Wiley Rein's McBee Strategic Consulting hires Mark Duffy, ex-Qorvis MSLGroup, as manager, communications practice, expanding international practice ... ABRY Partners hires Fadi Chehadé as senior adviser-digital strategy, starting after he leaves ICANN ... Parkmobile, mobile parking payments firm, names Jon Ziglar, ex-Ceridian HCM, CEO, succeeding Cherie Fuzzell, leaving to pursue other opportunities ... Northrop Grumman promotes Robert Fleming to vice president-cyber, unattended systems and division strategy, land and self-protection systems division ... Time Warner promotes Priya Dogra to senior vice president-mergers and acquisitions, leading M&A group.
Industry consolidation has been a dominant factor overhanging how the wireless industry is regulated, especially on transactions policy. The FCC under President Barack Obama's appointees repeatedly has drawn a clear line at four national wireless carriers -- AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon. Industry observers disagree whether that makes sense in the current market.
Industry consolidation has been underway for decades and its challenges for the communications bar are nothing new, communications industry lawyers said. Law firms face steady pressure to keep the rates they charge low and, as companies expand, many take routine matters "in-house," the attorneys said. But the attorneys also said technological evolution, including the explosion of wireless, has meant new areas of practice and new clients seeking representation.
Carriers and broadcasters face some quick decisions as the FCC moves toward the TV incentive auction, now projected to start March 29. Applications from both broadcasters and bidders for the spectrum they're willing to sell will be due at the FCC in a few months, agency officials said last week at the commission’s monthly meeting. One complicating factor for carriers is that the Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates in September, meaning raising capital to buy spectrum will become more expensive.
New York City opposes repacking broadcasters into the duplex gap, said a letter to the FCC from Maya Wiley, counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, posted online Friday. “I am deeply concerned about the potential impact on New York City, one of the media markets the Auction Task Force has indicated would most likely see a broadcaster placed in the duplex gap post auction,” Wiley said. The duplex gap should be preserved for unlicensed use and for wireless microphones to protect news teams' ability to cover breaking news in the city and the city's ability to host major sporting events like the Super Bowl, Wiley said. An impaired duplex gap could also discourage auction participation, Wiley said. “Having a common channel available for unlicensed users in every market nationwide -- especially in the country's largest market: New York City -- is essential to encourage private investment in the integrated Wi-Fi chips that will bring greatest value to smartphone users in urban areas,” the letter said. The FCC should follow the wishes of the “broad stakeholder consensus” and not repack TV stations into the gap, Wiley said.
The Senate Commerce Committee will investigate ways to obtain more spectrum, at its Wednesday hearing on the topic, its chairman told us. “We’re obviously interested in freeing up as much spectrum as we possibly can,” Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., said in an interview Tuesday. “Every issue that we deal with in front of the committee or for that matter, for any of the committees I serve on, kind of comes back to the need for more spectrum.”
FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said he's skeptical about a new task force on FCC process reform, announced by the agency last week, speaking Tuesday at a Free State Foundation lunch. Unlike most staff task forces, this one includes representatives of all five commissioners' offices, according to an FCC blog post.
AT&T, which completed purchase of DirecTV (see 1507240055), names John Stankey CEO, AT&T Entertainment & Internet Services, to lead combined DirecTV and AT&T Home Solutions; DirecTV President, Chairman and CEO Mike White plans to retire ... Wiley Rein's McBee Strategic hires Greg Garcia, ex-Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council, as executive vice president, leading its cybersecurity policy advocacy, communications and coalition management practice ... TierPoint, cloud computing and colocation firm, names Jerry Kent CEO, and he remains chairman, will stay in those roles at Suddenlink until its deal to be bought by Altice is complete, and remains CEO of Cequel III, telecom management firm with management agreements with Suddenlink and TierPoint; he succeeds Paul Estes at TierPoint, who remains Cequel III executive vice president ... Allied Minds' BridgeSat, developing an optical system to improve wireless data transfer from satellites, hires David Mitlyng, ex-SSL, as senior vice president-business development and strategy ... Electronic Recyclers International promotes James Kim to chief financial officer ... National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications elects to board James Anderson, Turner Broadcasting System ... Lobbyist registration: Pearl Mobile DTV, Podesta Group, effective May 1.
The Copyright Royalty Board should reduce the rates noncommercial broadcasters pay in online music royalties, said the National Religious Broadcasters Noncommercial Music License Committee during closing argument Tuesday in the CRB proceeding on streaming music royalty rates (14-CRB-0001-WR [2016-2020]). SoundExchange, which represents artists and record labels, has argued that the noncommercial streaming rates shouldn't change. In June filings, Wiley Rein attorney Karyn Ablin pointed to superior deals made by College Broadcasters Inc. and NPR as evidence that the rate should change.
A ruling on the rates streaming music services will pay for music licensing is expected in December, after closing arguments in the case (14-CRB-0001-WR (2016-2020)) were held before the Copyright Royalty Board Tuesday. The hearing included long stretches of closed session, where the room was shut to outside parties because confidential information was under discussion, according to CRB staff.