Jan. 8-12 OPASTCO winter convention, Loews Miami Beach -- 202-659-5990

LAS VEGAS -- Rather than killing TV, new technology is creating its second “golden age,” Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said at a CES keynote also featuring Verizon Chairman Ivan Seidenberg. Partly because of new ways of watching TV, he said, viewing, subscriptions, advertising and programming budgets are up, Bewkes said. “This is a very healthy business. … Its role in our lives has never been bigger."

NAB and USTelecom got letters from House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., asking what existing and proposed federal regulations would harm job growth, spokespeople for the trade groups said Tuesday. USTelecom is reviewing the letter, its spokeswoman said. Issa sent the letter last month to a variety of trade groups and companies, including in the telecom industry, according to a Politico article circulated by Issa’s office. NAB got it only late Tuesday afternoon, its spokesman said. Issa said earlier this week that he plans a hearing on rules’ effect on jobs (CD Jan 4 p1), and analysts suspect net neutrality will come up. “The theme of bypassing Congress through the regulatory process obviously touches on the basic complaint numerous lawmakers had against new [net neutrality] regulations,” said Potomac Research analyst Paul Glenchur. About a year ago, Issa raised concerns about White House involvement in the FCC’s net neutrality policy decisions, Glenchur noted. An Issa spokesman wouldn’t provide a list of which trade groups and companies received letters. Spokespeople for CompTel and NCTA said they hadn’t received a letter. AT&T, Verizon and CTIA didn’t comment.

The benefit of consideration of a Congressional Review Act resolution to nullify the FCC’s net neutrality order may be to rally opposition and send a broader signal to the commission, said a former congressional committee counsel. Incoming House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said last week they may attempt to rebuke the FCC by introducing resolutions of disapproval under the Act (CD Dec 22 p5). The procedure has advantages over other lines of attack, but the likelihood of a presidential veto makes it a difficult road, current and former Hill aides said in interviews.

Legal challenges of FCC net neutrality rules appear all but certain, but where they will come from remains unclear. Verizon is the leading candidate, industry and FCC officials said. Other industry players, including mid-sized wireline-only carriers, also could challenge. Public interest groups who lost their fight to get the commission to reclassify broadband transmission under Title II of the Communications Act also appear to be considering an appeal.

The tech and telecom industries praised the tax cut extension package that President Barack Obama signed into law Friday. Telecom is particularly pleased that the legislation maintains low tax rates on dividends, which will help attract the investment needed to sustain continued deployment of broadband infrastructure throughout the nation, said USTelecom President Walter McCormick. The tax package will also “encourage broadband investment and preserve jobs through its provisions for capital expensing and extension of the R&D tax credit, and its protection of small, family-owned businesses from unreasonable estate taxes,” he said. The R&D tax credit extension is long-awaited relief that will allow technology companies to commit to new and expanded innovation programs and will create and sustain jobs, TechAmerica President Phil Bond said. Business write-offs for investments in 2011 and the green energy tax credit are strong short-term incentives that will promote recovery and help innovation, he said. But “we still have not achieved the stronger, permanent R&D tax credit badly needed for the United States to compete with R&D incentives overseas,” Bond said. TechAmerica will continue to work with both parties in Congress for a long-term measure, he said. The provisions for U.S. manufacturers and businesses, including 100 percent expensing of 2011 capital investments, revival of the expired R&D credit, tax relief for small businesses and a number of other business extensions are critical to competitiveness, TIA President Grant Seiffert said.

The FCC’s proposed mobility fund is too small to help build out 3G broadband for the nation’s under-served areas, T-Mobile, the Rural Telecommunications Group and South Dakota-based Flow Mobile said in comments filed in docket 10-208 and released Friday. Verizon and Windstream disagreed, saying the fund was appropriate. Verizon, in fact, went further and said that not only is the $100-$300 million proposed mobility fund adequate, but the FCC should phase out other support for competitive eligible telecommunications providers.

There’s “tension” between the “proof of concept” broadband speed testing that FCC contractor SamKnows is doing and the agency’s “apparent intent to publish provider-specific test results based on the first set of data,” cable companies and telcos said. Representatives of AT&T, CenturyLink, Comcast, NCTA, Qwest, Time Warner Cable, USTelecom, Verizon and Windstream met with an aide to Commissioner Meredith Baker about ISP efforts on speed testing. It’s important that the agency ensure the accuracy of test results “to avoid misleading consumers by distorting true network performance,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 09-158. “There are still a number of outstanding issues that SamKnows and the Commission need to address in advance of any public disclosure of data, including issues regarding the sampling methodology used to select panelists and the validation of panelists’ service tiers.” The groups said there could be “damaging consequences” to consumers and ISPs if the agency “rushed to release data publicly before resolving these critical technical and operational issues."

The House Democratic Caucus voted Thursday to reject President Barack Obama’s tax deal with Republicans in its current form. It was unclear how much the package may need to change. Telecom and tech groups urged passage of the package, citing provisions of the proposal that they said would encourage R&D and investment.

As it assesses the special access market, the FCC must collect data about competitors, said USTelecom and several of its members in a meeting Tuesday with the Wireline Bureau. Such data wasn’t “clearly included” in the current data request (CD Nov 1 p1), USTelecom said in Wednesday ex parte notice. The FCC should seek data about “potential competition, the competitive bidding process” and “self-supply,” it said. In future data requests, the commission should ask for information about “all areas in the [metropolitan statistical area] where competitive providers currently offer or are capable of providing high-capacity services.” The FCC should collect data on areas where competitors plan to offer such service in the next two years, USTelecom said. And it should request data “about competitive providers that may have submitted bids to provide backhaul services to wireless providers or dedicated high-capacity services to other types of customers.” USTelecom also urged the FCC to consider the most current data available given “dynamic changes currently happening in this marketplace.” The FCC’s request sought data that will be more than a year old by the time it’s filed, USTelecom said.