Altice's proposed takeover of Cablevision might not face much more difficulties before the FCC than its recently approved purchase of Suddenlink, merger experts told us. FCC approval "is never a sure thing," but the Cablevision acquisition is less problematic for the commissioners than a number of other mergers have been, Andrew Schwartzman, who's representing Zoom Telephonics, an interested party in the proceedings, told us.
LightSquared's settlements with three GPS companies could carry considerable weight with the FCC as LightSquared seeks modification of its Ancillary Terrestrial Components (ATC) license to allow its proposed L-band terrestrial broadband service, people familiar with the company tell us. "Typically, when industry can work these kinds of issues out, that's well received" by the agency, company President Doug Smith said Friday.
FCC approval of Altice buying a majority of Suddenlink in a deal worth about $9 billion without any major conditions was expected, since there were no competitive worries or potential consumer downsides associated with the deal, one communications industry lawyer familiar with the deal told us, saying it would have been surprising if the agency had imposed any conditions. But how the approval granted Friday affects Altice's planned buy of Cablevision remains to be seen, the lawyer said. Altice and Suddenlink filed a joint application seeking regulatory approval in June (see 1506040047) and Altice said it hoped to close on the deal by year's end.
FCC approval of Altice buying a majority of Suddenlink in a deal worth about $9 billion without any major conditions was expected, since there were no competitive worries or potential consumer downsides associated with the deal, one communications industry lawyer familiar with the deal told us, saying it would have been surprising if the agency had imposed any conditions. But how the approval granted Friday affects Altice's planned buy of Cablevision remains to be seen, the lawyer said. Altice and Suddenlink filed a joint application seeking regulatory approval in June (see 1506040047) and Altice said it hoped to close on the deal by year's end.
LightSquared's settlements with three GPS companies could carry considerable weight with the FCC as LightSquared seeks modification of its Ancillary Terrestrial Components (ATC) license to allow its proposed L-band terrestrial broadband service, people familiar with the company tell us. "Typically, when industry can work these kinds of issues out, that's well received" by the agency, company President Doug Smith said Friday.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the two Republican commissioners are at odds over letters the agency sent Wednesday to AT&T, Comcast and T-Mobile, seeking input on zero-rating product offerings that could have net neutrality implications. "This is not an investigation," Wheeler said Thursday during the commission's meeting. "These were 'let's get informed.' This is to help us stay informed as to what the practices are." On the contrary, Commissioner Ajit Pai said later as he and Commissioner Michael O'Rielly criticized the letters and the way they were issued: "This is an investigation. This is not simply benign."
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the two Republican commissioners are at odds over letters the agency sent Wednesday to AT&T, Comcast and T-Mobile, seeking input on zero-rating product offerings that could have net neutrality implications. "This is not an investigation," Wheeler said Thursday during the commission's meeting. "These were 'let's get informed.' This is to help us stay informed as to what the practices are." On the contrary, Commissioner Ajit Pai said later as he and Commissioner Michael O'Rielly criticized the letters and the way they were issued: "This is an investigation. This is not simply benign."
Despite reluctance in much of the rest of the world, the U.S. plans to plow ahead on making spectrum available for 5G "in a timely manner," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Thursday. That the World Radiocommunication Conference-15 said it would look at bands above 6 GHz for 5G but not the 28 GHz band (see 1510230050) -- which had been an FCC priority -- "will not slow the activity in this country," Wheeler said as the commissioners heard a report on WRC-15, which wrapped up last month. Minus 28 GHz, the bands identified by WRC-19 and the bands part of the FCC spectrum frontiers NPRM have significant overlap, said International Bureau Chief Mindel De La Torre. Spectrum frontiers likely will be complete by WRC-19, she said. Identifying global allocations of spectrum is increasingly difficult, De La Torre said. Regional allocations "might be more realistic," she said: WRC footnotes denoting the policy of one or a small collection of nations are increasingly common.
Despite reluctance in much of the rest of the world, the U.S. plans to plow ahead on making spectrum available for 5G "in a timely manner," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Thursday. That the World Radiocommunication Conference-15 said it would look at bands above 6 GHz for 5G but not the 28 GHz band (see 1510230050) -- which had been an FCC priority -- "will not slow the activity in this country," Wheeler said as the commissioners heard a report on WRC-15, which wrapped up last month. Minus 28 GHz, the bands identified by WRC-19 and the bands part of the FCC spectrum frontiers NPRM have significant overlap, said International Bureau Chief Mindel De La Torre. Spectrum frontiers likely will be complete by WRC-19, she said. Identifying global allocations of spectrum is increasingly difficult, De La Torre said. Regional allocations "might be more realistic," she said: WRC footnotes denoting the policy of one or a small collection of nations are increasingly common.
The FCC's new two-degree spacing rules for satellites are "a middle ground" between extremes that had been staked out by different parties in the satellite industry, said Jose Albuquerque, chief of the International Bureau's satellite division, Thursday. The Part 25 Report and Order passed 5-0 Thursday follows a similar set of Part 25 rules changes approved in 2013 and was aimed at relieving regulatory burdens on applicants and deterring spectrum warehousing, IB Chief Mindel De La Torre said. The FCC will undertake a rulemaking in the future specifically on the two-degree spacing changes to assess their impact, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said.