Fierce

With the prospect of the Sinclair-Tribune megamerger on the horizon, groups are urging the Federal Communications Commission to block the return of the UHF discount in order to slow broadcast industry consolidation. In a joint filing to the FCC, Free Press, United Church of Christ, Prometheus Radio Project, Media Mobilizing Project, Media Alliance, National Hispanic Media Coalition and Common Cause requested a stay of the reinstatement of the UHF discount, which would allow broadcasters to once again count UHF stations as 50 percent toward the national broadcast ownership cap. The groups argued that the technical logic for the UHF discount is no longer valid.

“It is arbitrary and capricious to adopt a provision that lacks any independent technical or policy support, and which contravenes the statutory limit on national television ownership,” the groups wrote in the filing. The groups also argued that news of the reinstatement is effectively triggering a new wave of broadcast industry mergers and acquisitions and allowing deals like Sinclair’s $3.9 billion bid for Tribune to move forward. The groups also said that a stay will benefit the public interest by maintaining more diversity in broadcasting. “Maintaining a diversity of voices goes to the heart of the Commission’s mission to promote competition and diversity, and all Americans will benefit from the grant of a stay,” the groups wrote.

Ting, the wireline internet division of Tucows, does not envision Google Fiber’s recent troubles posing challenges to the larger fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service community. Elliot Noss, president and CEO of Tucows, said that there are still plenty of opportunities to expand its FTTH reach. “There are certainly markets that had, had some conversation with Google who have been in contact with us,” said Noss. “But at the end of the day, it's such a big market, and Google had such big halo that I don't know that will necessarily have a material impact.” Noss added that having a larger amount of FTTH service providers is a benefit to all players that participate in the fiber broadband segment.

Tower companies are well positioned as mobile operators ramp up their network investments in coming months in advance of 5G, according to Deutsche Bank. And Sprint and AT&T are at the front of the pack.

Wireless capex among US carriers fell short of expectations in 2016 as operators tightened their belts ahead of 5G deployments. Sprint was the most notable miser among operators in terms of network spend, incrementally lowering its capex guidance in fiscal year 2016 from an initial $4.5 billion to a range of $2 billion to $2.3 billion. Sprint has yet to offer capex guidance for its current fiscal year, but it has said it expects its investments to accelerate as it continues to densify its network. Other major US carriers will begin to open their wallets, too, Deutsche Bank predicted, buoying the tower market.

CenturyLink’s proposed acquisition of Level 3 is now facing protests from two California-based consumer advocacy groups who say the combined company will place too much control of a large portion of the state’s wholesale and retail fiber into one company. This is a small blow to CenturyLink, which has remained confident that it would not have as difficult a time getting state approvals because the telecommunication company is purchasing a company that does not serve consumers.

Level 3 is mainly focused on selling a mix of wholesale services like fiber to other carriers and selling IP-based and TDM services to business customers. These groups include a coalition of consumer advocacy groups—TURN, The Greenlining Institute and the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) office of ratepayer advocates—and the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF).