The FCC understands that broadcasters need more answers before they can evaluate whether to share channels with an eye on selling off some of their spectrum in an upcoming incentive auction, Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake said Tuesday at an FCC workshop on channel sharing. Lake said this first session was just a beginning and more information will be forthcoming. The next step is a notice of proposed rulemaking later this year, he said. The incentive auction was made possible through the spectrum legislation signed into law three months ago Tuesday. Wireless carriers view the auction as one of their best hopes for getting more spectrum in play for wireless broadband.
The Senate approved the nominations of Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel by unanimous consent Monday to become FCC commissioners. Pai, a Republican from Kansas, was an aide to former Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., has worked as a lawyer at the FCC and replaces former commissioner Meredith Baker, for a term ending July 1, 2016. Rosenworcel, a Democrat from Connecticut, was an aide to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and replaces former commissioner Michael Copps, in a term that ends July 1, 2015.
The FCC’s workshop on TV channel sharing is May 22 at 10 a.m. in the commission’s meeting room. It will focus on how “broadcasters are approaching the financial and strategic opportunities presented by channel sharing,” the agency said Monday (http://xrl.us/bm5wmi). Commissioners approved a channel-sharing order Friday (CD May 1 p7), and FCC staff have been touting the workshop when speaking with industry executives. Panelists are Eric De Silva of Wiley Rein, John Cunney of Santander, John Hane of Pillsbury and Lonna Thompson of the Association of Public Television Stations. Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake will speak.
April 30 FCBA Access to Government Committee brown bag with FCC New Media team, 12:30 p.m.,FCC Meeting Room -- www.fcba.org
Smaller public interest groups face new challenges in legal representation before the FCC and in court on communications issues because of the closing of the largest law practice devoted to representing nonprofits (CD April 4 p2). Industry lawyers and nonprofit officials said the immediate future of Washington representation for public interest groups without in-house lawyers isn’t bright on issues that will arise where counsel isn’t in place. Our review of the work done by other lawyers for public interest groups found nothing is making up for all of the loss of legal advice provided by the Media Access Project, closing its office May 1.
BRUSSELS -- The importance of private sector leadership, privatization, liberalization, competition, regulatory transparency and independence could be discussed in talks to revise the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) later this year, speakers said Thursday at a workshop (CD April 20 p7). Economic issues drew the strongest concerns from participants at the event hosted by the ITU and the European Telecommunications’ Network Operators Association (ETNO). An ITU Council working group meets on conference preparations the week of April 23.
Class A stations are readying responses to orders to show why they shouldn’t lose FCC interference protection and face channel changes without reimbursement or go off the air for good because there will be fewer vacant frequencies, industry lawyers and executives said. Longtime attorneys from Fletcher Heald, Wiley Rein and other law firms whose clients got Media Bureau show-cause orders met last week to try to map out strategy, some said. The bureau has continued to send letters of inquiry (CD March 21 p3) to other low-power broadcasters asking them to answer why they're qualified to keep Class A status.
The Supreme Court’s Jones privacy decision is rippling through electronic communications well beyond the GPS tracking it involved, less than two months after the ruling came down, legal experts said. The decision was “very cautious” but “very important,” leaving the court “potentially poised to change 40 years” of law on Americans’ privacy in relation to the government, law Professor Stephen Henderson of the University of Oklahoma said on an American Bar Association webcast. The court decided Jones “on the narrowest possible ground, but they certainly left the door open in the years to come” for litigation to decide profound questions concerning technologies besides GPS, said moderator William Baker of Wiley Rein.
Draft guidelines published by the Food and Drug Administration this week could curb TV ad spending by drugmakers, a lawyer who represents some pharmaceutical marketers said. The FDA proposed a set of guidelines drugmakers should follow for submitting their ads to the agency for review before they run on TV, with five categories of direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads subject to review, including new drugs and those with serious risks relative to benefits (http://xrl.us/bmx227). Although there appears to be a limited set of circumstances that would trigger FDA review of drug ads, in practice the guidance would impose a near-blanket requirement on direct-to-consumer TV drug commercials, said John Kamp of Wiley Rein, who represents the Coalition for Healthcare Communication. That may make drugmakers think twice about buying TV spots, he said.
Gregory Rohde to resign as NG9-1-1 Institute executive director after transition period … Promotions at Cox Communications: Jill Campbell to executive vice president-chief operations officer; Alexander Taylor to replace her as senior vice president-field operations … Oxygen Media names Sarah Lindman, ex-MTV, senior vice president-program strategy … Cablevision names Kelly McAndrew, ex-Viacom, vice president-corporate communications … The Hub promotions: Dan Pimentel to chief finance and operations officer; Ted Biaselli to vice president-programming … Lobbyist Registrations: Big Bend Telephone, Wiley Rein, effective Jan. 24.