Broadcasting & Cable‘s John Eggerton reported some of the key points made in his remarks.

“Congress and the FCC are on the verge, perhaps for the first time, of declaring that the highest and best use of spectrum is not broadcasting, but broadband,” [Powell] said in a speech to the Media Institute in Washington. While a speech about communications and jobs is common these days, Powell’s was linked to Steve Jobs and his mantra of simplicity. Like the less-is-more approach to Apple products’ elegant functionality or rail thin TV sets, regulators should also look to pare back, he suggested.

Powell’s speech touched on broadcasting, the Internet, spectrum availability, common carriage. He also addressed concerns about broadband speeds.

Powell suggested that the rap that current broadband speeds are not fast enough, no matter how fast they are, is a bad one. “Internet evangelicals constantly profess the end of the world because there is not enough capacity for some future magical set of applications that they have imagined and drive us to feel national shame because we don’t measure up to some otherwise unremarkable Baltic Country,” he said, as laughter erupted in the room. “If you really want to go to Latvia for broadband, go down to Dulles airport and head on out.”

You can read the entirety of his remarks on NCTA’s website. You’ll also find references to the world-renowned designer John Maeda, Barry Schwartz’s book Paradox of Choice, William of Ockham, and Talladega Nights‘ NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby.

John Eggerton offered a preview of the show in Broadcasting & Cable yesterday.

Until now, there hasn’t been a common framework of best practices for alerting Internet subscribers about possible content theft. This new system will send up to six warnings to consumers, alerting them that their broadband accounts may have been used to steal digital media.  The agreement between content providers and ISPs also establishes the Center for Copyright Information, whose mission will be to further educate consumers about issues around online content theft.

In the news release announcing the agreement, James Assey, NCTA’s Executive Vice President, had this to say:

“Consumers have a right to know if their broadband account is being used for illegal online content theft, or if their own online activity infringes on copyright rules – inadvertently or otherwise – so that they can correct that activity.  We are confident that, once informed that content theft is taking place on their accounts, the great majority of broadband subscribers will take steps to stop it.  That’s why the educational nature of this initiative is so critical.”

NCTA worked in an advisory capacity with ISPs to help complete the agreement.  You can read the announcement here or read some of the news coverage.

• Entertainment and Broadband Companies Partner to Curb Online Content Theft
• Cable, Telcos Join Digital-Piracy Crackdown Effort
• Labels Reach Deal With ISPs on Antipiracy Effort
• Major ISPs agree to “six strikes” copyright enforcement plan
• Entertainment giants and broadband providers team up on piracy effort

The organization’s stated mission is to make the Internet work better by producing high-quality, relevant technical documents that influence the way people design, use and manage the Internet.

The entire Internet ecosystem benefits from open Internet standards, especially when developed in a standards-based, self-governing environment like that provided by the IETF. That’s why we’re pleased to announce that the U.S. cable industry will be sponsoring the 85th meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force, scheduled to take place in November, 2012, in Atlanta, GA.

The event sponsorship will be shared by some of the nation’s leading broadband providers, including Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable, Bright House, Cablevision Systems Corp., Charter Communications, and Cox Communications, along with Cable Television Laboratories (CableLabs®) and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. The announcement was made in Prague, Czech Republic, as part of the ongoing 80th IETF meeting.

We’re very pleased to play a role in this multi-stakeholder forum that will bring together over one thousand of the best and brightest Internet engineers from around the globe, working together for five days in order to come to a consensus on solutions to the pressing operational and technical problems of the Internet.

The IETF covers a wide variety of technical topics.  It’s made up of major working group areas:  applications, Internet protocol, operations and management, real-time applications and infrastructure, routing, security and transport.  It covers such topics as Internet congestion control, IPv6, DNS issues, real-time communications, and many, many more.

The IETF’s stated mission is “to make the Internet work better.” One of the “founding beliefs” of the IETF is embodied in an early quote about the organization from David Clark, one of the Internet pioneers: “We reject kings, presidents and voting. We believe in rough consensus and running code.”

The U.S. cable industry supports the work of the IETF, and we look forward to sponsoring this prestigious meeting in Atlanta in 2012.

Every year Multichannel News honors the top women executives in the cable industry as “Wonder Women.” This week in New York, twelve women were honored as Wonder Women at a lunch, cosponsored by the New York chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications. Among those honored this year was NCTA’s own Jadz Janucik.

As SVP of Association Affairs, Jadz directs NCTA’s federal grassroots and third party outreach, and works with state and local intergovernmental groups. She also closely collaborates with state cable associations on legislative issues. During her tenure, NCTA has created key programs such as the Key Contact program, the Cable Academy and the State Leadership Conference.

But Jadz’s contributions go beyond the everyday tasks. She has an incredible institutional knowledge of the industry and its key players. Her wonderful sense of humor clearly comes in handy as she expertly manages relationships both inside and outside the industry. And as everyone around her knows all too well, Jadz is a trusted leader, mentor and friend to many at NCTA and throughout the industry.

Congratulations once again to Jadz, and the 11 other cable industry women who now share the title Wonder Woman.

The good news is that we have significant research which shows why these households haven’t yet subscribed.  In some cases, challenges in reaching these homes have been facilities-based – finding new and innovative ways of getting broadband service to rural and remote areas.

But in many other cases, as Pew Research and other firms have pointed out, the challenges involve “barriers to adoption,” namely, the availability of affordable computers, digital and technical literacy, an understanding of the relevance of broadband service, or the ability to afford the service itself (For further details, see the FCC paper entitled "Broadband Adoption and Use in America.").

We’ve been concerned about these issues for a long time.  Cable ISPs have invested heavily in building out their networks, making broadband service available to 92% of American households.  We’ve also focused on elements of digital literacy to help families better understand how to manage the content coming into their homes.  And, we are sensitive to the affordability of broadband service.  Many cable ISPs have established tiers of broadband service which allow subscribers to buy whatever level of service makes the most sense for them.

Broadband access for the two-thirds of American households that have it wouldn’t have been possible without the leadership of the private sector.  So we strongly agree with the Plan that one of the best ways to help connect more homes is through partnerships in which both the government and private industry bring something to the table.

Last December, after consultation with federal policy makers and other stakeholders, we proposed the Adoption Plus (“A+”) initiative.  A+ is a proposed two-year, public-private partnership.  It’s designed to promote sustainable broadband adoption for a vitally important population, middle school-aged children in low income households that don’t currently subscribe to broadband service.  Under the proposal, cable ISPs are prepared to offer deeply discounted broadband service and equipment, in partnership with schools, companies, and digital literacy groups that could help provide – to households where students qualify for free or reduced school meals – a package of affordable hardware and software, and training in digital literacy (See more in this previous post.).

Our strong interest in this kind of collaborative approach is why we’re happy to participate in a new pilot program that includes broadband ISPs, computer technology companies, nonprofits and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help bring broadband service to low-income homes around the country.

Under the leadership of One Economy, a global nonprofit committed to stimulating broadband adoption efforts in the neediest households, several parties have jointly filed an application to the National Telecommunications & Information Administration for funding through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.  The coalition will work with HUD to increase broadband adoption efforts in public housing and multi-family assisted communities. If the stimulus application is approved, federal funding – combined with actual and in-kind contributions from the various members of the coalition – would help bring broadband service to families in up to 250,000 government-supported housing units nationwide.  This target group encompasses many of the same families we propose to reach with the Adoption Plus proposal.

The coalition built around this HUD initiative comprises a unique collection of seemingly strange bedfellows.  There are the non-profits – One Economy and Connected Nation.  There are the hardware and software manufacturers – Intel, Dell, and Microsoft.  Telco ISP AT&T is involved in supporting the application, as are 14 of our member companies – BendBroadband; Bresnan Communications; Bright House Networks; Cablevision Systems Corp.; Charter Communications; Comcast; Cox Communications; Eagle Communications, Inc.; Mediacom Communications Corp.; Midcontinent Communications; Sjoberg’s Cable TV; Suddenlink Communications; Time Warner Cable; and US Cable Group, covering some 85%  of households across the country. Two trade associations – NCTA and USTelecom – also are in the mix.

The concept is simple.  Each entity involved in the initiative plays to its strengths in helping low-income families overcome barriers to adoption.  HUD will identify eligible households for the service.  The computer companies provide affordable hardware – which would be partly subsidized by the stimulus funding – and software, to help make families broadband-ready.  The nonprofits then provide training in digital skills and literacy, to families that are new to broadband.  And once these pieces are in place, the ISPs would offer deep discounts on broadband service, reduced-price or free modems, and free standard installation.

If you have read the Broadband Plan or its executive summary, the rationale behind this coalition may sound familiar.  The Plan highlighted the importance of creating, “public-private partnerships of hardware manufacturers, software companies, broadband service providers, and digital literacy training partners to improve broadband adoption and utilization by working with federal agencies already serving non-adopting communities.”

We think that with the formation of this coalition, and our ongoing efforts around Adoption Plus, we have hit the mark.

Twenty years ago, our industry founded Cable in the Classroom (CIC), which over the past decade has brought free broadband service to thousands of schools and community libraries.

In recent years, our industry has also focused on the digital divide and how to promote broadband adoption.  Cox Communications, for example, has participated in a widely praised program in Santa Barbara, California, in which it provides discounted broadband service to children who participate in the National School Lunch program, together with partners who provide discounted or free computers.

Even though broadband is available to more than 90% of the households in the United States, almost one-third of those households don’t take the service.  Why?  Well, recent studies by the Pew Research Center demonstrate there is no single reason, and some of the multiple reasons – such as understanding the relevance of broadband, digital literacy, computer ownership, and affordability – likely overlap.

Several months ago, with the strong encouragement of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, we started working with the FCC’s broadband team to explore how we might help.  They were critical to helping with the data necessary to determine how to really focus in on a concept that could provide the maximum benefit.  Chairman Genachowski and Blair Levin, Executive Director of the FCC’s Omnibus Broadband Initiative, were very supportive of developing a proposal that would help low-income households that do not currently receive broadband.

The A+ pilot program builds on the experience of Cox Communications’ Santa Barbara initiative, by proposing a two-year, public-private partnership designed to promote sustainable broadband adoption for a vitally important-but-vulnerable population – middle school-aged children in low income households that do not currently receive broadband service.  The program is called Adoption Plus because it is a comprehensive approach that treats broadband adoption as a multi-faceted problem that requires multi-faceted solutions.  Barriers to adoption – e.g., relevance, digital literacy, computer ownership, affordability – are interwoven and cannot be resolved in isolation.

The goal of the A+ program is to help give millions of students the opportunity to become digital citizens of the 21st Century by driving sustainable broadband adoption and positively and materially affecting educational outcomes.

Here is how it would work (a more detailed summary can be found at NCTA’s website):

• A+ would promote the adoption of broadband service to households that do not currently receive it, by offering comprehensive digital media literacy education, discounted computers, and discounted home broadband service to households representing up to 3.5 million American children in grades 6 through 9 who are eligible to receive a free or reduced-cost meal through the National School Lunch Program.
• We propose that school districts administer the program, apply for federal funding, and partner with non-profit corporations promoting digital media literacy, computer manufacturers and/or retailers, and cable and other broadband Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
• Perhaps the most important role of the school districts is to implement digital media literacy programs, including online safety training, and training on how to use computers and broadband.  Including administration costs, we recommend that $100 million of federal funding be used for school districts which apply to set up an A+ program.
• We also anticipate that computer manufacturers would supply discounted computers as partners in A+, but ask the government to consider whether and to what extent federal funding is appropriate to help further discount the cost of computers.
• For each eligible household, participating ISPs would provide free installation of broadband service; a 50 percent discount off the monthly subscription cost of their entry level broadband service; and a 50 percent discount off the cost of modem equipment, whether purchased or rented.
• It is important to note that, while we recommend federal funding for digital media literacy training and administration of this program by school districts, we are not seeking any government funding of the ISPs’ contribution to A+.

While the A+ program is open to other broadband ISPs who wish to participate, so far, all of the cable ISPs represented on NCTA’s Board of Directors have agreed to participate in the A+ program as outlined above.  Those companies also have committed to air public service announcements explaining and promoting local A+ programs.  We estimate the value of the cable ISP contribution to the A+ program, with full student participation, at well over $500 million.

Our industry will continue to creatively harness the power of technology, including broadband, for educational purposes in other ways as well.

For example, A&E Television Networks, through HISTORY, has partnered with more than a dozen major cable operators around the country in creating Take a Veteran to School Day, where veterans are welcomed into local schools for special assemblies and oral history projects – a program that was recognized by President Obama at the White House just a few weeks ago.  And Viacom has partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the Get Schooled initiative to identify effective approaches to increase high school and college graduation rates, improve post secondary readiness and promote the fundamental importance of education.

With the nation’s new emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, major cable companies have stepped up with new commitments, such as the $100 million Connect a Million Minds initiative launched in November by Time Warner Cable, to introduce young people to opportunities and resources that inspire them to develop the STEM skills that will help solve our economic, environmental, and community challenges of the future. Discovery Communications is supporting STEM education by offering a commercial-free programming block for middle schoolers on the Science Channel, and through Discovery Education, which will provide STEM Connect, a new broadband delivered curriculum-based career development resource helping students link their science, math, engineering and technology education to their future careers. President Obama recently recognized both Time Warner Cable and Discovery in a White House announcement on STEM initiatives.    Earlier this year, Comcast teamed with One Economy to launch the Comcast Digital Connectors program in more than 20 markets nationwide, an initiative designed to teach broadband technologies to young people ages 14-21 from diverse, low-income backgrounds, who then put that knowledge to work in their local communities.

And Cablevision offers teachers important tools for using broadband and interactive technology as part of its Power to Learn program.

There are many other examples of creative initiatives that recognize how broadband can positively affect education of America’s children.  What they have in common is an understanding that partnerships and collaboration among interested stakeholders is required for success.  A+ is an ambitious step forward in this tradition, and we look forward to working with interested government agencies and other stakeholders to make it a reality.

PDF explores how we, as a society, are changing the way we interact with issue advocacy and candidate campaigns as well as our governemnt.

If you’re interested, use Twitter Search to follow the discussion.  You can find a full program and schedule for the panels at PersonalDemocracy.com

If you put aside time zones and look just at “dayparts,” here are the number of stations and time of day they told the FCC they would switch off their analog signals:

• midnight to 6:00 a.m. –   186 stations
• 6 a.m. to 12 noon – 239stations
• 12 noon to 6:00 p.m. -  155 stations
• 6 p.m. to midnight – 391 stations

All things considered, the turn-off of analog seems to be going as well as could be hoped. Cable personnel in the field have reported technical issues for about 15 broadcast stations, in markets within states including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, and West Virginia.

In most of these cases, the issues involved broadcast signals temporarily going off the air – where analog has been turned off but for some reason the digital transmission has failed. We think there has been only a minimal impact on cable subscribers. In some cases, the same broadcast stations are delivering their signals to cable “headends” through a fiber line, so even if there’s a problem with over the air transmission, the station’s signal is still getting to cable subscribers. In cases in which signals have gone down, but where that fiber feed may not be available, cable customers along with over the air viewers have temporarily lost access to those broadcast signals.

Broadcast and cable engineers have been quick to pounce on those problems, however, and most of them have been resolved in a matter of hours.

We’re keeping a close eye on the situation through a contingent of dozens of cable executives at corporate and field-based locations.  Cable execs are trading email updates with an extensive list of colleagues around the country.  Those same people are jumping on conference calls once a day to compare notes.  We are talking regularly with FCC officials, both by email and conference calls.  And we’re regularly exchanging information with our counterparts at trade associations representing broadcasters and consumer electronics manufacturers.

That same regimen will be up and running through the course of the weekend as well, so we’ll continue to post on developments as they occur.  We’d be interested in knowing any of your experiences as well, so please comment away.

In exactly one week, the rest of the nation’s full power, OTA stations will make complete the transition, capping an effort that began many years ago.  The transition has not been without its challenges, but it represents the culmination of a lot of hard work by broadcasters, consumer electronics companies, subscription television services, and government at every level.  Cable, for its part, has contributed hundreds of millions in advertising to educate consumers on about the transition and so they will continue receiving signals next week.

We have also coordinated efforts between cable engineers and MSTV – the group representing broadcast engineers – to limit any technical problems.  That effort began over a year ago and identified issues early on that might have impacted the transition.  When the first stations moved from analog to digital in February, NCTA Science & Technology office  staffed a “war room” to give cable engineers an opportunity to report on activities in the field. We exchanged information with MSTV to address issues as they arose and in virtually all of such cases, the impact on cable carriage of the broadcast signal in question was minimal, with any problems being resolved in a matter of hours.

In addition, as Kyle McSlarrow noted Wednesday in his remarks before the FCC, cable also initially organized the DTV call center operation and contributed significant sums in cash grants to community groups to educate their constituents or assist them.  In addition, we placed tens of thousands of dollars in advertisements to reach at-risk groups with information.

Cable has gone beyond the call to ensure every American, not just our customers, is aware of, and is ready for transition.  We did this because we realize the transition is an important milestone for our country and we want it to be a success.  Our industry has worked tirelessly and with every level of government to guarantee that next week’s switch goes as smoothly as possible.

Should you, or anyone you know have questions or concerns about the switch, call 1-888-CALLFCC (1-888-225-5322).  The DTV hotline will be able to assist you.