More TV stations should consider channel sharing after the FCC incentive auction, said Association of Public Television Stations board members and broadcasters at the APTS 2015 Summit Sunday in Washington. Not many stations are likely to relinquish their spectrum, APTS staff said during the Summit.
The FCC “should hold fast” to protecting taxpayers from the misuse of rural broadband experiment funds by denying applications to ease the program’s letter of credit requirement (see 1501070042), filed by several applicants tentatively approved for funding, Free State Foundation’s Senior Fellow Seth Cooper wrote in a blog post Monday. The agency “has a paramount duty to protect consumers,” and “must not squander Universal Service Fund ‘surcharges’ imposed on consumers’ telephone bills,” Cooper wrote. “Like tax dollars, consumer surcharges must be used efficiently and not put at unnecessary risk.”
The FCC “should hold fast” to protecting taxpayers from the misuse of rural broadband experiment funds by denying applications to ease the program’s letter of credit requirement (see 1501070042), filed by several applicants tentatively approved for funding, Free State Foundation’s Senior Fellow Seth Cooper wrote in a blog post Monday. The agency “has a paramount duty to protect consumers,” and “must not squander Universal Service Fund ‘surcharges’ imposed on consumers’ telephone bills,” Cooper wrote. “Like tax dollars, consumer surcharges must be used efficiently and not put at unnecessary risk.”
The FCC assertion that Chairman Tom Wheeler’s draft net neutrality order would impose no taxes or fees was disputed Friday by Commissioner Ajit Pai, who claimed in a statement it “explicitly opens the door to billions of dollars in new taxes on broadband.” An economist also claimed in a Forbes op-ed that the plan would lead to at least $500 million in federal fees and potentially more in state charges. An FCC spokesman Friday stood by a Wednesday fact sheet’s assertion, telling us the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) applies to broadband, even at the state and federal level.
The FCC assertion that Chairman Tom Wheeler’s draft net neutrality order would impose no taxes or fees was disputed Friday by Commissioner Ajit Pai, who claimed in a statement it “explicitly opens the door to billions of dollars in new taxes on broadband.” An economist also claimed in a Forbes op-ed that the plan would lead to at least $500 million in federal fees and potentially more in state charges. An FCC spokesman Friday stood by a Wednesday fact sheet’s assertion, telling us the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) applies to broadband, even at the state and federal level.
The FCC portrayed the reclassification of broadband in Chairman Tom Wheeler’s net neutrality proposal as a modernized Title II. But pledges from senior agency officials not to impose traditional Communications Act common-carriage regulations like rate regulation didn't ease the concerns of reclassification’s opponents.
The FCC portrayed the reclassification of broadband in Chairman Tom Wheeler’s net neutrality proposal as a modernized Title II. But pledges from senior agency officials not to impose traditional Communications Act common-carriage regulations like rate regulation didn't ease the concerns of reclassification’s opponents.
The White House wants the FCC to have much higher funding next year and to fund an agency transition to new or smaller headquarters, it said Monday. The lease for the FCC’s Portals building headquarters ends in 2017 (see 1501090040). The administration's FY 2016 $4 trillion budget, issued a month earlier than the one for a year ago, included provisions on spectrum, cybersecurity and broadband. It received immediate pushback from some Hill lawmakers, who insisted Congress won't advance the administration’s budget.
Though widely considered to be a likely supporter of the Communications Act Title II net neutrality approach FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is expected to unveil later this week, Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said in an interview that she wants to make sure “everyone is able to point to something in the order that benefits them.” By that, Clyburn, who acknowledged she backed Title II in the 2010 net neutrality order, said she doesn’t want only the “well-heeled” to benefit, and wants the commission to maintain a regulatory backstop if needed. She also doesn't want to damage the continued deployment of broadband, Clyburn told us Friday.
Though widely considered to be a likely supporter of the Communications Act Title II net neutrality approach FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is expected to unveil later this week, Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said in an interview that she wants to make sure “everyone is able to point to something in the order that benefits them.” By that, Clyburn, who acknowledged she backed Title II in the 2010 net neutrality order, said she doesn’t want only the “well-heeled” to benefit, and wants the commission to maintain a regulatory backstop if needed. She also doesn't want to damage the continued deployment of broadband, Clyburn told us Friday.