Increased lunar activity is revealing a host of unanswered spectrum and other regulatory questions, space law experts said Tuesday at an American Bar Association space law symposium in Washington. In addition, legal liability questions about space mishaps are another area with more uncertainty than definitive answers, speakers said.
Sinclair Broadcast will sell anything in its portfolio -- at “the right price” -- so it can close the gap between its valuation and share price, CEO Chris Ripley told The Media Institute during a luncheon Tuesday. Ripley also predicted that generative AI eventually will create most media, and said asymmetric regulation and increased competition are broadcasting’s biggest obstacles. “Unfortunately, for our industry, we can't seem to get out from underneath some of these old regulations,” Ripley said. “There really isn't any reason for that to be, besides that's the way it always was.”
Investors aren't concerned with much that regulators do, but some are closely watching the FCC's reimposition of Title II net neutrality rules, discrimination rules and the agency’s bulk-billing proposal, said former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, now a partner at private-equity firm Searchlight Capital. Pai spoke during a Free State Foundation webcast posted Tuesday. Also joining the webcast was former Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, who served with Pai.
The California Public Utilities Commission should freeze California LifeLine specific support amounts (SSA) until state regulators and stakeholders can find a better way of calculating them, a consumer group and low-income wireless service providers said in comments Monday. The CPUC is considering freezing the SSA at $19 for wireline and wireless providers (see 2405070050). Meanwhile, consumer advocates defended their petition for temporary bridge funding through LifeLine that would help cover the loss of federal affordable connectivity program (ACP) support.
Industry experts are hopeful the FCC will make several changes in a proceeding on draft rules for a proposed $200 million cybersecurity pilot program for schools and libraries (see 2405160076). While commissioners are expected to approve the order Thursday, officials said dissents are possible from Republican Commissioners Brendan Carr or Nathan Simington.
It’s a “good thing” business leaders are thinking harder about antitrust risk when pursuing potential deals, even if the Biden administration’s policies have been “disorienting,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said Tuesday. Khan and DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Jonathan Kanter defended their antitrust approach during CNBC's CEO Council Summit.
A coalition of industry groups on Friday challenged the FCC's net neutrality order and declaratory ruling reclassifying broadband as a Communications Act Title II telecom service (see 2405310074). The coalition asked the FCC to stay the effective date of its order and declaratory ruling pending judicial review. Coalition members included USTelecom, NCTA, CTIA, ACA Connects and several state broadband associations.
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes (R) is seeking the dismissal of count VI of NetChoice’s 11-count complaint that argues Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (see 2405060006) preempts the state’s Minor Protection in Social Media Act, a motion said Friday (docket 2:23-cv-00911) in U.S. District Court for Utah in Salt Lake City. Katherine Hass, director of Utah’s Division of Consumer Protection, joined Reyes in the motion.
AT&T raised legal and constitutional concerns as it protested a California Public Utilities Commission proposed decision that denies it relief of carrier of last resort (COLR) obligations. But in other comments the agency received Thursday, some local representatives strongly supported the plan to dismiss AT&T’s application. “Upholding this decision is vital to ensure residents across California … continue to have access to basic telephone service,” said San Mateo County in docket R.23-03-003.
An FCC draft NPRM proposing a host of changes to the low-power TV rules is expected to be approved unanimously at the commissioners' open meeting Thursday with few alterations from the draft version, agency and industry officials told us. LPTV broadcasters told us they view many of the proposals as ministerial “housekeeping,” and the LPTV Broadcasters Association and the Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance want the item to seek comment on easing restrictions on the relocation of LPTV stations. LPTVBA President Frank “SuperFrank” Copsidas said proposals to impose filing requirements on LPTV stations similar to the rules for full-power stations are unfair because LPTV is a secondary service. “If the FCC wants to treat us like full-power stations, give us their protections,” Copsidas said.