Ligado's proposed terrestrial broadband operations still "pose a significant interference risk" for parties getting real-time National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather and environmental data and to certified GPS receivers, aeronautical safety satellite communications and Iridium end users, despite Ligado's protests to the contrary, said aviation and weather interests in a docket 11-109 FCC filing posted Tuesday. They said Ligado continues to try to gloss over filings showing potential for harmful interference and "to discount the import and validity" of the Transportation Department's ongoing Adjacent Band Compatibility evaluation. They said the FCC shouldn't act on the satellite company's requests until the agency addresses those interference issues, and had input from other federal agencies. Signers of the filing included AccuWeather, Aerospace Industries Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Airlines for America, American Geophysical Union, American Meteorological Society, Gogo Business Aviation, Helicopter Association International, International Air Transport Association, Iridium, the National Weather Association and Thales. Ligado said it has "worked with the Commission and interested parties for nearly two years to resolve interference concerns, including signing cooperation agreements with major GPS companies that ensure Ligado is compatible with GPS and will not interfere with aviation safety or NOAA’s operations. Safety of life is paramount, and that’s why we have collaborated extensively with the FAA to protect aviation safety and provide the industry with an advanced level of connectivity currently unavailable today. Additionally, we have proposed that NOAA use a fiber cable and cloud-based delivery system for its weather data. This proposal and Ligado’s commitment to protect NOAA’s own operations will allow an auction of the 1675-1680 MHz band and preserve NOAA’s mission. Today’s filing contains no new information, no new technical analysis, no new data. It is simply a re-packaging of the same old complaints, all of which have already been amply addressed in the record.” In an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 11-109, Ligado recapped a phone call with the Wireless Bureau employees about aviation industry concerns (see 1706210030) in which it said the concerns raised previously were discussed as part of the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics review and presented to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Charter, Comcast, Cox and Verizon backed FTC authority to oversee ISP privacy practices in the agency's case against AT&T Mobility. The four companies filed an amicus brief (in Pacer) with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Monday, saying their position "might seem surprising" but "this position aligns with the companies’ desire to reinstate a predictable, uniform, and technology-neutral regulatory framework that will best serve consumers and businesses alike." Last year, a three-judge panel sided with AT&T in the data-throttling lawsuit brought by the FTC (see 1608290032). The panel decided since the ISP was a common carrier, the commission had no jurisdiction over any of its practices including non-common carrier activities. The FTC appealed and the court last month granted an en banc review that's scheduled for September (see 1705090068). Monday's filing said the four companies don't doubt AT&T's commitment to protect its consumers and don't take a position on FTC's allegations. But if the court accepts the three-judge panel's ruling, "the FTC is sidelined, and any perceived regulatory gap is filled by a patchwork of well-intentioned yet inexperienced federal, state, and local agencies," creating "unreasonable, duplicative, and inconsistent rules," the filing said. The result would be less consumer protection and businesses operating "in an uncertain and uneven regulatory environment," it said. The four companies acknowledged they missed the May 30 deadline to file an amicus brief supporting the FTC because it took time to assemble the coalition, but they added the filing "will not adversely impact" the court's schedule for the hearing. It said the FTC consented to the filing but AT&T didn't.

Public comments defending the 2015 open internet order are vital to resisting FCC Republican plans to reverse Title II broadband regulation under the Communications Act, said former Chairman Tom Wheeler, former General Counsel Jonathan Sallet and Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., at a town hall Monday night held by the congressman in Arlington, Virginia. Recognizing the commission's GOP majority, speakers expected the fight to be decided in court. Wheeler said an "overwhelming" record would be needed to undo net neutrality. "What those who want to repeal the open internet order have the burden of proving is that, in two years, things have changed so much that you’ve got to turn 180 degrees and throw out the rules that have been working. ... That's why your comments are so crucial," he told the audience, which applauded speakers several times. Sallet agreed: "When I was general counsel, I didn’t think that what the FCC said was the last word on the matter. I knew there would be a day in court. And what people say to the FCC today in comments, in emails, about their own experiences, that can help shape what happens.” Beyer was skeptical of a legislative solution but urged people to contact lawmakers because public pressure can sometimes cause changes. In response to Public Knowledge Vice President Chris Lewis, who asked if the congressman would "commit to not support legislation that weakens the FCC as a cop on the beat even if it gives us some semblance of net neutrality," Beyer said, "Yes, absolutely." He added he wouldn't support rolling back the FCC's protections. Wheeler called net neutrality "really important" for northern Virginia, a "hot bed" for innovators. He plugged "regulatory agility" and the 2015 general conduct standard, which critics have targeted for elimination "because, 'Well, we don't know what that means in five-10 years.’ Damn right you don’t and that’s why it’s there.” Wheeler said one ISP chief executive told him he wasn't worried about what the then-chairman would do with such broad authority, but about what his successors would do. “I said to him, 'Well, it’s funny, I have the same feeling about you. I’m sure you wouldn’t do anything untoward, but what about your successors?” Wheeler called arguments the FTC could replace the FCC in protecting broadband privacy "an empty promise" because the trade commission lacks the same rulemaking authority and expertise.

FCC staff updated Lifeline minimum service standards and slightly increased its budget, implementing aspects of a 2016 order overhauling the agency's USF low-income broadband/telecom subsidy program. Starting Dec. 1, the Lifeline minimum service standard for fixed broadband speed will be 15/2 Mbps (down/up), as calculated from Form 477 data, with an exception for providers that don't offer any generally available residential fixed broadband packages meeting the standard at a subscriber's residence (those providers must offer at least 4/1 Mbps), said a Wireline Bureau public notice Monday in docket 11-42. It noted the fixed broadband data-allotment minimum will be 250 GBs per month, as calculated from urban rate survey data. The PN said the 2016 order included an automatic increase in Lifeline's mobile broadband data-allotment minimum to 1 GB per month, while retaining a 3G technology minimum speed standard. The order also included an automatic update of the Lifeline mobile voice minimum to 750 minutes per month on Dec. 1. To incorporate inflation indexing, as required by the order, the Lifeline budget for calendar year 2018 will increase from the current $2.25 billion to $2.279 billion, the PN said.

Incompas and Sprint opposed an FCC motion that a court remand business data service tariff litigation in which AT&T is challenging a 2016 agency order that found certain incumbent telco BDS tariff provisions unlawful (see 1706140012). Granting the commission's request, which cited a 2006 BellSouth v. FCC ruling, "would needlessly delay resolution of a case" affecting much of the telecom industry, said the two intervenors in their opposition (in Pacer) Friday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in AT&T v. FCC, No. 16-1166. Incompas and Sprint also said they intend to ask the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to transfer separate challenges to the FCC's recent deregulatory BDS order to the D.C. Circuit "so that both cases may be heard by the same panel." Windstream and others asked the FCC to stay that BDS order (see 1706260054). In their opposition, Incompas and Sprint noted the FCC's 2016 tariff investigation order required AT&T and other major ILECs to remove from their pricing plans "unjust and unreasonable" contract provisions, including "all-or-nothing" terms and some volume-shortfall and early-termination penalties. They said voluntary remand is usually granted when there's new evidence or a new event that may affect the validity of agency actions. "None of those circumstances has occurred here," said their opposition. "Instead, the Commission asks -- without confessing error -- for remand to consider an eleven-year-old case that ... is not relevant." Meanwhile, the FCC Friday in a status report (in Pacer) asked the D.C. Circuit to continue to hold in abeyance a USTelecom case challenging an interim technology transitions wholesale access rule that will expire with the implementation of new special access (BDS) rules, which were adopted in April and most of which take effect Aug. 1 (see 1706020060). In USTelecom v. FCC, No. 15-1414, the telco group also is challenging the previous FCC's interpretation of Communications Act Section 214, which the current commission proposed to reverse in a recent wireline broadband deployment NPRM that drew many comments this month (see 1706160041).

Critics asked the FCC to stay its recent deregulatory business data service order (see 1704200020), and said they would treat inaction by Friday as denial. The record shows incumbent telcos are the only facilities-based provider in 86 percent of buildings with total bandwidth demand of 50 Mbps or less "because it is almost never economically feasible to build a new last-mile connection" in such situations, said a joint stay motion posted Monday in docket 16-143 by Windstream, BT Americas, Incompas and the Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee. They said competitors must buy last-mile connections from the ILEC to compete, and also often must buy dedicated BDS transport from ILECs. The FCC traditionally used price-cap regulation to control rates, but new leadership "abruptly changed course without seeking further comment" and "adopted results-driven new rules divorced from well-established market analysis principles, precedent and" the previous commission's 2016 proposals, said the motion. ILECs will be allowed to detariff Aug. 1 "and to replace discontinued BDS with higher-cost alternatives, creating the prospect of enormous disruption and uncertainty as the industry migrates to a new paradigm of Commission indifference to competition," said the groups, arguing they met the requirements for a stay: "Moreover, a stay would not harm the ILECs, and instead would avoid massive and permanent losses that would be unrecoverable in the event of reversal." The FCC, stay movants and ILECs didn't comment. The FCC rarely approves such requests, leaving critics to seek court action. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was recently chosen by lottery to hear challenges to the BDS order (see 1706160022), but Incompas and Sprint said Friday they would ask that court to transfer that case to the D.C. Circuit, which has before it an AT&T challenge to a 2016 BDS tariff investigation order. Incompas and Sprint opposed an FCC motion the D.C. Circuit remand the tariff case to the agency (see 1706260015).

Most of the comments in the FCC open internet rulemaking favor repealing the 2015 net neutrality and Communications Act Title II broadband reclassification order, said Consumer Action for a Strong Economy Monday. CASE, a "free-market voice" for consumers, said it analyzed the 4.99 million comments filed in docket 17-108 by June 20 (more than 5 million were filed as of Monday). "Roughly 65% of the docket is in support of repeal of the 2015 rule," it said. "Nearly 6% of comments filed are coming from self-identified international filers, and approximately 75% of all comments are from letter campaigns coming from both sides -- for and against repeal." Commenters' "sentiment was determined based on the clear language indicated in the form letters we tracked on both sides of the debate, which comprise the majority of the docket. We also used key terms indicating support for or against the current Title II-based rules," CASE said. A spokeswoman for a group drumming up support for the 2015 net neutrality order voiced skepticism, "given the utter lack of real grassroots support for [FCC Chairman] Ajit Pai's plan to dismantle net neutrality protections," though she acknowledged she would have to dig into CASE's methodology. "Given that the FCC has refused to do anything about the hundreds of thousands of fake anti-net neutrality comments that were submitted to their API [application programming interface] using real people's stolen names and addresses, this sentiment analysis is essentially moot, because it's including comments that the FCC (and everyone else) knows were not submitted by real people," emailed Evan Greer, Fight for the Future campaign director. "A valid sentiment analysis would take that into consideration and would work to separate out the comments that are known to be fake. It does not appear that CASE has done that, which means they are making claims based on data that they know to be tainted."

Ajit Pai said 5G, and opening new bands across the spectrum, will be a big focus of his time as FCC chairman. Pai spoke Monday at the “Broadband for All” seminar in Stockholm, and the agency posted his remarks. Pai called 5G a national priority. Fifth-generation wireless “promises exponential growth” in the IoT, he said. “It could let mobile broadband consumers download 4K movies in seconds. It could enable cooperative collision avoidance for cars and remote robotic surgery. It could bring the full power of virtual and augmented reality into reality.” One key is flexible service rules, he said. “We basically make spectrum available and then do our best to stay out of the way of technological development and the details of implementation.” U.S. spectrum policy brings to mind a Swedish word -- “smörgåsbord,” he said: “We aim to free up all kinds of spectrum -- low-, mid-, and high-band -- for both licensed and unlicensed use. We are convinced that this approach allows mobile innovators and consumers alike to feast.” Pai didn’t announce any new initiatives on spectrum. Arturo Robles-Rovalo, commissioner at Mexico’s Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones, tweeted that he met with Pai at the conference to "review ongoing joint work and analyze common goals.” Pai tweeted about meetings with RS Sharma, chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, plus officials from Canada, Israel and Sweden.

The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition backed Alaska Communications' request the FCC provide "full funding" for the USF rural healthcare (RHC) subsidy support program (see 1706200049). "Even though the demand for RHC funding has increased substantially in the past year -- exceeding the $400 Million cap -- the Public Notice issued by the Office of Managing Director (OMD) proposes to collect less than $0 for the third quarter of 2017 for the RHC program," said an SHLB filing Friday in docket 96-45. "Without taking public comment or going through a rulemaking proceeding, the Public Notice proposes to change existing policy and to use reserve funds from prior years to cover the RHC demand for the upcoming quarter. This policy change is a dramatic departure from prior practice." Peninsula Community Health Services of Alaska, Ninilchik Traditional Council and Kenaitze Indian Tribe said (here, here, here) the reserve fund shouldn't be used to lower the USF contribution factor in Q3 at the long-term expense of the RHC program. Two other Alaska entities made similar filings recently (see 1706220020). A proposed USF contribution factor of 17.1 percent of carrier interstate and international telecom end-user revenue takes effect Tuesday absent FCC action. Meanwhile, the Wireline Bureau Friday waived an invoice filing deadline under the Healthcare Connect Fund for about 50 healthcare providers listed in an order Friday in docket 02-60.

Intervenors in an appellate case that voided the FCC's junk fax rule haven't met the burden of showing their petition for a stay of mandate presents a substantial question that justifies such a stay, the FCC said in a response (in Pacer) posted Thursday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Responding to the intervenors' motion for a stay filed earlier this month (see 1706130018), the agency said intervenors didn't demonstrate substantial harm that would come from the mandate not being stayed -- an argument echoed by the class-action defendant petitioners in their own filing (in Pacer) posted Thursday. The defendant petitioners said there's "no realistic prospect" of the Supreme Court granting certiorari, especially since the majority of commissioners agree the junk fax rule is unlawful. The defendant petitioners said the case revolves around "a narrow administrative law question on which there is no conflict of authority." Counsel for the intervenors didn't comment Friday.