Oracle asked the FCC to rethink its ISP privacy rules, in a petition for reconsideration in docket 16-106. Oracle’s main complaint was that the FCC treats ISPs differently than edge providers, not subject to the rules. “The Order correctly recognizes that protecting consumer privacy online is ‘fundamental,’ but completely undermines that goal by handing Google the market to the obvious detriment of consumers,” Oracle said. Rules for ISPs that depart from the FTC’s guidelines will hurt competition, Oracle said. “The corresponding harm to consumers is clear from an examination of the Order’s benefits for Google,” Oracle said. “Google already has the ability to track virtually every movement of a consumer’s day through an Android phone or tablet. It has created a proprietary Android world to derive substantial economic benefit from advertising and -- perhaps even more importantly -- obtain access to huge amounts of personal data through search, location tracking, and other activities.” Google didn’t comment. The ISP privacy rules, approved 3-2 by the FCC in October (see 1610270036), are seen as a top target for reversal by FCC Republicans once they gain a 2-1 edge at the agency Jan. 20 (see 1611090034). The main criticism by ISPs has been that they now face different regulations from edge providers.

Amtrak asked the FCC to change the rules under which its Wi-Fi network operates so it can offer more robust service along its key Northeast Corridor (NEC). To keep up with customer demands, Amtrak is building a private trackside network along the NEC providing dedicated capacity in the UNII-3 band for Amtrak's Wi-Fi and other broadband-related services, Amtrak told the FCC in a petition. The network could achieve download speeds “measureable in hundreds of megabits per second,” but only if it can use the 5.1 GHz U-NII-1 band in addition to the spectrum it's using, the 5.725-5.825 GHz U-NII-3 band, Amtrak said. “The UNII-1 band could provide Amtrak with a second 80 MHz channel that takes advantage of the IEEE 802.11ac standard and that also assures consistency of coverage in a cost efficient manner,” the railroad said. But under FCC rules non-fixed operations in the UNII-1 band are limited to an output power of 250 mW with antenna gain up to 6 dBi. “Were Amtrak to operate at this power level, it would have to construct three times as many trackside stations to achieve the coverage it already achieves in the 5.8 GHz band,” Amtrak said. “This would dramatically increase Amtrak's capital costs, delay network deployment and otherwise undermine the business case for Amtrak's” network. Amtrak asks instead that it be allowed to operate in both bands under the same technical specifications. The requested waiver “poses no meaningful risk of aggregate interference to Globalstar's satellites in U-NII-1 band,” Amtrak told the FCC. “Even without the requested waiver, Amtrak estimates that it will need to construct less than 800 trackside stations to cover the entire NEC, which is de minimis when compared with, for example, the thousands of outdoor Wi-Fi access points that are or will be deployed in the U-NII-1 and U-NII-3 bands across the entire country.” Globalstar didn't comment.

Globalstar's revised TLPS plans now have four "yes" votes, with Commissioner Mignon Clyburn signing off Thursday, an FCC source told us. The plan already had backing from Chairman Tom Wheeler and commissioners Ajit Pai and Mike O'Rielly, the source said. One person with inside knowledge of the proceeding said Thursday the three votes triggered "must-vote" procedures with a deadline for the other commissioners to decide. An FCC official said it was the revisions to Globalstar's plans, and the subsequent withdrawal of opposition by numerous parties who had raised interference fears (see 1612130020), that led to the new 8th floor support. Globalstar's earlier TLPS plans had been opposed by Pai and Rosenworcel (see 1606030041), and what followed was months of ex parte meetings between the company and commissioners, with Globalstar doing a lot of A/B testing of alternate ideas, the FCC official said. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel is still undecided. The FCC source said Wheeler likely wouldn't have circulated the revised Globalstar plan without already having support lined up among fellow Democrats, though it also wouldn't be the first time he circulated an item without knowing the outcome. Globalstar didn't comment.

The Wireless Bureau approved a waiver of FCC 700 MHz buildout rules requested by Bresnan Communications, which plans to assign the three licenses, covering parts of Montana and Wyoming, to T-Mobile. Bresnan is a subsidiary of Charter Communications. “Grant will serve the public interest by enabling T-Mobile to rapidly bring new and advanced wireless services to the citizens of Montana and Wyoming, many of whom reside in remote areas where the entry of a new wireless carrier will increase competition and consumer choice,” the bureau said in a Wednesday letter to T-Mobile approving the request. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., lauded the FCC action. Daines and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., wrote the FCC in October pressing for approval of the waiver (see 1610070024). “Today’s announcement that T-Mobile will be able to expand their coverage to the underserved part of our state is great news for connectivity and the safety of Montanans on our roadways,” Daines said in a statement Wednesday. His office cited “months of hard work by Daines” to this end and the Nov. 30 meeting Daines had in Washington with T-Mobile CEO John Legere (see 1612020036). “T-Mobile is grateful to Senator Daines and the FCC for giving us the opportunity to expand broadband across Montana,” said Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Kathleen Ham in the statement. The Rural Wireless Association slammed the waiver, saying it was “baffled” by the decision. “In completely ignoring the purpose of the Acceleration Rule, the Bureau has established dangerous and harmful precedent for those living in rural areas by effectively negating the 700 MHz construction requirements and allowing speculators to obtain FCC licenses for the sole purpose of warehousing them until they are able to profit from a sale to an entity like T-Mobile that will then be given additional time to actually buildout the license,” RWA said in a news release.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler had to “postpone some of the next steps in this combined approach” on cybersecurity -- addressing “a combination of market-based incentives and appropriate regulatory oversight where the market does not, or cannot, do the job effectively” -- due to the “impending change in Administrations,” he told Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., in a Dec. 2 letter released Wednesday. Warner will be ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee starting next year. “Addressing loT threats remains a National imperative and should not be stalled by the normal transition of a new president,” Wheeler told Warner. “I've attached an outline of a program that I believe would reduce the risk of cyber threats to America's citizens and businesses. This program includes collaborative efforts with key Internet stakeholder groups; increased interagency cooperation; and consideration of regulatory solutions by the Commission to address residual risk that cannot be addressed by market forces alone due to market failure.” That attached plan, a page and a half in length, is titled the 5G/IoT Cybersecurity Risk Reduction Program Plan and has three sections: one on Federal Advisory Committee/voluntary stakeholder engagement; one on leveraging interagency relationships; and final one on regulatory and rulemaking activities. The FCC should issue a notice of inquiry “to develop a record and identify residual risk in the IoT commons, with the goal of determining where market failure may exist in the ISP, network element manufacturer, and device manufacturer community” and nail down best practices, the plan recommended. Then the agency should issue an NPRM “to examine regulatory measures the FCC could take to help address cyber risks that cannot be addressed through market-based measures,” it said. “The NPRM could examine changes to the FCC's equipment certification process to protect networks from loT device security risks. … Explore the potential of a cybersecurity certification (possibly self-certification) to create a floor and identifiable risk relevant levels above the floor for device cybersecurity and a consumer labeling requirement to address any asymmetry in the availability of information and help consumers understand and make better decisions regarding the potential cyber risks of a product or service.” This month, an NOI sought comment on cybersecurity for 5G devices (see 1612160063), and the agency's Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council met (see 1612210060). Wheeler had been seen as backing off of pursuing a vote on a draft that would set up framework for the commission to hold confidential meetings with communications sector executives aimed at providing assurances on the firms’ cybersecurity practices (see 1611300063). Wheeler also told Warner the FCC’s authority over broadband empowers its cybersecurity initiatives, and staffers are “actively examining cyber challenges presented by today's end-to-end Internet environment.” A senior Republican staffer for the Senate Commerce Committee recently questioned the FCC’s approach to cybersecurity under Wheeler (see 1612060074).

The FTC cleared the way for Samsung’s $8 billion acquisition of Harman International (see the Nov. 15 issue of this publication), and Windstream’s $1.1 billion deal to buy EarthLink (see 1611070032), said early termination notices ending the transactions’ Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting periods. Samsung/Harman is expected to close mid-2017, Windstream/EarthLink in first half of 2017.

President-elect Donald Trump named investor Carl Icahn special adviser on regulatory reform. “He is not only a brilliant negotiator, but also someone who is innately able to predict the future especially having to do with finances and economies,” Trump said in a statement Wednesday. “His help on the strangling regulations that our country is faced with will be invaluable.” Trump prioritized regulatory overhaul throughout his campaign, a focus that many believe could affect the FCC and other agencies’ operations. “Under President [Barack] Obama, America’s business owners have been crippled by over $1 trillion in new regulations and over 750 billion hours dealing with paperwork,” said Icahn, who was a majority stakeholder in XO Communications.

The contract award amount for real estate developer Trammell Crow's bid for the 15-year lease on the FCC's new headquarters is $330.3 million, said the General Services Administration's website. The new HQ is in Sentinel Square III at 45 L St. NE. The contract was awarded Sunday, the award notice said. The FCC's current landlord, Parcel 49C, is appealing the award, but the U.S. Court of Federal Claims last week rejected a temporary restraining order seeking to prevent the award (see 1612200069). The commission's current lease expires in October. The GSA didn't comment.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is warning the tech community about the threat President-elect Donald Trump poses to the internet, in a full-page advertisement in the January issue of Wired magazine released Tuesday. "He has praised attempts to undermine digital security, supported mass surveillance, and threatened net neutrality," reads the ad on page 63 about Trump. "He promised to identify and deport millions of your friends and neighbors, track people based on their religious beliefs, and suppress freedom of the press." EFF said it wants the tech community to employ end-to-end encryption and HTTPS for all communications and transactions, delete logs so they can't be provided, publicly disclose government requests to monitor users and censor speech, and advocate for users rights in Congress, the courts and elsewhere. EFF Activism Director Rainey Reitman in a news release said the internet shouldn't be "conscripted into a tool of oppression. But if we are going to protect the Internet, we need a lot of help." The transition team didn't comment.

The FCC is to announce in Wednesday in the Federal Register that the Office of Management and Budget approved the transparency rule enhancements in the 2015 net neutrality order. OMB approved the requirements for a period of three years for fixed broadband, two years for mobile broadband internet access service, the notice say. OMB estimates the total cost for industry complying with the new requirements is $640,000 per year, the notice says. The FCC said Friday OMB had OK'd the enhanced disclosure requirements to start Jan. 17 (see 1612160059).