Windstream expects to continue operating normally after its Chapter 11 filing Monday seeking to restructure debt in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (see 1902250025). The FCC welcomed the assurance but vowed to remain vigilant on potential USF and 911 ramifications. Others suggested more Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings are possible and cited difficult economics for rural-oriented telcos. Some had suggested Windstream could seek Chapter 11 after a federal district court reversal in its dispute with bondholder Aurelius Capital Management (see 1902190043). Moody's Friday downgraded the carrier (see 1902220057) .
Initial filings on the 6 GHz NPRM confirm the FCC will face substantial pushback from incumbents. That's no surprise because of the amount of spectrum in play and many incumbents, industry officials said. The FCC appears committed to moving forward with unlicensed in 6 GHz, and licensed in the C band. One question is to what extent it will allow use of the band indoors without automated frequency control (AFC).
House Communications Subcommittee Republican leaders highlighted to us a trio of net neutrality bills introduced earlier this month (see 1902070056) as their best opening argument in negotiations with Democrats on a compromise. A co-sponsor of another past GOP-backed bill is debating whether to reintroduce the measure. One of the three current Republican-led measures -- the Promoting Internet Freedom and Innovation Act (HR-1096) -- got particular attention because it mirrors a Democrat-backed Washington state law that restored net neutrality protections in the FCC's rescinded 2015 rules for state-level purposes (see 1802280027). Top House Communications Democrats, working on their own legislation, gave a tepid response to the GOP proposals because they avoid using Communications Act Title II language as a legal basis for future rules.
“Punitive tariffs” hindered supply at Universal Electronics Inc. in Q4, resulting in shipping delays and lower-than-expected sales of $169.7 million, said CEO Paul Arling on a Thursday earnings call after regular U.S. markets closed. Dougherty & Co. had forecast $186 million, analyst Steven Frankel wrote investors Friday.
Roku users streamed more hours of TV in the past 18 months than “in the previous nine years combined,” said CEO Anthony Wood on a call about Q4 Thursday evening. “Advertisers are following” viewers as they shift from linear TV to streaming, “but they haven't caught up yet,” he said. Friday, the stock closed up 25 percent at $64.47.
The FCC expects to act this year on a small satellite authorization streamlining draft NPRM adopted by commissioners in April (see 1804170038), Karl Kensinger, International Bureau Satellite Division deputy chief, said at an American Bar Association panel Friday. An increased area of concern is the potential for interference to incumbent operations from experimental and university satellites owners interested in using low-band frequencies, he said.
The Senate Commerce Committee’s privacy hearing Wednesday will be the first in a series with various stakeholders, a Senate aide said Friday, responding to criticism for announcing an all-industry witness panel (see 1902210055). The committee received similar criticism last year when then-Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., hosted an all-industry panel (see 1809260050) before holding a follow-up hearing with privacy experts.
T-Mobile and Sprint might have to wait until June or longer for California’s decision on their $26 billion deal, observers of the state review told us last week. Claiming due process violation by the combining carriers, the CPUC's Public Advocates Office Thursday urged the CPUC to grant more time to respond to carrier testimony that the advocates say was introduced too late in the process. New York earlier this month cleared the deal (see 1902070009).
The FCC identified the four band segments Friday to be allocated for unlicensed use in spectrum above 95 GHz in an order scheduled for a vote at the March 15 commissioners' meeting. The identity of the bands, which Chairman Ajit Pai discussed in a Thursday blog post (see 1902210048), had been the source of some confusion. The segments are 116-123, 174.8-182, 185-190 and 244-246 GHz, according to the draft order.
Majority House Communications Subcommittee Democrats are largely signaling initial disinterest in pursuing any of the three net neutrality bills House Commerce Committee Republicans floated earlier this month (see 1902070056). As Democratic leaders continue to decide what to include in their own legislation, lawmakers told us they hold a range of positions on whether a final bill must include the Communications Act Title II language that served as a legal basis for the FCC's rescinded 2015 rules. A full committee hearing earlier this month on net neutrality underscored the continuing divide between Democrats and Republicans over using Title II as an underpinning for future rules.