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  2. January 2017

January 2017

GOP expects sweeping change at Trump’s FCC

Republicans are eager to turn the page at the Federal Communications Commission after eight years of policies under President Barack Obama that they say have stifled innovation and burdened the tech sector. President Trump’s appointment of Ajit Pai as FCC chairman has raised hopes that many of the rules and regulations enacted under President Obama — including the controversial network neutrality rules — will soon be on the chopping block.

Chairman Pai fought against the enactment of former-Chairman Tom Wheeler’s signature Open Internet Order, which codified net neutrality, the idea that all internet traffic should be treated equally. Republicans like Pai denounced the FCC order for reclassifying internet service providers as [telecommunications services]. The move subjected internet providers to heavier regulation, with the FCC effectively taking over regulatory jurisdiction on issues like privacy from the Federal Trade Commission.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who tried to roll back the net neutrality order through legislation, said Republicans are deliberating how to tackle net neutrality now that the party is in charge of both the executive and legislative branches. “I think getting some certainty on the net neutrality issue is something that industry would like for us to do,” Rep Blackburn said. “Everyone would like to see some certainty there, and everyone would like to see the FCC back in their correct lanes. FTC should have jurisdiction for privacy.”

Indiana State Senator Brandt Hershman Is Front Runner For FCC GOP Slot

Ajit Pai’s promotion to Federal Communications Commission chairman leaves the Republicans with a 2-1 majority at the agency for the foreseeable future, easing the pressure on President Donald Trump to fill the commission’s two vacant commission seats. But the jockeying for Trump’s nod for the additional slots has already begun.

Brandt Hershman, an Indiana state senator who worked closely with Vice President Michael Pence while he was Indiana governor, is the clear favorite for the FCC’s remaining GOP vacancy, industry insiders say. The leading candidate for the agency’s Democratic vacancy appears to be former-FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. “It doesn’t really matter,” said one industry lobbyist as to who eventually gets the nod for the Democratic slot. In the wake of President Trump’s victory, industry insiders are far more interested in the pick for the GOP vacancy than the Democratic seat because it’s the Republican majority that will be calling the shots at the agency, at least for the next four years.

AT&T CEO Plans to ‘Go Hard’ on Sponsored Data for Streaming Subscribers

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson and CFO John Stephens shed light on the company’s fourth-quarter finances and future outlook as the world’s largest telecom company continues its evolution into a media empire. One thing they aren’t overly concerned with: the future of “zero rating,” which has helped its new streaming service DirecTV Now accumulate more than 200,000 subscribers in less than two months of operation.

AT&T uses zero rating to not charge its wireless customers for data they use while streaming DirecTV Now, the over-the-top service the company launched in November that opened with a promotional offer of more than 100 channels for $35 a month. The Federal Communications Commission sent a letter to AT&T in December expressing competitive concern about zero rating, but with a new regime led by network neutrality opponent Ajit Pai — installed by President Donald Trump — Stephenson isn’t worried about its longer-term prospects. “We actually were quite confident that zero rating as we were implementing was fine under a Pai chairmanship,” Stephenson said, remarking that AT&T was “going hard” when it was putting together that capability. “You should expect us to continue that, and continue to push aggressively on this.”

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