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Senators: Defend, Not Defund, Net Neutrality

WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled
House voted two
weeks ago to defund the Federal
Communications Commission’s
implementation of its networkneutrality
rules, but the Senate’s
Democratic leadership said “no.”

The net-neutrality rules won’t go
into effect until October, or perhaps
longer if a court that stayed
them as part of what are virtually
guaranteed legal challenges as soon as the regulations
get the green light to proceed.

As with earlier attempts to block the rules, the
House measure was an amendment to an appropriations
bill, this time the 2012 bill rather than the
House version of a stopgap spending bill that also
passed with the rule-blocking amendment before
it was excised in the stopgap version that passed
the Senate as well. After the latest amendment
passed the House, Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D- W.
Va.), chair of the Commerce Committee, and John
Kerry (D-Mass.), chair of the Communications
Subcommittee joined with Al Franken (D-Minn.) and
other senators in advising the Senate Appropriations
Committee leadership not to follow suit.

Grassley: FCC Unresponsive on LightSquared

WASHINGTON — Ranking Senate Judiciary Committee
member Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) said Federal
Communications Commission staffers ignored
document requests about the
qagency’s correspondence with
LightSquared and the planned
broadband network’s backers, as
well as with the White House.

LightSquared received an FCC
waiver to use its satellite spectrum
for terrestrial delivery of a
4G wireless broadband network,
although interference issues
have caused the compaby to
modify its proposal per the FCC’s condition that its
service not interfere with satellite operations on an
adjacent band. “While we have deep respect for
Senator Grassley, we respectfully disagree with the
characterization of the exchange between staff in
our offices,” said a spokesperson for Genachowski.

Grassley included some new questions in the
letter about just how responsive the FCC had been.
He wanted them answered by July 20.

Ariz. Regulators Bless AT&T-T-Mobile Merger


WASHINGTON —- The Arizona Corporation Commission
approved the AT&T-T-Mobile merger in that
state without a hearing.

The commission, Arizona’s version of a Public
Utility Commission but with more expanded powers,
recommended that AT&T’s proposed $39 billion
purchase of T-Mobile be approved, saying that
it does not adversely affect customers or prevent
either company from providing “safe, reasonable
and adequate” service.

The commission concluded that the benefi ts the
companies said would result from the deal “are important
to the continued and future quality of telecommunications
services to Arizona consumers.”
Those include higher quality service in the state,
alleviation of the “impending spectrum crisis,”
expansion of fourth-generation wireless, including
a 300% increase in geographical coverage and service
to unserved and underserved rural areas.