Charter Communications will pay a $640,000 settlement and set up a three-year compliance plan that widens the variety of third-party cable modems it accepts on its network, the FCC Media Bureau said in an order and consent decree Tuesday. The order follows a bureau investigation of Charter that it said sprung from Zoom Telephonics' petition to deny FCC approval of Charter's buying of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, with the cable modem maker alleging Charter infringed on the rights of subscribers to use non-harmful third-party cable modems (see 1510130054). The bureau said its investigation found that from 2012 to 2014, Charter told subscribers that they no longer could attach customer-owned modems and then provided a list of authorized third-party modems that required testing for issues not relating to network harm or theft of service. Under the order, Charter also is revising its cable modem testing regime so compliance testing will take no more than three weeks. Also, it is required under the order to appoint a senior corporate manager as compliance officer for implementing the compliance plan. Under the order, Charter can reject only certain cable modems, such as those that don't support DOCSIS 3.0 or higher. In a statement Wednesday, Charter said it is "pleased to be able to continue to give our customers the choice to use a modem provided by Charter for free or purchase an approved third party modem." "Zoom is pleased with much of the Commission’s action, including its requirement for much faster certification testing for cable modems and appropriate limits on tests," Zoom counsel Andrew Schwartzman said in an email to us Wednesday. "This is a major victory, and we hope other cable service providers will act consistent with the clear wishes of the FCC." Around the time the Charter settlement was released, the FCC also issued the text of the commissioners' order approving Charter/TWC/BHN (see 1605100050).
Charter Communications will pay a $640,000 settlement and set up a three-year compliance plan that widens the variety of third-party cable modems it accepts on its network, the FCC Media Bureau said in an order and consent decree Tuesday. The order follows a bureau investigation of Charter that it said sprung from Zoom Telephonics' petition to deny FCC approval of Charter's buying of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, with the cable modem maker alleging Charter infringed on the rights of subscribers to use non-harmful third-party cable modems (see 1510130054). The bureau said its investigation found that from 2012 to 2014, Charter told subscribers that they no longer could attach customer-owned modems and then provided a list of authorized third-party modems that required testing for issues not relating to network harm or theft of service. Under the order, Charter also is revising its cable modem testing regime so compliance testing will take no more than three weeks. Also, it is required under the order to appoint a senior corporate manager as compliance officer for implementing the compliance plan. Under the order, Charter can reject only certain cable modems, such as those that don't support DOCSIS 3.0 or higher. In a statement Wednesday, Charter said it is "pleased to be able to continue to give our customers the choice to use a modem provided by Charter for free or purchase an approved third party modem." "Zoom is pleased with much of the Commission’s action, including its requirement for much faster certification testing for cable modems and appropriate limits on tests," Zoom counsel Andrew Schwartzman said in an email to us Wednesday. "This is a major victory, and we hope other cable service providers will act consistent with the clear wishes of the FCC." Around the time the Charter settlement was released, the FCC also issued the text of the commissioners' order approving Charter/TWC/BHN (see 1605100050).
An FCC rulemaking notice that would remove the last physical vestiges of the broadcaster public file as well as a requirement for cable carriers to keep on hand the location of their control centers (see 1605050060 and 1605040066) is expected to get little pushback, broadcast attorneys and cable industry officials told us. Though most aspects of the public file are online, broadcasters still have to keep physical copies of public correspondence in a physical public inspection file, and cable carriers must do the same for the addresses of their network control centers, under current FCC rules. Broadcasters and cable carriers said the requirement to make physical documents available to the public compromises their security.
An FCC rulemaking notice that would remove the last physical vestiges of the broadcaster public file as well as a requirement for cable carriers to keep on hand the location of their control centers (see 1605050060 and 1605040066) is expected to get little pushback, broadcast attorneys and cable industry officials told us. Though most aspects of the public file are online, broadcasters still have to keep physical copies of public correspondence in a physical public inspection file, and cable carriers must do the same for the addresses of their network control centers, under current FCC rules. Broadcasters and cable carriers said the requirement to make physical documents available to the public compromises their security.
The FCC may have bolstered a forthcoming media ownership draft order and chances of not further angering three appellate judges by issuing a study that found a possible linkage between Hispanic ownership of TV stations and local programming, public interest lawyers told us Friday. The study, which was a long time in the making and was revealed Thursday, was mentioned April 19 at oral argument in broadcaster and public interest group challenges to media ownership rules at the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Judges were skeptical of FCC delays in acting on media ownership and diversity after two previous losses for the commission in related cases before the 3rd Circuit (see 1604190041). Now, a peer review by FCC Wireline Bureau economist/industrial organization expert Octavian Carare of the study will be completed by Thursday, interviews and agency documents show. Then, the agency will accept public comments, it said in a news release.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals told the FCC and several parties challenging ownership rules that they should study in advance of Tuesday's oral argument in Philadelphia the case Public Citizen v. Chao, in which the 3rd Circuit previously ruled against a federal agency for delaying a rulemaking that had been ordered by the court. Prometheus Radio v. FCC (formerly Howard Stirk v. FCC) includes arguments that the FCC ignored the orders of the 3rd Circuit by failing to complete the 2010 quadrennial review or do studies on minority ownership (see 1511240060). The 3rd Circuit's raising of the Public Citizen case shortly before oral argument is seen as a bad omen for the FCC, numerous attorneys familiar with the case told us. The FCC has twice lost similar cases 2-1 against some of the same plaintiffs in front of the same panel of judges they will see Tuesday.
An executive branch filing in support of the FCC set-top box proceeding (see 1604150003) is largely laudatory of the commission's proposal but also questions aspects of the agency's plans on privacy and copyright, which have also been a focus of the proposal's opponents. “The Commission should take steps to ensure that expansion of competition in navigation devices does not diminish existing privacy protections,” NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling said in the filing. Privacy and copyright concerns were the focus of a joint NCTA/MPAA news briefing denouncing the FCC plan last week (see 1604130052), which itself followed experts saying that access to consumer data may be the ultimate tech prize in the NPRM approved by a politically split FCC (see 1603080037).
An executive branch filing in support of the FCC set-top box proceeding (see 1604150003) is largely laudatory of the commission's proposal but also questions aspects of the agency's plans on privacy and copyright, which have also been a focus of the proposal's opponents. “The Commission should take steps to ensure that expansion of competition in navigation devices does not diminish existing privacy protections,” NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling said in the filing. Privacy and copyright concerns were the focus of a joint NCTA/MPAA news briefing denouncing the FCC plan last week (see 1604130052), which itself followed experts saying that access to consumer data may be the ultimate tech prize in the NPRM approved by a politically split FCC (see 1603080037).
An executive branch filing in support of the FCC set-top box proceeding (see 1604150003) is largely laudatory of the commission's proposal but also questions aspects of the agency's plans on privacy and copyright, which have also been a focus of the proposal's opponents. “The Commission should take steps to ensure that expansion of competition in navigation devices does not diminish existing privacy protections,” NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling said in the filing. Privacy and copyright concerns were the focus of a joint NCTA/MPAA news briefing denouncing the FCC plan last week (see 1604130052), which itself followed experts saying that access to consumer data may be the ultimate tech prize in the NPRM approved by a politically split FCC (see 1603080037).
Nexstar’s proposed deal to buy Media General would create an overly large broadcaster with too much power in retransmission consent negotiations and disregards FCC rules for joint sales agreements, said petitions against the transaction filed in docket 16-57 by several public interest groups, the American Cable Association, Dish Network, ITTA and Cox Communications. The public interest groups’ petition is framed as a petition to deny the proposed sale. ACA, Dish and ITTA is styled as a petition “to deny or impose conditions” and the Cox filing is a “petition for conditions.”