NTIA’s Q2 status report on 233 broadband grants addresses overbuilding. That’s been an issue some telcos and cable operators that didn’t get money from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to build broadband projects have raised (CD Sept 27 p6). “As of June 2012, NTIA has resolved 97 percent of the instances of potential overlap between a BTOP award and another BTOP, BIP, or FCC award,” NTIA said in its 14th quarterly status report on Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grantees to Congress Thursday (http://1.usa.gov/Rggcaz). The 15-page report covers April 1 to June 30, which featured what the agency called “strong performance” among grantees in meeting 2012 goals. The remaining 3 percent of BTOP grants where overbuilding was alleged “will be resolved through ongoing negotiations with recipients seeking ways to leverage the respective investments, such as joint-build solutions,” NTIA said. Grantees deployed nearly 15,000 network miles in Q2 for a total of more than 72,000, NTIA said. They spent $420 million and matched nearly $125 million, it added. The agency spotlighted specific projects, such as ones in Oklahoma and Maryland, with a section on the seven public safety BTOP grantees suspended in May due to concerns about compatibility with FirstNet. NTIA discussed the ways it monitors and corresponds with grantees and noted it’s visited 31 grantees in the past quarter. It also addressed how to close the various grants, which were awarded in 2010 and expected to expire in 2013.

Kids’ advocates are concerned the FCC has “sent the message” it’s “not serious about enforcing the Children’s Television Act,” because the agency hasn’t acted on petitions to deny TV station license renewals that raised educational programming issues, advocates said. The Children’s Media Policy Coalition continues to want the commission to adopt in an order what was a 2004 rulemaking notice’s tentative conclusion that interactive ads on kids shows don’t fit with the public interest, ex parte filings said. They reported on meetings with Commissioners Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel and aides to Chairman Julius Genachowski, attended by representatives of the Benton Foundation, Children Now and United Church of Christ. Those and other groups are part of the coalition that has said the agency ought to do more on kids’ media issues (CD April 16 p2). The coalition isn’t opposed to updating the record on interactive ads targeted at kids, the filings posted Thursday in docket 00-167 (http://xrl.us/bnsm8e) said: But “there is ample evidence in the record to support these restrictions.” An agency spokesman had no comment.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Those at the PCIA show were enthusiastic about recent growth of LTE technology, and the wireless infrastructure advances needed to support it including distributed antenna systems (DAS) and small cell towers, they said. Evercore analyst Jonathan Schildkraut wrote investors that enthusiasm in the industry appeared at “record highs” and forecast continued growth.

The NCTA criticized proposals from USTelecom that the cable association said would have the commission prejudge, in carriage disputes, in favor of competing MVPDs “virtually all of the key issues relevant to assessing the competitive impact of an exclusive contract” between a cable operator and network it owns (http://xrl.us/bnshpu). The FCC’s ban on such exclusive contracts is set to expire Friday. USTelecom’s approach “is tantamount to extending the per se ban,” the NCTA said. “Just as there is no factual or legal basis for retaining the per se ban ... there is no justification to adding new burdens to the standard for case-by-case adjudication of program access complaint,” it said. There’s no basis for adopting special presumptions for the “top 20” cable-affiliated networks, or for regional sports networks (RSNs) or networks that carry lots of sports programming, it said. “Unlike the presumption for terrestrially-delivered RSNs, which was at least based on some record of evidence and studies, such an expansive presumption would have absolutely no evidentiary support,” it said. It also attacked arguments that the commission should adopt a preemption that exclusive contracts involving such networks is “unfair” and “significantly hinders competition,” it said. An attorney for Time Warner Cable raised similar arguments during a meeting with Commissioner Ajit Pai’s chief of staff, an ex parte notice shows (http://xrl.us/bnshq3). “The Commission should reject recent proposals to presume that withholding any RSN programming or certain other content necessarily” is an unfair act, hinders competition, or entitles a complainant to injunctive relief. Former Wireless Bureau Chief Fred Campbell wrote on the Communications Liberty and Innovation Project Blog that the FCC should let the ban expire this week (http://xrl.us/bnshrd). “With the exception of sports programming, which ‘may be nonreplicable,’ the program access concerns that animated congress in 1992 no longer exist,” he wrote. He pointed to Netflix’s recent investments in developing its own programming as a success where there’s no regulation guaranteeing it a right to access other’s content. “Verizon, AT&T and the satellite providers are, however, eligible for statutory access to cable programming, which reduces their incentives to invest in their own programming.”

A court appeal of updated program carriage rules shows independent channels’ desire for continued FCC regulation of multichannel video programming distributor contracts remains in conflict with the goal of major cable operators that own networks to cut back on such rules. NCTA had joined Time Warner Cable’s challenge of a 2011 order letting commission staff authorize continued carriage of a channel that brought a complaint as it’s adjudicated. Bloomberg, NFL and the Tennis Channel are among owners of indies seeking to keep the rules. Judges Susan Carney, Denny Chin and Reena Raggi, of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, will hear oral argument on Thursday afternoon for 12 minutes from an FCC lawyer and from six apiece from Time Warner Cable and NCTA representatives in its 9th-floor courtroom (http://xrl.us/bnshpo).

There’s “remarkable unanimity of support” among U.S. policymakers, legislators and others for the decision to oppose a World Conference on International Communications proposal by the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association to give the ITU more control over the Internet, U.S. Ambassador to the EU William Kennard said Tuesday. The general feeling is very much “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” he said at an ETNO/Financial Times summit in Brussels. That doesn’t mean the U.S. doesn’t respect the ITU, but it doesn’t see how the ETNO plan will work, said the former FCC chairman. Incumbent network operators, meanwhile, said they are struggling to find ways to monetize the Internet.

There’s “remarkable unanimity of support” among U.S. policymakers, legislators and others for the decision to oppose a World Conference on International Communications proposal by the European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association to give the ITU more control over the Internet, U.S. Ambassador to the EU William Kennard said Tuesday. The general feeling is very much “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” he said at an ETNO/Financial Times summit in Brussels. That doesn’t mean the U.S. doesn’t respect the ITU, but it doesn’t see how the ETNO plan will work, said the former FCC chairman. Incumbent network operators, meanwhile, said they are struggling to find ways to monetize the Internet.

The FCC on Friday approved a notice of proposed rulemaking that will establish rules for an incentive auction of broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband, to take place as early as 2014. The NPRM moves the FCC a step closer to what is already the most anticipated auction since the 700 MHz auction four years ago. Commissioner Ajit Pai concurred only on parts of the NPRM, saying the commission leaves too many critical questions unasked.

The FCC approved a notice of proposed rulemaking on measuring spectrum aggregation over concerns raised by Commissioners Ajit Pai and Robert McDowell. But FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said a review was overdue, especially as the FCC prepares for an incentive auction of broadcast spectrum. Pai had considered a dissent, but instead concurred (CD Sept 20 p1).

The FCC on Friday approved a notice of proposed rulemaking that will establish rules for an incentive auction of broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband, to take place as early as 2014. The NPRM moves the FCC a step closer to what is already the most anticipated auction since the 700 MHz auction four years ago. Commissioner Ajit Pai concurred only on parts of the NPRM, saying the commission leaves too many critical questions unasked. Meanwhile, CEA hailed the NPRM as “a great step forward."