press release

In 2014, Commissioner Ajit Pai gave some advice to the Federal Communications Commission when it adopted a notice of proposed rulemaking on network neutrality. Will Chairman Pai take Commissioner Pai's advice?

Commissioner Pai’s Advice (2014): “A dispute this fundamental is not for us, five unelected individuals, to decide. Instead, it should be resolved by the people’s elected representatives, those who choose the direction of government — and those whom the American people can hold accountable for that choice.”
Chairman Pai’s Actions (2017): "Moving forward with action at the FCC, with only three Commissioners."
Chairman Pai's Advice (2014): “I recommended that the Commission seek guidance from Congress instead of plowing ahead yet again on its own.”
Chairman Pai's Actions (2017): "Deciding the FCC is the appropriate venue, instead of waiting for Congress to act."

Steptoe & Johnson LLP is pleased to announce that Jonathan Sallet, former deputy assistant attorney general for litigation in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division and general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission, has joined the firm as a partner. He will reside in Steptoe’s Washington office.

At the DOJ, Sallet led the Antitrust Division’s review of key mergers and conduct investigations, and supervised the division’s litigation matters from 2016-2017. He also worked closely with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and provided the division’s views publicly on the appropriate analysis of vertical transactions and broadband competition. From 2013-2016, Sallet served as general counsel of the FCC, a position he assumed at the request of incoming Chairman Tom Wheeler. Among his most recognized accomplishments was successfully arguing the Open Internet case on behalf of the FCC before the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Prior to his most recent government service, Sallet had a long and varied career as an antitrust lawyer in private practice and as a policy adviser and strategic counselor for technology companies.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued a statement commending Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai: “for taking bold action . . . to turn back this portion of the Obama Administration’s eight-year regulatory assault on all aspects of our economy.”

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) praised the effort to restore Internet freedom: “Chairman Pai’s announcement that the FCC will roll back these regulations is welcome news. Congress is committed to working with the Trump administration to enact policies that protect consumers and ensure Americans have access to a free and open internet.”

Tom Rutledge, Chairman & CEO of Charter Communications, was reelected as Chairman of the Board of Directors of NCTA – The Internet & Television Association (NCTA). In addition, the following officers were reelected for a second one-year term: Pat Esser, President, Cox Communications, as Vice Chairman; and John Skipper, President, ESPN, and Co-Chairman, Disney Media Networks, as Secretary. Elected for a first term as Treasurer was Dave Watson, President & CEO, Comcast Cable, and EVP, Comcast Corporation.

Other Board elections included:

• Associate Director: Bob Stanzione, Executive Chairman, ARRIS, was reelected to serve a two-year term.
• At-Large Programmer Directors: David Zaslav, President & CEO, Discovery Communications; Peter Rice, Chairman & CEO, Fox Networks Group; and Josh Sapan, President & CEO, AMC Networks, were elected to serve two-year terms. Bob Bakish, President & CEO, Viacom, was elected for a one-year term to finish out the term of a previous director.
• At-Large System Directors: John Evans, Chairman & CEO, Evans Telecommunications, and Pat McAdaragh, President & CEO, Midco, were reelected to another three-year term.
• Rural/Midsize Director: In March 2017, Jeff DeMond, President & CEO, Vyve Broadband, was reelected for another two-year term.

Additionally, Nancy Dubuc, President & CEO of A+E Networks, and Alfred Liggins, President & CEO of Radio One and Chairman & CEO of TV One, were reappointed to fill At-Large Appointed Director seats that carry two-year terms.

The Federal Communications Commission announces that Jean Kiddoo has been named Chair of the Incentive Auction Task Force and that Hillary DeNigro will join her as Deputy Chair. Kiddoo takes over for Gary Epstein, who will retire from the Commission April 28 after serving as chair of the Task Force since 2012.

Kiddoo has served as Deputy Chair of the Task Force since June 1, 2016, primarily focusing on the post-auction transition. Before that, she served as Deputy Chief of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, where she oversaw the Bureau's Auctions, Broadband, and Mobility Divisions. Prior to joining the Commission in 2014, Ms. Kiddoo spent more than three decades in private practice, most recently at Bingham McCutchen (now Morgan Lewis & Bockius), representing telecommunications, media and technology companies before federal agencies, courts, state regulatory commissions, and local authorities nationwide. Kiddoo graduated with honors from Colgate University and earned her law degree magna cum laude from the Catholic University of America.

DeNigro has served as Associate Bureau Chief of the Media Bureau. Prior to joining the Media Bureau’s front office, she was Chief of the Media Bureau’s Industry Analysis Division where she led the review of complex mergers, rulemaking proceedings, and the production of industry and market reports. She previously served as Chief of the Enforcement Bureau’s Investigations and Hearings Division, overseeing hearings and directing investigations involving a broad range of matters in the telecommunications and media industries. Before joining the Commission, she practiced commercial litigation at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy and, prior to that, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. She received her J.D. magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center and a BA Phi Beta Kappa from Emory University.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the May Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 18, 2017:
Satellite Earth Stations in Motion – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would both facilitate the deployment of and reduce regulatory burdens on the three types of Fixed-Satellite Service earth stations authorized to transmit while in motion: Earth Stations on Vessels, Vehicle-Mounted Earth Stations, and Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft. (IB Docket No. 17-95)
Part 95 Reform – The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would amend provisions of the Personal Radio Services located in Part 95 of the Commission’s rules in order to address two Petitions for Rulemaking, update and modernize various rules to reflect current uses and technologies, remove outdated regulatory requirements, and reorganize the rules to make them easier to read and understand. (WT Docket No. 10-119, RM-10762, RM-10844)
Modernization of Media Regulation Initiative – The Commission will consider a Public Notice that would launch a review of the Commission’s rules applicable to media entities and seek comment on what rules should be modified or repealed. (MB Docket No. 17-105)
Proposed Elimination of Main Studio Rule – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would propose to eliminate the Commission’s main studio rule, based on a tentative finding that the rule is now outdated and unnecessarily burdensome for broadcast stations. (MB Docket No. 17-106)
Restoring Internet Freedom – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would propose to restore the Internet to a light-touch regulatory framework by classifying broadband Internet access service as an information service and by seeking comment on the existing rules governing Internet service providers’ practices. (WC Docket No. 17-108)
Connect America Fund – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to eliminate a rule requiring rural telecommunications service providers receiving USF support to impose higher minimum monthly rates on their customers than the rates paid by some of their urban counterparts, or otherwise lose some USF support. The Commission will also consider a related Order that would freeze the current rate. (WC Docket No. 10-90)

US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced the hiring of Liz Hill as the Education Department's press secretary. Prior to joining the Department, Hill served as communications director for US Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, between 2016-2017, and as communications director to US Rep. Luke Messer (R-IN), chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, between 2013-2016. A former television news reporter and morning news anchor from 2005-2013, Hill has a BA in communications from Brigham Young University and a master's in strategic public relations from The George Washington University.

Recognizing substantial and growing competition in the market for business data services, the Federal Communications Commission eased outdated pricing rules to enable continued robust growth in the market. Business data services, known also as BDS, are dedicated connectivity used by businesses, nonprofits, and government institutions to meet their needs for secure and reliable communications. BDS is essential to the production and delivery of goods and services across the economy, from connecting bank ATM networks and retail credit-card readers to providing enterprise business networks with access to branch offices, the Internet or the cloud.

Relying on more than ten years of study of the market, a massive data collection, and a robust public record garnered from numerous requests for comment, the Report and Order adopted by the FCC recognizes the strong competition present in the BDS market. Given that competition, the order finds that legacy regulation inhibits the investment required for the transition of BDS from legacy time-division multiplexing networks to high-speed Ethernet connectivity. In response, the Order modernizes regulation in significant portions of the market.

The Federal Communications Commission voted to reinstate the so-called “UHF discount” until the Commission can address its national television ownership rule more holistically, in a proceeding to be launched later in 2017. The action effectively returns the marketplace to the status quo that existed prior to August 2016, whereby stations broadcasting in the UHF spectrum are permitted to count 50 percent of the television households in their market when determining compliance with the 39 percent national cap.

The FCC now concludes that the UHF discount and national television ownership cap are inextricably linked and that the Commission’s previous decision erred by getting rid of the UHF discount without simultaneously considering whether the cap itself should be modified. The Commission plans to take up both the question of the 39 percent cap and the UHF discount later in 2017. Until then, the action taken today reinstates the pre-August 2016 status quo in the marketplace.

As part of its effort to expand the availability and affordability of next-generation networks, the Federal Communications Commission began seeking public comment on a series of steps to remove regulatory barriers to wireline broadband infrastructure deployment. In the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Notice of Inquiry and Request for Comment adopted April 20, the FCC seeks comment on reforms that will help accelerate deployment of nextgeneration
networks and services by removing barriers to infrastructure investment at the federal, state, and local level. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would seek comment on the following:
Pole attachment reforms to make it easier for broadband providers to attach the wires necessary for next-generation networks
Expediting the process for local exchange carriers to retire copper networks and provide notice of network changes

The Notice of Inquiry seeks comment on using the FCC’s preemption authority to prospectively prohibit the enforcement of state and local laws that pose barriers to broadband deployment.

The Request for Comment seeks input on when carriers must obtain FCC permission to alter or discontinue a service.