Evidence suggests the U.S. economy has become more concentrated and less competitive in the past 20 to 30 years, and that trend deserves “serious attention,” FTC Chairman Joe Simons said Thursday. This correlates with the shift to a less enforcement-oriented antitrust policy beginning in the early 1980s, he said, opening the agency’s first day of hearings on antitrust and consumer protection policy (see 1809120040). Friday’s was postponed due to weather concerns, as was a congressional hearing (see 1809130035).
The hold Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, placed on FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr’s reconfirmation is a temporary roadblock that will further delay securing Carr for a full five-year term ending in 2023 and unlikely to completely derail a vote this year, lawmakers and lobbyists said in interviews. Sullivan told us Wednesday night he placed the hold on Carr because of his continued concerns about FCC handling of the USF Rural Health Care (RHC) Program under Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1809120056). Confirmation of Carr and FCC nominee Geoffrey Starks has stalled repeatedly since Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., first tried to fast-track the two in June (see 1808230040).
Tech and telecom interests are ratcheting up opposition to U.S. tariffs on Chinese products being imposed over intellectual property disagreements between the countries. CTA, the Information Technology Industry Council, Internet Association, Telecommunications Industry Association and some 80 others wrote congressional leaders of their concerns and began Americans for Free Trade. It's a “major campaign against tariffs,” said the group Wednesday. Industry also continues telling the U.S. Trade Representative of concerns (see 1809110044), with tech heavy hitters teaming up after IBM earlier expressed concerns.
The FCC doesn’t need to impose additional reporting requirements on emergency alert system participants to combat false alerts, said NAB, CTIA, NCTA and the American Cable Association in docket 15-94. A few local governments and public TV interests disagreed.
EU lawmakers Wednesday adopted their negotiating position on copyright modification, paving the way for "trialogue" talks with the European Commission and Council. The 438-226 vote came after what Member of the European Parliament Virginie Roziere, of the Socialists and Democrats and France, called "virulent" lobbying and misinformation, much of it from the U.S. Lawmakers got more messages from the U.S. than from the whole of the EU on the proposal for a directive, she said at a news briefing. The amended text made key "tweaks" to the original report by the lead Legal Affairs Committee, Parliament said. The most contentious proposals -- for platforms to monitor user uploads for copyright infringements (Article 13), and for news publishers to be given a new right to remuneration (Article 11) -- are still in play.
The U.S. will have more than 50 5G cities at this time next year but to get there will require speeding up siting and help from the FCC, CTIA President Meredith Baker said Wednesday at the Mobile World Congress event in Los Angeles. The agency needs to reallocate more spectrum for broadband, she said. Commissioners are set to take up the next big wireless infrastructure order at their Sept. 26 meeting (see 1809050029). It's raising local concerns (see 1809110030).
Growing data privacy concerns and FTC Chairman Joe Simons’ decision to model hearings after pivotal events in 1995 suggest the agency is on the verge of a turning point, former officials and industry attorneys told us. It kicks off a series of public hearings on antitrust and consumer protection policy Thursday (see 1808240027).
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said Congress, not states, must tackle privacy and net neutrality laws. State privacy laws are a problem for everyone, including AT&T, Facebook and Google, he told a Goldman Sachs conference Wednesday. “I don’t even know how we operate” under different laws, he said. “It needs to happen at the federal level,” he said. “Congress needs to step up.”
With Phase 1 of the incentive auction TV channel repacking beginning Friday (see 1809100033) and many TV channel changes imminent, the FCC, NAB and broadcasters are working on strategies to get the word to viewers. Efforts range from TV spots starring Dr. Phil to interactive websites to physical handouts at electronics stores. Congress included $50 million in its latest repacking reimbursement legislation for consumer education. Some broadcasters and industry officials worry nonetheless about whether the message will get out in time.
Proposed rate ceilings for small-cells application fees set for an FCC vote Sept. 26 may undercut caps set by one-quarter of the 20 states that made small-cells laws in the past two years. Proposed FCC ceilings for recurring access and attachment fees appeared to equal or exceed the state laws that specified limits on such fees. Commissioner Brendan Carr said last week the draft wouldn’t “disturb nearly any” of the provisions of small-cell bills that state legislatures enacted (see 1809040056 and 1809050029).