Sixteen TV-station owners and the NAB proposed uploading most of what’s now in studios’ paper political-ad files to fcc.gov, and updating it at least every other day during the lowest unit charge period before elections. An exception is for the LUC cost for each commercial, which broadcasters want to keep confidential to all but those who visit stations to see files. FCC members are continuing to consider if listing everything but online LUC information would be sufficient for disclosure purposes, industry and public-interest officials noted.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski appointed Gary Epstein, a longtime telecom attorney with ties to LightSquared, to serve as co-leader of the commission’s Incentive Auction Task Force. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, instantly raised questions about the appointment. The move had raised some questions within the agency after it was unveiled internally last week, officials said. Epstein was originally slated to be appointed deputy chief of the Office of Strategic Planning. He ended up being named a special counsel to the chairman.
The Verizon Wireless/cable deals, unveiled in December, have raised opposition that looks similar on some levels to that for AT&T’s proposed buy of T-Mobile last year. Most of the foes of AT&T/T-Mobile reorganized against the latter deal, with the addition of T-Mobile, which may have the most at stake. Opponents of Verizon’s buy of AWS licenses from SpectrumCo and Cox say marketing agreements unveiled concurrent with the spectrum buys are partly to blame. Then too, the spectrum landscape has changed in recent months, with the FCC facing huge obstacles bringing any new spectrum online for commercial use anytime soon (CD March 30 p1).
Industry and FCC officials said they're watching two FCC dockets to see what parties may reveal their policy positions and potential business plans related to the distribution of video over the Internet. Comments on a proposal by Comcast to clarify how it can access information submitted by online video distributors (OVDs) to prove they can avail themselves of the certain Comcast-NBCU approval conditions were due after our deadline Tuesday. And the Media Bureau issued a Public Notice Friday about the definition of the term “multichannel video programming distributor,” for which comments are due at the end of the month.
T-Mobile USA brought CEO Philipp Humm to the FCC last week to push for FCC decisions granting T-Mobile the AWS licenses it got as part of the breakup fee when the AT&T/T-Mobile deal ended in December, and denying Verizon Wireless’s buy of AWS licenses from the cable companies. Humm met with Chairman Julius Genachowski, Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, Angela Giancarlo, the top aide to Commissioner Robert McDowell, and Rick Kaplan, chief of the Wireless Bureau, among other FCC officials. The visit was Humm’s second to the FCC this year.
Industry and FCC officials said they're watching two FCC dockets to see what parties may reveal their policy positions and potential business plans related to the distribution of video over the Internet. Comments on a proposal by Comcast to clarify how it can access information submitted by online video distributors (OVDs) to prove they can avail themselves of the certain Comcast-NBCU approval conditions were due after our deadline Tuesday. And the Media Bureau issued a Public Notice Friday about the definition of the term “multichannel video programming distributor,” for which comments are due at the end of the month.
NTIA’s 1755-1850 MHz report could be bad news for Verizon, SpectrumCo and Cox and their proposed spectrum deal. The long timetables and huge price tags baked into Tuesday’s report mean more pressure on the FCC as it reviews whether to approve the sale of AWS licenses from the cable operators to Verizon, commission officials said.
House Democrats and the FCC are targeting cellphone theft, using efforts revealed Friday. Leading Democrats on the Commerce Committee sent letters Friday to wireless carriers, device and operating system makers, asking how they protect their customers after their cellphones are stolen. Separately, committee member Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., proposed a law requiring carriers to track stolen devices. And FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the commission is working with industry and public safety officials to address the issue. CTIA promised to cooperate with the FCC and law enforcement. But the possibility that Congress could take on legislation raised red flags for groups that don’t often agree with each other.
The FCC is launching a task force to oversee the work the agency has to do to get ready for the upcoming auction of broadcast spectrum, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Wednesday. The task force will be overseen by former Wireless Bureau Chief Ruth Milkman. The announcement came amid questions about how quickly the FCC will be able to move forward on the auction, which is expected to be the most complicated in the history of the agency.
The FCC should rethink the spectrum parts of the National Broadband Plan in light of the experience of the last two years, said Blair Levin, manager of the plan, and FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell last week in separate interviews. Friday marked the two-year anniversary of the formal release of the plan, at the FCC’s March 2010 meeting.