AT&T urged the FCC to reject Windstream’s attempt to re-regulate ethernet rates of ILECs, including as part of an IP technology transition order that is expected to be placed on the preliminary agenda Thursday for the Aug. 6 commission open meeting. FCC ethernet rate regulation would be legally defective and bad policy, given how competitive the business market for ethernet services is, AT&T said in an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in the tech transition docket 13-5 and others.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler pulled from the agenda for Thursday’s meeting the consideration of two items on the TV incentive auction. Wheeler revealed that the vote is being delayed, in a letter to the leaders of the House Commerce Committee. In the letter, he acknowledged Capitol Hill concerns that a delay will give the public time to analyze recently released data concerning the controversial policy call to put TV stations in the “duplex gap” between uplink and downlink frequencies bought by carriers in the TV incentive auction (see 1507130054). The FCC item on designated entity rules is still slated for a vote Thursday (see 1507140066).
Former FCC chairmen battled over net neutrality and broadband reclassification along partisan lines on a panel Wednesday at the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council's Access to Capital and Telecom Policy Conference. Democrat Reed Hundt said the FCC should be focused on addressing income inequality, and while some of the ways to do that involved selling spectrum in blocks that are affordable and imposing spectrum caps, another was through net neutrality because it protected Internet entrepreneurs seeking to reach customers over broadband Internet systems. Net neutrality created a level playing field “because this platform called the Internet should be shared by everybody,” said Hundt, who is founder and CEO of Coalition for Green Capital.
AT&T urged the FCC to reject Windstream’s attempt to re-regulate ethernet rates of ILECs, including as part of an IP technology transition order that is expected to be placed on the preliminary agenda Thursday for the Aug. 6 commission open meeting. FCC ethernet rate regulation would be legally defective and bad policy, given how competitive the business market for ethernet services is, AT&T said in an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in the tech transition docket 13-5 and others.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler pulled from the agenda for Thursday’s meeting the consideration of two items on the TV incentive auction. Wheeler revealed that the vote is being delayed, in a letter to the leaders of the House Commerce Committee. In the letter, he acknowledged Capitol Hill concerns that a delay will give the public time to analyze recently released data concerning the controversial policy call to put TV stations in the “duplex gap” between uplink and downlink frequencies bought by carriers in the TV incentive auction (see 1507130054). The FCC item on designated entity rules is still slated for a vote Thursday (see 1507140066).
The FCC released its declaratory ruling clarifying its interpretation of the Telephone Consumers Protection Act, approved over a dissent by Commissioner Ajit Pai and partial dissent by Commissioner Mike O’Rielly at the June 18 FCC meeting (see 1506180046). Pai in particular complained that the order will mean more class-action lawsuits under the TCPA. “While the Commission’s past interpretations have addressed nuanced aspects of the TCPA rules, changes in how consumers use their phones, how technology can access consumers, and the way consumers and businesses wish to make calls mean that we are presented with new issues regarding application and interpretation of the TCPA,” the ruling said. “Through their complaints and comments, consumers have expressed their frustration with unwanted voice calls and texts and have asked the Commission to preserve their privacy rights under the TCPA.”
The Senate Commerce Committee locked down July 29 as the date for its long-expected hearing on spectrum, several industry officials said. Witnesses are widely expected to include CTIA President Meredith Baker, a strong advocate for more commercial spectrum. The committee hasn't announced the hearing, confirmed the date or confirmed any of the witnesses. Industry observers told us that various pieces of spectrum-related legislation seem to be gaining momentum and may be ripe for advancement, though some questioned the carriers' demand for more spectrum.
The Senate Commerce Committee locked down July 29 as the date for its long-expected hearing on spectrum, several industry officials said. Witnesses are widely expected to include CTIA President Meredith Baker, a strong advocate for more commercial spectrum. The committee hasn't announced the hearing, confirmed the date or confirmed any of the witnesses. Industry observers told us that various pieces of spectrum-related legislation seem to be gaining momentum and may be ripe for advancement, though some questioned the carriers' demand for more spectrum.
Supporters and opponents of the Securing Participation, Engagement and Knowledge Freedom by Reducing Egregious Efforts (Speak Free) Act (HR-2304) speaking at a Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee event Friday agreed more action is needed to curb strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) being used against online reviewers, but disagreed whether HR-2304 was too broad to be an effective deterrent. HR-2304, introduced in May by House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas (see 1505140041), would introduce a national anti-SLAPP statute similar in scope to those in effect in California and Texas. The bill would allow defendants in a SLAPP lawsuit to file for a special motion to dismiss the lawsuit if the defendant provided an oral or written statement or other expression in connection with an official proceeding.
In the July 1 issue of the CBP Customs Bulletin (Vol. 49, No. 26) (here), CBP published notices that propose to revoke or modify rulings and similar treatment for the tariff classification of paperboard boxes and digestion medicine.