Telecom legislation may be reaching a fatal stall in the Senate, said Capitol Hill lobbyists and observers in interviews, as Congress enters its home stretch before a long summer recess. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., told us he expects Democratic holds will stop any expedited passage of his FCC Reauthorization Act (S-2644) on the same grounds as the Democratic holds currently obstructing the unanimous consent hotline of his Mobile Now spectrum bill (S-2555): the partisan battle between Senate leaders over the reconfirmation of FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.

Telecom legislation may be reaching a fatal stall in the Senate, said Capitol Hill lobbyists and observers in interviews, as Congress enters its home stretch before a long summer recess. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., told us he expects Democratic holds will stop any expedited passage of his FCC Reauthorization Act (S-2644) on the same grounds as the Democratic holds currently obstructing the unanimous consent hotline of his Mobile Now spectrum bill (S-2555): the partisan battle between Senate leaders over the reconfirmation of FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.

The satellite industry still hopes for changes in the FCC spectrum frontiers draft order to give it co-primary status in the 28 GHz band with wireless 5G operators and to tackle aggregate interference issues, industry officials told us. Co-primary status has been a major issue for satellite operators (see 1606020035). Satellite Industry Association President Tom Stroup said failure to get that could have "severe consequences" for future earth station deployments.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler didn’t say whether he’s privately acting to get movement on reconfirmation of Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel in the Senate, instead pointing to an agreement from last Congress between now Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. The leaders had agreed then to reconfirm Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, a Republican, in exchange for timely advance of Rosenworcel, a Democrat, this Congress. “I think Senator Reid was pretty clear when he took to the floor a few weeks ago, saying that he thought he had an agreement with Leader McConnell that Commissioner O’Rielly’s reconfirmation moved because the Republicans agreed to move Commissioner Rosenworcel’s reconfirmation when she was through the process,” Wheeler told reporters Friday after the agency’s monthly meeting. “I refer you to Leader Reid as to what’s going on in the Senate.” Rosenworcel’s renomination hotline faces multiple GOP holds, with Wheeler’s lack of a commitment to step down at the end of the year seen as a major factor (see 1604210066). Wheeler generally has declined to commit when asked, including at the National Press Club last week (see 1606200036). Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., “and others have been constantly asking me will I step down,” Wheeler told the San Jose Mercury News earlier this month. “I think that every president has the right to select who he or she wants to have running the agency.” Wheeler said “sure,” it’s up to the next administration. “I keep saying to everybody, ‘We’re going to run through the tape.’ We’ve got a few months left here, and we will be churning hard on the last day. … So what am I going to do after this? I’m going to rent -- my plan is -- I’m going to rent an apartment in Rome and a Vespa for at least six weeks.” The stalled Rosenworcel reconfirmation has led to the stalling of bipartisan spectrum legislation, with Reid himself blocking the advance of the Commerce Committee’s Mobile Now bill due to the Rosenworcel holdup (see 1606080067).

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler didn’t say whether he’s privately acting to get movement on reconfirmation of Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel in the Senate, instead pointing to an agreement from last Congress between now Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. The leaders had agreed then to reconfirm Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, a Republican, in exchange for timely advance of Rosenworcel, a Democrat, this Congress. “I think Senator Reid was pretty clear when he took to the floor a few weeks ago, saying that he thought he had an agreement with Leader McConnell that Commissioner O’Rielly’s reconfirmation moved because the Republicans agreed to move Commissioner Rosenworcel’s reconfirmation when she was through the process,” Wheeler told reporters Friday after the agency’s monthly meeting. “I refer you to Leader Reid as to what’s going on in the Senate.” Rosenworcel’s renomination hotline faces multiple GOP holds, with Wheeler’s lack of a commitment to step down at the end of the year seen as a major factor (see 1604210066). Wheeler generally has declined to commit when asked, including at the National Press Club last week (see 1606200036). Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., “and others have been constantly asking me will I step down,” Wheeler told the San Jose Mercury News earlier this month. “I think that every president has the right to select who he or she wants to have running the agency.” Wheeler said “sure,” it’s up to the next administration. “I keep saying to everybody, ‘We’re going to run through the tape.’ We’ve got a few months left here, and we will be churning hard on the last day. … So what am I going to do after this? I’m going to rent -- my plan is -- I’m going to rent an apartment in Rome and a Vespa for at least six weeks.” The stalled Rosenworcel reconfirmation has led to the stalling of bipartisan spectrum legislation, with Reid himself blocking the advance of the Commerce Committee’s Mobile Now bill due to the Rosenworcel holdup (see 1606080067).

The FCC adopted an order to require undersea cable licensees to report many outages on lines that connect the U.S. mainland to Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories and other countries. Approved at Friday's meeting by a 3-2 vote with Republican commissioners dissenting, the order sets new rules to allow the agency to monitor the operational status of submarine cables and assist in efforts to ensure their reliability, said an agency release on the action, which wasn't a surprise (see 1606230058). The rules require licensees to report major outages to the agency's Network Outage Reporting System. AT&T slammed the FCC action as disregarding industry recommendations.

The FCC adopted an order to require undersea cable licensees to report many outages on lines that connect the U.S. mainland to Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories and other countries. Approved at Friday's meeting by a 3-2 vote with Republican commissioners dissenting, the order sets new rules to allow the agency to monitor the operational status of submarine cables and assist in efforts to ensure their reliability, said an agency release on the action, which wasn't a surprise (see 1606230058). The rules require licensees to report major outages to the agency's Network Outage Reporting System. AT&T slammed the FCC action as disregarding industry recommendations.

The FCC approved 5-0 to launch a rulemaking to speed up Team Telecom review of international companies' buys of U.S. licensees. In a key change from an NTIA proposal, the NPRM, as expected (see 1606150019), proposes time limits. It would be a 90-day time frame for executive branch review, “with an additional one-time 90-day extension in rare circumstances provided the Executive Branch provides a status update every 30 days,” the FCC said.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Monday he won't commit to stepping down at the start of the next administration, despite the agency’s win last week on net neutrality rules. He was asked at a National Press Club luncheon specifically about whether he had changed his mind on the topic in light of the court’s ruling (see 1606140023) upholding the 2015 rules. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel should be confirmed “standing on her own” for another term, Wheeler said. “I understand that it is traditional for the incoming president to have an opportunity to name the new FCC chairman. … As a fellow who studies history, I understand the precedent and I respect the precedent.” Wheeler also said emphatically the net neutrality rules won't lead to traditional rate regulation for broadband providers. "That's not changing." he said.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Monday he won't commit to stepping down at the start of the next administration, despite the agency’s win last week on net neutrality rules. He was asked at a National Press Club luncheon specifically about whether he had changed his mind on the topic in light of the court’s ruling (see 1606140023) upholding the 2015 rules. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel should be confirmed “standing on her own” for another term, Wheeler said. “I understand that it is traditional for the incoming president to have an opportunity to name the new FCC chairman. … As a fellow who studies history, I understand the precedent and I respect the precedent.” Wheeler also said emphatically the net neutrality rules won't lead to traditional rate regulation for broadband providers. "That's not changing." he said.