FCC commissioners haven’t had a chance to vote on an order approving T-Mobile’s buy of Sprint, promised by Chairman Ajit Pai in May (see 1905200051), agency officials said Monday. T-Mobile/Sprint agreed to sell Boost, Sprint’s prepaid business, and to make other concessions to win FCC OK. DOJ hasn’t made a decision but indicated it wants the deal to lead to the emergence of a fourth national wireless provider to replace Sprint. Fourteen state attorneys general sued to block the deal (see 1906210033). Google, meanwhile, denied a report it's working with Dish Network to become the fourth carrier. “These claims are simply false,” a Google spokesperson emailed Monday: “Google is not having any conversations with Dish about creating a wireless network.” The state lawsuit changed “the trajectory of the merger process and, no doubt” increased “the desire of the DOJ to have a credible fourth provider before blessing the deal,” New Street’s Blair Levin told investors Monday: “This coming week should see a similar big development, one way or another, as the framework for that fourth is likely to become public this week, or if it doesn’t, the lack of news will have further consequences down the road.” A DOJ decision appears “very close at hand,” said Wells Fargo’s Jennifer Fritzsche. “But as we noted last week, we still think there remain outstanding issues (namely the State AG lawsuit and what concessions are being extracted).” Pai said June 6 (see 1906070058) that he would circulate an order on the deal “in the coming weeks.” The FCC didn't comment Monday.
FCC commissioners haven’t had a chance to vote on an order approving T-Mobile’s buy of Sprint, promised by Chairman Ajit Pai in May (see 1905200051), agency officials said Monday. T-Mobile/Sprint agreed to sell Boost, Sprint’s prepaid business, and to make other concessions to win FCC OK. DOJ hasn’t made a decision but indicated it wants the deal to lead to the emergence of a fourth national wireless provider to replace Sprint. Fourteen state attorneys general sued to block the deal (see 1906210033). Google, meanwhile, denied a report it's working with Dish Network to become the fourth carrier. “These claims are simply false,” a Google spokesperson emailed Monday: “Google is not having any conversations with Dish about creating a wireless network.” The state lawsuit changed “the trajectory of the merger process and, no doubt” increased “the desire of the DOJ to have a credible fourth provider before blessing the deal,” New Street’s Blair Levin told investors Monday: “This coming week should see a similar big development, one way or another, as the framework for that fourth is likely to become public this week, or if it doesn’t, the lack of news will have further consequences down the road.” A DOJ decision appears “very close at hand,” said Wells Fargo’s Jennifer Fritzsche. “But as we noted last week, we still think there remain outstanding issues (namely the State AG lawsuit and what concessions are being extracted).” Pai said June 6 (see 1906070058) that he would circulate an order on the deal “in the coming weeks.” The FCC didn't comment Monday.
The National Marine Fisheries Service rejected a request to protect the Maui dolphin through a ban of imports of fish and fish products from New Zealand, the agency said in a notice. The NMFS in February requested public comments on the petition from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which sought to initiate an emergency rulemaking process under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (see 1902220018). The agency received more than 88,670 comments, but only a small number were substantive, the NMFS said.
The intensifying 2020 presidential race could affect FCC policymaking as the election gets much closer, industry and former officials told us, though they don’t all agree on what the effect will be. Some expect the agency and Chairman Ajit Pai to seek to avoid headline-grabbing rulemakings that create ammunition for President Donald Trump’s opponents. Others expect Pai to push his agenda to get policies approved while Republican control of the agency is certain.
The Commerce Department will continue its presumption of denial policy for license applications for exports to Huawei, a Commerce spokesperson said, saying the Chinese company remains on Commerce’s entity list. The department will review export license applications for “their national security impacts” and plans to review licenses “under the highest national security scrutiny,” the spokesperson said. At the G-20 Summit in Japan, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will loosen restrictions on exports to Huawei and allow U.S. companies to “sell their equipment” as long as “there’s no great national emergency problem.” National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said June 30 the U.S. will grant license applications for products that China can easily get elsewhere. There has been uncertainty about which specific products will get export licenses and when the changes will take effect (see 1907020017). “The Department intends to notify companies of decisions on export license applications once the review is complete,” the Commerce spokesperson emailed Wednesday.
The Commerce Department will continue its presumption of denial policy for license applications for exports to Huawei, a Commerce spokesperson said, saying the Chinese company remains on Commerce’s entity list. The department will review export license applications for “their national security impacts” and plans to review licenses “under the highest national security scrutiny,” the spokesperson said. At the G-20 Summit in Japan, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will loosen restrictions on exports to Huawei and allow U.S. companies to “sell their equipment” as long as “there’s no great national emergency problem.” National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said June 30 the U.S. will grant license applications for products that China can easily get elsewhere. There has been uncertainty about which specific products will get export licenses and when the changes will take effect (see 1907020017). “The Department intends to notify companies of decisions on export license applications once the review is complete,” the Commerce spokesperson emailed Wednesday.
The Commerce Department will continue its presumption of denial policy for license applications for exports to Huawei, a Commerce spokesperson said, saying the Chinese company remains on Commerce’s entity list. The department will review export license applications for “their national security impacts” and plans to review licenses “under the highest national security scrutiny,” the spokesperson said. At the G-20 Summit in Japan, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will loosen restrictions on exports to Huawei and allow U.S. companies to “sell their equipment” as long as “there’s no great national emergency problem.” National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said June 30 the U.S. will grant license applications for products that China can easily get elsewhere. There has been uncertainty about which specific products will get export licenses and when the changes will take effect (see 1907020017). “The Department intends to notify companies of decisions on export license applications once the review is complete,” the Commerce spokesperson emailed Wednesday.
Electric utilities want to use the 900 MHz band to warn of security-related issues but have some concerns, they said in FCC replies posted through Wednesday in docket 17-200. “Utility comments on the record are divided between support for and opposition to the 900 MHz realignment,” the Utilities Technology Council said: “Some utilities that support realignment of the 900 MHz band would also prefer that the Commission provide access to broadband spectrum in another band. All utilities that support the realignment of the 900 MHz band agree that narrowband systems also must be protected against interference.” The New York Power Authority supported realignment. It would “provide utilities with a secure, reliable and scalable private LTE broadband network, and respectfully urges the Commission to move expeditiously,” NYPA said. Southern California Edison said the need for secure wireless broadband “is currently most intense for utilities with both very large service areas, large numbers of subscribers, and exposure to environmental hazards such as wildfires, hurricanes and other extreme weather conditions.” There’s “a shortage of broadband spectrum available for use by the Critical Infrastructure Industry, particularly for higher speed point-to-multipoint data applications,” the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association said. Anterix, asking for the change for a few years, urged expeditious action. “While many industries in this country are eager for access to private broadband capability, two mutually reinforcing factors have made it an existential necessity for the electric utility community: the need to modernize the grid to prevent cascading power outages and the need to shield the grid from cybersecurity attacks,” the company said: “The record in this proceeding is extensive and fully supports adopting rules consistent with the Commission’s proposal to create a 900 MHz broadband option.” The Enterprise Wireless Alliance said the spectrum should be available to more than just utilities and others in the critical infrastructure industry (CII). EWA cited United Parcel Service, which it said operates the 10th-largest airline. “Airlines as a category are not classified as CII, while not-for-profit auto emergency services are,” the alliance said: “This delineation is neither sensible nor in the public interest.”
Electric utilities have a mixed take on a proposal to reconfigure the 900 MHz band to allow for broadband, the Utilities Technology Council replied. Commissioners approved the NPRM in March, before that month's FCC meeting (see 1903130062). In initial comments last month, the plan got mixed reviews (see 1906050040), with the Association of American Railroads and others raising concerns. Replies were posted through Wednesday in docket 17-200.
Smart speaker users are concerned about privacy and hacking, but they trust the companies providing the technology, said a smart audio report from Edison Research and NPR. About 58 percent of smart speaker owners worry hackers could be using their smart speaker to get access to their home or personal information, but 54 percent trust the companies that make smart speakers to keep their personal information secure.