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Television broadcasters are considering whether to ask for help from lawmakers in their bid to shut down Internet video service Aereo.
"We're just beginning to explore all of our options," one broadcasting industry representative who requested anonymity said. "Certainly, legislation and [Federal Communications Commission] action are something we're looking at." "We need a dual-revenue stream," the broadcasting official said. "We can't afford to put quality content on the air with [only advertising revenue]." Asked about the Aereo battle, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the ranking member of the House Commerce Committee, said that they are watching the issue carefully, but declined to weigh in on either side. Chairman Rockefeller expressed doubt about the seriousness of the networks' threat to go off the air. "Companies play games with each other—sometimes seriously, sometimes not seriously," he said.
Broadcasters may turn to Congress for help in bid to kill Web TV service
[Commentary] Broadcasters have an alternative to converting over-the-air networks to cable channels to thwart Barry Diller's Aereo and Charlie Ergen's AutoHop Dish DVR: the "Dual Stream Strategy."
Each TV station would feed a new, modified visual format of programming to their transmitters for over-the-air reception. This would consist of a station’s programming lineup in a reduced-size video window, surrounded by continuous weather, news and community information graphics and visual ads. The second stream would consist of the core programming full-screen, just as it is now, for pay-TV operators with retransmission deals.
[Spieckerman is CEO of SpieckermanMedia LLC, a Dallas-based strategic communications consultancy and cable television network company]
How Stations Can Kill Aero and AutoHop
The Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of State, under the auspices of the U.S.-Canada Radio Technical Liaison Committee (RTLC) and U.S.-Mexico High Level Consultative Commission on Telecommunications (HLCC), have been engaged in on-going discussions with their counterparts in the Canadian and Mexican telecommunications authorities relating to the Commission’s planned 2014 Broadcast Television Incentive Auction.
As is typical of open spectrum proceedings with cross-border implications, the United States and its Canadian and Mexican counterparts have established government-to-government working arrangements that have been operating to help ensure optimal outcomes for all three countries. The U.S.-Canada working arrangement has resulted in several teleconferences over the past month. Historically, this process has resulted in mutually beneficial understandings on efficient, interference-free use of the spectrum in the U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico border areas. The Commission expects these consultations will ultimately lead to a better-designed and more successful incentive auction, and will create opportunities for greater spectrum efficiency and band harmonization across North America.
FCC and State Department Discussion Incentive Auction Boarder Issues FCC: U.S. in Deep Talks About Border Spectrum Issues (B&C)
The first-ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System demonstrated that the national EAS distribution architecture is basically sound.
As expected, however, the test uncovered several problems that impeded the ability of some EAS Participants to receive and/or retransmit the EAN. These included:
- Widespread poor audio quality nationwide;
- Lack of a Primary Entry Point (PEP) in the area to provide a direct connection to FEMA;
- Use of alternatives to PEP-based EAN distribution;
- The inability of some EAS Participants either to receive or retransmit the EAN;
- Short test length; and
- Anomalies in EAS equipment programming and operation.
The Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau recommends that another nationwide test be conducted after the Commission takes a number of steps to strengthen the EAS, including:
1) Commencing a rulemaking proceeding to examine equipment performance issues during activation of an EAN and seek comment on proposed changes, if any, to the EAS equipment rules to ensure that EAS equipment operates in a consistent fashion throughout the EAS architecture.
2) Issuing a Public Notice encouraging states to review and as necessary update their EAS plans to ensure that they contain accurate and up-to-date information regarding monitoring assignments as required by FCC rules.
3) Commencing a rulemaking proceeding to consider possible changes to its EAS plan rules.
4) Working with FEMA to develop and issue best practices and other educational materials for EAS Participants, and, also with FEMA, consider hosting a workshop or other public forum that could provide opportunities to educate EAS Participants about EAS performance and address concerns and questions EAS Participants may have about EAN operations.
Turning to the issue of nationwide EAS testing, the Bureau recommends that the Commission take the following actions:
1) Commencing a rulemaking proceeding to address any operational nationwide EAS test issues left open in previous EAS orders, such as a possible nationwide location code for national EAS activations, use of the National Periodic Test code or other test code that would allow FEMA and the FCC to conduct less disruptive nationwide tests; and future use of the EAS Operation Handbook.
2) Developing a new Nationwide EAS Test Reporting System database to improve electronic filing of test result data by EAS Participants.
3) Encouraging the Executive Office of the President to reconvene the Federal EAS Test Working Group to ensure accountability as Federal partners and other stakeholders work to implement the lessons learned from the first test and to plan for future nationwide tests.
Strengthening the Emergency Alert System: Lessons Learned from the Nationwide EAS Test
Despite the fact that Spain enacted an anti-piracy law in 2011 (under pressure from the United States), the country is now working on a new one as a way to keep the Iberian nation off of an American watchlist.
Jose Ignacio Wert, Spain’s education and culture minister, said that his country is currently negotiating a new law aimed at preventing Spain’s return to the United States Trade Representative "notorious markets" list. The International Intellectual Property Alliance has recommended that Spain be added once again to the list, which is due out later this month. "I believe this reform should satisfy those who are worried about Spain's insufficient level of protection for intellectual property," Wert said. The new law would target “linking sites” that provide a means to induce secondary copyright infringement, and if passed as currently drafted would give the Spanish government the power to quickly shut down such sites. Fines would also be increased to up to €300,000 ($392,000).
US still pressing allies for tougher anti-piracy laws
President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Matthew Armstrong for the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
Armstrong is an author, speaker, and strategist on issues related to public diplomacy. In 2011, he served as Executive Director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. Previously, Mr. Armstrong was an adjunct professor of public diplomacy at the Annenberg School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Southern California. In 2010, he founded and served as President of the MountainRunner Institute and published a blog on public diplomacy and strategic communication. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Diplomacy Council and a member of the International Institute of Strategic Studies. Mr. Armstrong received a B.A. and an M.P.D. from the University of Southern California.
Armstrong Nominated for Broadcasting Board of Governors
While the Carroll County Fiber Network will spur economic development in the county, a Westminster fiber optic network would touch the residents of Westminster directly, creating more competitive and reliable broadband access.
Westminster will complete a feasibility study for adding fiber to its municipality in April, and by August the Carroll County Fiber Network will be completed. The idea is that businesses and public institutions can take advantage of the 112-mile fiber optic network, and which could eventually trickle down the residents, said Mark Ripper, the chief information officer for the county. Its main benefit is saving money at Carroll County Public Schools and the Carroll County Government by using its own fiber as opposed to leasing from a Verizon or Comcast, he said. Internet service providers will be able to lease out the space on the fiber optic network in order to reach other businesses and residents. Robert Wack, a Westminster Common Councilman, said the feasibility study for the possibility of a Westminster fiber optic network will be very different than the Carroll County Fiber Network.
Westminster, county examining benefits of fiber optic network RFI Services, Operations, and Maintenance of City-Built Fiber Optic Network (City of Westminster)
Silicon Valley is battling in Washington to make the immigration process easier for thousands of people, many of them Indian engineers, while also pushing to hire many more guest workers from abroad.
Rarely has the industry been so single-mindedly focused on a national policy issue, with executives like Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and John T. Chambers of Cisco personally involved. Its efforts seem to be paying off, as a group of eight senators negotiate details of a comprehensive immigration deal to be announced early next week. Several lobbyists and advocates who have spoken to Senate staff members say they are optimistic about at least two items high on their wish list: a fast-track green card line for math and science graduates like Mr. Sankhla, no matter which country they come from, and a near doubling of the visas for temporary workers.
Tech Firms Push to Hire More Workers From Abroad
Arris Group said the U.S. Department of Justice had cleared the company's proposed $2.35 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility's Home unit from Google.
While the acquisition of Motorola will make Arris the nation's largest supplier of set-tops, the companies do have several significant product lines that overlap, including cable modems, cable modem termination systems, edge QAMs and set-top software and user interfaces. Arris has not announced how it intends to integrate Motorola Home's products and people, or revealed what the leadership structure will look like once the deal is closed.
Department of Justice Clears Arris/Motorola Home Deal
[Commentary] President Barack Obama has earned his reputation as the Internet president. From the behavioral analytics used to run his campaign to the Google “fireside hangouts” to his Twitter sessions, Obama has been masterful in using technology to market his message. Now firmly entrenched in his second term, the question is, when will he use his Internet savvy to lead and transform digital government?
[Samuelson is vice president of strategy at Laserfiche, an enterprise content management technology firm.]
Digital Government Has a Way to Go