ASPEN, Colorado -- FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Mike O’Rielly sparred over the FCC’s privacy role Tuesday but also foresee points of possible harmony with overhaul of the Lifeline program, speaking during the Technology Policy Institute conference.
ASPEN, Colorado -- White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Michael Daniel sees the bicameral reconciliation process of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (S-754) as key to fixing the administration’s problems with it. Daniel kicked off the start of the Technology Policy Institute' annual meeting Sunday.
ASPEN, Colorado -- White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Michael Daniel sees the bicameral reconciliation process of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (S-754) as key to fixing the administration’s problems with it. Daniel kicked off the start of the Technology Policy Institute' annual meeting Sunday.
The FCC pushed back comment deadlines in its broadband deployment inquiry to Sept. 15 and Sept. 30, the Wireline Bureau said in an order issued Thursday in docket 15-191. The bureau wants to ensure the public has "sufficient time to respond to the numerous and complex issues" raised in a notice of inquiry the FCC recently adopted and released (see 1508060049 and 1508100054). Under Section 706 of the Telecom Act, the commission must determine if advanced telecom capability is being rolled out to all Americans in a reasonable and timely way, and if it's not, take immediate actions to remove barriers to deployment.
Public TV interests want to know if FCC anti-collusion rules prohibit public TV stations from engaging in public fundraising after the short form application deadline for the incentive auction, said a joint ex parte filing from the CPB, PBS and the Association of Public Television Stations. Representatives of the public TV groups and NAB met with the Incentive Auction Task Force and “raised multiple questions” about the communications prohibitions from the incentive auction's anti-collusion rules and how they could affect public TV stations' “routine business and financial operations,” the filing said. FCC officials have told us the rules bar stations from discussing their bids in the auction and other bidding strategy-related information from the deadline for applications to participate in the incentive auction until the auction is complete. Along with questions about fundraising, the public TV representatives asked whether the anti-collusion rules keep stations from stating publicly that they will continue operating after the auction, such as when requesting donations. They also asked if stations are prohibited from releasing Freedom of Information Act-requested information about their post-auction plans, or posting multiyear strategic plans on their websites. The public TV groups also asked if the rules bar them from signing multiyear contracts during the signing period, if their boards' open meetings are allowed under the rules, and other questions on how deep the anti-collusion rules go.
Charter Communications likely has headed off many broadband-related merger conditions by addressing them early on, experts said. But multiple broadband and cable matters likely will be brought up by and before regulators as Charter seeks approval to buy Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, they said. Charter agreed "from the get-go” to some of the most obvious potential conditions -- net neutrality and discounted broadband offerings to low-income populations -- said Barry Orton, telecom professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. That, plus that Charter, TWC and BHN don't share a “bully" reputation with Comcast based on complaints about strong-arm tactics, indicates the deals could have a relatively easy time winning approval, especially compared with Comcast’s aborted attempt to buy TWC, industry officials said.
The FCC pushed back comment deadlines in its broadband deployment inquiry to Sept. 15 and Sept. 30, the Wireline Bureau said in an order issued Thursday in docket 15-191. The bureau wants to ensure the public has "sufficient time to respond to the numerous and complex issues" raised in a notice of inquiry the FCC recently adopted and released (see 1508060049 and 1508100054). Under Section 706 of the Telecom Act, the commission must determine if advanced telecom capability is being rolled out to all Americans in a reasonable and timely way, and if it's not, take immediate actions to remove barriers to deployment.
Charter Communications likely has headed off many broadband-related merger conditions by addressing them early on, experts said. But multiple broadband and cable matters likely will be brought up by and before regulators as Charter seeks approval to buy Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, they said. Charter agreed "from the get-go” to some of the most obvious potential conditions -- net neutrality and discounted broadband offerings to low-income populations -- said Barry Orton, telecom professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. That, plus that Charter, TWC and BHN don't share a “bully" reputation with Comcast based on complaints about strong-arm tactics, indicates the deals could have a relatively easy time winning approval, especially compared with Comcast’s aborted attempt to buy TWC, industry officials said.
A lengthy list of retransmission consent practices, from broadcasters ceding negotiating rights to tying arrangements, could be up for examination if FCC commissioners sign off on a draft NPRM circulated last week (see 1508120051), an informed person said.
A House Republican warned low-power TV (LPTV) broadcasters and translators that other “powerful” forces are seeking their spectrum and will exert intense lobbying power in Washington to acquire it. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., listened to multiple stakeholders outlining anxieties about the FCC’s broadcast TV incentive auction, in a discussion lasting more than an hour in his home district.