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.”

Local Choice, a Senate proposal circulated Friday (CD Aug 11 p12) set to overhaul retransmission consent rules, will likely face an uphill battle and may not become attached to the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization process this year, industry observers told us. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., floated the discussion draft, which broadcasters have attacked and other observers questioned, despite praise from retransmission rule overhaul advocates. Some will lobby to ensure Local Choice advances, they said.

Prometheus Radio Project urged the FCC to delay opening an FM translator filing window exclusively for AM stations. Prometheus argued in an ex parte filing in docket 13-249 (http://bit.ly/1riuw3O) that eligibility for the AM-only filing window should be restricted to Class C and Class D stations. Prometheus also cautioned against raising the maximum effective radiated power for low-power FM stations from 100 watts to 250 watts. Holding an FM translator window exclusively for LPFM licensees “would significantly unburden LPFM stations while remaining faithful to the word and intention of the Local Community Radio Act,” it said. The filing in docket 99-25 was on a meeting with Courtney Reinhard, chief of staff for Commissioner Mike O'Rielly.

Recognizing changing consumer Internet demands, the FCC issued a notice of inquiry (http://bit.ly/1srx6Gz) Tuesday asking if it should raise the benchmarks for defining “advanced telecommunications capability” in preparation for its national broadband progress report. Because of a “tremendous growth in the online video and audio markets in the past few years,” the NOI asked as expected (WID June 4 p4) if the agency should modify its current broadband benchmark of 4 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload. “The demand for video services and the introduction and use of new services on the market” may mean the old benchmark “no longer allows consumers the ability to ‘originate and receive’ the broadband services identified in section 706” of the Telecom Act, NOI said. Republican commissioners concurred in part and expressed concern that higher benchmarks could bring more regulation.

Recognizing changing consumer Internet demands, the FCC issued a notice of inquiry (http://bit.ly/1srx6Gz) Tuesday asking if it should raise the benchmarks for defining “advanced telecommunications capability” in preparation for its national broadband progress report. Because of a “tremendous growth in the online video and audio markets in the past few years,” the NOI asked as expected (CD June 4 p1) if the agency should modify its current broadband benchmark of 4 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload. “The demand for video services and the introduction and use of new services on the market” may mean the old benchmark “no longer allows consumers the ability to ‘originate and receive’ the broadband services identified in section 706” of the Telecom Act, NOI said. Republican commissioners concurred in part and expressed concern that higher benchmarks could bring more regulation.

Privacy advocates, industry groups and education technology advocates are at odds over a student data privacy bill that Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, released last week (WID July 31 p9). It’s either a necessary first step toward empowering parents and shielding students’ data from misuse or an unnecessary move that might weaken state power and stymie traditional school services, depending on who we asked.

Verizon sent FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler a five-page letter defending its practice of slowing the data speeds of some of its customers, saying in a five-page letter its practices are in keeping with steps also taken by the rest of industry. The letter cites similar steps by AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile and says the policy was “implemented nearly three years ago” to manage congestion at some of its cell sites and is “narrowly tailored.”

Verizon sent FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler a five-page letter defending its practice of slowing the data speeds of some of its customers, saying in a five-page letter its practices are in keeping with steps also taken by the rest of industry. The letter cites similar steps by AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile and says the policy was “implemented nearly three years ago” to manage congestion at some of its cell sites and is “narrowly tailored.”

Comments submitted to CBP so far on the agency's plans to update an informed compliance publication with information on first sale valuation show some strong objections to the effort. Law firm Sandler Travis called for the proposed changes to be "withdrawn in their entirety," while the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) said uncertainty over documentation requirements point to a need for auditor training, not a revised ICP. Several others are expected to submit comments in coming days. The draft ICP includes a controversial list of documents the agency might request from industry to verify the use of first sale pricing (see 14071025).

The Japanese Finance Ministry will reportedly stop levying additional duties on exports from the U.S. as a retaliation against the Continued Dumping and Subsidization Offset Act (CDSOA), often referred to as the Byrd Amendment, The Japan Times reported on Aug. 5. Japan initially retaliated against the law in 2005 after the World Trade Organization found it violated trade rules. CDSOA allows the U.S. government to allocate antidumping and countervailing duty revenues to U.S. producers that originally supported imposition of the AD/CV duties. Japan raised tariffs on steel, bearings, and other industrial products in 2013 (see 13083014).