Deals where separately owned TV stations in a market share responsibilities for ad sales, pay-TV carriage and other functions are getting more attention inside the FCC and among those lobbying on upcoming media ownership rules, officials inside and outside the agency said this week. Multichannel video programming distributors and nonprofits opposed to pacts such as shared services agreements, joint sales agreements and joint retransmission consent negotiation deals are lobbying to expand a draft order from only issuing new rules on JSAs, said industry and public interest officials and ex parte filings. Broadcasters got a late start on such lobbying, and are expected to visit the agency next week, industry officials said.
The European Parliament was to vote Thursday on resolutions aimed at pressuring governments not to yield to attempts by some countries to regulate the Internet through changes to the ITU’s International Telecom Regulations (ITRs). The Council of Ministers is preparing its position for the December World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai, a position that will be adopted sometime before Nov. 29, an EU diplomatic source told us. Governments are fully committed to ensuring that the WCIT outcome aligns with EU law and its digital agenda, Cypriot Justice and Public Order Minister Louca Loucas told Parliament members during a Tuesday evening debate in the Legal Affairs Committee. The council is “fully determined to defend the EU interest in Dubai,” he said. Nevertheless, lawmakers said they're worried European values will fall victim to governments seeking a stronger voice on the Internet.
Opening briefs were due Monday in the Supreme Court case Arlington, Texas, et al. v. FCC, which will take a hard look at the Chevron doctrine and federal agencies’ ability to determine their jurisdiction. The court took up the question Oct. 5, raising questions about how the FCC exerts its authority (CD Oct 12 p1). Petitioners include the city of Arlington and San Antonio, Texas, Los Angeles, San Diego and the Texas Coalition for Utilities Issues. The petitioners have attracted significant support among state advocates. The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners adopted a resolution Nov. 13 in support of the petitioners (CD Nov 14 p5) and NARUC is now one among many state advocates speaking up.
The U.S. is concerned that the Russian Federation’s newest set of proposed revisions for the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) would increase governments’ ability to control the Internet, officials and Internet governance experts told us. Russia originally submitted the proposals Nov. 13 before sending a revised version to the ITU on Saturday. Delegates will consider proposed revisions at the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), which begins Dec. 3 in Dubai.
A spokeswoman for Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, urged Chairman Pat Leahy, D-Vt., to delay his planned Nov. 29 markup of a bill aimed at updating the 26-year-old Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). “Judging by the concerns on both sides of the issue, it may be time to take a step back, hold additional hearings to address concerns, and discuss the issues being raised instead of rewriting the bill behind closed doors,” the Grassley spokeswoman said in an email Tuesday. The comment followed a report from CNET which said Leahy was revising the bill to permit more than 22 agencies to access American’s emails and social networking content without a search warrant.
Consumer online privacy protection will likely be a major focus at the FTC next year, industry officials predicted in interviews. Besides tackling online privacy issues, the commission stands to face personnel changes, including the reportedly impending departure of Chairman Jon Leibowitz. Observers continue to predict he may depart before the end of year (CD Nov 5 p11).
An FCC rulemaking notice proposed establishing provisions under the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) for making emergency information accessible to visually impaired people. The provisions would require TV stations and multichannel video programming distributors to use equipment capable of delivering video description and emergency information to those individuals, the notice of proposed rulemaking said (http://xrl.us/bn2kai). Under the CVAA, the commission is required to complete its proceeding on access to emergency information by April 9, and its proceeding on Section 203 of the CVAA pertaining to apparatus requirements for video description and emergency information is due Oct. 9.
In an otherwise routine order Friday clarifying some requirements of the November 2011 USF/intercarrier compensation order and tweaking others, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel issued a separate statement suggesting simplifications to the “extremely” complex reforms. She worries that the complexity of the order, and the benchmarks that shift annually, could make life difficult for telcos that want to invest in their networks. “I fear that this complexity can deny rural carriers dependent on them the certainty they need to confidently invest in their network infrastructure,” Rosenworcel wrote. “So when opportunities arise to simplify our rules in a manner that is fiscally sound, good for investment, and good for rural consumers -- I think we should seize them."
The U.S.’s looming fiscal cliff and recession-crippled economy pose serious stakes for local governments and the feasibility of countless municipal projects, local government advocates said. They spoke Monday as part of a National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) panel on what to expect politically after the elections. Challenges are enormous, all panelists said, pointing to the drastic consequences associated with a weak economy and pending budget cuts. The financial crush will likely affect such anticipated projects as FirstNet as well as the need to raise money through other means, such as controversial taxation against wireless customers and Internet-based sales, they said.
A request for the FCC to let AM stations buy FM translators farther away from their main transmitter to rebroadcast their programming within the market raises important issues on AMs’ future, though the agency seems unlikely to approve the waiver, industry officials said. The owner of a few dozen radio stations wants the commission to let broadcasters buy FM translators from as far as 100 miles from their AM transmitter, without waiting for a filing window to seek such opportunities. The waiver points out that the radio industry wants FCC help to make changes such as these without needing to wait for a filing window to present such an opportunity, and other regulatory flexibility, said a lawyer and an engineer who reviewed the waiver at our request.