The FCC extended comment deadlines by two weeks on a Form 477 Further NPRM proposing to update broadband and voice service data submission duties. Initial comments and replies are now due Oct. 9 and Oct. 24 (instead of Sept. 25 and Oct. 10), said an order Tuesday from the Wireline, Wireless and International bureaus in docket 11-10. The American Cable Association, NCTA, NTCA, USTelecom and the Wireless ISP Association asked for a four-week extension to Oct. 23 and Nov. 6, citing recent hurricane disruption (see 1709130046).

The FCC deactivated the Disaster Information Reporting System for Hurricane Irma at the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s request, said a Public Safety Bureau in a public notice Monday. That leaves Monday’s DIRS report the final one for Irma (see 1709180034), the PN said. The FCC “anticipates that, within the next couple of days, FEMA will likely request activation of DIRS for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands,” the PN said, and a separate notice will be issued. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai praised the dependability of AM radio in disasters but conceded that the band is perceived as outdated. “Whenever these emergencies hit, listenership goes through the roof,” Pai said in a radio interview in iHeartMedia’s Miami headquarters during a visit to Irma-damaged Florida with Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. “You guys do a terrific job giving people the information when they need it,” he said. Younger listeners don’t gravitate to AM, and “time is not on the side of the AM dial,” Pai said, but he said he and Clyburn are working to improve things for AM. “A bipartisan majority at the FCC” believes in AM radio, Pai said. It's “critically important” for broadcasters to have an FCC that supports them, Clyburn said. Broadcasters should know that the FCC is thinking about their issues and the emergency services they provide, she said. Clyburn and Pai also toured a public safety building, and met with a Florida public service commissioner and staff from the FCC’s Miami Field Office, said a news release. They spoke with a team restoring cell towers and other wireless infrastructure damaged during the storm, it said. “The lessons learned during our visit will help the FCC’s continued work to improve the performance of communications networks in future emergencies,” Pai said in the release, praising emergency and wireless workers, plus broadcasters. There's “much more work to be done in the days and weeks ahead, including in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where more than 50% of cell sites remain out of service,” said Clyburn in the release. “Working with my colleagues, Members of Congress, as well as state and local officials, we can translate these lessons into policies that ensure our nation’s communications networks and 9-1-1 systems remain reliable and resilient during disasters.” The FCC added a briefing on its response to the recent hurricanes to the agenda for the Sept. 26 commissioners' meeting, said a notice. The briefing will be done by Public Safety Bureau staff, the notice said.

T-Mobile and Sprint are again in talks on combining in an all-stock deal, with their shares closing up 5.9 percent and 6.8 percent respectively Tuesday. CNBC reported no announcement is likely for weeks. The structure reportedly is complicated, but would put T-Mobile CEO John Legere in charge with Masayoshi Son, CEO of Sprint parent SoftBank, having a say in decisions. A T-Mobile/Sprint is seen as having a good chance of approval by the Trump DOJ and FCC (see 1612090053). In 2014, under pressure from then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, Sprint dropped its pursuit of T-Mobile (see 1408070044). The companies didn’t comment. “This is a different kind of [DOJ] Antitrust Division,” analyst Jim Cramer said on CNBC Tuesday. “I think this goes through.” Weeks ago, "we put 50/50 odds on approval,” Craig Moffett, analyst at MoffettNathanson, emailed. “That seems like a reasonable starting point. There are good arguments for why it should be approved. But there are also good arguments for why it shouldn’t.” New Street analyst Kirk Boodry said on Bloomberg Tuesday a Sprint/T-Mobile is probably “much more likely” than a deal between Sprint and Charter. “What you get with T-Mobile is a lot of synergies,” he said. In a presentation last week at a Goldman Sachs financial conference, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said he was “heavily, heavily advised” by lawyers not to comment on potential deals. “We are always evaluating options,” Claure said. “We think, ‘Which is the one that's going to generate the highest shareholder return or create more shareholder value.’” Sprint operations and financials improved in the past three years, Claure said. “That has allowed us to have several different options.” Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche said if talks are underway again, it explains why the usually “outspoken” Claure was so reticent in his comments. “The equity market seemed to be to be pricing a scenario where Softbank would have to put in equity to close a deal,” she said in a note to investors. “We do not see this as a logical outcome.”

The FTC is targeting "consumer informational injury" in privacy and data security cases, said acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen, announcing a Dec. 12 workshop. "The goal is to inform our case selection and enforcement choices," she said in an FCBA speech Tuesday. She said the FTC takes "very seriously" its privacy and data security enforcement role, having brought more than 500 related cases, including six settlements in the past month with Uber (see 1708150010), TaxSlayer (see 1708290042), Lenovo (see 1709050020) and three companies to uphold the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield agreement (see 1709080025). The "case-by-case" approach to countering deceptive or unfair actions, she said, allows the commission to adapt "in the complex, fast changing technology industry" where consumers have "disparate and evolving expectations." Looking for patterns, Ohlhausen identified consumer informational injury of: "deception injury or subverting consumer choice," in which consumers are misled through claims about privacy or security features; "financial injury," in which "fraudsters" use private data to steal money; "health or safety injury," including from stalkers or revenge porn; "unwarranted intrusion injury," which led to the FTC's Do Not Call registry; and "reputational injury," which usually overlaps with other injuries, such as financial harm from release of medical information. She said the FTC needs to further understand when informational injuries require intervention. She said the privacy and data security workshop will seek to better identify consumer injuries, explore frameworks for quantitatively measuring injuries and estimating risks, and understand how parties evaluate the tradeoffs to sharing, collecting, storing and using information. Responding to questions afterward, Ohlhausen said communications "silos" are breaking down, with IoT a "fantastic example" of technology implicating FTC privacy and other authority. Despite having two commissioners, the FTC is being productive, she said: "Commissioner [Terrell] McSweeny and I work together very well." Ohlhausen welcomed FCC robocalling actions and is "excited" about connected and automated car technology, recognizing privacy and data security concerns.

Three trade groups criticized FCC Connect America Fund Phase II auction plans as "so inordinately complex that they will deter many potential bidders from participating" in the reverse auction of subsidies for fixed broadband services. "While these complex mechanisms may be intended to promote efficient auction outcomes among bidders, this intended benefit will be substantially undercut by diminished participation, especially from smaller providers," said the American Cable Association, NTCA and Wireless ISP Association Friday in docket 17-182. "This will leave only the nation’s largest eligible providers to divide up the funds," said the groups, which planned to file separate comments due Monday on a public notice on proposed auction procedures (see 1708070032). "With fewer auction participants, bids will be won at higher than optimal prices, and fewer consumers will reap the benefits intended by the CAF Phase II program." They urged the FCC "to design an auction and adopt procedures that can stimulate the robust participation, especially by smaller entities," and to "provide smaller entities with greater opportunities to use auction experts."

Correction: The group that obtained net neutrality complaints from the FCC is the National Hispanic Media Coalition (see 1709150031).

Nokia added its voice to the growing chorus of handset makers that oppose a possible FCC mandate for ATSC 3.0 reception in smartphones, though the commission hasn't proposed one. “Such a mandate would present technical challenges and disserve the public interest,” said Nokia in a letter posted Friday in docket 16-142. Nokia, which sold its smartphone business to Microsoft, joins Ericsson and Motorola in arguing that 3.0 reception in smartphones is a bad idea because it would require handset form-factor changes that consumers would reject or would degrade cellular coverage performance (see 1709150039 and 1709130050). T-Mobile was the first to cite its opposition, alleging Sinclair is oversimplifying the complexities of building 3.0 into smartphones, and a mandate wouldn't serve the public interest (see 1709120020). Sinclair denies seeking a mandate but said overcoming complexities of 3.0 in smartphones is a worthy challenge. The FCC has a self-imposed deadline of a 2017 order authorizing 3.0 as a final voluntary standard (see 1702230060). Nokia is “actively working with several carriers to supply equipment for expeditious deployment of networks” supporting the 600 MHz band, the company wrote. For smartphones to receive 3.0, they would need to operate at “additional frequencies, possibly as low as 470 MHz,” Nokia said. If the same antenna is used to receive 3.0 signals in the 470-608 MHz band in addition to the 600 MHz band, “antenna performance is likely to degrade,” it said. “This antenna performance degradation can directly translate into significant loss in the coverage benefit typically provided by these lower frequencies.” Whatever “limited physical space” exists in a smartphone “should be available for more valuable uses than ATSC 3.0,” such as MIMO operation, for which there exists “very valid business justification,” said the company. “A new antenna design” will be needed, it said. “The ATSC 3.0 chip will also need to be accommodated on the device next to the cellular circuitry. The ATSC 3.0 receiver chain will need to be isolated from the cellular receiver chain to mitigate any interference issues.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn visited Florida Monday to inspect damage from Hurricane Irma. The trip included a meeting with Miami-Dade Emergency Operations Center staff and visits to communication facilities affected by the storm. “Lessons learned from #Irma will help improve the #reliability and #resiliency of our nation's communications networks,” Clyburn tweeted. Pai will visit 911 call centers in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas later in the week “to discuss the importance of connectivity for public safety services in rural America and ways to bridge the digital divide,” a media advisory said. TV viewership in Texas homes unaffected by Tropical Storm Harvey rose Aug. 27 as it approached the coast and flooding began, comScore reported. “This difference was most pronounced in the morning and early afternoon hours, but continued to be evident throughout the entire day." The combined total-day average audience for Houston’s ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates was more than 537,000 households during Harvey, comScore said, a 140 percent increase over the previous week. In Beaumont, major TV stations had an average audience “double that of the relevant cable channels across the entire broadcast day,” the company said. Four Florida public safety answering points are still down due to Irma, same as Sunday, said Monday’s Disaster Information Reporting System release. Two PSAPs are still experiencing difficulties in the U.S. Virgin Islands, also unchanged. In Florida, 3 percent of cellsites are down, an improvement from 4 percent. In the USVI, 54 percent of cellsites are out of service, an increase from 50 percent. Florida has at least 893,409 wireline and cable subscribers without service, an improvement from 1.1 million. “Large numbers” of consumers are without cable or wireline service in the USVI due to widespread power outages, the report said. Florida has five TV stations out, the USVI have two down, same as Sunday. Twenty-seven radio stations are out of service in Florida and the USVI.

FCC members proposed creating uniform procedural rules for certain complaint proceedings -- including on pole attachments -- "delegated to the Enforcement Bureau and currently handled by its Market Disputes Resolution Division (MDRD) and Telecommunications Consumers Division (TCD)." The proceedings are governed by three sets of rules that "are not congruent and the inconsistencies can lead to needless confusion," said an NPRM Monday in docket 17-245. It proposed "to streamline and consolidate the procedural rules governing formal complaints" filed under Communications Act Section 208, pole attachment complaints filed under Section 224, and formal complaints on advanced communications services and equipment filed under sections 255, 716, and 718 ("Disability Access complaints"). "We propose amending our rules so that formal complaints currently managed by MDRD (Section 208 formal complaints and Section 224 pole attachment complaints) and TCD (Disability Access complaints) are subject to one set of procedural rules," the NPRM said. "We use the Section 208 rules as a starting point because they have worked well in resolving hundreds of complaints filed since 1997. In some instances, however, we propose modifying those rules where we believe the pole attachment complaint rules would improve the complaint process. Moreover, we propose retaining specific pole attachment rules that are unique and necessary to resolving those particular types of complaints." The NPRM proposed a 30-day deadline for answering formal complaints, unless otherwise ordered by staff, with replies due 10 days later. Because the rules are procedural, the commission said notice and comment aren't required under the Administrative Procedure Act, but to build a more informed record, it asked for comments and replies 30 and 45 days after publication in the Federal Register. Last week, the FCC told Congress about other ways it's improving bureau procedures (see 1709180057).

The FCC extended the deadline for regulatory fees for entities in areas affected by Hurricane Irma or Tropical Storm Harvey by three days and deactivated the Disaster Information Reporting System for all counties in Alabama, Georgia and Puerto Rico, said public notices. The FCC is “mindful” of the damage caused by the storm, so the deadline for regulatory fees was moved from Sept. 26 to Sept. 29 in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and portions of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia, the Office of Managing Director said. Partial deactivation of the DIRS is at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Public Safety Bureau said. DIRS is still active in Florida and the USVI, that PN said. Six Florida public safety answering points are still experiencing problems due to Irma, down from 20 Thursday, said Friday's DIRS report. In Florida, 8.5 percent of cellsites are down, an improvement from 13 percent Thursday. In the USVI, 51 percent of cellsites are out of service, down from 54 percent. Florida has 1.6 million wireline and cable subscribers without service. “The number of cable systems and wireline subscribers out of service is reduced significantly from yesterday because, in addition to removing from the total states/territories deactivated in DIRS, the FCC found that one or more providers had previously filed multiple entries, resulting in double/triple counting number of subscribers and inaccurate percentages per day,” the report said. Duplicative entries were removed, the report said. Twenty-four radio stations are out of service in Florida and the USVI. Florida has three TV stations out, the USVI have two down.