Comcast's trial of a 1 terabyte monthly data allowance (see 1604270058) could mean more companies offering similar large data caps, industry experts tell us. Some public interest groups, meanwhile, said the Comcast plan is evidence that data caps themselves are somewhat indefensible. "Comcast's sudden shift to a larger cap now indicates just how easily it could shift back down in the future, perhaps under a more favorable regulatory environment," emailed Sarah Morris, director-open Internet policy at New America's Open Technology Institute.

The FCC Wireline Bureau said "no" to industry requests for additional time to file comments on the ISP privacy NPRM. That means initial comments are due at the FCC on May 27, the Friday before the long Memorial Day weekend. Communications industry groups had asked for a 45-day delay (see 1604210048). FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a news conference Thursday that commenters had enough time to prepare (see 1604280061). The American Cable Association, CTA, CTIA, the Internet Commerce Coalition, NCTA, USTelecom and the Wireless ISP Association signed the industry letter seeking an extension. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also had supported a delay. “The Commission put interested parties on notice more than a year ago that it would address broadband privacy issues through a separate proceeding,” said the Friday notice in docket 16-106, signed by Wireline Bureau Chief Matt DelNero. The FCC’s policy is that extensions not be routinely granted, the notice said: “Commission proceedings often involve novel and important issues, yet granting an extension is not the norm. Likewise, overlapping comment cycles in Commission proceedings are not unusual given the press of Commission business. Further, the Commission has set similar comment deadlines in comparable proceedings, and we see no need to deviate from that precedent in this case.”

Sandwich Isles Communications asked the FCC to approve a new plan that SIC said would reduce the amount of cost recovery it needs from a National Exchange Carrier Association mechanism, which has been the subject of a protracted fight. SIC floated the plan Thursday as parties responded to a Wireline Bureau invitation to refresh the record in the proceeding, the deadlines for which were recently extended at the company's request (see 1604180032). NECA is evaluating the plan and trying to understand precisely what Sandwich Isles is proposing and what its impact would be, Jeff Dupree, the association's vice president-government relations, told us Friday. The FCC had no comment.

FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly lauded Senate Commerce Committee OK of the FCC Process Reform Act (S-421) Wednesday (see 1604270055). Process overhaul is “an issue I have pursued avidly during my time at the Commission,” O’Rielly said in a statement. “While I generally defer to Congress’ deliberation on legislation, it seems appropriate to share my thoughts that the bill would improve transparency, efficiency, and accountability for an agency that sorely needs it. Senator [Dean] Heller’s legislation would not impede Commission deliberations or decisionmaking in any way. Rather, it would ensure more reasoned and thoughtful consideration of Commission proposals by those inside and outside the agency.” Democrats opposed the measure, and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., was doubtful Tuesday about the bill’s prospects on the floor, given that divide. The bill “will improve agency accountability and efficiency,” USTelecom President Walter McCormick said. Public Knowledge Vice President-Government Affairs Chris Lewis called S-421 “unnecessary” and opposed it. “This bill runs the risk of prolonging and complicating the FCC’s rulemaking process,” Lewis said. “It shifts the focus in rulemakings away from the public interest standard to a focus on the economic and regulatory interests of industry.”

The FCC launched an effort to replace its telco special access regime with a “technology-neutral” framework governing business data services (BDS) used by enterprise customers on a retail basis and telecom competitors on a wholesale basis. Commissioners voted 3-2 along party lines Thursday as some expected (see 1604270051) to approve a Further NPRM along with a tariff investigation order that prohibits certain incumbent telco practices. Chairman Tom Wheeler said the plan is to establish “a level playing field” and make regulatory judgments based on the competitiveness of markets. “That is what is proposed. Then we ask a lot of questions,” he said.

The FCC’s net neutrality order continued to spur lobbying activity more than a year after the agency adopted it. Q1 lobbying disclosure reports showed much evidence of net neutrality issues keeping industry lobbyists busy. Capitol Hill observers and lobbyists told us the pending U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruling on the industry net neutrality challenge, which could be released any week, has the potential to kick up intense lobbying throughout Q2 and perhaps beyond.

A broad group of industry associations asked the FCC to delay by 45 days the deadlines for filing comments on the ISP privacy rulemaking. After the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) had asked the agency to extend the comment deadlines 60 days (see 1604130054), industry observers said they didn’t think the FCC was inclined to provide more time (see 1604150075). The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also filed in support of an extension. Wireline Bureau Chief Matt Del Nero is to discuss the NPRM at an FCBA seminar Friday.

More than 70,000 U.S. residents have signed petitions against the FCC's proposed set-top box regulations, the Future of TV Coalition said in a news release Tuesday. The coalition has a petition on its website, urging that the FCC "support app-driven innovation and to reject a one-size-fits-all tech mandate that will harm consumers, require obsolete technologies and limit the growth of new content, diverse voices, and new experiences." The coalition, according to its website, is backed by an array of communications companies and associations, including the American Cable Association, AT&T, Cablevision, Cincinnati Bell, Comcast, Dish, EchoStar, ITTA, MPAA, NCTA and USTelecom.

Telecom industry officials and FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai cheered the 241-173 House approval of the No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act (HR-2666) Friday. But the bill’s fate is uncertain and likely limited, based on past statements from senators and last week’s veto threat from the White House. The bill was unaltered from the Commerce Committee markup version that left Democrats frustrated and unanimously opposed.

An executive branch filing in support of the FCC set-top box proceeding (see 1604150003) is largely laudatory of the commission's proposal but also questions aspects of the agency's plans on privacy and copyright, which have also been a focus of the proposal's opponents. “The Commission should take steps to ensure that expansion of competition in navigation devices does not diminish existing privacy protections,” NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling said in the filing. Privacy and copyright concerns were the focus of a joint NCTA/MPAA news briefing denouncing the FCC plan last week (see 1604130052), which itself followed experts saying that access to consumer data may be the ultimate tech prize in the NPRM approved by a politically split FCC (see 1603080037).