FCC stoppage of the 180-day shot clock on Comcast’s planned buy of Time Warner Cable (CD Oct 6 p7) isn’t a negative sign for the deal and stems from the large amounts of information and filings involved, as well as an ongoing commission proceeding on how confidential programmer documents should be handled (CD Oct 2 p10), said both deal supporters and opponents in interviews Monday. “It is routine for the FCC to pause the review of significant transactions as it works to create a full record,” emailed a Comcast spokeswoman. Though the FCC tied the clock stoppage to Comcast/TWC’s providing complete answers to the agency’s large information requests, it’s not seen as a goad to get the companies to respond, said attorneys connected with transaction and opponents of the deal. The stoppage gives the FCC and others “the time they need to adequately go through the data,” said Public Knowledge Senior Staff Attorney John Bergmayer.

As the FCC looks to expand Wi-Fi capacity, Globalstar’s proposal to use some of its mobile satellite services (MSS) spectrum for terrestrial wireless purposes is a way to improve the efficiency of assigned spectrum, said an American Consumer Institute (ACI) Center for Citizen Research report. The proposal is an opportunity to expand Wi-Fi by providing 20,000 free access points to schools and other institutions, while continuing satellite services, the report said (http://bit.ly/1rdJAht). Some industry officials agreed the Globalstar proposal for the terrestrial low-power service (TLPS) can quickly be put into use. Some wireless operators said a time frame can’t be determined until thorough interference testing is done.

House staffers kicked off the planned internal bipartisan briefings on overhauling the Communications Act, as expected (CD Oct 2 p6). Republicans on the House Commerce Committee announced plans to overhaul the act in December, but Republicans and Democrats had not communicated about the initiative until now.

USTelecom petitioned the FCC to give ILECs a break on various legacy rules so they can concentrate on the buildout of fiber and modern communications networks. The Monday petition has a list of rules for which it seeks commission forbearance.

ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee should clarify the nature of its advice to the board and determine whether and how the GAC should be a policymaking body within ICANN, said comments filed over the weekend and Monday (http://bit.ly/1oXwOCq). The comments were in response to ICANN’s Aug. 15 proposal to increase the board’s voting threshold from 50 percent plus one board member to 66.6 percent (CD Sept 11 p15; Aug 20 p3). ICANN’s Business Constituency recommended ICANN delay consideration of the proposal until ICANN finalizes its accountability process (CD Sept 29 p6) (http://bit.ly/1q4ZUAJ). Comments were due Monday.

GRAPEVINE, Texas -- After leading the audience at Comptel’s conference in a chant of “competition, competition, competition,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Monday the “IP transition is not an excuse to limit competition.” He said the agency is exploring some actions, praised by Comptel and Public Knowledge, including the elimination of anti-competitive special access provisions, possibly making copper available to competitors when it’s being retired, and vowing that the commission will “step in” if the industry can’t voluntarily find a way to assure VoIP interconnection.

After the announcement Saturday that “Redbox Instant by Verizon” will shut down for good Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. PDT, a Verizon spokesman lashed out at media reports that he said gave the false impression that subscribers’ accounts were recently hacked.

The FCC’s new Licensing and Management System is planned to completely replace the commission’s Consolidated Database System by late 2015 or early 2016, said a Media Bureau official in an interview Friday. The first phase of that replacement took affect Thursday, with LMS coming online and replacing CDBS as the only way for full-power TV stations to electronically file for construction permits and licenses to cover them (CD Oct 1 p17).

AT&T’s net neutrality proposal to bar prioritization dictated by broadband providers, but allow them if requested by customers, would address concerns about paid prioritization while passing muster in the courts, said Vice President-Federal Regulatory Hank Hultquist, on a USTelecom open Internet panel Friday. The panel included two hybrid proposals recently cited by Wireline Chief Julie Veach as being considered by the FCC in the midst of the Section 706/Title II debate. AT&T officials met with the FCC chief technology officer and Office of Strategic Planning officials on Sept. 29, said an ex parte notice in docket 14-28, about how AT&T business customers can direct prioritization of certain types of traffic.

One of the parties in Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority’s review of Frontier Communications’ proposed buy of AT&T’s broadband, video and wireline assets in the state whose proposed conditions didn’t make it into PURA’s draft decision approving the deal said it’s unlikely to challenge the decision, while another said it hasn’t decided. The draft decision, issued Tuesday, would approve the deal in conjunction with a public interest settlement between Frontier and the offices of state Attorney General George Jepsen and Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz, along with additional commitments Frontier made after PURA rejected the initial settlement. The decision denied proposed conditions sought by Connecticut Light and Power (CL&P) and the Connecticut Internet Service Providers Association (CTISPA) (CD Oct 1 p13). Written objections to the draft decision are due Tuesday, with oral argument Oct. 14, PURA said.