Benton RSS Feed

INTERNET/BROADBAND
Net Neutrality push Expected to Resume in Congress
Benton Calls for National Broadband Plan
Speedy Web Vital
A Year of Gearing Up

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
Report: Cities' communications still lacking

JOURNALISM
Pelosi says "No" to C-SPAN
Bush and the Media: Final Words and Last Laughs

QUICKLY -- Broadcasters, Cable Square Off Over Competition; Patent
Lawsuit Names Leading Technology Firms; Benton Foundation Announces
Departure of Gloria Tristani; Italy enacts law to block child porn Web sites

INTERNET/BROADBAND

NET NEUTRALITY PUSH EXPECTED TO RESUME IN CONGRESS
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
The nation's soon-to-be largest telephone company may have caved
already to certain Net neutrality commitments in the name of a merger
blessing, but a renewed push for more sweeping rules could return to
Capitol Hill as soon as this month. AT&T said that for 30 months
after the merger's closure, it would not provide or sell "any service
that privileges, degrades or prioritizes any packet" transmitted over
its pipes based on its "source, ownership or destination." That
description amounts to a "framework for rules that can be applied
industry-wide to allow American consumers and small businesses to
benefit from deployment of discrimination-free advanced networks,"
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said. Wyden, who authored the first and perhaps
most aggressive Network Neutrality bill to emerge last year, hopes to
reintroduce his bill in similar form this January. Also hoping for a
late January or early February proposal are Sens Olympia Snowe
(R-Maine) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND). The duo teamed up in May to
introduce the Internet Freedom Preservation Act, which barred network
operators from making special deals with content providers and
required them to offer all Internet material on an "equivalent"
basis. The latest bill will likely only undergo "technical" changes,
but the senators' staffs plan to discuss language of the
AT&T-BellSouth concessions while finalizing their own. On the House
of Representatives side, Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) plans to
reintroduce an identical version of his Network Neutrality Act. Rep
Markey, who is widely expected to be named the new chairman of a key
Internet and telecommunications panel as early as this week, also
plans to hold hearings on the topic throughout the spring and early summer.
http://news.com.com/Net+neutrality+push+expected+to+resume+in+Congress/2...
See also --
* Protecting Internet Democracy
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] One of the big winners in the last election may turn out
to be the principle, known as net neutrality, that Internet service
providers should not be able to favor some content over others.
Democrats who are moving into the majority in Congress -- led by Ron
Wyden in the Senate and Edward Markey in the House -- say they plan
to fight hard to pass a net neutrality bill, and we hope that they
do. It is vital to preserve the Internet's role in promoting
entrepreneurship and free expression. A net neutrality law would
require cable and telephone companies to continue to provide Web
sites to Internet users on an equal basis. Passing the legislation
will not be easy. On the information superhighway, net neutrality
should be a basic rule of the road.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/03/opinion/03wed1.html
(requires registration)

BENTON CALLS FOR NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Charles Benton cbenton( at )benton.org]
Benton Foundation Chairman and CEO Charles Benton sent President
George Bush a letter asking him to create a national broadband
strategy. On March 26, 2004, during a campaign appearance in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, President Bush said, "We ought to have
universal affordable access for broadband technology by the year
2007." As we begin 2007, we're far from reaching the President's
goal. Benton urges the President to: 1) create a national broadband
strategy with set benchmarks, deployment timetables, a commitment to
demand drivers, and measurable thresholds; 2) with analog phone
penetration nearly universal, develop federal policies to transition
us to fully digital communication technologies - making
broadband-based communication as universal as telephones are today;
and 3) protect our traditional values in the 21st century -
providing opportunities for all, including people with disabilities,
to participate in the digital economy, using information age tools to
ensure public safety, and respecting the privacy of all Americans.
http://www.benton.org/benton_files/bentonbroadbandrelease.doc

SPEEDY WEB VITAL
[SOURCE: Berkshire Eagle, AUTHOR: Jack Dew jdew( at )berkshireeagle.com]
The digital divide has barely narrowed in the Berkshires, where many
communities still face snail-paced Internet connections over dial-up
lines. Although high-speed access can be found in larger towns in the
area, phone and cable companies have been reluctant to extend that
service to sparsely populated areas, where the return on expensive
infrastructure investment is not as great. The lack of high-speed
Internet access in the Berkshires, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and
Nantucket has been identified as a key challenge by Massachusetts
Gov.-elect Deval Patrick's transition team. And officials are
acknowledging that it will take investment of some public dollars to
narrow the divide. The solution likely will blend state, federal and
private dollars, said Daniel Bosley who will be Gov Patrick's special
adviser for economic development. A universal service charge might be
added to phone bills, while the broadband office will lobby the
federal government for financial assistance. Meanwhile, the state
could start laying fiber optic cables whenever it repaves a road,
burying the lines underground and then giving private companies access.
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/localnews/ci_4934840

A YEAR OF GEARING UP
[SOURCE: Cleveland Plain Dealer12/31, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] Broadband is on the 2007 agenda for Cleveland Mayor
Frank Johnson. Nothing would diminish the problems of crime and
poverty in Cleveland more effectively than more and better jobs for
city residents. One angle to explore: How can Cleveland better
capitalize on its ultra-broadband capabilities to change its image
and increase the technological capacity of its citizens, schools,
small businesses - and of City Hall itself?
http://www.cleveland.com/politics/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/opinion/11...

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

REPORT: CITIES' COMMUNICATIONS STILL LACKING
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Mimi Hall]
Emergency responders in most cities don't have the equipment and
skills needed to communicate with each other during a crisis,
according to a report to be released today by the Homeland Security
Department. Only six of the 75 cities and regions surveyed received
top scores for "interoperability," or the ability to reliably
communicate by radio. They were Washington, D.C., and its suburbs;
San Diego; Columbus, Ohio; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Sioux Falls, S.D.;
and Laramie, Wyo. The report comes more than five years after the
9/11 attacks highlighted communications problems among fire, police
and other emergency responders in New York City, at the Pentagon and
at the crash site in Somerset County, Pa. The problems were
especially acute at the World Trade Center, where firefighters
couldn't hear police warnings to get out of the towers before they
collapsed. The lowest scores on the report went to Chicago;
Cleveland; Baton Rouge; Mandan, N.D.; and American Samoa. New York
City scored in the middle. Congressional Democrats, who assume
leadership of both chambers on Thursday, are likely to address the
issue as part of a campaign promise to pass all the recommendations
of the 9/11 Commission. The commission in 2004 cited the urgent need
for "compatible and adequate communications among public safety organizations."
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070103/a_communications03.ar...

JOURNALISM

IT'S 2007. DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR LAWMAKERS ARE UP TO?
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] when the new Congress starts its term Thursday, one
thing won't change -- at least for now: Americans will still be
prevented from watching what's really happening on the House and
Senate floors unless they travel to the Capitol visitors' galleries.
C-SPAN, the cable television network that has provided gavel-to-gavel
coverage of the House since 1979 and the Senate since 1986, is
restricted to broadcasting static, head-on shots of whoever is
speaking. During votes and breaks in the proceedings, it shows a
similarly static, long-range view of the chamber that carries all the
excitement of a test pattern. The network isn't allowed to cover
what's happening in a more meaningful way. It can't, for instance,
take individual reaction shots or pan the chamber. That's because the
government controls the cameras. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
(D-CA) said the "dignity and decorum" of the House is best preserved
by keeping prohibitions in place.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070103/edit03.art.htm
* Keep cameras focused
[Commentary] In op-ed, Donald Wolfensberger says granting C-SPAN free
gazing rights on the House floor is a terrible idea. Incoming Speaker
Nancy Pelosi is right to reject the request.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070103/oppose03.art.htm

GEORGE W BUSH AND THE MEDIA: FINAL WORDS AND LAST LAUGHS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Dana Milbank]
During yesterday's funeral services at the Washington National
Cathedral for Gerald Ford, retired anchorman Tom Brokaw recalled the
press corps' affection for the late president. For President Bush, it
must have been a jarring moment. The current president would probably
have Hugo Chavez deliver his eulogy before he would bestow the honor
on a member of the White House press corps. Even if Bush were
inclined to allow a journalist to orate, which contentious moment
with the press would be recounted?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/02/AR200701...
(requires registration)

QUICKLY

NAB, NCTA SQUARE OFF OVER COMPETITION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The National Association of Broadcasters and the National Cable &
Telecommunications Association traded blows in reply comments filed
at the FCC on the state of competition in the video marketplace.
Using recent FCC cable rate data as ammunition, broadcasters preached
to the FCC choir about the 93% rise in cable prices since 1996, and
pointed out that, for the most part, stations don't get money for
their signals and so couldn't be blamed for rising prices. The "real
culprit" in rising cable prices, said the NAB, is limited competition
in the cable marketplace, pointing to a General Accounting Office
study that prices are lower in communities that have wireline
competition. The cable industry said that the video marketplace is so
"drenched in competition" that no credible case can be made that
"further government intervention is necessary," though it was
referring more to the telephone company's attempts, with some
success, to gain a clearer regulatory path to video and broadband
competition to cable.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6403538.html?title=Article&sp...

PATENT LAWSUIT NAMES LEADING TECHNOLOGY FIRMS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Markoff & Miguel Helft]
Online distribution of movies has arrived, at places like Apple
Computer's iTunes Store. And even though Jonathan Taplin's
video-on-demand company, Intertainer, shut down operations five years
ago, it says it deserves some credit -- and cash. Last week,
Intertainer filed a broad lawsuit asserting that Apple, Google and
Napster are infringing on a 2005 patent that covers the commercial
distribution of audio and video over the Internet. Founded by Mr.
Taplin and two other Hollywood entertainment executives in 1996,
Intertainer developed technology to distribute movies on demand
through cable and phone lines for viewing on televisions and personal
computers. It gained investors including Intel, Microsoft, Sony, NBC
and Comcast.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/03/technology/03patent.html
(requires registration)

FORMER FCC COMMISSIONER GLORIA TRISTANI JOINS SPIEGEL & MCDIARMID
[SOURCE: Spiegel & McDiarmid press release]
Spiegel & McDiarmid announced that Gloria Tristani, a former FCC
Commissioner, has joined the firm as Of Counsel. She was most
recently President of the Benton Foundation, a private foundation
committed to articulating a public interest vision for the digital
age and demonstrating the value of communications for solving social problems.
http://www.spiegelmcd.com/publications/pubs/pr_tristani.pdf
* Benton Foundation Announces Departure of President Gloria Tristani
Charles Benton: "While we will miss Gloria's leadership, we approach
the New Year with a renewed sense of opportunity and
possibilities. New technologies are quickly transforming the way we
work, live, and learn; a new Congress will have different priorities
for advancing a consumer-focused communications policy agenda, and
the issues upon which the Foundation has and will continue to focus
are moving to the forefront of public policy debate. The Foundation
will continue its work to advance a set of emerging new opportunities
that can help unleash consumer choices, expand media voices,
jumpstart broadband opportunity, and help to extend the benefits of
communications to every corner of America."
http://www.benton.org/benton_files/GTdepart1.doc

ITALY ENACTS LAW TO BLOCK CHILD PORN WEB SITES
[SOURCE: Reuters]
Italy has introduced a new law requiring Internet service providers
to block child pornography Web sites within six hours of being told
to do so, the communications ministry said on Tuesday. The decree,
which comes into force almost immediately, requires Internet
providers to set up a system that blocks child pornography Web sites
from being viewed soon after the providers are notified of their existence.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID...
--------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------