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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
Sen. McCain To Back Measure To Create Public Safety Network
Frontline Proposal for First Responder Network
NEWS FROM CONGRESS
House Reschedules FCC Oversight Hearing
Third White Space Bill on Deck
TELEVISION/RADIO
A Monopoly -- Not
Wave of FCC warnings hits Texas anti-war stations
Children Now To Study Educational TV Shows
NCTA Calls FCC Set-Top Decision Anti-Consumer
Broadcast Media in China Put On Notice
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
Benton Celebrates E-Rate, Mourns TOP and CTCs
- Links to new research
Message and the Media
Open access to public TV content sought
** TEN YEARS AGO... Baby Bells vs. The World: No Free Rides **
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
SEN MCCAIN TO BACK MEASURE TO CREATE PUBLIC SAFETY NETWORK
[SOURCE: Congress Daily, AUTHOR: Peter Cohn]
As he ramps up his 2008 presidential campaign and courts backing from
public safety groups, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) plans to introduce
legislation that would create a nationwide communications network for
police officers, firefighters and other emergency first responders.
The move coincides with Senate floor debate on a bill to implement
the recommendations of the 9/11 commission. Sen McCain argues his
measure would address other deficiencies the panel identified. His
bill would carve out a swath of radio spectrum that is scheduled for
auction next January, and license it to a "public safety broadband
trust" to provide advanced wireless services for first responders to
communicate during crises. Public safety groups back his approach.
But it has caused alarm among wireless service providers and
equipment manufacturers, in part because the idea is similar to a
proposal Cyren Call Communications -- a plan they say would cripple
the upcoming auction and delay the transition to digital television.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-TVTI1172498530094.html
FRONTLINE PROPOSAL FOR FIRST RESPONDER NETWORK
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Frontline Wireless proposes to bid on spectrum in the upcoming 700
mHz auction, which is the spectrum being reclaimed for
government/private use when broadcasters are concentrated in the
lower band for digital broadcasting. Frontline Wireless is telling
the FCC that if it can win at least 10 channels worth of spectrum
adjacent to the 12 mHz of that public safety spectrum earmarked for
broadband communications, it can develop a nationwide network that
will be available for first responders but can be used by commercial
interests when there is not an emergency. Per Congress' instructions
in the DTV transition bill passed in late 2005, the FCC has proposed
setting aside 24 mHz of spectrum from the auction to be used for
public safety communications, with 12 mHz going to broadband
communications and 12 mHz to narrowband voice communications.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6419711?title=Article&spacede...
NEWS FROM CONGRESS
HOUSE RESCHEDULES FCC OVERSIGHT HEARING
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The House Energy & Commerce Committee's Telecommunications
Subcommittee has rescheduled its canceled Feb. 15 FCC oversight
hearing for March 14 AT 9:30AM.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6419709?title=Article&spacede...
THIRD WHITE SPACE BILL ON DECK
[SOURCE: TVTechnology.com]
Another bill to allow unlicensed devices into unused TV broadcast
channels is in development on Capitol Hill. A staff member for Rep.
Jay Inslee's (D-WA) confirmed that the congressman likely would
introduce his own white space bill "in the coming weeks." Two white
space bills are already in circulation in the Senate. One from Sen.
John Kerry (D-MA) orders unused broadcast channels to be made
available for unlicensed devices within 180 days of passage. Kerry's
Wireless Innovation Act was part of the last year's erstwhile telecom
reform legislation. He reintroduced it earlier this year. Sen. John
Sununu (R-NH) has also rolled out the White Spaces Act of 2007, which
would open white spaces within 90 days of passage, or by Oct. 1,
whichever comes first. Sununu's bill also considers the option of
auctioning licenses for the spectrum.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/link/?id=10786
TELEVISION/RADIO
A MONOPOLY -- NOT
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] Ten years ago, the FCC sold a pair of satellite radio
licenses -- and sternly warned that a competition-chilling merger
wouldn't be tolerated. How quaint that worry seems now. The two
operators -- XM and Sirius -- are losing billions of dollars and want
to huddle together to stop the bleeding. Meanwhile, HD radio, iPods,
Internet broadcasts and other trends have rushed past regulators and
redrawn the landscape. There are 90 million people wearing dangling
iPod ear-buds, 65 million who listen to free Internet radio and about
14 million satellite-radio subscribers. It's hard to see a stifling
monopoly in the making when the two satellite networks are gasping
for air. Consumers, who need defending when choices narrow
dramatically, don't need any help on this shift.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/0...
See also --
* Sirius CEO discusses post-XM merger service plans
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR:]
How can shrinking two voices to one mean more diversity? When Sirius
CEO Mel Karmazin speaks from both sides of his mouth anything is
possible. Here's a Q&A will the ultimate salesman in which he
discusses the XM Sirius merger and its impact on monthly fees, new
dual-service radios, content, and even video service.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20070227/sirius27.art.htm
WAVE OF FCC WARNINGS HITS TEXAS ANTI-WAR STATIONS
[SOURCE: Lasar's Letter on the FCC, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
The Federal Communications Commission has issued eight individuals
with "notices of unlicensed operation" over the last five days, seven
of them from the Lone Star State. Activists in Texas say that these
broadcasters carry programs provided by Radio Free Austin (RFC), an
alternative radio service that offers features critical of the U.S.
war in Iraq. The Commission's enforcement bureau sent notices to
three residents of Austin and to residents of Dallas, Georgetown,
Gonzales, and San Antonio. The warnings claim that the Commission's
agents detected radio broadcasts emanating from the homes of these
individuals at 95.7, 90.1, 100.1, and 101.5 MHz.
http://www.lasarletter.net/drupal/node/367
CHILDREN NOW TO STUDY EDUCATIONAL TV SHOWS
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Children Now, which helped the FCC craft compromise DTV kids rules in
concert with industry, says it is launching a study of just how
"educational" educational kids shows are. "[We] will conduct a major
national research study to assess the quality of shows broadcasters
are claiming as educational," said Children Now VP Patti Miller. "We
want to make sure kids have access to quality educational
programming, not more shows like 'Complices al Rescate.'"
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6419489?title=Article&spacede...
NCTA CALLS FCC SET-TOP DECISION ANTI-CONSUMER
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association has some harsh
words for the FCC's refusal to grant Comcast and other cable
companies a waiver of its ban on integrated digital set-top boxes,
calling it a "puzzling, anti-consumer decision," that represents an
"unprecedented breach of faith with the federal courts."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6419714?title=Article&spacede...
BROADCAST MEDIA IN CHINA PUT ON NOTICE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Edward Cody]
Communist Party propaganda chiefs have issued a stern new warning to
China's broadcast executives, saying news reports and entertainment
should promote socialist loyalty and soothe tensions as the country
enters a sensitive political season. The new guidelines were issued
Jan. 12 at a meeting called by the party propaganda department. The
guidelines reflect a particular desire at senior levels of President
Hu Jintao's government to see a picture of harmony and contentedness
in the broadcast media as the Chinese legislature prepares to meet
next month and the Communist Party gets ready for its 17th national
congress in the fall.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/26/AR200702...
(requires registration)
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
BENTON CELEBRATES E-RATE, MOURNS TOP AND CTCs
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation]
Charles Benton sent a letter to Education Secretary Margaret
Spellings, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and FCC Chairman Kevin
Martin celebrating the ten successful years of the E-Rate, the
federal program that has helped wire the nation's schools and
libraries to the Internet. The letter coincided with the release of
two new research papers that highlight the benefits of the E-Rate
program. Benton also noted the demise of the TOP and CTC programs
that helped make the E-Rate program so effective.
http://www.benton.org/benton_files/tenyears.pdf
See also --
* Libraries as Universal Service Providers by Nancy Kranich, KS Consultants
http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=node/4949
* The Future of Universal Service Fund Support for Organizations:
Schools, Libraries and Rural Health Care Providers by Heather E.
Hudson, University of San Francisco
http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=node/4948
MESSAGE AND THE MEDIA
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Eileen Zurbriggen,
University of California at Santa Cruz]
[Commentary] There are many examples of products and media images
that sexualize girls and girlhood are part of a widespread phenomenon
that has led to concern on the part of parents and child advocacy
organizations. In response to these concerns, the American
Psychological Association has formed a committee to evaluate and
summarize all available research pertaining to the sexualization of
girls. The research results, released last week, are sobering. In
virtually every form of media that has been studied, including
television, movies, the Internet, magazines, advertising and sports
media, women and girls are sexualized and objectified. They wear
revealing clothing, are portrayed as decorative objects and are
referred to with sexualized and demeaning labels such as "bimbos,"
"hos," or (in the case of the 1999 World Champion U.S. women's soccer
team) "booters with hooters." The problem isn't one particular doll,
or song or hypersexualized young heiress. The problem is that girls
today are swimming in a veritable sea of toxic messages about what it
means to be female. The problem of sexualization is serious, but not
insurmountable. It's up to us to do whatever it takes to provide
girls with a healthier environment, one in which they can grow and
develop as well-rounded people encouraged to explore all of life's
possibilities.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/0...
* See the APA report at http://www.apa.org/pi/wpo/sexualization.html
OPEN ACCESS TO PUBLIC TV SOUGHT
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: Laura Devaney]
The Association of Public Television Stations is spearheading a
project that aims to digitize and preserve public TV programming.
Under the plan, students, teachers, researchers, and others would
have access to a vast digital archive of public TV content for
research, education, and to create new digital works. Supporters of
the idea say digitizing these resources will allow the public to reap
the benefits of its years of investment in public broadcasting.
Although sorting out the intellectual property rights to all of the
content remains a challenge, APTS says it is working toward a
comprehensive legislative solution that would cover future as well as
archival content.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=6879
TEN YEARS AGO...
Baby Bells vs. The World: A Fight For Internet Fees
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal 2/27/1997, AUTHOR: Thomas E. Weber]
Even ten years ago, the Baby Bells were complaining about "free
rides." Back then, the culprits were Internet users and their dial-up
modems. The phone giants told the Federal Communications Commission
they wanted to charge Internet service providers access charges to
use the their local networks. Luckily, the FCC wasn't too moved by
the phone companies' arguments and we all surfed free of nasty per
minute fees on our local telephone bills.
http://online.wsj.com/page/ppv_snippet-SB856996121139234000-search.html
(requires subscription)
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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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