The World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum (WTPF) will be a “chance to pause, reflect and debate the emerging issues” involving the Internet, ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré said Tuesday during the conference’s opening ceremony in Geneva. Tuesday’s proceedings were dominated by ceremony and discussion of the conference’s governance and structure. Ivo Ivanovski, Macedonia’s minister of information society and administration, is WTPF’s chair; representatives from Costa Rica, Gabon, India, Poland, Russia and Saudi Arabia are vice chairs. Plenary Working Group 1 began presenting the Informal Experts Group’s (IEG) draft opinions on promotion of Internet exchange points as a long-term connectivity solution and fostering broadband connectivity growth, as well as member states’ contributions on those opinions. Debate on those two opinions is set to continue when the conference reconvenes Wednesday morning. Working Group 2, which is handling the IEG’s draft opinions on the adoption and deployment of IPv6, are set to present those opinions Wednesday. Working Group 3, which is handling the IEG’s draft opinions supporting “multistakeholderism” in Internet governance and the Enhanced Cooperation Process, is also set to begin presenting those opinions Wednesday. The New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute endorsed a statement on the “Best Bits” network submitted to the ITU ahead of the conference that urged adoption of the IEG’s opinions and supported instituting “inclusive and transparent ITU processes and uphold[ing] and protect[ing] the public interest and fundamental human rights.” Thirty-two groups in the U.S. and elsewhere have endorsed the statement, which Best Bits originally submitted prior to the controversial World Conference on International Telecommunications (http://bit.ly/196issz). While the tone of WTPF shows the ITU has “taken some positive steps to open up these important discussions, the ITU must create legitimate mechanisms for open and participatory policymaking with all stakeholders,” said Benjamin Lennett, OTI’s policy director (http://bit.ly/13Zw5cy).
Nearly a dozen members of the House from Texas wrote to FirstNet Chairman Sam Ginn Tuesday to applaud the group’s decision to negotiate a spectrum lease agreement with Harris County, Texas. The move was “a step in the right direction,” said the letter signed by Republican Reps. Joe Barton, Ralph Hall, Pete Olson, Sam Johnson, Ted Poe, Michael McCaul, Steve Stockman and John Culberson and Democratic Reps. Gene Green, Sheila Jackson-Lee and Al Green. The lawmakers asked FirstNet to grant Texas a statewide long-term lease agreement for access to FirstNet’s public safety spectrum and grant approval for Texas to participate in a regional multi-state border and coastal broadband network, among other requests.
Emergency response following the Boston Marathon bombings last month shows the importance of planning before disaster strikes, Chris Essid, deputy director of the federal Office of Emergency Communications (OEC), told the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council Tuesday. “Planning and preparation by Boston officials made a real difference for public safety communications,” Essid said. “During the response, their mission critical [land-mobile radio] systems worked well and they were able to achieve interoperability among state and local responders, and processes were in place to integrate federal law enforcement as needed.” Essid said OEC, part of the Department of Homeland Security, had worked with the city prior to the 2010 marathon and developed a plan. “The comprehensive communications plan developed by Boston in coordination with DHS was used in preparation for the Boston Marathon and subsequent response to the bombings,” he said. DHS is still looking at the response and the lessons learned, “so we can target further support and resources where needed,” he said.
The FCC Media Bureau granted a Comcast petition exempting the cable provider from municipal rate-setting for basic-video and some other prices in two communities in Colorado, said orders (http://bit.ly/13iNWIF). Comcast’s petition cited video competition from DirecTV and Dish Network. The deregulation affects just over 16,000 house holds in Wheat Ridge and Edgewater. Comcast also submitted in docket 12-1 three separate effective competition petitions covering a total of 17 communities in Minnesota. All three petitions cite video competition from the two DBS companies. One petition (http://bit.ly/19pdVl0) would affect the communities of Dellwood, Mahtomedi, Maplewood, White Bear and White Bear Lake. A second (http://bit.ly/YTWj1f) affects Arden Hills, Little Canada, Mounds View, New Brighton, North Oaks, St. Anthony and Shoreview. The third petition (http://bit.ly/15KxPuL) affects Cottage Grove, Grey Cloud Island, Newport, St. Paul Park and Woodbury.
House lawmakers endorsed an Internet governance bill (HR-1580) Tuesday, just before the full House met to vote on the bill’s passage. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., said the bill is “designed to combat recent efforts by some in the international community to regulate the Internet, which could jeopardize not only its vibrancy, but also the benefits it brings to the world,” during a floor speech. Last month the House Commerce Committee approved HR-1580, aimed at codifying the U.S. policy “to preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder model that governs the Internet.” The bill mirrors House and Senate resolutions passed last year opposing the revised International Telecommunication Regulations adopted at the World Conference on International Telecommunications. Walden noted that the bill does not exclude governments from “playing a role in policing unlawful behavior. Illegal activity is no less illegal simply because someone has used digital tools to perpetrate the act,” he said. House Commerce Committee Democrats had objected to a provision in an earlier draft that would have made it U.S. policy to “promote a global Internet free from government control” (http://1.usa.gov/10FeUsK). Walden said Tuesday that Democrats objected to the bill’s previous language because they said it would interfere with the FCC’s network neutrality rules. “Let me be clear. I oppose the FCC’s rules regulating the Internet,” said Walden. “This legislation, however, does not require the FCC to reverse those regulations. While statements of policy can help delineate the contours of statutory authority, they do not create statutorily mandated responsibilities. Nonetheless, in the interest of reaching bipartisan consensus and moving this important legislation forward, I agreed to drop the government control language.” Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., urged her colleagues to vote for the bill and said it’s “fitting” to consider its passage as world leaders meet this week for the World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum. (See separate report in this issue.) HR-1580 is “not about our views on domestic Internet policy,” Eshoo said. “The legality of the FCC’s 2010 open Internet order will be decided by the courts. H.R. 1580 is about ensuring that this week and at future conferences the international community knows that the U.S. Congress stands behind the multi-stakeholder process and the importance of a free and open Internet.” Lawmakers had not yet voted on the bill at our deadline.
Last year saw increases in tech employment numbers for 39 states, according to a report from TechAmerica (http://bit.ly/ahgfei). The largest gains by number were in California, Texas, New York, Michigan and Georgia, while the largest gains by percentage were in North Dakota, Michigan, Missouri, Georgia and New York, said the report. The states with the biggest decline in tech employment were New Mexico, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Connecticut and the District of Columbia. At 9.8 percent, Virginia has the largest percentage of private sector employees working in the tech industry, while California has the highest number of employees in every tech sector except for computer training, software publishing and electromedical equipment manufacturing, where Florida, Washington and Minnesota lead, respectively. Nationally, the U.S. tech industry had 5.95 million employees in 2012, a 1.1 percent increase from 2011, the report said. The Internet and telecommunication sector, the software services sector and the engineering and tech services sector all saw employment increases, while tech manufacturing sectors overall saw a 0.8 percent decrease.
The FCC and Canadian regulator Industry Canada agreed through “an exchange of letters” on 10 interim spectrum sharing arrangements covering operations along the border between the two countries. “These arrangements will aid in the deployment and use of mobile broadband and improve public safety communications along the U.S.-Canada border by facilitating the efficient sharing of spectrum and avoiding potential interference,” the FCC said (http://bit.ly/YHvNpz). The agreement relies on contention-based protocols, which “allow multiple users to share the same spectrum by defining the events that must occur when two or more devices attempt to simultaneously access the same channel and establishing rules by which each device is provided a reasonable opportunity to operate,” the FCC said. An agreement on the 3650-3700 MHz band “allows wireless broadband and high-speed Internet services to coexist along the U.S.-Canada border,” the agency said. “Technical sharing arrangement reached on the 700 MHz band will allow public safety licensees on both sides of the border to fully implement their 700 MHz narrowband systems.” The agreements also cover PCS and AWS spectrum, the 4.9 GHz public safety band and spectrum used for railway communications systems.
Evening cable news guests are mostly white males, said a release Tuesday from the National Hispanic Media Coalition, which cites a recent study by Media Matters on diversity at MSNBC, Fox and CNN (http://bit.ly/17pN3ET). According to NHMC, the report found that women accounted for 33 percent of MSNBC guests, 29 percent of Fox News guests and 24 percent of CNN guests, while Latinos represented only 3 percent of Fox News guests and 2 percent of CNN and MSNBC guests. “At a time when Latinos are over 16 percent of the country, a growing bloc of the electorate, and with over $1 trillion per year of buying power, it is unimaginable that we be excluded from cable news at such rates,” said NHMC President Alex Nogales in the release. Nogales also urged broadcasters to diversify their news programs, and offered to assist them in finding Latino guests for any subject matter. NHMC also said a recent poll by the group showed that positive images of Latinos in media positively impacts non-Latinos’ attitudes towards Latinos. “Being absent on newscasts contributes to negative opinions regarding our community,” said NHMC.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., asked GAO to examine the impact that broadcast joint sales agreements (JSAs) and shared services agreements (SSAs) have upon consumers. “I have long had concerns about the public interest of weakening the existing media ownership rules,” said his letter made public Tuesday. “I believe the FCC should act with caution in this area and not make changes to the media ownership rules unless the agency can demonstrate clearly that localism, independence, and diversity of views will be advanced by any changes made to the rules.” Rockefeller asked GAO to determine the extent to which broadcasters are participating in JSAs and SSAs, what impact such agreements have on competition, whether they inflate retransmission consent fees and overall costs, and whether such agreements are increasing the costs that consumers incur for pay-TV programming, among other questions. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski recently paused a draft order that would relax media cross-ownership rules to give the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council time to study the impact of waivers, allowing common ownership of stations and daily newspapers, on minority and women-owned broadcasters (CD Feb 27 p1). The American Television Alliance (ATVA) and the American Cable Association (ACA) commended Rockefeller for requesting the study. ATVA said: “These types of arrangements may lead to more retransmission consent disputes and cause consumers more harm when multiple broadcast stations are pulled during such disputes. Further, these arrangements may cost consumers more money in the end.” ACA President Matthew Polka said he’s optimistic “the GAO will validate ACA’s claims that broadcast stations are engaging in widespread anti-competitive coordination designed to extract excessive retransmission consent compensation from pay-TV providers as compared to broadcasters that negotiate individually.”
Q1 2013 shows a 50 percent decline in the number of new cable video subscribers from the same period last year, according to an investment newsletter from the Pivotal Research Group released Tuesday. Analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak said in order to get cable video subscriptions to rise, “the housing market is going to need to materially improve” and suggested cable operators offer bundles including data and subscriptions to online video services like Amazon Prime to entice price-focused customers. “We believe a player like Amazon is likely quite willing to materially incent cable to move in this direction,” said Wlodarczak. He said such a deal might pressure programmers to walk back retransmission consent fee increases. The report also said cable’s share of the data market had slipped to 72 percent, from 78 percent during Q1 2012. However, Wlodarczak said cable still had the “lion’s share” of the data market, which he said would continue for infrastructure reasons. “We continue to believe that given likely continued skyrocketing demand for data speed that any copper based alternative is in trouble, which is why AT&T is trying novel technologies to try to increase the throughput of their copper plant by [2015].” Wlodarczak said satellite stocks should be attractive to investors and that cable stock prices will continue to rise, driven by “increasing investor understanding that cable in the vast majority of the U.S. owns the dominant way consumers will access the Internet."