherland told a
telecom conference audience that telecommunications reform legislation in
the next Congress may also include reforming the FCC's decision-making
process. She noted that the telecom industry always seems to be in a state
of uncertainty because FCC
rulemakings take too long and are held up in lengthy court challenges.
Other Hill staffers identified priorities for the next Congress: universal
service, intercarrier compensation, regulatory parity, antitrust
protection, and accelerating the digital television conversion.
At a Media Institute meeting, industry analysts offered their predictions
on the FCC and Congressional agenda. They said support for the FCC's plan
to accelerate the digital TV conversion (by counting cable and satellite
subscribers as digital households) has lost momentum. They predicted no
telecom reform bill will pass in the next Congress especially if they
address controversial issues like media ownership and indecency standards.
The were unanimous in declaring a la carte pricing a dead issue for next
Congress.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Terry Lane]
(Not available online)
MEDIA
CBS, NBC REFUSES TO AIR CHURCH'S TELEVISION ADVERTISEMENT
The CBS and NBC television networks are refusing to run a 30-second
television ad from the United Church of Christ that has been deemed "too
controversial" because its ad implies acceptance of gay and lesbian couples
-- among other minority constituencies. "Because this commercial touches
on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other
individuals and organizations," reads an explanation from CBS, "and the
fact the Executive Branch has recently proposed a Constitutional Amendment
to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is
unacceptable for broadcast on the [CBS and UPN] networks." CBS and NBC's
refusal to air the ad "recalls the censorship of the 1950s and 1960s, when
television station WLBT in Jackson, Miss., refused to show people of color
on TV," says Ron Buford, coordinator for the United Church of Christ
identity campaign. Buford, of African-American heritage, says, "In the
1960s, the issue was the mixing of the races. Today, the issue appears to
be sexual orientation. In both cases, it's about exclusion." "The
consolidation of TV network ownership into the hands of a few executives
today puts freedom of speech and freedom of religious expression in
jeopardy," says former FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani, currently managing
director of the UCC's Office of Communication. "By refusing to air the
United Church of Christ's paid commercial, CBS and NBC are stifling
religious expression. They are denying the communities they serve a
suitable access to differing ideas and expressions." Adds Andrew
Schwartzman, president and CEO of the not-for-profit Media Access Project ,
"This is an abuse of the broadcasters' duty to inform their viewers on
issues of importance to the community. After all, these stations don't mind
carrying shocking, attention-getting programming, because they do that
every night."
[SOURCE: United Church of Christ Press Release]
http://www.ucc.org/news/u113004a.htm
See also --
* Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26458-2004Dec1.html
* NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/02/national/02church.html
NETWORKS' NEW WAVE OF NEWS
With Brian Williams taking over tonight for Tom Brokaw on "NBC Nightly
News," and Dan Rather's announcement last week that he is leaving "CBS
Evening News" in March, the often-staid broadcast news divisions appear
ready to embrace change. Everything seems to be on the table. Networks
might push newscasts to later in the evening to adapt to family schedules
and commuters. Anchors such as Williams will increasingly turn up on early
morning shows and Internet chat rooms to gain more exposure, and broadcast
executives hope, viewers. And yes, they will make frequent guest
appearances on entertainment programs like "The Daily Show," which has
become a proxy newscast for many young viewers. Entertainment values --
employed fully by Fox News Channel in its successful decade-long battle
against CNN -- are becoming paramount. Orville Schell, dean of the Graduate
School of Journalism at UC Berkeley, is convinced the new strategies will
reduce the quality of news programming. He noted the networks' obsession
with ratings, which drive advertising rates.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR:Scott Collins]
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-et-networks2dec02,1,29...
(requires registration)
BROADBAND
FAST INTERNET SERVICE FOR THE PEOPLE
Consumer advocates denounce the new Pennsylvania law restricting municipal
broadband networks. They say it amounts to governments now needing a
permission slip from entrenched cable and telephone monopolies to put a
vital economic and educational tool within everyone's reach. Government has
a long history of providing essential public services, these advocates
remind, pointing to national highways or electricity in rural areas. "The
Internet . . . is a true global public utility," said Jeffrey Chester,
director of the Center for Digital Democracy, an advocate for consumer
rights online. "We should be trying to provide it for free." Harold J.
Feld, associate director of the Media Access Project, a consumer-media
advocacy group, said a phone or cable company could always come in and
provide a wireless network, competing on price and service with any
municipal offering. "But who gets to decide what municipalities can do?"
Feld said. "Will it be corporations?" Companies such as Verizon, which
helped shape the Pennsylvania law, argue that telecommunications firms
would have little incentive to build networks if they have to compete with
government-subsidized service.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26409-2004Dec1.html
(requires registration)
See also --
* Despite lip service, telecom execs hate competition
[Commentary] A recent report shows that the United States has slipped from
11th place to 13th place among nations in terms of broadband penetration.
If policy-makers want to reverse that trend, they need to stop kowtowing to
powerful interests and start working to promote broadband competition in
all of its forms.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR:Miguel Helft]
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/10313755.htm
* NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/02/technology/02wireless.html
* Center for Digital Democracy's response to the PA law outlawing municipal
networks:
http://www.democraticmedia.org/news/Rendell.html
CARRIERS THROW THEIR WEIGHT AROUND TOWNS
As competition between cable and phone companies becomes increasingly
cutthroat, these arch-rivals are shelving their differences, teaming up to
derail community broadband projects. This alliance of odd couples is making
a multipronged attack, from lobbying state legislators to ban
government-run broadband networks, to flooding airwaves and mailboxes with
messages against these projects. As evidence of their success, the
incumbents won a huge victory in the spring when the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled that states can pass laws barring municipalities from building
broadband networks that could compete with private companies. "The issue is
(that the municipalities) control rights of way, and to regulate us at same
time they're competing with us is a recipe for trouble," said Dave
Pacholczyk, an SBC spokesman.
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Jim Hu]
http://news.com.com/Carriers+throw+their+weight+around+towns/2100-1034_3...
VERIZON CONCESSIONS TIP BALANCE IN FAVOR OF PA BROADBAND LAW
There's plenty of bad things in the legislation, but will anything good
come from the bill signed by Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell (D) that
restricts municipal broadband networks? Possibly. 1) To protect affordable
phone service for low-income households, the law requires incumbents to
automatically notify residents who apply for state public assistance that
they are eligible for an $8 discount on monthly phone bills and up to $100
toward installation charges. The bill also allows these low income
subscribers to buy services such as caller ID or call waiting. Previously,
these customers weren't allowed to have these services, and this
restriction was considered a significant impediment to Lifeline enrollment.
2) The bill requires Verizon and other incumbents to provide broadband
service to K-12 schools at 30% off the market rate or, if it's less, the
actual incremental cost of providing service to the buildings. 3) It also
established a $10 million education technology fund to help schools pay for
the equipment needed to take advantage of their broadband connections. 4)
Verizon promised to sell broadband equipment to schools at a discounted
price equal to cost plus 5%. And it agreed to sell its managed network
services to schools at a 20% discount from list. Rendell said the law's
discounts and Verizon's commitments would represent at least $350 million
in broadband savings to schools the next 10 years. 5) The law also sets up
a process by which the state Dept. of Community & Economic Development
(DCED) can designate specific rural communities to go to the head of the
deployment queue to serve local economic development projects. Under this
provision, incumbents must provide broadband service to DCED-designated
communities within 12 months of the request from that agency. 5) Verizon
promised Gov Rendell that, regardless of what the federal jurisdiction may
do with regard to unbundling, it will continue to offer unbundled services
to competitors up to 40% off list.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Herb Kirchhoff, Susan Polyakova]
(Not available online)
HIGH TECH PLAYERS URGE OPENING TV 'WHITE SPACES' TO BROADBAND
High tech companies, anxious to open up more spectrum for Wi-Fi and other
unlicensed uses, strongly supported an FCC proposal to allow the use of
"white spaces" between TV channels, in comments on a proposed rulemaking.
In general, high tech companies view the lower-frequency spectrum as
especially valuable for unlicensed
use because of its superior propagation characteristics. As expected,
broadcasters slammed the plan. Cable operators cited a potential threat to
their operations. The FCC appears likely to offer a pilot project testing
FCC Office of Engineering & Technology arguments the white spaces can be
safely used. Sources said Wed. only a change in leadership at the
Commission would potentially kill the initiative.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily]
(Not available online)
[The Benton Foundation signed on to comments drafted by the Media Access
Project and the New America Foundation that support the FCC proposal. See
those comments at:
http://www.mediaaccess.org/programs/broadband/BcstBandsFINALforNAF.pdf]
QUICKLY
MINNESOTA BACKS DOWN ON VOIP RULES -- FOR NOW
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has temporarily halted the
first-ever attempt by a state to impose its telephone rules and regulations
on an Internet phone service provider -- in part because the FCC recently
claimed sole jurisdiction over VoIP. In halting its regulatory plan on
Tuesday, the Minnesota commission promised to resurrect the effort should a
judge or Congress modify the FCC's order. Minnesota utility regulators also
will jump-start the effort should a court decide U.S. District Court Judge
Michael Davis was wrong to permanently bar the state from regulating
Internet phone company Vonage last October. A decision is expected in about
90 days.
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Ben Charny]
http://news.com.com/Minnesota+backs+down+on+VoIP+rules--for+now/2100-735...
COMCAST SEEKING DALLAS DEREGULATION
Arguing that at least 15% of the local market subscribes to satellite TV,
Comcast is asking the FCC to free the cable giant of rate regulation in
Dallas. If Comcast is successful, Dallas would lose authority to set
basic-cable rates at a time when large cable companies are announcing 2005
rate increases that are not playing well in the national media. The Dallas
government, which oversees Comcast's basic rates, is planning to oppose the
company at the FCC, said Nick Fehrenbach, the city's manager of regulatory
affairs and utility franchising.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA484751.html?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)
EU REGULATORS SUSPEND REVIEW OF MICROSOFT-CONTENTGUARD DEAL
With electronics maker Thomson SA joining Microsoft and Time Warner's
investment in antipiracy-software company ContentGuard, the European Union
Commission has stopped the clock on its review of the deal waiting for new
information about Thomson's role. EU Commission regulators sent out formal
objections to the venture last month, saying it may give Microsoft too much
power over the technology made by ContentGuard, which is becoming crucial
for online sales of music and video. Regulators still could demand
concessions in exchange for approval or block the deal outright. They even
might require the deal to be resubmitted in a new form, triggering a second
investigation.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: William Echikson
william.echikson( at )dowjones.com ]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110190719223287932,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)
DEPUTY GEEK, REPORTING FOR DUTY
The European Information Society Group (EURIM) is calling on the U.K.
government to recruit information technology workers as special constables,
or volunteers who work with police officers to take a byte out of crime on
the Internet. The recommendations follow findings earlier this year that
only approximately 240 people are qualified to work in digital forensics
and evidence recovery. EURIM, a British technology lobbying group, is
proposing to increase the number of skilled police officers monitoring the
cyberworld.
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Dan Ilett]
http://news.com.com/Deputy+geek%2C+reporting+for+duty/2100-7348_3-547308...
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
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