SpaceX already dominates the U.S. commercial space launch market and many commercial space industry experts expect that trend will continue for the next few years. Its under-development Starship rocket -- able to carry upward of 100 tons of cargo per launch and potentially put satellites in orbit for a fraction of the cost on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket -- could further cement that dominance, launch experts told us.
NTIA Tuesday released its implementation plan for the national spectrum strategy. Under the plan, studies for the 3.1-3.45 GHz and 7/8 GHz bands, top priorities of wireless carriers, will begin this month and be completed in October 2026 (see 2403120006). FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr criticized the plan, saying in “the best case” the lower 3 and 7/8 GHz bands won’t be available until 2028. Others had a more positive take.
President Joe Biden is requesting increased funding in FY 2025 for the FCC, Patent Office and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (see 2303130070). The FY25 requests are lower than FY24's for the FTC, NTIA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, DOJ’s Antitrust Division and some Agriculture Department broadband programs, though in some cases the Biden proposal exceeds ultimate Congressional allocations for FY24. Biden signed off Saturday on the Consolidated Appropriations Act FY24 appropriations minibus package (HR-4366), which included funding cuts for NTIA and other Commerce agencies but a slight increase for DOJ Antitrust (see 2403040083). The Senate voted 75-22 Friday night to approve the package.
Pay-TV industry interests are pushing the FCC for more time to implement "all-in" video pricing disclosure rules. FCC commissioners will vote on the proposed rules at Thursday's open meeting (see 2402210057). MVPD interests are lobbying on implementation timelines, according to docket 23-203 filings Friday. DirecTV said it would need more time and asked for at least a 12-month deadline or maintenance of the current nine-month deadline for all-in disclosures in advertisements but allowing an additional six months for customer bills. It said solely regulating cable and satellite TV hurts their competitiveness with online services. At least give operators a 12-month window for compliance, ACA Connects told aides to Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Anna Gomez. It said changing customer bills "is a complex undertaking that can involve many sequential steps," especially if the providers use third-party software platforms. Pricing requirements won't address the "underlying dysfunction" in the video marketplace, and urged the FCC against adoption. Pointing to arguments that the rules just apply to cable and direct broadcast satellite, One Ministries said virtual MVPDs should be regulated along with MVPDs. Without it, virtual MVPDs "will continue to discriminate against local 'mom and pop' independent TV stations by not carrying them and only carrying the major network TV stations in the various TV markets," it said.
Backers of Congress giving the FCC stopgap funding to keep the affordable connectivity program running through FY 2024 latched onto President Joe Biden's short mention of internet affordability in his State of the Union speech Thursday night to bolster that push. Biden also said Congress should pass comprehensive data privacy legislation and briefly touched on other tech policy issues. He didn't mention the House Commerce Committee's push to require TikTok Chinese owner ByteDance to divest the app for it to continue operating in the U.S., despite its supporters' rapid push to advance it (see 2403080035).
Some pay-TV providers are telling the FCC that a ban on early-termination fees (ETF) and a requirement for prorated refunds should be limited to residential subscribers, not business subs, and shouldn't be applied retroactively to existing contracts, according to reply comments this week in docket 23-405. FCC commissioners voted 3-2 in December to adopt the video service fees NPRM, which proposes banning ETFs and requires prorated refunds when service is canceled (see 2312130019). Verizon said that while only a small portion of its subscriber base is potentially subject to ETFs, a ban on them should be done prospectively, as eliminating the fees in existing contracts "would improperly upset the economic bargains reflected in those contracts and would impose an undue administrative burden on Verizon." It defended keeping ETFs for business customers, calling them "sophisticated actors who may individually negotiate their contracts with Verizon." Altice urged similarly for business subs and for not applying a ban on existing contracts. NCTA said a ban on "unjust" ETFs should apply only to practices that don't transparently disclose them or give consumers the option to go on a month-to-month plan without such fees. It argued against letting state and local governments apply other ETF and whole-month billing requirements to cable service. "A patchwork of state and local regulations would be unduly burdensome" and make competition with satellite TV and online video distributors a chore, it said. Dish Network also defended ETFs and said they need to be clearly and prominently disclosed. It called for transparency standards in the billing and onboarding process. Opposing the FCC proposal on ETFs and prorated refunds, NTCA said the FCC can accomplish its objectives via its all-in pricing proceeding "without the unintended consequences to consumers or impermissible rate regulation." The FCC proposal received some support. The pay-TV industry argument that ETFs and billing cycle fees benefit consumers "may shock some observers, who have come to know the pay TV industry as a reliable advocate for the Commission imposing new regulations on behalf of consumers," a sarcastic NAB said. Local governments, including Boston, the District of Columbia and Fairfax County, Virginia, said eliminating fees won't drive up prices. Instead, they said competition that enhances consumer choice "will promote lower prices and will permit consumers to choose the highest value products for their budgets."
ACA Connects "will take a serious look" at challenging the FCC's "all-in" video pricing rules, which are set for a vote during the commissioners' March 14 open meeting (see 2402210057), ACA President Grant Spellmeyer said. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks in an address Wednesday at the ACA Connects policy summit (see 2403060005) mentioned the all-in pricing draft order, saying it would curb the “indecipherable asterisks and fine print” that make comparison shopping difficult. Starks said the order is consistent with the TV Viewer Protection Act, which requires that MVPDs disclose the all-in price at the point of sale and within 24 hours of sign-up and let customers cancel without penalty. The item is part of a larger agenda with broad support against junk fees and favors greater transparency for consumers, said Best Best's Cheryl Leanza. She noted the Ticket Act (HR-3950), requiring greater transparency in prices for event tickets, and the No Hidden Fees Act, (HR-6543), which prompts greater transparency in hotel and motel costs. Leanza represented local government clients in the proceeding. Cable and satellite TV promotional materials and bills would prominently display an all-in price that covers programming-related costs, including broadcast retransmission consent fees and regional sports programming charges, under the draft order. The requirement would be only for ads where price is mentioned, according to the draft. Operators would have nine months to comply after the approved order is released. In advertising for bundled services, providers should have the option to either provide the full price of the bundle, including video fees, or separately list the bundle's all-in video portion, NCTA told aides to the five FCC commissioners and FCC Media Bureau staffers, according to a docket 23-203 filing Thursday. NCTA urged that franchise fees and public, educational and government programming fees be excluded from the all-in pricing. It also urged that the commission to give providers a year to implement the all-in rules. Joining NCTA in the meetings were representatives of Comcast, Charter Communications and Cox. In meetings with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Anna Gomez and Geoffrey Starks, Verizon reiterated its argument for exempting legacy plans no longer marketed or offered to consumers from the all-in pricing rule (see 2308010028). Pointing to existing federal transparency requirements as well as market forces, state cable associations said in a docket filing this week that the proposed all-in rules "rest on unsound legal footing, are unnecessary, and would produce results contrary to the Commission’s goals." Behind the filing were the Florida Internet & Television Association, Missouri Internet & Television Association, Ohio Cable Telecommunications Association and Texas Cable Association.
House leaders removed the NTIA Reauthorization Act (HR-4510) from floor consideration Tuesday amid other committees’ objections to it, the bill’s sponsors told us Wednesday. Chamber leaders previously scheduled consideration of HR-4510 under suspension of the rules (see 2403010073), along with two other telecom-focused bills. The House voted 339-85 Wednesday to pass H.Res. 1061, which amended vehicle HR-4366 to become the Consolidated Appropriations Act FY24 appropriations minibus package that includes reduced funding for NTIA and other Commerce Department agencies compared with FY 2023 but a slight increase for the DOJ Antitrust Division (see 2403040083).
Industry widely opposes the FCC's proposal to adopt additional reporting requirements for providers as part of the commission's efforts to combat digital discrimination. Commissioners sought comment on an NPRM proposing to adopt annual reporting and internal compliance program requirements following a November order adopting rules to curb discrimination (see 2401310052). Comments were posted Tuesday in docket 22-69. Consumer advocates and state officials urged the FCC to adopt the proposed requirements and establish an Office of Civil Rights within the commission.
Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch said Monday he's unconcerned that the Fox/ESPN/Warner Bros. Discovery streaming joint venture (see 2402070006) could face regulatory challenges. At a Morgan Stanley conference Monday, he said the JV is "pro-consumer" and focused on an audience segment of cord cutters and cord nevers not currently served. The pricing will be "at the higher ranges" of estimates that have floated around and should have 5 million subscribers within five years, said Murdoch. He said over time the streaming platform could add capabilities such as betting.