New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) recommended conditional OK of Altice's buying Cablevision. The city’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee plans a hearing to review the transaction Monday and will vote Wednesday. Next up will be state approval, with the New York Public Service Commission expected to decide May 20 (see 1604050059). "After several in-depth discussions and multiple requests for supporting information to ensure an equitable buildout of infrastructure and fulfillment of customer service contracts, the City is recommending conditional approval of this transaction,” mayor’s counsel Maya Wiley said in an emailed statement. “We are conditioning approval on satisfactory staffing levels to ensure compliance with franchise agreement commitments. The condition will help the City ensure a fair and equitable deal for our Brooklyn and Bronx residents." Under the draft resolution, Altice must give the Bronx and Brooklyn priority for infrastructure upgrades, and it must reach an agreement with the New York PSC -- acceptable to the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications -- that maintains “levels of customer facing employees for an appropriate time period.” The FCC OK'd Altice/Cablevision without conditions other than for national security (see 1605040010).

LTE over unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) could act like an “invasive species” that will harm existing Wi-Fi networks unless regulators intervene, said Wi-Fi advocates on a panel at a New America Foundation event Monday that was live streamed from New York City. They agreed with “grave” concerns about the possible impact of LTE-U to the city’s free Wi-Fi network (see 1601060055), as detailed in a Monday letter from the office of Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and copied to the FCC, IEEE and Wi-Fi Alliance. After the event, carriers and others said it’s wrong to regulate unlicensed spectrum that was set up to be unregulated. Carriers and LTE-U backers like Qualcomm have been disputing cable and public interest Wi-Fi advocates' claims the newer technology could interfere with the often-free broadband services, and the two sides are eyeing interference tests (see 1604270042).

Tom Wheeler hasn't reached the point in his FCC chairmanship where he will be unable to launch new major rulemakings, but if he wants to wrap them up before the Nov. 8 election he will need to start them soon, officials said. Last week, Wheeler started what's expected to be his final nine months as chairman. The FCC didn't comment.

CBS promotes Kurt Davis to executive vice president-affiliate relations, CBS Television Network, succeeding Elizabeth Tumulty ... National Geographic Society hires Emma Carrasco, ex-NPR, as chief marketing and communications officer/senior vice president-global strategy, new position ... Wiley Rein hires Garth Moore, ex-The ONE Campaign, as vice president-digital, McBee Strategic, where he heads the digital team ... Maxwell Technologies hires Henning Hauenstein, ex-Infineon Technologies, as vice president-strategy and marketing, effective May 2 ... Competitive Carriers Association adds to board James Groft, James Valley Telecommunications.

Several Supreme Court justices appeared to agree that no single factor for determining copyright fee-shifting cases as set in Fogerty v. Fantasy should outweigh other factors, during oral argument Monday on its review of Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons. Two supporters of Kirtsaeng who attended the argument told us they are unsure how that position will translate into a court ruling. Thai citizen Supap Kirtsaeng sought a review of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' 2015 ruling that Kirtsaeng wasn’t entitled to receive attorney’s fees from textbook company Wiley after winning a 2013 Supreme Court case that extended the scope of the first-sale doctrine (see 1601190071).

The Supreme Court’s review of Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons is likely to turn on whether the justices believe additional factors need to be considered in copyright fee-shifting cases beyond the precedent set in the Supreme Court's 1994 Fogerty v. Fantasy ruling, said attorneys supporting both Kirtsaeng and Wiley in interviews. The Supreme Court is set to hear oral argument on the case Monday. Thai citizen Supap Kirtsaeng sought a review of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' 2015 ruling that Kirtsaeng wasn’t entitled to receive attorney’s fees from textbook company Wiley after winning a 2013 Supreme Court case (see 1601190071). The court had ruled Kirtsaeng’s resale and import of textbooks from Thailand to the U.S. was covered by the first-sale doctrine (see report in the March 20, 2013, issue).

The FCC’s net neutrality order continued to spur lobbying activity more than a year after the agency adopted it. Q1 lobbying disclosure reports showed much evidence of net neutrality issues keeping industry lobbyists busy. Capitol Hill observers and lobbyists told us the pending U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruling on the industry net neutrality challenge, which could be released any week, has the potential to kick up intense lobbying throughout Q2 and perhaps beyond.

Considering the amount of time and money it takes to clear spectrum bands, the next White House administration likely won't deviate far from the current spectrum sharing approach, Satellite Industry Association President Tom Stroup said during an FCBA CLE Thursday: "There may be some tweaking, but I don't expect a major shift." Speakers all indicated the questions about spectrum sharing involve its degree and how to implement it, because the question of whether it will happen is settled.

Scripps Networks Interactive promotes Derek Chang to head-international lifestyle channels, new position; he'll continue to manage Asia-Pacific operations ... Wiley Rein hires Lauren French, ex-Politico, as senior manager, McBee Strategic Consulting, leading its Press Office, a product for clients ... President Barack Obama naming as members, Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity: Keith Alexander, IronNet; Annie Antón, Georgia Institute of Technology; Ajay Banga, MasterCard; Steven Chabinsky, CrowdStrike; Patrick Gallagher, University of Pittsburgh; Peter Lee, Microsoft; Herbert Lin, Center for International Security and Cooperation; Heather Murren, investor; Joe Sullivan, Uber; and Maggie Wilderotter, ex-Frontier Communications ... Horowitz Research hires Mariana Diaz-Wionczek, ex-Viacom's Nickelodeon, as senior director-research and strategy, working for TV, digital and mobile clients, and head, Gen Z practice, and Claire Dinaso, ex-Mind Genomics Advisors, as senior director-research ... Millicom Nomination Committee proposes to elect José Miguel García Fernández, ex-Orange España, to the board.

The Senate's Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization package contains many provisions benefiting the drone industry, but some industry officials are concerned the inclusion of renewable energy tax credits could hold up passage next week as some expect. They're also worried about specific amendments that could affect their industry. Several observers we interviewed pointed to problems with two filed amendments, one that weakens federal statutes pre-empting state and local regulations of drones and another that guts an air carrier authorization certification program.