NEW YORK -- The FCC appeal of the media ownership ruling at the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the right move, said Nexstar CEO Perry Sook, Gray co-CEO Pat LaPlatney and Meredith Local Media Group President Patrick McCreery on a panel at NAB Show New York Wednesday (see 1909250064). The executives also discussed transaction prospects, ATSC 3.0 and prospects for a recession. There isn't anything the broadcast industry can do that would appease the 3rd Circuit, Sook said. “It's the only choice,” he said. “Two judges in Philadelphia have setting media policy for the whole country for 20 years.”
FCC Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks voted against the T-Mobile/Sprint/Dish Network deal, circulated by Chairman Ajit Pai two months ago (see 1908140052). Officials confirmed Pai and Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Brendan Carr previously voted yes, and Carr in an interview defended the process amid his Democratic colleagues' concerns. Deal opponents told reporters they will consider challenging the order in court but must see it first. State attorneys general are suing the carriers in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (see 1909030060).
Just banning Huawei and other Chinese equipment makers will have limited effect in making 5G networks more secure, said former FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson at the Hudson Institute. “China has engaged in some if its most significant and successful attacks not through Chinese infrastructure.” Others warned Tuesday 5G means additional risks.
Even minor changes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act could have “outsized consequences” for the tech industry and consumers, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman plans to testify Wednesday. Consumer advocates and academics prepared testimony blaming the industry for not doing enough to combat illegal platform activity. House Commerce Committee lawmakers meet Wednesday to discuss the industry’s content liability shield (see 1910090059).
Pearl TV and its partners in the ATSC 3.0 Phoenix model-market project will use this week’s NAB Show New York to showcase publicly for the first time the common “application framework” they developed and hope to promote as an open industry standard for 3.0's nationwide deployment, Pearl Managing Director Anne Schelle told us Monday. The framework “gives the CEs comfort that when they sell a television set in Chicago, the consumer experience on their set will be the same in Charlotte,” said Schelle of consumer electronics makers.
ATSC’s goal at NAB Show New York is “keeping the momentum going” for ATSC 3.0, “but also education,” which is why the “theme” of ATSC’s booth will be “Get Ready!” President Madeleine Noland told us Friday. As the 3.0 deployment gets closer, industry professionals responsible for the implementation are bound to have “a lot of questions,” she said.
As public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) in California become longer and extend across wider territories, regulatory authorities and consumer advocates want telecom companies to harden their networks and better educate their customers about how to stay connected. Utility company Pacific Gas and Electric alerted the public Oct. 8 it would begin its PSPS rollout in the early hours of the following day due to heavy winds and the possibility of wildfires, and warned some outages could extend for five days or more. Southern California Edison followed suit.
Broadcasters, broadcast attorneys and music industry insiders are surprised at FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly’s recent interest in payola. No one we interviewed this week disputed the illegality of record companies paying to have songs played on the radio, but many told us it hasn’t seemed like a pressing issue for several years. Several wouldn't speak on the record because it's not an issue they need to keep up with now.
The FTC’s lawsuit against Qualcomm has observers debating whether the agency is properly applying antitrust authority in a case with major implications for the tech industry (see 1908230057). The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is considering oral argument in early 2020.
Ericsson officials are optimistic about the eventual success of their lobbying Congress on the vendor's proposal for legislation that would require the FCC clear and auction the upper part of the 6 GHz band for exclusive-use licenses, while allocating the lower portion for unlicensed. Other participants in the debate believe such a bill has little chance of passing (see 1910090051). Such legislation would diverge from the direction of the FCC's current 6 GHz NPRM, which looks at opening 1,200 MHz of spectrum in the band for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use (see 1810230038). Ericsson’s proposed legislation appears to mirror proposals to the FCC by other wireless industry stakeholders (see 1902190005), though the company is pursuing legislation alone.