The U.S. Chamber of Commerce asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the FCC’s July 10 declaratory ruling clarifying rules for the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (see 1507130039). The Chamber, widely viewed as the nation’s single most powerful trade association, raised concerns about the ruling when it was still being developed at the FCC (see 1506110009). Lawyers who sought changes to the declaratory ruling on behalf of their clients told us before the order was even approved that legal challenges were likely (see 1506160056).
Whether retransmission consent negotiations will be smoother in the near future is debatable as the FCC spelled out 15 negotiation tactics now under its microscope in a rulemaking notice Wednesday on the totality of circumstances in good-faith negotiating (see 1509020061), officials said in interviews. "This is known as 'regulation by raised eyebrow,'" said cable consultant Steve Effros. "The commission is saying ‘you ought to be very careful if you're engaged in this sort of activity -- we're watching.’" But an NAB spokesman said the group expects pay TV "to use the FCC’s NPRM as an opportunity to create more programming disruptions, not fewer. There is demonstrable evidence suggesting that pay TV providers like Dish use the prospect of government intervention into a free market as grounds for forcing impasses.”
Frontier Communications and Verizon scored a clear-cut victory in the FCC decision Wednesday (see 1509020064) approving without conditions the proposed transfer of Verizon wireline systems in California, Florida and Texas to Frontier. In granting necessary license transfers on Day 174 of its 180-day nonbinding transaction review shot clock, commission bureaus cited Frontier-Verizon arguments as trumping the concerns raised by the deal’s critics, though it did note certain Frontier commitments provided some further assurances -- something competitors welcomed and said they expected to be honored. The FCC also found Frontier was more likely to build out broadband networks in the affected areas than Verizon was.
Commenters voiced substantial support for FCC proposals to extend Lifeline USF subsidies to broadband and restructure oversight, with differences over some priorities and many implementation details, including among the Bells. Expanding Lifeline support would boost broadband adoption and shifting administrative responsibility away from telecom providers would increase efficiency, many said in comments in docket 11-42 responding to a Further NPRM (see 1506180029). Some said the FCC should proceed carefully and focus on enforcing budget discipline and streamlining program administration. Monday was the filing deadline for initial comments, but some comments hadn't been posted on the commission’s website Tuesday, while some parties filed comments early (see 1508180069).
The seven must-have changes pay TV seeks in retransmission consent rule reforms won't solve all that ails the retrans market, but they will improve it, Dish Network Deputy Counsel Jeffrey Blum told us Tuesday. Numerous multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) and allies -- including the American Cable Association, Cablevision, CenturyLink, DirecTV, Dish, ITTA, Mediacom, NTCA, Time Warner Cable and USTelecom -- through the American Television Alliance have lined up behind seven specific reforms they're pushing at the FCC. The deadline for the agency to issue an NPRM is Friday. Broadcasters are opposing many retrans changes (see 1508310026).
Commenters voiced substantial support for FCC proposals to extend Lifeline USF subsidies to broadband and restructure oversight, with differences over some priorities and many implementation details, including among the Bells. Expanding Lifeline support would boost broadband adoption and shifting administrative responsibility away from telecom providers would increase efficiency, many said in comments in docket 11-42 responding to a Further NPRM (see 1506180029). Some said the FCC should proceed carefully and focus on enforcing budget discipline and streamlining program administration. Monday was the filing deadline for initial comments, but some comments hadn't been posted on the commission’s website Tuesday, while some parties filed comments early (see 1508180069).
The seven must-have changes pay TV seeks in retransmission consent rule reforms won't solve all that ails the retrans market, but they will improve it, Dish Network Deputy Counsel Jeffrey Blum told us Tuesday. Numerous multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) and allies -- including the American Cable Association, Cablevision, CenturyLink, DirecTV, Dish, ITTA, Mediacom, NTCA, Time Warner Cable and USTelecom -- through the American Television Alliance have lined up behind seven specific reforms they're pushing at the FCC. The deadline for the agency to issue an NPRM is Friday. Broadcasters are opposing many retrans changes (see 1508310026).
Market inefficiency and a dearth of local TV content would be likely outcomes if the FCC axes network nonduplication and syndicated exclusivity rules, broadcasters said in filings in docket 10-71. Broadcasters have been resisting Chairman Tom Wheeler's goal of repealing nondupe and syndex rules (see 1508270036).
Opponents of the U.S. intelligence agencies' surveillance tactics criticized an opinion two years in the making and published Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Klayman v. Obama (see 1508280027) that said the plaintiffs failed to prove their individual phone records were collected by the NSA, so their Fourth Amendment rights weren't violated and they weren't harmed. The D.C. Circuit didn't rule on the constitutionality of the mass collection program. Instead, Republican-appointed Judges Janice Brown, David Sentelle and Stephen Williams voted 2-1 to send the case back to U.S. District Judge Richard Leon and allow the plaintiffs to prove their records were collected. In his dissenting opinion, Sentelle said the case should be dismissed, not remanded.
T-Mobile is clamping down on a small group of its customers who it alleges are “going out of their way with all kinds of workarounds” to use much more than their share of tethered data, CEO John Legere said in an open letter to subscribers posted Sunday, saying the carrier would contact the customers Monday. Industry observers said the latest development potentially raises some interesting questions about the FCC’s February net neutrality rules and how the agency will interpret them. The order includes a “bright line” rule against throttling (see 1502260043).