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November 2016

FCC abides by GOP request, deletes everything from meeting agenda

The Federal Communications Commission has deleted every major item from the agenda of its Nov 2016 meeting, apparently submitting to a request from GOP leaders to halt major rulemakings until President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated as President. Republicans from the House and Senate sent letters to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Nov 15 urging him to stand down in his final months as FCC Chairman. The GOP pointed out that the FCC halted major rulemakings eight years ago after the election of Barack Obama when prompted by a similar request by Democratic lawmaekrs. Chairman Wheeler's office hadn't said whether it will comply with the request, but Nov 16 it announced the deletion of all items that were originally scheduled to be presented and voted on at Nov 17's meeting.

The FCC said the items "remain on circulation," which means they can still be voted on, but a vote doesn't appear likely. Before the change, the agenda included votes on price caps for “special access” business data services; Universal Service funding to expand mobile broadband networks; wireless roaming obligations; and requirements for audio description of TV programming for blind and visually impaired people. The only item not deleted from Nov 17's meeting is part of the "consent agenda," which means it is routine and wasn't going to be presented individually.

Public Knowledge Responds to Sudden FCC Agenda Changes

The Federal Communications Commission cancelled its agenda items for the Thursday, November 17 Open Meeting. The following may be attributed to Harold Feld, Senior Vice President at Public Knowledge:

“We are disappointed that the FCC will not act on the previously announced November agenda. While respecting the tradition that the FCC should generally wait for the new administration before acting on any new initiatives, these items were essentially completed and ready to move. It seems absurd that if Chairman Wheeler had scheduled the meeting on election day, we would have already resolved the decade-old proceeding on legacy business data services pricing. More importantly, the agenda items address real and pressing problems in the broadband marketplace. These problems do not simply go away due to an administration change. When Republicans take over, they will need to address the same competitive problems, or explain to the American people why they plan to perpetuate our broadband duopoly.”

House Communications Subcommittee hearing on Understanding Role of Connected Devices in Recent Cyberattacks

The House Communications Subcommittee, Chaired by Rep Greg Walden (R-OR) and the Trade Subcommittee held a hearing examining the recent series of Internet of Things (IoT) connected device-based distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.

In Oct, hackers leveraged a DDoS attack against global Internet routing company Dyn that resulted in thousands of consumers being unable to connect with Netflix, Twitter, CNN, and other well-known websites. It’s estimated that 50 billion devices will be connected to the Internet by 2020 and as this number grows, so too do the risks. Members continued the committee’s long track record of examining emerging cybersecurity threats and their impact on consumers and the economy while looking at what can be done to mitigate future attacks and risks.

“The knee-jerk reaction might be to regulate the Internet of Things, and while I am not taking that off the table, the question is whether we need a more holistic solution,” said Chairman Walden. “The United States can’t regulate the world," he warned.

Charter Launches Low-Cost Broadband Service

Pushing ahead on a pledge tied to its acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, Charter Communications has launched a standalone, low-cost broadband service for qualified seniors and families that costs $14.99 per month. The uncapped, contract-free offering, called Spectrum Internet Assist, delivers 30 Mbps downstream by 4 Mbps upstream, speeds that exceed the Federal Communications Commission’s current definition of wireline “broadband” -- 25 Mbps down by 3 Mbps up. Those customers can also add in-home Wi-Fi through Charter for an additional $5 per month. Qualified customers (families with students that participate in the National School Lunch Program and seniors 65 and older who receive Supplemental Security Income program benefits) can also bundle other Charter services. A triple-play under the program that includes phone and TV, starts at $74.97.

While prospective customers for the program can’t have had a broadband subscription from the operator within 60 days of signing up, they likewise won’t be denied the offering due to a bad credit score. However, they must clear any outstanding debt incurred within the last year with Charter, Time Warner Cable or Bright House Networks in order to be eligible. Charter is initially offering Spectrum Internet Assist in its legacy service area, and expects to make it available across its remaining footprint by mid-2017.

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