Comcast Ventures sees its Zenefits investment as a foot into a potentially $30 billion human resources services industry, principal Callum King wrote in a company blog post. Zenefits earlier this month said it raised $500 million in a Series C round of funding, with the money to be used for such needs as rolling out new products. King said the Comcast/NBCUniversal venture capital fund was one of the investors, putting the money in because of Zenefits' growth -- growing to more than 10,000 customers and close to 1,000 employees in its roughly two-year history -- as well as because of the potential market size and its business model. "Zenefits provides quality HR software for free and makes money by acting as their customer’s insurance broker," King wrote. "As the company continues to expand its product portfolio, they will become even more valuable for customers." Since its 1999 start as Comcast Interactive Capital, Comcast Ventures has invested in more than 100 companies, including Broadbus Technologies, CTI Towers, Intellon and TiVo.

Comcast Ventures sees its Zenefits investment as a foot into a potentially $30 billion human resources services industry, principal Callum King wrote in a company blog post. Zenefits earlier this month said it raised $500 million in a Series C round of funding, with the money to be used for such needs as rolling out new products. King said the Comcast/NBCUniversal venture capital fund was one of the investors, putting the money in because of Zenefits' growth -- growing to more than 10,000 customers and close to 1,000 employees in its roughly two-year history -- as well as because of the potential market size and its business model. "Zenefits provides quality HR software for free and makes money by acting as their customer’s insurance broker," King wrote. "As the company continues to expand its product portfolio, they will become even more valuable for customers." Since its 1999 start as Comcast Interactive Capital, Comcast Ventures has invested in more than 100 companies, including Broadbus Technologies, CTI Towers, Intellon and TiVo.

AT&T and DirecTV are pushing back against calls for the FCC to attach interconnection conditions and other obligations to their planned deal. AT&T and DirecTV say the critics’ proposed conditions are “self-serving demands” that have little or nothing to do with the transaction. “Rather, they are designed only to advance unrelated business interests or specific policy agendas,” the prospective partners said in a Tuesday ex parte filing after officials from both companies met with FCC staffers Thursday.

A push by NAB and public interest groups to limit a change in cable effective competition rules to small cable is getting traction in Democratic eighth-floor FCC offices, while Republican offices remain favorable to the draft order as originally circulated (see 1505150035) by Chairman Tom Wheeler, said broadcast, cable and agency officials in interviews. They said that with a congressionally mandated deadline for the rule change coming Tuesday, the Democrats have concerns about the draft. Some cable industry officials believe a majority of the commission is favorable to making effective competition a rebuttable presumption for all cable, as the draft proposes and as broadcasters oppose.

AT&T and DirecTV are pushing back against calls for the FCC to attach interconnection conditions and other obligations to their planned deal. AT&T and DirecTV say the critics’ proposed conditions are “self-serving demands” that have little or nothing to do with the transaction. “Rather, they are designed only to advance unrelated business interests or specific policy agendas,” the prospective partners said in a Tuesday ex parte filing after officials from both companies met with FCC staffers Thursday.

Charter Communications’ planned buy of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable doesn’t face the same regulatory hurdles as Comcast/TWC, said industry officials, analysts and public interest groups. But they don’t agree on the new deals' prospects, according to interviews and statements Tuesday. Charter CEO Tom Rutledge is “confident” regulators will sign off on the deal, he said on an investor call Tuesday. “We’re a very different company than Comcast.” Comcast/TWC opponent Free Press said Charter/BHN and TWC doesn’t offer a public interest benefit, which FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler highlighted in his statement.

Charter Communications’ planned buy of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable doesn’t face the same regulatory hurdles as Comcast/TWC, said industry officials, analysts and public interest groups. But they don’t agree on the new deals' prospects, according to interviews and statements Tuesday. Charter CEO Tom Rutledge is “confident” regulators will sign off on the deal, he said on an investor call Tuesday. “We’re a very different company than Comcast.” Comcast/TWC opponent Free Press said Charter/BHN and TWC doesn’t offer a public interest benefit, which FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler highlighted in his statement.

Four House Judiciary Committee leaders jointly raised concerns Friday about attempts in the Senate to seek a two-month extension of the USA Patriot Act instead of focusing debate on the House-passed USA Freedom Act (HR-2048). The Senate was expected to continue work into the weekend on its version of USA Freedom (S-1123) and the Patriot Act extension. USA Freedom “is a carefully crafted compromise that has been worked on for nearly two years and was passed overwhelmingly in the House,” said House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and other committee leaders in a statement. The other leaders who signed onto the statement were House Judiciary ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich., Terrorism Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and IP Subcommittee ranking member Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. USA Freedom “has been fully vetted and has won the backing of the intelligence community, civil liberties groups, private industry” and has the White House’s backing, the House Judiciary leaders said. “The Senate should immediately pass this bipartisan bill instead of hastily and irresponsibly trying to scramble something together in the eleventh hour. The short-term extensions and other proposals being discussed in the Senate don’t have the support to pass in the House of Representatives. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has already ruled the bulk collection program as unlawful and extending it any further is unacceptable.”

Four House Judiciary Committee leaders jointly raised concerns Friday about attempts in the Senate to seek a two-month extension of the USA Patriot Act instead of focusing debate on the House-passed USA Freedom Act (HR-2048). The Senate was expected to continue work into the weekend on its version of USA Freedom (S-1123) and the Patriot Act extension. USA Freedom “is a carefully crafted compromise that has been worked on for nearly two years and was passed overwhelmingly in the House,” said House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and other committee leaders in a statement. The other leaders who signed onto the statement were House Judiciary ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich., Terrorism Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and IP Subcommittee ranking member Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. USA Freedom “has been fully vetted and has won the backing of the intelligence community, civil liberties groups, private industry” and has the White House’s backing, the House Judiciary leaders said. “The Senate should immediately pass this bipartisan bill instead of hastily and irresponsibly trying to scramble something together in the eleventh hour. The short-term extensions and other proposals being discussed in the Senate don’t have the support to pass in the House of Representatives. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has already ruled the bulk collection program as unlawful and extending it any further is unacceptable.”

The FCC Incentive Auction Team released a public notice offering a new look at impairment and clearing spectrum in the auction. The auction team also sought comment on the PN, due at the FCC June 3. Commissioners Ajit Pai and Mike O’Rielly immediately slammed the notice. Chairman Tom Wheeler defended it Thursday.