The FCC’s FY 2018 budget request includes plans for an additional $6 billion spectrum auction, to take place between 2025 and 2027, but offers no more details. Industry lawyers, including former FCC and Capitol Hill officials, said at this stage, the FCC goal may be mostly aspirational and government doesn’t appear to be focused on a particular band. The budget document proposes to extend FCC auction authority to 2027, from a current expiration of 2025. “The Budget proposes to require the auction of additional spectrum by 2027 and further extend the FCC’s auction authority solely to allow this auction to proceed,” it said.

Textile and apparel associations are readying a push for more structure in the short-supply process and the allowance of material cumulation from other free trade agreements within NAFTA, industry executives said in recent interviews. Although the Trump administration's interest in changes in NAFTA’s Textile and Apparel Chapter may be minimal, there might be some room during renegotiation to modify the agreement’s short supply list criteria and deadlines, U.S. Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) President Julia Hughes said in an interview. “There essentially have been no additions to the short supply list since NAFTA's implementation,” as all three member governments must approve any addition to the list, an American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) spokesman said in an email. NAFTA allows non-North American-originated fabrics on its short supply list to qualify for preferential treatment if cut and sewn in one or more NAFTA territories. The list comprises fabrics not produced in commercial quantities in the U.S.

A request by public interest groups that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issue an emergency stay (Pacer) of FCC restoration of the UHF ownership cap discount is seen by broadcast attorneys as a long shot, though courts are difficult to predict (see 1705120058). The D.C. Circuit ordered (Pacer) the FCC Monday to respond to the request for a stay by Thursday. NAB, Ion and Tribune are among those filing to intervene.

Indiana state Sen. Brandt Hershman backed a recent law to streamline the state’s local permitting process for wireless infrastructure. “Despite the benefits to its citizens, one large community in central Indiana has refused to act on 5G permit applications for more than a year,” said the Republican believed this year to be have been among contenders for the open GOP seat on the FCC, in a column in The Journal Gazette. “The ‘aesthetic’ concerns raised by some to these microwave oven-sized antennas, which are dramatically smaller than existing cell towers, many of which will be co-located on existing poles, are ridiculous. In many cases, these expressed concerns are more likely to be an attempt to seek inflated permitting fees than a real concern, all at the expense of denying Hoosiers the latest technology.” Hershman was responding to a May 10 editorial that dubbed the infrastructure “eyesores” and the law “a top-down approach,” urging caution: “The next generation of cell technology uses smaller antennas but in much denser placement.” The FCC is eyeing streamlining infrastructure permitting (see 1705230057).

The sometimes-acrimonious rhetoric between FCC GOP Chairman Ajit Pai and Free Press on net neutrality could be a harbinger of how the debate plays out, experts tell us. Pai's attack last month on the group that often backs regulation and President Craig Aaron, (see 1704260054) might indicate some concerns the chairman might lose the debate, said consultant Jerry Mechling, formerly a vice president at Gartner and faculty member at Harvard's Kennedy School.

A court panel rejected Neustar arguments and deferred to the FCC in denying the incumbent local number portability administrator's challenges to agency decisions choosing Telcordia (iconectiv) as the next LNPA (see 1705260016). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit three-judge panel concluded the commission's "process and recommendation were proper exercises of" authority.

The sometimes-acrimonious rhetoric between FCC GOP Chairman Ajit Pai and Free Press on net neutrality could be a harbinger of how the debate plays out, experts tell us. Pai's attack last month on the group that often backs regulation and President Craig Aaron, (see 1704260054) might indicate some concerns the chairman might lose the debate, said consultant Jerry Mechling, formerly a vice president at Gartner and faculty member at Harvard's Kennedy School.

The American Civil Liberties Union took aim at the Browser Act (HR-2520), particularly incensed over its pre-emption of state privacy laws. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., introduced it last week, drawing concern from the Internet Association and favor from AT&T (see 1705240053). “Rep. Blackburn’s bill would do precisely what industry wants, which is prevent states from taking their own actions to ensure high privacy standards,” said ACLU Legislative Counsel Neema Singh Guliani in a blog post Thursday. “If Rep. Blackburn’s goal is to raise privacy standards, she should remove the provision that preempts stronger state protections.” Digital Content Next Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Chris Pedigo said in his blog post “there’s a lot to like” about the Browser Act for industry and consumers: “The bill goes a step further in prohibiting companies from altering or denying service for consumers who do not opt-in. This provision is likely to draw the ire of industry lobbyists. But there’s a lot of merit in putting the onus on companies to develop a good 'elevator pitch' for consumers.” The Association of National Advertisers expanded on criticisms of the bill first cited Monday (see 1705220062). “We are interested in the idea and are early in the process,” said a spokesman for Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.

As dominant providers in Europe, American technology companies fighting for strong encryption face significant pressure from France, Germany, the U.K. and others, where actions are being implemented to undermine encryption, a New America Open Technology Institute event Thursday was told.

The American Civil Liberties Union took aim at the Browser Act (HR-2520), particularly incensed over its pre-emption of state privacy laws. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., introduced it last week, drawing concern from the Internet Association and favor from AT&T (see 1705240053). “Rep. Blackburn’s bill would do precisely what industry wants, which is prevent states from taking their own actions to ensure high privacy standards,” said ACLU Legislative Counsel Neema Singh Guliani in a blog post Thursday. “If Rep. Blackburn’s goal is to raise privacy standards, she should remove the provision that preempts stronger state protections.” Digital Content Next Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Chris Pedigo said in his blog post “there’s a lot to like” about the Browser Act for industry and consumers: “The bill goes a step further in prohibiting companies from altering or denying service for consumers who do not opt-in. This provision is likely to draw the ire of industry lobbyists. But there’s a lot of merit in putting the onus on companies to develop a good 'elevator pitch' for consumers.” The Association of National Advertisers expanded on criticisms of the bill first cited Monday (see 1705220062). “We are interested in the idea and are early in the process,” said a spokesman for Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.