Tech companies responded to a June Southern Co. report warning of the threat from low-power indoor unlicensed devices to electric utility operations in the 6 GHz band (see 2106240075). The companies said an August letter “attempting to rehabilitate its flawed test report. … not only failed to resolve the problems with the testing, but also doubled down on some of the … report’s most questionable aspects.” Southern’s testing shows why the FCC’s approach in the 6 GHz order “was correct, and in fact very conservative, for avoiding a significant risk of harmful interference to incumbent operations from low-power indoor operations,” tech companies said. The filing by Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, Facebook, Google and other companies was posted Friday in docket 18-295. Southern didn’t comment.

Different antitrust interpretations of the FTC and Sherman Acts create a “dangerous” enforcement divide between the FTC and DOJ, ex-FTC Chairman Tim Muris told a NetChoice panel Wednesday. Companies can expect different sets of rules based on agency, he said. Noting all chairs take over with their own agendas, ex-FTC acting Chief Technologist Neil Chilson, now a researcher at Stand Together, said Chair Lina Khan’s approach seems to be to “move fast and break things.” Khan has taken procedural measures, limited bipartisan potential and given herself more power, said Muris, noting Democrats made it easier for the agency to pursue rulemaking. It’s a move away from consensus antitrust enforcement, said ex-acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen, now at Baker Botts. This embracing of more rulemaking and regulation is a departure from the consumer welfare standard, said Ohlhausen: Some people feel antitrust has become too difficult to enforce, so this is a sidestep, creating questions about dual enforcement. The three panelists led the agency under Republican presidents. The agency didn't comment.

The only written communications between the White House and FCC before President Joe Biden's July 9 executive order to promote tech competition (see 2107090006) were some emails the day the EO was issued between an aide to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and an Executive Office staffer about Starks' attendance at the signing ceremony. That's per a Freedom of Information Act request we submitted to the FCC July 14. We received a 34-page response Friday, most of which was a copy of the EO provided to Starks' office in advance of the signing, plus confirmation of Starks' attendance.

DOJ’s lawsuit against Google for “monopolizing search" and search ad markets remains a "major priority,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said Tuesday. The No. 3 Justice official spoke at a Georgetown Law antitrust symposium. She said DOJ’s complaint focuses on how Google’s “anti-competitive conduct has harmed competition, similar to how Microsoft did decades ago in favoring Internet Explorer and locking out Netscape.” She referenced how Google’s “anti-competitive conduct has affected a huge range of consumer choices.” DOJ will continue scrutinizing acquisitions involving “dominant firms and would-be rivals,” she said, noting the control that few digital platforms have over communications. She welcomed congressional interest in “providing new tools and resources for antitrust enforcement.” Powerful companies too often “exploit consumers and tilt the playing field in favor of the already powerful,” she said. Google didn't comment Wednesday.

Shure representatives urged the FCC to act on wireless multichannel audio systems rules, teed up in an April NPRM (see 2104220056). A filing posted Tuesday in docket 21-115 noted WMAS “enables deployments to accommodate a variety of required channel capacities and available bandwidths, preserving spectral efficiency in the case of smaller bandwidth deployments.” The wireless mic maker spoke with staff from the Office of Engineering and Technology and the Wireless and Media bureaus.

The FTC will consider withdrawing June 2020 vertical merger guidelines at a meeting Sept. 15, the agency announced Wednesday. The virtual meeting will start at 11 a.m. EDT. According to the tentative agenda, the commission will vote to rescind the 2020 guidelines and December commentary on vertical merger enforcement. Staff will present findings from an FTC study on “large technology platforms’ unreported acquisitions, including an analysis of the structure of deals that customarily fly under enforcers’ radar,” the agency said. Public release is subject to a vote. Commissioners will vote on implementing a process for receiving public input on “rulemaking petitions by external stakeholders.” Members will consider issuing a “policy statement on the importance of protecting the public from privacy breaches by health apps and other connected devices.” The commission will allow public comment after the business portion of the meeting. Registration and comment submissions are due Sunday at 8 p.m. EDT.

The FCC lacks authority to require audio description of content on the internet and broadcasters need the eight- and 12-hour grace periods allowed to caption video clips delivered via IP, said representatives of the top four networks, NAB and Meredith on a call Wednesday with staff from the Consumer and Governmental Affairs and Media bureaus. “Uploading IP-captioned clips is more than a simple copy-and-paste exercise, and involves work-flow processes that can sometimes present challenges,” per a filing posted in docket 21-140 Friday. “Technical challenges” remain for carrying audio description on secondary audio feeds, but those could be addressed by ATSC 3.0, the filing said. “That remains uncertain at the moment.”

We misspelled the name of CEO Pardeep Kohli’s company in our report about the FCC's next steps on open radio access networks for 5G (see 2108270039). It’s Mavenir, not Malvern.

ACA Connects praised the FCC FY 2021 regulatory fee order for setting satellite MVPD fees to the same rate paid by other MVPDs (see 2108270072). “The FCC finally has made the regulatory fee amount it charges DIRECTV and DISH Network per subscriber equal to that imposed on cable and IPTV providers, closing the book on its seven-year phase-in process,” said President Matthew Polka Monday. Information Technology Industry Council Director-Policy Joel Miller expressed concern about the agency’s look at possible future changes to regulatory fees. “The law and process undergirding how the Commission allocates the burden of reg fees among regulated entities has been well-established,” Miller emailed Friday. “Any changes to this model of regulation could have far-reaching negative consequences and should be carefully considered.”

The FCC Wireline Bureau removed Zoom's application for its proposed buy of Five9 from streamlined treatment "for further consideration of the transaction," said a public notice posted Monday in docket 21-316 (see 2108100058). Zoom didn't comment.