Three coordinators of state and local 911 systems said they didn't get warning or immediate direct information from CenturyLink as a network outage last month disrupted such systems nationwide. Officials in Washington state, Colorado and Wyoming's state capital told us they relied on their own information, news reports and Twitter in the early stages as they decided how to respond to problems including static, loss of automatic location data and, in Washington state, hours-long 911 outages.
The FCC asked the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to pause the briefing schedule on the 2014 quadrennial review order. With the shutdown to end soon, it wasn’t clear Friday how the court will respond. President Donald Trump reached a deal on a continuing resolution to reopen shuttered parts of the government through Feb. 15, which Congress was expected to have approved as soon as Friday night (see 1901240016). “Out of an abundance of caution, the Commission respectfully requests that the Court stay the briefing schedule until appropriations have been restored by Congress to the FCC" and DOJ, said an unopposed motion Thursday (in Pacer). The FCC’s respondent’s brief is due Feb. 14. The agency had asked that the schedule be resumed when federal funding does, and the 3rd Circuit then grant extension. Now, it's not clear if the court will grant the stay or extension, said Georgetown Law Institute for Public Representation Senior Counselor Andrew Schwartzman. If extension is granted, it would likely cause the other briefing dates in the case to be pushed back, Schwartzman told us.
Media deals making their way through federal court -- AT&T/Time Warner at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Disney/Fox at U.S. District Court in Manhattan -- shouldn't face a delay in judicial action due to the partial federal shutdown, antitrust and law experts told us. The month-long shutdown also isn’t seen having much effect on broadcast deals, analysts and attorneys told us.
Media deals making their way through federal court -- AT&T/Time Warner at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Disney/Fox at U.S. District Court in Manhattan -- shouldn't face a delay in judicial action due to the partial federal shutdown, antitrust and law experts told us. The month-long shutdown also isn’t seen having much effect on broadcast deals, analysts and attorneys told us.
The House Commerce Committee will step into the messaging battle about the ongoing partial government shutdown next week via a planned Jan. 31 hearing aimed at examining the shuttering's effects on federal agencies under the committee's jurisdiction, which include the FCC and FTC, Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said during a Thursday committee meeting. House Commerce is working to schedule an expected net neutrality hearing for February. It’s also considering a joint hearing with the House Judiciary Committee to examine T-Mobile's proposed buy of Sprint, lobbyists said.
Net neutrality bills are attempting comebacks in states that blocked measures last year, with lawmakers in more than a dozen states introducing net neutrality bills this month. States “have significantly more experience with the issue” after California enacted a strong bill and about 35 states at least proposed a measure last year, said New America Open Technology Institute Policy Counsel Eric Null. Pending legal challenges against the FCC and states could slow legislative momentum, some said. Federal legislators might try to preempt state actions (see 1901230046).
Net neutrality bills are attempting comebacks in states that blocked measures last year, with lawmakers in more than a dozen states introducing net neutrality bills this month. States “have significantly more experience with the issue” after California enacted a strong bill and about 35 states at least proposed a measure last year, said New America Open Technology Institute Policy Counsel Eric Null. Pending legal challenges against the FCC and states could slow legislative momentum, some said. Federal legislators might try to preempt state actions (see 1901230046).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 14-18 in case they were missed.
Eswar Prasad, a senior trade professor at Cornell University and the former head of the International Monetary Fund's China Division, expects that "some sort of compromise" will be reached with China just before the March 1 deadline for the tariff rate hike, and that after China accedes to certain U.S. demands, "at least they're going to back off additional hostilities." Prasad, speaking at the National Economists Club Jan. 17, said he expects all the tariffs on China to stay in place, as well as the Chinese retaliation -- though he does expect increased purchases of American soybeans to be part of the package.
T-Mobile and Sprint executives are taking the prolonged partial federal shutdown in stride, though there's an effective pause in reviewing the deal at the FCC and DOJ, said lawyers familiar with their strategy. Analysts say as long as regulators go back to work in a somewhat timely manner, the shutdown shouldn’t be a major threat, although it will inevitably delay resolution. Some aren't convinced government will OK the deal (see 1901140017), while others expect approval. And T-Mobile caught some heat for executives staying frequently at a Trump hotel down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House starting shortly after the deal was announced.