ST. PAUL -- Federal judges mostly let attorneys make their arguments for and against FCC decisions easing regulation of the business data service rates of major incumbent telcos. The three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asked only a handful of questions in oral argument that stuck close to its scheduled 40 minutes in Citizens Telecommunications v. FCC, No. 17-2296. About half the questions were related to whether the FCC gave parties adequate notice. Hotly contested FCC cases often draw scores of judicial questions and comments at oral argument. The commission's 2017 order largely removed price caps from incumbent BDS offerings to business customers and competitors (see 1704200020 and 1705010019).
Wireless emergency alerting has a ways to go, especially after the false missile alert that created panic in Hawaii in January (see 1801160054 and 1803160042), Chairman Ajit Pai said at an FCC panel Tuesday. “There's a lot of potential in the system, some of which consumers have come to realize,” Pai said. “We do have some improvements to make.” He expressed hope the lesson learned would inform other future changes to alerting systems. Others agreed there's a ways to go.
A Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing on intersecting telecom, national security and competition policy issues could give lawmakers an early opportunity to delve into T-Mobile's proposed merger with Sprint and ramifications of President Donald Trump's push for the Department of Commerce to re-evaluate its seven-year ban on exports to ZTE (see 1805140062), officials and lobbyists told us. A range of other issues could also come up, including the FCC national security NPRM (see 1804170038), U.S. competitiveness in 5G and a revamp of the federal government's process for reviewing foreign takeovers of U.S. communications sector companies, they said. Testimony released in advance of the hearing focuses on concerns about China and the need for further U.S. government work to secure the telecom infrastructure supply chain.
It’s unlikely that Sinclair's buying Tribune would be approved on FCC staff delegated authority rather than go before the full commission, industry lawyers and ex-officials said in interviews. Delegating such a highly scrutinized deal to the bureau would look bad politically, lengthen the appeals process for the transaction, and could violate FCC rules requiring that new and novel proceedings be decided by the agency's members, they said. “What are commissioners for if they don’t vote on a deal that would create the biggest broadcast group in history?” said former Commissioner Mike Copps, now with Sinclair/Tribune opponent Common Cause. “That would be a complete abdication of responsibility.”
Adoption of over-the-top video is helping to buoy telecommunications data revenue, leaving pay-TV providers to scramble to compete, said research reports Monday. Worldwide spending on telecom and pay-TV services reached $1.66 trillion last year, up 1.4 percent year over year, IDC reported, after forecast growth of 1.6 percent. Over the five-year forecast period ending in 2022, IDC projects a 1.1 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
The ICANN board delayed action Sunday on a temporary Whois "specification" aimed at giving it time to come up with a new model that complies with EU privacy law. With the looming EU General Data Protection Regulation May 25 effective date, ICANN proposed an interim plan that balances the existing Whois model with the GDPR by "allowing for the robust collection of [domain name] registration data but also restricting the access to personal data to layered/tiered access," ICANN CEO Göran Marby blogged Friday. Users with a legitimate reason would be able to seek access to non-public data through registrars and registries, and could contact either the registrant or administrative and technical contacts through an anonymized email or web form, he said. Registrants could opt into having full contact details available. But the board didn't vote on the draft at this weekend's Vancouver meeting, emailed Michele Neylon, managing director of Irish domain registrar and hosting company Blacknight Internet Solutions. ICANN didn't comment Monday.
The Vermont legislature passed net neutrality and privacy bills, with supporters from consumer groups voicing hope that Gov. Phil Scott will sign them and the software industry seeking veto of the privacy bill. The Republican earlier issued an executive order to limit state contracts to net neutral ISPs. Monday in California, a third state Senate panel weighed SB-822, the net neutrality bill supported by ex-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and other backers of the 2015 rules.
Social media platforms are “absolutely not” capable of self-regulating and protecting consumer privacy, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told us before Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing (see 1805100038). Durbin hopes Republicans realize what it will take to properly protect user data because platforms are free to collect sensitive information with little regard for consumer rights.
Broadcaster PMCM will argue that its WJLP Middletown Township, New Jersey, should be assigned virtual channel 3 over the FCC’s objections, at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Thursday (see 1709280034). The broadcaster won a previous case against the agency to be allowed to relocate the station from Nevada to New Jersey (see 1212170043) after the DTV transition, but the FCC and the courts rejected the broadcaster’s arguments this time around. Since the case deals with arcane concepts such as virtual channels and the Program and System Information Protocol, broadcast attorneys told us it’s likely the court will defer to the FCC now. “The FCC’s insistence that WJLP utilize major channel number 33, rather than major channel number 3, is flatly inconsistent” with the commission’s own rules, PMCM said (in Pacer).
President Donald Trump’s tweet Sunday saying the administration is working with the Chinese government to keep Chinese equipment maker ZTE in business doesn’t offer relief for wireless carriers concerned that they may have to replace such gear if Congress or the FCC imposes a ban. “President Xi [Jinping] of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast,” Trump tweeted. “Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!” Industry officials said concessions to ZTE likely mean the Chinese company could continue to get components from U.S. companies like Qualcomm, but don't mean U.S. carriers won't have to stop buying equipment from ZTE or Huawei.