Saying “meaningful competition for high-speed wired broadband is lacking,” even as the demand for “faster and better Internet” is growing, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said the agency would move to promote more broadband competition in places where it’s lacking and preserve it where it exists.

Saying “meaningful competition for high-speed wired broadband is lacking,” even as the demand for “faster and better Internet” is growing, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said the agency would move to promote more broadband competition in places where it’s lacking and preserve it where it exists.

Saying “meaningful competition for high-speed wired broadband is lacking,” even as the demand for “faster and better Internet” is growing, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said the agency would move to promote more broadband competition in places where it’s lacking and preserve it where it exists.

California’s enactment of the Smartphone Theft Prevention Act (SB-962) and recent industry commitments will likely result in anti-theft kill switch technology in smartphones nationwide, but that may not entirely quell interest in enacting further legislation at the federal and state levels, lawmakers and industry observers told us. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB-962 into law last week, requiring all smartphones sold in the state after July 1, 2015, to be pre-equipped with a kill switch that can be activated if the device is lost or stolen (WID Aug 27 p8).

California’s enactment of the Smartphone Theft Prevention Act (SB-962) and recent industry commitments will likely result in anti-theft kill switch technology in smartphones nationwide, but that may not entirely quell interest in enacting further legislation at the federal and state levels, lawmakers and industry observers told us. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB-962 into law last week, requiring all smartphones sold in the state after July 1, 2015, to be pre-equipped with a kill switch that can be activated if the device is lost or stolen (CD Aug 27 p14).

The FCC could wind up creating a bigger public relations problem than it solves when a series of open Internet roundtables kick off at headquarters Sept. 16, industry officials said. Groups like Free Press and Public Knowledge, which have raised concerns about net neutrality rules, said the roundtables aren’t enough and the FCC needs to take public comment across the U.S. A senior FCC official said Wednesday the agency is doing all it can to solicit comment and will not hide from critics.

The FCC could wind up creating a bigger public relations problem than it solves when a series of open Internet roundtables kick off at headquarters Sept. 16, industry officials said. Groups like Free Press and Public Knowledge, which have raised concerns about net neutrality rules, said the roundtables aren’t enough and the FCC needs to take public comment across the U.S. A senior FCC official said Wednesday the agency is doing all it can to solicit comment and will not hide from critics.

NAB’s court challenge to repacking provisions in the TV incentive auction rules (CD Aug 19 p1) isn’t a surprise, but shouldn’t be a “road block” to a successful auction, said AT&T Vice President-Federal Regulatory Joan Marsh Thursday in a blog post (http://bit.ly/1sXmMZD). NAB previously had made its concerns known and had “lobbied hard” when the Spectrum Act was before Congress for repacking protections, she said. The issues NAB raises are “significant and deserve careful consideration,” she said. But the auction should still take place as expected, she said. “Compromise must continue to be the hallmark of the incentive auction proceeding,” Marsh wrote. “We have to date seen a healthy and productive amount of give and take between the FCC and industry on a range of auction issues, from the band plan to the auction framework to bidding restrictions. And we believe that the issues raised by NAB can similarly be resolved -- and resolved quickly.”

A court challenge may be brewing on CBP’s controversial decision to prohibit the filing of protests to claim duty preferences under several free trade agreements, say customs lawyers. A lawsuit could soon be brought by an importer denied the ability to claim preferences by the new policy, although that would require the importer have enough money at stake to justify filing suit, said several lawyers. Another lawyer proposes that importers and trade groups band together to challenge the policy in its entirety as an illegally-issued regulation. Pressure against the change could also come from countries with agreements that are affected by the change, as well as smaller importers that make their voices heard at CBP headquarters.

The office of Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., fired back at the FCC on municipal broadband. Blackburn had led an effort to stop the FCC from pre-empting state laws restricting municipal broadband networks, and the agency recently released FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s response (http://bit.ly/1sVVAJn) to Blackburn, vice chairman of the Commerce Committee, and other Republicans. That “response is not only inadequate but further highlights concerns raised by Members of Congress and by Chief Justice John Roberts regarding the dangers posed by the growing power of the administrative state,” Blackburn’s spokesman told us Wednesday. “Chairman Wheeler wrongly assumes that his starting point for regulatory action is Section 706 when in reality it’s the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Dillon’s Rule. Chairman Wheeler’s letter is further confirmation that he believes that Washington knows best and that state laws are nothing more than inconvenient truths for unelected bureaucrats to ignore.” The 10th Amendment empowers state governments, and Dillon’s Rule derives from several court decisions to define what municipalities can and cannot do when up against state authority. The rule allows state lawmakers “to control local government structure, methods of financing its activities, its procedures and the authority to understake [sic] functions,” said the National League of Cities on its website (http://bit.ly/1ovdAtI). In his letter responding to Republicans, Wheeler said there is “reason to believe” that many state laws limit competition, contrary to federal policy goals, and thus are open to pre-emption. He pointed to Communications Act Section 706 as the authority charging the agency with its role here. Some municipal broadband projects have been “less successful than hoped” while others succeeded, Wheeler added: “I expect that communities will decide for themselves the appropriate type and level of financial risk to take on in light of their needs in the normal course of local self-governance.”