One of the biggest questions raised in the FCC April NPRM on wireless infrastructure is whether the agency should say an application can be “deemed granted” if a state or local agency responsible for land-use decisions fails to act on it by the shot clock deadline. Industry officials said the FCC might not be able to reach consensus, especially given concerns raised by Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. Meanwhile, Chairman Ajit Pai said Friday he will soon hit the road for a series of meetings with the tribes, sometimes seen by industry as a stumbling block to wireless deployment.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai made more than 40 media appearances in the three weeks before a party-line FCC vote OK'd an NPRM proposing to roll back Title II broadband regulation under the Communications Act (see 1705180029). Supporters said the aggressive outreach was politically savvy in the highly charged atmosphere. Ex-FCC Democrats saw nothing wrong, but net neutrality advocates said the appearances, including with numerous conservative voices, betray weakness and concern about rallying support amid opposition.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai made more than 40 media appearances in the three weeks before a party-line FCC vote OK'd an NPRM proposing to roll back Title II broadband regulation under the Communications Act (see 1705180029). Supporters said the aggressive outreach was politically savvy in the highly charged atmosphere. Ex-FCC Democrats saw nothing wrong, but net neutrality advocates said the appearances, including with numerous conservative voices, betray weakness and concern about rallying support amid opposition.

Public Knowledge is "evaluating" the Browser Act privacy bill from House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., as Technology Policy Institute Senior Fellow Thomas Lenard called it a "counterproductive" plan. PK is pleased legislators moved "to respond to the concerns consumers expressed after Congress repealed the FCC's broadband privacy rules," said Vice President Chris Lewis. The group hasn't taken a position, he said Thursday, a day after The Boston Globe said PK "has praised the Blackburn bill." The author of that newspaper report, Hiawatha Bray, told us in a phone interview Thursday evening that what the group told him "certainly implies they are happy with what they saw. I never wrote they endorsed the bill." He stood by his initial report. Lenard, meanwhile, said "privacy activists appear to have some new friends among congressional Republicans." The legislation "would return privacy jurisdiction over ISPs to the FTC, but would do so under a new and restrictive regime" with consumer “opt-in” approval for data collected and used for most commercial purposes, Lenard wrote for Morning Consult. "The better route to reinstating FTC jurisdiction is to follow repeal of the FCC privacy rule with repeal of the Title II [Communications Act] classification. The FCC now has a rulemaking underway intended to accomplish that objective, a much better course than new privacy legislation."

Critics of the FCC business data service order expect large telcos to raise prices for telecom rivals and business customers under new deregulation they're due to gain in a couple months. But incumbent telco representatives said that the order recognizes BDS competition is increasingly exerting market pressure and that removing price caps provides industry incentives to deploy cutting-edge fiber networks, including for 5G backhaul. FCC officials said they expect growing BDS competition, including from cable, and noted the Federal Register was scheduled to publish the order Friday, triggering its effective date in 60 days. They spoke at an FCBA panel Wednesday.

Public Knowledge is "evaluating" the Browser Act privacy bill from House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., as Technology Policy Institute Senior Fellow Thomas Lenard called it a "counterproductive" plan. PK is pleased legislators moved "to respond to the concerns consumers expressed after Congress repealed the FCC's broadband privacy rules," said Vice President Chris Lewis. The group hasn't taken a position, he said Thursday, a day after The Boston Globe said PK "has praised the Blackburn bill." The author of that newspaper report, Hiawatha Bray, told us in a phone interview Thursday evening that what the group told him "certainly implies they are happy with what they saw. I never wrote they endorsed the bill." He stood by his initial report. Lenard, meanwhile, said "privacy activists appear to have some new friends among congressional Republicans." The legislation "would return privacy jurisdiction over ISPs to the FTC, but would do so under a new and restrictive regime" with consumer “opt-in” approval for data collected and used for most commercial purposes, Lenard wrote for Morning Consult. "The better route to reinstating FTC jurisdiction is to follow repeal of the FCC privacy rule with repeal of the Title II [Communications Act] classification. The FCC now has a rulemaking underway intended to accomplish that objective, a much better course than new privacy legislation."

Critics of the FCC business data service order expect large telcos to raise prices for telecom rivals and business customers under new deregulation they're due to gain in a couple months. But incumbent telco representatives said that the order recognizes BDS competition is increasingly exerting market pressure and that removing price caps provides industry incentives to deploy cutting-edge fiber networks, including for 5G backhaul. FCC officials said they expect growing BDS competition, including from cable, and noted the Federal Register was scheduled to publish the order Friday, triggering its effective date in 60 days. They spoke at an FCBA panel Wednesday.

Public safety items will dominate the FCC's June 22 meeting. Commissioners tentatively will vote on a special emergency alert system code for imminent threats against law enforcement and changes to caller ID rules to allow those receiving threatening calls and law enforcement to get identification information quickly. Such items focus on "help[ing] law enforcement and first responders," Chairman Ajit Pai blogged Thursday.

Proliferation of comments to the FCC on net neutrality -- particularly those generated by dubious means -- is raising the likelihood the agency will give public comments even less weight than it does in other proceedings, agency watchers told us. There have been calls for the FCC to investigate filings not actually made by the people whose names are attached (see 1705250064). The source is largely moot, since such comments are more akin to bumper sticker statements than what the agency would look for, said cable consultant Steve Effros.

Proliferation of comments to the FCC on net neutrality -- particularly those generated by dubious means -- is raising the likelihood the agency will give public comments even less weight than it does in other proceedings, agency watchers told us. There have been calls for the FCC to investigate filings not actually made by the people whose names are attached (see 1705250064). The source is largely moot, since such comments are more akin to bumper sticker statements than what the agency would look for, said cable consultant Steve Effros.