AT&T and Sprint backed Shaken/Stir call authentication standards intended to combat spoofed robocalling, but Sprint said there are deployment hurdles and industry limitations. AT&T plans to implement Secure Handling of Asserted Information using toKENs/Secure Telephony Identity Revisited protocols and procedures for authenticating calls "in parallel" with a one-year industry timeline for setting up a related governance structure, said a filing Wednesday on a discussion with Chief Technology Officer Eric Burger and other staffers, in docket 17-59. "AT&T plans to conduct further testing in 2018 and begin a general rollout in 2019." While supporting Shaken/Stir, Sprint "cautioned that there are logistical obstacles to immediate deployment and that even when it is deployed, it will not be an immediate silver bullet that will eliminate illegal robocalls." Carriers adopting Shaken/Stir "need support from network suppliers and testing tools," said a filing on a meeting with Wireline Bureau Chief Kris Monteith, Burger and others. "Merely signing calls will not combat robocalls unless intermediate carriers, terminating carriers, and equipment manufacturers are all supporting the protocols and providing information to analytics companies for ultimate use by the recipient of the call." Sprint cited "advances that analytics companies have made in identifying robocalls and displaying that information to customers so they can make informed decisions about whether to answer a call, block it, or send to voicemail." FCC Chairman Ajit Pai May 14 accepted the VoIP-oriented call authentication recommendations of the industry-dominated North American Numbering Council for creating a Shaken/Stir framework within a year, with carriers encouraged but not required to implement the standards in the same time (see 1805140028 and 1805030014).

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's appearance and talk at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference (see 1802230037) didn't violate the Hatch Act, the Office of Special Counsel said in a letter Thursday. It said sponsor American Conservative Union, as a 501(c)(4), isn't a partisan political group under the act and though parts of CPAC are political in nature, Pai's participation involved the FCC work and agenda and wasn't political. OSC previously said Commissioner Mike O'Rielly's comments at CPAC were a violation (see 1805010083) and House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., urged a further OSC investigation (see 1805070020). In a statement Thursday, Pai's office said it was "pleased [OSC] quickly rejected the baseless and politically motivated accusation" Pai's appearance was inconsistent with the act.

NTIA is focused on increasing spectrum efficiency and sharing as it seeks a "balanced" approach to making government frequencies commercially available, said Administrator David Redl Thursday. The agency historically has moved incumbent government users to other bands to free up spectrum for industry, but that's expensive and time consuming, and is becoming more difficult as demand grows and obvious relocation candidates dry up, he said in a speech to the Media Institute Thursday, largely echoing his comments at an FCBA retreat (see 1805070001 and 1805060001). NTIA is relying on technological advances to improve efficiency and share spectrum, and it's making progress in overcoming the complex challenges, he said. The 3.5 GHz band (3550-3700 MHz) for the citizens broadband radio service could be a model for sharing, he said, with NTIA engineers working to certify systems necessary for military radar and commercial users to coexist. Asked about cybersecurity and Chinese threats, Redl said NTIA is working to bring other agencies together on possible executive branch comment or reply in the FCC national security rulemaking due June 1 and July 2 (see 1804180053). He hopes an NTIA botnet report will be released soon, which will emphasize the need for multifacted government and industry actions to address problems that can't be solved by any individual party -- themes he noted were in a January draft (see 1801110006 and 1802160042). Asked about the EU general data protection regulation taking effect May 25, he said NTIA is seeking to ensure access isn't restricted to the Whois database of online domain name ownership, which he said is vital to U.S. stakeholders. Redl said in his speech the U.S. must continue to fight for transparent multistakeholder policymaking and standards development, and against efforts to move the ITU into internet-related and cybersecurity issues. Redl expanded on his internet and cybersecurity views in a speech Thursday at a National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee meeting.

FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief Lisa Fowlkes warned the public to prepare as hurricane season approaches. "Most consumers rely on wireless phones at home, so now is the time to assess whether you need an extra battery or car charger for your wireless phone, a portable radio or television, or other equipment to stay connected and informed when the power is out," she blogged Tuesday. "We are meeting with communications providers from all sectors to learn about their preparations and how we may be of assistance, and we are conducting exercises with our government partners."

Free Press and other petitioners challenging FCC restoration of the UHF discount in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit haven't shown they have standing, said an FCC court filing Wednesday. The three-judge panel challenged petitioners’ standing in oral argument last month, but allowed the anti-consolidation groups to file supplementary information last week (see 1805090075). Those supplemental filings weren’t sufficient, the FCC said Wednesday, showing the anti-consolidation groups never believed their initial filings were enough. “Petitioners’ belated submission of hundreds of pages of declarations, following a court order, demonstrates it was unreasonable for petitioners to have previously believed their standing was obvious,” the agency said. Most of the petitioners’ supplemental filings “are founded on speculation about the effects of proposed broadcast acquisitions” that the FCC has yet to rule on, and the rest “don’t establish standing at the time petitioners brought suit,” the commission said. Broadcast intervenors including Ion, Nexstar, Sinclair and Univision responded (in Pacer) to the petitioners Wednesday, along with a motion (in Pacer) asking the court to allow their filing. No supplemental filings “allege a certain and concrete injury” traceable to restoration of the UHF discount, the intervenors said. The groups’ instead focus on injuries caused by Sinclair’s purchase of Bonten Media or planned buy of Tribune, the intervenors said. The petitioners’ “purported injuries resulting from Sinclair’s proposed acquisition of multiple stations in the same market” aren’t caused by the reinstated discount, since even without the discount, companies can own multiple stations in a market, the intervenors said.

A common theme at Monday’s Yelp policy conference was the call for DOJ and the FTC to “undo prior acquisitions like WhatsApp, Instagram and YouTube,” Cowen's Paul Gallant wrote Tuesday. Antitrust critics of Google, Amazon and Facebook appeared at Yelp’s Conference on Antitrust Law and Technology (see 1805140035). They pitched a Microsoft-like lawsuit against tech giants and called for tougher regulators, not tougher antitrust laws, Gallant wrote. He also noted Capitol Hill support for antitrust action hasn't been visible the way it was when Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee and supported DOJ efforts to bring a case against Microsoft in the late 1990s. Hatch at the event defended the case (see 1805140035). Gallant was “most struck” by calls for internet platforms to divest recent acquisitions, as DOJ Antitrust Chief Makan Delrahim “has stressed that divestitures, not behavioral remedies, are the right way to fix competitive problems.” Divestitures would be an aggressive remedy, but the analyst isn't ruling it out, given Delrahim’s comments.

Offenders who repeatedly flout FTC orders must face “severe consequences,” so the agency can restore credibility that has eroded with the “real or perceived lax treatment” of violators, Commissioner Rohit Chopra wrote Friday. One of two recently confirmed Democrats on the five-member commission (see 1805020044), Chopra said individual executives should be held accountable for order violations in which they participate, even if not named in the original orders. “FTC orders are not suggestions,” Chopra wrote to fellow commissioners and the staff. “To deter violations and maintain our credibility as law enforcers, scofflaws who flout our orders must face severe consequences.” Facebook and Google have agreed to FTC consent orders for alleged consumer violations (see 1804270067).

The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau is asking for comment on FCC interpretation and implementation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act in light of a decision in ACA International v. FCC, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned key parts of a 2015 order and declaratory ruling (see 1803160053). The FCC is expected to offer clarity on its rules (see 1804160044). The bureau asks in Tuesday's Daily Digest for comment on what constitutes an automatic telephone dialing system. “We seek further comment on the functions a device must be able to perform to qualify as an automatic telephone dialing system,” a public notice said. “We seek comment on how to interpret ‘capacity’ in light of the court’s guidance. For example, how much user effort should be required to enable the device to function as an automatic telephone dialing system? Does equipment have the capacity if it requires the simple flipping of a switch? If the addition of software can give it the requisite functionality? If it requires essentially a top-to-bottom reconstruction of the equipment?” Comments are due June 13, replies June 28 in docket 18-152. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said the FCC must protect consumers against unwanted robocalls and robotexts. “The intent and letter of the law is clear: consumers should not be subject to intrusive and unsolicited robocalls and robotexts,” Markey said. “It is the FCC’s statutory obligation to ensure that consumers can preserve the precious zone of privacy created by the TCPA. That means affirmative user consent before using automated dialing equipment; the right to revoke consent; and stopping unwanted calls and texts to reassigned numbers."

All New AT&T content, including HBO, should be part of any court-ordered arbitration terms on AT&T's proposed buy of Time Warner, RCN and the American Cable Association told the federal judge overseeing DOJ's attempt to block AT&T/TW. AT&T is opposed. RCN and ACA, in a docket 17-cv-02511-RJL proposed amici brief (in Pacer) posted Monday in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, said Turner's current arbitration offer (see 1711280063) is "completely insufficient to address the harms and would produce a worse outcome than DOJ’s preferred structural remedy." They said if the court finds competitive harms to the deal, rather than blocking the takeover as DOJ has argued or going with the Turner-offered arbitration terms, the court has the authority to offer its own behavioral conditions. RCN and ACA said shortcomings of the Turner arbitration offer include HBO not being part of the arbitration terms and not authorizing smaller MVPDs to use a bargaining agent in arbitration or to be compensated for arbitration costs. They said the Turner offer doesn't tackle the information asymmetry that gives the advantage in the arbitration process to a vertically integrated programmer when the MVPD doesn't know what other MVPDs pay Turner. RCN and ACA said anti-competitive issues with AT&T/TW could be addressed by the Turner arbitration terms including the requirement smaller distributors be expressly allowed to use a bargaining agent like the National Cable TV Cooperative to negotiate programming rights. They recommended confidential exchange of programming agreement information, including rates and terms, before making final arbitration offers, and a prohibition on New AT&T blocking an MVPD's broadband subscribers from having access to content that other broadband subscribers have access to online. AT&T/TW called (in Pacer) the proposal "unsworn, untested, and unmeritorious." Since RCN CEO James Holanda testified, the proposed brief "is an impermissible effort to expand the factual record, while shielding its newly-stated opinions and criticisms from the clarifying scrutiny of cross-examination," the combining companies said. DOJ didn't comment Tuesday; RCN and ACA said DOJ hadn't objected to the proposed amici brief.

NATOA and the National League of Cities plan to release a model municipal code as an alternative to what’s released by the FCC Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, said NLC Principal Associate-Technology and Communications Angelina Panettieri, on an NATOA webinar Monday. NLC this summer plans to publish a municipal action guide about small-cells deployment, Panettieri said. All BDAC members, including local representatives, supported a municipal model code at the committee’s April meeting, and the committee plans to harmonize the code with a state model code and other proposals that municipalities oppose (see 1804300058 and 1804250064). That harmonization, expected to occur at a June meeting, may be “problematic” for local governments, Panettieri said. NLC concerns about BDAC membership continue, with only three of 30 members representing local government, but cities will stay, she said: “If you aren’t at the table, you are on the menu.” BDAC is basing recommendations on flawed premises, including that 5G is imminent, removing local process will speed 5G deployment or spur rural broadband and that localities are a problem, not a solution, said Coalition for Local Internet Choice CEO Joanne Hovis. 5G still has major technical limitations, including that it can’t pass through trees, and Wall Street analysts don’t say it’s coming soon, she said.