John Eggerton

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai will address the American Cable Association's annual policy summit in Washington (DC). Chairman Pai will speak on the morning of March 30, before the attendees fan out to the FCC and Hill to carry their message of keeping the needs of smaller and mid-sized operators top of mind.

The Competitive Carriers Association says the Federal Communications Commission has plenty of reason for undoing the October 2016 broadband privacy order, which Internet service providers, advertisers, congressional Republicans and others are pushing for. In reply comments this week on petitions for reconsideration and those opposing them, CCA said those opposing the rule rollback rely on arguments that "deny the reality of the broadband marketplace" and either "ignore or minimize" the authority the FCC will still have over privacy after the order is dispensed with. One of those realities, CCA says, is that the order is uniquely burdensome on smaller providers, who get "very limited relief" from the rules, and only those with 100,000 subs or fewer, which they argue is too narrow a definition.

The FCC under Chairman Ajit Pai in a separate proceeding expanded the carve-out from Open Internet enhanced transparency rules from systems with 100,000 subs or fewer to 250,000 or fewer to accommodate smaller carriers. CCA applauded the Pai FCC's vote to stay the data-security provisions of the broadband privacy order, saying it prevented them "from investing substantial and potentially unnecessary resources towards compliance."

Silicon Valley giant Oracle has asked Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to rethink the FCC's broadband privacy framework, saying former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's characterization of Internet service providers as gatekeepers was off the mark and to "repudiate" what it said was the Wheeler FCC's policies "favoring one technology sub-sector over all others." That came in a letter to Chairman Pai asking the FCC not only to rethink the broadband privacy rules but to reclassify internet access as an information service to "eliminate unnecessary burdens on, and competitive imbalances for, ISPs while still preserving the free and open Internet."

The commission is currently collecting comments on a petition by ISPs, advertisers and others to rethink the broadband privacy rules, passed by a politically divided FCC last October with Pai and fellow Republican Michael O’Rielly dissenting. The company praised Chairman Pai for the FCC's vote to stay implementation of the data privacy portion of the broadband privacy rules as well.

House Commerce Committee Democrats have introduced a quintet of tech-related, particularly broadband-related, bills that would, among other things, help displaced workers get broadband for re-training, address the "homework gap," better target broadband subsidies, and boost tribal access. The 21st Century Worker Opportunity Act by Rep Debbie Dingell (D-MI) would give workers "displaced by automation" a credit toward broadband service for job retraining and distance learning; The Innovation Corps Act of 2017 by Rep Doris Matsui (D-CA) would provide grants for that retraining and forgive a portion of debt of recent grads who would help with that retraining; The Wi-Fi Capable Mobile Devices Act by Rep Peter Welch (D-VT) would allow low-income students to use a parent's Lifeline connection for homework by accessing it through a Wi-Fi connection using unlicensed spectrum; The Rural Wireless Act by Rep Dave Loebsack (D-IA) would require the Federal Communications Commission to use "more reliable" data when determining where to spend on increased deployment; and The Tribal Digital Access Act by Rep Raul Ruiz (D-CA) would add "Indian Country" to the definition of areas eligible for Universal Service Fund Lifeline support. It remains to be seen how far the bills get in a Congress controlled by Republicans with their own ideas about how to deploy broadband and spend federal subsidy dollars.

The Free State Foundation, a free market think tank focused on communications and content rights issues, has told the Federal Communications Commission it needs to scrap its new privacy rules for Internet service provider data collection and sharing—or at least amend them to square with the Federal Trade Commission's approach to regulating edge provider collection and sharing. That came in comments in opposition from ISPs, advertisers and others, who asked the FCC to reconsider the new broadband privacy framework adopted by a Democratic-led FCC back in October over the dissents of both Republicans, which includes current FCC chair Ajit Pai.

In its comments, Free State said the framework was both beyond the FCC's legal authority and arbitrary. "The Commission's imposition of intrusive privacy rules on ISPs – but not on non-ISPs that also collect personal information and data, and much more of it – is contrary to the principle that laws should be applied equally to all, absent compelling reasons to the contrary," it said. The FCC rules require opt-in consent from consumers for collecting and sharing a broad category of "personally sensitive" information, including app use and web surfing histories, neither of which are opt-in for edge providers under FTC oversight.

Common Sense Kids Action has joined with educational groups to champion the restoration of Lifeline eligibility for nine companies. The eligibilities, granted in the waning days of the Federal Communications Commission under then-Chairman Tom Wheeler, were rescinded by the Wireless Competition Bureau and returned to "pending" status by new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, saying he wanted to boost prevention of waste, fraud and abuse before expanding the program. Chairman Pai pointed out that only one of the companies was even providing service yet. Common Sense et al. filed comments at the FCC in support of a petition by Free Press asking the commission to reconsider that decision.

The House Communications Subcommittee will hold a hearing March 21 on how to eliminate barriers to broadband infrastructure. On the agenda is a draft bill, “Broadband: Deploying America’s 21st Century Infrastructure," to streamline permitting and siting at the federal level.

"Broadband is a necessity for business in the 21st century and its time our policies reflect that," said Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). "In fact, many communities across the country would rather have better access to broadband than an additional lane on a highway. For too long problems with permitting and siting have held back further investment in expanding broadband infrastructure across the country,” she said in announcing the hearing. “Constituents and businesses back in Tennessee consistently have issues gaining access to broadband. And without a high-speed internet connection, it remains difficult to attract businesses and jobs to these rural areas."

The White House was not taking issue with a Washington Post story saying the President planned to slash the funding for public broadcasting in his budget, expected to be released March 16. In fact, the White House press office was trumpeting the story in an e-mail March 14 issued by White House press secretary Sean Spicer. In the story—the White House included a link to the online version—the Post says: "Aides say that the president sees a new Washington emerging from the budget process, one that prioritizes the military and homeland security while slashing many other areas, including housing, foreign assistance, environmental programs, public broadcasting and research."

The American Cable Association has filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission on behalf of 38 small and mid-sized Internet service providers asking the FCC to remove the overbuild condition in the Charter-Time Warner Cable merger.

"[W]e all have plans to invest in improved network technologies to offer greater performance or to expand our networks into unserved areas. Unfortunately, the merger condition requiring Charter to overbuild other providers has undermined those plans to provide improved services and reach new customers," the ISPs told the FCC. "We write to encourage the Commission to act in the best interests of millions of unserved and underserved customers by eliminating the overbuild condition." The letter went to all three commissioners, but ACA is definitely preaching to the choir when it comes to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and likely Commissioner Michael O'Rielly.

Mozilla (Firefox) is adding two cities to its Gigabit Community Fund. The fund is awarding $300,000 in grants to leverage gigabit fiber networks in Eugene (OR) and Lafayette (LA) the company said. The money will go to things like ultra-high definition in the classroom and VR field trips, taking a page or two from existing Mozilla gigabit cities Austin (TX), Chattanooga (TN), and Kansas City (MO). The fund is a collaboration with the National Science Foundation and US Ignite. The two cities were added based on various criteria, including widely deployed high-speed broadband and a "critical mass" of anchor institutions.