Federal Updates

Federal Update -- Week of July 2

House Subcommittee approves Disability Access Legislation. The Commerce, Technology, and Internet Subcommittee Wednesday approved on a voice vote HR 3101, the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act. The bill would update the communications accessibility provisions of the 1996 Communications Act and is expected to be heard in the next several weeks in the full Committee.

The bill was reported out of the committee favorably despite reservations by Members of the Committee particularly on the Republican side.

Ranking Member Stearns (D-Florida) reflecting the general Republican view said in his opening statement “I remain concerned about the overall scope of the bill…It does not allow the necessary flexibility. The goals of the bill are laudable. As we move through the legislative process I hope we can work together to find the right balance. We are moving in the right direction but are not there yet. “

Subcommittee Chairman Boucher (D-Va.) acknowledged that further changes would be made to the bill. He thanked Mr. Stearns for the bipartisan cooperation which were reflected in the current version of the legislation. He said that “our bipartisan collaborative effort is a work in progress. We will continue to work on it between now and when it is heard by full committee.” He said the goal was to resolve all remaining points of difference in the next two weeks.

The full Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-LA) said that “although we have made substantial progress on the legislation there are a few areas I hope we can continue to make progress on” He urged his colleagues “to stay focused on our goal of making sure all Americans can participate in the digital era”.

The only other Californian to speak was Ann Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) who expressed her strong support for the legislation and that this legislation says to those “with disabilities that they are going to be full citizens of this country.”

NCTA spokesman Brian Dietz was quoted in the press as saying “We appreciate the changes that have been made to the bill and look forward to working with all members of the committee as this legislation continues to move. We believe that further improvements are needed if we are to be successful in developing targeted legislation that focuses on reasonable attainable goals in improving the accessibility of communications services and equipment for persons with disabilities. “

Federal Update -- Week of June 25

Twenty-two Californians join industry colleagues from around the country in Washington. Twenty-two Californians joined over 200 of their cable industry colleagues from around the country for the annual NCTA Key Contact Conference. The California delegation had fifty meetings on the Hill with most being with the Members themselves in addition to their telecommunications staff person.

Some of the Members met with included Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-LA), and Commerce Committee Members McNerney (D-Pleasanton), Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto), and Lois Capps (D-San Luis Obispo). Judiciary Committee Members constituents met with included Howard Berman (D-LA), Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) and Adam Schiff (D-Glendale).

Initiative Update

Repeal of Business Incentives. The California Teachers Association sponsored initiative that would repeal business incentives approved in recent budgets has now qualified for the November 2010 ballot. Specifically, the initiative would prohibit businesses from shifting operating losses to future tax years, sharing tax credits with affiliated corporations, and allow multistate businesses to use a sales-based income calculation rather than a combination property, payroll and sales-based income calculation (single sales factor).

The sponsors of the initiative also are pushing a legislative effort to repeal the business incentives. Leaders of both the Assembly and Senate have produced budget plans that would delay implementation of these incentives. CCTA continues to monitor the legislative budget process for opportunities to ensure that the “cost-of-performance” methodology for apportioning income for multistate businesses is reinstated.

Federal Update -- Week of June 18

FCC Adopts Anticipated NOI. On Thursday, June 17th, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted its anticipated Notice of Inquiry (NOI) to three approaches for regulating facilities based broadband services. The NOI was adopted on a 3-2 party line vote. There was little surprise in comments leading up to the NOI release or immediately following it.

On Wednesday, June 16th, four members of Congress including Ed Markey (D-Ma.) and two Californians, Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) and Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) sent a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski expressing their “strong support for the open, participatory process that the Commission is preparing to undertake” and expressed support for the Chairman’s “Third Way” which is one of the three approaches to regulation outlined in the NOI. The same day Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) and Congressman Fred Upton (R-Michigan) expressed concern that the Commission was moving in a far too regulatory direction.

Immediately following release of the Notice, Representatives Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Cliff Stearns (R-Florida), the Ranking Members of the Commerce Committee and the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet sent a letter to the Committee Chairs requesting that they schedule a hearing prior to the August recess on Chairman Genachowski’s proposal to “reclassify broadband as a Title II common-carrier service and regulate the Internet.” They went on to say that more than 285 Members of Congress from both parties including a majority of the House are on record opposing the Chairman’s plan.

Federal Update --Week of June 11

Senate Commerce Committee Approves S.2847 Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM ACT). On Wednesday, June 9, 2010, the Senate Commerce Committee, by voice vote, approved the CALM ACT, which requires the Federal Communications Commission to prescribe a standard to preclude commercials from being delivered at louder volume than the programs they accompany. The bill now goes to the Senate floor.

This type of legislation was originally introduced by Representative Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) in 2008. The House approved H.R. 1084 authored by Eshoo which deals with this subject and is similar to S. 2847 on December 15th, 2009.

House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee hearing on FCC 2011 Budget Request: On Wednesday, June 9, 2010, the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee held a hearing on the FCC’s 2011 Budget Request. The sole witness was FCC Chairman Genachowski. The Chairman’s testimony and Member’s questions covered a wide range of issues including universal access to broadband, demand for wireless spectrum, public safety, and the appropriate regulation for the Internet. Committee Chairman Serrano (D-NY) raised concerns about the treatment of PEG Channels and said the FCC had still not resolved some of the issues surrounding PEG. Representative Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), the only Californian at the hearing, raised concerns about access to the Internet and the ability of those without access to even apply for employment opportunities since a large number of employees are only accepting applications submitted on line.

House Committee holds hearing on H.R. 3101- The Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act. On Thursday the House Energy Commerce Communications, Technology, and the Internet Subcommittee held a hearing on H.R. 3101, the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009”.

Chairman Boucher opened the hearing with comments about the bi-partisan efforts going into moving the legislation and how the stake-holders had been making good progress towards achieving consensus legislation. However in his testimony Consumer Electronics Association President Gary Shapiro said he had significant problems with aspects of the legislation. Following his testimony Representative Markey(D-Ma) accused Shapiro of misrepresenting the legislation in an op-ed piece that morning and asked two opposing witnesses what they thought of each other’s testimony. This caused Representative Terry(R-Nebraska) to say he felt he “had been politically slimed by Markey.”

During his opening Statement Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) also said he was pleased the Committee was working in a bi-partisan basis and that just as accessibility is built into new buildings it should be built into new communication devices. He said ideally the bill would be on the House floor the week of July 26th, the 20th anniversary of the ADA.

Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) in her opening statement said disabled Americans must not be left behind. She said that we are seeing a greater need to assist our returning servicemen. She announced that she planned to add her name to the legislation as a co-sponsor.

The legislation would update the communications accessibility provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Federal Update -- Week of May 28

Waxman seeks information from Google on Street View. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) has joined the inquiry into whether Google violated privacy laws by gathering information from wireless networks.

In a letter sent Wednesday to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Waxman asked a series of questions regarding the fleet of cars that Google uses to collect images for its Street View map application. Waxman said Google may have violated federal law in its practices. Waxman wrote “We are interested in the nature of this data collection, the underlying technology your fleet of cars employed, the use of the information collected, and the impact it can have on consumer privacy.”

Waxman gave Google until June 7th to respond and was joined on the letter by committee ranking member Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.).

Key Lawmakers seek to update 1996 Telecommunications Act. On Monday, May 24th, four Key Democrats said they are seeking to update the federal telecommunication laws.

In a brief statement Senate Commerce Committee Chairmen John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va) and Rep. Henry Waxman(D-Los Angeles) said they would “start a process to develop proposals” to update the 1996 Telecommunications Act.

Beginning in June the lawmakers plan to invite stakeholders to participate in a series of bi-partisan meetings to address issues related to federal oversight of the internet. Their offices plan to release a full list of topic areas and details on the process soon.

Americans with Disabilities Act in Digital Age. On Wednesday, May 26th, the Senate Commerce Committee Communications, Technology, and Internet Subcommittee held a hearing on “Innovation and Inclusion: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) at 20”

In his opening statement, Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Ma.) stated that the purpose of the hearing was to make sure that people with disabilities have full access to the benefits of the communications revolution that is taking place, and that while innovation by companies needs to be encouraged these companies need to make sure all Americans have access to new services and applications.

Representative Ed Markey (D-Ma) one of the original proponents of the ADA 20 years ago, testified that there had been resistance to the original legislation based on cost and impracticability. These concerns he said have turned out to be unfounded and pointed out some of the side benefits for the general population including being able to watch sports programming in bars as a result of closed captioning. Markey said that some of the current impediments include devices not designed for the disabled and the cost of add on devices.

Walter McCormick, President and CEO of US Telecom Association, stated that they have been working with their members on these issues and thought agreement on legislation could be reached. Mr. Markey said he hoped legislation could be moved soon.

In his testimony, Mr. Thomas Wlodkowski, Accessibility Director for AOL, discussed some of the programs at AOL and the challenges facing the disabled community in accessing technology. He said public/private partnerships were very important.

He also commented on the importance of the California State University International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference which was held in March. He said the conference is to the disability community what the annual Consumers Electronics show is to the mass market. He said that AOL, AT&T, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Verizon all participated and demonstrated new and innovative technologies.

FCC puts Broadband on June 17th Agenda. On Thursday, May 27th, the FCC announced the tentative agenda for its June 17th open meeting. The FCC also announced a proposed Notice of Inquiry “to begin an open, public process to consider possible legal frameworks for broadband internet services, ” including Title ll regulation and the Chairman’s proposed “third way.”

In response, 171 House Republicans signed a letter to FCC Chairman Genachowski urging the FCC not to apply Title ll regulation to broadband. In the letter, the Members of Congress told the Chairman that such a significant change to the Communications Act should be made by Congress. Signers to the letter included the following California Representatives: McCarthy, Radanovich, Bono Mack, Herger, McClintock, Hunter, Lungren, McKeon, Bilbray, Gary Miller, Rohrabacher, Gallegly, and Issa.

Earlier in the week, Representatives Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) and Ed Markey (D-Mass), Members of the Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter to the Chairman strongly supporting his “third way” and said including sections within Title ll was “appropriate and necessary.” They further said that deployment of broadband “is a national imperative-as important to our nation’s economic success as the mail, roads, canals, rail lines, and interstate highways of the past.”

Federal Updates -- Week of May 21

Governor Sends letter to the FCC. On May 11th Governor Schwarzenegger sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski expressing his concern over the Chairman’s proposal to change the regulatory classification of broadband. In his letter to the Chairman, the Governor said “Your attempt to saddle broadband services with a new regulatory scheme will only serve to stifle investment in the wired and wire line broadband networks...” The Governor concluded his letter by asking the Chairman to consider the impact that regulating the internet would have on California and the country.

Baldwin pushes for co-sponsors to HR 3745, the CAP Act. Ask your Representative not to co-sponsor. Representative Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) has renewed her push to have her colleagues co-sponsor HR 3745, the Community Access Preservation (CAP) Act. This bill which is strongly supported by the PEG Community, The National League of Cities, and the US Conference of Mayors would have a negative impact on our industry and particularly limit the flexibility of operators in States like California which have adopted state issued franchises.

More specifically, the bill would allow PEG fees to be used for any PEG related purpose and require PEG channels to be carried in the same manner as local broadcast stations. In addition, it would require operators to provide the greater of the support required under state laws or the support historically provided for PEG.

If you have not previously written to your Representative on this issue please do so now. If you have and do not have a commitment from you Member not to co-sponsor please follow-up again.

CCTA sent a letter to each Member of the delegation several months ago asking them not to co-sponsor this legislation. If you would like a copy of the letter or background material and talking points on this legislation please contact either Jerry or Toni at the CCTA office.

To date, the following Californians have co-sponsored the bill: Honda, Lofgren, McNerney, Thompson, Farr, Stark, Speier, and Woolsey.

Markey and Barton send letter to FTC on Google. Representatives Ed Markey (D-Mass) and Joe Barton (R-Tx), the Ranking Member of the Commerce Committee sent a joint letter to Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz regarding the recent disclosure that Google had captured Wi-Fi signals while collecting images for its street view mapping feature.

In their letter they asked the Chairman if Google’s collection of data violated a consumer’s reasonable expectation of privacy and if Google’s actions are illegal under Federal law. They also asked Chairman Leibowitz if the FTC was investigating the issue.

Federal Updates -- Week of May 14

Two Californians testify before House Committee on Broadband Adoption. On Thursday Rachelle Chong, Special Counsel, Office of the Chief Information Officer, State of California and Rivkah Sass, Director, Sacramento Public Library system were among the witnesses who appeared before the House Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet to speak about promoting broadband adoption. The hearing was the fourth in a series examining the recommendations of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) National Broadband Plan.

In her prepared and verbal testimony Chong stated that the digital divide could not be closed without addressing California. She stated that California has 44,000 square miles of unserved territory the size of the entire State of Kentucky and that we have 1.4 million rural residents without access to broadband, the population of the entire State of Maine, and that 12.9 million urban residences are not connected.

She went on to discuss the efforts the State of California has made to encourage broadband adoption including the School2Home project, a major statewide program to close the digital divide by integrating laptop computers and broadband technology into 539 low performing middle-schools. She also described Smart Housing initiatives that are defined as publicly funded housing developments that have Advanced Communications Networks to drive economy of scale in order to reduce the costs.

In the end she said while it may be true in baseball that if you build it they will come, it is not true in broadband adoption.

Sass, speaking on behalf of the American Library Association, enumerated in her written testimony many efforts libraries were making to close the digital divide. In her verbal testimony she emphasized the efforts the Sacramento library system was making to serve a very diverse population. She stated that even a 10 Megabit connection was often not enough to serve the needs of a library and often librarians found themselves unable to perform basic on line functions as a result of the heavy Internet usage by patrons, and that for many libraries demand has outpaced current broadband capacity. She said that in California last year there were 38 million Internet sessions in libraries.

In his opening statement Committee Chairman Waxman welcomed the two California witnesses to the hearing and stated that according to the National Broadband Report over 62% of Americans depend on broadband for their jobs and that the largest barrier to adoption identified by the report is cost. He stated that cost and digital literacy must be examined to increase adoption. He also said that Representative Doris Matsui (D-Ca) and a Committee Member had long recognized adoption as a problem and he expressed support for her bill HR 3646 which expands the Lifeline and Linkup programs to include broadband.

Representative Matsui in her opening statement also welcomed the two Californians and said that there was general agreement that greater broadband adoption is a necessity and that if you don’t have it you are at a competitive disadvantage. Many Americans she said are on the wrong side of the digital divide. In her closing questioning Matsui focused on issues relating to her legislation in an exchange with Sass who is a constituent.

The hearing concluded after an hour and a half as Members needed to leave for a series of seven votes on the House floor.

Federal Updates -- Week of May 7

Committee Chairman Waxman and Rockefeller send letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging response to court decision. On Thursday, May 6, 2010, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) and Senate Chairman John D. Rockefeller sent a letter to FCC Chairman Genachowski urging the FCC to use all its existing authority to protect broadband consumers and implement the National Broadband Plan. One of the options the Chairman raised was for the FCC to change the regulatory classification of broadband and they offered as Committee Chairman to provide a new regulatory framework through legislation if that was necessary. The Chairman’s letter was sent in response to the recent U.S. Court of Appeals decision in Comcast Corporation v. Federal Communications Commission.

After the letter from the two Chairmen was sent, FCC Chairman Genachowski released a statement entitled “A Third Way: A Narrowly Tailored Broadband Framework.” The Chairman stated that his framework was intended to restore the status quo that existed prior to the decision in the Comcast v. Federal Communications Commission.

Chairman Boucher releases draft of Privacy legislation. This week House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet Chairman Rick Boucher (D-Va.) released a long awaited draft of privacy legislation. The Chairman will be taking comments on the draft prior to introducing legislation. Initial response to the draft were mixed with some consumer groups feeling it did not go far enough and some industry groups feeling it goes too far. Given the number of items currently on the Congressional agenda the bills future is not clear for this session of Congress.

Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA) passes Senate. On Friday, May 7, 2010, the Senate passed the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA). The bill which has had several short term extensions allows satellite providers to retransmit network programming to their customers. There are also several provisions in the legislation which are of importance to cable including phantom signals. The legislation now goes to the House for action.

Federal Upates - Week of April 30

National Broadband Plan: Competitive Availability of Navigation Devices. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet held a hearing on Thursday on “The National Broadband Plan: Competitive Availability of Navigation Devices.” Witnesses included Kyle McSlarrow, President and CEO, National Cable & Telecommunications Association, Matt Zinn, Senior Vice President, TIVO, and Eric Shanks, Executive Vice President, Direct TV.

In his opening statement, Chairman Boucher noted that this was a long standing issue and was pleased that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued both a Notice of Inquiry( NOI) and Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) in two areas related to this issue. He said the goal as it has been since this issue was first raised is for consumers to be able to go into a store and shop for a set-top box the same way they shop for televisions and other electronic products. He said the CableCard program had been riddled with complications and that cable operators had been moving programming to switched video platforms but that this presented problems for many CableCard users. Later during his testimony, Matt Zinn from TiVo showed how difficult it was for his company to work with a particular system in New York State given the information the operator provider their customers about CableCard.

Ranking Member Cliff Stearns noted that the video marketplace is totally different than when Congress passed the set-top box provision in 1996. Today he said satellite and telephone have one-third of the video market-place. He said the FCC had been unsuccessful the last 20 years in creating set-top box competition because technology mandates do not work and that technology changes had outpaced the rules and had only cost consumer’s money.

In her opening statement, Representative Ann Eshoo (D-Ca) said she had worked with Ed Markey in 1996 to include Section 629 in the Telecommunication Act. She said she represented Silicon Valley where the mantra is innovate or die. She said she was encouraged by the consumer principles released by the cable industry recently. She said it was not a question of mandates but of setting standards. She said it had been many years since the committee examined this issue and she looked forward to the discussion. During the questioning period she asked Matt Zinn, who she welcomed as a constituent if what he had heard earlier from the cable industry cleared away any of the weeds. Zinn responded that in her district Comcast does a pretty good job of working with their customers to allow self-install. Eshoo agreed saying she had done it herself. He also said that if cable follows through in creating an IP back channel that is not proprietary that would greatly help.

Representative Bono-Mack (R-Ca.) said the matter before the Committee was highly complex and that the FCC and Congress should proceed with extreme caution. She said she was leery of Congress expanding technical requirements. She also said she was concerned about content protection and that set-top box manufactures had a role to play in this.

Representative Jerry McNerney (D-Ca) asked McSlarrow if the four principals cable had put forward were widely shared. Although it was not clear if the question was concerning cable or all industries McSlarrow responded that it depended on which industry. He asked Zinn what could be done to speed up the process. Zinn said his experience was that things always take longer to implement than expected in the regulatory arena and that unit the bigger issues got worked out we needed to get the CableCard regime fixed in the short term.

Examining Children’s Privacy: New Technologies and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act . On Thursday the Senate Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance held a hearing on “Examining Children’s Privacy: New Technologies and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act“ (COPPA.)

Four Senators attended this hearing to examine COPPA which Congress enacted in 1998 to address the privacy and safety issues created when children under 13 access the internet. Witnesses included Tim Sparanpani, Director of Public Policy, Facebook, Mike Hintze, Associate General Counsel, Microsoft, and Jessica Rich, Federal Trade Commission.

Senator Pryor in his opening statement said that this is a critical issue whose importance cannot be understated and that some companies are doing a good job but that the disclosure of personal information occurs too often. He also criticized Apple and Google for declining to testify. Senator Rockefeller also said he was concerned that Apple and Google were not appearing and raised the question if they were trying to hide something.

Ms. Rich went over the history of COPPA and noted that the finals Rules went into effect in April 2000 and that the Commission has accelerated its normal process of rule review due to the rapid pace of technological change. At the conclusion of the hearing Senator Pryor encouraged her to come back if they needed more resources to do their job.

Mr. Sparapani said that Facebook’s real name culture and other policies enhance on line safety for teens. Facebook recognizes that there is no fool proof system for age verification but Facebook has developed a multi-layer system to act as a technological proxy for age. Facebook has developed innovative privacy tools that give teens the ability to protect themselves online. Although Facebook does not like to talk about some of their proprietary technologies publically for fear they could be compromised, these technologies allow Facebook to perform ongoing authentication checks of users accounts. He said Congress should encourage companies to innovate, to advance on line safety and privacy and not preclude innovation and experimentation in this area.

Mr. Hintze from Microsoft said that the company fully supports the goals of COPPA and that Microsoft has taken a number of steps to protect children’s privacy and safety. He did not think legislative action on COPPA was necessary and that the FTC could update its rules as circumstances dictated.

Federal Updates - Week of April 23

House Energy and Commerce Committee holds hearing on National Broadband Plan. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet held a hearing Wednesday, April 22, 2010, on “The National Broadband Plan (NBP): Deploying Quality Broadband Services to the Last Mile.”

This was another in a series of hearings that Congress is holding since the issuance of the NBP examining specific issues raised by the NBP. Several members, as they have in the past, commended the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the thoroughness of the plan.

Subcommittee Chairman Boucher repeated his concern that broadband today is as important as telephone service was in the past and that all Americans including rural Americans need access to quality and affordable broadband service. He also questioned the FCC’s data that showed that 95% of Americans have access to broadband service.

Full Committee Chairman Waxman (D-Los Angeles) in his opening statement commended the FCC for setting a goal of having broadband deployment reach 99% of Americans. He also said the plan pointed out that private public partnerships are a good direction to go.

Representative Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) once again praised the NBP but said that legislation would make it stronger. In particular she discussed her legislation (H.R. 2428) which encourages digging once and putting in broadband infrastructure at the times work is being done on highways.

Judiciary Committee holds hearing on Disabilities and the Digital Era. This week the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties held a hearing on “Achieving the Promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the Digital Age-Current Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities.” Witnesses included representatives from the Justice Department, The American Foundation for the Blind, and the Web Accessibility Initiative.

In his opening remarks and questions, Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) focused on the question of how new emerging technologies, such as email, blogging, and twitter, can ensure that people with disabilities are able to use them in their daily lives. When Nadler asked if Title II and III were applicable to cyberspace, Samuel Bagenstos, representing the Justice Department said they were the same as any other business.

Representative Judy Chu (D-Los Angeles) the only Californian on the Subcommittee focused her questions primarily around education issues and expressed concerns how students with disabilities are using digital classroom technologies. Chu also expressed concern that those with disabilities would be fully able to participate in on-line education as more learning moved in that direction.

FCC Announces Proceedings based on National Broadband Plan. The FCC at its open meeting on April 21st announced two proceedings related to set-top box issues. This is an issue which has been contentious since the adoption of the “Telecommunications Act of 1996” where Congress in Section 629 instructed the FCC “to adopt regulations to assure the commercial availability” of navigation devices such as set-top boxes from manufactures or retailers not affiliated with cable television providers.

The NBP included a discussion of this issue along with recommendations. The proceedings which the FCC announced flow from these recommendations. The first is a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) raising a series of questions about the possibility of having all multichannel video providers provide video adapters that translate programming into standard video feeds that can be utilized by a variety of retail devices. The other is a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) to address perceived CableCard issues.

Federal Updates - Week of April 16

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Genachowski testifies before Senate Commerce Committee. On April 13, the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on the National Broadband Plan. During the hearing, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W-Va.) , the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee expressed frustration with the FCC and Chairman Genachowski for its slow pace in implementing the recommendations in the National Broadband Plan. Chairman Rockefeller noted that the report makes over 200 recommendations without an action plan and asked Genachowski what is priorities were.

Having just returned from Upper Big Branch, West Virginia, the site of the recent tragic coal mining disaster, Rockefeller was clearly upset with the lack of cell service in the area and spoke of Verizon workers stringing wire to get communication service into an area he said where it was clear they had not spent much time. Senator Rockefeller stated that despite the promise of telecommunication providers to provide broadband service universally that one in five West Virginians lacked access to broadband services.

A total of thirteen Senators participated in the hearing at various times. In general the Democrats on the Committee were supportive of the Broadband Report and urged the Commission to take action particularly in light of the recent Bit-Torrent Court decision while Republicans on the Committee urged restraint and pointed out the limits of FCC authority to act in regulation broadband in light of the recent court decision.

Federal Upates - Week of April 9

Court Rules FCC Lacks Authority to Set Internet Rules. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) has ruled that the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) lacks “ancillary” jurisdiction under the Communications Act to regulate the network management practices of an Internet service provider (“ISP”). The decision vacates an order adopted by the FCC that found that an Internet provider had violated the FCC’s “Internet Policy Statement” by interfering with the use of peer-to-peer networking applications on their broadband network. The court’s decision calls into question the legal approach taken by the FCC regarding its authority to exercise jurisdiction over Internet and broadband and will likely complicate the FCC’s efforts to regulate network management and promote “network neutrality.” The FCC released a statement shortly after the release of the D.C. Circuit decision indicating that they intended to find a way to regulate broadband.

In response to the decision, Senator John Kerry (D-Mass), the Chair of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, issued a press release stating that the decision appears to “vacate the authority of the FCC to conduct oversight over broadband service and the telephone and cable giants that own the wires.” He added that having been a member of the Senate Commerce Committee during the negotiations and passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, he believes that Congress intended for the FCC to regulate the cable and telephone broadband Internet service providers.

In contrast, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), ranking member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, stated that she was pleased with the court decision, noting that the “Internet has grown and flourished without federal regulations because it has been able to evolve to meet rapid changes without government roadblocks holding up progress.” With this decision, the Senator hopes that the FCC will reconsider its proposal to expand its authority over broadband services.

Representative Ed Markey (D-Mass), a senior member on the House Energy & Commerce Committee, stated that he is prepared to work with other members of Congress to “provide the Commission any additional authority it may need to ensure the openness of the Internet for consumers, innovators and investors.” Rep. Markey is a co-author on the “Internet Freedom Preservation Act”, along with Representatives Anna Eshoo (D-Calif) and Henry Waxman (D-Calif) which would prohibit Internet service providers from blocking or imposing certain charges on any Internet content, service or application (net neutrality).

Congress is returning next week from its Spring District Work Period. If you have met with Members of Congress during the break, please let NCTA or CCTA know if any issues were discussed which required follow-up.

Federal Update - Week of March 26

Hearing Held on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) National Broadband Plan. On Thursday, March 25th the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet held a hearing on the FCC National Broadband Plan. Appearing before the Committee were all five Commissioners of the FCC. Below is a summary of the opening statement, comments, and questions of the California Members of the Committee.

Chairman Waxman (D-Los Angeles): Said report was eagerly awaited and was the most significant infrastructure project since the interstate highway project in the 1950’s. The real test of the plan will be in its implementation. He said it was important to meet the needs of the public safety community and said he would direct staff to draft legislation on the public safety aspects of the plan. He also said we needed to take steps to ensure that disabled Americans gain access to broadband, reform USF, improve spectrum management, and promote broadband adoption. Waxman and Commissioner McDowell disagreed whether broadband had ever been regulated as a Title 11 service.

Eshoo (D-San Mateo): Said she had read the plan and called it broad, visionary, and bold. Goal should be that everyone in the country is reached by high speed. She stated that the United States had fallen from #11 to #17 internationally in broadband from 2002-2007. She was pleased that many of the priorities she had “pounded away at for years” were in the bill. Said we need an aggressive agenda because the U.S. lags badly and that the Plan is a roadmap. Hoped the Subcommittee would move quickly on the 911 bill she had introduced. She said that public television stations are very different than commercial stations and wanted assurance from the FCC that these stations would be given protection from spectrum give backs. Overall she said she was very excited as if “cobwebs were being cleared.”

Bono Mack (R-Riverside): Her goal is to support policies that promote job growth and to encourage private investment. She also cautioned the Commission against moving forward in areas where it has questionable legal authority. She was concerned that the plan did not focus enough on the protection of intellectual property and the rights of copyright holders in the digital age and expressed concern over the expansion of definition of fair use and said there was no discussion of legal content protection in the plan. She pointed out that the FCC used Beatle lyrics as an example of how educators need flexibility relative to Fair Use and she had not found that very compelling.

Matsui (D-Sacramento): Said that while no plan is perfect, she was pleased that this plan moves toward closing the digital divide. She applauded FCC for including aspects of her legislation to close the divide in the Plan. She plans to introduce smart grid legislation that parallels the Plans recommendations. She asked the Chairman if the focus would be on the urban underserved as well as rural areas. She said a major reason that many don’t get broadband is that it is not affordable.

McNerney (D-Pleasanton): Called it a “pretty comprehensive plan.” He said a large part of his district has been hit by the economic downturn and that his focus is on job creation and that he is excited about growth in this area. He asked the Commissioners to comment on spectrum utilization and special access. He asked if an engineering approach to meet data challenges could make the net-neutrality question obsolete.

30 Day Extension of STELA approved. On Thursday, March 25th, the House and Senate both passed S.3186 which extends for 30 days until April 30, 2010, the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act of 2004. Congress will have to act prior to the April 30th to once again extend the provisions.

Congress Leaves for Recess: The House will be in recess from March 29th-April 9th for the Spring District Work Period. This is a good opportunity to meet with your Member of Congress in the district. While updating them on what your system is doing locally, it is important to emphasize the continued investments you are making and the new employees you are hiring. For many Members, in this difficult economy it is all about jobs and investment and you have a good story to tell. In addition this is important information to convey in the context of the recently released FCC Broadband Report. Members of Congress need to know what the Cable Industry has done to deploy broadband services almost universally to their constituents.

The Community Access Preservation Act: If you have not yet asked your Member of Congress to oppose H.R. 3745 - The Community Access Preservation Act (CAP Act) (Baldwin-Wisconsin) it is important to do so. This legislation would impose significant new PEG requirements on cable operators. In some parts of the country PEG advocates are once again asking Members to become co-sponsors of this legislation. If you are not meeting with Members over the break please write them and ask them not to co-sponsor this legislation. CCTA has written a letter of opposition to this bill to the entire delegation. If you would like a copy of the letter and a position paper please contact Toni Irwin at CCTA (toni@calcable.org).

If you would like any assistance during the recess with your meetings please contact Jerry Yanowitz (jy@calcable.org).

Federal Update - Week of March 19

The Federal Communications Commission releases its National Broadband Plan. On March 16th the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its much anticipated 360 page National Broadband Plan. Of particular interest to States is Chapter 6 which deals with Infrastructure issues. This chapter is generally supportive of positions the cable industry has taken in several areas including pole rates, access to poles, ducts, conduits, and rights-of-way.

Recognizing that broadband providers have stated that the cost and difficulty of obtaining access to rights-of way has increased the cost of broadband deployment the Plan recommends that “The FCC should establish a joint task force with state, Tribal and local policymakers to craft guidelines for rates, terms and conditions for access to public rights-of-way”(Plan page 113). Municipalities have already begun to make clear their dislike of some of the conclusions in this chapter.

California Members of Congress on the Energy and Commerce Committee who commented on the report were generally positive with Representatives Eshoo (D–Palo Alto) and Matsui (D-Sacramento) issuing press releases praising the Plan. Eshoo called it “insightful, analytical, and forward thinking” while Matsui said it was a “bold plan to bridge the nation’s digital divide.”

The full National Broadband Plan along with the Executive Summary can be viewed and/or downloaded at http://www.broadband.gov/plan/

FCC Seeks Comments on Retransmission Consent. Today, the FCC released a Public Notice opening a comment period on a Petition for Rulemaking requesting that the FCC examine the retransmission consent rules. The 14 parties that filed the request included CCTA member companies; Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, Mediacom, Bright House Networks, and Suddenlink. Comments are due April 19, 2010, and Reply Comments are due May 4, 2010.

Federal Update Week of February 26

Comcast and NBCU Joint Venture: House Judiciary Committee holds hearing. On Thursday the House Judiciary Committee held a 5 hour hearing on the proposed Comcast and NBCU joint venture. Witnesses at the hearing included Comcast Chairman Brian Roberts and NBCU President Jeff Zucker. Committee Chairman John Conyers gave members of the Committee wide latitude to ask questions which along with some lengthy meandering questions by some Members contributed to the length of the hearing.

This was Roberts and Zuckers third appearance before congressional committees in as many weeks. Questions and concerns by committee members focused on a plethora of issues including jobs, employment practices, net neutrality and media concentration. Below are issues and concerns raised by California committee members during the hearing.

• Logren: Raised question about potential of merger to affect growth of delivery of television over the internet and raised concerns about net neutrality.

• Schiff: Hoped that merger would raise awareness of pipeline providers to concerns of intellectual property since Comcast would now increase its participation in the content side of the business through NBCU.

• Berman: Stated that the proposed joint venture had a couple of appeals to him. He said that things which get the distribution side of the business to understand the creative side are welcome and this joint venture could help do that. Berman noted that Universal Studios is in his district and that this is a jobs issue for him. He asked Zucker and Roberts to address the jobs issue and specifically regarding commitment #12 (2 new independent services added each of next 3 years) and how that related to independent producers.

• Waters: Waters focused her questions on diversity. She questioned both Roberts and Zucker on the lack of female and African-Americans on their boards of directors. In addition, she pressed Zucker on the lack of programming directed at African-Americans and produced by African –Americans. The concern over diversity issues was also raised by several other committee members including Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas.

• Lungren: Lungren asked how we know that the programming you own and control won’t go up in price to your competitors. He said it was only human nature to benefit yourself. He asked what is the impact of the merger going to be in my district to my constituents. Is the joint venture going to be a problem for consumers or am I going to say why didn’t this happen earlier? He asked if NBC affiliates would be weaker as a result of the joint venture. He also raised the ala carte issue which has been an ongoing concern for him. He said he wanted the Western Channel but could only get it as part of a package and eventually his wife disconnected it because of the cost. He also said that there was competition in the marketplace and that he was not a loyal customer but switched providers based on cost and service.

• Issa: Issa opened with a humorous plea for consideration of the under-representation of Lebanese-Americans in the media pointing to Tony Shaloub as Monk as one of the few examples. He then focused on how the marketplace has changed dramatically over the years and the incredible explosion of bandwidth and channels over the last 20 years and how the consumer advocates on the panel were not focused on the dramatic changes that had happened in the media marketplace.

• Chu: Chu raised the retransmission consent issue and asked if there was a need to adopt reforms to the process. She said during her recent district work period the issue of piracy had been raised with her and that she had heard that piracy cost LA $106,000 jobs. She also asked about net neutrality and an open internet and finally asked about Comcast’s relationship to Hulu.

Federal Update - Week of February 19, 2010

Congress has been on its State and District Presidents Day Work Period this week. During the past week CCTA and its Members met with several Members of Congress while they were home. Next week Congress will return to Washington and several hearings relevant to cable have been scheduled.

U.S. Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet. On Tuesday February 23rd at 7:00 am (PST) the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet will hold a hearing entitled “Improving Energy Efficiency through Technology and Communications Innovation.” The hearing should be available through the Committees website: http://commerce.senate.gov/

According to the Committees press release this hearing will explore how expanding broadband, improving smart grid technology, and expanding consumer understanding of their energy usage can lead to dramatic energy savings as well as a reduction in greenhouse gasses. It will also look at how firms in the information and communications industries are driving these changes.

Announced witnesses include representatives from Intel, EMC Corporation, Tendril Networks, Inc., Sprint-Nextel, and the Executive Office of the President.

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Also on Tuesday February 23rd, the full Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will hold a hearing on “Cybersecurity: The Next Steps to Protect our Critical Infrastructure.” The hearing will begin at 11:30 am (PST) and should also be available from the Committees website: http://commerce.senate.gov

U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee has just announced a hearing on “Competition in the Media and Entertainment Distribution Market.” Witnesses have not yet been announced. The hearing will take place on Thursday, February 25th at 7:00 am (PST) and will be accessible from the committees website: http://judiciary.house.gov/index.html

LEGISLATIVE ACTION IN CONGRESS

Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2009 (STELA). This legislation, seen as “must pass” legislation in 2009, extends the DBS compulsory license to retransmit distant signals which was set to expire on December 31, 2009. However, Congress only approved a 60-day extension but will continue to work on a comprehensive final proposal before the February 20, 2010 sunset date. This legislation was previously known as “SHVERA. “

Commercial Advertisement Loudness Act (CALM ACT). The House of Representatives approved H.R. 1084, the CALM ACT, in early December. The bill authored by California Democrat Anna Eshoo (D-CA) would require the FCC to adopt regulations on commercial loudness within one year. There has not been any action on companion legislation in the Senate.

Net Neutrality. Net neutrality remains a front burner issue in Washington. Both Congress and the FCC remain focused on the issues surrounding net-neutrality. Representatives Edward Markey (D-MA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) introduced H.R. 3458, the Internet Freedom and Preservation Act of 2009, which would codify the FCC's Broadband Policy Statement principles and would add an additional broad "non discrimination" provision.

Privacy. Privacy protection is one of the key concerns of House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee Chairman Rich Boucher (D-VA). Representative Boucher has said he wants to promote greater use of the Internet by assuring users of a high degree of privacy protection "including transparency about the collection, use and sharing of information about them, and giving them control over that collection, use and sharing." Although Chairman Boucher has said he will soon introduce legislation on the subject, nothing has been introduced yet.

Universal Service Fund (USF). Reforming USF has also been a priority for Chairman Boucher. He has stated that the Universal Service Fund as currently constituted is broken. One change among many Boucher would make is to allow the USF to be used for broadband deployment. In addition, Representative Doris Matsui (D-CA) has introduced a bill, H.R. 3646, to expand the USF Lifeline Assistance program to include broadband. Chairman Boucher would like to move USF legislation through his committee in the New Year.

Public Educational and Governmental (PEG). Representative Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced H.R. 3745, the Community Access Preservation Act (CAP ACT) which would impose new PEG related requirements on cable operators and restore PEG requirements that DIVCA and other state franchising laws removed. The legislation has not been scheduled for a hearing. The cable industry opposes the Baldwin legislation.

OTHER FEDERAL ACTIVITIES

Net Neutrality. The Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced plans in October to have the Commission codify its four internet principles and to add two additional ones to bar broadband providers from discriminatory behavior and to increase network management transparency. The industry is continuing to work with both Congress and the FCC to ensure that any adopted regulation or legislation that encourages investment and allows a robust Internet to flourish.

North American Numbering Council. CCTA continues to work on assuring a sufficient supply of telephone numbers. This year CCTA staff was once again appointed Cable’s voting member on the FCC’s North American Numbering Council (NANC). In that capacity, CCTA worked closely with NCTA and its members to implement rules to reduce the time required to port a telephone number from a competitor and to reduce the number of required fields necessary to effectuate a telephone port.

Federal Update 10-9-09

Committee Passes CALM Act. On Thursday morning in a markup that lasted just one hour the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet passed four bills by voice vote including H.R. 1084(Eshoo), the Commercial Loudness Mitigation ACT (CALM Act). Only two Californians, Eshoo and McNerney were present at the non-controversial and lightly attending markup.

A couple of Members expressed concerns about the CALM Act, particularly its impact on small cable television operators. Eshoo said these were last minute concerns that had not been raised during any debate or discussion of the bill and that she thought that the two one year waivers available in the legislation should address the issues of smaller operators. Eshoo did say she would continue to work with those concerned about the legislation as it moved forward for consideration at the full committee level

Federal Update 9-25-09

Matsui introduces legislation to help low income Americans access broadband. On Thursday, Representative Doris Matsui (CA-05) a member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, introduced legislation to expand the Universal Service Fund’s (USF) Lifeline Assistance program for expanded nationwide broadband adoption. The bill, entitled the Broadband Affordability Act of 2009, directs the FCC to establish a broadband program that provides assistance for low income Americans to subscribe to broadband service.

As she had at several Committee hearings, Matsui pointed out in her press release that while 96% of Californian’s have access to broadband, only 58% of Californians earning under $40,000 have subscribed to an Internet service at their home, while 97% of those earning over $80,000 subscribed to a service.

Matsui’s press release also stated that “In today’s economic climate, more and more hardworking Americans simply cannot afford to pay up to $60 a month for broadband services.” The Matsui bill would allow USF funds to be used to offer discounted Internet service.

The bill will be referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. CCTA will work with the author as the bill moves forward in the process.

Satellite Television Modernization Act of 2009. The Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday passed by voice vote S.1670, Satellite Television Modernization Act of 2009. The legislation included an agreement that was reached by the content and cable industry related to the phantom signals. In his statement following the Committee vote NCTA President Kyle McSlarrow said, “We strongly support the bill’s effort to promote continuity and to include important language that resolves the so-called phantom signal issue.” An amendment to the bill directed the copyright office to report within a year on how to phase out the compulsory license was adopted unanimously. Senator Feinstein (D-CA) a member of the Committee, said she was happy to see the study of the compulsory license included and wanted to work with the Chairman to see that the study did not favor any one alternative. The bill will next be taken up by the Commerce Committee in the Senate.

Satellite Home Viewer Update and Reauthorization Act (SHVURA). This week the House Judiciary Committee passed the Satellite Home Viewer Update and Reauthorization Act (SHVURA) on a strong bi-partisan vote of 34-0.

CCTA and its Members worked closely with Members of the Judiciary Committee over the last couple of months to communicate our concerns over the "phantom signal" issue and its potential impact on consumers. The industry believes the bill as approved by the Committee reflects a fair compromise.

Two California Members spoke during the discussion of the legislation.

Howard Berman stated that he felt the legislation should deal with the phasing out of the compulsory license and that neither the cable or satellite industries were nascent industries and that the compulsory license which in his view should be eliminated had in fact been expanded over the years. He said that while an elimination of the compulsory license would not be easy, these negotiations should be handled by the free market. He pointed out that many such negotiations between programmers and operators are now handled by the marketplace. He said that this five year extension of the compulsory license should be the last. CCTA's worked closely with Mr. Berman’s office in addition to others explaining the industries concerns with any changes to the Chairman’s bill which was a carefully crafted compromise.

Congressman Issa echoed many of Mr. Berman’s concerns and offered and then withdrew an amendment that would have reauthorized the program for only two years.

House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications; FCC Oversight Hearing. On Thursday the House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications held an FCC oversight hearing with all five FCC Commissioners. Below are selected comments made by California Members during their opening statements:

Commerce Committee Chairman Waxman. Waxman stated that he had asked Mr. Markey to add him as a co-sponsor of HR 3458 the net neutrality legislation introduced by Mr. Markey and Ms. Eshoo. He stated that he did not think net neutrality impeded innovation nor that net neutrality and strong copyright protection were mutually exclusive. He stated that President Obama had made an open internet a "vital part of his platform" and that he supported that. He also said the Commission should consider ways to expedite construction of additional wireless broadband.
Mr.McNerney. McNerney stated he had several areas of concern. The first was the special access market and he wanted to make sure the Commission went forward with a balanced policy. He also said he was interested in the amount of time the FCC gave for comments in its various proceedings. Finally he said cyber security and net neutrality were areas of interest to him.
Ms. Matsui. Matsui said the urban underserved should be a priority for broadband and that the affordability of broadband needed to be enhanced. She repeated that she was going to introduce legislation that would expand the universal service fund to include broadband.
Ms. Eshoo. Eshoo said we need high speeds for broadband that rank with world class standards. She also said we needed a truly competitive environment not one where "the big fish eat the small fish"

Federal Update 9-11-09

U.S. House Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet. On Thursday, September 10th the U.S. House Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet held an oversight hearing on the broadband loan and grant program created by the Stimulus Act. The hearing lasted approximately 3 hours including a break in the middle for a series of votes on the floor. The two witnesses were Rural Utility Services (RUS) Administrator Jonathan Adelstein and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Assistant Secretary for Communications andInformation, Lawrence Strickling.

Thirteen Members of the Subcommittee participated in the hearing. The four Californians in attendance were Full Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, Congressman Jerry McNerney, Congresswoman Doris Matsui, and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo.

Chairman Boucher in his opening remarks and subsequent questions expressed his concerns about several aspects of the way the first round has evolved. First, the Chairman was concerned that that there needed to be increased access to grant funding for rural areas that were excluded from the first round due to the definition of remote which has been defined as further than 50 miles from a town of 20,000 or more. The Chairman held up a map of the country which showed that most of the Eastern United States is excluded under the agencies definitions while large portions of the West outside of California seemed eligible for funds. Another of the Chairman’s concerns was that the current process forces applicants who are applying to both agencies to first go through RUS before the NTIA could make an award. He expressed concern that if RUS rejected an applicant that timing issues might put those applicants at a disadvantage relative to other NTIA applicants. The Chairman also expressed a concern that came from his home state of Virginia that they had not been expecting all the Virginia applications that had been forward to the State by NTIA and RUS and inquired what the expectations were of the States by the two federal agencies. In subsequent statements and questions many of the other Committee Members expressed similar concerns.

California Member Comments:

Full Committee Chairman Henry Waxman complimented both NTIA and RUS for issuing the application guidelines in a timely manner. He said that while there had been skeptics who said that Congress had placed so many conditions on the funds that there would not been enough applicants the fact that over 2200 applications were submitted with requests for over $28 billion dollars made it clear that the public interest obligations "did not stifle applicants." At the end of his opening statement the Chairman did note that the agencies should be ready "to receive constructive criticism from both sides of the aisle." The Chairman did not ask questions after the witnesses’ testimony.

Congresswoman Doris Matsui said that broadband adoption was a great problem which in most cases was related to income. She pointed out that while the 96% of Californians had access to broadband and over 80% of wealthier Californians had broadband in their homes that the numbers dropped dramatically when it came to poorer Californians and that only 58% of Californians who make less $40,000 have access to broadband. She said we needed to address the issue "of affordability for all" and that she would soon be introducing legislation to expand universal service fund to include affordable lifeline broadband. She emphasized that urban low income populations should be considered "underserved" in regards to broadband grants. Matsui also noted that particularly in this economic climate that many people rely on "anchor institutions" such as schools and libraries for broadband access and that these institutions need to be supported.

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo agreed with Representative Matsui that the community anchor institutions need to be supported. In both her opening statement and subsequent questions Eshoo emphasized that "a priority should be advanced capability and speed." She expressed concern that the rules do not "encourage higher speeds in rural areas." She expressed concern over the process by which incumbents would challenge applicants and did not want that process used to stifle competition.

Congressman McNerney made only a brief opening statement about the process and did not ask questions following the witness’s testimony.

During both their testimony and subsequent answering of questions the two witnesses seldom disagree with each other and emphasized the close cooperation between their agencies. In response to questions they emphasized that 768kbps was a floor for speed and that additional points were would be given for higher speeds. Strickling said that the 768kbps was used so that if 3G was the only option for an area that it could at least be considered for funding. Regarding challenges to applications he said that a disagreeing party would have to provide substantive information to rebut information in an application and that the final decision on any application would rest with NTIA and RUS. Adelstein also stated that on challenges the agencies had created unprecedented transparency which would allow comments on applications from a wide variety of people and institutions.

Strickling also announced that the grants for broadband mapping would start to be announced in September. He also said that the next two rounds of grants could be merged into one thereby saving administrative expenses. He also assured the Committee that they would be hiring enough people to make sure they could do proper oversight to make sure there was not waste, fraud or abuse in the program. In response to Representative Matsui's question on low income he said a big focus was on adoption and that an area with less than 40% adoption was consider underserved.

Adelstein said those who were unsuccessful in the first round would be able to reapply in the next round. Both he and Strickling acknowledged the Chairs and other Members concerns about the definition of rural and said it would be looked at prior to the next round of applications. They also said that they were sharing applications with the respective states to get the states view on overall priorities for the applications filed but not specific comment on individual applications. A state would also be free not to comment if that was its desire.

Boucher closed the hearing by reiterating his some of his concerns and stated that the subcommittee would hold at least one more hearing.

The House Small Business Committee plans to hold a broadband hearing, tentatively scheduled for September 23rd. This is planned to be an NTIA/RUS Oversight hearing with a focus on small business concerns with the BTOP and BIP funding and application process. Two panels are planned. Lawrence Strickling (NTIA) and Jonathan Adelstein(RUS) would testify on the first panel and the second panel would be comprised of small business executives who have submitted applications or plan to.

Federal Update

FCC Chairman Comes to California. Newly Confirmed FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will be in Palo Alto Monday and is scheduled to appear with Representative Anna Eshoo to promote the increased use of broadband which is a top priority of both officials. That evening the Chairman will have dinner with key technology leaders and others including representatives of the cable television industry.

Eshoo who represents Silicon Valley is a key member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, technology, and the internet which both helps set telecommunications policy for the country and oversees the FCC.

The Chairman will also appear in San Francisco Sunday, in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's district where he will join city officials and representatives of One Economy, a non-profit that uses innovative approaches to deliver the power of technology and information to low-income people.

Representatives Markey and Eshoo unveil net neutrality bill. According to the Congressional Daily as reported in their publication the Tech Daily Dose Representatives Markey and Eshoo introduced net-neutrality legislation (H.R. 3458) on Friday that would prevent internet service providers such as telephone and cable companies from interfering with Web content that passes through their pipes. The publication reported that the bill would essentially bar ISP's from using the claim of network management to impose their own priorities on data traffic based on financial arrangements or other considerations.

Congress is breaking for its Summer District Work Period and is scheduled to return September 3rd. CCTA may ask you to set up meetings with select Members of the Judiciary Committee during this period to discuss the Satellite Home Viewer Digital Television Act.

The discussion draft of this legislation released by Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers has several components which are problematic for cable particularly the section dealing with "phantom signals." We will be advising the key contacts of the relevant Members if we need meetings set up during this period.

July 24, 2009

Federal Update

House Judiciary Committee Discussion Draft on SHVERA. The House Judiciary Committee has decided not to mark-up the Satellite Home Viewer Digital Television Act (SHVERA) of 2009 prior to the August Congressional recess. The draft of the bill has several areas which were problematic for the cable television industry particularly as it relates to “phantom” signals.

CCTA sent out information to it Members who serve areas represented by Members of the Judiciary Committee. CCTA staff contacted the offices of California Judiciary Committee Members to inform them of our concerns. We may be asking Judiciary Committee Key Contacts to set up district meeting during the August recess period. In the next week we should be furthering additional information to you in preparation for further activity.

July 17, 2009
Federal Update

House Judiciary Committee Releases Discussion Draft on SHVERA. On Tuesday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers released a discussion draft on the Satellite Home Viewer Television Act (SHVERA). The Chairman plans to soon introduce a formal bill and intends to mark-up the bill as early as July 29th. NCTA has sent a letter to the Chairman in response to the discussion draft pointing out areas of concern in the draft that include, the need to resolve the phantom signal issue; giving any “interested party” the right to engage in intrusive “audits” of the highly sensitive financial data on each cable operator; requiring cable operators to pay royalties for each digital “multicast” stream carried at the same level established for a broadcaster’s primary programming channel bases its royalty payments; and “phase out “of the cable compulsory license if a broadcaster certifies that it has the rights needed for a “single source” license..

If you do not have a copy of the NCTA letter to the Chairman and would like a copy, please contact Jerry Yanowitz or Toni Irwin.

July 10, 2009
Federal Update

Point Smart Click Safe. On Wednesday a diverse coalition of technology companies, including the cable television industry, along with educators, parents groups, and researchers announced a comprehensive set of recommendations that companies involved with the Internet can adopt as best practices to help keep children safe when they are on line. The coalition was joined by U.S. Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz(D-FL) and John Shimkus(R-IL.) who spoke as part of the group’s report. In addition to these two Congressional speakers, eleven other Members of Congress made statements of support including two Californians, Mary Bono Mack (R-Palm Springs) and George Radanovich (R-Fresno). The complete report along with the Congressional statements can be found at www.pointsmartreport.org and www.ncta.com

CCTA Legislative & Regulatory Update

August 21, 2009

Federal Update:

Congress remains in recess for their August work period and will return on September 8. During the remainder of this period when many Members are in their districts you should continue to take this opportunity to try and meet with them to tell them about your investments in the community and the enhanced products and services you are offering. If you need any briefing material or assistance with a meeting please let us know.

July 31, 2009

09-11-2009

Federal Update

California Member Comments:

Congressman McNerney made only a brief opening statement about the process and did not ask questions following the witness’s testimony.

Boucher closed the hearing by reiterating his some of his concerns and stated that the subcommittee would hold at least one more hearing.

Federal Update 9-18-0

Federal Update -- Week of March 19, 2010

The full National Broadband Plan along with the Executive Summary can be viewed

and/or downloaded at http://www.broadband.gov/plan/

Federal Update -- Week of March 12, 2010

Two California House Commerce Committee Members Introduce Legislation. This week two California Members of the House Commerce Committee introduced pieces of legislation. Representative Anna Eshoo (D–Palo Alto) introduced H.R. 4829 to "further upgrade public safety answering point capabilities and related functions in receiving 9-1-1 calls, and to support in the construction and operation of a ubiquitous and reliable citizen activated network." Representative McNerney (D – Pleasanton) introduced H.R. 4909 "to provide greater technical resources to FCC Commissioners." The text of either bill is not yet available. Both bills have been referred to the House Commerce Committee.

Senate Commerce Committee Hearing on Comcast/NBCU. On Thursday, March 11, 2010, the Senate Commerce Committee held the fourth Capitol Hill hearing on the proposed Comcast/NBC Universal joint venture entitled "Consumers, Competition, and Consolidation in the Video and Broadband Market." The hearing lasted three hours. Witnesses at the hearing included Brian Roberts (Comcast), Mark Cooper (Consumer Federation of America), John Wells (Writers Guild of America/West), Federal Communications Committee Chairman Genachowski and Christine Varney, Assistant Attorney General for Anti-Trust testified.

Similar to the three previous hearings, questions were raised regarding program access, consolidation, and the future of over the air broadcasting. Coming quickly on the heels of the Cablevision and Fox retransmission dispute around the Academy Awards, this hearing had an increased focus on what the FCC could do to ameliorate the impact of these disputes on consumers.

California's Senator Boxer had other commitments and did not participate in the hearing.

Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for the Second Round of Funding for the broadband grants under ARRA. This week forty Members of Congress, led by the two Co-Chairs of the Rural Telecommunications Task Force, sent a letter to NTIA Secretary Larry Strickling expressing concern over the rules in the second round of the Notice of Funds Availability which have shortened the time from 30 days to 15 for incumbents to challenge applications of proposed projects. In the letter they expressed concern "with the potential for financing of areas already served with broadband services" and went on to express concern that overbuilding of existing operators could discourage private investment. No Californians signed the letter.

Federal Update -- Week of March 5

Comcast and NBCU Joint Venture: House Judiciary Committee holds hearing. On Thursday the House Judiciary Committee held a 5 hour hearing on the proposed Comcast and NBCU joint venture. Witnesses at the hearing included Comcast Chairman Brian Roberts and NBCU President Jeff Zucker. Committee Chairman John Conyers gave members of the Committee wide latitude to ask questions which along with some lengthy meandering questions by some Members contributed to the length of the hearing.

· Logren: Raised question about potential of merger to affect growth of delivery of television over the internet and raised concerns about net neutrality.

Government Relations

CCTA Spotlight

Federal Updates