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The BDAC, 5G and Cities: The Power and Perils of Asymmetry
[Speech] On of the two historic accomplishments of the current Federal Communications Commission is that it is the first FCC to interpret its statutory mandate to say it doesn’t have much legal authority or policy rights to regulate broadcasters, telephone companies, cable companies, or wireless companies. Instead, its principal regulatory mandate is to regulate another set of enterprises: local governments. Although the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC) started with worthy goals -- to accelerate and broaden deployment of next generation broadband networks, and reduce the digital divide -- the primary result of the process will likely be to transfer wealth from the public to private enterprises.
[Blair Levin is a Non-resident Senior Fellow of the Metropolitan Policy Project of the Brookings Institute. From 2009-2010, Mr. Levin oversaw the development of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan. ]
Tech Giants Feel the Squeeze as Xi Jinping Tightens His Grip
For the last decade or so, China has defied the truism that only free and open societies can innovate. Even as the Communist Party has kept an iron grip on politics and discourse, the country’s technology industry has grown to rival Silicon Valley’s in sophistication and ambition. President Xi Jinping’s tilt toward strongman rule could put all that to the test. As Mr. Xi starts his second term, the Chinese government, which once viewed the internet primarily as a threat to its stranglehold on information, is harnessing big tech companies’ capital and knowledge to realize its broader goals for the country. At a time when the Trump administration is moving to counter China’s tech prowess, Beijing’s heavier hand could pose its own threat to the country’s competitiveness, and to the innovation that has transformed Chinese firms into global heavyweights.
How the US Government Learned to Stop Worrying About The Global Internet and Kicked Russians Off Its Networks
The global internet is a lot less global than it was a few years ago. The US government, which used to be the loudest advocate for knocking down digital barriers, has begun to erect barriers of its own since the 2016 election and the Russian hacking and influence operation that upended it. US officials and lawmakers once merely condemned Russian and Chinese laws that forced tech companies to share their source code or to store citizens’ data within national borders. Now, they’re developing countervailing laws and policies that limit the ability of those nations’ companies to access and endanger US secrets. The Obama administration was willing to accept a certain amount of digital risk that Russian and Chinese companies posed to its systems to avoid sparking a tit-for-tat conflict with those nations that might limit the ability of US tech companies to operate across national borders. The Trump administration is willing to accept far less risk.
We need more, not fewer, government Yelps
[Commentary] Criticism of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau acting director Mick Mulvaney’s recent comments to a banking group has largely focused on his advocating a pay-to-play system for interest groups to access government officials. But similarly disappointing is his wanting to close the CFPB consumer complaint database, on the grounds that he shouldn’t have “to run a Yelp for financial services sponsored by the federal government.” Mulvaney has it backward. We think governments need more, not fewer, Yelp-like services in their arsenals. And conservatives should be particularly supportive of such innovations. Consumer-supplied information can reduce reliance on regulation and enforcement to protect consumers by encouraging market forces that reward better business practices. Closing the CFPB database would be a major step backward in what has been a remarkable information revolution in government. As a principled conservative, Mulvaney should be advocating for more apps that empower consumers to make better-informed decisions, drive improved markets and mitigate the need for more heavy-handed regulatory interventions.
[Levin is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. In 2009, he oversaw development of the National Broadband Plan. Downes is a project director at the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy.]
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai tours Gadsden County broadband access site
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai stopped in Quincy, Florida, as part of a campaign to promote high-speed internet and close the digital divide in rural areas. “I want to illustrate the power of the internet to transform communities and the cost of not getting internet access to some of these communities,” Chairman Pai told business, school and economic development officials gathered at the Quincy site for TDS Telecom, a national internet provider with more than 13,000 Gadsden County customers. He said the digital divide is more prevalent in rural areas. “I want every American, regardless of where they may live, to be able to take charge of their digital future.” TDS Telecom received federal money through the $2 billion Connect America Fund launched in January 2017 to help the private sector increase broadband internet in service areas. As part of the Quincy tour, Chairman Pai heard remarks on TDS's broadband access site in a remote area off Cooks Landing Road. It was one of 50 access sites managed by TDS Telecom that's part of a fiber optics network connected to rural nodes, which can serve about 100 customers each. Kenneth Paker, TDS senior vice president and chief technology officer, said the new federally funded equipment boosts internet speeds in remote areas.
Municipal Broadband: Urban Savior Or Gentrification’s Wrecking Ball?
The case for city-operated broadband is compelling. It offers comparatively fast service. It’s celebrated as a means by which to preserve net neutrality. It also has the potential to liberate communities from ISPs’ notorious monopolistic control of regional billing inflation, and denial of service to rural and low-income communities—a phenomenon popularly termed the “digital divide.” Furthermore, municipalities often tout broadband alternatives as a means of “economic development,” an expression typically denoting the process of attracting businesses and, by theoretical extension, creating jobs. Fast, reliable internet connections, the logic goes, are appealing to companies—particularly tech startups that rely on consistent broadband access in their daily operations and seek environs cheaper than West Coast metropolises. Yet, while cities’ broadband initiatives and digital-friendly promotional campaigns project a narrative of progressive growth, the repercussions for disenfranchised communities often go overlooked. Community activists are skeptical that digital training and access alone, even if they’re purported to broaden job opportunities and address transportation and health-care issues, will suffice to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable residents.
FCC Chairman Pai Gets Political on USF Funding Cuts
When the Universal Service Administration Company (USAC) issued budget figures for the Universal Service Fund (USF) high-cost program, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai took the opportunity to blame USF funding cuts on the previous administration and attempted to drum up support for alternative budget control mechanisms proposed under his administration. The USAC budget figures show forecasted demand for rate of return carriers for the high-cost program for 2018-2019 exceeding the budget by 15.52%. The demand for support (which pays some of the costs of providing broadband in high-cost areas) is $1.465 billion. But the budget is just $1.237 billion after budget control mechanisms are implemented. Chairman Pai said he hoped colleagues would “support my efforts to take action in the coming months” on reforming USF high-cost budget control mechanisms. It’s worth noting that the additional $180 million the FCC allocated to the rate of return carriers’ high-cost USF program for the current year was part of a total of $540 million that the FCC made available to help cover forecast USF budget shortfalls for several years. Based on current projections, however, that money wouldn’t last long.
SHLB Commends FCC’s Letter to USAC Regarding E-rate Drop-Down Menu Concerns
[Press release] The Federal Communications Commission sent a letter that instructed the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) not to deny E-rate applications over confusion caused by the drop-down menu issue. The letter also directs USAC to clarify the language for Funding Year 2019. John Windhausen, Jr., Executive Director of SHLB, said:
"The SHLB Coalition very much appreciates the FCC's letter to USAC about the E-rate program. This letter averts a potential disaster in which thousands of E-rate fiber applications could have been denied over a technicality. While this letter is a good step forward, the E-rate fiber program continues to be a work in progress. There are still many E-rate fiber applications that are being held up due to uncertainty about the cost-effectiveness standard. We recognize the hard work being done by USAC and the FCC to address these issues going forward, and we look forward to working with them to bring high-capacity broadband to the nation's schools and libraries, especially in rural markets."
T-Mobile and Sprint CEOs State Case for Merger at FCC
T-Mobile’s John Legere and Sprint’s Marcelo Claure went to the Federal Communications Commission to begin laying the groundwork for their proposed $26.5 billion merger. They met with FCC Commissioners Michael O'Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel and laid out much the same case that the companies have presented in public.
T-Mobile executives change tune on fixed wireless following Sprint merger deal
T-Mobile executives for years have downplayed the opportunity for fixed wireless technology to replace wired internet connections. But with the proposed deal to swallow Sprint, T-Mobile executives said that the merger would position the newly-combined company to offer internet services to homes, offices and other locations—a move that would put the company into direct competition with the likes of Comcast, Charter, Verizon and other wired internet service providers. T-Mobile’s Mike Sievert boasted of the wireless speeds that a combined Sprint and T-Mobile could provide through a combination of 5G technology running on spectrum bands including T-Mobile’s 600 MHz and Sprint’s 2.5 GHz. “That's going to 450 megabits per second within the planning horizon of this business,” he said. “That's a national average, not a place to get in some parts of some towns, like our competitors' millimeter-wave strategy that can go higher than that in very isolated places.”
Sprint and T-Mobile: There is a better 5G solution than reducing competition
[Commentary] The proposed merger between Sprint and T-Mobile once again focuses the nation’s attention on next generation 5G wireless service. Burdened with the fact that the current vibrant competition among four wireless companies has benefited consumers greatly (decreasing prices by 13 percent in the last year alone), the companies assert that their merger will accelerate the deployment of 5G. The “China is winning on 5G” argument of Sprint and T-Mobile is creative, and probably the only rationale they could concoct after the government twice before rejected their proposal to reduce national wireless competition from four providers to three. Looking at what has changed since those knock-downs, fifth generation wireless is probably the only new argument to grab ahold of. However, the problem with the 5G rationale is that both companies have previously promised to be competitive in 5G. Earlier in 2018, a study leaked from the National Security Council (NSC) argued that for national security reasons the government should build a cyber-secure national high-speed 5G wireless network – a “network of networks” that would be shared by all the wireless companies. Government network ownership, appropriately, went over like a lead balloon. Lost in the furor over that proposal, however, was the validity of conserving capital and building 5G faster to more Americans by using a single industry-owned shared network. Rather than making redundant expenditures to duplicate each other’s network, the companies could build their own “network of networks,” or at least a common backbone for basic 5G applications.
[Wheeler is a Brookings Visiting Fellow, Governance Studies,Center for Technology Innovation]
Pirate Radio Stations Explode on YouTube
A trick of YouTube’s algorithms has led to the blossoming of hundreds of unlicensed, independent radio stations on the site, reminiscent of an age of underground broadcasts in the previous century. Many of the channels blink in and out of existence within a week, but their presence has become a compelling part of the site’s musical ecosystem.
Trump Campaign Launches ‘Media Accountability Survey': ‘Do You Trust CNN?’
The Trump Make America Great Again Committee launched a “mainstream media accountability survey” into inboxes around the country. The effort is a joint project paid for by the Donald Trump presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee. “The media loves to pretend they’re unbiased, but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” an email promoting the survey reads. “Liberal propaganda machines have used every possible tactic to slander, undermine, and insult the President as he fights to put AMERICA FIRST.”
The completely scientific survey is avalaible at https://action.donaldjtrump.com/msm-media-accountability-survey-new
Former-Senator Al Franken blasts Facebook, election meddling in first speech since resignation
Al Franken returned to the spotlight to deliver a blistering rebuke of tech companies, specifically Facebook, over abuse of users privacy data while speaking at a cybersecurity conference in Lisbon, Portugal. He suggested Facebook was careless with users' information. "Facebook doesn't have to care about the privacy and security of their users' online information because there's no mass exodus when it violates those rules," said Franken. He said the tech giant took so long to address the issues and ultimately didn't do enough to prevent data harvesting "because they knew they could get away with it." While Franken focused mostly on user privacy, he also touched on the current political climate and future of democracy. "If we can't have a political discourse where we agree on basic, objective facts, then our democratic government will continue to be polarized and paralyzed," he said.
Millennials stand out for their technology use, but older generations also embrace digital life
Millennials have often led older Americans in their adoption and use of technology, and this largely holds true today. But there has also been significant growth in tech adoption in recent years among older generations – particularly Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. More than nine-in-ten Millennials (92%) own smartphones, compared with 85% of Gen Xers (those who turn ages 38 to 53 this year), 67% of Baby Boomers (ages 54 to 72) and 30% of the Silent Generation (ages 73 to 90), according to a new analysis of Pew Research Center data. Similarly, the vast majority of Millennials (85%) say they use social media. For instance, significantly larger shares of Millennials have adopted relatively new platforms such as Instagram (52%) and Snapchat (47%) than older generations have. Unlike with smartphones and social media, Gen Xers have outpaced Millennials in tablet ownership for several years. The gap between them now stands at 10 percentage points, as 64% of Gen Xers and 54% of Millennials say they own tablets. A majority of Gen Xers also say they have broadband service at home. Some 73% of Gen Xers have home broadband, compared with 66% of Boomers and 34% of Silents.
Facebook Just Lost Its Latest Battle in a Crucial Privacy Case Heading to Europe's Top Court
Facebook has failed in a last-ditch attempt to delay a major privacy case’s journey to Europe’s top court. The case in question was brought about by Facebook’s arch-nemesis, the Austrian law student Max Schrems, who has already succeeded in sinking the Safe Harbor agreement that gave U.S. firms a simple way to import the data of people from the European Union. As before, he is concerned that US intelligence programs break Europeans’ privacy rights. On April 30, Facebook tried to delay the referral of the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), so it could appeal the case to Ireland’s Supreme Court. But the High Court turned down Facebook’s request. It sided instead with the Irish privacy watchdog, the Data Protection Commissioner, which said any delay could create a “risk of injustice” by allowing the data of millions of Europeans to be processed unlawfully. “In my opinion very real prejudice is potentially suffered by Mr. Schrems and the millions of EU data subjects if the matter is further delayed by a stay as sought in this case,” said the judge. “Their potential loss in unquantifiable and incapable of being remedied.”
Digital Skills Toolkit
This toolkit provides stakeholders with guidance on developing a digital skills strategy. It is intended for policymakers, along with partners in the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and academia. Its overarching aim is to facilitate the development of a comprehensive digital skills strategy at country level. It is also possible to use this guide to focus on selected priorities that require a fresh approach.
Cambridge Analytica Closing Operations Following Facebook Data Controversy
Cambridge Analytica, a data firm that worked for President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, is shutting down following disclosures about its use of Facebook data and the campaign tactics it pitched to clients. Apparently, the company decided to close its doors because it was losing clients and facing mounting legal fees in the Facebook investigation. The firm is shutting down effective May 2 and employees have been told to turn in their computers.
Cambridge Analytica Closes, Rebranded as Emerdata
In recent months, executives at Cambridge Analytica and SCL Group, along with the Mercer family, have moved to created a new firm, Emerdata, based in Britain, according to British records. The new company’s directors include Johnson Ko Chun Shun, a Hong Kong financier and business partner of Erik Prince. Prince founded the private security firm Blackwater, which was renamed Xe Services after Blackwater contractors were convicted of killing Iraqi civilians. Cambridge and SCL officials privately raised the possibility that Emerdata could be used for a Blackwater-style rebranding of Cambridge Analytica and the SCL Group. One plan under consideration was to sell off the combined company’s data and intellectual property. An executive and a part owner of SCL Group, Nigel Oakes, has publicly described Emerdata as a way of rolling up the two companies under one new banner.
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. 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 sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org) and Robbie McBeath (rmcbeath AT benton DOT org) -- we welcome your comments.
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