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BENTON’S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2016
Today’s busy agenda —https://www.benton.org/calendar/2016-05-19
INTERNET/BROADBAND
Very Gradual Change We Can Believe In: FCC’s Gigi Sohn at The National Digital Inclusion Summit – speech
Digital Inclusion Heroes – speech
Lifeline is a good step, but let’s keep going – editorial
FCC Requests Carrier Affirmations Concerning Pending Lifeline Compliance Plans or ETC Petitions [links to Federal Communications Commission]
Republicans renew attempts to delay Internet domain handoff [links to Benton summary]
Bronwyn Howell: What would a truly ‘neutral’ Internet look like? [links to American Enterprise Institute]
CABLE
Charter Closes Time Warner Cable, Bright House Deals to Become Pay TV Powerhouse
Significant Public Benefits for California in Charter Communications – Time Warner Cable – Bright House Networks Merger – California Emerging Technology Fund [links to Benton summary]
Broadband: The PUC, mergers and public benefits – California Emerging Technology Fund op-ed
Chairman Wheeler: Cable needs to welcome competition and change; FCC not so much
ACA Says FCC’s Wheeler Is Marching in Wrong Direction [links to Benton summary]
We are the 99% — of cable customers – Michael Copps op-ed
Rep. Eshoo Pushes Colleagues on FCC Set-Top Proposal [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
Sen. Hatch Asks Wheeler to Assuage Set-Top Concerns [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
Sen Cornyn Probes White House Role in FCC Set-Top Push [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
LABOR/DIVERSITY
Diversity in High Tech – EEOC research
Verizon, Unions Agree To Federal Mediator [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
Amazon Proves Infertile Soil for Unions, So Far[links to New York Times]
SPECTRUM/WIRELESS
Continuing Momentum in the 3.5 GHz band – FCC press release
JOURNALISM
MacArthur Expands its Commitment to Journalism and Media – press release
New York Times Names Elizabeth Spayd Its 6th Public Editor [links to New York Times]
FCC AND CONSUMER COMPLAINTS
FCC Launches Consumer Complaint Data Center – press release
Giving Consumers Greater Access to FCC Complaint Data – [links to Benton summary]
FCC consumer database includes 22,000 network neutrality complaints
OPEN GOVERNMENT
CBO Scores Bill That Would Require Prompt Release of New FCC Orders – research [links to Benton summary]
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
FirstNet Makes Progress, But Cost and Quality Concerns Remain [links to Benton summary]
CONTENT
For Facebook and Conservatives, a Collegial Meeting in Silicon Valley
Many Americans Heard About the Facebook Bias Allegations — on Facebook [links to Morning Consult]
Readers Want to Drive Coverage on Facebook, Traditional Outlets [links to Morning Consult]
Geoffrey Fowler: What if Facebook Gave Us an Opposing-Viewpoints Button? [links to Wall Street Journal]
Op-ed: The Real Bias Built In at Facebook — Viral, Clicky, Upbeat or Quarrelsome [links to New York Times]
Google’s 1st Amendment defense to search censorship fails in court [links to Benton summary]
Nextdoor.com, a Website Meant to Connect Neighbors, Hears Complaints of Racial Profiling [links to New York Times]
We are producing more knowledge than ever before but preserving only a fraction of it. How much will be left for future generations? [links to Financial Times]
HEALTH
FCC Commissioner Clyburn at Broadband Prescriptions for Mental Health Conference – speech
CBO Scores Rural Health Care Connectivity Bill – research [links to Benton summary]
ELECTION 2016
Intel chief: Foreign hackers trying to spy on presidential campaigns [links to Hill, The]
Liberal media turns on Sen Sanders [links to Hill, The]
COMPANY NEWS
Microsoft is selling its cheap phone business to Foxconn [links to CNN Money]
Amazon CEO Jeffrey Bezos: Debate between privacy and security is ‘issue of our age’ [links to Washington Post]
Google Fiber releases San Jose construction plan — a major milestone for project [links to San Jose Mercury News]
MORE ONLINE
3 Highlights from the 2016 Gigabit City Summit [links to Benton summary]
An incumbent’s guide to digital disruption [links to McKinsey]
Why Every Foundation Should Fund Infrastructure[links to Nonprofit Quarterly]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
VERY GRADUAL CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Gigi Sohn]
The Lifeline order is a big deal in its own right, but it’s part of a much greater accomplishment that I don’t think people rightly appreciate – largely because it happened so gradually over of span of seven years. I’m talking about universal service reform writ large…. Seven years ago, USF provided basic connectivity for millions of Americans and tens of thousands of anchor institutions. But the program was outdated and inefficient. Today, it’s the exact opposite – a fiscally responsible set of ambitious programs that target resources where they are most needed, with the flexibility to keep pace with market changes. In 2009, the FCC’s universal service programs were part of the digital divide problem; now they are part of the solution…. Here’s the bottom line. We know that we’re not going to close the digital divides in our country overnight. Heck, we’ve been talking about this challenge since the 1990s. But with the modernization of the FCC’s universal service programs – notably Lifeline – we are in a stronger position to bridge the digital opportunity gaps in the years ahead. If we seize this opportunity and do the day-to-day work to get people connected, we will look up in a few years and there will be millions more Americans enjoying the benefits of high-speed Internet – for employment, for education, for entertainment, for health care, for civic engagement, for a better quality of life. Now that’s very gradual change we can believe in.
benton.org/headlines/very-gradual-change-we-can-believe-fccs-gigi-sohn-national-digital-inclusion-summit |Federal Communications Commission
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DIGITAL INCLUSION HEROES
[SOURCE: Benton Foundation, AUTHOR: Adrianne Furniss]
“Functional Internet access is essential for full participation in society.”
“Broadband Internet access service is essential to education, public health, and public safety.”
Although many of you have known this for quite some time, some people may have dismissed these proclamations as mere rhetorical flourishes. Now they are the findings of the Federal Communications Commission, the primary authority for U.S. communications laws, regulation and technological innovation. Adding broadband to the list of the services that are supported by Federal universal service support mechanisms, the FCC decided, is consistent with the public interest, convenience and necessity. Hallelujah! We all fully expect the FCC’s decision to impact millions of lives, extending the benefits of broadband to people who, frankly, have faced the very real choice between an Internet connection or being able to put food on the table. I don’t discount that; I ask that, just for a moment, we consider the policy impact of the FCC’s Lifeline order. Here’s some more language drawn from the FCC’s decision:
“It is imperative for us to include broadband Internet access service as a supported service.”
“The importance of broadband Internet to our Nation makes it critical that every American has access to the Internet.”
“Broadband access is of critical importance for consumers of all incomes. Surveys show that when households have the means, they connect to the Internet at home at rates upward of 95 percent.”
Again, these aren’t my rhetorical flourishes, this is the FCC setting national policy – broadband for all. Now the FCC’s Lifeline reforms will help tackle the primary obstacle to broadband adoption. As the Order reads, “We adopt reforms to make the Commission’s Lifeline program a key driver of the solution to our Nation’s broadband affordability challenge.” But the FCC’s decision wisely goes beyond affordable wires. The FCC gets it. The FCC understands that there are additional, serious barriers to broadband adoption. The FCC understands that we are not just connecting people to wires for the wire’s sake – we are connecting people and information to ensure every community, every household has access to opportunity. Beyond an affordable connection, people need knowledge of broadband’s potential, digital literacy and 21st century skills to make full use of the many benefits of the Internet. Yes, the FCC gets that we need Digital Inclusion. The work of the Digital Inclusion heroes in this room – and their colleagues around the country – is the next step for low-income consumers, seniors, immigrants and many more to fully participate in our increasingly digital society. The FCC gets that and is asking for help in writing a Digital Inclusion plan. With the formation of National Digital Inclusion Alliance, with Angela Siefer’s strong leadership, with the convening of The National Digital Inclusion Summit, this is the perfect moment to begin this conversation.
https://www.benton.org/blog/digital-inclusion-heroes
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LIFELINE IS A GOOD STEP
[SOURCE: St Paul Neighborhood Network, AUTHOR: Lisa Peterson-de la Cueva]
[Commentary] We really need to make Internet affordable for all. Until we promote more successful publicly owned and managed internet infrastructure—or at the very least foster more competition among internet service providers—we’re just going to keep trying to subsidize our way out of unaffordable internet, and that doesn’t seem sustainable…. Yes, the Lifeline programs helps, and hopefully it will have ripple effects on broadband policy. I commend the FCC and policy makers and members of the digital inclusion community like the NDIA for recognizing that the internet is as essential to life in America as the telephone. Yes, other low-cost internet options though big companies and mandated by the FCC also help. I look forward to seeing what other solutions government, nonprofit and business leaders come up with to help subsidize costs for some of our poorest residents. We’ll be following along during the Twitter Town Hall on digital inclusion today to see how the conversation unfolds. But as we do so, let’s keep our eye on the prize and keep pushing beyond Lifeline-type mandates. Until there is more competition among service providers, or a shift toward publicly owned and managed ISPs, as a digital inclusion community we’ll be focusing on the trees, not the forest.
benton.org/headlines/lifeline-good-step-lets-keep-going |St Paul Neighborhood Network
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CABLE
CHARTER CLOSES TWC DEAL
[SOURCE: Hollywood Reporter, AUTHOR: Georg Szalai, Paul Bond]
Charter Communications closed its $55 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable and its $10.4 billion takeover of Bright House in a mega-transaction that rearranges the US pay-TV landscape. The newly merged company instantly becomes the second-biggest cable provider, after Comcast, and observers predict it could chip away at the bargaining power of content creators. The merged company will command about 17 percent of the nation’s pay TV subscribers, or 17 million, and 22 percent of the broadband subscribers, or 19 million, with particularly strong positions in New York and Los Angeles. Charter, in which John Malone’s Liberty Broadband owns a big stake, is run by president CEO Tom Rutledge, who is now also adding the chairman title. The deal makes Malone a big cable industry player worldwide, as his Liberty Global already owns cable assets across Europe and in parts of Latin America. Charter’s new board will be led by Rutledge as chairman, with Eric Zinterhofer, who has been serving as chair since 2009, will continue to be a board member. Advance/Newhouse has designated Steve Miron and Michael Newhouse to serve on Charter’s board, while Liberty Broadband will continue to be represented on the board by Malone, CEO Greg Maffei and Liberty Global chief technology officer Balan Nair. Continuing as members of the board are Lance Conn, Craig Jacobson, Jay Markley and David Merritt, while the company added Mauricio Ramos, CEO of Millicom. The remaining open position on the board is expected to be filled soon.
benton.org/headlines/charter-closes-time-warner-cable-bright-house-deals-become-pay-tv-powerhouse |Hollywood Reporter
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MERGERS AND PUBLIC BENEFITS
[SOURCE: Capitol Weekly, AUTHOR: Sunne Wright McPeak]
[Commentary] California once again is defining a new era of public benefits from corporate consolidations in advanced communications and high-speed Internet access. Consumers and residents will be measurably better off as a result and California will move closer to closing the Digital Divide. Charter has agreed to extend broadband to 150,000 unserved households, provide free public access at 75 anchor institutions, distribute 25,000 out-of home hotspots, participate in the California telephone lifeline program, and set an aspirational goal of getting 350,000 low-income households online. Charter also will be launching a $15 per month affordable subscription (for 30 Mbps download and 4 Mbps upload) across their national footprint for families with students on free-or-reduced lunch and seniors on SSI, for which about half of all low-income households will be eligible. To reach others, Charter is contributing $32.5 million to engage people with disabilities, support CBOs to do outreach and digital literacy, and implement a school-based program in disadvantaged neighborhoods—estimated to reach another 100,000 low-income families. Charter also has committed to hire 10,000 workers of color and add 3 minority directors to their corporate board.
[Sunne Wright McPeak is the president and CEO of the California Emerging Technology Fund and former secretary of the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency]
benton.org/headlines/broadband-puc-mergers-and-public-benefits | Capitol Weekly
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CABLE NEEDS TO WELCOME COMPETITION
[SOURCE: Fierce, AUTHOR: Daniel Frankel]
Addressing a depleted, surprisingly docile general assembly crowd today at INTX, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler steered clear from the specifics of three controversial proposals targeting the cable industry. He instead used the narrative of his own background as a top executive at the cable business’ main lobbying group, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, to describe what he sees as a previously competitive and innovative industry that has lost its way. "Forty years ago, I was working at the NCTA … that was a long, long time ago, and that was at a point in time where the cable industry was the voice of competition and innovation," Chairman Wheeler said. "And in those days, those who didn’t want the industry to change were broadcasters, Hollywood and the telephone industry." Chairman Wheeler said that his job is to infuse more competition into the industry. "Competition is better than regulation, particularly in a fast-moving industry like this," he said. "But government has a role to say, ‘Excuse me, first we have to get to competition." Chairman Wheeler reminded the audience of cable industry denizens that he sided last year with the same GOP commissioners who oppose his current proposals on the issue of effective competition for cable operators, a proposal that passed the commission by a margin of 3-2. "There was competition among video services that no longer warranted regulation against cable companies," he said. "We’re now defending that decision in court… That’s the same type of process I want to bring to all the other issues." Ironically, Chairman Wheeler dismissed the notion that FCC processes need to be disrupted.
benton.org/headlines/chairman-wheeler-cable-needs-welcome-competition-and-change-fcc-not-so-much |Fierce | B&C
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WE ARE THE 99 PERCENT
[SOURCE: Medium, AUTHOR: Michael Copps]
[Commentary] Few things unite Americans quite like our common disdain for the cable company. A Consumer Reports survey last year showed that customers everywhere are dissatisfied with service quality and value. All of that is bad enough. But one part of the cable experience that has long frustrated me — as a regulator and a customer — is the monthly rent on my set top box. Our household is typical of cable households that pay hundreds of dollars per year to rent that little piece of furniture. Even as every other electronic device in our households has raced forward technologically, our set top boxes have lagged in innovation and creativity. So it was welcome news indeed when the Federal Communications Commission announced a possible opening of the set top box market to competition. Under the new framework, consumers would be able to shop for a better box — one they would own, rather than lease — and that would connect them to all of the programming they pay for, as well as make it easier to access streaming and over-the-top programming. That’s great news for consumers and content creators and an unprecedented opportunity for the independent and diverse programmers who historically have struggled for placement on the cable dial. A new, smarter box would allow those programmers to connect directly with consumers, by-passing Big Cable gatekeepers. Big Cable will pull out all the stops to defend their gatekeeper status. There’s still time for individuals to speak up. They should contact Congress and demand the FCC stay strong in this fight. The public interest demands it.
[Michael Copps was FCC Commissioner 2001–2011. Since 2012 he has served as Special Adviser t
