The Benton Foundation is now the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, as it puts a particular focus on broadband policy, it said Tuesday. It said its priorities will include affordable, open broadband access for U.S. residents and supporting legal and policy experts interested in the public benefits of broadband. It said Andrew Schwartzman is joining (see the personals section).
The Benton Foundation is now the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, as it puts a particular focus on broadband policy, it said Tuesday. It said its priorities will include affordable, open broadband access for U.S. residents and supporting legal and policy experts interested in the public benefits of broadband. It said Andrew Schwartzman is joining (see the personals section).
The FCC's order approving Nexstar’s buy of Tribune with a 2-2 party line split could have consequences for advocacy groups seeking to weigh in on future FCC decisions, said dissents from Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Jessica Rosenworcel. Many lawyers agreed.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr is weighing next steps after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reversed a key part of the FCC’s March 2018 wireless infrastructure order Friday (see 1908090021). The court said in United Keetoowah Band v. FCC, No. 18-1129, the FCC unlawfully excluded small cells from National Environmental Protection Act and the National Historic Preservation Act review. The court upheld other parts of the order. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hasn't heard oral argument in a challenge to other small-cell permitting rules the FCC approved last year (see 1906180022),
A proposed $233,000 forfeiture against Cumulus and some subsidiaries wouldn’t adequately punish the company for violating a 2016 consent decree by allegedly breaking FCC sponsorship ID rules, said FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks -- formerly of the agency’s Enforcement Bureau -- in a dissent on a notice of apparent liability issued Tuesday. The NAL lists $25,000 of that forfeiture specifically as the penalty for violating the consent decree, and that’s not enough, Starks said in a dissenting statement. The proposed forfeiture “does not follow well-established Commission precedent and is not, in my mind, commensurate with the misconduct and violations at issue.” Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel concurred on the NAL.
After a prolonged negotiation, DOJ reached agreement with T-Mobile/Sprint and Dish Network (see 1907260021). Justice got five attorneys general onboard from states that hadn't tried to block the multibillion dollar transaction. Industry officials said getting some support from states was important to the department and delayed an announcement by a day, though opposing states are expected to continue their lawsuit in federal court in New York. The California Public Utilities Commission also hasn't approved the deal. DOJ’s consent decree with the companies did little to mollify most critics.
After a prolonged negotiation, DOJ reached agreement with T-Mobile/Sprint and Dish Network (see 1907260021). Justice got five attorneys general onboard from states that hadn't tried to block the multibillion dollar transaction. Industry officials said getting some support from states was important to the department and delayed an announcement by a day, though opposing states are expected to continue their lawsuit in federal court in New York. The California Public Utilities Commission also hasn't approved the deal. DOJ’s consent decree with the companies did little to mollify most critics.
The Supreme Court handed down what's essentially a middle of the road decision in a junk fax case, PDR Network v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic, but its decision has implications for the FCC and the communications bar, lawyers following the case said Thursday. The opinion was expected to answered the question of whether the FCC has the long-assumed power to exclusively implement the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (see 1904250006) but stopped well short of that. The issues raised appear far from settled for the FCC, since four of the justices would have gone further, lawyers said.
The FCC is widely seen to be starting from behind in Tuesday’s oral argument in Prometheus IV. That doesn’t mean anyone is certain how the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will react to an incubator program, standing challenges against petitioners, and broadcaster arguments for further deregulation (see 1905220074), said many academics and broadcast attorneys in interviews last week.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s announcing ahead of DOJ his proposed approval of T-Mobile's buy of Sprint bucks some precedent under which the commission almost always announces second. It short-circuits the process and simplifies imposition of conditions on the transaction, said lawyers active in the proceeding. If Justice seeks conditions, it would have had to go to court to oppose the deal absent concessions by the companies. Pai's announcement was coordinated with DOJ, the lawyers said.