The FCC Wireline Bureau turned down a request by Lifeline providers and tribal groups for a stay of 2017 tribal Lifeline changes, pending judicial review of their legal challenges to an order released Dec. 1 (see 1711160021 and 1712010042). “Petitioners have not shown that they are likely to succeed on the merits of their claims,” the bureau said Thursday. “The 2017 Lifeline Order contains a comprehensive explanation of the basis for the Commission’s decision to limit enhanced Tribal support to rural Tribal areas, and to target such support to facilities-based providers.” Assist Wireless, Boomerang Wireless, Easy Wireless, the National Lifeline Association, the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe and the Oceti Sakowin Tribal Utility Authority requested the stay last month (see 1806250032). The bureau rejected claims that it hadn’t done required consultation with the tribes before approving the order. The agency also said it didn’t violate the Administrative Procedure Act by not specifically seeking the changes approved in the December order. “We do not see how the lack of an additional round of notice and comment could have harmed Petitioners, who had a full opportunity to register their opposition to the Commission’s proposals to limit enhanced support to facilities-based providers, and to rural Tribal areas, after the 2015 Lifeline [Future NPRM] was released,” it said.

An online map of Brooklyn unlicensed radio stations created by a pirate radio enthusiast profiled in the New Yorker will be used to “facilitate more enforcement actions,” FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said in a pair of tweets condemning the article. “BTW, appreciate the Brooklyn map of illegal pirate radio ‘stations,’” O’Rielly tweeted. “Fairly certain @FCC already has info but will share with Enforcement Bureau.” The article “tries to paint pretty picture of pirate radio while barely discussing the illegal practice harms so many,” O’Rielly said. David Goren, the subject of the article and the creator of the Brooklyn Pirate Radio Sound Map, appeared to thank O’Rielly for mentioning his project in another tweet. The New Yorker didn't comment

Consumers are “one step closer to feeling the full effects of a trade war,” said National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay Thursday, before U.S. tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese goods are to take effect Friday. The tariffs “will do nothing to protect U.S. jobs, but they will undermine the benefits of tax reform and drive up prices for a wide range of products as diverse as tool sets, batteries, remote controls, flash drives and thermostats,” said Shay, who “strongly urged” the administration to scrap plans for tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese goods. Additional tariffs would “destroy thousands of American jobs and raise prices on virtually everything sold in our stores,” Shay said. “Reining in China’s abusive trade policies is a goal shared by many countries, but a strategy based on unilateral tariffs is the wrong approach and it has to stop,” said Shay. The Washington Post Tuesday quoted CTA CEO Gary Shapiro, referencing comments Shapiro made in a June 5 Fortune commentary: “Tariffs are Trump’s worst choice,” said Shapiro. “They don’t make us ‘great.’ Instead, they lead to retaliation," he said. "And as the rest of the world moves forward with tariff-busting trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other bilateral agreements, we will become further isolated as foreign markets shrink for our goods." Addressing journalists at CES Asia last month (see 1806130001), Shapiro said "nobody wins" in a trade war, and threats and discussions about tariffs cause "global economic uncertainty." He said: “Everybody loses when two major trading partners start disagreeing.”

The FCC sought nominations on an "Interoperable Video Calling" working group to help the North American Numbering Council. The IVC working group "will explore how to facilitate the provision of interoperable telephone number-based video calling, allowing service providers to voluntarily offer, to any customer, the capability to make or receive a video call between 10-digit North American Numbering Plan numbers," said a public notice Tuesday in docket 92-237, which asked for nominations "as soon as possible," but by July 31.

All Comcast Xfinity Mobile users will see standard-definition video by default on the mobile network, while unlimited-plan users will get slower speeds when tethering, under policy changes. Video will be streamed at 480p by default, “consistent with standard unlimited plans across standards,” though customers may stream HD video over Wi-Fi, a spokesperson emailed Tuesday. Comcast plans to charge extra for 720p resolution later this year; until then, customers may request it for free temporarily, he said. Comcast further explained the video policy change on a support page updated Monday. When using a phone as a hot spot, unlimited-plan users will get 3G speeds, while users paying $12 per gigabyte get 4G speeds, he said. The changes are to keep price down, the spokesperson said. The mobile virtual network operator unlimited plan costs $45 monthly for 20 GB of 4G data.

Consumer groups and others backed a request that the FCC stay tribal restrictions in the Lifeline low-income subsidy program, pending judicial review of their legal challenges to an order released Dec. 1. "This is a reasonable and modest request to temporarily delay the implementation of the drastic changes to the Tribal Lifeline program until the conclusion of the review sought by Joint Petitioners in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit," said the Benton Foundation, Common Cause, Free Press, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NAACP, National Consumer Law Center, National Hispanic Media Coalition, Native Public Media, Next Century Cities, Public Knowledge and six others, filing Tuesday in docket 17-287 supporting the petition of Lifeline providers and tribal group (see 1806250032). "Residents of Tribal lands are at risk of consumer confusion, at best, and loss of phone and broadband service, at worst, if the Commission’s ... [tribal Lifeline order] were to take effect while the court appeal is pending. We are further concerned that the Commission failed in its obligation to engage in government-to-government Tribal consultations with regard to this proposal that will have such a dramatic impact on Indian country, per the Commission’s own long-established procedure."

NCTA, meeting Chief of Staff Matthew Berry, urged the FCC act on opening the 5.9 GHz band for unlicensed use. NCTA sees the band as ideal for Wi-Fi, it said in docket 13-49. “This band is located adjacent to the existing U-NII-3 band, would enable the use of additional 160 MHz channels needed to support Gigabit Wi-Fi, and incumbent operations are limited to just a few pilot deployments,” NCTA said: “Changes in the automotive technology market and in the adjacent spectrum environment ... suggest that the Commission should renew its efforts in the band.” The band has been a target of Wi-Fi advocates and an FCC focus since 2013 (see 1305310035). Toyota said it met Chairman Ajit Pai to argue for preserving the band for dedicated short-range communications. The automaker has a "strong commitment to automotive safety, citing its industry leadership in making Automatic Emergency Braking and other active safety features standard on Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the United States,” Toyota said. “By helping vehicles identify potential hazards that are beyond the range or capability of sensor technology, DSRC will further help Toyota achieve its goal of reducing crashes.”

Former FCC interim Chairman Michael Copps said Geoffrey Starks will find his own way as commissioner once confirmed (see 1806290037). “I’m for letting Starks be Starks, trusting he’ll do fine, and we’ll verify as events develop,” Copps emailed. “It is amusing, though, to read about the need for ‘independent’ commissioners from former transition officials who reportedly thought about deep-sixing the entire independent agency.” Copps is now at Common Cause. Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood accused Republicans of hypocrisy: “People who are complaining about the [Tom] Wheeler FCC being partisan when they were on the losing end of 3-2 decisions seem really happy to take a victory lap in the Trump FCC when the 3-2 decisions go their way instead.”

An FCC draft item to amend application fees in sections 1.1002-1.1109 of its rules is on the commission's list of items on circulation updated Friday. "It's an Order implementing the statutory requirement that the commission update its application fees every two years," a spokesperson emailed us Monday.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai added another state government official to the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee and named a new vice chair, a city official. BDAC has been criticized for having too little local and state representation (see 1801230043). David Young now is vice chairman of the full BDAC. Young, right-of-way manager for Lincoln, Nebraska, was already on BDAC and replaces in that position Kelleigh Cole, who left as the director of the Utah Broadband Outreach Center and resigned from the BDAC last week, the FCC said. Young represents the National League of Cities on BDAC. With one state official gone, another is coming on. Pai appointed Danna MacKenzie, a member of the BDAC’s Removing State and Local Regulatory Barriers working group, to be on the BDAC as a representative of the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development, the FCC said. MacKenzie is “taking on this important responsibility at a critical time for the BDAC as the Harmonization working group resolves differences between the State Model Code and Municipal Model Code to ensure that the model codes are harmonized with each other and with the BDAC’s prior recommendations,” Pai said. In April, Young replaced Sam Liccardo, mayor of San Jose, California, on BDAC. Liccardo resigned, saying the committee had too little local representation (see 1801250049).