A peering dispute between Verizon and Cogent Communications is bringing Internet transit arrangements into the limelight, as Netflix traffic over Verizon networks has slowed in recent days because of it, Cogent CEO Dave Schaeffer told us. That degradation has Cogent customer Netflix considering the use of a disclaimer on the videos it streams to Verizon customers, notifying them that Verizon is accountable for decreased speeds, he said. Netflix declined to comment.
Dish Network hasn’t dropped its bid for Sprint Nextel, but is refocusing on its bid for Clearwire, said the DBS company in a statement. FCC officials said Wednesday they have heard surprisingly little from the office of acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn on when it might circulate an order on SoftBank’s deal to buy most of Sprint.
Dish Network hasn’t dropped its bid for Sprint Nextel, but is refocusing on its bid for Clearwire, said the DBS company in a statement. FCC officials said Wednesday they have heard surprisingly little from the office of acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn on when it might circulate an order on SoftBank’s deal to buy most of Sprint.
The Obama administration is committing $100 million to spectrum sharing and pushing cooperation between federal agencies and industry, almost a year after the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (PCAST) recommended the White House shift its focus from exclusive-use spectrum to sharing (CD July 23 p1). Until now, the White House had been generally supportive of sharing, but hadn’t released a presidential memorandum in reaction to the PCAST report. The White House also issued a paper making the argument that the administration is making progress on broadband deployment (http://1.usa.gov/11NlwJI).
Gannett and Belo may have to get FCC waivers to get approval for their deal (CD June 14 p7), said several communications attorneys in interviews Friday. The companies have market overlaps in five cities, their executives said on a conference call with investors Thursday. In Louisville, Ky., and Phoenix, Gannett would be acquiring Belo TV stations in markets where it already owns newspapers, which would put the merger squarely afoul of FCC cross-ownership rules, noted lawyers who both back consolidation generally and those opposed to it. “They're taking a very aggressive approach that is very likely to spark a challenge,” said public interest lawyer Andrew Schwartzman, who has represented Free Press in the FCC’s media-ownership review.
Public Knowledge asked the FCC to begin a rulemaking to set guidelines for carriers that want to replace damaged copper infrastructure with VoIP or fixed wireless networks. In the wake of Superstorm Sandy’s devastation, Verizon expressed its intent to do just that, replacing its destroyed copper with fiber in a move it said would make the network more resilient (CD Nov 16 p1). The PK proposal would have the commission “create a process for guiding carriers’ responses” in natural disaster situations.
U.S. government collection of phone data from millions of Americans re-emerged as a national issue Thursday after the publication of an order by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court giving the National Security Agency authority to collect data from Verizon. While a recurring concern of public interest groups and some conservatives alike, the publication marks the first time such an order has been made public, after it was reported by the Guardian newspaper (http://bit.ly/123rSXk).
All indications are Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is still weighing whom to recommend to the White House to replace former Commissioner Robert McDowell on the FCC. McDowell warned Friday that it could be late in the year before the Senate confirms both Tom Wheeler, President Barack Obama’s choice for chairman, and a Republican to fill out the commission (CD June 3 p1). McConnell appears to be looking for a heavy hitter who can stand toe-to-toe with Democrats, industry officials said.
A McConnell spokesman said his office would not comment before the president makes a formal announcement. Hill aides told us McConnell is feeling pressure from Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and others to name a nominee soon. A spokesman for Rockefeller did not comment. Industry and Hill officials said the leading candidates for the post are: Anatolio “A.B.” Cruz, III, former chief legal officer at Scripps Networks Interactive; and longtime congressional aide Michael O'Rielly, who now works for Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Industry and Hill sources told us that another rumored candidate, Duke Economics Prof. Michelle Connolly, declined to be considered for the post. Connolly didn’t return our requests for comment. She’s a onetime FCC chief economist under former Chairman Kevin Martin. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., ranking member of the Commerce Committee, is expected to play at least an advisory role in picking a nominee.
Last month’s appeals court decision striking down a National Labor Relations Board requirement that employers post a notification of collective bargaining rights shouldn’t help Verizon in its net neutrality challenge, the FCC told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in a letter filed Thursday in docket 11-1355. Verizon wrote in late May to bring the case to the D.C. Circuit’s attention. The relevance of the case, say attorneys on both sides of the issue, will depend on whether the court agrees with the FCC’s position that broadband ISPs are more akin to conduits than speakers.