Some continuity is likely from the GOP-led Congress but one great unknown is how President-elect Donald Trump's administration will interact with those on Capitol Hill, agreed veteran industry lobbyists for CTIA, NCTA, Verizon and the Telecommunications Industry Association Tuesday. These lobbyists, speaking at an event hosted by the Phoenix Center, expect the unified government could yield significant action on telecom overhaul, including on a net neutrality framework, and a focus on less regulation while also helping their industries significantly through Trump’s $1 trillion infrastructure proposal (see 1611090054).
Wilkinson Barker hires Tony Clark, ex-Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner and previously on the North Dakota Public Service Commission, where he was active in NARUC, as senior adviser at the law firm, effective Jan. 3 ... Comcast said it moved Kathy Kelly-Brown to senior vice president-strategic initiatives, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal, succeeding Maggie McLean Suniewick, recently promoted to president, NBCUniversal Digital Enterprises, new position ... VimpelCom appoints to Group Executive Committee: Mark MacGann, ex-Uber, named group chief external affairs officer, leading newly combined functions of Communications, Corporate, Regulatory and Government Affairs; and Jeffrey Hedberg, ex-CEO of VimpelCom’s Pakistan subsidiary Mobilink, becomes group chief people officer.
If the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denies the FTC's request for an en banc rehearing in its consumer protection fight with AT&T Mobility, Congress may act to provide the commission with the necessary authority, experts said in interviews last week. That's gotten more complicated with the election of Donald Trump, whose views about privacy, consumer protection and telecom aren't really known (see 1611090016). Some have predicted Trump-appointed commissioners would roll back FCC ISP privacy rules (see 1611090034).
The GOP election victory is seen as complicating FCC action on business data services near term and putting the commission's broadband net neutrality policy in serious doubt for next year. The FCC Thursday put a BDS item on the agenda for commissioners' Nov. 17 meeting, and while it could still be withdrawn, several agency and industry officials told us Thursday they thought the commission would adopt the item. It nevertheless could still get gummed up in post-vote procedural steps that leave it vulnerable when President-elect Donald Trump takes power, and a new Republican-run FCC could always change course, they said.
Verizon opposed expanding the District of Columbia Universal Service Trust Fund to support broadband for low-income households. "The Commission lacks jurisdiction over broadband services, and thus may not regulate the provision of broadband services," the company commented Monday on the D.C. Public Service Commission’s notice of inquiry in docket FC988. The D.C. Office of the People’s Counsel supported expanding the District’s USF to include broadband as a measure to close the digital divide. “Federal and state programs, like the Lifeline program, designed to facilitate universal access to communications services, must continually evolve to ensure that cost and social barriers do not foreclose the participation of low-income and marginalized consumers,” OPC commented. The USTF should be “updated to reflect changes to the manner in which District residents use communications technologies,” it said. It’s legal for the D.C. program to support broadband because the Communications Act allows states to adopt regulations that advance universal service consistent with FCC rules, and the federal program now supports broadband, OPC said. Section 706(a) directs state commissions to encourage deployment of advanced telecommunications capability, it said. To further close the divide, OPC said the PSC should set up a schools and libraries fund through USTF to supplement the federal E-rate program, and help subsidize the cost of computers for District schoolchildren who participate in the National School Lunch program. In an interview last week, PSC Chairwoman Betty Ann Kane said she expects the her agency will align Lifeline rules with the updated federal program ahead of the December implementation deadline but supports a NARUC resolution seeking waivers for states that need more time (see 1611020045). “It will be tight” meeting the deadline in the District, but doable, she said. Lifeline isn’t a statutory program there, so the PSC merely must make rule changes, she said. However, some other states need legislators to change the statute and probably won’t make the FCC’s deadline, she said.
Rules requiring emergency alert system participants to report to the FCC about any efforts to provide non-English emergency alerts took effect Thursday, said the agency in that day's Federal Register. That means participants have a deadline of Nov. 3, 2017, to provide such information to State Emergency Communications committees to be included in their state EAS plans, said Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Harry Cole in a blog post Thursday. “Thus far there does not appear to be any officially-endorsed template for the required 'description', but it’s possible the Commission may flesh that out sometime in the next year.” The rules don't require participants to offer foreign-language alerts, and explicitly say participants can report they took no such steps, Cole said. At their March meeting, commissioners approved the rules 4-1 (see 1603300064).
The FCC is seeking broad comment on its telecom regulations as part of the so-called biennial review. “We seek input from the public as to what rules should be modified or repealed as part of the 2016 biennial review,” said a public notice released Thursday in docket 16-149. “Submissions should identify with as much specificity as possible the rule or rules that the commenting party believes should be modified or repealed, and explain why and how the rule or rules should be modified or repealed.” Commissioner Ajit Pai said he’s not impressed with the FCC’s version of a review. “This is a time of widespread dissatisfaction with and distrust of government,” Pai said in an accompanying statement. “Many Americans perceive that government agencies don’t bother following the law or, at best, make a half-hearted attempt to comply.” The agency shares some of the responsibility, he said. The commission treats the law the same way “the Dude” handles bowling taunts in The Big Lebowski, Pai said: “Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.” Section 11 is a “simple and powerful tool for scrubbing outdated regulations from our books and promoting private sector innovation and investment,” Pai said. “In a sense, it ties the Communications Act together. Or at least could be, if the FCC took this task seriously.” Two years ago, the agency “simply ignored this duty entirely," he said. “This time around, it promises a few desultory efforts at paging through the Code of Federal Regulations -- efforts certain to result in many staff hours being wasted and nothing meaningful being done.” Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said he wants a thorough review. “Every rock should be turned over and every rule should be thoroughly reviewed to generate the best Section 11 NPRM ever imagined,” he said. “With hundreds of applicable pages in the Code of Federal Regulations, there is much material to review and likely a good portion that can be eliminated given the vast changes in the communications marketplace since the 2012 review. We owe the American people, and their duly elected representatives, nothing less.” Comments are due Dec. 5, replies Jan. 3.
Government must do more to remove barriers to deployment of broadband and digital services, said FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai Wednesday at a Smart Cities Expo showcasing internet-connected technology and devices, according to his posted remarks. Pai recommended "five concrete steps," starting with aggressive FCC use of its statutory authority under Section 253 of the Communications Act to ensure local governments don't hold up broadband deployment, with Section 332(c)(7) of the Communications Act and Section 6409 of the Spectrum Act providing further mandates to remove infrastructure barriers. Second, he said the FCC needs "to take a fresh look at our pole attachment rates" and Congress needs to give the commission broader related authority. Third, to help cities and towns wanting more deployment and competition, he urged the FCC to create a Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee to draft a model code on "local franchising, zoning, permitting and rights-of-way regulations" that balances municipal interests and broadband needs. Fourth, the federal government should speed broadband deployment on federal lands, including through agency distribution of mapping information and "reasonable internal shot clocks for processing applications and negotiating leases," he said, seeking a hard one-year deadline on decisions no matter how many agencies are involved. Finally, "We must make 'dig once' a central tenet of our nation's transportation policy. ... Every road and highway construction project should include the installation of the conduit that can carry fiber optic cables," he said. "With these five steps, policymakers can do their part to ensure that next-generation broadband networks -- and the smart cities they support -- will become a reality."
Two state commissions diverged on whether they should regulate fixed interconnected VoIP. Tuesday at U.S. District Court in St. Paul, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission defended its treatment of interconnected VoIP as a telecom service and sought summary judgment. Wednesday, the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) proposed a revised definition of phone utilities that explicitly would exclude IP and VoIP services. The VON Coalition, which represents VoIP providers and opposed the Minnesota PUC as an intervenor, praised the direction of the Iowa proposal. Industry also last week supported state legislation to codify VoIP deregulation in Idaho.
Missouri’s tightening Senate race could decide control of the chamber next Congress, and a telecom policy conflict of interest charge has hounded its GOP incumbent all year. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., faced repeated attacks for his connections to lobbyists, which include a telecom industry official at the helm of his re-election campaign -- his son Andy, executive director of the Missouri Cable Telecommunications Association since January. Observers told us they see no illegality but perhaps causes for concern and real potential for exerting industry influence.