Agenda

Broadband fixed wireless economics are considerably better than those for fiber-to-the-home, said Claude Aiken, president and CEO of the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) in written testimony presented to the House  Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Aiken urged subcommittee members to support spectrum policy favorable to WISPs. He argued that by spurring investment in broadband fixed wireless, a WISP-friendly spectrum policy could help minimize the need for government subsidies to support broadband buildout.

The House Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, in the first oversight hearing for the new slate of Federal Trade Commission members, probed the commissioners on issues like data security, the Internet of Things, privacy, deceptive advertising, and more.

The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to send the merger between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media before an administrative law judge, a process that could doom the $3.9 billion deal. 

The Hill notes that Sinclair responded to Chairman Pai's proposal on July 18 with a revised plan to sell off certain stations from the combined company in order to get it under a congressionally-mandated ownership limit. The 4-0 vote the evening of July 18 appears to be a rejection of those concessions.

T-Mobile US and Sprint have filed applications seeking Federal Communications Commission consent to the transfer of control of the licenses, authorizations, and spectrum leases held by Sprint and its subsidiaries to T-Mobile and the pro forma transfer of control of the licenses, authorizations, and spectrum leases held by TMobile and it subsidiaries in furtherance of T-Mobile’s and Sprint’s previously announced agreement to merge.

[Analysis] Digital platforms that (a) provide a two-sided or multi-sided market; (b) are accessed via the internet; and (c) have at least one side that is marketed as a “mass market” service, share a set of characteristics and raise a similar set of concerns so that we should consider them as a distinct set of businesses. This does not make laws of general applicability such as antitrust inapposite. Nor are these distinct capabilities and incentives intrinsically bad or good.

Lawmakers sparred over ways to bring more investment to rural broadband services. Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said government needs to complement private investment not compete against it.

Facebook, Google and Twitter on Tuesday sought to defend themselves against accusations from Republican lawmakers who say the tech giants censor conservative news and views during a congressional hearing that devolved into a political sniping match. 

National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone -- the head of the nation’s largest electronic spy agency and the military’s cyberwarfare arm -- has quietly directed the two organizations to coordinate actions to counter potential Russian interference in the 2018 midterm elections. The move is an attempt to maximize the efforts of the two groups and comes as President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladi­mir Putin was “extremely strong and powerful” in denying Russian involvement in the presidential election two years ago.

[Analysis] As digital platforms have become increasingly important in our everyday lives, we’ve recognized that the need for some sort of regulatory oversight increases. We have reached the point where we need sector-specific regulation focused on online digital platforms, not just application of existing antitrust or existing consumer protection laws.