Broadcasting&Cable

INCOMPAS, whose members include competitive carriers and edge providers, has told the Federal Communications Commission that network neutrality rules apply to interconnections among networks as well as between ISPs and broadband subscribers. "If the Commission were to relinquish its oversight of interconnection and internet traffic exchange as contemplated in the NPRM, we expect that large BIAS providers will revert to exercising their incentive to engage in congestion practices at interconnection to force edge and transit providers to pay them which will harm the investment in Internet con

As Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai prepares to circulate an item reversing the Title II common carrier classification of Internet service providers, expected late next week, a group of rural members of USTelecom has asked the FCC to make sure it prevents states and localities from trying to undo that good work via their own laws and regulations.

Across the board, we are reviewing our regulations to make sure that they reflect current market conditions; that they are applied evenly and fairly; and that they are consistent with the law and sound principles of economics. In some cases, that means streamlining rules to reflect current technological and marketplace realities.  In other cases, that means eliminating them altogether.  In all cases, it means getting government out of the way as much as possible in order to encourage private initiative. Beyond that, we have adopted a posture of regulatory humility.

Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA) has called on Federal Communications CommissionChairman Ajit Pai to investigate Russian state-sponsored media outlets RT and Sputnik. She points out that the US intelligence community has concluded both meddled in the elections and also that this is her third letter she has sent to the chairman seeking an investigation. She says Pai's responses to the previous two were to dismiss her concerns while failing to fully address them.

Sinclair/Tribune deal friends and foes clashed on Capitol Hill Nov 15 at a debate and panel session hosted by the Georgetown Law’s Institute for Technology Law & Policy. The forum did not break a lot of new ground, but there was some scorched earth, particularly when the issue of shared services and joint sales agreements came up.

As AT&T prepares to fight for its merger with Time Warner if necessary, it has the Communications Workers of America solidly in its corner, and against any CNN-prompted spin-off demands by the Justice Department. The union said Nov 14 that is it fully supportive of the deal. “This merger is about maintaining and creating good U.S. jobs and developing new and innovative ways to deliver technology and content,” said CWA President Chris Shelton.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, testifying at a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, pushed back on recent reports suggesting the politicization of the government's review of the AT&T and Time Warner merger. Last week, it was widely reported that the Department of Justice asked AT&T in a Monday meeting to divest Turner as a condition of winning approval, possibly owing to President Donald Trump's distaste for CNN. "First, I would say that I don't accept, and cannot accept, the accuracy of that news report," Sessions told Rep Hank Johnson (D-GA).