The FCC proceeding on updating orbital debris rules could involve whether the agency should be undertaking it, experts told us. Some FCC proposals could get notable commercial industry pushback. Commissioner Brendan Carr raised authority questions when the NPRM was adopted in November (see 1811150028). The item hasn't appeared in the Federal Register. Asked when it expects publication, the FCC didn't comment.
A compromise FCC kidvid rule revamp is looking more likely, given several recent developments. Industry officials believe Democratic control of the House could be a factor, and not all of the proposals in the NPRM will make it to the final order. Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, who led the proceeding, "is looking for a compromise that provides flexibility for broadcasters and benefits children," said an aide. Broadcasters are unlikely to get “everything they want,” one lawyer said.
New Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said the FCC must move quickly on complaints AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint are selling customers' real-time location data to bounty hunters (see 1901080046). The ex-Enforcement Bureau staffer, flanked by staff, met reporters Friday.
T-Mobile “remains optimistic and confident” regulators will approve its buy of Sprint, as reviews reach their final stages, CEO John Legere told analysts Thursday as the company reported Q4 results. The New York Public Service Commission applied jobs conditions as it voted 3-0 Thursday to clear T-Mobile/Sprint in the agency’s consent agenda, which requires no discussion. The deal is likely to be approved by the end of the first half of the year, Legere said: “If not in the bottom of the ninth inning, it’s in the late innings.”
House Communications Subcommittee members formally began a new chapter Thursday in their yearslong debate over net neutrality legislation. They used a hearing to stake out largely familiar positions on use of Communications Act Title II as a legal basis for FCC rules. Leading subcommittee Democrats strongly supported restoration of the rescinded Title II-backed 2015 rules. Some lawmakers have been exploring potential legislation that would put into statute broad contours of the now-rescinded rules (see 1901100001).
Spotify's buy of two podcast-related companies is part of a strategy to become “the world’s leading audio platform,” said CEO Daniel Ek on the company’s Wednesday Q4 webcast. The company said earlier in the day it's buying podcast content producer Gimlet Media, and Anchor, a podcast technology company with creation, publishing and monetization services. Spotify Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy said future SEC filings will include prices: “I don’t want the transactions we’re closing to bleed over into deals we may be negotiating.”
ANNAPOLIS -- Maryland shouldn’t wait for courts to rule on net neutrality before moving ahead with a law to restrict procurement to companies that follow such rules, Maryland Del. Kirill Reznik (D) told us Wednesday after the House Economic Affairs panel heard testimony on his net neutrality and ISP privacy bill (HB-141). Telecom and cable industry witnesses advised the state to wait at least until a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which heard argument last week on the FCC net neutrality order (see 1902010046). A House Communications Subcommittee hearing is Thursday (see 1902060036).
The Senate Commerce Committee is eyeing a potential privacy hearing, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told us Wednesday. The hearing, to be held potentially in late February or early March, depends on resolving overlapping jurisdictional issues with the Banking Committee, said Kennedy, a privacy-minded lawmaker who sits on Banking but not Commerce. It’s unclear what witnesses Commerce might try to gather for a possible hearing, Kennedy said. Commerce and Banking didn’t comment.
Net neutrality advocates are encouraged by oral argument on the FCC's deregulation before a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Friday (see 1902010046). Challengers got some traction with arguments against reversal of Communications Act Title II broadband classification, net neutrality regulation repeal, transparency rule authority, public safety treatment and state pre-emption, the advocates suggested at a Public Knowledge event Wednesday (webcast). They mostly cited the comments and questions of Judge Patricia Millett, and to some extent, of Judge Robert Wilkins, on Mozilla v. FCC, No. 18-1051.
The Mobile World Congress plans an emergency meeting later this month of executive members to discuss the threat from Chinese equipment suppliers Huawei and ZTE, said Travis Russell, Oracle director-cybersecurity, at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event Wednesday: “Be watching post-Barcelona and there probably will be an announcement coming out of the GSMA.” FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel sought to renew the term for the agency's cybersecurity advisory body.