Open internet supporters cheered ISPs dropping their challenge of California’s net neutrality law. National telecom associations indicated Wednesday they won’t appeal to the Supreme Court after the full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to rehear their case (see 2204200061). Whether states may regulate broadband might still not be settled. Some opponents of state net neutrality laws said to watch out for the 2nd Circuit to perhaps differ on federal preemption questions.

The FCC should require licensees to collect and report diversity data from the companies that provide their media content, including on streaming services, said a petition Thursday from programmer Fuse Media and several public interest groups including the National Hispanic Media Coalition, Public Knowledge and Common Cause. The petition doesn’t limit the proposal to companies overseen by the Media Bureau, but loops in broadband licensees such as Google and Amazon. “Collecting data from all of the regulatee’s services will not only provide a fuller picture of the regulatee’s overall commitment to diversity but would allow the Commission to compare viewpoint diversity and competition across different services,” said the petition.

ACA Connects announces CEO Matt Polka stepping down in July ... Benton Institute for Broadband & Society appoints Revati Prasad, ex-Institute for Local Self-Reliance, director-research and fellowships… NAB announces Alex Siciliano, ex-The Petrizzo Group, as senior communications strategist, new position … IHeartMedia hires Sarah van Mosel from SiriusXM's Stitcher as executive vice president-iHeart Audience Network ... Boingo Wireless taps Tanya Lynch from Mouser Electronics as vice president-human resources ... Chinese social e-commerce platform Yunji promotes Peng Zhang to vice president-finance to replace Chengqi Zhang, resigning for personal reasons, both effective Friday.

The FCC’s Consumer Advisory Committee members approved its consumer broadband labels working group’s recommendations on disclosure. All members at Tuesday's virtual meeting (see 2203110064) voted in favor, with Next Century Cities being the sole abstention. NCC didn’t comment on why it abstained.

The cable industry is alerting operators that the FCC may move the goalposts of what defines broadband to 100 Mbps download, 20 upload, but operators and advocacy groups think that target is well within cable ISPs' capabilities already. Some see a move to 100/20 providing cover when better FCC broadband maps show less broadband availability than maps now show.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association, Netflix, Huawei and Apple reported the largest percentage increases in Q1 lobbying spending among telecom and tech sector entities, based on filings Wednesday. Disney, IBM and T-Mobile reported the biggest percentage spending decreases for the quarter. Facebook parent company Meta, Amazon and CTIA were the top sector spenders for Q1. Most entities boosted their spending or stayed level compared with the same period in 2021.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied rehearing by the full court of its decision upholding California’s net neutrality law. No judge requested a vote on whether to rehear the case en banc, said the Wednesday order. The state defendant didn't comment. Plaintiffs NCTA and CTIA declined to comment, and USTelecom didn’t comment by our deadline. ACA Connects directed us to the other associations. Vermont’s net neutrality law became enforceable after the U.S. District Court in Burlington continued a stay on the litigation Tuesday (see 2204190072).

Vermont net neutrality litigation will be further stayed until the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals resolves a New York appeal of the state’s broadband affordability law, the U.S. District Court in Burlington ruled Tuesday. Judge Christina Reiss said the court’s Dec. 17 injunction on enforcing Vermont’s net neutrality law and executive order expired April 15. Defendant Vermont and plaintiffs ACA Connects, CTIA, USTelecom and the New England Cable and Telecommunications Association sought the order in a Friday stipulation. The district court in December paused the until April 15 or when the 9th Court resolved suits on California’s net neutrality law (see 2112170032). The 9th Circuit upheld California’s law, but industry in February filed a petition for rehearing en banc that's pending (see 2202100072). “The scope and conduct of this action could be significantly shaped by” 2nd Circuit resolution of the New York case, the Vermont parties said Friday.

Nearly a year after the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision on a challenge to parts of its 2019 cable local franchise authority (LFA) order (see 2105260035), localities interests and lawyers told us negotiations with cable operators have become more complex. Some think the pace of such negotiations and agreements picked up again in recent months, after a slowdown during the 6th Circuit appeal and subsequent, unsuccessful petition for writ of certiorari by appellant localities Eugene, Oregon, and others (see 2111010048). NCTA, ACA Connects, Comcast, Charter and Altice didn't comment.

Industry groups and ISPs participating in the FCC’s affordable connectivity program sought more time to comply with the program’s non-usage tracking rule. Comment posted Friday in docket 21-450 backed a USTelecom petition for an additional 60 days after the April 15 deadline (see 2203230041).