ICANN rejected the proposed sale of Public Interest Registry to Ethos Capital (see 2005010001), Chairman Maarten Botterman blogged Thursday night. Directors said withholding consent to the transfer "is reasonable, and the right thing to do." The deal attracted scrutiny from legislators and at least one state attorney general, and was roundly opposed by nonprofit advocates. The decision "sets a dangerous precedent with broad industry concerns," said Ethos. The rejection restores public confidence, said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D).
MVPDs and subscribers shouldn't expect rebates from programmers due to the lack of live sports content, sports and cable experts said in interviews last week. At least one cable ISP indicated it expects a rebate or discount, and multiple ones have brought up the issue with programmers. The idea of sports costs is also getting political pressure.
The FCC’s planned move to new headquarters at Sentinel Square III near Union Station in Washington has been delayed for an unknown period by COVID-19, and employees said in interviews they're more concerned about when and how they will be required to return to work than what building they will be doing it in. “Employees want to make sure that if and when they are called upon to return to the existing office either to resume duties on site or to pack up their workspaces, that health and safety precautions are taken,” said National Treasury Employees Union President Tony Reardon in a statement to us.
5G “will play a very important role in economic recovery,” Andreas Geiss, European Commission head of unit-Radio Spectrum Policy, said during a Forum Europe webinar Thursday. Any delay would be bad for the economy, Geiss said. “The crisis lets us see how important telecom networks really are.”
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wants telecom providers to extend their Keep Americans Connected pledges by an additional month and a half to June 30 (see 2004300037), the agency said Thursday. Several phone, cable and wireless providers announced extensions earlier this week (see 2004270050). March 13, Pai asked providers not to terminate service for 60 days for residential or small-business customers due to inability to pay because of disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic, waive late fees for residential or small-business customers due to COVID-related economic circumstances and open their Wi-Fi hot spots to any American who needs them (see 2003130066).
Antitrust enforcers are weighing the competitive impacts of Amazon’s collection of seller data, but it’s unclear whether it will result in concrete action, academics and antitrust attorneys told us. Amazon got antitrust scrutiny last week after a Wall Street Journal article said the company uses seller data to build products that compete with third-party sellers on the platform. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., called for a DOJ investigation, and Public Knowledge wrote Congress asking lawmakers to consider dramatic policy changes. The company didn’t comment.
Top House Democrats said Thursday they see broadband affordability and access as a priority in the next COVID-19 stimulus bill, despite questions about the prospects for addressing such issues in future legislation. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone of New Jersey and other Democrats unveiled a revised broadband legislative proposal that draws largely from a January plan (see 2001290052) and other existing legislation. Senate Democrats plan to file a modified companion to the Emergency Educational Connections Act (HR-6563) in a bid for emergency E-rate funding. House Commerce ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., told us it may be possible to include some form of broadband funding in the next pandemic aid measure.
Despite concerns raised by some automakers, highway safety groups and others, the FCC appears likely to move forward before fall on a proposal to open 5.9 GHz channels to sharing with Wi-Fi and other unlicensed users, agency and industry officials said in interviews this week. Wi-Fi advocates see the band as transition spectrum, which can be deployed faster than 6 GHz. Both sides filed replies this week on a December NPRM (see 2004280064).
Spotify usage shifted amid shelter-in-place directives, with in-car, web-based and wearables listening down as much as double digit percentages, while listening surged via smart TVs and game consoles, said its Q1 shareholder letter Wednesday. Consoles were a top-three platform in hours listened among advertising-supported users. Connected device usage rose 40%-plus among global ad-supported monthly active users (MAUs), it said Wednesday.
China, India, Indonesia and Chile are among the top countries the U.S. is targeting for weak intellectual property protections, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Wednesday in its annual special 301 report (see 1904250052). In a controversial move, the administration singled out Amazon. President Donald Trump and the company have been at loggerheads over some issues.