The unified government of a Republican White House and two GOP chambers of Congress likely will lead to a bigger legislative stab at addressing telecom policy, observers and industry lobbyists told us Wednesday following the victory of President-elect Donald Trump. They agreed an infrastructure funding package could advance in his administration’s first 100 days but emphasized many challenges in how to structure it, which also had been expected of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s broadband stimulus goals.

Incumbent telcos are objecting to FCC draft reregulation of their legacy DS1 and DS3 business data services that would be more extensive than they originally believed. A draft order would subject all TDM-based telco BDS with data speeds below 50 Mbps to price caps and cuts, including dedicated inter-office "transport" services between network hubs, industry and FCC officials told us. "We never thought transport was at issue. ... We're all aghast at this," USTelecom Senior Vice President Jonathan Banks told us Tuesday. A commission official told us the proposed BDS legacy rate re-regulation would cover transport and not just loop-like "channel terminations" to end users in office buildings (and to cell towers). Commissioners plan to vote on a BDS order and Further NPRM Nov. 17 (see 1610270054).

Granting New York more time to align Lifeline with updated federal rules wouldn’t delay benefits to veterans or other customers, the state said. Staff from the New York Department of Public Service and FCC Wireline Bureau spoke by phone Thursday, said a Friday ex parte letter in FCC docket 11-42. New York is one of several states supporting a USTelecom petition to waive a Dec. 2 Lifeline implementation deadline (see 1610240024). “Bureau Staff expressed their concern that the grant of a waiver would delay the extension of benefits to new categories of customers, including those receiving Veterans’ Benefits,” the state said. “With respect to New York’s waiver request this would not occur. Currently, New York State eligibility criteria includes Veterans’ benefits, which means that those customers are eligible to receive federal benefits as well. A waiver for New York would not therefore delay any receipt of Lifeline benefits for these customers.”

The Ohio Public Utilities Commission directed Lifeline eligible telecom carriers to recertify customer bases to align with updated eligibility rules in the FCC order that added broadband as a supported service. ETCs should amend tariffs no later than Dec. 1, the PUC said in a Thursday order. ETCs should amend marketing material to reflect the revised eligibility programs and income levels, it said. USTelecom and some states sought waivers to postpone the December deadline for aligning state rules with the federal changes (see 1611020045).

It could take until 2018 for Michigan to align its low-income program with updated federal rules adding broadband internet access service to Lifeline, and many other states are in the same boat, said Public Service Commission Chairwoman Sally Talberg in an interview Wednesday. Talberg sponsored a NARUC resolution urging the FCC to grant waiver requests to postpone the Dec. 2 deadline for states that need more time. It’s seen likely to pass at the state regulator association’s Nov. 13-16 meeting in La Quinta, California (see 1611010042). The FCC is "evaluating the waiver requests,” said a spokesman.

New York state officials cited wide support for the state's request for expedited waiver of Connect America Fund requirements that Phase II broadband subsidy support in New York be awarded through competitive bidding. But some in the industry said in replies posted in FCC docket 10-90 that legal issues remain. Empire State Development Corp. is seeking a waiver that would allow it to tap federal CAF II support, declined by Verizon in New York, to help fund the state's own reverse auction of broadband subsidies for the same areas targeted by the FCC auction (see 1610260057). “The minimal opposition to the Petition was based on inaccurate factual and legal assertions of the waiver request and the many public interest benefits it would bring,” New York said. ViaSat said the record confirms legal barriers to granting the request. The waiver sought by New York is inconsistent with federal universal service policy and the statute governing federal USF distribution, the company said. The American Cable Association said the petition has “many potential benefits” for spreading broadband, but opposed it as “legally infirm” and suggested New York reconsider. USTelecom cautioned the FCC not to lose a national focus. It said the agency "must ensure that it balances any equitable allocation of CAF funds among the states, with the need to ensure the overall integrity of the CAF fund.”

NARUC may formally ask the FCC to postpone a Dec. 2 deadline to align state low-income programs with updated federal rules that added broadband as a supported Lifeline service. Association members plan to vote on a resolution seeking a delay at its annual meeting Nov. 13-16 in La Quinta, California, said draft resolutions released Tuesday. NARUC also plans to vote on three other telecom resolutions related to the Connect America Fund (CAF), VoIP applications for phone numbers and numbering best practices.

Charter Communications hires for Government Affairs team based in Washington, D.C.: Maureen O’Connell, ex-O’Connell Strategies and before that 21st Century Fox, as vice president-regulatory affairs, and Robert Kenny, ex-Mercury, as director-policy communications ... Viacom said board names Bob Bakish, who was president-CEO of Viacom International Media Networks, as acting president-CEO, effective Nov. 15; he succeeds Tom Dooley, leaving the company (see 1609210014); Bakish also was named president-CEO, Viacom Global Entertainment Group ... Lockheed Martin International hires David Trulio, ex-Raytheon and former corporate transactional lawyer, as vice president-international government affairs, operations, and regional executive, Latin America.

The FCC's new ISP privacy rules more closely align to the FTC's approach than initially proposed, but the areas of departure still are a disservice, said USTelecom President Walter McCormick Thursday. Those departures include classifying all web browsing as sensitive information, he said: "The FCC’s argument that broadband providers have unique access to consumer information compared to other internet firms is simply wrong." He also said Chairman Tom Wheeler's push for a proceeding to consider a ban on mandatory arbitration clauses in service contracts "threatens to do a disservice to consumers who seek speedy resolutions to problems that may arise, and goes well beyond the agency’s statutory mandate." Information Technology Industry Council CEO Dean Garfield also was critical of the FCC's 3-2 vote Thursday to adopt the new rules (see 1610270036). The broadband privacy rules, if they match up with the FCC's summary, "will be problematic for the internet ecosystem at large," he said. And Telecommunications Industry Association CEO Scott Belcher said the privacy rules "place burdensome regulatory requirements on ISPs ... [creating] an uneven playing field" and disincentivizing investment. "Consumers will benefit the most if American companies are encouraged and supported as they seek to lead the world in making 5G and IoT innovations a reality," he said.

AT&T's proposed buy of Time Warner could get opposition from parties ranging from programmers and public interest groups to Dish Network, but support could be harder to come by as many may remain neutral and not get involved with lobbying regulators and policymakers, cable industry experts told us. Industry groups like NCTA and USTelecom likely won't get involved, since organizations that have multiple interests might have a tough time coming to a unified stance, some said, though not everyone agreed. An NCTA spokeswoman said it typically doesn't comment on deals and didn't during Comcast/NBCUniversal, Charter/Time Warner Cable/Bright House Networks and the foiled Comcast/TWC. USTelecom didn't comment Thursday. Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmed Thursday that its Antitrust Subcommittee plans an AT&T/Time Warner oversight hearing Dec. 7 with the CEOs of both companies, as expected (see 1610260070).