Tech/telecom-minded Sen.-elect Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., will likely sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2019, lobbyists and industry officials told us. Republican leadership is seeking a female member given the criticism it took for an all-white-male majority reviewing Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation. Blackburn declined comment.
The FCC is looking at all possibilities in the 5.9 GHz band, including reallocating it for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use, Chairman Ajit Pai said on an episode of C-SPAN's The Communicators, set for telecast over the weekend. Pai confirmed that, as expected, he plans to take a broader look at the band, which is now allocated to dedicated short-range communications (see 1811140061). Pai didn’t offer a time frame or other details. Industry officials said his comments go further than anything he previously has said on the topic.
Europe's net neutrality rules are working well but could be tweaked, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) said in an opinion Wednesday. Stakeholders are primarily concerned about being allowed to innovate and having harmonized, clear and flexible application of the EU open internet regulation and BEREC's guidelines, it said. Consumers generally agreed the system is working but said national regulators should be harder on zero rating. One academic said the EU's regulatory approach, unlike that of the U.S., stifles innovation.
The FTC should be able to levy “real” penalties, like forcing executive firings, to deter FTC order violations and data misuse, Commissioner Rohit Chopra said Thursday. “When we find blatant misconduct, settling that for a no-money, no-consequences order, I worry that that’s just a green light for other market participants to say, ‘Hey -- there’s no downside even if we get caught, except for maybe a day of press,'” he said at a Capitol Forum event. Some experts at the event also said they expect the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to affirm a lower court’s approval of AT&T’s buy of Time Warner, but that the deal nonetheless poses competitive dangers (see 1812130004).
The FCC Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council approved a recommendation Thursday that new rules aimed at protecting the national security of networks be narrowly tailored to prevent disruptions. Commissioners approved an NPRM in April that would bar use of money in any USF program to buy equipment or services from companies that “pose a national security threat” to U.S. communications networks or the communications supply chain (see 1804170038). Chairman Ajit Pai said Wednesday those security concerns remain a commission focus (see 1812120043).
AT&T’s top FirstNet executive attacked, apparently targeting Verizon, during a meeting of the FirstNet board Thursday, accusing the rival of misleading first responders. Verizon has been actively recruiting public safety customers, seeking to maintain its hold on what has long been a Verizon market (see 1808140036). Chris Sambar, senior vice president-AT&T/FirstNet, didn't mention Verizon by name.
Given the high bar for reversing a facts-based district court ruling and the seemingly skeptical reception the agency received last week from a U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit panel (see 1812060015), antitrust experts told us it's likely AT&T will prevail in DOJ's appeal of the lower court allowing it to acquire Time Warner. Whether DOJ appeals again, either seeking a D.C. Circuit rehearing or petitioning the Supreme Court, is tougher to ascertain, they said.
Localities building municipal broadband networks are “flirting with a perverse form of socialism” and pose a “serious” threat to the First Amendment, said FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly in a 2,200-word blog post Thursday that responded to “hysterical outrage” from critics of remarks he made before the Media Institute. “I could retreat in the face of my critics’ attacks and misinformation, or I could continue to defend the First Amendment,” O’Rielly said. He previously wrote an equally long post against criticisms of FCC handling of the since-canceled Sinclair/Tribune deal (see 1805180072).
MARINA DEL REY, California -- U.S. over-the-top content services recently topped 240, said Parks Associates, creating a fragmented space that’s making it increasingly difficult for consumers to discover and find content they want to watch, said panelists at its conference Tuesday.
The FCC unanimously adopted an order to offer rural telcos more USF support in exchange for deploying more 25/3 Mbps broadband, as some expected (see 1812100052). The main elements appear largely the same as in a draft (see 1811210032). "Many more rural Americans will have access to high-speed broadband service," said Chairman Ajit Pai. A key lawmaker and RLEC groups praised the rate-of-return USF item -- which includes a reconsideration order and Further NPRM -- approved at commissioners' meeting Wednesday.