December 2005

• "2006 in Congress: 'Full plate' for Tech, Telecom," IT World, December 27, 2005.
  "A Senate bill, introduced by South Carolina Republican Senator Jim DeMint Dec. 15, would take a more deregulatory approach than the House drafts. DeMint's bill, echoing policy goals of Verizon and the conservative think tank the Progress and Freedom Foundation, would remove much of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's forward-looking rule-making authority and turn the FCC largely into an enforcement agency investigating reports of unfair competition among telecom and broadband providers. "
• "'Family Tier' cable may just catch on," Carlisle Sentinel, December 26, 2005.
  "Comcast's new (family tier) service comes on the heels of Time Warner Cable announcing a similar grouping of channels for customers in recent weeks. The reaction so far is mostly positive, although a broadcasting watchdog group, the Progress and Freedom Foundation, asserts that the companies' new offerings are only public relations ploys designed to keep federal regulators happy while they determine whether these two companies will be allowed to carve up and swallow the pieces of a third large cable provider, the embattled Adelphia Communications. "
• "As Decency Issue Boild, Comcast Sets a Family Tier," The Boston Globe, December 23, 2005.
  "The diversity of what we see today is directly threatened by family friendly tiers and a la carte," said Adam Thierer, senior fellow and director of the Center for Digital Media Freedom at the Progress & Freedom Foundation, a Washington, D.C., think tank.
  "He pointed to BET and The Black Family Channel, both networks that target black viewers but are excluded from Comcast's and Time Warner's family tiers. Thierer said he feared legislators will ultimately demand more control over programming.
  "'It's a delay tactic by cable to avoid the heat and by Congress to avoid pushing an issue that they know could potentially be declared unconstitutional if it ever went to court,' he said."
• "Broadband Bill Hews to Laissez-Faire Line," CNET News, December 19, 2005.
  "Beginning with its title, the Digital Age Communications Act, the proposal borrows heavily--and sometimes verbatim--from "model legislation" drafted during the last several months by the Progress & Freedom Foundation, a free-market think tank, and several of its working groups.
  "'Sen. DeMint's bill wisely replaces an existing regime that ties regulation to outdated and ever-evolving technofunctional constructs with a forward-looking one that grounds the need for any regulatory intervention in an assessment of marketplace realities,' PFF President Raymond Gifford said."
  http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/12/12/cable/index.html
• "Another Bill To Join Telecom Reform Parade," Internet News, December 16, 2005.
  "Randy May, a senior fellow and director of Communications Policy Studies at the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF), said DeMint's bill 'wisely replaces an existing regime that ties regulation to outdated and ever-evolving techno-functional constructs with a forward-looking one that grounds the need for any regulatory intervention in an assessment of marketplace realities.'
  "According to the PFF, DeMint's bill 'presumes"' that economic regulation of the telecom markets is unnecessary unless there is the threat of market abuse that poses a risk to consumer welfare.
  "May said under DeMint's proposal the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would be focused on 'specific complaints and not so much on overly broad rulemaking proceedings.'"
• "An Early Present: Senate Intros, Blesses Telecom Bills," TelecomWeb, December 16, 2005.
  "A new telecommunications-reform bill proposes legislation that will create a communications regulation system that is 'market-oriented, competition-based and grounded in sound economic principles' along with promoting 'an environment that encourages innovation and competition.' The Digital Age Communications Act (DACA) (S.2113) - identical to the model law that has been tweaked all year by the Progress & Freedom Foundation think tank organization - made it into the hopper, introduced by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which would be responsible for such legislation."
• "New Telecom Bill Causes Division in Industry," TechDaily, December 16, 2005.
  "DeMint's bill is an almost word-for-word replication of the Digital Age Communications Act, model legislation drafted by the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a free-market think tank. While PFF scholars highly praised the Ensign bill, they have criticized both drafts of House telecom legislation for attempting to define certain types of high-speed Internet service.
  "DeMint's bill could force a general rethinking of telecom legislation. 'It is going to help shift the debate to where is should be, a new act that is centered around whether competition in the marketplace actually exists,' said Randy May, PFF's director of communications policy studies."
• "Digital Age Communications Act Now Before U.S. Senate," TMCNet News, December 16, 2005.
  "The as-of-yet un-numbered bill proposes a market- and competition-based regulatory approach to the rapidly evolving communications industry while at the same time promoting 'an environment that encourages innovation.' It is based on proposals forwarded as part of the Progress & Freedom Foundation's Digital Age Communications Act (DACA) Project."
• "Senator's New Bill Based On Think Tank's Draft," Congress Daily, December 15, 2005.
  "Sen. Jim DeMint on Thursday introduced a telecommunications bill drafted by scholars and advisers affiliated with the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a free-market think tank. CongressDaily reports that DeMint, R-S.C., preserved the name of the group's draft legislation, the Digital Age Communications Act, as well as all substantive sections."
• "Sex, Drugs and Cable TV," Salon.com , December 12, 2005.
  "At a morning hearing, some of the nation's biggest cable providers caved to Martin's demands. Starting next year, they will offer a 'family-choice' plan of basic cable programming to consumers. No longer will households be forced to pay for Jon Stewart and 'South Park' in order to get access to Anderson Cooper and SpongeBob SquarePants. Cable companies have volunteered to make the changes, removing from the table a possible legal challenge on First Amendment grounds. But industry observers say the new pricing system is the direct result of government pressure. 'There is an element of regulatory extortion at work here,' says Adam Thierer, a senior fellow at the Progress and Freedom Foundation. 'Everybody in town knows that.'"
• "Economist Blasts Munis For 'Blackmail'," Telecom Policy Report, December 12, 2005.
  ""There is wide agreement that broadband will provide enormous benefits to users and to the entire economy, especially as the take-up rate increases. But so far, relatively little attention has been paid to the potential benefits to be reaped by different groups within American society and how this in turn will generate economic benefits and cost savings over time," Litan added. "Clearly, with so much at stake, policymakers have strong reasons to consider measures to accelerate the deployment and use of broadband technologies for America's seniors (about 35 million people aged 65 and older) and individuals with disabilities (about 36 million non-elderly individuals)."
  The Litan report also received accolades from such groups as the Brookings Institution, the Seniors Coalition, the American Association of People with Disabilities, the Progressive Policy Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and the Progress & Freedom Foundation."
• "Broadband Said to Benefit Seniors, Disabled, Economy," Washington Internet Daily, December 9, 2005.
  "The study comes at a crucial time as Congress begins to rewrite the Telecom Act, Progress & Freedom Foundation Vp Thomas Lenard said. Delivering the benefits Litan predicts to seniors and disabled citizens could require considerably more spectrum, he said. Despite high levels of broadband penetration achieved in recent years, the industry is still nascent and 'we really don't know yet what successful business models are going to look like,' Lenard said: 'Clearly, the regulatory environment is going to effect incentive to invest in broadband and content and applications.'"
• "Broadcasters, Other Media Must Step Up Indecency Efforts, Obama Says," Public Broadcasting Report, December 9, 2005
  "Another study criticized the FCC's approach to measuring indecency complaints. An 8-fold increase in such complaints last year from 2003 is mostly due to mass e-mail campaigns rather than a surge in the number of programs raising concern, the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) said in a report. 'Quiet methodological changes made to the complaint process over the past two years have artificially inflated the number of indecency complaints," said PFF's Adam Thierer, making 'it difficult to make accurate comparisons over time.'"
"Broadband Said to Benefit Seniors, Disabled, Economy," Washington Internet Daily, December 9, 2005.
"The [broadband] study comes at a crucial time as Congress begins to rewrite the Telecom Act, Progress & Freedom Foundation Vp Thomas Lenard said. Delivering the benefits Litan predicts to seniors and disabled citizens could require considerably more spectrum, he said. Despite high levels of broadband penetration achieved in recent years, the industry is still nascent and 'we really don't know yet what successful business models are going to look like,' Lenard said: 'Clearly, the regulatory environment is going to effect incentive to invest in broadband and content and applications.'"
• "Sununu Backs USF Reform Proposal to Cap Fund Growth," Communications Daily, December 9, 2005.
  "A plan to reform the Universal Service Fund (USF) with more state control and a cap on growth got Sen. Sununu's (R-N.H.) conditional backing at a Wed. forum sponsored by the Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF), which also proposed the reform package. As it stands, the USF program "significantly distorts the marketplace, undermines innovation and limits services to customers," Sununu said. PFF's plan correctly aims to limit growth and increase efficiency, he said: 'We've got too many programs that are on auto-pilot.'"
• "PFF's USF Report Adds Proposals for Vo-Ip-Dominated Market," TR Daily, December 8, 2005.
  "The universal service working group of the Progress & Freedom Foundation's Digital Age Communication Act project has made some changes to the proposal it released this fall, including suggestions for how universal service should operate in a marketplace that is serviced predominantly by voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) service providers."
• "Sen. Sununu Slams Universal Service Program," Tech Daily, December 8, 2005.
  "[Senator] Sununu [R-NH] took direct aim at the universal service program, saying people should stop referring to it as a charitable subsidy. 'Universal service is a tax. We should call it a tax,' he said during remarks late Wednesday afternoon to the Progress and Freedom Foundation, which supports capping the fund's size. 'It distorts the marketplace. There's no question about it.'"
• "PFF's USF Report Adds Proposals for VoIP-Dominated Market," TR Daily, December 8, 2005.
  "The universal service working group of the Progress & Freedom Foundation's Digital Age Communication Act project has made some changes to the proposal it released this fall, including suggestions for how universal service should operate in a marketplace that is serviced predominantly by voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) service providers."
• "Decency Is Overrated," Wall Street Journal, December 7, 2005.
  In reality, were à la carte to be shoved down the industry's throat, it would likely squeeze many smaller channels out of existence. Just what we need: Regulators bringing back the day when three broadcast networks dictated America's viewing options. And as Adam Thierer of the Progress and Freedom Foundation points out, the survivors wouldn't be the Hearth and Home Network or the Good Ol' Family Values channel. The survivors would be Comedy Central, MTV and other Satan favorites.
• "Consumer Advocates Push for Network Neutrality," InfoWorld Nederland, December 5, 2005.
  "At the heart of the debate is an important property rights issue, and broadband network owners should be able to enter into contracts with some content providers, said Randy May, a senior fellow at the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank. Broadband providers need to have ways to recoup the cost of building next-generation networks, he said during another telecom forum Thursday.
  "'We're talking about the owners of these networks in a competitive environment,' May said. 'In my view, it's important not to dictate to the owners of the networks that they cannot provide any kind of preference to those people who they want to enter into relationships with.'"
• "Orson Swindle, Fellow at the Progress and Freedom Foundation," Information Week, December 5, 2005.
  "Information and the flow of information are what make our economy buzz; it's the currency of our age. But technology has run out too far ahead of security. It's like picking up a loaded pistol--you can hurt yourself if you don't know what you're doing."
• "Telecom Regulations Should Be Competition-Focused PFF Says," Telecom A.M., December 2, 2005.
  "Communications pundits called for a 'digital-age' regulatory philosophy that embraces competition and IP video services' promise. Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF)'s Randolph May and Charles Davidson, dir. of N.Y. Law School's Advanced Communications Law & Policy Institute, spoke at a Council on Competitiveness lunch on broadband's future on Capitol Hill Thurs. The U.S. must shift to a regulatory approach based on competition, said May, whose group wants an unfair-competition standard built into a new era of telecom oversight. That standard would resemble the one governing the Federal Trade Commission."
• "High Tech Groups Bow Out of 'Broken' Rulemaking Process," Washington Internet Daily, December 2, 2005.
  "[H.R. 1201] would take property 'from a bunch of A's and give it to a bunch of B's, only without paying a cent to the A's,' Progress & Freedom Foundation's Jim DeLong said in an Oct. paper.
  "The bill 'relies on a test composed of sanctimonious verbiage that could be failed only by the deeply stupid,' DeLong said. The DMCA made it illegal to crack encryption measures and distribute code-cracking tools but HR-1201 would 'repeal this ban insofar as the code cracker or the toolsmith wanted to obtain, or help others obtain, access for purposes of making 'noninfringing use' of a work,' DeLong wrote."
• "Panelists Say Broadband Unites Concerns for Future Telecom Policy," TR Daily, December 1, 2005.
  "[PFF President] Mr. [Ray] Gifford, meanwhile, said forcing Internet providers to make every Web site available to their customers would tie their hands, and could restrict them from making certain services available to consumers. He noted that someone might want a family-friendly Internet option that blocks certain sites, but that would be barred under net neutrality principles. 'If you have a competitive situation . . . net neutrality needn't be required because it's bad economics,' he said."
• "Internet the Next Indecency Frontier, Stevens Says," Washington Internet Daily, December 1, 2005. "Progress & Freedom Foundation Senior Fellow Adam Thierer also weighed in on Stevens' remarks. He said the chairman seems to think the Internet is 'a monolithic entity controlled by a few organizations or corporations.' In reality, the Web is a 'global but highly decentralized medium that millions of people create organically and spontaneously.' Thierer said there's no way to 'magically legislate away things you don't like on the net.' Ten years of constitutional challenges and court decisions have proven that, he said.
• "Telecom Experts Call for Reduced Regulation," Network World, December 1, 2005.
  "Laws that impose regulations on telecommunication carriers need to be repealed when companies that provide so-called information services over Internet don't face the same rules, said Randolph May, senior fellow at the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. For example, VoIP providers face little regulation, while traditional telephone service providers face significant regulation, May said.
  "'The distinction between information services and telecommunication services is really quite metaphysical and has nothing to do, at all really, with how consumers in the marketplace look at these services,' May said. '[Current communications law] cause so much problem in a digital age where a bit is a bit is a bit, and it's all converged.'"