fcc

FCC's argument against voter discretion is out of bounds

13 November 2015 by Steve Blum
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Voters don’t have to stick to the story you give them.

Local governments are not private businesses and are not managed as if they were. That simple fact of life seems to be bothering the Federal Communications Commission. In its defence of its preemption of state restrictions on municipal broadband systems, filed with a federal appeals court, the FCC points to commonplace public disclosure, debate and voting requirements imposed by North Carolina as attempts to regulate interstate commerce rather than govern municipalities…

These include a requirement that the city hold public hearings and a special election.

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Federal justice department won't defend muni broadband preemption

10 November 2015 by Steve Blum
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Out on a limb.

Municipal broadband advocates aren’t getting any help from the federal justice department. In a one line letter filed with a federal appeals court last week, the justice department wrote “respondent United States of America takes no position” in the dispute between the Federal Communications Commission and the states of Tennessee and North Carolina over whether state restrictions on muni broadband can be preempted by the FCC.

According to a Washington Post story (h/t to the Baller Herbst list for the pointer), the likeliest explanation is that the FCC is fighting a losing battle…

The Justice Department said Friday that it won’t be helping the Federal Communications Commission fight a couple of key lawsuits on municipal broadband, in a possible indication of trouble ahead for the FCC…

It’s not unheard of for the Justice Department to bow out of a case involving a federal agency.

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Two more WiFi bullies slapped down by FCC

7 November 2015 by Steve Blum
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Hefty fines have again been assessed against hospitality companies that interfere with guests’ personal WiFi hotspots, or seem to. The Federal Communications Commission nailed a concessionaire at the Baltimore convention center for $718,000…

The Enforcement Bureau’s investigation found that M.C. Dean engaged in Wi-Fi blocking at the Baltimore Convention Center on dozens of occasions in the last year. During the investigation, M.C. Dean revealed that it used the “Auto Block Mode” on its Wi-Fi system to block consumer-created Wi-Fi hotspots at the venue.

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FCC misses triple bank shot defence of muni broadband preemption

6 November 2015 by Steve Blum
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It only counts if you make it.

Tennessee and North Carolina effectively banned cities from providing broadband service outside of their geographical city limits for the wrong reason: to regulate broadband competition. That’s the case that the Federal Communications Commission is trying to make, as it defended its preemption of state limits on the scope of municipal Internet service providers in a brief filed yesterday in the federal appeals court hearing the case.

The FCC’s argument boils down to 1.… More

Should broadband lifeline subsidies minimise cost or maximise service?

26 October 2015 by Steve Blum
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Cost matters.

Frontier Communications told the Federal Communications Commission that setting minimum broadband speed requirements for lifeline programs aimed at low income people would be a barrier to greater broadband adoption. In a presentation published (per standard procedure) on the FCC’s website, the company’s in-house lobbyists told commission staff…

Minimum service standards may be a good idea in some respects but must not prevent or limit consumer choice.
– The Commission asks about setting a minimum speed for fixed Internet services, such as 10 Mbps [download speed]/1 Mbps [upload speed].

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Wireless local loop is looking faster, says AT&T

2 October 2015 by Steve Blum
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Might work fine here.

AT&T is starting to position its wireless substitute for wireline broadband service as able to meet the Federal Communication Commission’s 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload standard. According to a story in FierceWireless…

AT&T said it is currently testing fixed wireless local loop (WLL) technology in select areas of the country with local residents who want to try the service, including in Alabama, Georgia, Kansas and Virginia, and is seeing speeds of around 15 to 25 Mbps.

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FCC muni preemption decision could limit California broadband oversight

1 October 2015 by Steve Blum
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CPUC’s broadband authority depends on federal law.

Tennessee and North Carolina are challenging the FCC’s ruling earlier this year that preempted state restrictions on municipal broadband. The central argument is whether congress gave the FCC sufficient authority to override what is usually reckoned to be the ironclad state responsibility of telling local governments what they can and can’t do. The FCC based its ruling on section 706 of the telecommunications act of 1996, which says…

The Commission and each State commission with regulatory jurisdiction over telecommunications services shall encourage the deployment on a reasonable and timely basis of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans…by utilizing, in a manner consistent with the public interest, convenience, and necessity, price cap regulation, regulatory forbearance, measures that promote competition in the local telecommunications market, or other regulating methods that remove barriers to infrastructure investment.

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Charter CFO paints rosier than real merger schedule for investors

30 September 2015 by Steve Blum
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Sure, dude. How fast do you want it?

You gotta love optimists. Christopher Winfrey, the chief financial officer of Charter Communications, is telling investors that the proposed purchase of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks will be done and dusted by the end of the year. That jet propelled schedule is fuelled by the assumption that the Federal Communications Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission know everything they need to know already, because it’s the same bunch of companies that were involved in the failed Comcast mega-merger, minus Comcast.… More

Tennessee says FCC can't step on states' authority over cities

24 September 2015 by Steve Blum
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Rock solid sovereignty.

The State of Tennessee has offered its basis for challenging the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to preempt state restrictions on local broadband initiatives, making its case in a brief filed with a federal appeals court in Cincinnati.

Tennessee’s top line argument is that congress has no authority under the U.S. constitution to tell states how to manage or delegate authority to subordinate units such as cities and counties. On its own, that probably won’t fly – states have broad but not unlimited discretion.… More

U.S. cable industry's rush to consolidate continues

18 September 2015 by Steve Blum
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How the game is played.

Altice SA announced an agreement to buy Cablevision for $17.7 billion and assumption of existing debt yesterday. That follows Altice’s ongoing bid to buy a controlling stake in Suddenlink. If both deals are approved and Charter is allowed to take over Time Warner and Bright House, then Altice would become the fourth largest cable company in the U.S., and the seventh largest pay TV company overall, with about 4 million subscribers.… More