Nextgov/FCW - Authors - Josh Smith

U.S. officials refuse to sign new U.N. telecom treaty

Josh Smith, National Journal — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 09:24:07 -0500

American officials announced on Thursday they won’t be signing an international telecommunications treaty because of concerns it condones government control of the Internet.

A team of about 100 U.S. negotiators have spent the past two weeks at a meeting of the United Nations International Telecommunications Union in Dubai. Officials had feared that countries such as Russia could use the negotiations over international telecom regulations to extend government rules to cover the Internet.

Such changes were kept out of the binding portions of the new treaty, but a majority of the countries chose to include statements on Internet governance in a nonbinding resolution, Ambassador Terry Kramer, who led the U.S. delegation, told reporters on Thursday.

“The U.S. cannot sign the revised telecom treaty in its current form,” he said.

Countries that favor expanding the regulations to the Internet will likely sign the new treaty on Friday, but America won’t be a signatory. “We cannot be part of that consensus,” Kramer said.

The United States and some other countries objected to proposals that would have expanded the regulations to cover things such as cybersecurity and spam.

The objectionable portion of the treaty will not be binding on the U.S., and the countries that want more government control of the Internet already take such steps.

Despite deciding not to sign the treaty, Kramer painted the two weeks of negotiations as a success because the binding portions remain limited to traditional telecom networks. U.S. officials also succeeded in defeating proposals that could have changed the way Internet companies pay for traffic.

American trade groups, companies, and policymakers were less than pleased.

While praising the U.S. delegation, Republican Federal Communications Commissioner Robert McDowell said the new trend, if unchecked, will harm investment and innovation in the Internet.

“Even though the United States refused to sign the new agreement, what happened today in Dubai could have ripple effects here at home,” he said in a statement. “Consumers everywhere will ultimately pay the price for this power grab as engineers and entrepreneurs try to navigate this new era of an internationally politicized Internet.”

The Internet Association, which represents companies including Google, Yahoo, and Facebook, criticized the U.N. for moving “under the cover of darkness” close to regulating the Internet.

“The ITU efforts tonight may forever alter the free and open multistakeholder governance model under which the Internet has thrived,” the group said in a statement.

Both the House and Senate passed resolutions calling on the U.S. to oppose any effort to expand U.N. regulation of the Internet.

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FCC gives DISH permission for cellular network

Josh Smith, National Journal — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 09:12:51 -0500

The Federal Communications Commission announced late on Tuesday that it had approved DISH Network's plan to use satellite spectrum for a new cellular network.

The order, which was approved unanimously, doesn't give DISH everything it wants. The FCC voted to require DISH to restrict the use of some of its airwaves so it doesn't interfere with other companies that are using neighboring spectrum.

The move does, however, go toward the FCC's goal of freeing up more spectrum for mobile broadband.

"These actions will help meet skyrocketing consumer demand and promote private investment, innovation, and competition, while unlocking billions of dollars of value," FCC officials said in a statement.

The FCC also said that commissioners had voted to solicit public comment on a proposal to auction off vacant airwaves, known as the H-block. That proposal comes as part of the commission's plan to provide more wireless spectrum, as well as to raise money for a public emergency communications network.

All five commissioners will testify about the ongoing spectrum auction effort at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Wednesday.

(Image via grafxart/Shutterstock.com)

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Verizon: Free speech at heart of net-neutrality case

Josh Smith, National Journal — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 10:31:50 -0500

Verizon’s court challenge to the Federal Communications Commission’s network-neutrality rules has sparked a battle between two views of the First Amendment.

As part of its lawsuit over the rules, which govern how Internet companies can restrict or block content on their networks, Verizon says that the regulations infringe on its First Amendment rights.

“Just as a newspaper is entitled to decide which content to publish and where, broadband providers may feature some content over others,” Verizon and MetroPCS attorneys argued in a joint brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

But that assertion was disputed on Wednesday at a Capitol Hill briefing organized by top Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Calling Verizon’s argument “troubling,” Energy and Commerce ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Democratic Reps. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, Anna Eshoo and Doris Matsui of California, and Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania organized the meeting to brief staffers on the “startling constitutional arguments being made in the D.C. Circuit and how the role of Congress in enacting communications policy could be radically undermined.”

The lawmakers invited former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt and David Goldberg, a lawyer who worked with Hundt and other former officials, to draft an amicus brief opposing Verizon’s arguments. The pair contended that it’s Verizon’s position, not the government’s rules, that could undermine free speech.

“This idea that the Internet can be closed, or blocked, or managed by private parties is the exact opposite of America’s foreign policy,” Hundt said, pointing to the Obama administration's Internet freedom advocacy. “The Internet is a common medium.”

Hundt dismissed Verizon’s view that it is somehow similar to a newspaper. “Verizon is like paper, not a newspaper,” he said.

Verizon spokesman Ed McFadden told National Journal that the telecom giant has long been a champion of Internet freedom.

“Verizon and other broadband providers have consistently said that they will make all lawful content available to their customers and that customers should be able to go where they want and do what they want on the Internet,” he said in an e-mail. “As well, broadband providers seek to retain the flexibility to offer differentiated content and services of their own, thus providing additional choices to consumers.”

But Hundt and Goldberg said that telecom networks have a long history of dealing with public-interest expectations, and they said courts have ruled that even privately owned companies like malls are limited in how they can restrict speech on their property.

“Verizon’s arguments fail as a matter of constitutional principle: that transmission enables someone else’s constitutionally-protected expression does not mean that it is itself speech,” the group wrote in its amicus brief.

Additionally, they argued, if the courts were to accept Verizon’s arguments, “Congress’s historic power to take and authorize measures to preserve openness of communication networks would be unsettled and dramatically narrowed.”

The FCC’s net-neutrality rules took affect a year ago. The court is expected to consider Verizon’s challenge next year.

(Image via aslysun /Shutterstock.com)

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Software execs plugging into Congress, agencies during annual strategy summit

Josh Smith — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 11:00:00 -0500

Executives from more than a dozen major software companies will meet with lawmakers and administration officials this week to push for greater intellectual-property protections, open international markets, and truly global cloud computing.

“The immediate priority in Washington is steering away from the fiscal cliff,” said Robert Holleyman, president of BSA-The Software Alliance. “But everyone’s ultimate concern is sustaining economic growth and recovery—and the software industry has a great deal to contribute.”

BSA’s annual Global Strategy Summit will bring representatives from member companies such as Adobe, Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Oracle, and others to Washington to extol the power of the “digital economy” to a range of lawmakers and administration officials.

On the agenda are meetings with policymakers such as U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk; Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel; Senate Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet; and leaders of the House Intelligence Committee, among other officials.

The companies plan to outline three ways to take full advantage of the digital economy: boost IP protections; make international markets more open and fair; and ensure that cloud-computing networks don’t become fractured by a patchwork of international laws.

“The United States needs to work with its trading partners to strengthen intellectual-property rights and eliminate market obstacles that block cloud-era products and services,” Holleyman said.

Executives want U.S. officials to use trade negotiations to ensure that markets are open and that countries respect IP rights. Other items on the agenda will include immigration proposals for high-skilled workers, cybersecurity, and reforms to electronic privacy laws.

“The global software industry is driving rapid evolution in technology,” BSA officials wrote in a draft of the group’s 2013-14 agenda. “To share in the broad economic and social benefits this offers, governments around the world must craft legal frameworks and foster market conditions that encourage innovation and creative enterprise.”

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Patent and Trademark Office director to depart

Josh Smith, National Journal — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 10:34:58 -0500

The director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, David Kappos, will be stepping down at the end of January, an agency spokesperson confirmed on Monday.

Kappos, who has led the PTO since August 2009, did not say what his plans are and the agency did not release an official announcement.

"I believe we have made great progress in reducing the patent backlog, increasing operational efficiency, and exerting leadership in [intellectual-property] policy domestically and internationally," Kappos said in a statement provided by PTO officials.

During his tenure, Kappos pushed Congress to enact the America Invents Act, then oversaw the implementation of the law, which was billed as the first major overhaul of the United States patent system in nearly 60 years.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who championed the patent legislation, said that Kappos's departure is a loss for President Obama's economic team.

"Director Kappos was instrumental in the development and enactment of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act," Leahy said in a statement. "He and his team have set the PTO on course to implement the key provisions of the act, which will improve the patent system for decades to come."

Kappos came to the PTO from IBM, where he was vice president and assistant general counsel for Intellectual Property.

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FCC circulates proposals to repurpose, auction spectrum

Josh Smith, National Journal — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 10:00:00 -0500

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced several proposals on Tuesday evening aimed at making more spectrum available for mobile wireless networks.

The most-watched proposals circulating at the agency involve a swath of spectrum that Dish Network wants to use to build a network. That bandwidth is currently restricted to use for satellite communication, but the company wants to use it for ground-based networks.

In a connected move, Genachowski also said he is circulating proposals to auction off a bandwidth known as the "H-Block" for use by companies, as mandated by Congress.

“If approved, these actions will promote competition, investment and innovation, and advance commission efforts to unleash spectrum for mobile broadband to help meet skyrocketing consumer demand, while unlocking billions of dollars of value to the public,” an FCC spokesman said in a statement.

Dish praised the announcement but complained that the proposal, the details of which were not released, would limit its ability to use major portions of the satellite spectrum.

“While the FCC’s proposed order, based on reported accounts, does properly address some of the opportunities with this spectrum, it’s significantly flawed by introducing serious limitations that impair its utility,” R. Stanton Dodge, Dish executive vice president and general counsel, said in a statement. “While the FCC would grant full terrestrial rights, its proposal to lower our power and emissions levels could cripple our ability to enter the business.”

Sprint has argued that if Dish’s requests are granted without the limits on power and emission levels, the new network could interfere with the new H-Block spectrum, and potentially current wireless networks.

“We remain hopeful that the commissioners will decide to support Dish’s plans to build a new wireless network, while taking the steps necessary to protect Sprint’s PCS spectrum holdings and other adjacent 2 GHz terrestrial spectrum, and welcome the commission’s plans to auction the adjacent spectrum,” Sprint spokesman John Taylor said.

Dish says the limits mean less spectrum is available for consumers to use, while Sprint counters that Dish should be held to the same standards as everyone else.

The FCC completely blocked a similar effort by LightSquared earlier this year when it said the company could not develop its satellite spectrum for ground networks until it resolved interference caused to GPS devices.

Also on Tuesday, Genachowski circulated a third proposal that would allow companies to share portions of government spectrum for commercial use.

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Finding unified voice proves elusive for tech-industry groups

Josh Smith, National Journal — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 09:09:36 -0500

Efforts to consolidate tech advocacy groups and provide a unified voice for industry lobbying in Washington are in doubt after the Information Technology Industry Council decided to suspend its discussions over a merger with TechNet.

Both groups publicly pledged to continue to work with each other, but sources close to the effort made it clear that the discussions are likely done for the duration.

One industry source familiar with the negotiations compared the move to former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain suspending his campaign. “In effect, it’s over,” he told Tech Daily Dose. Another source said the discussions are "100 percent dead."

Robert Hoffman, ITI senior vice president of government relations, said the group decided it needed to use its resources to focus on Congress and legislation ranging from tax policy to cybersecurity.

The discussions, which have been formally ongoing since the summer, stalled over disagreements over how a new consolidated industry group would be governed, Hoffman said. ITI has been governed more by government-affairs executives representing their respective companies. TechNet, meanwhile, has operated as a council of company CEOs.

Hoffman insisted ITI is still committed to eventually trying to consolidate. But no time frame has been established for resuming discussions, and the decision appears to have been made unilaterally by ITI.

“ITI has decided to suspend consolidation discussions with TechNet,” ITI said in a statement released after its executive committee decided on Monday to end the negotiations. “Achieving our goals necessitates that we turn our focus towards policy solutions.”

Both ITI and TechNet represent many of the same companies, such as Microsoft, Apple, Cisco, eBay, and Dell. There has been a proliferation of tech-industry advocacy groups, including the Internet Association, as companies face increasing pressure from Washington lawmakers.

(Image via jeka84/Shutterstock.com)

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McConnell open to revisiting cybersecurity bill

Josh Smith, National Journal — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:45:02 -0500

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has pronounced cybersecurity legislation "dead for this Congress," but his Republican counterpart said on Thursday that he's open to revisiting the issue before the end of the year.

On Wednesday night, the White House-backed Cybersecurity Act of 2012 failed once again in the Senate after Republicans complained of not having had the chance to amend the bill.

“My expectation is that sometime in December, after we have completed floor debate on the Defense Authorization bill, and then dispose of the Intelligence Authorization bill, we will then attempt to get an agreement on amendments to the cybersecurity bill,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a floor speech on Thursday.

The White House says it's not waiting on Congress and is preparing an executive order that could enact some of the provisions of the Cybersecurity Act.

"The current prospects for a cybersecurity bill are limited," White House cybersecurity adviser Michael Daniel said in a statement after the vote. "Congressional inaction in light of the risks to our nation may require the administration to issue an executive order as a precursor to the updated laws we need."

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Cybersecurity bill falls short in Senate, again

Josh Smith, National Journal — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:17:11 -0500

Once again the Senate failed to advance sweeping cybersecurity legislation on Wednesday, setting the stage for a White House executive order aimed at protecting American computer networks from attack.

The Senate failed to invoke cloture on the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 with a vote of 51-47, short of the 60 votes needed to advance the measure. A similar motion also failed in the Senate before the August recess.

“Cybersecurity is dead for this congress,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said after the vote.

Democrats and Republicans failed to find agreement on a finite list of amendments. Reid has accused the GOP of not taking cybersecurity seriously by trying to inject health care and abortion into the debate. Republicans, meanwhile, say Reid is trying to steamroll over critics.

“If we fail to pass legislation [President Obama] will issue an executive order that will do as much as it has authority to do to prevent a cybersecurity attack,” Senate Homeland Security Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., one of the bill’s top sponsors, warned his colleagues.

The Cybersecurity Act would establish a system of voluntary security standards for certain critical businesses like those that control electric grids or water treatment plants. Less controversial provisions would also encourage businesses and government to share cyberthreat information, boost programs to educate and train cybersecurity professionals, and update federal network-security policies.

Republican and industry detractors like U.S. Chamber of Commerce, however, say that the government should have little—if any—role in setting standards for private companies. Other critics contend that the Homeland Security Department couldn’t handle an increased role in cybersecurity matters.

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Cybersecurity bill’s outlook still bleak

Josh Smith, National Journal — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 09:26:45 -0500

When sweeping cybersecurity legislation failed to advance in the Senate in August, it went down with a barrage of finger-pointing and posturing. And aides from both parties say that nothing really has changed since it was filibustered.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is looking to revive the Cybersecurity Act as soon as this week, which seems optimistic given that he had also promised to take up the bill at the beginning of 2012; it didn’t hit the floor until July.

Over the summer, neither side could agree to a set list of amendments. Republicans wanted to tack on provisions dealing with the health care law and abortion. A group of Democrats tried attaching a gun-control amendment.

Last month, Reid accused Republicans of engaging in “tea party-motivated obstruction” over the summer and said that the GOP would have “one more chance to back their words with action” on the issue after the November elections.

Substantive disagreements about the legislation are also unresolved.

Democrats, backed by the White House, are pushing for minimum security standards for certain critical infrastructure companies, such as those that run electric grids or nuclear-power plants. Democrats say they have already compromised by making those standards voluntary instead of enforceable.

Republicans, supported by many businesses and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, say even voluntary standards could become de facto government regulation, which would only burden companies and do nothing to secure U.S. computer networks from cyberattacks.

Unlike in August, the lame-duck debate will take place in the shadow of an impending executive order by the Obama administration that would establish a system of voluntary standards.

The White House says that Congress will still need to act to fully address some issues, including information-sharing among businesses and government, as well as federal information-security policies. But White House officials say they’re not holding their breath.

“Unfortunately, the current prospects for a comprehensive bill are limited and the risk is too great for the administration not to act,” National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden told National Journal Daily. Even if the bill fails to clear the Senate again, it could provide the White House with more political cover for moving forward with an executive order.

All of this sets the stage for additional political posturing, said James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“By accident, they could pass a symbolic bill, but I think the main goal is to score points off the other sides,” he said. “Why, at this point, they want to do that, I don’t know.”

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Petraeus investigation highlights fight over digital surveillance laws

Josh Smith — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 08:21:57 -0500

The FBI’s digital detective work not only brought down CIA Director David Petraeus, it also provided rare insights into the bureau’s latest methods for tracking people across cyberspace and the fight over government surveillance.

Petraeus resigned suddenly on Friday, citing an affair that was uncovered after FBI agents followed an electronic trail that eventually linked the former Army general to his biographer, Paula Broadwell. The explosive combination of sex and spies was only embellished by the details of how federal officials stumbled across the liaison.

“Anyone more alarmed by FBI snooping through a journalist's emails & investigating the sex life of CIA Dir. than who Petraeus was schtupping?” New Yorker Washington correspondent Ryan Lizza tweeted on Sunday. “FBI SPIED ON CIA DIRECTOR, WOMAN; EMAILS?” blared a headline on theDrudge Report.

The first round of e-mails was provided by a Florida woman who complained to the FBI after receiving anonymous threatening messages. According to The Wall Street Journal, investigators used “metadata footprints left by the e-mails” to determine where the messages were sent from and link the e-mails to Broadwell. Officials also checked what other e-mail accounts had been accessed from the same computer address, according to The New York Times.

It’s not clear how officials obtained that metadata, but if it involved cooperation from one or more e-mail service providers, a warrant may not have been needed under current law. Christopher Soghoian, an analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union, said location and basic identifying information traditionally have had the least protection under privacy laws and can often be gathered with a subpoena. “What this shows is that the government can get pretty far with just a subpoena,” he said. “This is extensive gumshoeing and lots of work for a threatening e-mail or two.”

Once officials had traced the messages to Broadwell, they used that information as probable cause to obtain a warrant to monitor her computer, The Journal reported. That led investigators to Gmail accounts used by Broadwell and Petraeus. Officials initially worried that the CIA director’s account had been compromised, but determined the messages had come from him. Officials told The Journalthat they never monitored Petraeus’ accounts.

Internet companies have reported an increasing tide of government requests. Google, for example, reported that it received more than 12,000 requests for user data from American government agencies last year. If investigators in the Petraeus case needed help from Google, they likely got it: The Internet giant said it complied with 93 percent of requests from U.S. agencies in 2011.

Privacy advocates and many Internet companies say the bar for obtaining private electronic information is far too low. “The government can compel the handover of e-mail stored at a ‘remote computing service’ with a so-called ‘D order’ without showing probable cause,” according to an explanation of digital privacy laws by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “Nor does the government need a warrant if an e-mail message is older than 180 days. This low threshold to electronic messages is in stark contrast to the Fourth Amendment protections for physical letters.”

Most popular Internet-based e-mail services like Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo, as well as social networks like Facebook, could be considered remote computing services.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has said he hopes to work on revisions to the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which deals with government access to electronic communications.

“Updating these digital-privacy laws to address the realities of our time should not be a partisan issue,” Leahy said at a hearing in September. “Americans from all across our Nation — regardless of party affiliation or ideology — are impacted by the many new threats to their privacy in cyberspace.”

The proposed changes would include requiring a warrant for e-mail content, but would not apply those standards to records like location or other metadata.

“It’s very interesting that there are no proposals to protect metadata,” said ACLU legislative counsel Chris Calabrese. “The line between content and records has really started to blur. We haven’t really grappled with that, but we’re going to have to.”

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FTC takes on 'Rachel from cardholder services'

Josh Smith — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 08:52:23 -0400

The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday took "Rachel from Cardholder Services" down a notch as the agency cracked down on five companies accused of making millions of illegal robocalls.

The FTC obtained court orders temporarily blocking the companies after receiving hundreds of thousands of complaints over deceptive prerecorded calls, including ones that feature "Rachel." The companies, which are based in Arizona and Florida, are accused of scamming consumers by tricking them into paying bogus upfront fees in order to reduce credit card debt.

"At the FTC, Rachel from Cardholder Services is public enemy number one," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement. "We're cracking down on illegal robocalls by bringing law enforcement actions and pursuing technical solutions to the problem."

Last month Leibowitz announced a program offering a $50,000 award to college students or other individuals or small companies who come up with a new solution that blocks illegal robocalls but allows legitimate calls to go through. It must be easy to use and deploy and work much better in tackling the robocall problem than other technologies on the market today, FTC officials said.

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FCC: Cellular and broadband is improving in Sandy's wake

Josh Smith, National Journal — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 07:07:40 -0400

Communications in the wake of Hurricane Sandy are improving but outages remain, Federal Communications Commission officials said on Wednesday.

"The situation seems to be improving overall and that is in turn helping with the restoration of communications networks," FCC Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau Chief David Turetsky told reporters.

On Tuesday morning, an FCC monitoring system indicated that as many as 25 percent of cell-phone sites in the storm's path were not operating as of 10 a.m. Roughly a quarter of broadband, home phone, or cable services also saw widespread outages, according to the system, which monitors sites in 158 counties in 10 states.

As of Wednesday morning, the outages had decreased to about 20 percent, FCC officials said.

"Overall, the condition of our communications networks is improving, but serious outages remain, particularly in New York, New Jersey, and other hard-hit areas," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement. "The crisis is not over. We'll continue to be intensely focused on helping with the full recovery of wired and wireless communications infrastructure."

T-Mobile and AT&T announced a temporary roaming arrangement that will allow their customers to use either network. The arrangement is possible because the two carriers use similar technology.

Verizon reported that it is making "good progress" at some of the hardest-hit areas in New York, but that restoration efforts will continue into the "foreseeable future."

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Officials: Competition, commercial agreements should govern Internet

Josh Smith, National Journal — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 14:16:00 -0400

American officials on Wednesday submitted more detailed proposals for preserving a collaborative system of governing the Internet.

Officials have expressed concerns that international telecommunications treaty negotiations in December could be used to give the United Nations or other governments more control over the Internet.

In general proposals released in August, the State Department outlined plans focused almost entirely on preventing a more government-centered system of Internet governance.

Now officials have submitted more detailed proposals that focus on competition and commercial agreements, rather than regulation, as the most successful model for exchanging international telecommunications traffic.

"Broadband access needs to flourish, and for broadband to flourish, you need to create an environment for success, with consumer choice, commercially negotiated agreements, and a vibrant and effective multi-stakeholder governance model," Ambassador Terry Kramer, head of the U.S. delegation, said in a statement.

(Image via Vilmos Varga/Shutterstock.com)

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Natural disasters become battlegrounds in spectrum fight

Josh Smith, National Journal — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 10:41:00 -0400

While the government seeks to parcel out valuable spectrum to new technologies, TV and radio stations point to disasters like Sandy as proof that broadcasters are as important as ever.

“In times of emergency there is no more reliable source of information than that coming from local broadcasters,” National Association of Broadcasters President Gordon Smith said in a statement on Monday.

That’s a message that broadcasters have taken to Capitol Hill in an effort to fight back against what they see as encroachment by wireless telecommunication providers. Warning of a “spectrum crunch” caused by growing demand for bandwidth, wireless companies have pushed for more spectrum to be reallocated from legacy industries, including broadcast radio and TV.

Both broadcasters and wireless companies are quick to insist that they’re not interested in exploiting disasters for political and commercial gain, but they don’t shy away from pointing out the policy implications.

Broadcasters bristle at any suggestion that they’re outdated, and the strains placed on communications networks during natural disasters and other emergencies often highlight the debate.

Power outages and high winds have caused cell-phone and broadband networks to struggle during past storms on the East Coast, and during last year’s earthquake in the Washington area, networks strained to handle the heavy traffic. Sandy brought down phone networks in areas in several states.

Smith argues that no technology can replicate broadcasting’s reliability during emergencies, and that’s a sentiment echoed by some federal emergency officials.

“Probably one of the things you don't really think about anymore is having a battery-powered radio or a hand-cranked radio to get news from your local broadcasters.... The Internet may get out, cell phones may be congested,” Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate told CBS News on Monday. “Radio is oftentimes the way to get those important messages about what's going on in the local community.”

The key to broadcasting’s reliability, NAB’s Dennis Wharton says, is its "one-to-many” model of distribution, in which one station can communicate with many people. Cell-phone-style “one-to-one” communication, he argues, is less efficient and uses more spectrum, especially during emergencies.

That would be fine, says Jot Carpenter, vice president of government affairs for CTIA-The Wireless Association, if people only wanted to consume news, and not communicate with family and friends as well.

“As we saw over the last few days, broadcasting plays a role in helping to inform the public while the wireless industry provides consumers with a critical lifeline to family and public-safety officials, which is something TV and radio can't offer,” he said in a statement to National Journal. “The importance of this connection is highlighted by broadcasters' repeated advice to their viewers to make sure that their mobile devices are charged."

Both sides concede that it’s not always an either-or situation. “We’ve made the case that lawmakers don’t have to pick a winner or loser,” Wharton said. “It’s both a broadcast and broadband world.”

And it’s that attitude that may be the key to mediating the spectrum spat. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which oversees government spectrum, says companies will need to share more spectrum, rather than expect to have access to full swaths of bandwidth.

And the Federal Communications Commission is in the process of trying to lure broadcasters into voluntarily selling the rights to some of the spectrum they use to wireless broadband providers. So far, broadcasters have managed to fight off any efforts to force them to give up some their spectrum in part by pointing to their importance to the nation during emergencies.

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Health care group puts focus on current cybersecurity efforts

Josh Smith — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 10:00:00 -0400

The health care industry is joining other businesses in urging Congress and federal officials to consider existing cybersecurity efforts before enacting new measures to better protect American computer networks.

Congress is expected to revisit cybersecurity legislation before the end of the year and the White House is considering an executive order on the issue.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., helped sponsor legislation that would have created more government oversight of certain critical networks, including those that control electric grids. After that bill floundered in the Senate partly because of industry opposition to new rules, Rockefeller wrote to leaders of Fortune 500 companies asking for their views on cybersecurity.

In a letter responding to Rockefeller and provided to Tech Daily Dose, the Healthcare Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST), which represents information security officers at the nation's largest health care organizations, outlined efforts to share information and collaborate to increase cybersecurity.

HITRUST argues that its system of helping companies collaborate with even their competitors is a model for lawmakers or the White House to consider before enacting new laws or regulations.

"While this spotlight on cybersecurity is necessary and productive, let's not forget that cybersecurity is not a 'one-size fits all' or 'check-box' solution," the letter states. "We support the industry working with the federal government and lawmakers to secure healthcare organizations' information assets, systems and medical devices--as long as they take into account the public-private threat intelligence collaborations that are already in place, learn from what is working, and minimize new burdensome assessments and audits that will divert resources from the real task of enhancing cyber threat detection and response capabilities."

(Image via rangizzz/Shutterstock.com)

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FCC: Communications outages could get worse

Josh Smith, National Journal — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 09:48:00 -0400

Communications outages caused by Sandy could get worse before they get better, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski warned on Tuesday.

Flooding, snow, and other dangerous conditions could slow efforts to restore electricity and communications networks, he told reporters. Wireless communications are especially vulnerable to sustained outages, Genachowski said.

Sandy, which ravaged the East Coast, has had a "substantial and serious" impact on the country's communications infrastructure, he said. "The storm is not over. Our posture is to expect the unexpected."

Because of power outages as well as physical damage, as much as 25 percent of cellphone sites in the storm's path were not operating as of 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to an FCC monitoring system. Roughly a quarter of broadband, home phone, or cable services also experienced widespread outages, FCC officials said. The agency's system monitors 158 counties in 10 states.

Genachowski also said that a "very small number" of 911 call centers were down, while some centers were rerouting emergency calls to other centers.

FCC officials are in contact with telecommunications companies, which say they are working to restore service.

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Internet, phone companies brace for Hurricane Sandy

Josh Smith, National Journal — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 13:21:16 -0400

Communications providers and federal officials were bracing for widespread problems on Monday as Hurricane Sandy bore down on the East Coast.

The high winds, rain, and possible power outages have the potential to play havoc with phone and Internet networks and companies spent the weekend prepping emergency reaction teams.

Washington-area communications networks faced similar strains last year. When an earthquake rattled the East Coast in August 2011, some wireless networks were quickly overwhelmed with traffic.

When Hurricane Irene moved up the East Coast a week later, thousands of customers lost cable, phone, and other services, but companies said the damage was not as extensive as feared.

Telecommunications companies are hoping that their preparations will limit outages during Hurricane Sandy as well.

“Verizon wireline and wireless business units have activated national and regional command and control centers, enabling Verizon operations teams to monitor the storm's progress and company operations, including network performance,” Verizon said in a statement.

AT&T said it has an “arsenal of disaster response equipment and personnel” on standby. Other carriers also reported that they had been investing to make their networks more reliable.

“T-Mobile has made significant investments throughout the year in supplemental cell site backup generators, microwave technology equipment, and cell-on-wheels (COWs), along with other tools and equipment to enhance the stability and, when necessary, the recovery of our network operations,” the company said in a statement.

The Federal Communications Commission urged wireless customers to use text messages, rather than telephone calls during emergencies. Text messages don’t burden telecom networks as much as telephone calls or mobile data usage.

Federal officials could use a mass message alert system that was deployed earlier this year. With the Commercial Mobile Alert System, federal emergency officials could send geographically targeted messages (separate from regular text messages) to telephones that are compatible.

“Alerts are geographically targeted, so a customer living in New York would not receive a threat if they happen to be in Chicago when the alert is sent,” the FCC says. “Similarly, someone visiting New York from Chicago on that same day would receive the alert.”

The system is designed to complement the more-traditional emergency-alert system used by broadcasters.

The National Association of Broadcasters, for example, used promoted tweets on Twitter over the weekend to highlight broadcasters’ role in emergency communications. NAB, which is locked in a fight with wireless companies for valuable spectrum, is quick to tout the emergency benefits of broadcasting stations.

"Broadcasters are a trusted resource for millions of Americans who rely upon local radio and television stations for accurate information during times of emergency," NAB President Gordon Smith said in a statement at the beginning of the 2012 hurricane season. “Indeed, no technology can replicate broadcasting's reliability in reaching mass audiences and providing a lifeline support in emergency and disaster situations."

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Survey: Campaign contributors stick to traditional tools

Josh Smith, National Journal — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 17:31:49 -0400

Despite a range of new social media and technology, most contributors to this year's presidential campaigns continue to make donations in more traditional ways, according to a new survey released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Pew surveyed 2,010 people, 13 percent of whom said they had donated to presidential campaigns.

Of those who contributed, 67 percent donated in person, over the telephone, or through the mail. A further 50 percent said they contributed online or via e-mail.
Meanwhile, 10 percent said they had made donations on their cellphones, either by text message or using a mobile app.

"That works out to just 1 percent of all American adults who have made a presidential contribution directly from their cell phone this election season," the report's authors note. "By way of comparison, prior Pew Internet research has found that roughly one in 10 American adults have made a charitable donation of any kind using the text messaging feature on their cell phone."

The poll was conducted at the end of September, just about a month after the campaigns of both GOP candidate Mitt Romney and President Obama began accepting donations by text message. Under the system, which has been used by charities for several years but just got the green light from federal election officials earlier this year, donations are charged to users' phone bills.

Democrats are more likely than Republicans to use online methods to contribute, the survey found. Fifty-seven percent of Democrats said they had donated online, versus 34 percent of Republicans. Fifteen percent of Democratic respondents said they had donated via cellphone, compared to 6 percent of Republicans.

The survey was the result of two landline and cellphone polls conducted during the last two weeks of September. The margin of error for the entire survey is +/- 2.6 percentage points, while the margin of error for the presidential campaign contributors is +/-6.3 percentage points.

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FCC: 'Bill shock' plan on track to reduce surprise charges

Josh Smith, National Journal — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 10:02:21 -0400

Wireless companies are on or ahead of schedule in a program designed to prevent consumers from facing unexpected charges on their phone bills, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said on Wednesday.

It's called "bill shock," and prodded by the FCC, a range of wireless companies promised to provide their customers with alerts when they approach or exceed plan limits for data, voice, and text services.

The FCC had begun writing new regulations last year to require wireless carriers to notify consumers when they are about to go over their usual monthly bill--such as when they run up too many minutes or roam in another country. That was put on hold when companies proposed taking voluntary steps.

"When we launched this initiative last year, we made a commitment that the FCC would remain vigilant to ensure this agreement was effective for consumers. We have, and it is," Genachowski said in a statement. "Today, by harnessing technology to empower consumers, almost all Americans can receive alerts to help avoid unexpected charges, giving them the information they need to manage monthly wireless bills."

He said companies are on track to be in full compliance by April 2013.

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Reid vows to revive cybersecurity bill when Congress returns

Josh Smith, National Journal — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 11:06:02 -0400

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., says he will revive a stalled cybersecurity bill after the election.

"I will bring cybersecurity legislation back to the Senate floor when Congress returns in November," he said in a statement over the weekend. "My colleagues who profess to understand the urgency of the threat will have one more chance to back their words with action and work with us to pass this bill."

The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 was backed by Reid and the White House, but Republican critics blocked the bill over concerns that it could establish onerous security regulations on the business sector.

Even if the bill fails again, simply reviving the debate could help give the White House political cover for an executive order it says may be necessary if Congress doesn't act soon.

The White House says a legislative fix is preferable and will be needed in the long run no matter what, but congressional Republicans have urged the White House not to issue an executive order.

Reid said even though he is planning on revisiting cybersecurity, he approves of the White House's move to develop an executive order.

"Cybersecurity is an issue that should be handled by Congress, but with Republicans engaging in tea party-motivated obstruction, I believe that President Obama is right to examine all means at his disposal for confronting this urgent national security threat," he said.

The Cybersecurity Act of 2012, in its latest version, would give federal officials more say in voluntary security standards for certain critical networks such as those that run electric grids. It would also encourage businesses and government to share information on cybersecurity threats and would update federal network security policies.

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GAO blasts location-tracking privacy policies

Josh Smith, National Journal — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 08:11:19 -0400

Vague privacy policies are making it hard for consumers to protect their location and other information collected by mobile devices, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday.

"Companies GAO examined disclosed in their privacy policies that the companies were collecting consumers' location data, but did not clearly state how the companies were using these data or what third parties they may share them with," GAO investigators wrote. "Furthermore, although policies stated that companies shared location data with third parties, they were sometimes vague about which types of companies these were and why they were sharing the data."

Without clear information on exactly how companies use information, consumers "would be unable to effectively judge whether the uses of their location data might violate their privacy," the report concludes.

The report urges federal action, but its only specific recommendations are that Commerce Department officials set concrete goals for their effort to work with companies and consumer advocates to develop voluntary privacy standards. It also urges the Federal Trade Commission to outline its views on mobile location-data privacy.

Lawmakers pointed to the report as evidence that legislation is needed to prevent companies from abusing location-based data.

"I believe Americans have a fundamental right to privacy: to know what information is being collected about them and to be able to control whether or not that information is shared with third parties," Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, said in a statement. His Location Privacy Protection Act would require companies to ask permission before they gather or share location information.

Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., co-chairman of the Bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus, also plugged his Mobile Device Privacy Act, which would establish privacy enforcement regimes for federal regulators; and require disclosure and permission before software can be downloaded, or begin collecting or sharing location information.

"In the 21st century, a mobile phone isn't just capturing who we call and what we say, it is also transmitting where we are,' Markey said in a statement. "I welcome the GAO's recommendation of strong federal rules for mobile phone companies to help protect customers from having their locations shared with third parties without their knowledge or consent."

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Federal investments caused 'real harm' to emerging tech, former official says

Josh Smith, National Journal — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 11:00:00 -0400

While there is broad support for government research funding, the Obama administration's willingness to step in as a commercial partner with certain businesses has caused "real harm" to emerging technology programs, according to a former administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

"The problem is when government views itself as a partner and is driving economic decisions for favored political entities," John Kneuer said Wednesday in an interview for C-Span's "The Communicators."

Kneuer served as a top telecommunications official under George W. Bush and describes himself as an "enthusiastic supporter" of President Obama's Republican challenger, Mitt Romney.

He said much-needed federal funding is often little more than "development in drag." That, he said, is a role the government should not be playing.

"It's when the government views itself as an equal partner steering the ultimate outcome I think you run into danger," Kneuer said.

But Ed Paisley, vice president for editorial at the Center for American Progress's Action Fund and a self-identified Obama supporter, said a second Obama term would make fewer mistakes like those that led to the controversy surrounding the now-bankrupt solar firm Solyndra.

"I think they've learned a number of lessons," he said during a taped appearance on the same show. But such problems don't lessen the need for government help to get cutting-edge innovations into the market, Paisley said.

"There's a huge gap between what the government will do and what the private sector will do," he said. "It's got to be done collaboratively."

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GOP lawmakers knock FCC broadband testing

Josh Smith, National Journal — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 08:27:44 -0400

House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans are complaining that federal officials spent about $1 million to pay a British company to test American broadband speeds.

SamKnows, a company based in the United Kingdom that the Federal Communications Commission tapped to help measure broadband speeds, was the recipient of that $1 million, which came from $4.7 billion in stimulus funds set aside for broadband development.

"That stimulus funding, meant to help here at home, was sent abroad to U.K. company SamKnows and - according to the Recovery.Gov website - created no jobs," Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., Communications and Technology Subcommittee Vice Chairman Lee Terry, R-Neb., and Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., wrote in a letter to the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. "What was the rationale for sending Americans' hard earned money overseas for a project that didn't put any Americans to work, especially in the current fiscal climate?"

FCC spokesman Neil Grace said the agency is "mystified by this attack on transparency and consumer empowerment."

"The Measuring Broadband America initiative is a powerful example of the pro-market, pro-competition benefits of information disclosure: Low performers in the first year's report responded by investing in significant network upgrades, driving major improvements in performance and faster speeds for millions of Americans, and creating jobs both directly and indirectly," he said in an e-mail to Tech Daily Dose.

That testing, the FCC says, will help improve adoption and development of high-speed Internet service.

The four GOP lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee aren't so sure. They criticized FCC plans to expand broadband testing.

"Assertions that the study was necessary as a matter of broadband policy are dubious." they wrote. "Such speech information is already available from a number of sources without expenditure of additional taxpayer dollars."

According to the FCC, the expansion of the testing comes at no additional cost to taxpayers.

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Chinese telecom giant blasts House report

Josh Smith, National Journal — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 06:59:34 -0400

The Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei lashed out on Monday over a congressional report that accused Chinese companies of undermining American cybersecurity.

Huawei executive William Plummer called the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation a “political distraction” and the subsequent report a “tired rehash of innuendo” that “willfully ignored” technical and commercial realities.

“While the report that was issued today is quite strong on rhetoric it is utterly lacking in substance,” he said on a conference call with reporters on Monday. “Huawei unequivocally denies the allegations in the report.”

House Intelligence Chairman Michael Rogers, R-Mich., said on Monday that investigators could come to no other conclusion than that Chinese telecommunications companies like Huawei and ZTE pose threats to national security and should be avoided by American companies and government agencies alike.

Rogers and the committee's ranking member, Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., formally unveiled the report on Monday that accuses the two companies of hiding their links to the Chinese government and potentially undermining the security of U.S. computer and communications networks.

The unclassified report stops short of specifically identifying examples of cyber espionage by the companies, but Rogers said Huawei and ZTE were unable or unwilling to prove that their products and services wouldn't be used to spy on or attack U.S. networks.

“As this report shows, we have serious concerns about Huawei and ZTE, and their connection to the communist government of China,” Rogers said. “China is known to be the major perpetrator of cyberespionage, and Huawei and ZTE failed to alleviate serious concerns throughout this important investigation.”

ZTE, which dodged the allegations of bribery, corruption and other violations that were lobbed at Huawei, had a more conciliatory response.

"It is noteworthy that, after a year-long investigation, the Committee rests its conclusions on a finding that ZTE may not be ‘free of state influence,'" David Dai Shu, ZTE’s director of global public affairs, said in a statement. "This finding would apply to any company operating in China. The Committee has not challenged ZTE’s fitness to serve the US market based on any pattern of unethical or illegal behavior.”

Plummer criticized the report for being light on details and said his company has never been contacted by the FBI over any cyberespionage concerns.

The unclassified version of the report contained few concrete examples of cyber incidents but instead focused on questions that remain unanswered on issues such as the companies' ties to the Chinese government. A classified version contains more evidence, according to the report.

Rogers defended the investigation and warned companies and agencies to consider national security when deciding whether to do business with the companies. “Any bug, beacon, or backdoor put into our critical systems could allow for a catastrophic and devastating domino effect of failures throughout our networks,” he said.

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