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  2. May 2016

May 2016

HUD Proposes Broadband Requirement for HUD-Financed Housing

In an effort to extend affordable Internet access to children and families living in federally assisted housing, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro proposed a rule to require the installation of broadband infrastructure into most HUD-financed multifamily housing developments during their construction or substantial rehabilitation. Recognizing that it is generally easier and cheaper to install the necessary technology for high-speed Internet at the time of construction, HUD is proposing that, when feasible, developers include these technologies in their multifamily development plans. HUD's proposed rule seeks to require that, when feasible, developers install broadband infrastructure at the time of new construction or substantial rehabilitation in multifamily rental housing that is funded or supported by HUD. Additionally, the rule will help states and local governments address the need for broadband access and climate change for low- and moderate-income residents in the communities they serve.

Viewpoint Diversity and the Public Interest: Considering Freedom of Expression

Appreciation of the importance of freedom of expression is important and that it must be part of the discussion as public policy is created and law is shaped. After all, the [Federal Communications Commission] has long looked to the multiplicity of voices as a fundamental element of free speech and has relied upon diversity in speech as an important goal. The fundamental inquiry – which I will ask in various ways but not even attempt to answer – is “when should that value be advanced, in what circumstances, and how?”.... The enforcement of the antitrust laws in speech industries can serve free speech interests. The next question is: What happens if traditional antitrust economic concerns are not present? …. I do believe that these questions do, and that they should, all connect to your own basic goals – to enable the discovery of truth through journalism, through a competitive media and communications marketplace and, of course, through freedom of expression.

[Sallet is the FCC’s General Counsel]

One fascinating reason cable companies won’t willingly compete against each other

Recently, Charter chief executive Tom Rutledge said the company's plan is to focus on telephone companies in its overbuilding strategy, not cable companies. “When I talked to the [Federal Communications Commission], I said I can’t overbuild another cable company, because then I could never buy it, because you always block those,” Rutledge said. “It’s really about overbuilding telephone companies.” Several important things are going on here, so let's unpack them one at a time.

First, Rutledge is confirming there will be no overbuilding of cable, meaning that Charter won't try to deploy new cable infrastructure in places where there's already a cable company. In effect, Charter is committing to a non-aggression pact with other cable companies. Rutledge's justification for not competing with other cable firms appears to boil down to an anticipation of more mergers and acquisitions. What Charter really wants is the flexibility to buy up other cable companies in the future, and it'll have a harder time selling those deals to government regulators if Charter has been competing with the target firms the whole time. You see, antitrust officials tend to be skeptical of acquisitions that wind up eliminating a competitor from a market. It's why they didn't bite at AT&T's effort to buy up T-Mobile back in 2011, which would have reduced the number of national wireless carriers from four to three.

AT&T’s data caps impose harshest punishments on DSL users

AT&T's home Internet data caps got an overhaul when the company implemented a recently announced plan to strictly enforce the caps and collect overage fees from more customers. Customers stuck on AT&T's older DSL architecture will be facing lower caps and potentially higher overage fees than customers with more modern Internet service.

AT&T put a positive spin on the changes when it announced them in March, saying that it was increasing the monthly data limits imposed on most home Internet customers. This was technically true as AT&T already had caps for most Internet users. But previously, the caps were only enforced in DSL areas, so the limits had no financial impact on most customers. Now, a huge swath of AT&T customers has effectively gone from unlimited plans to ones that are capped, with an extra $10 charge for each additional 50GB of data provided per month. The only customers who aren't getting an increase in their monthly data allowance are the ones who have been dealing with caps the past few years.

Pressure builds from GOP to delay Internet domain transition

Pressure is building among a core group of Republican lawmakers to delay a transition of the Internet domain name system, which will involve the US government handing off oversight responsibilities. Sen Marco Rubio (R-FL) urged his colleagues to sign a letter to the Obama Administration expressing concerns over the transition. He said more time is needed to snuff out unforeseen problems before the United States gives up its leverage. "While we still control the process and the timeline, once we move past a certain point, there is no leverage to pull back," Sen Rubio said during a Senate hearing. "If this thing goes off the rails — if it in fact gets used in a nefarious way — what leverage do we have to pull back on it?"

Other Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee like Sens Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) expressed similar concerns: "Why do we need the transition?" Sen Johnson asked experts while testifying. Even Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) said a delay is not an "unreasonable proposal."

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