Frontier Communications appoints Bernie Han, ex-Dish Network, president-CEO and board member, succeeding Daniel McCarthy, stepping down ... Interactive Advertising Bureau President Patrick Dolan departing in June ... Uber names Brian Barnard, from Transportation Department, senior manager-federal affairs ... With CommScope realigning into four segments, effective Jan. 1, Ben Cardwell becomes head-venue and campus; Kevin Keefe, broadband; Farid Firouzbakht, outdoor wireless; and Joe Chow, home networks ... Entercom promotes Karyn Cerulli to senior vice president-market manager, San Diego, succeeding Bob Bolinger, stepping down “to pursue other interests” ... Nexstar advances Paula Jackson to vice president and general manager-broadcasting and digital operations in market covering Bristol, Virginia, and Tennessee’s Johnson City and Kingsport ... TA Associates names Charles Ha, ex-General Catalyst, as vice president-North America technology ... Advanced Systems Group taps Steve Young, ex-Sony, as head-business operations and organizational development, systems integration business.
The House Communications Subcommittee's Thursday FCC oversight hearing is expected to include criticism of commission actions and a focus on telecom policy priorities like deciding how to allocate proceeds from a coming auction of the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band, said lawmakers and others in interviews. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and the other four commissioners are to testify during the panel, which will begin at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn. The hearing will happen a day after the House easily passed another FCC-related policy priority, the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (Traced) Act (S-151).
FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Julius Knapp, described by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai as an “FCC institution” who has “delivered incalculable value for American consumers over the years,” retiring Jan. 3 after 45 years at the commission (see 1911270046).
The California Public Utilities Commission will weigh more disaster relief rules for communications providers in response to problems during recent public safety power shutoffs (PSPS), CPUC President Marybel Batjer said at a Wednesday hearing livestreamed from San Francisco. Many local officials and telco customers couldn’t attend the hearing due to another power shutoff Wednesday, the sixth in two months, she said. Commissioner Cliff Rechtschaffen dismissed carriers’ arguments they couldn’t anticipate extended power shutoffs.
The Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council will hold its third meeting Dec. 10, said a Tuesday notice in the Federal Register. The meeting begins at 1 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room.
It's good news that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will seek a public auction of the C band next year, rather than endorse the C-Band Alliance plan (see 1911180065), Comcast said the day after the announcement Monday. Others said questions remain, though the FCC is likely to follow the outlines of Senate legislation introduced Monday. The Pai approach “will ensure that this valuable spectrum is put to use expeditiously for 5G in a manner consistent with the public interest, while also preserving the C-Band as a critical input for the delivery of video services,” Comcast told the FCC Tuesday, in a docket 18-122 filing.
SAN ANTONIO -- Verizon in particular and cable and telco industries generally took heat from consumer advocates and others for what they contend are lagging service quality and/or rising prices. The providers don’t face enough competition, aren’t building out broadband as quickly as possible and/or don't always meet their commitments, the advocates and others said in interviews Tuesday. They spoke on the sidelines of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates conference in the same hotel as NARUC, and on a panel (see 10:05 a.m. Tuesday).
SAN ANTONIO -- The FCC seems poised to allow unlicensed devices including Wi-Fi to use at least part of the 6 GHz band that utilities and some others occupy to monitor infrastructure like power grids. Even though utilities and state telecom regulators have concerns about that approach, the federal regulator seems ready to act in coming months, said stakeholders on all sides that we spoke with on the sidelines of NARUC.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will circulate an order seeking approval of a public auction of 280 MHz of C-band spectrum in 2020, for a vote early in the new year, FCC officials said Monday. The order won't be on the agenda for the Dec. 12 commissioners’ meeting. The decision is considered a huge loss for the C-Band Alliance, which pressed for a private auction (see 1911150046). President Donald Trump called Pai Oct. 30 to find out more about the C band but didn’t express a view the FCC should hold a public auction, FCC officials said. Pai unveiled the decision in a letter Monday to leaders in Congress.
Reed Smith hires from Arent Fox Sarah Bruno as partner-global intellectual property, tech and data, and Casey Perrino as associate-data privacy and security counseling ... Subject Matter adds Bill Ghent, ex-The Lugar-Hellmann Group, to government relations team, including tech focus ... K2 Intelligence names former Rep. Dan Donovan, R-N.Y., senior adviser.