Bloomberg

Sinclair Broadcast Group, a broadcaster eager for freedom from US rules limiting mergers, lined up a Republican regulator for a company conference in Baltimore’s (MD) Four Seasons hotel days after the Nov 8 election. Ajit Pai’s trip from nearby Washington turned out to be a coup when Donald Trump’s surprise election win put Republicans in charge of the Federal Communications Commission. Now Sinclair had a soon-to-be FCC chairman on hand for a gathering of its executives and a meeting with its Executive Chairman David Smith, who has guided the Maryland-based broadcaster through explosive growth and wants more. The gleaming harbor-front hotel, home to fare including a $32 crab cake sandwich and a $15 “Ulterior Motive" cocktail, offered a memorable perch for impressing Pai.

Sinclair has tripled its holdings over the past decade to become the biggest US broadcaster by number of outlets, with 173 stations that it owns or helps operate. It needs relief from FCC rules for more deals, such as a possible bid for the 42-station Tribune Media Co. “They are actively courting and buttering him up," said Craig Aaron, president of the policy group Free Press that’s critical of Sinclair, saying the company has sidestepped US rules limiting station ownership. “Clearly Sinclair believes that Ajit Pai is going to clear the way for them to do whatever kind of deals they want to do.”

Apparently, Comcast has acquired rights from cable network owners to offer their channels nationwide, giving the biggest US cable operator a backup plan if rival online-TV services catch on with consumers. The rights allow Comcast to sell video service for the first time outside its regional territories, which include Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia. In most cases, Comcast acquired the rights through “most favored nation” clauses in contracts, which let the company sell channels in the same places as new online distributors.

Since Comcast doesn’t sell traditional cable-TV service in markets like New York and Los Angeles, the rights mean the company could presumably offer a package of channels as an online-streaming service in those cities. In some scenarios, Comcast asked for the rights as part of broader carriage negotiations with programmers. For now at least, Comcast has no plans to offer a video service nationwide because it still sees opportunity to gain cable-TV subscribers in its footprint, apparently.

The US (and the world) is in the midst of a sea change in how we spend our leisure time. Young people are less inclined to indulge in America's favorite pastime: zoning out in front of the TV. On average, people ages 18 to 24 spend half as much time watching live and recorded television as 35-to-49-year-old Americans, according to Nielsen.Young people are definitely watching video, but it's more likely something from YouTube or a friend's Snapchat story on their phone than the episode of "Grey's Anatomy" their parents are watching on the living room TV.

As TV changes accelerate, though, not enough people in the technology and entertainment industries are talking about a crucial issue: Can America’s expensive and inferior home and mobile internet networks handle it as more people shift from watching TV to having their entertainment delivered over the web? Even now, many home internet networks can't manage. Media and tech consulting firm Activate estimated only 12 percent of US households have fast enough internet speed to support multiple people watching TV online via services such as Sling TV. About 34 million Americans -- 10 percent of the population, and 39 percent in rural parts of the country -- have no access to fast home internet, according to an analysis by the Federal Communications Commissions.

Telecommunication industry insiders waiting for President Donald Trump to name a third GOP member of the Federal Communications Commission are focused on two possible contenders. Industry officials and telecom attorneys are pointing to Duke University economics professor Michelle Connolly and American Enterprise Institute scholar Roslyn Layton as likely candidates for the post.

The pair may have an edge over other possible picks because conservatives are interested in candidates with a strong grounding in economics. The Obama Administration’s FCC endured GOP criticism for allegedly not folding sufficient economic analysis into new rules and regulations. Sitting GOP Commissioner Michael O’Rielly called for the creation of an all-new FCC economics bureau in March 8 testimony for a Senate oversight hearing. Connolly, the FCC’s chief economist under former Republican Chairman Kevin Martin, holds a raft of Yale University economics degrees. Layton’s work with AEI and as a fellow in the Center for Communication, Media and Information Technologies at Denmark’s Aalborg University has touched frequently on the economics of technology and the internet. She advised the Trump team on the FCC during the transition.

The Wi-Fi icon -- a dot with radio waves radiating outward -- glows on nearly every internet-connected device, from the iPhone to thermostats to TVs. But it’s starting to fade from the limelight. With every major US wireless carrier now offering unlimited data plans, consumers don’t need to log on to a Wi-Fi network to avoid costly overage charges anymore. That’s a critical change that threatens to render Wi-Fi obsolete. And with new competitive technologies crowding in, the future looks even dimmer.

Russian hackers are targeting US progressive groups in a new wave of attacks, scouring the organizations’ e-mails for embarrassing details and attempting to extract hush money, according to two people familiar with probes being conducted by the FBI and private security firms. At least a dozen groups have faced extortion attempts since the US presidential election, apparently.

The ransom demands are accompanied by samples of sensitive data in the hackers’ possession. In one case, a non-profit group and a prominent liberal donor discussed how to use grant money to cover some costs for anti-Trump protesters. The identities were not disclosed, and it’s unclear if the protesters were paid. At least some groups have paid the ransoms even though there is little guarantee the documents won’t be made public anyway. Demands have ranged from about $30,000 to $150,000, payable in untraceable bitcoins, apparently.

Vera Jourova spent months working with the Obama administration on a deal to protect Europeans from digital surveillance by US spies. With a new occupant now in the White House, the European Union’s privacy czar says she’s prepared to rip up the pact if the Americans don’t adhere to its terms.

“If there is a significant change, we will suspend” the accord, Jourova, the European Union’s justice commissioner, said. “I will not hesitate to do it. There’s too much at stake.” At the end of March the former Czech regional development minister will travel to Washington to meet with the administration of new US President Donald Trump on the privacy shield. Jourova said she’s hopeful she won’t have to suspend the pact, but conceded that Trump’s unpredictability has raised concern among European regulators.

Opponents of AT&T’s plan to acquire Time Warner may have to rely on the Department of Justice as their sole federal option for blocking the $85.4 billion deal, as it looks increasingly likely that the Federal Communications Commission won’t review it. Public Knowledge President Gene Kimmelman, whose group opposes the merger, acknowledged as much Feb. 28 when he told state attorneys general that they needed to give the deal a closer look than they might otherwise would have. “I would urge you to look at it carefully as I’m not sure it will get as much scrutiny at the federal level as it would in the past,” he said. Without FCC review, the arguments against the deal have shifted away from a “public interest” standard to a narrower anti-competitive standard. That improves the chances for AT&T and Time Warner and makes the case more difficult for opponents.

Recently, an Indian government official announced that iPhones will start rolling off an assembly line in Bangalore by the end of April, targeted at local customers. It's a big moment for Apple, which is counting on India's emerging middle class to make up for slowing sales in other markets.

But don't bet on the iPhone conquering India, or any other emerging market, just yet. That's because smartphones of all kinds are facing stiff competition from an unlikely new challenger: feature phones. With simple handsets and small screens intended mostly for calls and text messages -- similar to the Nokia or Motorola you probably owned years ago -- a new generation of feature phones is suddenly looking like a threat to Apple and its rivals.

The Federal Communications Commission’s record-breaking $100 million proposed fine against AT&T may soon be relegated to the dustbin.

The blockbuster fine, which the commission’s Enforcement Bureau proposed in 2015 for the company’s wireless network management practices, could be an early casualty of new Chairman Ajit Pai’s intent to shake up the agency. He appears particularly eager to make his mark on the Enforcement Bureau.

Changes to the FCC’s enforcement procedures and focus could be among the actions with the most impact on both consumers and the telecommunications industry, including companies such as AT&T. Among the possible changes: a requirement that the commission wrap up enforcement cases within a year of announcing proposed fines. Chairman Pai is considering ideas for speeding up the FCC’s enforcement process, and a one-year limit “is certainly one idea that is on the table,” said agency spokesman Will Wiquist. “If a company has violated the Commission’s rules, the FCC shouldn’t be waiting years before imposing a financial penalty.” Such a move could lead to the commission simply dropping its case against AT&T.