Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Christine Wilson support the FTC studying advertising and data collection practices. Speaking to reporters after a Monday Brookings Institution event, they recommended another FTC Act Section 6(b) study. Slaughter said the commission is in active discussions about an ad-related data collection review.
Integration plans between T-Mobile and Sprint are further along than expected, since the deal has taken longer than expected to complete, said T-Mobile CEO John Legere on a Q3 call Monday. “The silver lining is that we have had more time to prepare for the coming integration,” Legere said: “We have detailed integration plans and we are preparing to start deploying Sprint’s 2.5 GHz spectrum soon after closing” on buying that smaller company. He said with the state attorneys general court case to be heard in December, 19 state governments have now endorsed the deal.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated an order Monday for the Nov. 19 commissioners’ meeting that would bar providers from using USF support to buy from suppliers deemed a threat to national security. Pai mentioned Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE (see 1910280021). FCC officials said the order singles out those two. Pai proposes to seek comment on rules requiring eligible telecom carriers remove from their networks existing equipment from the suppliers and on how to provide financial assistance to carriers to help them transition to a trusted supplier.
Tuesday's House Communications Subcommittee hearing on repurposing spectrum on the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band (see 1910220070) is expected, like other Capitol Hill panels this year, to largely criticize the C-Band Alliance's proposal for a private auction of the bandwidth, communications policy-focused lobbyists said in interviews. House Communications, the Senate Commerce Committee and the Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee examined the FCC's C-band proceeding in hearings since May (see 1910170038). The House Communications panel will begin at 10 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn. A consortium of major satellite operators affiliated with CBA ahead of the hearing upped what they said their private auction plan would clear, as expected (see 1910250062).
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is crafting alternative legislation to a bill that overwhelmingly passed the House and would create a voluntary small claims board within the Copyright Office (see 1910230025), a Wyden aide told us. He and frequent partner here Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., recently placed holds on the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (Case) Act (HR-2426/S-1273), according to aides.
The C-Band Alliance faces pressure to provide an update on its revised proposal to make as much as 300 MHz available for 5G. Industry officials said an FCC filing could come soon, especially with a House Communications Subcommittee hearing on the band scheduled Tuesday (see 1910220070). If commissioners are to vote on an order on Dec. 12, as expected, Chairman Ajit Pai would have to circulate an order in less than a month. A CBA update could still come before Tuesday’s hearing, industry officials said. CBA didn't comment Friday.
FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly renewed his criticism of Lifeline's administrator, and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks expressed concern about problems with federal electronic certification of customers for the telecoms service for the poor. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said his agency wants to work with states on making database connections. The regulators spoke in Q&A with us after commissioners' meeting Friday. Earlier last week, states worried some could be dropped from Lifeline rolls when their jurisdictions began mandatory use of the national verifier after Wednesday's hard launch.
The FCC is expected to start its planned appeal of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on Prometheus IV with an en banc appeal at the 3rd Circuit. That could make the agency unlikely to grant further waivers of ownership rules connected with the case, said academics, broadcasters and appellate attorneys in interviews. That could affect the approval of pending deals at the FCC, broadcast attorneys said.
Democratic FCC members joined the majority Friday, begrudgingly approving Charter Communications’ effective competition petition based on the existence of vMVPD AT&T TV Now (formerly DirecTV Now). Both they and the Republican majority said the Cable Act clearly justifies grant of Charter’s petition. Democrats concurred in their votes, citing the near-certitude customers in parts of Massachusetts and Hawaii will face big jumps in the cost of basic cable.
FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly appears to have the support of several top Republicans to remain for another term, a factor officials told us makes him strongly favored for renomination. One stumbling block appears to be the timeline for President Donald Trump to re-up him amid a souring confirmations atmosphere on Capitol Hill caused by the House impeachment inquiry and 2020 presidential campaign. O'Rielly's term expired June 30 (see 1412170031). He can remain until this Congress ends at the beginning of 2021.