The White House won't “provide the Committee with protected communications between [President Donald Trump] and his most senior advisors” related to the House Judiciary Committee's questions about whether the president pressured two now-former administration officials to ensure the DOJ filed a now-ended lawsuit to block AT&T's buy of Time Warner, Counsel Pat Cipollone wrote committee Democratic leaders. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I., pressed the Trump administration in March for the documents amid reports that Trump in 2017 ordered then-National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and then-White House Chief of Staff John Kelly to pressure DOJ into mounting the legal challenge to AT&T/TW (see 1903080044). DOJ said in February it wouldn't further appeal its challenge of the deal after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled against it (see 1902260040).
Questions continue about a $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) proposed in a Friday speech at the White House by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1904120065) and whether it will have much effect on closing the digital divide. Pai said the program would connect up to 4 million rural homes and small businesses to high-speed internet. Critics said the FCC appears to be rebranding the Connect America Fund, without any new proposed spending. Some hope the FCC won’t dig into funding for Lifeline and other USF programs.
EPA is targeting August for releasing the final version of the first Energy Star specification on smart home energy management systems (SHEMS), said the agency in a Friday stakeholder meeting webcast from CTA's Arlington, Virginia, headquarters. The Draft 1 comment period closes May 3, with Draft 2 scheduled for June, followed by a four-week comment period and the final draft in July. The specification, method and data template will be developed together, it said.
Colorado could follow multiple other states this year in empowering electric cooperatives to provide broadband in rural areas. But electric co-ops didn't support SB-107, as amended, at the Colorado Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee's Monday hearing on the bill by Sen. Kerry Donovan (D). Colorado cable companies applauded the amended bill, while CenturyLink hasn't made up its mind but raised a concern about equal treatment for pole attachments. Local government representatives told us the policy could advance rural broadband though they're not taking a formal position on SB-107.
Since ATSC 3.0 won't be backward-compatible with 1.0, a big broadcast industry challenge is showing a clear transition plan to get TV manufacturers interested in turning out 3.0 TV sets, Sasha Javid, Spectrum Co. chief operating officer, said at an FCBA event Monday. That was a big motivator of the NAB Show announcement that 3.0 services will roll out to the top 40 U.S. TV markets by the end of 2020 (see 1904080071), he said.
The FCC’s final version of its order addressing 5G spectrum in the 37 GHz band includes numerous significant changes over the draft proposed by Chairman Ajit Pai, based on a side-by-side comparison. The final version, posted Monday, adds new paragraphs dealing mostly with industry concerns that DOD could ask for additional protection in the band beyond those areas already protected, following an auction later this year.
Officials in President Donald Trump's administration and the FCC spoke optimistically about the U.S. path forward on rural broadband and spectrum policy during a Monday NTCA event, citing 2018 successes and actions slated for this year. The FCC's plans to follow up the USF Connect America Fund with a new $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (see 1904120065) received some attention at the event, but more focus was on upcoming spectrum auctions and ways to increase rural broadband deployments.
Disney shares closed 12 percent higher at $130.06 Friday following its Thursday investor day event outlining plans for its direct-to-consumer (DTC) businesses, including the $69 annual Disney Plus over-the-top video service scheduled for U.S. launch Nov. 12. Disney expects Disney Plus to be profitable by FY 2024 on a 60 million-90 million subscriber count, said Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy. Analysts were generally upbeat Friday.
Commissioners approved 5-0 an NPRM that seeks to update FCC rule for over-the-air reception devices with an eye on spurring 5G deployment. The NPRM OK'd at Friday's commissioners' meeting hasn’t been controversial (see 1904110060).
It’s possible for the FTC to conduct multiple Section 6(b) studies at once, a spokesperson said Friday, noting it’s been done in the past.