Brendan Carr and Jessica Rosenworcel are expected to be sworn in soon as commissioners -- after the FCC gets paperwork back from the White House, agency officials said Wednesday. Once a commissioner is confirmed by the Senate, the president must sign the paperwork, which is then transmitted to the agency. The White House had 65 nominees confirmed at once, which led to some delay in the process, officials said. Rosenworcel and Carr were confirmed last week as part of an agreement between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. (see 1708030060). Carr remains working inside the building as general counsel until he becomes a commissioner. No decision has been made on how the eighth-floor office layout will be reconfigured after the two are sworn in. Commissioners generally pick their suite of offices based on seniority. The chairman often swears in new commissioners, but the managing director or other officials also can do that.

A year after spending $1 billion to acquire 33 percent of BAMTech as the springboard to launch an ESPN-branded subscription streaming service for live sports (see 1608100024), Disney announced Tuesday it will pay $1.58 billion more to buy an additional 42 percent of the streaming-technology company. Disney also will launch its long-awaited ESPN-branded “multi-sport video streaming service” in early 2018, followed by a new Disney-branded direct-to-consumer streaming service in 2019, said the studio. Launch of the ESPN-branded service has had several delays. Disney CEO Bob Iger first indicated plans to launch it in 2016, then sometime in 2017, and now early 2018. The service will feature about 10,000 live regional, national and international games and events a year, including from Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, Grand Slam tennis and college sports, Disney said. With the new “strategic shift” toward a Disney-branded service, “Disney will end its distribution agreement with Netflix for subscription streaming of new releases, beginning with the 2019 calendar year theatrical slate,” it said. “Plans are for the Disney and ESPN streaming services to be available for purchase directly from Disney and ESPN, in app stores, and from authorized MVPDs.” Netflix didn’t comment.

The FCC needs to address problems with the electronic comments filing system (ECFS) before going any further on its net neutrality proceeding "or it will be clear that this is a rogue agency" beholden to large telcos, Fight for the Future (FFTF) said in a statement Monday. It cited reports that the FCC claimed ECFS was "hacked" in 2014 despite a lack of evidence it was the subject it was a cyberattack. That raises questions about the veracity of FCC claims that its ECFS was subject of a directed denial-of-service attack earlier this year (see 1705080042), FFTF said. The FCC didn't comment. Meanwhile, the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) in a news release Tuesday said more than 5.8 million fake pro-net neutrality comments were filed with the FCC between July 17 and Aug. 4. It said the deluge came from fake email domains and U.S. address-generator programs, often with the same comments being submitted hundreds of times by filers under the same name but coming from different false email and physical U.S. addresses. It said the comments all use the same language -- "I am in favor of strong net neutrality under Title II of the Communications Act. Sincerely." A spot check of some of the comments found every address was invalid, NLPC said. It said Congress should investigate obviously fake comments submitted by pro- and anti-net neutrality advocates. NLPC has done multiple analyses it says point to fraudulent net neutrality comments (see 1706070017 and 1705310019).

The FCC launched an inquiry into whether advanced telecom capability is being rolled out to all Americans in a reasonable and timely way under Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act, noting it didn't issue a report on its last inquiry. "We propose to start this Inquiry afresh, with updated data and questions focused on the current progress of deployment of advanced telecommunications capability," said a notice of inquiry in docket 17-199 inviting comments by Sept. 7, replies by Sept. 22. The NOI proposes to keep the current 25/3 Mbps speed benchmark for fixed broadband. "We sell consumers short by proposing a speed benchmark that is way too low," said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn in a concurring statement. She voiced concern about the FCC's desire for comment "on whether to deem an area 'served' if mobile or fixed services is available" and "on whether the Commission should establish a speed benchmark based on the speed tier consumers are subscribing to."

Court refusal to stay an FCC business data service order and to transfer litigation drew praise from BDS order supporters and mixed views on its import, with some seeing a chance the court still could undo regulatory decisions. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Monday denied (in Pacer) motions to stay the deregulation and transfer the case to the D.C. Circuit, in ruling on various procedural motions in Citizens Telecommunications v. FCC, No. 17-2296. Letting BDS "modernization" take effect "is an important -- though unsurprising -- affirmation that the Commission thoroughly analyzed our massive data collection to establish a robust, forward-looking competitive framework. These reforms will encourage vigorous investment in next-generation networks," said Chairman Ajit Pai. Windstream, BT Americas, Incompas and the Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee sought the stay, joined by Sprint and Granite Communications in requesting transfer (see 1707050032).

Microsoft representatives met with various FCC officials to discuss its proposal to use the TV white spaces to deploy broadband in rural markets (see 1707110015). “The Airband Initiative will: (1) invest in partnerships with rural telecommunications carriers to use White Spaces technologies to provide broadband connectivity to 2,000,000 people in rural areas by July 4, 2022, (2) invest in training Americans of all ages in these rural communities on the latest technology through multi-year partnerships with groups such as the National 4-H Council, and (3) stimulate further investment by providing royalty-free access to at least 39 White Spaces patents and sample source code,” said a filing on the meetings in docket 12-268. Microsoft said it met with Office of Engineering and Technology officials, including Chief Julius Knapp, and Wireless Bureau staff.

Comments are due Sept. 18, replies Oct. 18 on proposed procedures for auctioning up to $198 million per year in fixed broadband support, said a Connect America Fund Phase II public notice in Monday's Daily Digest. The PN, adopted by commissioners Thursday (see 1708030026), appeared to closely track a draft. The final PN added language in paragraph 21 that elaborated on a prohibited communications rule that it said is "analogous" to past auction rules, and sought comment on potential alternative procedures that would effectively address FCC concerns about possible bidding coordination, with a new footnote citing a Rural Coalition proposal for allowing bidders to share consultants (see 1707270041). It also included new language in paragraph 36 seeing comment on whether a possible presumed 70 percent subscription take rate should change over time to reflect the number of locations that a bidder can serve in a given year, and it cited a recommendation from Hughes Network Systems (see 1707270015). Among the other changes, the PN sought comment in paragraphs 71 and 145 on further ways to educate potential bidders, tweaked some language, added seven footnotes and included an upper microwave flexible use service "terrestrial" line for the 28 and 39 GHz bands in a proposed spectrum chart on page 41.

Securus should have known about alleged Section 222 violations involving its location-based-service (LBS) products, the Wright Petitioners said in a Friday ex-parte letter to the FCC in docket 17-126 on the Securus sale to Platinum Equity. Securus said in a July 31 ex parte notice it wasn’t “aware of any violations of Section 222 of the Communications Act as Petitioner asserts.” That’s “misleading,” said the Wright Petitioners, because one month earlier, a Securus employee testified in Mississippi County, Missouri, for a criminal case involving use of the Securus LBS product to allegedly track cellphones of five county employees. The petitioners said there was another “inaccurate” statement that the company secured all state regulatory OKs, when Alaska and California reviews are ongoing (see 1708030040). Petitioners' claims are inaccurate and Securus will file a formal response to the privacy allegations, even though they're unrelated to the transfer of control, Securus CEO Richard Smith said Friday: "Securus has not violated the Communications Act nor has knowledge of any violations."

Neutrality will prevail at Neustar and Telcordia/iconectiv after changes to their business structures, the FCC Wireline Bureau said Friday. Two orders OK’d requests by the outgoing and incoming administrators of local number portability in docket 95-116. The bureau conditionally approved the proposed takeover of Neustar by Aerial Investors, run by Golden Gate Capital (see 1708030013). It “will not adversely affect its neutrality, subject to compliance with this Order, the adoption of the Neutrality Plan, the creation of the Voting Trust, and the adoption of the Code of Conduct,” said an order. The Singapore government owns minority investor GIC, but the bureau said it's satisfied by GIC’s commitments and results of the review by the inter-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which analyzed national security and critical infrastructure implications. The bureau didn’t impose conditions on timing of the LNPA transition because it said it wouldn't be appropriate: “We would be very concerned if the ownership change that we approve today should, in any way, delay the transition. We expect Neustar and its new owners to cooperate in the transition to ensure that the transition in LNPA from Neustar to iconectiv proceeds in an effective, seamless and timely way.” The other action approved changes proposed by Telcordia/iconectiv to the LNPA code of conduct and voting trust, and the 16.7 percent minority investment by FP Icon Holdings (see 1706290032). The changes and investment “will not adversely affect iconectiv’s neutrality,” said an order: The FP Icon investment “may in some measure strengthen its neutrality as it diversifies iconectiv’s ownership.”

The FCC Media Bureau denied requests from the American Cable Association, Public Knowledge and Dish Network for more time to comment and more information on Sinclair's buying Tribune Media (see 1707250045), said an order released Friday in docket 17-179. The bureau agreed with Sinclair and Tribune arguments that the requests for more information and third-party data should properly be filed as part of a petition to deny, during the time frame for such petitions. The motion for additional information is “misplaced,” the bureau said. “Movants do not need access to the wide-ranging and highly confidential information movants request the Commission to demand in order to file a petition to deny.” The movants and Sinclair/Tribune conceded it's up to commission staff to issue information requests in the merger proceeding, so the motion for more information is dismissed, the order said. Because of the dismissal, the bureau didn’t consider whether a previous case on confidential documents in a deal, CBS v. FCC, applies to this matter. ACA, PK and Dish also didn’t establish a basis for an extension of time, the order said. Though they had asked for the extension to have more time to go over the additional information requested, the denial of that request makes the time extension moot, the bureau said. Several other entities had filed in support of the request, including Common Cause and NTCA. A spokesman for ACA said the movants were "disappointed but not surprised." Commissioner Mignon Clyburn indicated with a tweet she hadn't been informed 48 hours ahead of the decision to deny the request. "I've asked about the @FCC majority’s policy of providing 48 hours notice but it doesn’t seem to apply here," Clyburn said of the order. "The 48-hours policy does not apply to requests for extension of time, which are routinely handled at the Bureau level," an FCC spokeswoman emailed. "That said, the offices were given notice." Representatives from Dish, ACA, Common Cause, the Computer & Communications Industry Association and other supporters of the motion plan a news-media call Monday on their opposition filings to Sinclair/Tribune, said a news release: "As a group, these representatives will call for the Sinclair-Tribune merger to be rejected."