The FCC plans a workshop June 19, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. EDT at its headquarters, to explore “the complex issues surrounding mobile device theft,” said an agency notice Tuesday. “Some observers believe the thefts of personal electronic devices are reaching epidemic proportions,” the FCC said (http://bit.ly/1jSwkuZ). “Police in major metropolitan areas across the United States report year-on-year increases ranging from six to as much as 23 percent, building on an already high base where an estimated 3.1 million devices were stolen in 2013, nearly double the 2012 amount.”

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s responses to lawmakers Tuesday (see separate report above in this issue) “indicate he has clearly thought about this tactic” of broadcasters blocking online access to TV programming during retransmission consent disputes, wrote analyst Paul Gallant of Guggenheim Partners in a research note after the House Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing. “Our authority goes to good faith negotiations,” Wheeler said during the hearing. “There is reason to be concerned that because I happen to subscribe to an ISP who is in a dispute with a program provider, that the program provider blocks all access from all IP addresses coming from that ISP. I think that is something that is of concern and that we all should worry about.” Wheeler’s concern means Gallant “would not be surprised if the FCC uses its ‘good faith negotiation’ rules to prevent such blocking,” he said. “Should Mr. Wheeler pursue this approach, it has the potential to marginally reduce broadcaster leverage during future retrans disputes.” In other testimony, the question of whether the FCC can preempt state laws restricting municipal broadband networks will probably be “answered in court,” Wheeler said. He argued in favor of the FCC pre-empting these state restrictions. “If we believe in competition, we ought to let competition flourish,” Wheeler said. “This is a decision that ought to be made by the people of the community.” If local community residents want to bring competition by building their own networks, “they should not be inhibited … by the fact that the incumbents have been urging the adoption of legislation that would ban it,” Wheeler said.

FirstNet board member Charles Dowd reportedly submitted paperwork to retire from the New York Police Department. The New York Daily News reported last week that Dowd no longer heads the city’s 911 operations, has been shifted to head the department’s Transit Division and plans to retire from the department (http://nydn.us/1lBKyBI). An NTIA spokeswoman declined to comment Monday. Down departure from the NYPD would not necessarily preclude service on the FirstNet board. FirstNet General Manager Bill D'Agostino announced last month he was leaving after less than a year on the job, as questions continue to swirl around the network (CD April 16 p1). Angela Simpson, NTIA deputy assistant secretary, said FirstNet is doing “really well,” in remarks to the FCBA’s annual retreat Saturday. “This is another instance where a program was created out of legislation and it’s a terrific opportunity,” she said. “FirstNet has ... been in a state of constant change, in terms of getting the organization set up and it’s growing exponentially.” NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling said the agency has played a key role in the startup of FirstNet. “From day one, when you had inquiries of how do [FirstNet officials] spend money, how do they travel, who makes their airplane reservations, all of those services we had to provide at the beginning,” he said. Since FirstNet hired its own staff, “as much as possible we get out of the day-to-day activities,” Strickling said. “At the end of the day our oversight will be to ensure they're complying with federal regulation, federal law.” Pending FCC auctions are slated to provide $7 billion to pay for the network. “My own belief is that the FCC should do what is right with their spectrum policy and the FirstNet money will take care of itself,” he said.

The FCC plans to start the AWS-3 auction Nov. 13, two weeks before Thanksgiving Day, agency officials said Monday. The FCC released Monday the first of what are expected to be three public notices on the auction, in this case seeking comment on proposed auction rules (http://fcc.us/Tncz9X). The FCC approved service rules for a 65 MHz AWS-3 auction March 31 (CD April 1 p1), setting the stage for the agency’s first major spectrum sale since 2008. Unlike the TV incentive auction, the commission faces sharp deadlines in the 2012 spectrum law and is required to license the spectrum by February. The PN proposes a reserve price of about $10 billion for the main spectrum to be sold in the auction: 1755-1780 MHz blocks paired with 2155-2180 MHz spectrum. It proposes a reserve price of only $580 million for the 1695-1710 MHz band, also to be auctioned. Consistent with past practice, FCC staff will likely make the final calls on the technical rules for the auction, officials said Monday. The auction process notice will be followed by a procedure notice, which adopts what is proposed in the first PN, officials said. FCC staff is also working with NTIA on a joint coordination PN, providing basic information on the coordination process for clearing the AWS-3 spectrum. Comments are due June 9, replies June 23.

Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo were among the tech companies that topped the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF) annual ranking of how strongly tech companies protect consumer data from government requests (http://bit.ly/1hQKvRr). The report singled out Apple and Yahoo for showing “enormous improvements in government access policies.” On the flip side, AT&T, Comcast and Snapchat “lag behind others in industry,” said EFF. The report looked at six factors: whether companies required a warrant to access content; whether they fought for users’ privacy rights in the courts and on Capitol Hill; whether they issued transparency reports and reports on government data requests; and whether they published law enforcement guidelines. EFF said Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo hit all six targets. Snapchat only published law enforcement guidelines, said the report. AT&T did that plus a transparency report, it said. Comcast hit three targets, with a transparency report, law enforcement guidelines and fighting for users’ privacy rights in courts, according to EFF. “In the face of unbounded surveillance, users of technology need to know which companies are willing to take a stand for the privacy of their users,” EFF said.

Local governments have a stake in the FCC’s net neutrality proceedings (CD May 18 p1), but cities and counties are still studying the NPRM prior to possibly taking up the issue at the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting in Dallas, June 20-23, said municipal telecom lawyer Gerard Lederer of the Best Best law firm, which represents local governments around the nation. Local governments have an interest in making sure the use of their public rights of way results in a public benefit not just shareholder value, Lederer said. There may be concerns about governments being asked to pay extra fees for a fast lane for such government functions as online bill pay and meter reading, he said. Local governments are concerned about small businesses that could be affected. A spokesman for the National Conference of State Legislatures said it is still formulating a response. The National Governors Association had no comment.

Net neutrality supporters want to overturn a “two-decade consensus” of light regulatory touch, John Sununu, co-chair of Broadband for America and former Republican senator from New Hampshire, said in a media call Friday. Broadband firms have invested more than a trillion dollars on infrastructure, but make those investments only when they believe they can get a return, Sununu said. Under Title II regulation -- which the net neutrality NPRM asks about (CD May 16 p1) -- government would have the right to regulate rates, investment and return on investment, Sununu said. “There’s no question that the private sector would be both more reluctant to invest in that kind of a regulatory environment, and approval for investments would take longer.” The push for net neutrality rules might be more understandable if there were a specific market failure the FCC is trying to address -- but there isn’t one, Sununu said: The Internet has outpaced just about every other industry in the country, with speeds increasing 25 percent in the past year, and its level of innovation has never been stronger. “We've got a market that’s working today.” Harold Ford Jr., co-chair of Broadband for America and former Democratic representative from Tennessee, criticized the idea of slow lanes and fast lanes; there are “fast lanes” and “soon to be ultra-fast lanes” for those that need it, Ford said. Some activities require faster speeds, Ford said, citing access to emergency services and “amazing advances in telemedicine” such as “remote surgery.” As for Title II, a light regulatory approach is “proven” to produce innovation, he said, especially compared with Europe’s utility-style regulation of the Internet that has resulted in slower innovation. Broadband for America attorney Bryan Tramont, managing partner of Wilkinson Barker, said that no one knows what Title II would look like as applied to the Internet. “There is a cascade of regulations that would apply,” he said. “How would forbearance work?” Could a future commission come in and “unforbear"? All that uncertainty would have a tremendous impact on business, Tramont said.

The FCC’s ejection of three protesters from Thursday’s open meeting has sparked calls for violence against Chairman Tom Wheeler, in Internet comments posted on YouTube and Reddit. The hacker group Anonymous tweeted to its 1.24 million followers a link to video of the protesters (http://bit.ly/1gOxrvK). “Make it viral!” Anonymous wrote. As of press time Friday the video had been viewed over 130,000 times. Dozens of commenters have urged violence against Wheeler and the other commissioners. “Kill Tom Wheeler,” wrote one commenter on Reddit. “It’s not like he has secret service around him or anything like that.” A YouTube comment -- “I'll smirk if someone puts a bullet in his head” -- was thumbs-upped 142 times. Multiple commenters encouraged protesters to shoot, bomb or -- in one case -- “toast” the commissioners with a flame thrower. Senior Counsel Gigi Sohn tweeted Thursday (http://bit.ly/1k9m5qB) that the “armed guards” who were removing the protesters “protect me and my FCC colleagues every day. Many thanks for the work they do.” An FCC spokesman, who was unaware of the threats until a reporter brought them to his attention, declined to comment on whether security would be increased.

President Barack Obama is “pleased to see” that the FCC is “keeping all options on the table” in its plan to craft new net neutrality rules, Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters Friday at a news briefing. Obama is hopeful the NPRM “results in a final rule that stays true to the spirit of net neutrality, which he supports.” The White House will “carefully review” the FCC’s proposal, Carney added, stressing that the agency is independent and suffered a real setback when a January U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruling vacated the agency’s 2010 rules.

Cisco is “deeply troubled” by proposals to impose “old-fashioned” Title II “telephone regulations” to broadband Internet access service, CEO John Chambers told FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in a phone call Tuesday, an ex parte filing said. “By keeping the heavy hand of Title II regulation out of the Internet, the FCC has encouraged huge investment in Internet infrastructure,” Cisco said. “If Title II regulation is brought to broadband Internet access services, investment in new infrastructure will be severely hamstrung. New, innovative services may not be brought to market because entrepreneurs fear telecommunications regulation. The competitiveness of our nation will be threatened because, in a global world, investment and jobs will move to countries that encourage innovation.” Chambers said he’s passionate about the issue because it’s “crucial” to the future of the Internet. “Will we have rules that only seek to protect innovation on the edge of the network by imposing onerous regulation on the core of the network? Or will we take a balanced approach that encourages innovation everywhere in the Internet ecosystem while protecting consumers and competition?” Interconnection rules must be part of any net neutrality rewrite, Level 3 told an aide to Wheeler Monday, an ex parte filing said (http://bit.ly/1sORjGh). The FCC must not “simply reinstate its previous rules” on net neutrality, Level 3 said. Wheeler says he won’t let some companies force Internet users into a slow lane, but that’s “precisely what is happening today,” Level 3 said: “Some of the biggest consumer broadband ISPs have allowed the interconnections between their networks and backbone providers like Level 3 to congest, causing packets to be dropped and harming their own users’ Internet experience.” To ensure its rules actually achieve their goal, “the Commission must also prohibit ISPs from imposing access tolls for the privilege of reaching the ISPs’ end users,” Level 3 said.