Nexstar CEO Perry Sook, Gray Television co-CEO Pat LaPlatney, E. W. Scripps President Local Media Brian Lawlor, and Gray Television Senior Vice President Sandy Breland met separately with all five FCC Commissioners and their aides over two days last week about video competition, said a brief ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 18-122. The executives were acting as representatives of the Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS network affiliate groups, and were accompanied by former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell -- now a partner at Cooley -- who was on the FCC with both FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. “The affiliates outlined the competitive overview of the current video marketplace, the role of the FCC and DOJ in fostering more competitive and less regulation,” the filing said. The broadcasters also “raised the issue” of protecting broadcast use of the C band and suggested “several areas of possible improvement” in repacking reimbursement. MVPDs and the programming distribution market were also discussed.

Verizon and AT&T clashed on whether the FCC should consider rules to guarantee interoperability as a fundamental responsibility of FirstNet. Comments appeared through Friday (see 1909110062) in docket 19-254 on Colorado's Boulder Regional Emergency Telephone Service Authority (BRETSA) petitions for declaratory ruling or rulemaking. AT&T won a contract to build FirstNet, and Verizon pursues public safety customers for its own network (see 1808140036).

Telecom sector supply chain security and spectrum legislation drew enthusiastic support from House Communications Subcommittee members and witnesses during a Friday hearing, as expected (see 1909260056). They gave no clear guidance during on how they want to proceed on the seven measures the panel examined. Lawmakers focused much of their attention on the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4459) and the Studying How to Harness Airwave Resources Efficiently Act (HR-4462), though they also showed interest in other measures.

Telecom sector supply chain security and spectrum legislation drew enthusiastic support from House Communications Subcommittee members and witnesses during a Friday hearing, as expected (see 1909260056). They gave no clear guidance during on how they want to proceed on the seven measures the panel examined. Lawmakers focused much of their attention on the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4459) and the Studying How to Harness Airwave Resources Efficiently Act (HR-4462), though they also showed interest in other measures.

Telecom sector supply chain security and spectrum legislation drew enthusiastic support from House Communications Subcommittee members and witnesses during a Friday hearing, as expected (see 1909260056). They gave no clear guidance during on how they want to proceed on the seven measures the panel examined. Lawmakers focused much of their attention on the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4459) and the Studying How to Harness Airwave Resources Efficiently Act (HR-4462), though they also showed interest in other measures.

Rationales for opposing the President Donald Trump’s plan to increase Section 301 duties on Chinese goods to 30 percent “have only strengthened with the passage of time since the imposition of the original tariffs on Lists 1, 2, and 3,” commented CTA in docket USTR-2019-0015. Since July 2018, “these tariffs have cost the consumer technology industry and its consumers -- not China -- more than $10 billion,” it said. That includes more than $1 billion in tariff payments “on 5G-related products, it said. For Q4, the industry “expects to pay an additional $7 billion to account for tariffs on new products,” said CTA. Tariffs create “a negative chain reaction” for the consumer tech industry, commented the Information Technology Industry Council. The administration claimed it acted “to avoid placing tariffs on consumer products” when it imposed the first three rounds of 25 percent duties, but “there is simply no way to protect consumers from tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods,” said ITI. Hiking the duty rates to 30 percent “would only cause additional harm to U.S. consumers, cost U.S. jobs, and undermine U.S. technology companies in the fight for global leadership,” said ITI. “The proposed increase of tariffs on products from Lists 1-3 specifically affects” a wide variety of consumer products, including smart appliances and virtual-reality headsets, it said. Raising tariffs “will have broad implications, as all telecommunications equipment relies on gateways, modems, optical transceivers and routers,” it said.

“Service quality issues remain a high priority” for the California Public Utilities Commission as it closes an investigation into intrastate rural call completion, said a decision cleared Thursday by unanimous consent at commissioners' livestreamed meeting. It said commission staff and others completed tasks from a 2017 decision. Stakeholders should continue raising concerns in proceedings on telecom service quality in emergencies, it said. The CPUC noted it's weighing carriers’ confidentiality claims on a completed study of AT&T and Frontier networks and facilities: “This report gives us additional, in-depth information on service quality issues, and offers a basis for the Commission to consider next steps to address these issues in a more comprehensive and informed way.” Also by consent, the state agency authorized staff to weigh in on an FCC request for comments on information collection due Oct. 3, and an FCC public notice seeking comment by Sept. 30 on an AT&T federal Communications Act Section 214 application in docket 19-238 to discontinue certain services in California and several other states. CPUC members voted 5-0 to extend to Sept. 29, 2020, the statutory deadline in its docket on an interconnection fight between AT&T and Vaya Telecom. That allows for the proceeding’s second phase (see 1909240012) and consideration of a Vaya rehearing request, said Commissioner Liane Randolph.

Rationales for opposing the President Donald Trump’s plan to increase Section 301 duties on Chinese goods to 30 percent “have only strengthened with the passage of time since the imposition of the original tariffs on Lists 1, 2, and 3,” commented CTA in docket USTR-2019-0015. Since July 2018, “these tariffs have cost the consumer technology industry and its consumers -- not China -- more than $10 billion,” it said. That includes more than $1 billion in tariff payments “on 5G-related products, it said. For Q4, the industry “expects to pay an additional $7 billion to account for tariffs on new products,” said CTA. Tariffs create “a negative chain reaction” for the consumer tech industry, commented the Information Technology Industry Council. The administration claimed it acted “to avoid placing tariffs on consumer products” when it imposed the first three rounds of 25 percent duties, but “there is simply no way to protect consumers from tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods,” said ITI. Hiking the duty rates to 30 percent “would only cause additional harm to U.S. consumers, cost U.S. jobs, and undermine U.S. technology companies in the fight for global leadership,” said ITI. “The proposed increase of tariffs on products from Lists 1-3 specifically affects” a wide variety of consumer products, including smart appliances and virtual-reality headsets, it said. Raising tariffs “will have broad implications, as all telecommunications equipment relies on gateways, modems, optical transceivers and routers,” it said.

FCC Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks said they have been frozen out of the process on changes to the order approving T-Mobile buying Sprint, circulated by Chairman Ajit Pai in August (see 1908140052). FCC officials told us only Pai and Commissioner Mike O’Rielly have voted to approve. Commissioner Brendan Carr’s office has had a series of meetings on the deal (see 1909240017).

FCC Commissioners differed along party lines about the strength of the agency's relationship with local government. Republican members noted areas of commonality and work the regulator has done with municipal and other non-federal counterparts. Democrats said the agency needs to improve. The commissioners were answering our questions at a news conference after their monthly meeting Thursday.