Press Release

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a motion to stay the effect of the Commission’s reform of its rules governing business data services. Chairman Pai issued the following statement:

“The court’s decision to let our modernization of our business data services rules take effect is an important—though unsurprising—affirmation that the Commission thoroughly analyzed our massive data collection to establish a robust, forward-looking competitive framework. These reforms will encourage vigorous investment in next-generation networks, which is critical if we are going to bridge the digital divide in our country."

The Senate approval by unanimous consent of the (S. 19), a bill they introduced to boost the development of next-generation gigabit wireless broadband services, including 5G, by ensuring more spectrum is made available for commercial use and by reducing the red tape associated with building broadband networks. Elements of :

Making 500 megahertz available: A 2010 executive order set a goal of making available 500 MHz of federal spectrum for private sector use by 2020. The makes that goal the law.
Speeding up 5G infrastructure: Next-generation gigabit wireless services, like 5G, will rely on smaller and more numerous antenna and infrastructure systems than current cellular technology. Federal agencies would have a new obligation to make decisions on applications and permit requests for placing wireless infrastructure on federal property in a timely and reasonable manner.
Spectrum assessments: The bill directs the Federal government to conduct assessments of spectrum in the 3 GHz band and in the millimeter wave frequencies to determine whether authorizing licensed or unlicensed wireless broadband services in those bands is feasible, and if so, which frequencies are best suited for such operations. Frequencies totaling more than 13 gigahertz of bandwidth will be studied, most of which are in the millimeter wave frequencies that will be critical for next-generation wireless networks, including 5G mobile networks.
Dig once: The Act facilitates adoption of safe and efficient “dig once” policies by states. Dig once is the idea that a single conduit through which all broadband wires can be run should be laid in the ground at the same time as other below-ground infrastructure work, like highway construction. Dig once can reduce costs for deployment of broadband infrastructure.
National broadband facilities asset database: The bill creates a central, online inventory of federal government property assets available or appropriate for private-sector deployment of broadband facilities. Such information includes the location of buildings and points of contact for siting applications. State and local governments would be permitted to voluntarily submit information about their assets to the inventory.
Reallocation incentives: The Commerce Department would be directed to issue a report within 18 months on additional legislative or regulatory proposals to incentivize Federal entities to relinquish or share their spectrum with non-federal spectrum users.
Immediate transfer of funds for agencies: The accelerates the relocation of Federal entities by allowing existing Spectrum Relocation Fund balances to be transferred to agencies for transition efforts immediately upon completion of an auction, rather than after the actual receipt by the Fund of auction proceeds. By immediately executing their transition plans, agencies would reduce their timelines to vacate, potentially increasing auction proceeds due to the value of accelerated access to the auctioned bands.

[Commentary] Big Cable’s #DitchTheBox proposal is one of the most recent examples of an industry’s inability to self-regulate in the absence of federal regulation, and many of the same companies offering pay-TV services are the same companies providing broadband internet. Big Cable’s past history of discrediting its own promises via its behavior epitomizes why it cannot be left to self-regulate. Big Cable said it would do one thing for consumers when faced with federal regulation, then did nothing when that threat evaporated. Replacing the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality rules with a voluntary system where broadband providers dictate their own rules (or lack of them) will likely result in the same scenario. In the end, we’d be exchanging strong, court-tested net neutrality rules with a series of ISP-designed loopholes that would serve as a catalyst for market abuse -- and more consumer ripoffs.

In October 2016, botnets (an interconnected group of electronic devices under the control of a botmaster, or botherder, who can then use the bot army to steal information or carry out scams on a massive scale) made headlines as the instrument behind a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack against domain name system (DNS) provider Dyn that took dozens of websites, including Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, Twitter, and even the Swedish government, offline for hours. In response to a Request for Comment from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), OTI offered seven recommendations for addressing the threats posed by botnets:

1. Use bug bounty programs to reduce vulnerabilities in IoT products
2. Design devices such that they can be patched and updated
3. Ship items with unique, random credentials, and let users customize login information
4. Establish clear support windows and end-of-life procedures
5. Let users know which security features are available to them on a device—and which are not
6. Connect consciously
7. Support the products that implement best practices

[Commentary] President Donald Trump is again attacking the media Aug 7, and his broadsides carry a newly ominous edge: He is both faulting the media for allegedly downplaying the size and intensity of support from his base and accusing them of trying to deliberately weaken that support for him. "The Trump base is far bigger & stronger than ever before (despite some phony Fake News polling). Look at rallies in Penn, Iowa, Ohio......" "Hard to believe that with 24/7 #Fake News on CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, NYTIMES & WAPO, the Trump base is getting stronger!" the President tweeted.

Because President Trump is undermining our democratic norms and processes in so many ways, it is often easy to focus on each of them in isolation, rather than as part of the same larger story. But, taken together, they point to a possible climax in which Trump, cornered by revelations unearthed by Robert S. Mueller III’s probe and by ongoing media scrutiny, seeks to rally his supporters behind the idea that this outcome represents not the imposition of accountability by functioning civic institutions, but rather an effort to steal the election from him — and from them.

Recently, Civis Analytics released a competition poll that shows broad, bipartisan opposition to the proposed merger between AT&T and Time Warner. The poll found that “[t]he proposed merger between AT&T and Time Warner is opposed by 64 percent of Americans, including 65 percent of Democrats, 64 percent of Republicans, and 63 percent of Independents.” The poll further revealed that “[a] large majority (83 percent) of Americans also believe that ‘mergers among media companies or internet service providers will raise costs for consumers.’”

The following can be attributed to John Bergmayer, Senior Counsel at Public Knowledge: “We believe that a consolidated media landscape threatens to reduce the diversity of viewpoints Americans have access to, and consolidation tends to drive up prices for consumers. The public appears to agree. As the government continues to review the proposed AT&T merger with Time Warner, and Sinclair’s proposed purchase of Tribune, it is critical that the antitrust principles and communications policies explicitly designed to prevent price gouging and designed to promote diversity of viewpoints are strictly enforced.”

Eleven House Commerce Committee Democratic Reps submitted public comments on the Federal Communications Commission’s proposal to roll back network neutrality regulations stating that the proposal fundamentally and profoundly run counter to the law. The lawmakers wrote that the FCC’s proposal misstates the distinction Congress made in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 between telecommunications services and information services.

The Committee Democrats also wrote that the proposal ignores the most critical issues affecting our country today—priorities such as free speech and democracy, small businesses, jobs and economic development, and privacy. Instead, the Commission narrowly focused on a single ill-conceived measure of broadband investment to the exclusion of all others. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's proposal to undo the rules "impermissibly ignores the Commission’s core mandate to fully consider the public interest before taking action," violating the commission's obligations under the Communications Act, the Democrats wrote in an FCC filing opposing Pai's plan. The lawmakers also questioned Pai's independence from President Donald Trump.

The FCC comment was submitted by House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-PA), and Reps Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Kathy Castor (D-FL), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Jerry McNerney (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT) and Joe Kennedy III (D-MA).

House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-PA) wrote to Republican Committee leaders with a list of eight additional witnesses that they say should be added for the full committee hearing on the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality hearing. The two Democratic Committee leaders wrote that it is the responsibility of the Minority to balance the panel of witnesses at hearings before the committee. Reps Pallone and Doyle have selected the following individuals to be invited to testify:

Jonathan Jackson is a co-founder and the Head of Corporate Branding for Blavity.
Ruth Livier is an actress, writer, and doctoral student who is a pioneer in the fight for equal representation in media.
Jesse Vollmar is co-founder and CEO of FarmLogs,
Myrna Morales is an expert in library science in Boston.
Johari Farrar is a performer with the Truthworker Theater Company.
Brandi Collins is the Senior Campaign Director for Media and Economic Justice at Color of Change.
Steven Renderos is the Organizing Director at the Center for Media Justice.
Bryan Mercer is the Executive Director of Media Mobilizing Project.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai released the following statement regarding unanimous U.S. Senate passage of Kari’s Law Act of 2017: “I am pleased that the U.S. Senate unanimously passed Kari’s Law. This legislation will help ensure that every call to 911 directly connects those in need with those who can help. I also commend Hank Hunt, Kari's father, for channeling his pain into a passion for change. Thanks to his efforts and those of many others, Americans will one day be able to call 911 and reach first responders without having to dial an access code. I hope that this critical public safety measure will soon become law.”

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the agency has chosen Jim Balaguer to serve as deputy director of the Office of Legislative Affairs.

Since 2010, Balaguer has served as an associate director and senior legislative analyst in the Office of Legislative Affairs, where he was the primary liaison to Congress on wireline issues, including universal service, broadband adoption, and the Internet Protocol transition. Prior to his most recent position, Balaguer served in several roles in the Office of Legislative Affairs as lead liaison on consumer protection issues, including telemarketing policy, caller ID spoofing, and disability access policy, as well as tribal telecom and international communications issues. He began his FCC career in the former Enforcement Division of the bureau that is now known as the Wireline Competition Bureau. Balaguer received an MA from George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management and a BA from Loyola University in Maryland.