FCC and DOJ approvals of Sinclair buying Tribune are expected in the next few months, industry officials told us. DOJ is considered close to working out an agreement with Sinclair (see 1711300063), and it’s common for FCC approval of a transaction to follow closely after Justice, lawyers said. Though Sinclair/Tribune as filed would leave the combination above the national ownership cap, the companies are widely expected to divest and come in under the cap before transaction approval (see 1711210044).
Ten groups announced a "#MobileOnly challenge" to highlight concerns with possible FCC action to "lower broadband standards" in its Telecom Act Section 706 inquiry into whether advanced telecom capability (ATC) is being deployed adequately to all Americans. The challenge next month will call attention to an agency "proposal" to "consider an internet connection on a single mobile device the same as a 'fixed' broadband connection" at home, Next Century Cities said Monday.
Experts see scenarios where major studios may or may not oppose Disney's planned buy of Fox (see 1712140038). Studios won't be happy about the increased competitive power and market share that comes with Disney/Fox, but many might also be looking to do their own mergers and acquisitions in response and don't want to raise too big an objection, said Avri Ravid, Yeshiva University professor of finance and an expert on M&A and the entertainment industry. The deal likely won't need to go through FCC review since no Fox-held FCC licenses central to operations are being transferred, a communications lawyer said.
The FCC is expected to seek comment on structural issues before moving forward with a new Office of Economics and Data (OED), industry officials said. Chairman Ajit Pai said in April he was establishing a working group of economists and “data professionals” within the agency who will be asked to look at some basic questions about who should staff the office and how it will be structured. He said then he hoped to have it up and running this month (see 1704050047).
ICANN's plans to make registries hold domain name owners' contact information or face data protection problems with a coming EU-wide privacy regime, called general data protection regulation, are sparking blowback from government officials and others. ICANN's "thick Whois consensus policy" requires all new domain name registrations be submitted to the registry as "thick" starting May 1 and all relevant registration data for existing domains be shifted from "thin" to thick by Feb. 1, 2019, the ICANN board said in a resolution adopted Oct. 29. ICANN defines "thin" registrations as those with only technical information such as domain name servers and creation dates, and "thick" as including registrants' contact details. EU privacy chiefs and the Internet Governance Project (here) said the plan will likely run afoul of privacy rules.
State officials and lawmakers said they will test FCC pre-emption and make net-neutrality rules for residents, after commissioners’ 3-2 vote to rescind national protections. More Democratic state attorneys general said they will sue, after Thursday’s announcement of a multistate lawsuit by Democratic New York AG Eric Schneiderman (see 1712140044). The National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates likely “will be joining one of the many actions that will be filed,” NASUCA President Elin Katz of Connecticut told us Friday.
The political backlash following the FCC eliminating net neutrality rules raises stakes in an ongoing conversation on the effect on competition of convergence in the tech and broadband sectors. Mindful of the supercharged political atmosphere, antitrust agencies will be under increasing pressure to protect markets and consumers, experts said in interviews. Acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen said the agency looks forward to its role as “the cop on the broadband beat” (see 1712140039). A DOJ spokesman said the “Antitrust Division stands ready to vigilantly protect American consumers and the free markets from any potential violation of the antitrust laws" by ISPs.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed Friday to "force" a floor vote on a planned Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval to counteract the FCC order to repeal 2015 net neutrality regulation. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., are leading the CRA push and will file their respective resolutions in the Senate and House once the order is promulgated (see 1712110050, 1712120037 and 1712140044). Industry lawyers and governance experts noted diverging opinions on the procedural timeline for bringing up CRA resolutions on the net neutrality repeal. The precise timetable for court challenges to the order is also somewhat murky due to the item's structure, attorneys told us.
The FCC approved 5-0 Thursday a public notice on twilight towers, as expected (see 1712110043), examining ways such towers could be made available for collocation of wireless facilities without additional historic review. The PN is an early part of the FCC’s focus under Chairman Ajit Pai on speeding up the buildout of wireless facilities. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel concurred, citing concerns about the treatment of Indian tribes.
All commissioners spoke in support of the FCC’s order creating a dedicated Blue Alert code, but Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel was a lone partial dissent, voicing objection to the cost-benefit analysis. That analysis “puts a price on the death of first responders and then nets it out against industry expenses,” Rosenworcel said. “There is a way to do cost-benefit analysis thoughtfully and with dignity for those who wear the shield,” she said. “This isn’t it.” With Rosenworcel’s partial dissent, the order was approved 4-1, as some expected (see 1712130055).