Approving the AT&T/T-Mobile deal would be a “historic mistake,” Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., told FCC commissioners at a House Communications Subcommittee hearing Friday on commission process reform. Other subcommittee members touched only lightly on AT&T’s plan to buy T-Mobile. Many debated more generally whether FCC conditions on transactions should be specific to the given deal.
There were no “outright calls” for regulators to block AT&T’s buy of T-Mobile, but “skeptical” senators “flagged issues that could become the basis of merger conditions months from now,” Medley Global Advisors said in a note on Wednesday’s hearing by the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee. “Press reports may have given the impression that the deal’s in trouble,” the note said. “We came away with a slightly different take. … No Senate subcommittee member explicitly called for the Department of Justice or the Federal Communications Commission to halt the deal in its tracks.”
The House Communications Subcommittee is eying a wide array of FCC reforms, according to a majority staff memo that circulated among lobbyists this week. The subcommittee has a hearing Friday morning. All five commissioners were scheduled to testify. A subcommittee spokeswoman told us that departing Commissioner Meredith Baker has cancelled. Some of the GOP proposals would limit the FCC’s ability to make new regulations, while others are said to be designed to speed up and make more transparent FCC rulemaking. In a separate memo, subcommittee Democrats warned that some proposals could be problematic.
Meredith Baker’s departure will leave the FCC with a single GOP member starting June 3, her last day on the job, she confirmed Wednesday afternoon. That could push Senate Republicans to quickly seek a replacement and also back a Democratic nominee whose appointment would be on the same track as Baker’s successor, industry officials said. The FCC will be split 3-1 when Baker leaves, making Robert McDowell the only Republican commissioner. A 2-1 commission is possible next year if the Senate doesn’t act.
Microsoft would be drawn further into the telecom/Internet regulatory world with its $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype, experts said. But they divided over the deal’s potential implications on VoIP treatment going forward. The deal, the largest in Microsoft’s history, is expected to get regulatory approvals. Meanwhile, Media Access Project urged Microsoft to support network neutrality and other open Internet policies.
Companies are beefing up lobbying efforts in Maine: One bill now before the legislature would put ILECs like FairPoint under the same regulatory structure as CLECs, while another bill seeks to deregulate VoIP. The latter proposal would interfere with ongoing litigation, now before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, consumer advocates said.
The Federal Trade Commission and three Utah film companies have each gone to federal courts over the companies’ marketing practices. Feature Films for Families, Corporations for Character, and Family Films of Utah filed a complaint in the federal district court for Utah last week, alleging that the FTC is trying to violate their free speech rights. On Monday, the FTC announced that it had filed a lawsuit against the three companies, alleging that they routinely violated the Do Not Call list rules and illegally signed a marketing agreement with a coalition of conservative family activists who try to identify and rate family-friendly films.
Telco companies and agencies are working to restore services in Alabama and other states impacted by the tornadoes and severe storms that struck the Southeast this week. Companies’ natural disaster response teams are ready for the hurricane season, they said.
The FCC sought comment on a proposal to allow the certification and use of Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) equipment under Part 90 of the commission’s rules. The FCC sought the rule change at the urging of the TETRA Association. The FCC also granted a partial waiver of the rules requested by the association “to permit certification and use of TETRA equipment, subject to certain conditions, pending the outcome of this rulemaking proceeding.” The TETRA Association says on its website that TETRA has uses applicable to communications by public safety, transportation, utilities, the government and the military. The association sought the waiver in 2009 and the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology sought comment from interested parties at the time. “The Association states that the TETRA standard, which was developed by the European Technical Standards Institute (ETSI), is used around the world, and that manufacturers are ready to produce TETRA devices for use in the United States on several frequency bands,” the FCC said. “It also states that TETRA technology provides better efficiency and security than available alternatives, and offers interoperability among equipment from different manufacturers.” The FCC acknowledged that commenters disagreed earlier on whether a waiver should be granted. “Commenters supporting the waiver request argue that it is in the public interest to make TETRA technology available to private wireless users, especially those that must comply with the upcoming narrowbanding requirements,” the commission said. “Those opposing … argue that the Association has not demonstrated that TETRA technology will not cause interference to existing systems, and that the question of whether to permit the use of TETRA technology should be addressed in a rulemaking proceeding rather than in the context of a waiver request.” Comments are due 45 days after the NPRM is published in the Federal Register, replies 15 days later.
Wisconsin Republicans Rep. Mark Honadel and Sen. Rich Zipperer circulated a draft bill that would update the state telecom law. The bill is expected to be introduced soon after the Tuesday deadline for co-sponsorship. Two coalitions fought over the proposed mandate on payment of intrastate access charges on VoIP.