A proposed revamp to a contributions mechanism in Maine’s E-rate fund “could run afoul of federal law by potentially burdening the federal program,” CTIA commented, filed Friday in docket 2017-00283. The Public Utilities Commission is deciding how to implement this year's state law changing Maine Telecom Education Access Fund contributions to a voice connections-based mechanism from one based on intrastate revenue, and telecom officials raised no major objections at an agency hearing this month (see 1712050041). But CTIA said the proposed flat-rate assessment of 21 cents per connection may inadvertently apply to interstate revenue. The association sought changes to ensure the proposed rule follows the federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, which permits states only to charge mobile customers whose primary address is in the state. Comcast similarly commented that assignment of the state's 207 area code shouldn’t be a factor. The rule should treat VoIP and traditional phone service the same, the cable company said. The Telecommunications Association of Maine supported the proposed rule, urging the commission to set a July 1 effective date.
One state AG who hasn't committed to suing the FCC may have “financial incentive to make deep pocketed [telecom industry] donors happy,” Tellus Venture Associates President Steve Blum blogged Monday. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra sued over several other Trump administration actions but didn't immediately join about a dozen other Democratic state AGs planning to sue the FCC over last week’s order to rescind Communications Act Title II net-neutrality protections, said Blum, a telecom consultant for local governments in California. Becerra last week said the FCC was wrong but he was still weighing legal options (see 1712140044). Becerra raised $10,500 so far for the 2018 election from AT&T, Charter Communications and Comcast, including Comcast itself and two of its officials, according to figures on FollowTheMoney.org. “That’s just the start, since he’s only raised about $2 million for his campaign, which is less than a tenth of what it can cost to win a statewide race in California,” Blum said. Becerra didn’t comment Monday. Meanwhile, Maine Attorney General Janet Mills (D), also running for governor, tweeted Friday she will join the state AG lawsuit. In Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee (D) and AG Bob Ferguson (D) were to answer questions on reddit Monday after our deadline, the Washington AG office tweeted. Other net neutrality news Monday: Legislators are debating whether to roll back the deregulation 1712180047 and eBay is opposing the order 1712180025.
The political backlash following the FCC eliminating net neutrality rules raises stakes in an ongoing conversation on the effect on competition of convergence in the tech and broadband sectors. Mindful of the supercharged political atmosphere, antitrust agencies will be under increasing pressure to protect markets and consumers, experts said in interviews. Acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen said the agency looks forward to its role as “the cop on the broadband beat” (see 1712140039). A DOJ spokesman said the “Antitrust Division stands ready to vigilantly protect American consumers and the free markets from any potential violation of the antitrust laws" by ISPs.
The political backlash following the FCC eliminating net neutrality rules raises stakes in an ongoing conversation on the effect on competition of convergence in the tech and broadband sectors. Mindful of the supercharged political atmosphere, antitrust agencies will be under increasing pressure to protect markets and consumers, experts said in interviews. Acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen said the agency looks forward to its role as “the cop on the broadband beat” (see 1712140039). A DOJ spokesman said the “Antitrust Division stands ready to vigilantly protect American consumers and the free markets from any potential violation of the antitrust laws" by ISPs.
A string of LG Display patent applications recently published at the Patent and Trademark Office raise questions about Sony claims it developed the Acoustic Surface sound technology featured in its A1 OLED 4K Ultra HD TVs introduced at the last CES using panels sourced from LG Display (see 1702060008).
With lawsuits coming and protests occurring outside the FCC meeting where net neutrality rules were changed, advocates for keeping the status quo said they will press on. And those for and against the regulatory rollback reacted in droves, with dozens of statements issued shortly after the 3-2 party-line vote. Free Press Senior Counsel Jessica Gonzalez said her group will sue the FCC. President Craig Aaron told us he anticipated lawsuits by a variety of other groups. And the FCC's chief technology officer had raised concerns, which he said have been addressed.
The FCC approved an NPRM seeking comment on possible relaxation or elimination of the national cap on TV station ownership on a 3-2 party-line vote, as expected (see 1712060051). Though Commissioner Mike O’Rielly voted with the other Republicans to approve, he said he agreed with the Democrats the FCC doesn’t have authority to alter the cap. Despite that, if the FCC acts to modify the cap after the NPRM, O’Rielly said he will “happily support” Thursday's action: “That is not to suggest my position has changed, but only that I believe in getting to finality and am willing to cast a vote that will allow the commission to take the needed step to get this to court review.”
With lawsuits coming and protests occurring outside the FCC meeting where net neutrality rules were changed, advocates for keeping the status quo said they will press on. And those for and against the regulatory rollback reacted in droves, with dozens of statements issued shortly after the 3-2 party-line vote. Free Press Senior Counsel Jessica Gonzalez said her group will sue the FCC. President Craig Aaron told us he anticipated lawsuits by a variety of other groups. And the FCC's chief technology officer had raised concerns, which he said have been addressed.
Whether DOJ would approve a Disney buy of nonbroadcast Fox assets is unsettled among mergers and acquisitions and other experts we talked to. A key question before regulators will be how to define what New Disney is -- a major player in sports content and movie production, or a much smaller content producer in the growing streaming landscape, they said. Disney and Fox reportedly plan to announce a deal as soon as this week. They didn't comment.
Whether DOJ would approve a Disney buy of nonbroadcast Fox assets is unsettled among mergers and acquisitions and other experts we talked to. A key question before regulators will be how to define what New Disney is -- a major player in sports content and movie production, or a much smaller content producer in the growing streaming landscape, they said. Disney and Fox reportedly plan to announce a deal as soon as this week. They didn't comment.