A court gave net neutrality litigants until June 20 to propose briefing formats, noting its concerns about potential duplicative briefing. "The parties are strongly urged to submit a joint proposal and are reminded that the court looks with extreme disfavor on repetitious submissions and will, where appropriate, require a joint brief of aligned parties with total words not to exceed the standard allotment for a single brief," said an order (in Pacer) Monday of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Monday in Mozilla v. FCC, No. 18-1051. "Whether the parties are aligned or have disparate interests, they must provide detailed justifications for any request to file separate briefs or to exceed in the aggregate the standard word allotment." Petitioners have been working on a joint briefing proposal, an involved attorney told us Tuesday.

The FCC rejected a reconsideration petition and stay request by Prometheus Radio Project against an order relaxing siting rules for FM translators (see 1705310054), said an order Tuesday. The petition was denied 4-0 vote, with Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel concurring and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn not participating. Clyburn remains at the FCC after announcing she was leaving, and has voted some items on circulation though she skipped voting in the May monthly meeting (see 1805180042). Prometheus argued the FCC didn’t properly give notice that it would eliminate the 40-mile limit on translator siting, and that it ignored potential consequences for low-power FM. The FCC said Tuesday the order gave notice the FCC could change the limit and that comments in the proceeding show many broadcasters expected such a change. Prometheus didn’t provide sufficient evidence that LPFMs would be threatened by the new translator citing rules, the FCC said. The agency said the public interest benefits of the rule change “were significant and that nothing in the record, including Prometheus’s February Ex Parte, demonstrated harm to LPFM stations that would outweigh these benefits.”

An FCC regulatory fee item set new undersea cable tiers and proposed $322 million in industry payments for FY 2018. "We adopt new tiers for assessing regulatory fees for submarine cable systems," said an order and NPRM Tuesday in docket 18-175 Tuesday. The order creates a sliding scale of five tiers for undersea systems, with those having capacity equal to or greater than 4,000 Gbps paying "16 payment units," down to systems with capacity less than 50 Gbps paying 1 payment unit. "We also decline to adopt a new regulatory fee for international [Communications Act] section 214 authorizations and we retain the optional bulk rate calculation for determining the number of subscribers in multiple dwelling units used in the calculation of cable fees," the order said. The NPRM seeks comment on regulatory fees for FY 2018, including an incremental increase in the DBS fee rate. "We also seek comment on a new methodology for broadcast television regulatory fees for FY 2019, and a tiered rate structure for international bearer circuit fees," the item said. "The Commission previously sought comment on a proposal for tiers in the Further [NPRM] attached to the FY 2017 Report and Order, and we seek additional comment on this issue." Comments are due June 21, replies July 6.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai began a "Piedmont digital opportunity" road trip Monday through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, concluding Friday. Pai will visit a telehealth facility, schools, a farm and a tech incubator, and have roundtables with Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., and North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest (R), said an agency release Sunday. He's scheduled to speak at a Wireless Infrastructure Association event in Charlotte Wednesday. Pai and former FCC Chairman Newton Minow (1961-63) Monday called for expanding rural high-speed internet access to increase the availability of telehealth solutions and narrow the digital divide. "While the benefits of digital health care are clear, we’ve been too slow to embrace its potential," they wrote in the Boston Globe. "The most crucial step in seizing the opportunities of digital medicine is making sure that every community has high-speed Internet access." They noted FCC efforts through auctions of $6.5 billion in Connect America Fund rural subsidies for fixed and mobile broadband services; a rural health care subsidy program in which demand exceeds a $400 million annual cap, with the commission "exploring whether to increase the size of the program and how to ensure that every dollar is stretched as far as possible;" and a Connect2Health Task Force collaboration with the National Cancer Institute on a broadband study in Appalachia. They also cited a need to address regulatory barriers to telehealth services such as state licensing.

FCC information collection for network change disclosure, not discontinuance, rules was approved by the Office of Management and Budget for three years, says a corrected FCC announcement in docket 17-84 for Tuesday's Federal Register (see 1805140021).

The Supreme Court won’t hear an Oklahoma mayor’s complaint against AT&T involving alleged bribery at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and a state court. The Supreme Court denied certiorari Monday on the petition by Nichols Hill Mayor Sody Clements -- a former OCC employee -- and other Oklahomans against Southwestern Bell, now known as AT&T. In 2015, petitioners objected at the OCC to “intrinsic fraud” by AT&T “to obtain ill-begotten orders and judgments from the OCC and the Oklahoma Supreme Court,” the petition said. The OCC dismissed that complaint with prejudice, preventing petitioners from seeking further review. In its application for cert, petitioners said the commission and state court “simply went too far in resolving this grievance -- by abridging the Petitioners’ United States Constitutional right to further petition for redress of grievances by the State’s summary dismissal ‘with prejudice’ of Petitioners’ application to reform a bribed legislative matter.” The petitioners are disappointed, but this request was “one tiny part” of the matter, Clements said in an interview. “We are not going away.” The case has never been heard on the merits but instead “shuttled” from one court to another due to technicalities, and AT&T has yet to deny the bribery charges, she said. AT&T applauded the rejection. “At least seven times over the last 25 years, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and the Oklahoma Supreme Court have consistently found no compelling basis -- legal or otherwise -- to reopen this case,” a spokeswoman said. “After the truly remarkable amount of consideration and review this issue has received, it’s time to put it to rest.”

The Free State Foundation urged the FCC to move forward on rules implementing Section 7 of the Communications Act, requiring prompt review of proposals for “innovative” new technologies and services. The FCC sought comment in February, over objections by Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel (see 1802220045). Initial comments were due Monday in docket 18-22. The IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee was more circumspect. “We agree with the goal of avoiding unnecessary delay in consideration of new technologies,” it commented. “In some cases an assessment of the impact of a new technology on existing technologies, including licensed incumbents, may be difficult to complete within one year. We urge the Commission to reiterate that the quality of such assessments will not be compromised.” The committee produces standards for wireless networking devices. FSF said the FCC should adopt “a rebuttable presumption that applications and permits determined by the Commission to offer a ‘new technology or service’ within the scope of Section 7 are in the public interest absent clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.” It urged a “deemed granted” trigger if the FCC fails to act on the merits within one year.

The local number portability administrator shift to iconectiv was "successfully completed" Sunday in the Western, Southwest and West Coast regions, said North American Portability Management, which the FCC charged with overseeing the LNPA transition. Iconectiv said Monday it was the third and final round of "successful" regional cutovers from incumbent Neustar (see 1804090028 and 1805070033), and noted NAPM is scheduled to formally "accept" iconectiv's systems and services Friday. “This final regional transition brings us near the end of a more than decade-long journey to bring the nation a modern and cost effective number portability system,” said iconectiv CEO Richard Jacowleff. NARUC General Counsel Brad Ramsay and others told us they weren't aware of any significant problems with the cutovers in the three regions, which include every state west of the Mississippi River except Louisiana. "Everything went well! No issues to speak of!" emailed Carolee Hall, Idaho Public Utilities Commission telecom analyst. Mark Iannuzzi, president of TelNet WorldWide and a board member of the Cloud Communications Alliance, hadn't heard of any "major" issues: "It’s my understanding that there are some unresolved issues (I’m looking to find out more on this), but the industry has agreed to allow Iconectiv to resolve [them] after the cutovers."

The CBS board voted to dilute National Amusements Inc.’s ownership stake Thursday, and now the Delaware Court of Chancery will decide, CBS said in a release that evening. The vote “was pure pretext,” NAI said (see 1805170038). “CBS management and the special committee cannot wish away the reality that CBS has a controlling shareholder.” The CBS board dividend was approved by all CBS board members unaffiliated with NAI, and if issued, would dilute the voting interest from about 79 percent to about 20 percent, CBS said. NAI Wednesday changed the CBS board’s bylaws to require a supermajority vote for matters such as the dividend. That was “plainly necessary,” given the vote Thursday, NAI said. “The written consents delivered by NAI purporting to amend the Company’s bylaws are neither valid nor effective,” CBS said. The vote is conditioned on a final determination by the Delaware court, including on whether the dividend is permissible, CBS said. The same court Thursday rejected a CBS motion for a temporary restraining order against NAI. CBS said the vote to dilute NAI’s stock was needed to keep NAI and its head, Shari Redstone, from compelling CBS to combine with the NAI-controlled Viacom. “As National Amusements has repeatedly stated, it has no intention of forcing a merger that is not supported by both CBS and Viacom,” NAI said. CBS also voted Thursday to delay its 2018 annual meeting of stockholders, which had been set for Friday. “The Board will determine shortly a new record date for the meeting,” CBS said. “The postponement will provide all constituents with additional time to consider all pertinent matters before the annual meeting.” S&P Global Ratings placed CBS on “CreditWatch with negative implications,” it said in an email Thursday evening. “Considerable uncertainty surrounds the control and management of CBS."

The Delaware Court of Chancery denied a request from CBS and a special committee of its board for a temporary restraining order, said an order issued Thursday, the day the board voted later on a proposal to dilute the voting interest of controlling stockholder National Amusements Inc. “We are pleased by the court’s decision to deny CBS and its special committee’s unprecedented motion to try to deprive a shareholder of its fundamental voting rights,” said NAI. The Shari Redstone-controlled National Amusements also owns Viacom, and the dispute with the CBS board stems from that body’s rejection of a Redstone-backed combination with Viacom. Wednesday, NAI amended CBS bylaws (see 1805160037) so dividends such as the proposed dilution have to be approved by 90 percent of the 14 member board, three of which are NAI designees. In a release Thursday, CBS said directors will still consider a dividend redistributing the stock to “more closely align economic and voting interests of CBS stockholders without diluting the economic interests of any stockholder.” CBS remains confident it will “prevail” in the lawsuit against NAI that accompanied the motion for a temporary restraining order. The court said Thursday that CBS’ allegations about Redstone and National Amusements “are sufficient to state a colorable claim for breach of fiduciary duty” but rejected the restraining order. “No precedent has been identified, however, in which the court has ever entertained, much less sanctioned, the type of request for relief that plaintiffs make here,” said the order. “A truly extraordinary set of circumstances would be necessary.” Those circumstances aren’t present because board decisions aren’t irreversible and CBS has recourse in court, it said. Judicial review “can afford full relief” to “vindicate the interests of CBS and its stockholders,” the court said. “The ruling clearly recognizes that we may bring further legal action to challenge any actions by NAI that we consider to be unlawful, and we will,” CBS said. “As we intend to demonstrate as the case proceeds, the actions of CBS and its special committee amount to a grievous breach of fiduciary duties and show no regard for the significant risk posed to CBS and its investors,” said NAI.