FCC Announces New Cyber Security Initiative For Small Businesses

By Adrianna McGinley

A broadband connection can increase annual revenue for a small business by $200,000, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Julius Genachowski, but only if there are adequate cyber security measures in place.

During a discussion Monday at the Chamber of Commerce, Genachowski praised the work of a partnership between the FCC, the Department of Homeland Security, and the private sector and announced the release of the “Small Biz Cyber Planner”, a free, online tool to help small businesses develop customized cyber security plans.

Genachowski cited a 2011 Connected Nations Study showing the financial benefits of being online for a small business but added if sufficient security measures have not been taken, the result of a cyber attack could average a loss of $200,000.

“Failure to take cyber security seriously can potentially negate the benefits of being online,” Genachowski warned.

According to a 2011 Small Business Cybersecurity Survey conducted by the National Cyber Security Alliance and Symantec, 77 percent of small and medium business do not have a formal internet security policy in place, and 48 percent do not have even an informal policy. Despite these numbers, 85 percent of the 1,045 small business owners surveyed, reported they feel their systems are secure.

“Not to consider cyber security is a little bit like leaving your money lying around on a table and thinking that that’s not going to be a problem,” said former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

The Symantec/NCSA survey found that because of high costs, 85 percent of small businesses have no outside IT support. Chertoff said there is a need to create security resources that are understandable and accessible to “ordinary mortals”.

“The beauty of what’s been launched here…is that it makes accessible to people who are not full-time technology wizards the basic instructions and basic elements of a cyber security plan,” Chertoff explained.

Genachowski also announced that this week, the FCC will vote to modernize the Universal Service Fund, in order to provide infrastructure to 18 million people in rural communities across the U.S. who currently have no broadband access. The goal, he said, is to have universal broadband access by the end of the decade.

“Connecting these communities will create and save businesses that otherwise couldn’t exist,” Genchowski noted.

FCC, FDA Partner Up

Philip Bunnell - Talk Radio News Service

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a joint meeting Monday to announce “an unprecedented FCC, FDA partnership,” and the importance of wireless technology being used to improve healthcare and streamlined inter-agency communication.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said that he hopes government can work smartly with industry to “create conditions that encourage the development of cutting edge and life saving technology,” such as the human genome project. Genachowski said that bringing broadband and wireless technology to healthcare would reduce costs, help diagnose diseases faster and, ultimately, save lives.

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg emphasized that the “benefits of wireless technology to healthcare [are] very clear.”  Hamburg was very complementary of the new FCC/FDA partnership, saying that, coupled with broadband and wireless technology, it could “shift the paradigm, and will eventually change the face of medicine forever.”

The FCC and FDA will have another joint meeting Tuesday, July 27, to further discuss life-saving wireless medical technology.

Proposed Comcast-NBC Merger Must Benefit Consumers, Says FCC Chairman

By Benny Martinez
University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski told members of the Senate's Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee that when reviewing the proposed Comcast/NBC Universal merger, consumer interests will be held in the highest regard.

Comcast, the country's largest cable and broadband company, announced in December 2009 that it planned to take over NBC Universal. Critics wondered whether the merger would create a media mogul that simultaneously would have the power to produce some of America's most popular entertainment, along with the ability to control the nation's access to it.

Genachowski said the FCC is focusing on preventing the merger from not only increasing prices for customers, but also reducing the amount of content they would have access to.

The focus on protecting consumers is one of three main pillars the FCC and Congress are hoping to see materialize from the prospective merger. In addition, Genachowski said the evolving nature of modern media will also be considered in the FCC's analysis, along with the stability of competition in the market.

"The enduring values remain what they were, promoting effective competition, protecting and empowering consumers, ensuring that there is innovation and promoting investment," Genachowski said. "Our focus will be on making sure that those values, those goals are achieved."

Aside from his remarks on the merger, Genachowski said the FCC is working to develop policies that would extend universal broadband to urban and rural America. According to the Chairman, these initiatives would ultimately enhance global competitiveness, create jobs and empower consumers.

House Energy And Commerce Committee Split Over Who Should Regulate Unsafe Driving

By Julianne LaJeunesse- University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

House Energy and Commerce Committee members met with Department of Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, and transportation experts Wednesday, to discuss who- the federal government or states- would be responsible for ensuring drivers avoid text messaging, using cellular phones, and working GPS systems while on the road.

The committee members agreed that distracted driving is dangerous and should be regulated, and some committee members, such as Virgin Island’s Representative Donna Christensen (D-V.I.), even admitted to texting or using their cell phones while driving. However, when it came to the question of who should regulate the rules of the road, the committee split.

Rep. John Shimkus (R- Ill.) put it bluntly: “Distracted driving is bad,” he said. However, he added, “I have never been for the federal government extorting highway funds to obtain some means to an end that should be decided through the state.”

Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) also expressed questions about potentially changing laws, saying he urged his colleagues to create thoughtful, flexible, and “sound” policy.

“Although we share a justified measure of concern about the relationship between use of certain technological devices and driver safety, we have to guard against enthusiastically overly prescriptive statutes... that in the long term may stifle innovation and ultimately show them to be of marginal benefit to the cause of improving driver safety,” he said.

Other representatives, such as Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), said federally mandating laws that would reduce distracted driving may seem “weary,” but said Congress could consider federally mandating public education on distracted driving.

As of last month, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association, six states including California, New York, and Oregon, had banned nearly all cell phone use while driving, and 18 states had banned text messaging while driving.

FCC Eyes National Broadband Program After Success Of Digital T.V. Transition

By Joseph Russell- Talk Radio News Service

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) unveiled the details of the congressionally mandated national broadband program Thursday during a Commissioners meeting.

The national broadband program aims to provide every American access to broadband internet. The FCC announced that they would be launching a website, www.broadband.gov, and kicking off staff workshops to organize the presentation of their report. The completion of the program is expected to occur on February, 17 2010.

“Broadband is so important to achieving our national goals. Congress has entrusted the FCC with the responsibility of developing a strategic plan...to ensure that all people of the United States have access to broadband capability,” said Commissioner Chairman Julius Genachowski.

The recent transfer to digital television (DTV), which the commissioners hailed as a success, will in many ways serve as a template for the broadband program.

“We had a great system. Our teams worked around the clock to resolve any problems expeditiously, a key factor to success. I’d say our teams of 200 plus people really put a face and name to the FCC. . . we become an outreach organization, no longer a bureaucratic agency,” said Field Operations Captain Roger Goldblatt