BERLIN -- Sony executives are big on 5G, they told a consumer electronics conference Thursday. They said it will benefit gaming and other user experiences. The company also unveiled a new smartphone.
PHILADELPHIA -- NATOA is mobilizing members for an autumn battle expected at the FCC over wireless infrastructure deployment in the right of way, while the Wireless Infrastructure Association is hearing from local government concerns about small cells, said the groups’ officials in interviews this week. Local representatives asked hard questions of industry officials -- and tensions sometimes flared -- at NATOA’s annual conference (see 1808290044 and 1808280032). “Not always an easy conversation, but it is an appropriate conversation,” said WIA Director-Government Affairs Zac Champ.
The House and Senate Commerce committees are aiming to continue working on telecom and media issues in September, lawmakers and lobbyists said in interviews. Senate Commerce leaders plan additional work to create a spectrum and 5G-related legislative package as the committee’s top telecom priority. House Commerce is eyeing a September media marketplace hearing with a likely focus on the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act (HR-6465). Lobbyists and communications sector observers cautioned that Capitol Hill’s rapidly closing legislative window means there's only a limited chance new telecom bills will advance before November elections and the subsequent lame-duck session.
FCC Republicans Ajit Pai, Mike O’Rielly and Brendan Carr have voted together the vast majority of the time. Carr partially dissented once and has been mostly in step with Pai since he became a member a year ago. O’Rielly, a commissioner throughout Pai's chairmanship, has disagreed more, based on our review. O’Rielly has had partial dissents 12 times and a full dissent once.
BERLIN -- IFA executives are hedging their bets on GfK forecasts that the global consumer electronics industry will grow marginally in sales this year because the U.S. trade wars with China and the EU make it impossible to foretell what the fallout might be on the tech industry, they told IFA’s annual opening news conference Wednesday. GfK estimates global CE shipments will rise 0.8 percent in 2018 to 854 billion euros ($999 billion), after a 1 percent increase in the year’s first half, said the executives.
Some of the gray legal issues for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act aren't likely to become more black and white in the near future, with the Supreme Court unlikely to take up one petition for writ of certiorari filed last week on safe harbor issues and no looming good test cases for a host of others, copyright experts said. District Court rehearing of BMG's copyright complaint against Cox, which was to start this week after last week's settlement, pre-empted a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals remand and decision that the cable operator wasn't entitled to safe harbor protections (see 1808240013).
Sen. Orrin Hatch will look to move the Music Modernization Act (S-2823) in the “next few weeks,” an aide for the Utah Republican told us Wednesday. His push will likely come after Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh (see 1808280054), which begin Tuesday, the aide said. Nashville Songwriters Association International Executive Director Bart Herbison expects the Senate to focus on Kavanaugh proceedings the next two weeks. He anticipates a vote on the music copyright legislation (see 1808170046) in late September or early October.
PHILADELPHIA -- Verizon throttling of Santa Clara County firefighters shows “one of the reasons FirstNet is here,” said AT&T Director-FirstNet Strategy and Policy Ryan Burchnell Wednesday at the NATOA conference. Burchnell pitched FirstNet to attendees as AT&T works to sign up local agencies. Meanwhile, local officials and attorneys continued to sound the alarm about imminent federal and state actions to ease 5G small-cells deployments by pre-empting local authority in the right of way (ROW).
Tribune helped plan divestitures it now calls "shams" and violated the terms of its agreement with Sinclair by backing away from the deal in the face of the FCC hearing designation order, the spurned buyer said Wednesday in a response filing and counterclaim to the takeover target's breach of contract lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court (see 1808150056). FCC objections to the deal “came out of nowhere” and were “abrupt and surprising,” Sinclair said: “At no point during these discussions did the FCC ask for any changes or more information” regarding the divestitures it later called out as deceptive or regarding “the consideration the Parties would receive in the transaction.”
Telecom industry interests are supporting the FCC's proposal for extending the current jurisdictional separations freeze and allowing RLECs that chose to lock in their category relationships in 2001 a chance to opt out, in docket 80-286 comments. Commissioners unanimously approved the Further NPRM in July (see 1807180059). Monday was the comment deadline, with replies and state public utility commission initial comments due Sept. 10 (see 1808200025).