Charter Communications hires for Government Affairs team based in Washington, D.C.: Maureen O’Connell, ex-O’Connell Strategies and before that 21st Century Fox, as vice president-regulatory affairs, and Robert Kenny, ex-Mercury, as director-policy communications ... Viacom said board names Bob Bakish, who was president-CEO of Viacom International Media Networks, as acting president-CEO, effective Nov. 15; he succeeds Tom Dooley, leaving the company (see 1609210014); Bakish also was named president-CEO, Viacom Global Entertainment Group ... Lockheed Martin International hires David Trulio, ex-Raytheon and former corporate transactional lawyer, as vice president-international government affairs, operations, and regional executive, Latin America.
California wants another year to align its state LifeLine program with the updated federal low-income program, the California Public Utilities Commission said Friday. In a petition in docket 11-42, the CPUC said California, like some other states, won’t make the FCC’s Dec. 2 deadline for implementing parts of its order adding broadband internet access service as a supported service in the program (see 1610210046). The CPUC asked for a temporary waiver to implement rules and processes by Oct. 31, 2017. The California LifeLine administrator and providers “have informed the CPUC that they need 11 to 18 months to make these changes to their systems,” the CPUC said: “Because so many California Lifeline subscribers will be affected by the changes to the federal rules, the CPUC, the Administrator, and service providers must carefully plan, implement, and test the changes before rolling them out.” Cox Communications supported the CPUC petition last week (see 1610240024). Some states have sued the FCC over the Lifeline order (see 1610120050). Earlier last week, the CPUC OK’d an order allowing uncertified fixed VoIP carriers to voluntarily participate in California LifeLine. The companies will be able to participate even if they don’t have a certificate of public convenience and necessity to operate in California, the CPUC said in the proposal (see 1609280017). “By adding fixed-VoIP services to the LifeLine Program, we are furthering our goal of achieving technological neutrality across platforms and providing more choices for consumers,” CPUC President Michael Picker said in a news release Thursday. “We also adopted service elements that will preserve essential consumer protections and ensure that minimum voice communication needs are met, regardless of income.” Meanwhile, the Arizona Corporation Commission OK’d three wireless companies to receive federal funds for providing or expanding Lifeline service for low-income residents, the ACC said in a Friday news release. Under its authority to designate eligible telecom carriers, the state commission signed off on an application by Tag Mobile to be designated as an ETC for mostly rural areas of Arizona, and applications by i-Wireless and Telrite to expand services deeper into rural areas, the ACC said.
Revised rules on wireless emergency alerts are to take effect 60 days from Tuesday, after expected publication in the Federal Register. “By this action, the Commission adopts rules that will improve Alert Message content in order to help communities communicate clearly and effectively about imminent threats and local crises,” an FCC notice said. “It also adopts rules to meet alert originators’ needs for the delivery of the Alert Messages they transmit and creates a framework that will allow emergency managers to test, exercise, and raise public awareness about WEA.” FCC members approved the revised rules in September over a partial dissent by Commissioner Mike O’Rielly (see 1609290060).
The FCC supported one-touch, make-ready pole attachment rules in local jurisdictions, saying they're consistent with federal policies. In a letter Monday to U.S. District Court in Louisville, the commission rejected an AT&T argument that federal rules preclude the one-touch ordinance. The FCC statement could deal a blow to incumbents seeking to keep Google Fiber and other new entrants off the poles, a community broadband advocate said.
A likely incoming senator next Congress is poised to be a proponent for broadcast political ad disclosure and a backer of the broadband infrastructure funding package that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton touted. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., pressed for broadband infrastructure during a debate Wednesday with Republican Maryland State Delegate Kathy Szeliga in their contest for the open Senate seat representing Maryland, and a campaign official pledged Van Hollen would press the FCC on disclosure as a senator. His record also shows ongoing attention to telecom issues, from net neutrality to robocalls to spoofing.
Commissioners approved ISP privacy rules Thursday in a party-line FCC vote, as expected, largely as proposed by Chairman Tom Wheeler (see 1610260065). ISPs lost in their attempts to get the agency to drop a plan to classify web browsing and application use history as sensitive data, requiring opt-in consent. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn was unsuccessful in her push for restrictions on ISPs inserting mandatory arbitration clauses in service contracts, though the majority did commit to seeking comment on that issue in early 2017.
Google’s decision to scale back its fiber push shows why municipal broadband remains critical to spreading high-speed broadband, community broadband advocates told us Wednesday. Google Access CEO Craig Barratt said that Google Fiber will pause operations in exploratory cities where it hasn’t begun construction, cutting jobs as the company refines its strategy. Barratt will depart as CEO but will stay at Google parent Alphabet as an adviser. The moves follow fiber build delays in California and speculation that Google Fiber was reconsidering its technology strategy (see 1609070026).
HOUSTON -- The FCC may soon launch a rulemaking on easing local barriers to small-cell deployments, said Wireless Infrastructure Association CEO Jonathan Adelstein in an interview at WIA's HetNet Expo. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said last month at a CTIA conference (see 1609070033) the agency will drive 5G growth by working with local governments to speed siting of new wireless facilities. On a Tuesday panel in Houston, Wheeler aide Edward Smith said the FCC wants to move quickly and is considering what authorities it may use to address the issue, but hasn’t made a decision.
A big gray area in AT&T's proposed buy of Time Warner is whether the FCC will have a direct role in regulatory oversight of the $108.7 billion takeover (see 1610210043), but some observers said TW has commission licenses beyond just that for its sole TV station. Our review of International Bureau filings show TW has earth satellite stations for its CNN operations (for example, here and here). A lawyer with cable clients and deal experience said it's highly unlikely the FCC would have no role since CNN and other TW subsidiaries such as HBO and Turner probably have commission licenses.
ISPs apparently failed in their attempts to get the FCC to drop web browsing and application-use history from the list of types of data to be treated as sensitive, requiring opt-in consent to use or share, as the ISP privacy rules head for a commissioner vote Thursday, we're told. Meanwhile, Commissioner Mignon Clyburn isn't expected to press for provisions that would ban plans that allow subscribers to sign up for cheaper broadband in return for reduced privacy protections (see 1610200044). But Clyburn is pushing for a rule change that would block ISPs from inserting mandatory arbitration clauses on privacy violations in service contracts, informed sources said.