FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips said he’s open to alternatives to the consumer welfare standard, which guides U.S. antitrust law. The agency fielded a wide range of opinions about the standard during its fifth competition policy hearing Thursday.
Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority ignored plain language of a 2013 state law when it ruled 2-0 in May "municipal gain" space on utility poles or underground ducts may not be used to provide muni broadband, said local governments and the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC) in briefs filed Wednesday at Connecticut Superior Court in docket HHB-CV-18-6045442-S. PURA’s ruling paused some muni broadband projects and is holding back access in underserved areas, OCC officials said in interviews.
All indications are the FCC September wireless infrastructure order is speeding deployment of small cells and 5G, Commissioner Brendan Carr said Thursday at a Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy event. Carr said he made no decision about possible next steps for the FCC and isn't concerned about legal challenges by two carriers. Members approved the declaratory ruling and order over partial dissent by Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and protests by state and local government groups (see 1809260029).
The FCC hasn’t arrived at a number for a new national TV ownership cap and is considered unlikely to address the matter in 2018. Lack of industry consensus on a single proposal for a new national cap, the absence of outside pressure to act, uncertainty about Tuesday's elections, and the FCC schedule for the rest of the year may be factors in the lack of action, industry watchers told us. The limit isn't on the November FCC meeting agenda.
Delegates from around the world elected American Doreen Bogdan-Martin director of the ITU Telecom Development Bureau, voting at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference Thursday. Some observers predicted Bogdan-Martin could face an uphill fight, especially since that position traditionally has gone to someone from Africa (see 1808240011). Bogdan-Martin becomes the highest-ranking woman in ITU history and the first person from the U.S. in 30 years to get one of the five leadership positions there. The election establishes her as an eventual candidate for secretary-general, industry observers said.
Energous shares closed down 8.5 percent to $8.04 Wednesday after the company’s Tuesday Q3 earnings report in which it reported revenue was $228,000 vs. $206,000 in Q2, it continues to work toward commercializing its WattUp wireless charging technology.
LAS VEGAS -- A key telecom challenge is to ensure regional and smaller providers can compete in a market dominated by large national players, Windstream CEO Tony Thomas said Wednesday. He said his company is the No. 5 fiber provider, with half a million locations on-net. "We can't be a national provider without some sort of basic, functioning wholesale market," he said, noting the need to serve business customers with scattered locations. He backed spectrum policies that do more to allow smaller bidders to compete with the big four national wireless carriers and voiced concern about large tech companies gobbling up upstarts.
LAS VEGAS -- CLEC executives at the Incompas Show mixed optimism and hope that the FCC won't grant a USTelecom bid for ILEC relief from wholesale duties to share networks with rivals. They told show attendees that competitor ability to lease access to discounted copper unbundled network elements (UNEs) of large incumbents encourages both sides to deploy fiber. Some cited the importance of maintaining "avoided-cost resale" requirements also targeted by a USTelecom forbearance petition.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is the favorite to succeed Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, if Grassley replaces retiring Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, lobbyists and industry officials told us. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., who scored legislative victories in 2018, is favored to succeed retiring House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, who holds seniority over Collins, also is said to be seeking the top GOP seat.
T-Mobile buying Sprint is as “problematic" as AT&T’s failed buy of T-Mobile, if not more so, said Debbie Goldman, research and telecom policy director at the Communications Workers of America, on a call featuring transaction opponents. Earlier Wednesday, Sprint reported it has been profitable for four quarters running.