The FCC granted the request of AT&T and five consumers to dismiss two complaints alleging the telco engaged in "digital redlining" by discriminating against poorer neighborhoods in provision of broadband service. The parties "resolved their differences" through FCC staff-supervised mediation, said brief joint motions (here and here) to dismiss the complaints with prejudice Tuesday in dockets 17-223 and 17-270. They were stamped "granted" by an Enforcement Bureau official. The parties asked the FCC in October to pause its review as they tried to settle the dispute (see 1710040032), which surfaced in August (see 1708240046). Neither AT&T nor Daryl Parks, the attorney representing the residents of Cleveland and Detroit, commented Tuesday.
The FCC granted the request of AT&T and five consumers to dismiss two complaints alleging the telco engaged in "digital redlining" by discriminating against poorer neighborhoods in provision of broadband service. The parties "resolved their differences" through FCC staff-supervised mediation, said brief joint motions (here and here) to dismiss the complaints with prejudice Tuesday in dockets 17-223 and 17-270. They were stamped "granted" by an Enforcement Bureau official. The parties asked the FCC in October to pause its review as they tried to settle the dispute (see 1710040032), which surfaced in August (see 1708240046). Neither AT&T nor Daryl Parks, the attorney representing the residents of Cleveland and Detroit, commented Tuesday.
After HomePod's first week on the market, customer reviews are coming in for the Siri-controlled speaker, with sound quality leading the “pros” lists and a variety of complaints topping the “cons.” The smart speaker had 89 reviews Thursday afternoon at Bestbuy.com. HomePod had an average 4.1 rating out of five with 79 percent of customers saying they would recommend the product. Reviewers were heavily skewed to the Apple ecosystem, we found.
Most early commenters resisted FCC Lifeline proposals to retarget low-income USF subsidy support toward facilities-based broadband providers and away from resellers. Consumer groups and state regulators opposed the plan, NTCH was supportive, and a group against government waste urged the agency to pause for now. Some comments were filed last week in docket 11-42 on an NPRM and notice of inquiry, even though the FCC Tuesday extended the Jan. 24 deadline to Feb. 21 (see 1801230042). The proposals would eliminate subsidies for wireless resellers, cutting off about 70 percent of Lifeline participants, and move support from urban to rural areas, said Consumer Action, opposing capping program funding and requiring subscriber co-pays. A Pennsylvania collection of low-income individuals, service providers, organizations and consumer groups objected to the proposed facilities-based focus, said voice-only support shouldn't be phased out, and opposed proposals for a hard budget cap and lifetime limits. The LGBT Technology Partnership also opposed cutting off support to resellers. State regulatory commissions from Michigan, Missouri, Indiana and Minnesota expressed concerns about the proposed move to facilities-based support. New York City Council Member Peter Koo of Queens opposed FCC proposals that would scrap service to "75 percent of current participants," shift voice support to rural areas, cap Lifeline benefits and cap the program's funding. Backing the FCC proposals and asking that its previous petition for reconsideration be deemed granted, NTCH said that agency "forbearance" from applying a "facilities-based requirement" of the Communications Act "has led to massive fraud and abuse, a drain on the USF Treasury, and hoodwinking of consumers." Citizens Against Government Waste urged the FCC to wait and reconsider the proposal after it sees whether implementing a national verifier of consumer eligibility cuts down on abuse. Minnesota supported FCC proposals to restore full state ETC authority; Michigan backed removing federal broadband designations, with modifications for states lacking broadband regulatory authority; and Missouri said states need flexibility to make Lifeline program adjustments.
Most early commenters resisted FCC Lifeline proposals to retarget low-income USF subsidy support toward facilities-based broadband providers and away from resellers. Consumer groups and state regulators opposed the plan, NTCH was supportive, and a group against government waste urged the agency to pause for now. Some comments were filed last week in docket 11-42 on an NPRM and notice of inquiry, even though the FCC Tuesday extended the Jan. 24 deadline to Feb. 21 (see 1801230042). The proposals would eliminate subsidies for wireless resellers, cutting off about 70 percent of Lifeline participants, and move support from urban to rural areas, said Consumer Action, opposing capping program funding and requiring subscriber co-pays. A Pennsylvania collection of low-income individuals, service providers, organizations and consumer groups objected to the proposed facilities-based focus, said voice-only support shouldn't be phased out, and opposed proposals for a hard budget cap and lifetime limits. The LGBT Technology Partnership also opposed cutting off support to resellers. State regulatory commissions from Michigan, Missouri, Indiana and Minnesota expressed concerns about the proposed move to facilities-based support. New York City Council Member Peter Koo of Queens opposed FCC proposals that would scrap service to "75 percent of current participants," shift voice support to rural areas, cap Lifeline benefits and cap the program's funding. Backing the FCC proposals and asking that its previous petition for reconsideration be deemed granted, NTCH said that agency "forbearance" from applying a "facilities-based requirement" of the Communications Act "has led to massive fraud and abuse, a drain on the USF Treasury, and hoodwinking of consumers." Citizens Against Government Waste urged the FCC to wait and reconsider the proposal after it sees whether implementing a national verifier of consumer eligibility cuts down on abuse. Minnesota supported FCC proposals to restore full state ETC authority; Michigan backed removing federal broadband designations, with modifications for states lacking broadband regulatory authority; and Missouri said states need flexibility to make Lifeline program adjustments.
Though ATSC 3.0 will enable advancements in emergency alerts, it can’t address the problems of an outdated, underfunded emergency alert system (EAS) operated by personnel who may be undertrained, said Advanced Warning and Response Network (AWARN) Alliance Executive Director John Lawson at an FCBA event on ATSC 3.0 Friday. Panelists at the event also spoke about the upcoming trials of ATSC 3.0 technology and the process remaining for the new standard to go into effect.
Though ATSC 3.0 will enable advancements in emergency alerts, it can’t address the problems of an outdated, underfunded emergency alert system (EAS) operated by personnel who may be undertrained, said Advanced Warning and Response Network (AWARN) Alliance Executive Director John Lawson at an FCBA event on ATSC 3.0 Friday. Panelists at the event also spoke about the upcoming trials of ATSC 3.0 technology and the process remaining for the new standard to go into effect.
Universal Remote Control urged dealers in a Wednesday email to have customers postpone Sonos updates to preserve key features and functionality of its current URC two-way module ahead of a Sonos platform update scheduled for next week. “If the Sonos update is performed, users will lose the ability to browse all music services except for TuneIn from the two-way module,” said URC.
With the exact nature of expected divestitures from Sinclair buying Tribune likely depends on DOJ, industry officials and analysts said in interviews they expect stations to be spun off in the Seattle and St. Louis areas and that 21st Century Fox is a likely buyer. Broadcast attorneys and analysts don’t draw any conclusions from the FCC’s stopping of the deal shot clock Thursday (see 1801110063). Since the 180-day shot clock is largely a formality anyway, the agency’s decision to start or stop it rarely signifies much, said Holland and Knight broadcast attorney Charles Naftalin. “I wouldn’t read too deep into the tea leaves.”
With the exact nature of expected divestitures from Sinclair buying Tribune likely depends on DOJ, industry officials and analysts said in interviews they expect stations to be spun off in the Seattle and St. Louis areas and that 21st Century Fox is a likely buyer. Broadcast attorneys and analysts don’t draw any conclusions from the FCC’s stopping of the deal shot clock Thursday (see 1801110063). Since the 180-day shot clock is largely a formality anyway, the agency’s decision to start or stop it rarely signifies much, said Holland and Knight broadcast attorney Charles Naftalin. “I wouldn’t read too deep into the tea leaves.”