It’s unfair to charge voice customers for broadband networks, but not guarantee voice services will be provided, said Nebraska Public Service Commissioner Crystal Rhoades Wednesday. On a webinar hosted by the National Regulatory Research Institute, Rhoades urged a revamp of USF contribution that includes broadband assessments. “We have to stop pretending that voice and broadband are separate things,” she said. “Ignoring the fact that we cannot build the network that we need without the inclusion of an assessment on broadband is almost delusional.” Competitive Carriers Association General Counsel Rebecca Thompson and NTCA Senior Vice President-Policy Mike Romano agreed. Not including broadband in the contribution base is “a disaster waiting to happen,” Romano said. The FCC has been mulling a contribution overhaul for more than 15 years, but politics remains a barrier to action, said ex-Wireline Bureau Deputy Chief Carol Mattey, now a consultant. Congress must be convinced it’s not taxing the internet to assess contributions on broadband, she said. But USTelecom Senior Vice President-Law and Policy Jonathan Banks said it’s forward-looking to fund broadband networks rather than voice lines. It’s important to take another look at USF contribution, but first there’s more work to do on the Connect America Fund, he said: “It’s important to keep our eye on the ball of getting current stuff done.”

State ISP privacy laws will confuse consumers and create litigation, industry officials testified at a legislative hearing live streamed Wednesday from Washington, one of several states moving bills to counter President Donald Trump and Congress’s use of the Congressional Review Act to kill FCC broadband privacy rules (see 1704060055). At least 10 legislatures are now mulling ISP privacy rules, and observers expect more to follow. A critical mass of states could push Congress to write federal rules, said Center for Democracy and Technology Policy Analyst Natasha Duarte.

State ISP privacy measures are “unnecessary,” a CTIA spokesman emailed Wednesday, joining USTelecom and ISPs slamming state legislatures that are moving to adopt internet privacy protections after President Donald Trump and Congress used the Congressional Review Act to kill FCC broadband privacy rules (see 1704050037). “The wireless industry takes a proactive and serious approach to protecting consumer privacy,” the CTIA spokesman said. “Federal and state laws already on the books and other industry protections safeguarding consumer privacy remain firmly intact today.” Meanwhile, the Washington state House plans a hearing April 12 on a broadband privacy bill (HB-2200) introduced Wednesday with about 75 sponsors from both political parties. It requires broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers to notify customers about privacy policies, obtain opt-out approval from a customer to use, disclose or permit access to nonsensitive customer proprietary data and take reasonable measures to protect customer personal information from unauthorized use, disclosure or access. “There are a couple notably industry-friendlier provisions, including exempting internal use of customer data from disclosure requirements,” said the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Jonathon Hauenschild. And it allows ISPs to charge more for services for those who don’t permit ISPs to share their data, emailed the Communications and Technology Task Force director. On the Minnesota House floor Thursday, lawmakers considered an omnibus jobs bill (SF-1937) including a privacy amendment stating that no telecom or ISP operating in Minnesota may collect personal information from a customer without written consent. The House hadn't voted at our deadline.

President Donald Trump’s signature Monday enacting the Congressional Review Act measure ending FCC ISP privacy rules immediately drew a flurry of responses that included outcry from defenders of the rules and praise from ISP industry officials. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mike O’Rielly lauded the new law. “To deliver that consistent and comprehensive protection, the [FCC] will be working with the [FTC] to restore the FTC’s authority to police Internet service providers’ privacy practices,” Pai said. “We need to put America’s most experienced and expert privacy cop back on the beat. And we need to end the uncertainty and confusion that was created in 2015 when the FCC intruded in this space.” Such a transition could involve undoing FCC Communications Act Title II reclassification of broadband. “The parade of horribles trotted out to scare the American people about its passage are completely fictitious, especially since parts of the rules never even went into effect,” said O’Rielly. Consumers “should feel confident,” said USTelecom President Jonathan Spalter. American Cable Association President Matt Polka said “nothing changes” in protecting consumer privacy. FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn tweeted that she awoke “from what I hoped was a bad dream.” FTC Commissioner Terrell McSweeny also tweeted her opposition. “The Republicans thought they could jam through this harmful law without anyone noticing,” said House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J. “Despite their effort to hide this latest corporate giveaway, Americans of all political stripes spoke out loud and clear to say that they wanted to keep their personal information private and secure.” Trump “made a grave mistake by signing this disastrous legislation,” said Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., calling the measure “as anti-consumer as it gets.” Consumer Federation of America Director-Consumer Protection and Privacy Susan Grant said “the fight is not over” and the groups “will continue to push for real privacy protections for Americans." She was echoed by Public Knowledge. "We've raised $23,000 to put up billboards exposing the lawmakers that voted to gut Internet privacy," Fight for the Future tweeted Tuesday. Richard Bennett, network architect and free-market blogger, lamented in a blog post about the “firestorm of delusion” about the issue. “The FCC will now draft a replacement regulation only constrained by the law and the requirement that it’s not substantially similar to the old regulation,” he said. “The new rules will harmonize the FCC’s approach to privacy with the FTC privacy framework.” Since the House passage of the CRA resolution, House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., has "received so many calls" on the issue, she said in a video, explaining her reasoning for the resolution: "This resolution does not make you less safe on the internet."

RIAA promotes Mitch Glazier to president, effective now, and to chairman-CEO, effective in January 2019; Chairman-CEO Cary Sherman retires, effective at the end of 2018 ... USTelecom hires Sally Aman, who ran her own firm, as senior vice president-communications and public affairs, succeeding Anne Veigle (see this section of the March 31 issue of this publication) ... Jenner & Block adds David Bitkower, ex-DOJ Criminal Division principal deputy assistant attorney general, as partner, White Collar Defense and Investigations practice.

USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter touted a "broadband first" agenda and bipartisan backing for including measures in infrastructure legislation to boost high-speed communications networks. He said any infrastructure bill must go beyond funding "asphalt and airports" because "the ones and zeros of broadband" are increasingly "essential" to connecting Americans. "We are going to be working very closely with the administration and with Congress to advance a national infrastructure plan that does prioritize broadband, that does allow the digital infrastructure of our nation to be more carefully coupled with our brick-and-mortar infrastructure," he said in an interview for C-SPAN's The Communicators being televised April 1 and April 3. He said there's "no daylight between Republicans and Democrats" on broadband's importance: "Those ones and zeros are not red and blue; they're red, white and blue." Spalter said USTelecom is focused on achieving provider "parity" and regulatory "clarity." Broadband providers invested more than $1 trillion over 20 years under "light-touch regulation" until the FCC in 2015 reclassified broadband under Communications Act Title II, an "artifact" of the 1930s with "regressive" rules, he said. “We support net neutrality. We understand that the ability to transact our online lives in an open and free environment is indispensable not only to our democracy but to the future of our economy, and to the health and safety and productivity and education, increasingly, of our families and communities." There should be "no throttling, no blocking -- we all agree on those types of principles," he said. "Where we disagree is how to get there." He predicted policymakers will move away from Title II regulation. He rejected the premise that competition is lacking: "The numbers really are off the chart: American consumers enjoy more broadband choice than any other consumer on the globe." He said next-generation networks will usher in innovations in "contextually aware environments, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, connected vehicles." Spalter called recent legislation to repeal FCC privacy rules a "win, win" for consumers that would lead to "harmonized" FCC and FTC protections for sensitive online data while allowing the benefits of innovation. He said a presidential executive order is expected soon to elaborate a clearer cybersecurity framework: "The threats are increasingly real." He said his association is working with other industry players and the Department of Homeland Security on an "action plan" to "ensure the integrity of our networks, their resiliency and security."

ISP heavyweights sought to reassure the public they would guarantee consumer privacy regardless of whether the FCC has privacy rules for ISPs. The pledges came Friday, before a likely presidential signature on a Congressional Review Act measure to kill FCC rules (see 1703300057). Democrats in the Senate and House opposed the resolution in recent votes and asked President Donald Trump to veto the override.

USTelecom's Anne Veigle, senior vice president-communications and ex-Communications Daily, decided to depart to pursue new opportunities ... Nexstar Media hires Gregory Raifman, ex-Rubicon Project, as president, Nexstar Digital, new post ... Space Foundation hires Tom Zelibor, ex-Lightwave Logic, as CEO, effective April 30 ... Windstream hires Christopher King, ex-Curo Health Services and telecom and cable analyst at Stifel Nicolaus, as vice president-investor relations ... Board of Conway Corp., operator of Conway, Arkansas-owned utility system including cable, phone and internet, promotes Chief Financial Officer Bret Carroll to CEO, succeeding Richard Arnold, retiring effective May 31.

Partisan tensions over FCC ISP privacy rules didn’t let up Wednesday after the House’s vote of 215-205 Tuesday to kill the rules via the Congressional Review Act (see 1703280076). The White House signaled President Donald Trump will sign it, but an administration spokesman wouldn't offer timing. House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and Mike Capuano, D-Mass., are petitioning for Trump to veto the CRA action.

The White House is inclined to sign off on the Capitol Hill GOP measure to kill FCC ISP privacy rules, the administration said in a message Tuesday, the day the House signed off on the measure after Senate approval last week (see 1703230070). “If S.J.Res. 34 were presented to the President, his advisors would recommend that he sign the bill into law,” the Trump administration said, citing “strong” support.