An FCC draft order on largely administrative changes to political advertising rules is considered noncontroversial and could be approved unanimously even before the agency’s Jan. 27 open meeting, said broadcast and FCC officials in interviews. The item’s docket, 21-293, shows no activity since October. The NPRM version was unanimously approved before commissioners’ August meeting (see 2108040058).
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding Maine's prorated cable TV refunds law (see 2201040072) opens the door to other states pursuing similar rules, consumer and cable regulatory experts told us. Whether they actually will is less clear. The ruling reversing a lower court's rejection of the Maine law could mean a 3rd Circuit reversal of a lower court's agreeing with Altice that the Cable Act preempts the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities' prorating rule (see 2108240043), experts said.
NTIA will likely move soon to appoint members to and relaunch the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee, now that Alan Davidson has taken office as NTIA administrator, longtime members of the group told us. CSMAC has been in existence since the George W. Bush administration and grew out of a 2004 presidential memorandum on Spectrum Management for the 21st Century. But in recent years, it has been handicapped by a lack of political leadership at NTIA, even as spectrum issues have grown in importance, officials said.
President Joe Biden defended Wednesday his administration’s role in addressing claimed aviation safety implications of commercial wireless operations on the C band amid pushback from FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and top Republicans on the House Commerce and Transportation committees. AT&T and Verizon launched C-band operations Wednesday but are deferring around some airports amid frustration with FAA (see 2201180065). AT&T started to turn on its C-band spectrum in these areas Wednesday, a spokesperson emailed: Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Jacksonville and Orlando. AT&T expects to reach 200 million people this year, the spokesperson said.
Their agencies hope to issue joint takeover guidelines this year, DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Jonathan Kanter announced with FTC Chair Lina Khan Tuesday. The rise in mergers and acquisitions has been a key driver in consolidation, including in tech, and the M&A guidelines should reflect modern challenges, they told a livestreamed news conference.
A draft FCC NPRM on broadband consumer labels like those recommended in 2016 may get pushback from ISPs because the labels would be mandatory for all providers, experts told us (see 2201060057). Consumer advocates said the move is a good starting point and will boost pricing transparency.
AT&T and Verizon plan to start turning on their C-band operations Wednesday, despite a push by major airlines to delay the start. Both said Tuesday they will defer the launch around some airports and expressed frustration with the FAA.
Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) is making a final attempt to delay launch of 5G in the C-band by Verizon and AT&T starting Wednesday, warning of the threat to radio altimeters from wireless transmissions. Industry observers said it’s unlikely AT&T and Verizon will again delay launch, which has been on hold since Dec. 5.
Sponsors of a bill that would ban Big Tech platforms from self-preferencing their products are optimistic about passage, but two Republican holdouts shared reservations in interviews last week. The American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S-2992) is set for markup Thursday after being held over one week. The bill would bar dominant platforms from acting to prevent rival products from competing on their platforms.
The biggest surprises in the 3.45 GHz auction were that Dish Network came in relatively big and T-Mobile small, according to the early analysis of the results, which were released Friday (see 2201140040). Verizon dropped out of the auction, after dominating the C-band sale, as expected (see 2111170037).