The FCC approved AT&T’s buy of Qualcomm spectrum 3-1 over a dissent by Commissioner Michael Copps. The vote was a positive development for AT&T, which last week dropped its move to buy T-Mobile after the FCC and Department of Justice both lambasted that deal as bad for competition. The buy gives AT&T six MHz of unpaired 700 MHz spectrum nationwide and another six MHz in five major metropolitan markets. The order imposes two sets of conditions, addressing data roaming and interference.
Meredith Baker’s departure will leave the FCC with a single GOP member starting June 3, her last day on the job, she confirmed Wednesday afternoon. That could push Senate Republicans to quickly seek a replacement and also back a Democratic nominee whose appointment would be on the same track as Baker’s successor, industry officials said. The FCC will be split 3-1 when Baker leaves, making Robert McDowell the only Republican commissioner. A 2-1 commission is possible next year if the Senate doesn’t act.
Meredith Baker will leave the FCC with a single GOP member starting June 3, her last day on the job, she confirmed Wednesday afternoon. That may induce Senate Republicans to quickly seek a replacement and also back a Democratic nominee whose appointment would be on the same track as Baker’s successor, industry officials said. The FCC will be split 3-1 when Baker leaves, making Robert McDowell the only Republican commissioner. A 2-1 split would occur if Commissioner Michael Copps’ replacement doesn’t get Senate approval by the end of this session of Congress, when he must leave the commission. His term expired June 30, 2010, but the law allows him to serve until the end of the subsequent session of Congress.
Meredith Baker will leave the FCC with a single GOP member starting June 3, her last day on the job, she confirmed Wednesday afternoon. That may induce Senate Republicans to quickly seek a replacement and also back a Democratic nominee whose appointment would be on the same track as Baker’s successor, industry officials said.
Broadcasters should seek a deal with the recording industry on performance royalties due to current “political realities,” said House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher in a keynote at an NAB conference Tuesday. Broadcasters in the audience objected strongly to the concept. Boucher also praised the FCC’s proposed voluntary approach for taking broadcast spectrum, and said spectrum inventory legislation is nearing a full committee vote.
Congressional telecom staffers bring long experience to table as the 111th Congress gets underway at a time when communications issues are a growing priority. The Senate and House Commerce Committees have new leadership for the full committee and communications subcommittees, with the Senate subcommittee reconvening after a hiatus of three years. Changes at the top level of the Commerce Committees, as well as new committee members, mean some changes in titles among key staffers. But most of those involve staffers who are often familiar to the telecom and media industries.
Congressional telecom staffers bring long experience to table as the 111th Congress gets underway at a time when communications issues are a growing priority. The Senate and House Commerce Committees have new leadership for the full committee and communications subcommittees, with the Senate subcommittee reconvening after a hiatus of three years. Changes at the top level of the Commerce Committees, as well as new committee members, mean some changes in titles among key staffers. But most of those involve staffers who are often familiar to the telecom and media industries.
FCC and NTIA DTV-related funding requests appear in a draft continuing resolution Congress will take up later this week, according to a copy of the bill. NTIA Acting Administrator Meredith Baker plugged the $7 million the agency has told Congress it may need to mail recycled converter box coupons, she told a Monday Association for Maximum Service TV conference. NTIA has been in constant contact with House and Senate leaders on the NTIA’s funding proposal, Baker said.
House and Senate versions of a VoIP E-911 bill that would help carriers ensure subscribers get the emergency service probably will be reconciled, Hill aides told an E-911 Institute panel Tuesday. Differences between House (HR-3403) and Senate (S-428) measures are minor and action is likely “soon,” said Mark Seifert, aide to the House Commerce Committee. The differences between the two bills probably can be resolved, said Jessica Rosenworcel, aide to the Senate Commerce Committee.
The DoJ’s Antitrust Division studied the desirability of a net neutrality requirement in weighing the BellSouth-AT&T merger last year but found no “significant market failure” to justify such a measure, Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general in charge of the division said Thursday at a Practising Law Institute conference. The FCC did impose a neutrality obligation when it approved the merger.