There’s likely to be bipartisan interest in fixing the dysfunctional relationship between the FCC and other federal agencies on spectrum management no matter who wins the Nov. 3 presidential election and control of Congress, telecom officials and others said in interviews. Lawmakers we spoke with expressed interest in ending the brawling, which has hounded President Donald Trump’s administration in recent years. Observers see the issue as an outlier and expect no major shifts in other aspects of U.S. spectrum policy after the election.
President Donald Trump’s recent actions against TikTok “certainly” gave the company “profile and visibility,” but it would have been better had that not happened, ex-CEO Kevin Mayer told the Technology Policy Institute in an interview shared Friday (see 2009280028). Profile and visibility are “usually not bad things,” he said. It's a “good enough product with a good enough team behind it and good enough technology behind it, that it would have succeeded just fine, and it was succeeding just fine without any of that.”
FCC draft orders on expanding video description and allowing voluntary all-digital AM service are expected to be approved unanimously at Tuesday’s open meeting, said FCC and industry officials in interviews. Neither item has substantively changed from the draft versions released earlier this month (see 2010050056), FCC officials said. Ben Downs, vice president for early all-digital AM supporter Bryan Broadcasting, said he’s not surprised by the broad support for the AM radio order: “This is the right thing for everyone.” Items with unanimous support are sometimes voted ahead of open meetings, but that’s unlikely to happen with these, FCC officials said.
The FCC’s proposed 5G Fund, set for a vote Tuesday, is raising concerns, especially for Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, but it could get support from all five commissioners, industry and FCC officials said. The Democrats partially dissented on the NPRM (see 2004230046) and see the order as moving in the right direction from what was proposed in April. Partial dissents are possible, officials said. Carriers are proposing various changes.
Election watchers expect California to revamp its state privacy law through a Nov. 3 ballot vote. The replacement for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) could have national ramifications, experts told us. If voters agree, the proposed California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), or Proposition 24, would take effect Jan. 1, 2023. “The one-two punch here for the biggest platforms would be CPRA passing and Democrats sweeping the elections,” said Cowen analyst Paul Gallant.
SiriusXM has had “very productive conversations” with Howard Stern toward a “long-term renewal” of his contract, said CEO Jim Meyer Thursday on a quarterly earnings call, his last before retiring Dec. 31. “From my perspective, we are far along, but it’s never done until it’s done.” Meyer didn't say and wasn't asked if he thinks a Stern deal will be done before he leaves as CEO. Meyer will remain on the SiriusXM board as vice chairman.
AT&T reported mostly positive Q3 results Thursday, adding wireless subscribers as revenue beat Wall Street estimates. Among negatives, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll and the entertainment unit is struggling. AT&T shares closed 5.9% higher Thursday at $28.29. The stock had declined 30% this year, despite a 7% dividend.
Broadcasters see the progress of the ATSC 3.0 rollout as one of several promising signs for the future of broadcast TV, despite the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic, said industry officials at the virtual NAB Show New York event Thursday. COVID-19 is “a double-edged sword” because the increase in TV and over-the-top viewing brought by the pandemic plays to 3.0 strengths, said John Taylor, LG Electronics senior vice president-public affairs and communications.
With state broadband support dwindling, the California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously Thursday to double surcharges for the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) and High Cost Fund-A (CHCF-A). The orders highlight structural problems with how the funds collect revenue, said Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves at the livestreamed virtual meeting.
The FCC is likely to act this year, perhaps soon after Election Day, on Charter Communications' petition to end two years early some conditions put on it from its Time Warner Cable/Bright House Networks deal (see 2006180050), stakeholders told us. The commission isn't likely to let the issue sit around because Charter and the parties that raised concerns (see 2007230015) are entitled to answers, said a lawyer with an interested client. He said Charter is likely to make a concerted push to get this done before 2021, though that could be shortsighted, because if the White House changes hands, the company might be better off with the conditions as a shield against other regulation.