Benton's Communications-related Headlines for 12/15/04

Two big items on the agenda today: a FCC open meeting in which we'll try to=
=20
consolidate the local phone market (see story below) and a discussion on=20
the future of public TV. For these and other upcoming media policy events,=
=20
see http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm

NEXTEL-SPRINT
Directors Approve Sprint-Nextel Merger
Nextel=ADSprint Merger Raises Regulatory Issues
Telecom Merger Might Be What Consumers Need

MORE ON WIRELESS
Looking to Wireless for Growth, Tech Giants Seek More Spectrum
CTIA to Spend Tens of Millions Rallying Cell-Caller Lobbying Army
Wireless Firms Fight Taxation In Maryland

MORE ON TELECOM
The Proper Direction for Telecommunications Reform Legislation
FCC Rule Changes May Cut Local Phone Choices
Sachs: Watch Out for SBC Redlining
Telecom Competition Rules: D=E9j=E0 Vu All Over Again?

MEDIA
Sinclair to MoveOn: 'You First'
Stop the Parents Television Council Before it Gets Beyond TV
PBS' Future Post-Moyers
MPAA Targets Core BitTorrent, eDonkey Users
Linking Independent Producers and Local Public Television Stations

FCC
Consumer Advisory Committee

NEXTEL-SPRINT

DIRECTORS APPROVE SPRINT-NEXTEL MERGER
Expect an announcement today that directors of Sprint and Nextel agreed=20
yesterday to merge the companies in a deal that would create a new wireless=
=20
telecommunications giant. A combined Sprint-Nextel would have 39 million=20
customers, making the company the third-largest wireless firm, behind=20
Cingular Wireless and Verizon Wireless. Cingular, which acquired AT&T=20
Wireless Services seven weeks ago, has about 47 million subscribers;=20
Verizon Wireless has 42 million. The merged company is expected to spin off=
=20
Sprint's local phone holdings in a transaction analysts said could bring in=
=20
as much as $19 billion.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ben White and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64847-2004Dec14.html
(requires registration)
Additional coverage in...
* Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110306450959500171,00.html?mod=3Dtoda...
s_page_one
* USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20041215/sprintnextel15.art.htm

NEXTEL-SPRINT MERGER RAISES REGULATORY ISSUES
An announcement on a Nextel merger with Sprint could come today, but will=20
the companies ever combine. Industry analysts seem to think the merger=20
would pass regulator review as it is smaller than the Cingular-AT&T=20
Wireless deal. One concern is that as the industry moves to=20
third-generation services, regulators want to ensure that there are=20
competitors with sufficient spectrum to compete with Cingular and Verizon=20
Wireless. A combined Nextel-Sprint would need more spectrum to be able to=20
compete. The combined company would also dominate what's called "MMDS=20
spectrum," which could be used to provide wireless phones with fast=20
Internet connections. Critics of the deal might suggest divestiture, but=20
the new company could make a case that its holdings could be used to create=
=20
a new, wireless pipe into the home. There's also network compatibility=20
issues, but don't get us started... this is a policy-focused news summary=20
service. [SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Howard Buskirk, Susan=20
Polyakova]
(Not available online)

TELECOM MERGER MIGHT BE WHAT CONSUMERS NEED
[Commentary] It tells you something about the state of competition in the=20
telecom sector -- or the lack of it -- that consumers should cheer the=20
widely expected merger between the No. 3 and the No. 5 wireless companies.=
=20
Sprint-Nextel could provide a strong and independent competitor to the=20
local cable and phone companies that are desperately trying to leverage=20
their existing monopolies to lock themselves in as your one-stop supplier=20
of basic telephone, wireless, Internet and cable television service. With=20
the prospect that consumers will have only a choice between one cable and=20
one phone company for all their telecom services -- a duopoly in which both=
=20
sides will see the folly of getting into a price war -- wireless remains=20
the last hope for robust telecom competition. Unfortunately, with the FCC=20
and the Justice Department's antitrust division on extended holiday, the=20
two largest wireless providers are now in the hands of Baby Bells: Verizon=
=20
Wireless, which Verizon actually owns with Europe's Vodafone, and=20
Cingular-AT&T, owned jointly by SBC and BellSouth.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Steven Pearlstein]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A288-2004Dec14.html
(requires registration)
See also:
* Merger Puts Nextel at Crossroads
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen McCarthy]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64856-2004Dec14.html
(requires registration)
* USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20041215/maney15.art.htm
* NYTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/15/technology/15phone.html

MORE ON TELECOM

THE PROPER DIRECTION FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS REFORM LEGISLATION
How would a phone giant executive like telecom law reformed next year? Glad=
=20
you asked, Congressman... BellSouth Chairman Duane Ackerman says keep a=20
telecom bill rewrite short and simple with fewer resulting regulations so=20
we can all avoid more litigation and get this thing done in months rather=20
than years. Ackerman proposed
a system where regulation is broken into 3 areas: 1) Retail regulation:=20
basic local service rates would remain regulated, but if a customer added=20
other services features, they wouldn't be regulated; 2) Wholesale=20
regulation: nonrural phone companies should be limited to requiring=20
unbundled local copper loops at negotiated rates. =93This
obligation also should sunset after a few short years in order to=20
facilitate commercially negotiated network access arrangements,=94 Ackerman=
=20
said; and 3) Public safety: 911, Communications Assistance for Law=20
Enforcement Act (CALEA) and consumer protections are enforced on all=20
carriers. Ackerman stressed that these requirements should be =93baseline=94=
=20
and avoid any =93free rider effects, where one group of competitors can palm=
=20
off responsibilities and costs on another group.=94 He also proposed=20
reforming Universal Service funding by decreasing the burden on telecom=20
users/subscribers and instead using general tax revenue. [Paging Peter and=
=20
Paul.]
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Terry Lane, Edie Herman]
(Not available online)
For more on this presentation/event, see
http://www.aei.org/events/eventID.863,filter.all,type.upcoming/event_det...
asp#
http://www.usta.org/news_releases.php?urh=3Dhome.news.nr2004_1214

FCC RULE CHANGES MAY CUT LOCAL PHONE CHOICES
Regulators are expected today to pass new rules that would curtail local=20
phone competition. The new rules, championed by FCC Chairman Michael=20
Powell, would allow the Bells in six months to sharply raise the prices=20
they charge long-distance companies to lease their networks. AT&T, MCI and=
=20
others use the discount leases to offer packages of local and long-distance=
=20
service to 20 million consumers. Powell also had proposed sharply limiting=
=20
the ability of the Bells' rivals to serve small businesses. That would=20
raise retail rates about 33%. Under his plan, a competitor would lose=20
discount access to the wires linking Bell call-routing centers that serve=20
at least 15,000 to 20,000 business lines.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR:Paul Davidson]
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20041215/2b_fcc15.art.htm

SACHS: WATCH OUT FOR SBC REDLINING
Speaking to an audience of Congressional aides and Federal Communications=20
Commission staff, National Cable & Telecommunications Association president=
=20
Robert Sachs warned Tuesday that phone giant SBC is planning to deploy=20
high-speed fiber lines in wealthy communities and to ignore less-affluent=20
enclaves. You may know this business strategy as redlining which federal=20
law prohibits cable companies from pursuing. Sachs=92 redlining charge was=
=20
based on an SBC bar graph presented to unnamed institutional investors=20
showing that the Baby Bell planned to serve 5% of so-called low-value=20
customers. Redlining is considered an action that denies service to=20
low-income and minority consumers. Sachs also suggested that efforts to=20
overhaul communications law next year should be limited to a few discrete=20
issues, such as funding nationwide affordable phone service (called=20
Universal Service); reforming access charges paid by long-distance=20
companies to local carriers; and establishing a deadline to end the=20
broadcasters=92 transition to digital-only transmission.
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA487999.html?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)
See a NCTA Press Release:
http://www.ncta.com/press/press.cfm?PRid=3D561&showArticles=3Dok
...and coverage in TVWeek
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=3D6914
and Broadcasting & Cable
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA488006?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

TELECOM COMPETITION RULES: DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN?
[Commentary] Today the FCC is expected to vote -- for the fourth time -- on=
=20
regulations requiring telephone companies to lease, or =93unbundle,=94 parts=
of=20
their networks to competitors. Gattuso says the FCC needs to get it right=20
this time by limiting mandatory unbundling rules to markets where=20
competition otherwise could not feasibly exist. The Commission=92s goal, he=
=20
writes, should be a competitive marketplace, not the protection of=20
individual competitors.
[SOURCE: Heritage Foundation, AUTHOR: James Gattuso]
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Regulation/wm621.cfm
For more of same, see
FCC Must Relax Unbundling Requirements
http://www.pff.org/news/news/2004/121404mayunbundling.html

MEDIA

SINCLAIR TO MOVEON: 'YOU FIRST'
Sinclair Broadcast Group lobbyist and commentator Mark Hyman has a response=
=20
for the media activists who would like to see opposing views aired on the=20
company's stations: "As soon as MoveOn.org allows me to use their e-mail=20
lists and post to their Web site, maybe then we will have a conversation."=
=20
[Oh, is MoveOn a licensed trustee of the public airwaves now, too?]=20
Activists argue that Sinclair is misusing the airwaves. Hyman counters that=
=20
it is "just public discourse" and that his commentaries deal with a range=20
of issues, like say the periodic failure of Congress to pass appropriations=
=20
bills in a timely fashion. He also says that if the groups are concerned=20
about public service, "I would feel better if they were writing letters to=
=20
our troops in Iraq. There are 168 programming hours on our stations every=20
week and I am on for 10 to 15 minutes," he says, "It seems their priorities=
=20
are a little skewed."
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA487927?display=3DBreaking+New...
ferral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

STOP THE PARENTS TELEVISION COUNCIL BEFORE IT GETS BEYOND THE TV
Picking up on earlier reports that the Parents Television Council has=20
generated nearly all the indecency complaints at the FCC the last couple of=
=20
years, Goodman asks readers to take hold of their mice and send FCC=20
Chairman Michael Powell a message: "Hey Mike, I'm an adult who knows how to=
=20
work my television's remote control. I may not like everything I see, but I=
=20
want you to know that I am disinterested in creating some McCarthyesque=20
chill factor in the creative community. Yours sincerely." Does it matter=20
where indecency complaints come from? Goodman says "Yes" because the FCC=20
"is supposed to be a sounding board for people who view a TV show, are=20
upset about the content and seek a place to complain outside of the network=
=20
that aired it. But the process is being hijacked by people who in all=20
likelihood aren't even watching the shows but are responding to a group=20
that tells them the content is wicked."
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Tim Goodman=
tgoodman( at )sfchronicle.com]
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=3D/c/a/2004/12/13/DDG79AA71B...
L

PBS' FUTURE POST-MOYERS
[Commentary] Public broadcasting's new "Enhanced Funding Initiative"=20
advisory committee will soon hold its first public meeting, looking for a=20
way to secure ongoing and independent funding for noncommercial radio and=20
TV. Chester asks what committee members probably will not -- why does=20
public broadcasting deserve this gift? What will the American public=20
receive in the deal? Before any discussion of raising new revenues, we=20
should be assured that the spirit of the original mission of public=20
broadcasting is fully honored. Where is the commitment to producing serious=
=20
news and public affairs? How will significant programming slots be=20
controlled by persons of color ? How much of the schedule will be=20
controlled by independent producers? Will ad-like underwriting vanish from=
=20
PBS, especially its news and children's programs? How will the governance=20
of public broadcasting change so it becomes more democratic? What new=20
innovative programming ventures will be created that can harness the more=20
than 2,000 digital channels soon to be available to public TV? Unless there=
=20
is public pressure on PBS and the Congress to ask such questions, they=20
won't be on the agenda.
[SOURCE: AlterNet, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Chester]
http://www.alternet.org/story/20741/
NOW with Bill Moyers
PBS Airdate: Friday, December 17, 2004 at 9PM (check local listings)
On Friday December 17, 2004, at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), Bill=
=20
Moyers signs off as host and managing editor PBS's weekly newsmagazine NOW=
=20
with Bill Moyers after three seasons at the helm by continuing NOW's=20
ongoing coverage of the impact of media consolidation on democracy. The=20
program looks inside the Republican media machine that the conservative New=
=20
York Times columnist David Brooks called a "dazzlingly efficient ideology=20
delivery system" and examines how conservatives exploited the demise of the=
=20
fairness doctrine to produce a vast echo chamber that is admittedly=20
partisan and powerfully successful.

MPAA TARGETS CORE BITTORRENT, EDONKEY USERS
The Motion Picture Association of America launched a new legal campaign=20
Tuesday targeting the BitTorrent and eDonkey file-swapping networks, two=20
technologies widely used to trade movies online.
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: John Borland]
http://news.com.com/MPAA+targets+core+BitTorrent%2C+eDonkey+users/2100-1...
3-5490804.html?tag=3Dnefd.lede
Also see:
Broadcasting&Cable
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA488008.html?display=3DBreakin...
ws&referral=3DSUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

LINKING INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS AND LOCAL PUBLIC TELEVISION STATIONS
The Independent Television Service (ITVS) announced Local Independents=20
Collaborating with Stations (LInCS 2005), a unique funding initiative that=
=20
gives independent producers and local public television stations the=20
opportunity to work together. LInCS funding provides up to $100,000 and may=
=20
be matched by station in-kind as well as producer's secured cash (from=20
grants, underwriting, individual donors and/or out-of-pocket cash=20
contributions to the production). Projects may be in any stage of=20
development and all genres are eligible, including documentary, drama,=20
animation and innovative combinations. The deadline for applications is May=
=20
26, 2005.
[SOURCE: Independent Television Service Press Release]
http://www.itvs.org/pressroom/pressRelease.htm?pressId=3D254

FCC

CONSUMER ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The FCC is looking for a few good men and women to serve on its Consumer=20
Advisory Committee. The Commission established the Committee in November=20
2000 for the purpose of making recommendations regarding consumer issues=20
within the jurisdiction of the Commission and to facilitate the=20
participation of consumers (including people with disabilities and=20
underserved populations, such as American Indians and persons living in=20
rural areas) in proceedings before the Commission. The topics to be=20
addressed by the Committee will include, but are not limited to, the=20
following areas: Consumer protection and education (e.g., cramming,=20
slamming, consumer friendly billing, detariffing, bundling of services,=20
Lifeline/Linkup programs, customer service, privacy, telemarketing abuses,=
=20
and outreach to underserved populations, such as Native Americans and=20
persons living in rural areas). Access by people with disabilities (e.g.,=20
telecommunications relay services, video description, closed captioning,=20
accessible billing and access to telecommunications products and services).=
=20
Impact upon consumers of new and emerging technologies (e.g., availability=
=20
of broadband, digital television, cable, satellite, low power FM, and the=20
convergence of these and emerging technologies).
The Commission seeks applications from interested organizations or=20
institutions, from both the public and private sectors, that wish to be=20
considered for membership on the Committee. Selections will be made on the=
=20
basis of factors such as expertise and diversity of viewpoints that are=20
necessary to address effectively the questions before the=20
Committee. Applications should be received by the Commission no later than=
=20
January 31, 2005, and should be sent to the Federal Communications=20
Commission, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, Attn.: Scott Marshall,=
=20
via e-mail to scott.marshall( at )fcc.gov or, via facsimile to 202-418-6509.
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-3892A1.doc
--------------------------------------------------------------
Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service=20
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through=20
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,=20
policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are=20
factually accurate, their often informal tone does not always represent the=
=20
tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang=20
(headlines( at )benton.org) -- we welcome your comments.
--------------------------------------------------------------

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Benton's Communications-related Headlines for 12/15/04