Satellite earth station operators say as Intelsat, SES and Intel pursue their plan for clearing part of the C-band for potential terrestrial wireless use, one big question is how costs incurred due to changes to those earth stations will be reimbursed. "That's one of the many mysteries of this particular proposal," NPR Vice President-Policy and Representation Mike Riksen told us.
The FCC approved 4-0 an NPRM on ways to spark interest in the 2.5 GHz band. The item was changed while on the eighth floor to ask additional questions about how to make better use of the band, for example, holding an incentive auction like the one held for broadcast TV, officials said Thursday. Few carriers are expected to pursue the band, which is largely controlled by Sprint, despite the push (see 1805040036). The band, once dedicated to use by schools through the instructional television fixed service starting in 1963, was made available for other uses through the educational broadband service (EBS) launched by the FCC 2004.
The FCC order rolling back net neutrality regulation takes effect June 11, the commission said Thursday, the day before official notice is to hit the Federal Register. Chairman Ajit Pai and allies hailed the coming change and critics decried it. Some expect broadband providers to be cautious in exercising their new regulatory freedoms in the market; others suggested FCC opponents could seek a stay and the commission would ask the Supreme Court to dismiss litigation over the previous FCC's Title II net neutrality decision under the Communications Act. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who is pushing a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution aimed at reversing the FCC's rescission order (Senate Joint Resolution-52), said the date announcement helps the cause.
Chairman Ajit Pai has canceled most of the meetings she had scheduled with him since she returned to the FCC last year, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said Thursday during a news conference. Earlier in the week, Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who's leaving, said she was unable to regularly schedule meetings with Pai (see 1805070036).
The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority “disregarded legislative intent” in ruling Wednesday that the "municipal gain" space on utility poles or underground ducts -- reserved by a 2013 state law for municipalities to use “for any purpose” without charge -- may not be used to provide muni broadband, state Sen. Beth Bye (D) said in a Wednesday interview. “I’m just so sad for consumers,” said Bye, who sponsored the bill that provided the space and told PURA that the law allowed broadband. Commissioners said the law was hard to interpret. Frontier Communications applauded PURA, and Connecticut Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz said she and municipalities are disappointed and “considering next steps.”
It’s likely to take a “few more weeks” before the Senate Judiciary Committee reports FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen’s judicial nomination to the Senate floor, a committee aide said Wednesday. President Donald Trump nominated Ohlhausen to be a U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge. The committee held her confirmation hearing Wednesday, moving Christine Wilson one step closer to replacing Ohlhausen on the commission (see 1805020044).
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and other supporters of a Congressional Review Act resolution aimed at reversing the FCC order to rescind 2015 net neutrality rules (Senate Joint Resolution-52) said Wednesday they remain hopeful they will pick up support from additional GOP senators before a final vote seen likely next week. Fifty senators publicly support the resolution -- all 49 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. Markey filed a petition Wednesday to discharge the measure from Senate Commerce Committee jurisdiction, as expected (see 1804260030 and 1804300033), a final step in their bid to force a floor vote by a June 12 deadline.
Sinclair announced Fox as the final proposed buyer of the stations it said it plans divest to buy Tribune, as expected (see 1804250077), paving the way for FCC OK, said CEO Chris Ripley in an earnings call Wednesday: “We are going to go back in front of the FCC and hopefully get this on public file very shortly.” Ripley outlined possible outcomes for the proposed purchase if the U.S Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit knocks down the FCC’s restored UHF discount rule, a possibility many industry officials believe likely (see 1804200059). If the agency loses, Sinclair can “wait to see if there’s an appeal or some sort of FCC action,” Ripley said.
The FCC is likely to address its current spectrum screen, especially in light of T-Mobile’s proposed buy of Sprint, some industry officials said. But a move to change the screen could face a backlash, particularly because of the pending wireless deal, they said. The screen was last updated in a June 2014 order under then-Chairman Tom Wheeler and uses a one-third criterion in all bands then considered suitable for mobile broadband deployment. It includes an enhanced screen below 1 GHz because of the “distinct propagation advantages” of low-band spectrum. Commissioners Ajit Pai and Mike O’Rielly dissented then, citing concerns about the enhanced screen (see 1405160059).
AT&T's payments to Essential Consultants, a shell company founded by President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen, drew calls by Capitol Hill Democrats Wednesday for congressional and federal investigations. Michael Avenatti, porn performer Stormy Daniels' lawyer, revealed Tuesday that Cohen was paid as a consultant for several companies. Avenatti said AT&T paid Essential Consultants at least $200,000 for consulting work in $50,000 installments, though others estimated the total payment may be far higher.