Subject: [Benton's Communications-related Headlines] May 24, 2007 (Internet taxes; Rural broadband)

From: Kevin Taglang <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 24 May 2007 07:27:38 -0500

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BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for THURSDAY MAY 24, 2007

INTERNET/BROADBAND
	Internet tax ban meets resistance in Senate
	Senate Bill Refocuses Rural Internet Loans
	When They Say You Are a Spammer
	E-mail to bypass phone charges

MEDIA OWNERSHIP
	Report Argues For Limits On Spectrum Auction Participants
	Key senator urges rejection of XM-Sirius deal
	Goldman Takes 'Private' Equity To a New Level

JOURNALISM
	A Future for Newspapers
	Killing the Russian Media

BROADCASTING & CABLE
	High-tech TV upgrades will create low-tech trash
	Rep. Bono Questions a la Carte Mandates

TELECOM
	Legal Sanity 'Discovered'

INTERNET/BROADBAND

INTERNET TAX BAN MEETS RESISTANCE IN SENATE
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Grant Gross, IDG News Service]
Several U.S. senators questioned whether to 
extend a ban on access and other Internet-only 
taxes, at least in their current form, during a 
Senate Commerce Committee hearing Wednesday. The 
current moratorium on Internet taxes expires on 
Nov. 1. Representatives of Verizon and the 
National Taxpayer Union Foundation called on 
Congress to make the tax ban permanent, but 
several senators said the current ban could allow 
Internet service providers to package other 
products with access and exempt them from taxes. 
The current ban should be extended temporarily, 
"if at all," said Committee Chairman Daniel 
Inouye (D-Hawaii). On Tuesday, three groups 
representing state government officials called 
for a more limited, temporary ban. Several other 
senators said they would support a temporary ban 
on Internet access taxes, but only if language in 
the moratorium is changed to make clear that 
states are allowed to tax services packaged with 
access, including music and movies and television 
over Internet Protocol, called IPTV. When the 
moratorium was last debated in Congress in 2004, 
a group of senators, many of whom are former 
state government officials, raised concerns that 
the Internet tax ban could cost states billions of dollars.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/05/23/Internet-tax-ban-meets-resistance-in-Senate_1.html
* Internet Access Tax Moratorium:  Revenue Impacts Will Vary by State
[SOURCE: US Government Accountability Office, 
AUTHOR: James R. White, Director, Strategic Issues]
GAO testimony at the Senate Commerce Committee 
hearing. The agency made no recommendation in the testimony.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-896T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d07896thigh.pdf

SENATE BILL REFOCUSES RURAL INTERNET LOANS
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
Sens Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Ken Salazar (D-CO) 
introduced legislation to overhaul a federal loan 
program designed to spur deployment of high-speed 
Internet service to rural communities. The 
initiative, part of the Agriculture Department's 
Rural Utilities Service, has provided more than 
70 loans totaling $1.2 billion since its creation 
five years ago. But critics complain that most of 
the money goes to places that do not need it. 
"RUS has used its limited funds in urban areas, 
suburban developments and towns that already have 
access to high-speed Internet," Sen Roberts said. 
He wants to 1) shift the focus back to rural 
regions that lack broadband service, 2) enhance 
incentives for investment and increase the 
feasibility of loans in rural areas, 3) improve 
the responsiveness of RUS to Loan and Loan 
Guarantee applicants and 4) create a new grant 
program to expand opportunities for state-private 
partnerships to map where broadband is available, 
and conduct outreach to areas where it is not.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/2007/05/senate_bill_aims_to_refocus_ru.html
* Sen Roberts' press release:
http://roberts.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=b3ccc5ae-802a-23ad-4efc-f48f0308584f

WHEN THEY SAY YOU ARE A SPAMMER
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Karen Bannan]
Blacklisting is an annoyance for big companies, 
but one that a dedicated technology staff can 
eventually remedy. For many smaller businesses 
(or, a small non-profit with a really good news 
service delivered via e-mail, say), on the other 
hand, having messages blocked or shuttled into a 
spam folder by an Internet service provider or 
e-mail administrator can mean lost revenue (or, 
worse, lost readers!). E-mail blacklisting was 
created as a way to help reduce spam. But 
innocent companies are finding that even people 
who follow the rules and do not send unwanted 
e-mail can find themselves in a jam.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/24/business/smallbusiness/24sbiz.html
(requires registration)

E-MAIL TO BYPASS PHONE CHARGES
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Eric Auchard]
Jangl Inc., one of a new class of Web-telephone 
calling companies, is introducing a way to call 
over the Internet that bypasses traditional phone 
networks and uses e-mail to provide privacy from 
unknown callers. The service, available on 
Wednesday, allows users to place calls as well as 
to send text messages or send or receive 
voicemail -- all via the Internet, rather than 
voice networks. It helps consumers place 
long-distance calls, globally, to anyone with an 
e-mail address and a phone, for about the cost of a dime.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSNAAD230120070523

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

REPORT ARGUES FOR LIMITS ON SPECTRUM AUCTION PARTICIPANTS
[SOURCE: Dow Jones Newswires, AUTHOR: Corey Boles]
Lobbying over how the Federal Communications 
Commission should frame rules governing the 
forthcoming auction of radio spectrum has 
intensified. On Tuesday a report by economists 
Robert Wilson and Andrzej Skrzypacz of Stanford 
University Business School that was commissioned 
by Frontline Wireless, concluded that large 
incumbent telecom operators such as Verizon 
Communications and AT&T's wireless units, should 
be partially restricted from taking part in the 
auction. The report argues that the same partial 
ban should be extended to the large cable 
companies too. Their comments concern the 10 
megahertz of spectrum that Frontline has been 
trying to convince the FCC to attach additional 
guidelines to. It wants these additional rules in 
place so its proposal for a national wireless 
broadband network for use by both commercial 
operators and public safety could get off the 
ground. The economists said that only wholesale 
operators should be allowed to bid for the 10 
megahertz of powerful and lucrative radio spectrum.
http://news.morningstar.com/news/ViewNews.asp?article=/DJ/200705230745DOWJONESDJONLINE000447_univ.xml&Cat=MktDigest

KEY SENATOR URGES REJECTION OF XM-SIRIUS DEAL
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Peter Kaplan]
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), chairman of the Senate 
antitrust subcommittee, on Wednesday urged 
regulators to block Sirius Radio's proposed 
acquisition of XM Satellite Radio Holdings on 
grounds that it would cause "substantial harm to 
competition and consumers." "Such a result should 
be unacceptable under antitrust law and as a 
matter of communication policy," Kohl wrote to 
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and the Justice 
Department's antitrust chief, Thomas Barnett. 
Although they can exert political influence over 
the agencies generally, lawmakers have no direct 
input into the decisions about individual merger reviews.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN2326781220070523

GOLDMAN TAKES 'PRIVATE' EQUITY TO A NEW LEVEL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Randall Smith [email-masked]]
Goldman Sachs Group is  creating its own private 
system to trade the stocks of companies that 
don't want the scrutiny and regulatory burdens of 
going public. Nasdaq is also planning its own new 
market for smaller, unregistered securities. 
These markets will generally be closed to 
individual investors. For instance, Goldman's 
market is open only to large institutional 
investors with assets of more than $100 million. 
That is because the stocks traded on it aren't 
registered with the Securities and Exchange 
Commission and issuers aren't subject to SEC 
regulations designed to protect individual 
investors. It represents the latest step in the 
creeping exclusion of individual investors from a 
growing proportion of financial-market activity. 
For instance, giant private-equity firms are busy 
buying public companies and delisting them from 
stock exchanges. The growing importance of hedge 
funds -- which are generally limited to wealthy 
investors, institutions and endowments -- also excludes individuals.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117996989061312894.html?mod=todays_us_money_and_investing
(requires subscription)

JOURNALISM

A FUTURE FOR NEWSPAPERS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Andy Kessler]
[Commentary]  Media, after all, is about owning a 
pipe -- some conduit between the creation of news 
or entertainment and the eyeballs that consume 
it. Media companies sell the owners of those 
eyeballs lots of things we weren't even sure we 
needed. The higher the ad rates, the better the 
business. The pipe reaches the consumer directly, 
keeping competition at bay. The tighter the pipe, 
the less the competition. For broadcasters, the 
pipe is spectrum given or bought from the Federal 
Communications Commission under the guise that 
spectrum is scarce. For cable operators, it is 
often the sole cable franchise in a town. For 
phone companies, it's those regulated copper 
wires, some of which are so old they have 
Alexander Graham Bell's teeth marks in the 
insulation. And newspapers? Reputation, quality 
news gathering, trust and credibility maintain 
the franchise. But they aren't in the printing 
business, they're in the ad business.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117997297020012986.html?mod=todays_us_opinion
(requires subscription)

KILLING THE RUSSIAN MEDIA
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Journalists from around the world 
who will gather in Moscow next week are poised to 
stand up for their colleagues in a country where 
journalism and journalists are increasingly under 
attack. The 1,000 media representatives plan to 
establish a commission to finally investigate the 
growing number of unsolved murders of journalists 
in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. The few remaining 
critics increasingly write or speak out at their 
peril, as new laws tighten the government’s grip. 
Most recently, the definition of extremism has 
been expanded to include media criticism of state 
officials. That can mean jail time for the 
reporter and the shutting down of the news 
outlet. In the meantime, polls show President 
Putin’s popularity has soared. No wonder. Fewer 
and fewer Russians can see or hear from anyone 
who opposes him, his policies or his government.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/24/opinion/24thu3.html
(requires registration)

BROADCASTING & CABLE

HIGH-TECH TV UPGRADES WILL CREATE LOW-TECH TRASH
[SOURCE:  Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jim Puzzanghera]
As new high-definition televisions fly off store 
shelves, millions of old sets soon could be 
flying into the trash. A major change to 
broadcast television in 2009 — the conversion 
from analog signals to all digital — is expected 
to send many Americans to the store for new TV 
sets. That could mean a flood of outdated TVs, 
which contain lead-encased picture tubes and 
other hazardous material, heading into landfills. 
"There's going to be an e-waste tsunami that hits 
America," said John S. Shegerian, chief executive 
of Electronic Recyclers in Fresno, the state's 
largest electronics recycler. Lawmakers and 
environmentalists already are concerned about the 
amount of technology waste — old laptops, iPods, 
printers and other gear — in dumps. So far, TVs 
have been less likely to end up in landfills than 
other electronics, recycling experts say. 
Although cellphones, computers and other gadgets 
generally get thrown out or given away when 
people upgrade, TVs tend to hang around the house 
if they're still working. They're used to play 
video games or to watch DVDs, or they get plugged 
into the cable system or hooked up to rabbit ears 
to serve as an extra set. The latest U.S. Census 
figures indicate that the average household had 
2.5 television sets in 2004, a 25% increase since 
1990. In all, there were 268 million TV sets. 
"There's a lot of different uses," said Parker 
Brugge, environmental counsel for the Consumer 
Electronics Assn. "That's why the number of 
televisions in consumers' households keeps going 
up." But the calculus that leads Americans to 
hang on to old TVs could change on Feb. 18, 2009. 
That's the day a federal law will require all TV 
stations to turn off their analog signals and 
start broadcasting only in digital. Tens of 
millions of old analog TVs will need to be hooked 
up to a cable or satellite box, or fitted with a 
special converter, to display the new signals.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-tvwaste24may24,1,4894842.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-business
(requires registration)

REP BONO QUESTIONS A LA CARTE MANDATES
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Rep. Mary Bono (R-Calif.) circulated a letter to 
all House members Wednesday in which she 
questioned Federal Communications Commission 
chairman Kevin Martin’s campaign to force cable 
to sell channels one by one. Rep Bono said that 
as a parent, she had the “responsibility to 
evaluate technologies available that allow me to 
determine what is seen in my home -- not the 
government’s.” Rep Bono said: “Recent attempts by 
the FCC to advance an a la carte agenda in the 
name of our children need to be met with a high 
degree of skepticism.” She added, “If the 
government is so worried about unwanted guests in 
American homes, my question is, ‘Who invited the 
FCC?’” In 2004, 39 House members, including Bono, 
signed a letter asking the FCC to study 
excessively violent television programming and 
make a number of recommendations, including 
potential steps by Congress or the FCC.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6446193.html?rssid=196
See also --
* Cable Competition: Where Up is Down and More is Less
http://www.consumersunion.org/blogs/hun/2007/05/cable_competition_where_up_is.html

TELECOM

LEGAL SANITY 'DISCOVERED'
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Richard Epstein]
[Commentary] The WSJ continues the parade of 
supporters for a Supreme Court decision that 
ended a telecom antitrust case before it even got 
started. Today a Hoover Institution fellow and 
party in the case under discussion celebrates 
"what might become a welcome revolution in civil 
litigation." He reviews Twombly v. Bell Atlantic 
and concludes: "the Supreme Court faced a moment 
of truth: Did the plaintiff allege enough facts 
to make it socially wise to go through discovery, 
the next procedural step. Extensive FCC 
oversight, a Department of Justice investigation, 
and the powerful economic reasons for Bell 
operating companies to deploy capital elsewhere 
tipped the balance in favor of ending litigation 
promptly. One looming question is whether 
Twombly's healthy skepticism carries over, for 
example, to class-action claims in securities or 
antidiscrimination cases. It's too early to 
predict a system-wide transformation in 
congressional or judicial attitudes. But, given 
Twombly, both Congress and the courts are far 
likelier to end in a sensible place, system wide, 
if they keep asking this question: Has the 
plaintiff presented enough by way of evidence to 
justify any huge additional expenditures of 
public and private resources in pretrial 
discovery? One place to start is with 
across-the-board limitations on discovery, which 
include stronger judicial oversight coupled with 
requirements that the moving party bear some or 
all of the cost of document production and party depositions.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117997355435413006.html?mod=todays_us_opinion
(requires subscription)
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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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