U.S. District Judge Richard Leon giving a thumbs up to AT&T buying Time Warner (see 1806120060) isn't precedent-setting and shouldn't affect how DOJ looks at other potential vertical mergers, experts said on C-SPAN's The Communicators, to be telecast Saturday and now online. "I don't think this is a referendum on vertical mergers," said Joshua Wright, executive director-Global Antitrust Institute, George Mason University. The American Antitrust Institute, which opposed the deal, wants Justice to appeal. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, meanwhile, said separately he will continue judging deals case by case and vertical combinations are neither necessarily good nor bad (see 1806140049).
Discussions turned heated at the FCC Disability Advisory Committee Thursday on captioning and why captions disappear when content migrates to the internet. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai expressed his commitment on disability issues.
PHILADELPHIA -- Pennsylvania may reverse pre-empt the FCC for pole attachment authority, an option for states not taken for nearly a decade. Public Utility Commissioners voted 5-0 for a motion by Commissioner Norman Kennard to open a rulemaking that surprised some. Earlier Thursday, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr told the Above Ground Level (AGL) Summit in Philadelphia the FCC may learn from state small-cells bills as the federal agency weighs action to lower state and local barriers to 5G deployment.
Sinclair could restructure its Tribune buy to fit under the 50 percent national ownership cap being pushed by several TV station owners (see 1806050040) if that's what the FCC decides on, Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley responded to us at a panel during an S&P investor conference Thursday in New York. Ripley declined to speculate what the agency would do.
USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter made his case for congressional internet legislation to protect data privacy and promote openness and innovation across all sectors. "There is only one internet and it deserves a national policy framework," he said Wednesday at The Media Institute, tracking prepared remarks, with tweaks. A national framework is one of five internet "pillars" along with universal connectivity, consistent safeguards, cybersecurity collaboration and a regulatory agency update, he said.
Given the dramatic shift toward digital data gathering practices for advertisers, Congress should prioritize transparency and privacy for consumers, members of the House Digital Commerce Committee told us before a Thursday hearing (see 1806080032). “You’re seeing massive change out there in what’s going on. We’re seeing the way people are getting their information is changing, and it’s an ever-changing process,” said Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio. “It’s really getting that information [on data practices] out there so people can understand what it is.”
State net neutrality actions show a strong public rebuke of the FCC December order that took effect Monday (see 1806110054), consumer advocates said on a National Regulatory Research Institute (NRRI) webinar Wednesday. But a Montana commissioner and broadband industry officials dismissed efforts as politically driven and probably not effective. A Rhode Island net neutrality bill cleared a key Senate committee Tuesday and lawmakers could pass restrictions on state ISP contracts by the end of next week, said sponsor state Sen. Louis DiPalma (D) in an interview. California lawmakers plan more hearings next week.
The shift to online public files for radio and TV made it easier for the FCC to catch broadcasters in violations, and is expected to lead to increased disclosures of late or misfiled documents when license renewals come around next June , broadcast attorneys said in interviews. Broadcasters saw online public files as a way to increase convenience and pave the way for eliminating the main studio rule, but the increased scrutiny of fillings is an unintended consequence, said Fletcher Heald's Steve Lovelady. “Given that the contents of the online public file can be viewed by anyone, anywhere, just by launching an Internet browser, we would expect more complaints about incomplete files, and more scrutiny by the FCC,” blogged Wilkinson Barker's David Oxenford.
A Wednesday Senate Commerce Committee hearing on NTIA oversight turned into a venue for members to criticize President Donald Trump's telecom policy-related actions. They also peppered Administrator David Redl with questions on agency priorities ranging from spectrum reallocation aimed at bolstering 5G to NTIA's stance on the 2016 Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition. Much of the criticism of Trump centered on his recent push to lift the Department of Commerce-imposed seven-year ban on U.S. companies selling telecom software and equipment to ZTE (see 1806130070). There were also questions about a much-maligned National Security Council proposal to deploy a nationalized 5G network.
Whether DOJ will appeal a U.S. District Court rejection of its attempt to block AT&T's $108.7 billion buy of Time Warner isn't clear, with antitrust and law experts split. "DOJ would be crazy to appeal Judge [Richard] Leon's decision," emailed Nebraska College of Law assistant professor Gus Hurwitz. But, Larry Downes, Georgetown University Center for Business and Public Policy project director, said Justice is more likely than not to pursue an appeal, even one it thinks it can't win, because that gives Justice leverage it trying to force the companies to agree to conditions that would mitigate anti-competitive worries.