Opponents of the Supreme Court’s Wayfair decision (see 1807200042 and 1807020035) sought to put a moratorium on states collecting online sales taxes from vendors without physical presence. Proponents told lawmakers to leave states alone, as the high court’s reversal is allowing responsible tax collection.
New entrants backed and telco, cable and electric utility incumbents voiced mixed views about an FCC draft order eying a one-touch, make-ready (OTMR) pole-attachment process and other changes to speed broadband deployment. Google Fiber, Incompas and the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) were supportive; the American Cable Association, AT&T, CenturyLink, Comcast, NCTA, FirstEnergy and American Electric Power Service (AEPS) and Georgia Energy voiced different levels of concern and offered proposed modifications. The stakeholder lobbying was reported in filings posted Tuesday and recently on the draft eyed for a vote at commissioners' Aug. 2 meeting (see 1807120053).
The House Communications Subcommittee's Wednesday FCC oversight hearing is expected to delve into multiple issues, including a likely partial focus by Democrats on the commission's recent adoption of the hearing designation order seen endangering Sinclair's proposed purchase of Tribune (see 1807190060), lawmakers and industry officials told us. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and the other three commissioners will testify, as expected (see 1807180043). It's looking less certain that Senate leaders will include confirmation votes on FCC nominee Geoffrey Starks and Commissioner Brendan Carr's second term in a package of nominees before the abbreviated August recess.
NTIA is starting a feasibility study for the 3450-3550 MHz band, though making the spectrum available for commercial use is no slam dunk, said Paige Atkins, outgoing (see 1807230049) associate administrator-spectrum, at the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee meeting Tuesday. NTIA is targeting the band as the next candidate for wireless broadband, Administrator David Redl announced in February (see 1802260047), noting DOD needs to find another location for military radar systems in the segment of frequencies that carriers may use for 5G.
The FCC got an array of advice on ways to curb intercarrier compensation arbitrage schemes that stimulate access charges. Industry parties supported, opposed and offered nuanced views on the commission's main proposal to undercut arbitrage financial incentives by giving "access-stimulating LECs" two options: to assume financial responsibility for traffic or allow direct connections. Some offered modified versions and others said the best solution is to finish the move to bill-and-keep arrangements under which carriers generally don't pay each other for exchanging traffic. Comments were posted Friday and Monday in docket 18-155 on an NPRM approved in June (see 1806060010).
Several telecom and media companies that engaged in mergers and acquisitions during Q2 reported little change in lobbying expenditures compared with the year-ago quarter. The tech sector also reported mixed lobbying activity, though the Internet Association and several other groups reported major spending increases. Google remained the top overall tech and telecom sector spender at $5.8 million, down almost 2 percent from 2017.
The FCC should eliminate USF silos to more efficiently target support, ex-Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said Monday at a livestreamed Next Century Cities broadband summit in Pittsburgh. Policymakers must balance broadband support for rural and urban areas, she and other current and former government officials said. Broadband issues shouldn’t divide political parties, they said, but Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Blair Levin noted the subject frequently ignites fights between Democrats and Republicans.
The expected unraveling of Sinclair buying Tribune isn’t likely to deter future deals, said broadcast executives, brokers, analysts and attorneys in interviews (see 1807190060). Sinclair’s deal included circumstances that are unlikely to apply to other transactions, even those with sidecar companies, industry officials said. But continued uncertainty about the ownership cap and a lack of buyers still means dealmaking will be slow, said analysts. With the future of the UHF discount and the cap unclear, companies “can’t be sure what they’re buying,” said Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker.
With the imminent departure of Paige Atkins, NTIA associate administrator-spectrum (see 1806130080), agency Administrator David Redl has a big job to fill as it works on the administration’s spectrum policy and industry moves closer to the launch of 5G. Atkins will make her last spectrum report to the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC) Tuesday. Industry officials said Redl is likely to look outside NTIA to fill the key spectrum position, though one of Atkins' two deputies -- Peter Tenhula or Steve Molina -- is expected to fill in on an interim basis.
From lowered barriers to cross-border data flows to opposition of extraterritorial application of other nations' privacy laws, NTIA saw a slew of recommendations in response to its notice of inquiry on what should be its international internet priorities. Comments due Tuesday were posted Friday. Many saw no need to unwind the moving of IANA functions from NTIA to global stakeholders. The unwinding would signal that governments alone should govern the internet -- "a dangerous proposition that incentivizes those who fear the internet's transformative power" and could lead to countries building closed networks operating independently of ICANN, Google said.