BENTON’S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2016
INTERNET/BROADBAND
FCC makes essential Lifeline progress – Blair Levin, Brookings
The Impact of Government-Owned Broadband Networks on Private Investment and Consumer Welfare – State Government Leadership Foundation
Telecom-Backed Papers Like This One Are How ISPs Rewrite America’s Laws – Vice analysis [links to Benton summary]
The Emperor’s New Clothes: “Rate Regulation” as an Excuse to Gut FCC Consumer Protection Authority – Public Knowledge analysis [links to Benton summary]
Exec Details Cruzio Wireless Gigabit Plans Using Siklu [links to Benton summary]
Bronwyn Howell — Non-neutral net neutrality: Asymmetric regulation strikes again! [links to American Enterprise Institute]
SECURITY/PRIVACY
The FBI is telling senators how it hacked the San Bernardino iPhone
Hundreds of requests to unlock phones flood FBI [links to Benton summary]
Sen Cotton slams WhatsApp for turning on encryption [links to Benton summary]
Sen Wyden questions FBI’s ‘truthfulness’ during Apple iPhone spat [links to Benton summary]
Why WhatsApp’s Encryption Embrace Is a Landmark Event – Fortune analysis [links to Benton summary]
WhatsApp’s Encryption Was Funded By Same Members of Congress Trying to Weaken It [links to Benton summary]
White House declines to support encryption legislation [links to Guardian, The]
Homeland Security Dept. Struggles to Hire Staff to Combat Cyberattacks [links to New York Times]
Settlement in Sony Pictures hacking case gets judge’s approval [links to Los Angeles Times]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Verizon Buys More Mobile Video by Investing in DreamWorks’ AwesomenessTV [links to Revere Digital]
Remarks of FCC Commissioner Pai at Contraband Cellphone Field Hearing – speech [links to Benton summary]
Nokia to cut thousands of jobs worldwide in effort to save $1B following Alcatel-Lucent acquisition [links to Fierce]
French regulators seeking $55M from Apple over alleged anticompetitive demands in carrier contracts [links to Fierce]
Media General Wants WAGT Spectrum Auction Proceeds [links to Benton summary]
Internet of Things Monetization: Verizon Sees Five Revenue Drivers [links to Benton summary]
CONTENT
‘Net Neutrality’ Coiner Tim Wu Concerned About Google Search [links to Benton summary]
Coming to You Live From Facebook, a Lure Back to Your Television
With NFL streaming deal, Twitter is basically a cable company now [links to Washington Post]
Starz enters streaming world with its own $9/month subscription service [links to Ars Technica]
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
State Department wants questions to Clinton aides ‘limited’ in e-mail case [links to Benton summary]
Next Century Cities Announces New Awards for Tech-Powered Civic Engagement – press release [links to Benton summary]
Federal Cybersecurity by the Numbers: The Biggest Spenders and the Biggest Threats [links to Benton summary]
ELECTIONS & MEDIA
President Obama, Hollywood huddle to take back Senate, House [links to Hill, The]
Google eyes move into political polling work [links to Hill, The]
Clinton shifts to more aggressive media tactics to take on Sanders, Trump [links to Hill, The]
Op-Ed: The Staggering Numbers Behind The Media’s Trump Obsession [links to Huffington Post]
The media just helped Donald Trump spread another dubious charge against Ted Cruz [links to Washington Post]
Smoke-filled room, meet Silicon Valley: Techies see opportunity at GOP convention [links to Los Angeles Times]
How ‘Citizens United’ is helping Hillary Clinton win the White House [links to Center for Public Integrity]
CHILDREN & MEDIA
Breaking Down Gender Stereotypes in Media and Toys so that Our Children Can Explore, Learn, and Dream Without Limits – White House press release [links to Benton summary]
OWNERSHIP
Verizon Buys More Mobile Video by Investing in DreamWorks’ AwesomenessTV [links to Revere Digital]
COMPANY NEWS
Comcast Seeks Projects for ‘Innovation Fund’ [links to Multichannel News]
Verizon acquires 24.5 percent stake in AwesomenessTV; will co-create short-form mobile video service aimed at 18- to 34-year-olds [links to New York Times]
Verizon’s purchase of a stake in AwesomenessTV reflects a very different mobile-video strategy than AT&T’s [links to Wall Street Journal]
Sprint to Raise $2.2 Billion in Asset Sale, Leaseback Transaction [links to Wall Street Journal]
LG’s G5 offers a glimpse of what groundbreaking technologies are coming to your smartphone in the future [links to Wall Street Journal]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
Global tech companies see India’s vast offline population as untapped market – Pew research [links to Benton summary]
Against the odds, investigative journalism persists in the Middle East [links to Columbia Journalism Review]
French regulators seeking $55M from Apple over alleged anticompetitive demands in carrier contracts [links to Fierce]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
FCC MAKES ESSENTIAL LIFELINE PROGRESS
[SOURCE: Brookings, AUTHOR: Blair Levin]
[Commentary] It is rare that a Federal Communications Commission meeting evokes thoughts of “The Little Prince.” Still, reading accounts of last week’s contretemps over Lifeline—a program to promote telecommunications access for low-income households—reminded me of the prince’s observation that “what is essential is invisible to the eye.” The stories focused on the conflict, ignoring the consensus forged and more important, the essential progress made. The meeting stopped and restarted several times as Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and the two Republicans negotiated over the program’s budget. Eventually Clyburn rejoined the two Democrats and voted for the Chairman’s budget proposal. I don’t deny the drama of the cliffhanger negotiations, nor the WWE-worthy accusations of foul play that followed when those negotiations broke down. The excitement, however, distracts one from the simple truth about the Lifeline budget. Its parameters will be decided by November’s election, not by the five current commissioners. March 31’s vote was an opening bid but is subject to many adjustments down the line. Far more important was the essential and long-lasting structural transition of Lifeline’s voice-centric framework to one reflecting the centrality of broadband. The commission also took steps to transfer the determination of eligibility from the carriers to a third party and remove barriers to more carriers participating. Nothing will do more to improve the value delivered to the intended beneficiaries than robust competition in that market segment.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-makes-essential-lifeline-progress | Brookings
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
SGLF REPORT ON MUNICIPAL BROADBAND
[SOURCE: State Government Leadership Foundation, AUTHOR: George Ford]
While the debate over government-owned networks is heated, what is lacking is a cohesive economic analysis of the phenomenon. This study attempts to fill that gap by breaking the issue down to its fundamentals by using standard economic concepts and the available evidence. The study concludes that:
1) Municipal broadband buildouts are almost always subsidized, and that a government firm with no regard for profit is a legitimate and serious concern because it threatens privacy investment and "exposes taxpayers and captive municipal electric ratepayers to significant financial risks."
2) Economics suggests subsidized municipal broadband won’t increase competition because it will be a "poison pill" for investment in the sector or drive out unsubsidized private competitors.
3) Subsidized entrants are "prone to be predatory," attempting to capture market share and even possibly exposing cities to antitrust actions.
4) Because there is no profit motive, having deterred private investment, that lack of investment can then be used to justify the municipal entry that caused that lack of competition.
5) Subsidies are more costly than they appear because "every dollar of spending by government costs much more than a dollar to gather and distribute." The study asserts that "hundreds of millions in federal, state and local subsidies have been used to support failed municipal networks."
6) Incurring "massive" fixed costs of building broadband networks with subsidy dollars is an inefficient means to the end of broadband deployment, with subsidies to existing firms a more efficient approach. While such subsidies are continuous and can be targeted, subsidizing buildouts are "discrete, untargeted, relatively expensive, risky for taxpayers, and arguably predatory."
benton.org/headlines/impact-government-owned-broadband-networks-private-investment-and-consumer-welfare | State Government Leadership Foundation | Broadcasting & Cable
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
SECURITY/PRIVACY
FBI TELLING SENS HOW IT HACKED SAN BERNARDINO IPHONE
[SOURCE: The Verge, AUTHOR: Russell Brandom]
The FBI isn’t keeping its new iPhone attack secret from everyone. The FBI has already briefed Sen Diane Feinstein (D-CA) on the methods used to break into the iPhone at the center of Apple’s recent legal fight. Sen Richard Burr (R-NC) is also scheduled to be briefed on the topic in the days to come. Sens Feinstein and Burr are both working on a new bill to limit the use of encryption in consumer technology, expected to be made public in the weeks to come.The disclosures come amid widespread calls for the attack to be made public, particularly from privacy and technology groups. However the FBI’s new method works, the ability to unlock an iPhone without knowing its passcode represents a significant break in Apple’s security measures, one Apple would surely like to protect against if it hasn’t already. At the same time, law enforcement has a clear incentive to keep the attack secret, so as to use the same method in future cases.
benton.org/headlines/fbi-telling-senators-how-it-hacked-san-bernardino-iphone | Verge, The
Share: Twitter | Facebook
back to top
CONTENT
FACEBOOK LURING PEOPLE BACK TO TV
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Lucas Shaw]
Since Facebook rolled out live video for celebrities in 2015, the service has become a popular tool for broadcasters like Walt Disney Co.’s ABC to entice TV viewers to watch shows when they air — and sit through the ads. That’s a real challenge in the era of Netflix and Hulu, when audiences have more options than ever and live TV viewing is declining. For now, Facebook is getting content for free. The company hasn’t begun selling ads with the live clips yet. Advertising produced the bulk of Facebook’s $17.9 billion in 2015 revenue, a sum that exceeds the combined total of Disney’s broadcast and cable channels. Some clips are professional and slick, resembling a Hollywood show like “Entertainment Tonight.” Facebook will announce new features this week that make it easier for people to find live streams, and upload live videos of themselves for all to see. That too appeals to TV marketers, who envision fans posting video from events, or from their couch. The company’s entertainment partners downplay any potential threat. They say the social network is more interested in providing fans access to stars than acquiring premium programming. They also acknowledge that could change.
benton.org/headlines/coming-you-live-facebook-lure-back-your-television | Bloomberg | Revere Digital
