Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel clashed over the FCC denying media outlets Freedom of Information Act requests for data about who was commenting in last year's net neutrality proceeding. "What is the Federal Communications Commission hiding?" Rosenworcel asked in a statement Monday accompanying the order. Pai called Rosenworcel's critique "partisan gamesmanship."
Nexstar agreed to buy Tribune for $6.4 billion, they said Monday. The fate of Tribune has been a focus of speculation since its sale to Sinclair collapsed. To stay under the 39 percent national TV-station ownership cap, the deal will include divestitures “approaching $1 billion, plus or minus,” said Nexstar CEO Perry Sook on a conference call. Nexstar is “very focused on complying with the current rules” and isn’t seeking to wait on a revised national cap or change to the UHF discount to get the deal done and approved speedily, he said.
Artificial intelligence will have major ramifications economy-wide, potentially revolutionizing the communications industry, Chairman Ajit Pai said. At an FCC event, he urged “regulatory humility” when dealing with emerging technology, as micromanagement would be “foolish or counterproductive.”
With the FCC eyeing what it calls "fundamental changes" to its local cable rate regulation framework, most lawyers with local franchise authority (LFA) experience and locality allies we talked to said this is likely the agency looking for an easy target in its deregulation quest. A minority view believes cord cutting could be raising fears LFAs could soon end up in position to re-regulate cable franchises, and the FCC is tackling those little-employed rules before then. Commissioners launched a Further NPRM at October's meeting that would revise the agency's cable rate rules regime for basic tier regulation by LFAs (see 1810230037).
Cities may face an uphill battle convincing the 10th Circuit to transfer appeals of the FCC’s September infrastructure order to the 9th Circuit, said experts Friday. San Jose and other municipalities sought transfer in a Thursday motion (in Pacer) that questioned use of a judicial lottery to select the 10th Circuit. They argued Portland, Oregon’s 9th Circuit appeal of the August order pre-empting moratoriums should establish venue for appeals of the September order setting shot clocks and rate ceilings.
House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., is focusing on consensus telecom issues in the waning weeks of the GOP's control of that chamber and emphasizing the need for bipartisanship on the committee ahead of the incoming Democratic majority. Walden confirmed to us the House Republican Steering Committee formally recommended Thursday he be retained as the party's House Commerce leader in the 116th Congress, as expected (see 1811020048), becoming ranking member. Current committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., are considered near certain to take over (see 1811070054).
With the U.S. “on the cusp” of Trade Act Section 301 tariffs rising Jan. 1 to 25 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, President Donald Trump took “authority that he does not have under the law” when he ordered the Sept. 24 imposition of retaliatory duties (see 1809180020), CTA President Gary Shapiro told the American Legislative Exchange Council’s States & Nation Policy Summit in a keynote Thursday. Speaking to an audience of mainly conservative state legislators, Shapiro stopped well short of threatening a CTA court challenge to block the Trump administration from putting the higher tariffs into effect, though CTA frequently has blasted the duties as "taxes" that run "afoul" of the 1974 Trade Act (see 1809070032).
Michigan small-cells legislation is heading to the governor’s desk after the House voted 74-35 Wednesday for SB-637 and 77-32 for SB-894. Like bills passed in 20 other states, industry-supported SB-637 aims to speed deployment of 5G wireless facilities by pre-empting local government authority in the right of way. SB-894 was needed to ensure zoning code reflects SB-637’s provisions because one can’t amend the zoning code by reference there. It's the first state to pass such a bill since the FCC’s September order setting review shot clocks and national rate ceilings.
The auto industry and allies urged the FCC to preserve the 5.9 GHz band for vehicle-safety communications and further scrutinize possible spectrum sharing with Wi-Fi. They said Office of Engineering and Technology phase I lab testing had limitations but showed unlicensed device prototypes could cause harmful interference with incumbent dedicated short-range communications at 5850-5925 MHz. The agency should carry out phase II and III field tests before making changes, they commented, posted through Thursday in docket 13-49 responding to an OET notice (see 1810290063).
Whether the 3.5 GHz band paradigm becomes the new norm or a specialty tool for particular occasions was debated by FCC Commissioners Mike O'Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel at a WiFiForward coalition event Thursday. "It's almost radical," eschewing the binary approach of licensed vs. unlicensed spectrum and going instead with the hierarchy of incumbents, secondary licenses and opportunistic use, Rosenworcel said. She hopes that approach will be used in other bands globally.