Ranking Democrats on four Senate committees are exploring privacy legislation, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, told us Tuesday, the day after the group introduced related principles (see 1911180054). “We will likely move forward with [a bill], but we’re talking to Republicans about it, too,” the Senate Banking Committee ranking member said.
SAN ANTONIO -- Verizon in particular and cable and telco industries generally took heat from consumer advocates and others for what they contend are lagging service quality and/or rising prices. The providers don’t face enough competition, aren’t building out broadband as quickly as possible and/or don't always meet their commitments, the advocates and others said in interviews Tuesday. They spoke on the sidelines of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates conference in the same hotel as NARUC, and on a panel (see 10:05 a.m. Tuesday).
Delay plans to remove CLECs' access to an ILEC's unbundled network elements (UNEs) at regulated prices until more-accurate broadband maps can pinpoint where broadband competition actually exists, a group representing CLECs told the FCC. "You need new maps before you can have new rules,” Incompas CEO Chip Pickering told us. He visited with FCC officials in recent weeks to ask them to withdraw the draft NPRM in docket 19-308 that commissioners are expected to vote on Friday (see 1911150016).
The FCC may have to backtrack on proposed rules for the citizens broadband radio service band after getting essentially no support in the record for cellular market area-level bidding in June’s auction of priority access licenses (PALs). Only T-Mobile backed CMA-level bidding but not using the FCC-proposed scheme (see 1911130056). Commissioners approved a notice in September that proposes to allow bidding on a CMA-level basis, rather than just by counties, in the top 172 CMAs. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks voted for the notice, though with reservations on CMA-level bidding (see 1909260040).
The House Commerce Committee was still waiting early Tuesday night to mark up the Television Viewer Protection Act (HR-5035) and nine other tech and telecom bills, amid a protracted debate on unrelated measures. The tech and telecom measures besides HR-5035 appeared all but certain to advance out of committee on voice votes. HR-5035, which would reauthorize parts of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act, also appeared likely to pass, albeit on a more uncertain roll call vote. House Commerce leaders failed to reach a deal before the markup on a compromise manager's amendment to HR-5035, dashing hopes for an easy consensus. The House Judiciary Committee remained on track to mark up the related Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act (HR-5140) Wednesday.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is expected to announce Wednesday the FCC will tackle sharing in the 5.9 GHz band between safety systems and Wi-Fi at the Dec. 12 FCC meeting. Pai is to speak Wednesday at a WifiForward event in Washington on a smart spectrum future. It's unclear whether the FCC has worked out a deal with the Department of Transportation, industry officials said Tuesday. Pai is expected to propose reallocating 45 MHz of the 75 MHz band to unlicensed use, officials told us.
The FTC's probing major platforms other than Facebook, which is under antitrust investigation, Chairman Joe Simons said Monday. He expects the Competition Bureau’s Technology Enforcement Division, which is “burning the candle at both ends,” will be successful, he said at an American Bar Association antitrust event.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere will step down at the end of April after his contract expires, to be replaced by Mike Sievert, currently president-chief operating officer, T-Mobile said Monday. Legere said on an analyst call he will remain on the board and T-Mobile isn’t backing down from its buy of Sprint. Legere became CEO in 2012 and is credited with turning the company around. The development “changes nothing” on the Sprint buy, Legere said. “We are not done yet. … This will be the start of T-Mobile’s next chapter.”
The FCC isn’t expected to issue a 2018 quadrennial ownership review order this year, and many broadcasters aren’t betting on quick movement on that issue, licensees and broadcast attorneys told us. Broadcasters “weren’t ever holding their breath” waiting for the radio ownership deregulation and possible changes to top-four ownership restrictions that might have been expected in a 2018 QR order, said Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Anne Crump. The FCC didn’t comment.
SAN ANTONIO -- The FCC seems poised to allow unlicensed devices including Wi-Fi to use at least part of the 6 GHz band that utilities and some others occupy to monitor infrastructure like power grids. Even though utilities and state telecom regulators have concerns about that approach, the federal regulator seems ready to act in coming months, said stakeholders on all sides that we spoke with on the sidelines of NARUC.