LAS VEGAS -- CLEC executives at the Incompas Show mixed optimism and hope that the FCC won't grant a USTelecom bid for ILEC relief from wholesale duties to share networks with rivals. They told show attendees that competitor ability to lease access to discounted copper unbundled network elements (UNEs) of large incumbents encourages both sides to deploy fiber. Some cited the importance of maintaining "avoided-cost resale" requirements also targeted by a USTelecom forbearance petition.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is the favorite to succeed Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, if Grassley replaces retiring Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, lobbyists and industry officials told us. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., who scored legislative victories in 2018, is favored to succeed retiring House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, who holds seniority over Collins, also is said to be seeking the top GOP seat.
T-Mobile buying Sprint is as “problematic" as AT&T’s failed buy of T-Mobile, if not more so, said Debbie Goldman, research and telecom policy director at the Communications Workers of America, on a call featuring transaction opponents. Earlier Wednesday, Sprint reported it has been profitable for four quarters running.
The FCC should rethink the state challenge process for Mobility Fund II, said Mississippi Public Service Commission Chairman Brandon Presley. After drafting a NARUC resolution ( 1810300037), the Democrat said in an interview Tuesday the process has been a "nightmare" and his state could lose millions of dollars. “It doesn’t seem that even the FCC knows what the process involves,” so “it’s important for them to stop, back up and get it right.” The FCC defended the MF-II process Wednesday. NARUC members told us they're reviewing the measure that’s supported by small rural carriers.
Having floated cable-TV rule changes during October's meeting (see 1810230037), FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly has other media revision issues in the hopper and plans to use the monthly meetings as a forum to start discussions. "I'm looking at everything we regulate in cable space," from mundane issues to "more heavy lifting," he told us. He said the agency is unlikely to act on new kidvid rules this year.
The longer the FTC’s Facebook-Cambridge Analytica probe lasts (see 1808220030), the worse the outcome could be for Facebook, said former FTC Deputy Chief Trial Counsel Michael Kades Tuesday. “If you’re really going to try to hammer a company in a new way, you get your ducks in a row.” Kades at a New America Open Technology Institute event noted the agency is likely preparing for all possible rebuttals. “That the FTC hasn’t done anything on the Facebook [probe] yet, I don’t think that means anything," he said.
The 1992 Cable Act is largely “obsolete” and “mostly unnecessary,” MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett said in his response to lawmakers' written questions after a September House Communications Subcommittee hearing on the state of the media market. The hearing in part touched on coming 2019 Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA) reauthorization and the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act (HR-6465) to repeal compulsory copyright licenses and retransmission provisions in the Cable Act (see 1809270062). The committee released responses Tuesday.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission got much support for reverse pre-empting the FCC on pole attachments. In comments this week in docket L-2018-3002672, carriers said reverse pre-emption could speed dispute resolution, and electric companies said having a state regulator in charge could provide more balance than the FCC. Pole owners and riders disagreed on the degree to which the PUC would be able to deviate from FCC rules. Pennsylvania could be the first state in nearly a decade to reverse pre-empt the federal agency (see 1807250039).
LAS VEGAS -- Telecom provider antitrust immunity under a 2003 Supreme Court case isn't sweeping, said Makan Delrahim, DOJ assistant attorney general, at the Incompas show Tuesday. In Verizon v. Trinko, justices said "the mere violation of an FCC rule that was intended to deregulate a market does not create an antitrust violation," he said in Q&A with Steptoe & Johnson's Markham Erickson. "It doesn't mean the antitrust laws don't apply. … Where there has been deregulation, if it meets our test, we would challenge either the conduct or the transaction.”
Most commenters welcome moves to open the 3.4-4.2 GHz C-band for 5G, as some question the FCC’s proposed market-based approach to making licenses available. Questions remain how to create a smooth glide path there for satellite operators. Tuesday, some said the FCC appears to want to move quickly on the band, but final rules are unlikely until late 2019.