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Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Thune Eyes Packaging Broadband Deployment Bills
Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune (R-SD) is eying ways to combine his STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act, S. 3157, with “several bills that have been filed” also dealing with “faster deployment of broadband services.” He says to expect another hearing on these and noted his STREAMLINE bill, which would ease deployment of 5G infrastructure, “is one we would clearly like to see move this year” perhaps along with “elements or features” of other bills “that could be incorporated into something that could move out of the committee.” One major bill that could hitch a ride: the AIRWAVES Act, S. 1682, which would free up more spectrum for commercial use. But opponents to Thune’s 5G bill are piling up. Desmarie Waterhouse, government relations VP for the American Public Power Association, said that her group has concerns with the bill taking away local control. “A national, one-size-fits-all approach from the FCC pertaining to utility pole attachments—especially small cell attachments—raises issues for our utilities in terms of security, safety, and creating a situation where our electric customers end up subsidizing communications companies’ input costs,” she said. And localities are lobbying against it.
Free State to FCC: Mobile Wireless Broadband is Substitute for Fixed
The Free State Foundation says the Federal Communications Commission got it right in its 2017 Wireless Competition Report when it concluded that the mobile wireless broadband market is competitive. But the commission missed the mark when it did not conclude that mobile wireless broadband had become an effective substitute for fixed. Free State, a free market think tank focuses on communications issues, says that in the new report, the FCC should confirm its 2017 finding of effective competition, but also conclude that wireless is now an effective substitute or potential substitute, at least, for wireline. Free State points out that Congress asked the FCC to consider intermodal competition in the new report, so the FCC should definitely include an assessment of wireless/wireline substitution, an assessment that was lacking in the 2017 FCC report, it said. "Given the strong evidence of competition, consumer choice, declining prices, and technological dynamism, the Twentieth Report found, correctly, that the commercial mobile services market is effectively competitive. Recent trends certainly support reaffirmation of that finding in the Commission’s forthcoming competition report," Free State said.
New York threatens to kick Charter out of the state after broadband failures
The New York Public Service Commission said Charter Communications could lose its authorization to operate in New York State because of its failure to meet merger-related broadband deployment commitments. Chairman John Rhodes said that "a suite of enforcement actions against [Charter] Spectrum are in development, including additional penalties, injunctive relief, and additional sanctions or revocation of Spectrum's ability to operate in New York State." Charter agreed to expand its network in exchange for state approval of its 2016 purchase of Time Warner Cable. New York officials say that Charter has failed to meet its commitments, even though Charter claims it has. Chairman Rhodes accused Charter of "gaslighting" and noted that the PSC has already ordered Charter to stop making misleading claims about its broadband deployment progress.
Stopping the 5G Digital Divide Before It Happens
As predicted 10 years ago, in the absence of anti-redlining provisions, carriers have not invested in upgrading their broadband capacity in communities of color at anything close to the same rate they have upgraded in wealthier, whiter neighborhoods. As a result, the urban digital divide is once again growing. It’s not just that high-speed broadband is ridiculously expensive, although this is also a serious barrier to adoption in urban areas. It’s also that in many low-income and predominantly non-white neighborhoods, speeds on par with those offered in wealthier and whiter neighborhoods are not even available. With the focus on 5G deployment, however, we have a rare opportunity to avoid repeating past mistakes. Just once, just once, we could actually take steps to prevent the inequality before it happens.
Justice Department Investigates TV Station Owners Over Advertising Sales
Apparently, the Justice Department is investigating whether television station owners violated antitrust law in ways that inflated local television advertising prices. The probe has examined whether Sinclair Broadcast Group, Tribune Media Co, and other independent TV station owners coordinated efforts when their ad sales teams communicated with each other about their performance, potentially leading to higher rates for TV commercials. Companies like Sinclair and Tribune own dozens of local TV stations that carry programming from national broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. “It is our policy not to comment on a potential investigation,” said a Sinclair spokesman. “It is our understanding that this is not specific to Sinclair but focuses on the larger broadcast industry.” Government officials stumbled across the alleged ad sales practice during their review of Sinclair’s $3.9 billion proposed acquisition of Tribune.
Are Sinclair’s problems just getting started?
A favorable presidential tweet and a court win on a crucial Federal Communications Commission regulatory loophole may have buoyed Sinclair Broadcast Group as the conservative broadcaster faces the daunting prospect of a lengthy administrative hearing over its Tribune merger. But the “lack of candor” the FCC flagged when it sent the deal for review could dog the company beyond the transaction (Sinclair didn’t offer complete information about its ties to entities picking up stations it planned to spin off in connection with the deal, the agency contends). At a House FCC oversight hearing, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel told lawmakers, “We have raised issues about the candor of this company before the FCC and misrepresentations they made in the context of this transaction. I think those are serious issues of character qualification. … To the extent they have been identified as a problem here, we should be open to investigation in other contexts as well.” Setting the Tribune merger aside, critics could use the issues raised in the FCC’s order to challenge Sinclair’s ability to renew licenses for stations it already owns or tries to buy down the road. If Sinclair moves forward with the administrative hearing, and the company gets a negative ruling on the candor issue, that could be grounds to lose its licenses. As for the Tribune acquisition? “There’s no instance of a merger review going through a hearing,” said Gigi Sohn, a Georgetown Law fellow. “It would be extremely difficult for Sinclair to convince the Administrative Law Judge that it didn’t engage in misrepresentation, particularly given the strength of the hearing designation order.”
Agenda for August 2, 2018 FCC Meeting
The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on the subjects listed below on Thursday, August 2, 2018:
- Auctions of Upper Microwave Flexible Use Licenses for Next-Generation Wireless Services: The Commission will consider a Public Notice establishing application and bidding procedures for auctioning Upper Microwave Flexible Use Licenses in the 28 GHz (Auction 101) and 24 GHz (Auction 102) bands.
- Use of Spectrum Bands Above 24 GHz For Mobile Radio Services (GN Docket No. 14-177): The Commission will consider a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing an auction mechanism that would transition existing spectrum holdings in the 39 GHz band (38.6-40 GHz) to a new flexible-use band plan and would offer new licenses for contiguous spectrum in the band.
- Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure Investment (WC Docket No. 17-84), (WT Docket No. 17-79): The Commission will consider a Report and Order that will allow one-touch makeready for most pole attachments and further reform its pole attachment process, and a Declaratory Ruling that will conclude that section 253(a) prohibits state and local moratoria on telecommunications facilities deployment.
- Promoting Telehealth for Low-Income Consumers (WC Docket No. 18-213): The Commission will consider a Notice of Inquiry on creating a Universal Service Fund pilot program to promote the use of telehealth services among low-income Americans.
- LPTV, TV Translator, and FM Broadcast Station Reimbursement (MB Docket No. 18-214); Expanding the Economic and Innovation Opportunities of Spectrum Through Incentive Auctions (GN Docket No. 12-268): The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order that begins the process of implementing Congress’s directive in the Reimbursement Expansion Act that the Commission reimburse certain low power television, television translator, and FM broadcast stations for costs incurred as a result of the Commission’s broadcast television spectrum incentive auction.
- Rules and Policies to Promote New Entry and Ownership Diversity in the Broadcasting Services (MB Docket No. 17-289): The Commission will consider a Report and Order establishing the requirements which will govern an incubator program that seeks to promote the entry of new and diverse voices into the broadcast industry.
- Office of Managing Director Personnel: The Commission will consider a personnel action.
Twitter appears to have fixed search problems that lowered visibility of GOP lawmakers
Twitter appears to have adjusted its platform to no longer limit the visibility of some prominent Republicans in its search results, a problem that the company said was a side effect of its attempts to clean up discourse on its platform. Those affected included RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, Republican Reps. Mark Meadows, Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, along with Andrew Surabian, Donald Trump Jr.’s spokesman and former Special Assistant to the President. The profiles did populate when entering a full search but not in the more visible search menu.
President Trump Threatens Investigation of Twitter
President Donald Trump threatened a government investigation of Twitter. The President tweeted on the morning of July 26, "Twitter 'SHADOW BANNING' prominent Republicans. Not good. We will look into this discriminatory and illegal practice at once! Many complaints." That appears to be a reaction to conservative group Project Veritas' undercover video purporting to have uncovered such "shadow banning" of conservative political thought by Twitter, based on a conversation with someone identified as a former Twitter software engineer recorded in a casual setting without his knowledge. Project Veritas is dedicated to exposing the so-called "deep state," the idea that there is a "shadow" government cabal working to manipulate policy against the interests of the Trump Administration.
Bishop Thomas Tobin leaves Twitter, calling the platform an ‘occasion of sin’ (Washington Post)
Shep Smith: Journalists are not the enemy of the people
Fox News chief news anchor Shepard Smith pushed back on escalating tensions between the news media and the Trump White House, declaring that "journalists are not the enemies of the people." "For those of you at home, if I may, journalists are not the enemies of the people. It's quite the opposite," Smith said. "Our profession is enshrined in the Constitution and the fourth estate holds the essential job of being your eyes and often ears and, when appropriate, your voice. It's a cornerstone of our republic." "Over 22 years at this network, it's been my experience that the journalists of Fox News and Fox Business and those of our colleagues at competitors at CNN and MSNBC, NBC, ABC and CBS, Bloomberg and PBS, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, The Washington Post – all of them operate in the public interests," he continued. "We work to discern what is truth. Then to present it to you in context and with perspective. As your representatives in the people's halls, report to you without fear or favor while striving to hold those in power to the same standards. This is the foundation of what we do," the 54-year-old anchor concluded.
A Tale of Two Internets
Listen to the ongoing conversations on net neutrality, and you’ll notice that the United States, like other liberal-democratic countries, believes that, in the lexicon of policymakers, a free, open, interoperable, secure, and resilient internet can be a torchbearer for an open society—and democracy more broadly. But listen to China and Russia, and you’ll notice that they march to the beat of a different drum. Rather than being a place to freely share ideas or to be secure in our interactions, the internet, as China and Russia largely tell it, is vulnerable to security threats and an inherent threat to state security. This is their justification for internet censorship, pervasive surveillance of communications, and tight control of information, all of which seek to manage the devastating effects online interactions can, and too often do, produce. Think of it this way: For Russia, China, and many others, it’s all about an internet that maintains sovereign state control.
[Robert Morgus is Justin Sherman is an intern with New America's Cybersecurity Initiative.]
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org) and Robbie McBeath (rmcbeath AT benton DOT org) -- we welcome your comments.
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