DOJ Antitrust Division head Makan Delrahim staked a claim to a lower-scale role in discussions within President Donald Trump's administration on how to ensure U.S. dominance in 5G deployments and developments, during a Wednesday Federalist Society event. Trump publicly opposed 5G nationalization amid longstanding concerns on Capitol Hill and elsewhere about the administration's direction on the issue last month (see 1904120065).
If there's to be a national three-digit suicide hotline number, expanding use of 211 -- already employed for community service referrals including crisis- and mental health-related calls in parts of the U.S. -- is the best route, with a 211 administrator to oversee that work, said the FCC North American Number Council. NANC on Wednesday unanimously adopted a report from its Numbering Administration Oversight Working Group.
The FTC should be wary of regularly naming executives in complaints because it results in more litigation, fewer resources and fewer cases, Chairman Joe Simons told reporters Wednesday. Earlier, at a House Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing, lawmakers discussed the agency’s possible settlement with Facebook. Critics urged the FTC to name CEO Mark Zuckerberg and hold him individually accountable for privacy violations.
Sinclair executives think broadcasters made a strong case to DOJ on advertising and remain optimistic about ATSC 3.0, saying they also expect a bump from political ads starting later this year. The company's Q1 sales gained 9 percent to $722.1 million from the year-ago quarter and it expects by year-end to start feeling the political advertising boost from the 2020 election, said CEO Chris Ripley and others on Q1 call Wednesday. Ripley said the broadcaster’s recent deal with Disney for 21 regional sports networks was the largest in his company's history (see 1905030059), saying Sinclair is “diversifying its revenue mix.”
A lot of the time and effort at 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19) will likely involve agenda item 1.13 on millimeter wave spectrum for international mobile telecom operations, said government and industry experts at a Satellite 2019 panel Wednesday. It's less clear whether those discussions will be contentious. With that many delegates and nations, "there's always a contest of some sort," said Ken Turner, deputy director-spectrum policy and programs, DOD Chief Information Office.
The FCC is seeking comment on bidirectional sharing, as required by the Ray Baum Act. Whether anything will result from a recent notice (see 1905010205) remains unclear, government and industry officials told us this week. NTIA has supported bidirectional sharing and asked the FCC to look more closely at the issue (see 1403250035). Industry officials are interested in what NTIA has to say if it files later this month. Comments are due May 31, replies June 17, in docket 19-128.
Groups representing rural carriers supported a petition by Pineland Telephone Cooperative challenging an FCC decision last year in a Connect America Fund order. The agency decided carriers that accepted the initial or revised alternative connect America model (A-CAM) offers in 2016 aren't eligible for A-CAM phase II support (see 1812120039). The rural ILECs also backed a Silver Star petition asking the FCC to rethink a decision to retain the high-cost loop support rural growth factor and not impose a cap. Replies on both were posted in docket 10-90 through Tuesday.
The FCC shouldn't go it alone on updating orbital debris regulations but should coordinate with other agencies, numerous satellite interests said in docket 18-313 replies last week. The Commerce Department in initial comments asked the FCC to pause the rulemaking proceeding (see 1904080033). But commenters didn't reach consensus on issues like orbital spacing between large constellations and how best to assess risk.
Sprint lost 189,000 postpaid phone customers in Q1, compared with adds of 55,000 a year ago, as it moved off promotional pricing. The negative numbers were expected (see 1905060038). “We delivered on our guidance for fiscal 2018, but many of the underlying financial challenges remain,” CEO Michel Combes said on a Tuesday investor call. “As a stand-alone company, we lack the scale to keep pace with the bigger carriers, AT&T and Verizon, in sustained capital investment.” Without low-band spectrum, Sprint won’t be able to offer the same 5G service as its bigger competitors, he said.
Committees need to collaborate on privacy legislation to ensure there aren’t sectoral inconsistencies, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, told reporters Tuesday. His post-hearing comments again sought financial sector involvement as Senate Commerce Committee privacy talks continue (see 1904040073).