The ways the FCC and antitrust agencies like DOJ evaluate deals can diverge widely, said experts Saturday at American University-hosted annual Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy. Steptoe & Johnson's Jon Sallet said the FCC's big question is often what range of policy options are "reasonable" under the Chevron doctrine of judicial deference to agencies, and what record would support a decision made within that range, while at DOJ the focus was on how does one convince a judge, with the burden of proof being on government to prove its case.
Judges questioned a Sandwich Isles Communications attorney's assertions the FCC backed the carrier's Hawaiian Island undersea cable project before reducing its related access charge revenue. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit also questioned FCC and AT&T attorneys extensively in oral argument Monday. SIC is challenging a 2016 FCC order that prospectively disallowed all but $1.9 million of its annual access collections from a National Exchange Carrier Association rural telco pooling mechanism (see 1612060032).
The launch of long-anticipated sharing in the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band could be slowed by interagency conflicts, industry and government officials told us. Use of the band depends in particular on Navy cooperation, but questions were said to have been raised within the powerful Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee. IRAC looks after the interests of government spectrum managers. NTIA and DOD didn’t comment Monday.
Supporters of a House version of the Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval aimed at rolling back the FCC 2017 order to rescind 2015 net neutrality rules (House Joint Resolution-129) are eyeing a likely focus on pushing for floor action during the lame-duck session amid acknowledgement there’s no time to bring it up before the November elections. House leaders initially projected the chamber would be in session the first two weeks of October. It's now expected to recess at the end of this month if a majority of members agree to pass a combination of FY 2019 minibus federal spending bills and a continuing resolution authority aimed at extending funding for the Department of Homeland Security through Dec. 7.
Focus on antitrust and consolidation in tech continued Friday. As the FTC held a competition hearing (see 1809210056), C-SPAN posted video of a critic seeking to break up platforms. A blogger said that won't help solve problems such as what some see as a tilt against conservative views.
EU antitrust enforcers have different standards, but monitoring their activity helps U.S. regulators decide if changes are needed here, FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter said Friday during the agency’s second round of hearings on antitrust and consumer protection policy (see 1809130057). She cited Chairman Joe Simons’ call for regulators to keep an open mind as the agency fields policy suggestions through this year.
Rethinking how the FAA authorizes rocket launches and staying competitive internationally with nations increasingly becoming space regulation specialists are on the nation’s long to-do list to promote the growing private sector interest in space, regulatory experts said at a Nebraska College of Law space law conference Friday.
The FCC’s expected move to relax AM/FM subcaps, interference proceedings and competition with digital platforms are expected to dominate conversation at the 2018 Radio Show, which begins in Orlando Tuesday, broadcasters, engineers and broadcast attorneys told us. Roughly 2,000 are expected to attend, similar to attendance at 2017’s show in Austin, an NAB spokesman said.
The White House 5G Summit scheduled for Friday (see 1809170049) will feature remarks by high-profile administration officials and four breakout sessions after about an hour of speeches, said industry officials. The White House isn’t commenting and hasn’t released an agenda. Industry observers said it’s not clear whether the administration will lay out additional thinking since a symposium by NTIA (see 1806120056). The focus is expected to be broader than the June summit, with an emphasis on ensuring infrastructure deployment is driven by market forces, not limited by regulation or red tape.
The world faces a major challenge as networks try to keep up with the growing demands for computational power, the FCC Technical Advisory Council was told at its quarterly meeting Thursday. TAC also took on 5G. The computational power working group found a long-term trend of 24 percent annual growth for all data, with wireless data volume growing by 50 percent yearly.