A Hawaii net neutrality bill is headed to the Senate floor after the Commerce, Consumer Protection and Health Committee unanimously passed an amended measure Tuesday. The State Procurement Office opposed SB-253 that would codify last year’s executive order by Gov. David Ige (D) restricting procurement to ISPs that follow open internet rules. Bills are active in other states where, as in Hawaii, Democrats have a political trifecta. Momentum appeared to slow a net neutrality bill in Maryland, which has a Republican governor, after a hearing earlier this month where industry argued the state should wait for litigation to resolve (see 1902060057).
It makes no sense for Republicans to support a privacy bill that doesn’t pre-empt state law, House Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., told us before the committee’s first 2019 privacy hearing. “We should look at what’s best for the country. Maybe it is California’s law. I don’t think so personally, but we should get schooled up on” state laws, he said.
First steps in the ATSC 3.0 switch could be delayed by lack of an FCC license application form for the new standard, said Spectrum Consortium President John Hane at America's Public Television Stations Summit Tuesday, responding to our questions. SpectrumCo has over a dozen markets that could begin to transition by late summer, but that's unlikely if the document isn't released in the next few months, Hane said.
With an appellate court Tuesday deciding DOJ didn't prove the case for stopping AT&T's buy of Time Warner (see 1902260017), Justice threw in the towel on any further challenges (see 1902260067). Experts had widely expected that.
Wireless charging is in the news at Mobile World Congress (see 1902250016) this week, as Energous announced a collaboration with vivo Global to explore integrating WattUp into smartphones that charge wirelessly over the air. Mark Tyndall, general manager-emerging products business group at Dialog Semiconductor, which makes Energous chips, cited vivo’s appeal to younger users and its “innovative approach to solving use pain points” such as charging.
Huawei saw Samsung’s Fold and raised it more than an inch in phone screen size and quite a few dollars in price at Sunday's unveiling of its Mate X foldable phone in Barcelona. The 5G device -- with a 6.6-inch front display, 6.38-inch rear display and 8-inch interior OLED tablet display -- will cost $2,600 when it launches in summer, said the company at its Mobile World Conference news event. Samsung’s Fold -- 4.6 inches in phone mode and 7.3 inches as a tablet -- is slated for availability April 26 at $1,980.
The Supreme Court's decision on the operator of Manhattan's public access channels being sued for allegedly violating the First Amendment rights of content producers banned from it (see 1810170027) could largely depend on the meaning of first come, first served. That was a central issue in oral argument Monday. A decision is likely in May or June, both sides told us. April is possible though that would be notably quick, said respondents' counsel Paul Hughes of Mayer Brown.
America's Public Television Stations will seek an additional $50 million in federal funding for public television in 2019, and is aiming to secure a $100 million total increase over the next 10 years, said APTS President Patrick Butler at the group's Public Media Summit Monday. It will seek $100 million in additional funding from states, and a third tranche of $100 million from renting out spectrum through ATSC 3.0, Butler said.
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).