Communications Decency Act Section 230 becoming a big issue was a "remarkable turn of events," FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said during an FCBA virtual event Thursday: "I still can't believe that a $740 billion defense bill got vetoed over a telecom issue." FCBA bid farewell to Pai as FCC chairman, with predecessors welcoming him to life post-commission, including Newton Minow, Richard Wiley and Julius Genachowski. Another former chairman, NCTA CEO Michael Powell, said Pai joins the "Former Chairman Hall of Lame," adding he will have to "turn in that huge Reese's mug" that Pai drinks from during monthly commissioners' meetings. Other commissioners, past and present, thanked Pai for his efforts to expand access to 5G and spectrum, among other things. Pai acknowledged there's a long line of potential successors (see 2012310023) and offered an additional suggestion: the Philadelphia Flyers mascot, Gritty. Pai cracked jokes, as FCC chiefs would do in a non-pandemic year at FCBA's annual in-person chairman's dinner. He quipped that FCBA wanted to set up the event at the Washington Hilton but instead booked it at Washington Hilton Total Landscaping. Pai joked his separation due to working from home from Commissioner Brendan Carr was "too much to bear." And in a nod to campaign ads, Pai said "at this point, I think it is only appropriate to acknowledge and to congratulate the winner of the 2020 election -- American broadcasters." He said the commission has remained busy and noted the C-band auction passed $80 billion (see 2101070053). Pai ended by raising his Reese's mug, saying there will be a "big mug to fill" (see 2011300032) and thanking staff: "We made it, and we made it together."
The FCC closed the first stage of the C-band auction Friday at $80.9 billion, not including about $13 billion in additional accelerated clearing payments (see 2101070048). All 5,684 spectrum blocks were sold. The FCC will next release the list of winning bidders. “The winning bidders, at least, perceive … tremendous value in acquiring the C-band spectrum and monetizing it over the course of the coming years, through the deployment of 5G services within an accelerated time frame,” Chairman Ajit Pai said at an American Enterprise Institute event Friday. Asked whether the costs will cause difficulties for carriers in building out their networks, Pai said that’s “a very good question” and deferred “to economists and those in finance” who monitor carrier balance sheets. Pai said offering the band through a standard spectrum auction was the right course. “After months of back-and-forth with stakeholders, we had serious concerns about the plans that were submitted for the private sale and whether it would be run competently,” he said: “In contrast, the FCC had a quarter-century track record of performing successful and transparent spectrum auctions.” S&P Global Ratings said the auction “will have a significant effect on balance sheets for U.S. wireless operators.” The nationwide average price per MHz/POP across all categories was 94.2 cents, BitPath Chief Operating Officer Sasha Javid blogged Friday. That's about 4.3 times the 21.7 cent price per MHz/POP for the spectrum sold in the citizens broadband service auction, he said. The most expensive license was for Red Oak, Iowa, which closed at $2.835 MHz/POP, and the most expensive top 20 market was San Diego, at $1.773, he said. The auction offered 280 MHz, rather than the 65 MHz in the AWS-3 auction. “This is why total gross proceeds in this C-band auction skyrocketed past the $44 billion raised in the AWS-3 auction to become the highest gross auction of all time,” Javid said. “We have heard the term ‘beachfront’ used to describe various bands over the last several years," wrote Wiley’s Ari Meltzer. "The market has spoken, and it has confirmed that mid-band has the view and the amenities.” The auction “showcased the critical need of the mobile wireless industry to have access to an important portfolio of spectrum to support connectivity for citizens, the economy, and U.S. technology leadership,” said Chris Pearson, president of 5G Americas. “This record-breaking spectrum auction demonstrates the wireless industry’s commitment to leading the emerging 5G economy and underscores the importance of developing a robust pipeline of spectrum auctions,” said CTIA President Meredith Baker.
Law firms, broadcasters and advocacy groups were beneficiaries of 2020’s federal Paycheck Protection Program. More than five dozen law firms and other organizations in communications and media got a total of more than $142 million to forestall job losses due to the pandemic. That's per our analysis of PPP data using the Accountable.US and ProPublica databases. The figure excludes forgivable loans of less than $1 million.
FCBA said 19 employers are in its inaugural diversity pipeline program, which will facilitate technology, media and telecom internship placements for law students. It said Monday that participating law firms are Davis Wright, Harris Wiltshire, Hogan Lovells, Kellogg Hansen, Kelley Drye, Lerman Senter, Mintz, Wilkinson Barker, Wiley and Willkie Farr. Also participating are ACA Connects, CTIA, NCTA, USTelecom, AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast/NBCUniversal, T-Mobile and Verizon. The program remains open to employers in the Washington area through Jan. 18, said FCBA. Students may apply until Friday. “As the Tech Bar, the FCBA has real power to drive meaningful diversity, inclusion, and equity, and it is our responsibility to do so,” said President Natalie Roisman. Such efforts were discussed in our recent Special Report on diversity (see here and here).
Bidding slowed in the C-band auction Friday, with provisionally winning bids closing at $80.6 billion after five rounds Friday, up from $80.5 billion Thursday. "Bidders seem to be finalizing their demand,” wrote Wiley’s Ari Meltzer and Rick Edelman: “Bidders have placed bids on all licenses, and average prices for the blocks in the largest US markets seem to have been determined.”
President-elect Joe Biden's transition ethics rules governing the FCC, FTC and other agency review teams are relatively weak, some observers said in recent interviews. They pointed to the rules' relatively lax limits on "revolving door" movement of industry officials into the temporary roles that could influence the incoming administration's actions. The landing teams have been working with the FCC, FTC (see 2011250059) and other agencies since late November, when the General Services Administration began allowing the federal government to begin the transition process.
The FCC has struggled for years to retain women, promote African Americans, hire Hispanics, and attract diverse engineers and economists, according to government data. Annual reports to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission show the communications regulator is below the average of the U.S. workforce by such measures. President-elect Joe Biden is expected to make diversity a focus and to name the first permanent female FCC chair. Only one woman, then-Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, has been acting chair.
The FCC has struggled for years to retain women, promote African Americans, hire Hispanics, and attract diverse engineers and economists, according to government data. Annual reports to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission show the communications regulator is below the average of the U.S. workforce by such measures. President-elect Joe Biden is expected to make diversity a focus and to name the first permanent female FCC chair. Only one woman, then-Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, has been acting chair.
One lawyer recalled not getting assigned to a project because the attorney making the assignments said “the client didn’t like working with women.” Another woman remembered a senior attorney telling her, “You don’t seem like a lawyer to me.” Other women pointed to articles placing the female co-author’s name after the male co-author’s, although the submission listed the woman first.
One lawyer recalled not getting assigned to a project because the attorney making the assignments said “the client didn’t like working with women.” Another woman remembered a senior attorney telling her, “You don’t seem like a lawyer to me.” Other women pointed to articles placing the female co-author’s name after the male co-author’s, although the submission listed the woman first.