The Senate’s FCC reauthorization legislation hit a roadblock, at least for the moment, officials from the telecom and media industries told us. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., first announced wanting to reauthorize the FCC at the start of this year. It hasn't been done since 1990. He produced an unreleased reauthorization draft in June that pulled together many of the FCC process overhaul and transparency measures found in legislation from Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev.
FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai is anxious about how little time remains this year to resolve the stand-alone broadband issue, he told us. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler committed to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., that the agency would find a way by the end of the year to provide USF support for telecom companies that offer only broadband service. Industry stakeholders, Wheeler and Pai have kicked around different ideas this year about how to best resolve the situation, with the solution still unclear.
FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai is anxious about how little time remains this year to resolve the stand-alone broadband issue, he told us. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler committed to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., that the agency would find a way by the end of the year to provide USF support for telecom companies that offer only broadband service. Industry stakeholders, Wheeler and Pai have kicked around different ideas this year about how to best resolve the situation, with the solution still unclear.
FCC broadband reclassification appears to be discouraging capital expenditures, said Hal Singer, a Progressive Policy Institute senior fellow. The capex of seven major telco and cable broadband providers declined by 12 percent in the first half of 2015 compared with the first half of 2014, said Singer, who gave a presentation Wednesday at an American Enterprise Institute event. "We saw $3.3 billion walk out the door,” he said. Singer suggested the rare capex drop was at least partially due to telco/cable ISP concerns about possible regulation under the commission’s March net neutrality order, which reclassified broadband Internet access as a Communications Act Title II telecom service. Commissioner Ajit Pai agreed “the FCC’s decision to capitulate to the president’s demands and impose Title II public utility regulation upon the Internet is playing a large role” in the investment decline.
FCC broadband reclassification appears to be discouraging capital expenditures, said Hal Singer, a Progressive Policy Institute senior fellow. The capex of seven major telco and cable broadband providers declined by 12 percent in the first half of 2015 compared with the first half of 2014, said Singer, who gave a presentation Wednesday at an American Enterprise Institute event. "We saw $3.3 billion walk out the door,” he said. Singer suggested the rare capex drop was at least partially due to telco/cable ISP concerns about possible regulation under the commission’s March net neutrality order, which reclassified broadband Internet access as a Communications Act Title II telecom service. Commissioner Ajit Pai agreed “the FCC’s decision to capitulate to the president’s demands and impose Title II public utility regulation upon the Internet is playing a large role” in the investment decline.
LAS VEGAS -- Wi-Fi advocates sounded a note of alarm about what they see as the threat from LTE-unlicensed, speaking to reporters on a call Tuesday, on the eve of the opening of CTIA’s annual conference Wednesday in Las Vegas. Dave Wright, advanced technologist at Ruckus Wireless, said on the call that “real-world” concerns remain about how well LTE-U and Wi-Fi would fit together.
LAS VEGAS -- Wi-Fi advocates sounded a note of alarm about what they see as the threat from LTE-unlicensed, speaking to reporters on a call Tuesday, on the eve of the opening of CTIA’s annual conference Wednesday in Las Vegas. Dave Wright, advanced technologist at Ruckus Wireless, said on the call that “real-world” concerns remain about how well LTE-U and Wi-Fi would fit together.
LAS VEGAS -- Wi-Fi advocates sounded a note of alarm about what they see as the threat from LTE-unlicensed, speaking to reporters on a call Tuesday, on the eve of the opening of CTIA’s annual conference Wednesday in Las Vegas. Dave Wright, advanced technologist at Ruckus Wireless, said on the call that “real-world” concerns remain about how well LTE-U and Wi-Fi would fit together.
As FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has set his sights on repealing exclusivity rules, broadcasters increasingly are arguing that compulsory license requirements should go down with them. The likelihood of saving the network nonduplication and syndicated exclusivity rules is questionable, broadcast experts said in interviews Friday.
House Communications Subcommittee members focused on the TV incentive auction Tuesday during FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s eighth hearing on Capitol Hill this year. That number of appearances “marks a new record,” said Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., saying no FCC chief has testified that much in a calendar year in at least 14 years. The auction is scheduled to happen by the end of 2016’s first quarter, with March 29 the inadvertently released expected date (see 1507200065).