Policy

FCC Lifts Boatload of Telephone Regs

Grants Vast Majority or USTelecom Forbearance Requests
By: John Eggerton May 17 2013 - 4:36pm
Grants Vast Majority or USTelecom Forbearance Requests
 

The FCC under outgoing chair Julius Genachowski Friday unanimously voted to lift  a host of phone company regs it called unnecessary and outdated. It also sought input on getting rid of even more. but telcos suggested the FCC fell short of the mark.

There were over 120 regulations the FCC said it would either modify or not enforce, the commission said, while pointing out that one it's keeping is the requirement that companies "notify consumers when services are being eliminated."

MetroPCS Drops Net Neutrality Challenge

Verizon Remains to Push Case Against FCC Rules
By: John Eggerton May 17 2013 - 2:46pm
Verizon Remains to Push Case Against FCC Rules

In something of a farewell present to outgoing FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, MetroPCS has dropped its challenge to the FCC's network neutrality rules.

New MetroPCS owner T-Mobile--it completed the purchase earlier this month--inherited the suit and signaled Friday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that it is no longer interested in pursuing the challenge.

Clyburn to Lead FCC on May 20

Commissioner Becomes Acting Chair, First Woman to Head Agency
By: John Eggerton May 17 2013 - 11:35am
Commissioner Becomes Acting Chair, First Woman to Head Agency
 

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn will become acting chair of the agency, effective Monday, May 20, according to an FCC spokesperson. She will be the first woman to hold that post.

 

House Dems: Auction Law Does Not Prevent FCC Spectrum Screen Move

Lawmakers Take Issue with GOP Interpretation of Incentive Auction
By: John Eggerton May 16 2013 - 3:20pm
Lawmakers Take Issue with GOP Interpretation of Incentive Auction
 
Leading House Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats have given the FCC their take on what incentive spectrum auction legislation has to say about agency policy regarding the spectrum holdings of wireless companies.

CEA Ponders Challenge to Charter Waiver

Critics of the Move Have Until the End of the Week to Petition for Review
By: John Eggerton (Broadcasting & Cable) May 16 2013 - 3:11pm
Critics of the Move Have Until the End of the Week to Petition for Review

Opponents of the FCC's conditional waiver to Charter Communications for set-tops with downloadable security, which includes notably the Consumer Electronics Association, have until end of day Monday (May 20) to appeal that decision to the full commission, according to an FCC spokesperson. A spokesperson for CEA said it was "considering all options," but FCC staffers are anticipating that it will appeal the Media Bureau-level decision.

FTC Signals It Is Sticking With July 1 Date for COPPA Changes

NAB, MPAA, Others Had Asked for Extra Six months to Implement Changes
By: John Eggerton May 16 2013 - 1:41pm
NAB, MPAA, Others Had Asked for Extra Six months to Implement Changes
 

The Federal Trade Commission has signaled that it will not be postponing the July 1 deadline for companies to come into compliance with changes in its rule enforcing the COPPA (the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act).

AG Holder: DOJ Generally Supports Warrant for Info from Service Providers

Says Must Be a Balance of Privacy Expectations, Law Enforcement Needs
By: John Eggerton May 15 2013 - 4:31pm
Says Must Be a Balance of Privacy Expectations, Law Enforcement Needs
 

Attorney general Eric Holder said Wednesday that, as a general matter, his department supports having to get a warrant to access electronic communications from a service provider.

He did not exactly answer whether Justice thought it needed a warrant to get emails from a third party like Yahoo, but he did say that there should be certain limited circumstances when Justice would need to acquire info at the speed at which communications now move.

AG Holder: Justice Should Be Able to Go After Some Illegal Streaming as Felony

Says Necessary for Government to Have in its Toolkit
By: John Eggerton May 15 2013 - 4:23pm
Says Necessary for Government to Have in its Toolkit
 

At a House Judiciary Committee Justice Department oversight hearing Wednesday, attorney general Eric Holder said that being able to classify illegal streaming as a felony, not just a misdemeanor, is necessary for the government to have in its toolkit.

Wheeler Not Among Senate Commerce Nominees Scheduled for Hearing

Committee Sources Say It's A Matter of Time before Memorial Day Break
By: John Eggerton May 15 2013 - 4:18pm
Committee Sources Say It's A Matter of Time before Memorial Day Break
 

Senate Commerce Committee chair Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) has scheduled a May 22 nomination hearing for two new department chiefs, but it did not include FCC chairman nominee Tom Wheeler.

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Seibert: Consumers Will Drive Programming Cost Reductions

Cablevision CFO Says McCain's A la Carte Program, Others Will Depend on Consumer Reaction
By: Mike Farrell May 15 2013 - 12:38pm
Cablevision CFO Says McCain's A la Carte Program, Others Will Depend on Consumer Reaction

Consumer reaction could be the biggest catalyst for programming cost reform, Cablevision Systems vice chairman and chief financial officer Gregg Seibert told an investment conference audience Wednesday.

Seibert, speaking at the JP Morgan Technology, Media and Telecom conference in Boston, said recent initiatives by Sen. John McCain to force a la carte options also could help foster reform.

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