Broadcasting&Cable

While Democratic Sens were suggesting that the Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet order is fine as is and nothing is needed to be done to alter those protections—either legislatively and certainly not a rollback by the FCC—a legislative solution to resolve the issue was getting a lot of votes from outside groups Tuesday. That came after Sens Ed Markey (D-MA), Al Franken (D-MN) and others held a press conference to say they would fight any attempts by the FCC to reverse the Open Internet order or legislative attempts in a Republican-controlled Congress to weaken it.

In a joint press statement, The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council, the National Urban League and others called for "a permanent statutory solution that enshrines the basic open internet principles into law. These core principles are not controversial and should not be subject to endless litigation, regulation, and reconsideration. A statute locking in net neutrality would protect net neutrality no matter how the political winds blow."

The Federal Communications Commission has rescinded its March 2014 guidance on the processing of applications for various broadcast TV sharing arrangements like joint sales agreements (JSAs). That came from the Media Bureau's acting chief Michelle Carey, whose bureau was busy undoing actions of the former Democratic majority. "This Public Notice rescinds, in its entirety and effective immediately, earlier guidance provided in a March 12, 2014, public notice, DA 14-330, 'Processing of Broadcast Television Applications Proposing Sharing Arrangements and Contingent Interests,'" the bureau said. In March 2014, the Media Bureau issued guidance to broadcasters that it would be scrutinizing sharing arrangements with financial components closely to make sure they were arms-length transactions and not de facto control.

According to the Writers Guild of America, East, the editorial staff of MTV News plans to unionize with WGAE, citing having to cover the Donald Trump administration as part of the reason.

WGAE cited a letter from the MTV News Unionizing Committee that said, in part: "Under the new Trump administration, we are acutely aware of how necessary our constitutional rights are, and how much we need legal protection." "There has never been a more critically important time in our lives to have the protections of a union, especially for those of us in media," the committee wrote, according to WGAE. "And there’s never been a more necessary time for MTV News to talk about music, pop culture, and politics with the teenagers of America. We need to do more than just pay our respects to the past. We need a seat at the table so that we can be the future of MTV News. Because we deeply believe in the mission of MTV News and in the rights of the editors, writers, critics, reporters, producers, and correspondents who make up our team, the majority of us have collectively decided to organize a union with the Writers Guild of America, East."

[Commentary] In December, the world’s first commercial broadcast using a new video transmission standard—one that enables dramatically better picture quality and new services—took place in South Korea. This standard, which some call ATSC 3.0 and others call Next Gen TV, is the first one to marry the advantages of broadcasting and the internet. Feb 1, I shared with my fellow Federal Communications Commission commissioners a proposal to allow broadcasters to use the Next Gen TV standard on a voluntary basis.

My view is simple: As in any industry, the FCC should promote innovation in the broadcasting business, not stand in the way of progress. I look forward to receiving feedback on our proposal from broadcasters, consumers, and other stakeholders. And I hope that we can issue a final authorization of the standard later in 2017. We expect and want the United States to lead the world in technological innovation. Moving forward with Next Gen TV would enable us to do just that. With this standard, the FCC could help American broadcasters benefit American consumers in a way befitting the marvels of the digital age. Stay tuned!

[Ajit Pai is the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission]

Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MI) and Sen Joe Manchin (D-WV), joined by a bipartisan host of others, have asked new Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to prioritize mobile broadband in rural and underserved areas.

In a letter to the chairman, the Sens called on the FCC to "move forward" with Phase II of the Universal Service Fund's Mobility Fund. The FCC has been migrating its subsidies for essential communications from phone to broadband, including mobile broadband. "We need to continue moving the needle on broadband deployment in hard-to-reach areas, such as rural Mississippi,” said Sen Wicker. “Providing this access promotes business innovation and job creation. This is especially important for small businesses, which support tens of thousands of Mississippi families."

Count House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-PA) among those not eager to use Congressional Review Act authority to invalidate the Federal Communications Commission's broadband privacy framework, but he suggested he was willing to work on an approach to balance the privacy requirements on Internet service providers and edge providers.

Ranking Member Doyle made that clear at the subcommittee's first hearing—on reauthorizing the National Telecommunications & Information Administration—of the new Congress and first presided over by new Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). Among the witnesses was CTIA president Meredith Attwell Baker, whose group joined with NCTA: The Internet & Television Association, American Cable Association, USTelecom and others to suggest Congress use that power to undo a framework they point out does not apply to edge-provider data collectors like Google and Facebook.

Michael Powell, president of NCTA: The Internet & Television Association, said that a new round of broadband infrastructure investment should focus on getting service to unserved areas and on tax incentives to private industry. To the degree that it will be subsidies, he said, they should be targeted.

Powell was speaking at a Capitol Hill panel, outlining infrastructure priorities. It was hosted by the Senate Broadband Caucus. Powell said that the reason that universal access was still a work in progress was "networks hate low density," which is why so much infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, struggles to find its economic footing. He said in economic terms, those are "market failures." He suggested the mistakes made by previous broadband subsidy programs, like overbuilding existing service—serving up seconds before others have firsts—should not be repeated as everyone "gets on the bandwagon" for the next tranche of infrastructure investment. Powell said that the goal should be to incent private investment rather than try to supplant it with government dollars that will not match the tens and hundreds of billions the private sector already invests.

Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler's proposal to revamp set-tops is no longer on the FCC's list of items on circulation to be voted by the other commissioners. Top Republican Reps had asked FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to close the book on the proposal, which he and they had opposed. Neither Chairman Pai nor fellow Republican Commissioner Michael O'Rielly were likely to vote on it anyway, but the move makes it official that it is no longer in front of any of the commissioners for a decision.

Major computer companies are concerned with President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning refugees and immigrants from a handful of countries, even those with valid US visas. "We appreciate the checks and balances of our judicial system," said Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) President Ed Black, "but the disregard for legal norms and due process shown by the Administration in issuing this order is alarming." The reference to checks and balances was because a judge over the weekend stayed the returning of some immigrants being held at US airports, citing the possible threat to their safety if they were returned per the President's executive order. “Many of our industry’s most successful companies were founded by immigrants. Immigrants help our industry to export goods and services around the world while creating jobs here at home," said Black. "Targeting lawful U.S. residents and visa holders for discriminatory treatment based on their national origin or faith is not in our national interest. It is not in our economic interest. It is not who we are."

The Federal Communications Commission has released its procedures public notice for repacking TV stations after the broadcast incentive auction, which is currently wrapping up. According to the FCC's Media Bureau, the notice provides "detailed information, instructions, and projected deadlines for filing applications related to the post-incentive auction broadcast transition." That includes about filing for new construction permits for post-auction channels and procedures for winning bidders relinquishing their rights to spectrum—an FCC official said that fall is the soonest that winning stations that are exiting the business would be going dark. It also establishes the process by which eligible stations and pay-TV providers can seek reimbursement for transition costs.

The FCC will release a separate notice on how winning auction bidders can file for their payments. The notice is only targeted to full-power and Class A stations that were eligible for the auction. The item notes: "LPTV, TV translator, and digital replacement translator stations were not eligible to participate in the incentive auction, are not protected in the repacking process, are not eligible for reimbursement, and are not included in the phased transition schedule."