press release

The Federal Communications Commission adopted rules to extend to broadcast licensees the same streamlined rules and procedures that common carrier wireless licensees use to seek approval for foreign ownership, with appropriate broadcast-specific modifications. The FCC also reformed the methodology for publicly traded broadcast and common carrier licensees and controlling U.S. parents to assess compliance with the statutory foreign ownership limits.

The Communications Act establishes a 25 percent benchmark for foreign investment in U.S.-organized entities that control a U.S. broadcast, common carrier, or aeronautical fixed or en route radio licensee. Licensees must obtain FCC approval before foreign ownership exceeds 25 percent. The substantive review by the FCC of proposed, aggregate foreign ownership above 25 percent will stay in place. As a result, the rules modernize the foreign ownership filing and review processes so they are better adapted to the current business environment.

The FCC adopted the rules on a 5-0 vote.

President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Brent F. Nelsen to be a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Dr. Brent F. Nelsen is Chair of the South Carolina Educational Television Commission and a Professor of Political Science at Furman University, positions he has held since 2011 and 2002, respectively. From 2003 to 2009, Dr. Nelsen served as Chair of the Department of Political Science at Furman University and has held various teaching positions there since 1990. He is a member of the South Carolina American Political Science Association, where he previously served as President from 2009 to 2010. Dr. Nelsen was first appointed to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 2013. Dr. Nelsen received a B.A. from Wheaton College and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The House of Representatives unanimously amended and approved the Communications Act Update Act of 2016 (S. 253). The bill contains eight Commerce Committee bills that have previously passed the House or have unanimously passed the committee. S. 253 now heads back to the Senate for final consideration. The bills included in the package are as follows (in order by Title of the amendment to S. 253):

1) The Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act (H.R. 2583), sponsored by House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR). Previously passed the House November 16, 2015, by voice vote. The bill aims to increase transparency, efficiency, and accountability at the FCC.
2) The Federal Communications Commission Consolidated Reporting Act (H.R. 734), sponsored by House Majority Whip and committee member Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA). Previously passed the House February 24, 2015, by a vote of 411 to 0. The legislation aims to reduce the reporting workload and increase efficiency at the FCC. The legislation would consolidate a number of existing reports required by law into a single, comprehensive report on the state of the communications marketplace.
3) The Small Business Broadband Deployment Act (H.R. 4596), sponsored by Chairman Walden. Previously passed the House March 16, 2016, by a vote of 411 to 0. The bill would support small Internet Service Providers (ISPs) by protecting them from the onerous reporting requirements included in the FCC’s Open Internet Order. The bill would extend the small business ISP exemption for providers with fewer than 250,000 subscribers for five years.
4) Kari’s Law Act of 2015 (H.R. 4167), sponsored by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX). Previously passed the House May 23, 2016, by voice vote. The would require that any multi-line telephone system connects directly to 911 when dialed, even in instances where the phone requires the user to dial “9” to get an outside line.
5) Securing Access to Networks in Disasters Act (H.R. 3998), sponsored by Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ). Previously passed the House May 23, 2016, by a vote of 389 to 2. The bill would create requirements for mobile service providers during emergencies to ensure that consumers have access to networks during disasters, and requires the FCC and GAO to examine the resiliency of networks during these events. In addition, it amends the Stafford Act to ensure all categories of communications service providers may access disaster sites to restore service.
6) Anti-Spoofing Act of 2016 (H.R. 2669), introduced by Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) and co-authored by committee members Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX). Previously passed by the Commerce Committee September 21, 2016, by voice vote. The bill aims to strengthen the Truth In Caller ID Act and protect consumers from fraudulent actors and deceptive text messages by going after lawbreakers who seek to harass and defraud consumers. Passed unanimously by voice vote.
7) Amateur Radio Parity Act (H.R. 1301), sponsored by Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL). Previously passed the House September 12, 2016, by voice vote. The bill would instruct the FCC to adopt rules that protect the rights of amateur radio operators to use radio equipment in deed-restricted communities.
8) Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability (H.R. 2566), sponsored by Rep. David Young (R-IA). Previously passed by the Commerce Committee September 21, 2016, by voice vote. The bill would require intermediate providers to register with the Federal Communications Commission and comply with the service quality standards set by the agency in order to improve call quality from long distance or wireless calls in rural areas throughout the country. Passed unanimously by voice vote.

In testimony presented to the US Senate Commerce Committee, the Federal Trade Commission described its work, and called for several changes to the FTC Act that would enhance its ability to protect consumers and promote competition. FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and Commissioners Maureen K. Ohlhausen and Terrell McSweeny testified before the Committee. In their written testimony, they estimated that the agency’s antitrust enforcement efforts have saved consumers over $3.4 billion, while its consumer protection actions have saved consumers $717 million.

The Commission called for repeal of the common carrier exception to the FTC Act, which prevents the FTC from taking action to protect consumers in some cases involving telecommunications firms and other common carriers. “As the telecommunications and Internet industries continue to converge, the common carrier exception is increasingly likely to frustrate the FTC’s ability to stop deceptive and unfair acts and practices and unfair methods of competition with respect to a wide array of activities,” the Commission stated.

To kick off Smart Cities Week, the Obama Administration is expanding the Smart Cities initiative, with over $80 million in new Federal investments and a doubling of the number of participating cities and communities, exceeding 70 in total. These new investments and collaborations will help cities of all sizes, including in the following key areas:

Climate: The Administration is announcing nearly $15 million in new funding and two new coalitions to help cities and communities tackle energy and climate challenges. For example, one Department of Energy (DOE) campaign has already signed up 1,800 buildings representing 49 million square feet with data analytics tools that could reduce their energy footprint by 8 percent or more, on average.
Transportation: The Administration is announcing more than $15 million in new grants and planned funding to evolve the future of urban transportation, including National Science Foundation (NSF) funding for researchers in Chattanooga (TN) to test, for the first time, how an entire urban network of connected and autonomous vehicles can automatically cooperate to improve travel efficiency and operate safely during severe weather events.
Public safety: The Administration is announcing more than $10 million in new grants and planned funding for public safety, resilience, and disaster response. For example, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is funding the development of low-cost flood sensor-based tools in flood-prone areas of Texas, where predictive analytics will give first responders and local officials new capability to issue alerts and warnings, and the ability to respond more rapidly to save lives when a flood strikes.
Transforming city services: MetroLab Network is launching a new effort to help cities adopt promising innovations in social programs, like a collaboration between three counties surrounding Seattle and the University of Washington to use predictive analytics to identify precisely when city services succeed in helping homeless individuals transition into permanent housing, offering the promise of a future of personalized intervention.

The Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Sunlight Foundation and Benton Foundation filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission urging the agency to take immediate action against WCPO-TV of Cincinnati (OH) for failure to comply with the longstanding public file requirements of Section 315 of the Communications Act. The complaint was accompanied by a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, chastising the commission for doing “absolutely nothing” to enforce public file rules. The groups are represented by the Institute for Public Representation of Georgetown University Law Center (IPR). “The public file requirements of the Communications Act play an important role in providing transparency in our electoral system, especially post-Citizens United,” said Meredith McGehee, policy director for the Campaign Legal Center. “As the number of super PACs buying up television and radio airtime increases, the transparency of who is behind political ads is becoming increasingly murky. It is the FCC’s responsibility to ensure stations disclose information about who pays for advertisements. The FCC, in its failure to enforce laws that protect voters’ right to know, has clearly led broadcasters to freely ignore existing regulations with impunity.”

The letter reminds Chairman Wheeler about the commission’s “abject failure” to resolve 11 public file complaints pending since May 2014, despite his assurance that “We take political file complaints seriously and anticipate resolving these quickly.” The letter underscores that the law is intended to protect Americans’ right to know who is behind political ads and who is trying to persuade voters.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau has reached a $450,000 settlement with AT&T to resolve an investigation into whether AT&T operated fixed wireless stations without authorization or without filing required license modification notices. The investigation revealed that AT&T operated numerous common carrier fixed point-to-point microwave stations throughout the United States in ways that differed from the stations’ licenses for periods ranging from three and a half years to over four years.

The Enforcement Bureau began its investigation of AT&T in 2012. In August 2014, during the course of the investigation, AT&T reported to the Commission that it had discovered numerous inconsistencies between the licensed parameters and the constructed facilities of a large number of fixed microwave licenses that it acquired from 2009 through 2012. AT&T did not timely review the acquired licenses, which resulted in the unauthorized operation of many of the stations by its subsidiaries New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC and AT&T Mobility Puerto Rico, Inc. As a result, the Enforcement Bureau investigated the licensing history of approximately 250 AT&T stations to determine the extent of the unauthorized operations. In January 2015, the Commission adopted a Notice of Apparently Liability for Forfeiture to AT&T alleging violations that the company admitted to in today’s settlement. As part of today’s settlement agreement, AT&T has agreed to implement a compliance plan through which it will conduct timely reviews of wireless fixed microwave stations acquired in future transactions to ensure that the stations are operating in accordance with their licensed parameters, file periodic progress reports on its compliance efforts, and correct any noncompliance discovered during the review process within 60 days of its discovery.

The Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting, unanimously elected Lori Gilbert and Bruce Ramer to serve one-year terms as chair and vice chair, respectively.

Loretta Sutliff was appointed to the CPB board by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate in August 2013. She works under the broadcast name Lori Gilbert and specializes in providing news to rural communities in northeastern Nevada. She is the longtime news director and host of a daily local news show for Elko Broadcasting Company's KELK-AM and KLKO-FM, named “News Station of the Year," by the Associated Press Television and Radio Association in 1999. In addition to her work in radio, she is the news director and a reporter for KENV-TV (NBC). Gilbert is serving her second term on the CPB board and chairs the Education Committee. She had served as vice chair since 2014. Her term expires in 2018.

Bruce M. Ramer was reappointed to the CPB board by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate in August 2013. He was first appointed to the board by President George W. Bush. Ramer is an attorney and partner at Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown, a firm specializing in entertainment and media matters, and was named one of the top 100 lawyers in California. He joined the board of KCET in 1992 and was the chair of its board from 2001-2003. He is a member of the board of trustees of the University of Southern California (USC) and serves on the boards of the Herrhausen Institute for International Dialogue of Deutsche Bank and the National Archives Foundation. He is also chair of the USC Institute on Entertainment Law and Business and a member of the board of councilors of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, the USC Gould School of Law and the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education. He served as board chair from 2010 to 2012 and currently chairs the Audit and Finance Committee. His term expires in 2018.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing in 18 projects in 16 states to use communications technology to expand access to health care, substance misuse treatment, and advanced educational opportunities.

USDA is awarding $4.7 million in Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) program grants to support 11 distance learning and seven telemedicine projects. These will join the 80 DLT projects USDA announced July 14.

National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) President & CEO Michael Powell announced that the association has launched a modernized brand that better reflects the makeup of the industry that NCTA represents and the consumer services its members deliver. The new brand and descriptor is “NCTA – The Internet & Television Association” and will be the association’s formal name in all aspects of its public image.

The updated NCTA brand is a continuation of the association’s effort to reflect how the marketplace is no longer defined by silos of the past. It also builds upon NCTA’s 2015 rebranding of “INTX: The Internet & Television Expo” from The Cable Show. INTX 2017 will be hosted in Washington, DC in April 2017. "Just as our industry is witnessing an exciting transformation driven by technology and connectivity, NCTA’s brand must reflect the vibrancy and diversity of our members,” Powell said. “While our mission to drive the industry forward remains the same, our look now reflects a renewed proactive and energized spirit.”