A court dismissed AT&T's breach of contract and a trade secrets violation complaint against a negotiator handling retransmission consent talks for a group of Sinclair sidecar stations. That prompted speculation by industry lawyers we spoke with Friday on whether the decision will affect broadcasters' appeal of an FCC ruling that they violated good faith rules.
Telecom experts asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. District to clarify state utility commissioners have jurisdiction of intrastate telecom cost allocation (see 1907220051) got their day in court Friday. One judge had questions for both sides. Oral argument left one member of the "Irregulators" hopeful states may get some authority returned, he told us later. Irregulators v. FCC, is case 19-1085 (on Pacer).
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., blasted Facebook during a Thursday news conference, calling the company’s behavior “shameful” and claiming the company acted in an “irresponsible” manner. Pelosi announced House Democrats “will be rolling out” a new infrastructure legislative package the week the chamber returns from its Martin Luther King Jr. week recess.
With the FCC through much of the incentive auction repack, it's pushing broadcasters to start closeout procedures instead of waiting nearer to the July 2023 fixed transition closeout date. The agency will likely set an earlier broadcaster deadline for submitting invoices, said Media Bureau Video Division Special Counsel Dana Leavitt at an FCBA event Thursday.
Advertisers need more education about the timeline and capabilities of ATSC 3.0, and the consumer experience is especially important, said panelists at the NextGen TV Summit put on by SMPTE and the Society of Broadcast Engineers Thursday,
The C-Band Alliance told the FCC the agency has “broad authority under Title III of the Communications Act” to require companies buying licenses in a C-band auction to pay for clearing the band as a condition of their participation. CBA plans to file an analysis by Brattle Group economist Coleman Bazelon detailing how the FCC could use an accelerated clearing fee paid by C-band auction winners to satellite operators that have to relocate. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel told a Senate Committee Wednesday authority isn’t clear (see 2001150067). An order is expected in February or March (see 2001090021).
Municipal broadband supporters see an opening to lift restrictions in Virginia, after Democrats flipped the legislature blue in the November election, they said in interviews this month. In week one of this year's session, Democrats floated three bills to explicitly authorize localities to provide broadband service. They're HB-1052 by Del. Mark Levine, HB-1242 by Del. Steve Heretick and SB-351 by Sen. Louise Lucas. Local advocates said it's a big policy turn from a 2017 bill to tighten such restrictions (see 1702210037).
Two telcos didn't meet all deployment requirements for having gotten USF money from the federal government, they reported Thursday. That drew concern from some state officials.
Washington state senators’ privacy bill lacks teeth and should have a private right of action, said the state attorney general’s office at a Senate Environment and Technology Committee hearing. Microsoft supported the bill, and other tech and internet companies said they are almost on board. The American Civil Liberties Union raised concerns, including on facial recognition bias and no private right of action. Also Wednesday, facial identification also got a U.S. House Oversight Committee hearing (see 2001150035).
Terrier Media wants to sell the Ohio daily newspapers acquired from its buy of Cox’s stations, said an FCC Media Bureau letter posted Wednesday in docket 19-98. Terrier planned to reduce the daily publication schedule of the papers -- which include the Dayton Daily News -- to three days a week to comply with the restored newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rules (see 1911220069). It was granted an extension of the deadline to arrange the sale, said the Media Bureau. The Thursday deadline to reduce publication was extended to March 16.