Subject: [Benton's Communications-related Headlines] June 8, 2007 (Broadband)

From: Kevin Taglang <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 08 Jun 2007 06:55:48 -0500

"The total number of broadband subscribers will 
increase by over 40 million over the next five years."
	-- Bruce Leichtman, Leichtman Research Group

BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for FRIDAY JUNE 8, 2007

Some big events late next week -- 1) Top Bush 
Administration officials will highlight broadband 
wireless policy perspectives in the U.S. and 
globally during a keynote-level session on 
Thursday, June 14 at the Wireless Communications 
Association convention, 2) Mirror Awards will be 
presented for excellence in coverage of the 
media, and 3) the first Chicago Media Summit will 
be held Thursday and Friday.  For these and other 
upcoming media policy events, see 
http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=event/2007/06/14

INTERNET/BROADBAND
	Over Half of U.S. Households Subscribe to Broadband Internet
	Boucher Wants to Improve America's Broadband
	House Subcommittee Supports Rural Broadband Funding
	Network Neutrality is Essential to a Democratic and Dynamic Internet
	Important FCC Spectrum Decision

BROADCASTING/CABLE
	Funding for Public Broadcasting
	FCC Proposes $3 Million in DTV Tuner Fines
	Closed Captioning for Digital Television
	C-SPAN-Like TV Pops Up on Local Level

OWNERSHIP
	In search of media diversity
	NAB President Asks Karmazin To Nix Merger
	Hispanic Chambers of Commerce Backs XM/Sirius Merger
	Mexico’s Court Limits Reach of Big Media

JOURNALISM
	Journalism isn't dying, it's reviving
	Aid projects need more critical media coverage

QUICKLY -- CDT Applauds Oversight of Warrantless 
Snooping; Job Opportunities: New America Foundation

INTERNET/BROADBAND

OVER HALF OF US HOUSEHOLDS SUBSCRIBE TO BROADBAND INTERNET
[SOURCE: Leichtman Research Group press release]
New consumer research from Leichtman Research 
Group finds that 53% of all US households now 
subscribe to a broadband high-speed Internet 
service at home. Broadband services now account 
for about 72% of all home Internet subscriptions 
-- compared to 60% last year. While broadband 
subscriptions continued to increase across the 
country in the past year, broadband penetration 
remains strongly correlated with household 
income: 68% of all households with annual incomes 
over $50,000 now get broadband -- compared to 59% 
last year -- and 39% of all households with 
annual incomes under $50,000 get broadband -- 
compared to 27% last year. Other findings 
include: 1) While 81% of all US households have 
at least one computer, only 56% of those with 
annual household incomes under $30,000 have a 
computer at home. 2) Just 45% of households with 
annual incomes below $30,000 subscribe to an 
Internet service at home -- compared to 92% of 
households with annual incomes above $75,000. 3) 
Overall, 7% of all Internet subscribers say that 
broadband is not available in their area. “Nearly 
three-quarters of households in the US now 
subscribe to an Internet service, and broadband 
has grown to account for over 70% of all online 
subscribers at home,” said Bruce Leichtman, 
president and principal analyst for Leichtman. 
“LRG forecasts the total number of broadband 
subscribers will increase by over 40 million over the next five years.”
http://www.leichtmanresearch.com/press/060707release.html
* Leichtman: Broadband Crosses 50% Threshold
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6449922.html?rssid=193

BOUCHER WANTS TO IMPROVE AMERICA'S BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: John Bergmayer]
[Commentary] Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) gave the 
opening keynote at the Broadband Policy Summit on 
June 7. He detailed a number of plans he thinks 
would help improve broadband penetration in 
America: 1) He urged summit attendees to contact 
their Congressional representatives to ask them 
to support his Universal Service Reform Act of 
2007 (HR 2054 see 
http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=node/5674). 2) 
He would eliminate legal barriers to municipal 
deployment of broadband, including municipal WiFi 
and mesh networks. 3) He sees the pending 
agriculture bill as providing an opportunity to 
reexamine funding for rural broadband deployment 
[see related story below]. 4) He discussed the 
connection of telecommunications to possible 
“smart grid” power systems, and discussed the 
potential of broadband over power lines (BPL) for 
providing broadband competition. 5) He cited the 
example of “Connect Kentucky,” which he believes 
has been a successful program for increasing 
broadband deployment. He thinks that it is an 
example worthy of emulation and for which a 
federal complement might be developed.
http://feeds.publicknowledge.org/~r/publicknowledge-main/~3/123048366/995

HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE SUPPORTS RURAL BROADBAND FUNDING
[SOURCE: House Agriculture Committee]
On June 6, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on 
Specialty Crops, Rural Development, and Foreign 
Agriculture approved proposals for the Farm Bill 
sections under its jurisdiction. The Subcommittee 
approved by voice vote discussion drafts 
outlining the Rural Development. The bill would 
reauthorize loans to local entities for the 
expansion of rural 911 access. The discussion 
draft approved by the Subcommittee changes 
program eligibility requirements to improve 
access to broadband telecommunications services 
in rural areas, and would also establish a 
National Center for Rural Telecommunications 
Assessment. An amendment by Rep John Salazar 
would mandate a comprehensive rural broadband 
strategy from the Secretary of Agriculture. The 
strategy would : 1) promote interagency 
coordination of policies and resources, 2) 
coordinate existing rural initiatives, 3) address 
both short- and long-term solutions and 4) 
cataloging best practises for addressing rural 
broadband needs. The plan is to include goals and timeframes.
http://agriculture.house.gov/list/press/agriculture_dem/pr_060607_SCRDFA_markup.html
* See a summary of the bill at 
http://agriculture.house.gov/inside/Legislation/110/TitleVII_RD2_sbs.pdf
* See the Salazar amendment at: 
http://agriculture.house.gov/inside/Legislation/110/Salazar001_RuralBroadband.pdf

NETWORK NEUTRALITY IS ESSENTIAL TO A DEMOCRATIC AND DYNAMIC INTERNET
[SOURCE: HearUsNow.org, AUTHOR: Mark Cooper, Consumer Federation of America]
[Commentary] A recent blog from the Center for 
Digital Democracy attacked the broad coalition 
fighting for network neutrality and called on 
public interest advocates to change their focus 
on Internet policy. This proposed change would be 
a huge mistake for public interest advocates 
fighting to promote consumer and citizen 
interests. Protecting consumers and citizens from 
abuse by the commercial sector and promoting 
consumer sovereignty and democratic discourse are 
interrelated, but distinct objectives. Both are 
essential for a vibrant and innovative online 
economy and public sphere. And consumer advocates 
must be vigilant about both. The suggestion that 
a neutral network would be “open in name only” 
rests on a fundamental failure to understand what 
is happening on the 21st century Internet, while 
projecting the evils of the twentieth century 
broadcast media model into an entirely different 
communications space where it just does not fit. 
Network neutrality/open access is critical 
because it ensures that consumers and citizens 
can easily escape from the walled-gardens and 
gated-communities that the cable and telephone 
companies like to build. And the world they 
escape into is a communicative space that is more 
varied and vibrant than any that has ever 
existed, or had even been contemplated. The 
communicative space created by network 
neutrality/open access combined with the 
Internet’s “end-to-end” principle is varied and 
raucous primarily because the production of 
content by people (not corporations) dominates in 
cyberspace, but also because the ease of entry on 
a neutral, digital network ensures a continuous 
flow of new commercial content and innovative applications.
http://www.consumersunion.org/blogs/hun/2007/06/network_neutrality_is_essentia.html

3650-3700 MHZ BAND ORDER
[SOURCE: Media Access Project press release]
Harold Feld, Senior Vice President, Media Access 
Project, had the following statement in response 
to the FCC's Order on Wireless Operation in the 
3650-3700 MHz Band (OET Docket No. 04-151). “For 
more than two years, private interests hoping to 
capture a valuable portion of the public airwaves 
and lock competitors out have held up development 
of this band. Meanwhile, rural Americans who 
could have enjoyed the benefits of this spectrum 
have lacked the affordable broadband choices and 
the benefits of wireless competition. Today's 
Order essentially reconfirms the approach to this 
band the FCC adopted in 2004, a set of rules that 
balances the legitimate concerns of licensees 
with the power of open spectrum to create new 
broadband providers and opportunities. It opens 
50 MHz of spectrum under a "licensing lite" 
regime that will allow wireless ISPs (WISPs), 
municipal broadband systems, and community 
wireless networks to share spectrum outside the 
currently overcrowded "junk bands" used by 
commercial wi-fi systems. While important, 
today's action is only a small step toward 
addressing our overall need for policies that 
make open wireless available to everyone. 
Hopefully, it signals an willingness by this 
Commission to move forward on more significant 
proposals to open more spectrum for 
non-interfering uses rather than requiring 
Americans to access the public airwaves through a 
handful of licensed gatekeepers offering 
carefully controlled walled gardens under the 
guise of Internet access. While we applaud the 
FCC for its modest step forward today, the need 
to make more spectrum open and available for 
competition remains great. We therefore renew our 
call to the FCC in the next few months to open 
the broadcast "white spaces" for unlicensed use 
and to set aside half the spectrum in the 
upcoming 700 MHz auction for affordable, wholesale access.”
http://www.mediaaccess.org/press/3650-3700%20MHz%20Order.pdf
* Petitions for Reconsideration in the 3650-3700 
MHz Band Proceeding (FCC order)
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-99A1.doc
* FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein
"Our licensing regime for the 3650 MHz band will 
serve as a wireless highway between small towns 
and the big city - it will facilitate the 
delivery of broadband to all corners of the 
country by serving a different user group, one 
that often is driven by more localized, community based needs."
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-99A2.doc

BROADCASTING/CABLE

FUNDING FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
[SOURCE: Corporation for Public Broadcasting]
On June 7, the House Appropriations Subcommittee 
on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education 
approved the FY 2008 appropriations bill which 
provides funding for the Corporation for Public 
Broadcasting (CPB). The legislation approved by 
the subcommittee provides CPB a $420 million 
advanced appropriation for FY 2010, as well as 
$29.7 for digital conversion and $26.75 for the 
public radio interconnection system for FY 2008. 
In addition, the bill provides $24.255 in funding 
for Ready to Learn. If enacted, the proposed 
advance for FY 2010 would represent a 5% increase 
over the FY 2009 level. The House Appropriations 
Committee could consider the bill as early as 
next week, followed by action by the House of 
Representatives. The Senate is expected to 
consider its version of the bill in late June or July.
http://www.cpb.org/pressroom/release.php?prn=605
* CPB Gets Pay Raise
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6450123.html?rssid=193

FCC PROPOSES $3 MILLION IN DTV TUNER FINES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The FCC is apparently very serious about 
enforcing its DTV tuner mandate. The Commission 
has issued its first two fines to companies that 
illegally shipped TV sets that don't contain a 
DTV tuner. The fines total nearly $3 million. The 
Commission fined a company called 
Syntax-Brillian  $2,899,575 for importing over 
72,000 TV's without tuners. The FCC also cited 
Regent U.S.A for shipping 2,179 non-compliant 
sets "The DTV tuner requirement promotes an 
important public policy goal of helping to speed 
the transition to digital television," said the 
FCC in proposing the fines. "And we therefore 
find violations of this requirement to be more 
egregious, in general, than many other types of 
equipment marketing cases that come before us."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6450114.html?rssid=193
* FCC Warns Retailers To Label Analog-Only Sets Online
The FCC has warned K-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit 
City, Radio Shack, and CompUSA that if they don't 
start placing a warning "in close proximity" to 
analog-only sets, even those sold online, the 
stores will face an $11,000-per-day fine, up to $97,000.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6449958.html?rssid=193

CLOSED CAPTIONING FOR DIGITAL TELEVISION
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission is 
concerned that consumers may experience 
difficulty in receiving and/or viewing closed 
captioning on some digital television (DTV) 
programming, including high definition television 
(HDTV), provided by a programming distributor 
such as a cable company or a satellite television 
provider.  These difficulties generally could 
arise from two causes:  1) the consumer's set-top 
box and/or DTV are not properly set to allow 
closed captions to be displayed; or 2) there are 
technical problems with the cable or satellite 
provider's system that prevent closed captions 
from being received and decoded by the set-top 
box and/or DTV. If you have difficulties viewing 
closed captions on DTV programming, including 
HDTV, received from your cable company or 
satellite television provider, you should: 1) 
consult any consumer information and 
manuals/guides on closed captions for DTV 
programming provided by your cable or satellite 
provider; 2) ensure that the captioning function 
on your set-top box, if applicable, is turned on; 
3) ensure that the captioning function on your 
DTV is turned on. If you are still unable to view 
closed captions on DTV programming, you should 
contact your cable company or satellite 
television provider for assistance.  If your 
provider is unable to help, you can contact the FCC's Consumer Center.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-273678A1.doc

C-SPAN-LIKE TV POPS UP ON LOCAL LEVEL
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Paul Davenport]
People who can't get enough C-SPAN are getting 
more chances to watch legislative coverage from 
the comfort of their couches. At a time when news 
media coverage of most state legislatures is 
increasingly sparse, there are now more than 20 
channels across the country offering 
gavel-to-gavel legislative coverage. That's up 
from a handful in the 1990s. Only about a dozen 
offer full broadcast slates. Others offer 
limited, part-time programming. The programming 
isn't all humdrum public policy stuff: There are 
corruption scandals and election controversies 
and juicy hearings. Those in the fledgling 
industry say the coverage goes beyond sound bites 
to let citizens see how their state governments 
-- and their elected representatives -- do the 
public's business. "What we bring to the table is 
a primary source for people," said Paul Giguere, 
president of the National Association of Public 
Affairs Networks and founder of Connecticut's 
CT-N, one of the nation's oldest systems. "This 
is an opportunity for people to watch for 
themselves and make up their own mind."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/06/05/national/a000516D16.DTL&hw=tv&sn=004&sc=462

OWNERSHIP

IN SEARCH OF DIVERSITY
[SOURCE: Hispanic Link, AUTHOR: Joseph Torres, Free Press]
even though people of color make up a third of 
the U.S. population, the media are still 
struggling to integrate diverse voices in news 
coverage and staffing. Media companies are quick 
to pledge their support for newsroom diversity, 
but their actions still fail to match their 
rhetoric. The same can be said for the Federal 
Communications Commission's commitment to 
fostering greater racial, ethnic and gender 
diversity on our airwaves. It has failed to take 
any action on this growing crisis. And it is a 
crisis. FCC issued a new rulemaking procedure 
last year and is once again considering relaxing 
the broadcast ownership rules. It still has not 
addressed how to bring parity to ownership. A 
history of racism and segregation in the United 
States prevented the integration of the airwaves, 
not only in ownership, but in the presence of 
people of color working on radio and TV and in 
programming addressing the needs of communities 
of color. Sadly, 180 years after the founding of 
Freedom's Journal, people of color are still 
struggling for a chance to "plead their own 
cause."  It's time we got the chance to speak for ourselves.
http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/23812

NAB PRESIDENT ASKS KARMAZIN TO NIX MERGER
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
National Association of Broadcasters President 
David Rehr has written personally to Sirius 
Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin to ask him to 
withdraw the application to merge with XM. Rehr 
appeared to be reacting in part to reports that 
Karmazin had labeled the NAB's lobbying against 
the issue "disgraceful," according to a press 
report cited in the letter. Rehr called that 
indictment "misguided." He conceded NAB had paid 
for published studies taking aim at the merger, 
but also pointed to "hundreds" of comments filed 
at the FCC opposing the merger, "all without prodding from NAB."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6450134.html?rssid=193
* Text of letter: 
http://www.nab.org/xert/corpcomm/pressrel/releases/060707_DKR_Karmazin.pdf

HISPANIC CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE BACKS XM/SIRIUS MERGER
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The Hispanic Chambers of Commerce says it 
supports the merger of XM and Sirius. “With 
expanded choices and better prices, satellite 
radio will be an even more attractive option for 
consumers, and this ultimately benefits our 
Chamber members and the two-million Latino-owned 
businesses in the U.S.” said chamber president 
Alfred Placeres. “Our community is more informed 
and better prepared to make important business decisions as a result.”
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6449924.html?rssid=193

MEXICO'S COURT LIMITS REACH OF BIG MEDIA
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Elisabeth Malkin]
The Mexican Supreme Court overwhelmingly voted 
Thursday to declare parts of a new media law 
unconstitutional, a blow to the country’s two 
main broadcasters who had hoped to extend their 
dominance in television to the Internet and 
telephone service. The decision confirmed several 
preliminary votes by the court’s members in the 
last two weeks as they went through the disputed 
parts of the law. In an unprecedented move, the 
hearings were televised and the court members 
heard experts speak for and against the law. Now 
it goes back to Congress to be rewritten. 
Although legislators agreed that the existing 
47-year-old television law needs to be changed, 
no one has stepped forward with a proposal. That 
may force President Felipe Calderón to come up 
with his own legislation and send it to Congress, 
which is out of session until September. The law 
was passed in the heat of an election campaign 
last year, and critics said that it gave new 
power to the nation’s broadcasting duopoly, 
Televisa and TV Azteca, which control about 90 percent of the industry.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/08/business/worldbusiness/08mextv.html
(requires registration)
* Ruling hits 2 media giants
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-mextv8jun08,1,5217996.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-business

JOURNALISM

JOURNALISM ISN'T DYING, IT'S REVIVING
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Dan 
Gillmor, Center for Citizen Media]
[Commentary] Journalism's old guard is in a 
panic. With the latest bad news -- massive 
editorial staff reductions coming at the San 
Francisco Chronicle and believable rumors of 
similar cuts at an already shrunken San Jose 
Mercury News, among other things -- it's no 
wonder that people who care about the traditional 
journalism business are frightened. But if the 
issue is the future of journalism -- as opposed 
to corporate business models -- there's at least 
as much reason for optimism as paranoia. The same 
technologies that are disrupting the news 
industry are offering unprecedented opportunities 
for creating a more diverse, and ultimately more 
vibrant, journalistic ecosystem. The journalistic 
ecosystem could end up healthier in the end, if 
we get this right. What's coming won't be the 
responsibility of just a few companies or 
nonprofits. It'll be up to all of us. We will get this right, if we try.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/06/07/EDGGTP3FOE1.DTL

AID PROJECTS NEED MORE CRITICAL MEDIA COVERAGE
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: Edward Girardet]
[Commentary] The forced resignation of former 
World Bank director Paul Wolfowitz for nepotism 
was largely the result of intense pressure by an 
irate staff who saw his actions as lacking in 
dignity and concern for the well-being of the 
organization. The willingness of the press to 
pursue the issue was another contributing factor. 
Wrongdoing, of course, is nothing new to the 
international aid industry. But in most cases 
there is no dogged media reporting or public will 
to bring the culprits to task. The best solution 
would be the creation of a viable media watchdog 
capable of reporting the real causes behind 
humanitarian predicaments, including how the 
international community responds.  Most 
mainstream news organizations are unlikely to 
cover the global aid business on a consistent 
basis. On the other hand, a pooling of media, 
corporate, and foundation support for a 
specialized reporting entity could prove to be 
the answer. Any other approach that does not 
guarantee complete independence would be a waste of time and money.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0608/p09s01-coop.html

QUICKLY

CDT APPLAUDS OVERSIGHT OF WARRANTLESS SNOOPING
[SOURCE: Center for Democracy & Technology]
The Administration must come clean with a full 
accounting of its domestic surveillance 
activities before Congress can be expected to 
make any changes to the laws that protect 
Americans against uncontrolled government 
snooping, CDT said today. CDT applauded the House 
Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the 
Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 
for holding a critical hearing on the topic 
today, and urged lawmakers to fully explore all 
aspects of the governmentâ€™s domestic spying 
activities. The White House has been aggressively 
promoting legislation aimed at "modernizing" the 
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), 
which governs how national security surveillance 
is conducted in the United States.
* Press Release: NSA Oversight: http://www.cdt.org/press/20070607press.php

JOB OPPORTUNITIES: NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION
[SOURCE: New America Foundation]
The New America Foundation is seeking candidates 
to fill two senior positions in its Wireless 
Future Program: a Director of Research and a 
Senior Policy Counsel. Mail, e-mail or fax a 
resume, brief cover letter summarizing your 
interests/qualifications, a writing sample 
(ranging from academic to published article), and 
contact information of three references (letters 
not necessary) to: Human Resources, New America 
Foundation, 1630 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 7th 
Floor, Washington, DC 20009. Fax: 202-986-3696. 
E-mail: [email-masked]. Please state "Job 
Search:Wireless Future Program" in e-mail subject 
line. Salary commensurate with experience and 
excellent health/pension benefits, in total 
comparable to federal sector. The New America 
Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.
http://www.newamerica.net/programs/wireless_future#
--------------------------------------------------------------
...and we are outta here. Have a great weekend.
--------------------------------------------------------------
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 [email-masked] -- we welcome your comments.
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The Benton Foundation (www.benton.org) works to 
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public interest use of communications. Bridging 
the worlds of philanthropy, public policy, and 
community action, Benton seeks to shape the 
emerging communications environment and to 
demonstrate the value of communications for solving social problems.
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Free Press also collects media and media policy 
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Kevin Taglang
Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Foundation
Communications in the Public Interest
1625 K Street, NW 11th Floor
Washington, DC 20006
headlines AT benton DOT org 

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