October 2017

As President Donald Trump exploits his office to chill his critics’ speech at a nearly unprecedented level, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has a chance to be on the right side of history. He has a chance to stand up for the free-speech rights of people without power — in particular the rights of people of color, who are President Trump’s favorite punching bags. The question is whether he’ll seize that chance. It’s Pai’s job to protect the public interest in the realm of media, technology and communications. He has a duty, and a moral obligation, to stand up and publicly decry Trump’s behavior.

The Federal Communications Commission is considering whether it should collect more accurate data about broadband deployment in the US, but cable and telecommunication lobby groups are urging the FCC to maintain the status quo. Currently, the FCC's "Form 477" data collection program requires Internet service providers to identify the census blocks in which they provide residential or business Internet service and the maximum speeds offered in each block. ISPs are also supposed to identify the census blocks that are near enough to their networks that they could provide service within a reasonable timeframe.

Broadband lobby groups are urging the FCC to maintain the census block-level reporting, saying that reporting whether they can offer service at individual homes would be too burdensome on ISPs. ISPs have sometimes mistakenly told people moving to a new home that broadband service is available at their new address when, in fact, it is not. If the lobby groups succeed in blocking any change, this situation could persist.

AT&T's push to acquire DirecTV in 2015 looked like brilliance at first. Having captured most of the low-hanging fruit in the telephone and wireless markets already, AT&T's expansion into the television industry promised much more room for growth. By offering DirecTV directly to consumers, AT&T might gain new customers, hang onto old ones and take advantage of viewing data for advertising purposes. But almost from the beginning, the deal's potential seemed limited by the growing number of consumers who have been abandoning traditional television services.

With more Americans embracing online alternatives, AT&T may have inherited in DirecTV — and its 20 million subscribers — a brewing long-term headache that can be solved only by either preventing or compensating for the effects of cord-cutting. Now, it seems, that problem may be more acute than we thought.

Democratic Reps of the House Commerce Committee, a panel considering the first reauthorization of the Federal Communications Commission in 27 years, are finding some common cause with their Senate Republican counterparts in efforts likely to help the broadcasting industry. The Democratic Reps and Senate Commerce Committee Republicans both support some version of the Viewer Protection Act, introduced by House Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ).

The House bill would create a $1 billion fund to facilitate broadcasters’ move to other channels — in a process known as repacking — after they gave up their low-band spectrum for an FCC auction offered to wireless carriers that want to use those airwaves for next-generation services. Pallone’s legislation also calls for $90 million that would go specifically toward educating viewers on the transition. Across the Capitol, several Senate Commerce Committee Republicans support legislation similar to the Viewer Protection Act.