Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), being purchased by Liberty Global, is seeking FCC International Bureau approval to transfer control of a variety of international Communications Act Section 214 authorizations and of the licenses to operate the Arcos-1 fiber cable system and CFX-1 fiber submarine cable system as part of that deal. In a series of IB filings Monday (see here, here, here, here and here), CWC said under the deal, submarine cable landing licenses and the Section 214 authorizations will be transferred to newly incorporated CWC New Cayman, then CWC New Cayman will be transferred to a another newly incorporated holding company, CWC New Cayman Holdco, with Liberty Global having indirect ownership and control of CWC New Cayman and other license subsidiaries will be transferred to Liberty Global. Liberty Global's takeover of CWC -- which Liberty Global says it hopes to complete in Q2 (see 1511160022) -- comes as CWC was partway through its own takeover of Columbus International, announced in 2014. Liberty Global said that transaction isn't expected to be completed and that it and Columbus instead ask for transfer of control of the Columbus subsidiaries that operate the fiber cable systems to it.
Lawmakers recently introduced the following trade-related bills:
The California broadband workshop NTIA hosted last week (see 1511170062) underscored that while the state has made progress, there's still work to be done to close the digital divide, said a blog post from NTIA. Even with companies headquartered in the state -- Apple, Google and Intel, for example -- there remain remote areas with tribal lands that lack basic communications infrastructure and desert towns where students don't have Internet access to complete their homework, it said Thursday. Comprehensive mapping data from the California Public Utilities Commission shows 98 percent of urban households in the state have access to wired broadband speeds of at least 6 Mbps downstream, but that number drops to just 43 percent for rural households, NTIA said. The commission said the limited reliability of wireless service in many rural areas means wireless connections rarely fill the gap.
T-Mobile provides service to its customers who travel within Alaska through a partnership with General Communications Inc. (GCI) because the geography, climate, terrain and government land-ownership issues make it challenging for T-Mobile to do it on its own, the company said in an FCC filing Tuesday in docket 15-265. Because T-Mobile doesn't have the infrastructure to deploy services in Alaska, it chose to use one of the facilities-based operators serving the state that could make more efficient use of the spectrum covered by the license involved in the transaction in question -- consent to assign a lower 700 MHz A block license. GCI, as well as both T-Mobile and GCI's customers, will benefit because the sale of the license will ensure that spectrum covered by the license will be deployed more quickly than it might otherwise be, the filing said. GCI will also benefit from acquiring additional low-band spectrum that provides more coverage over large distances than high- or mid-band spectrum and can reduce network deployment costs in rural areas, T-Mobile said. T-Mobile will benefit from having an enhanced network for customers to roam on.
The California broadband workshop NTIA hosted last week (see 1511170062) underscored that while the state has made progress, there's still work to be done to close the digital divide, said a blog post from NTIA. Even with companies headquartered in the state -- Apple, Google and Intel, for example -- there remain remote areas with tribal lands that lack basic communications infrastructure and desert towns where students don't have Internet access to complete their homework, it said Thursday. Comprehensive mapping data from the California Public Utilities Commission shows 98 percent of urban households in the state have access to wired broadband speeds of at least 6 Mbps downstream, but that number drops to just 43 percent for rural households, NTIA said. The commission said the limited reliability of wireless service in many rural areas means wireless connections rarely fill the gap.
British catalog retailer Argos “just couldn’t wait and has started Black Friday early, with some stunning offers on the Philips 4K Android 6400 series TVs,” it said in a Wednesday email blast. Consumers who act through Friday while supplies last can land a 40-inch Philips 40PUT6400 Ultra HD TV for a “mind boggling” 379 pounds ($573) while the 50-inch 50PUT6400 has been cut to 529 pounds ($800) and the 55-inch 55PUT6400 to 649 pounds ($982). The deep discounts make the 6400 Series the “best value 4K TVs we know of,” Argos said. “Grab them while you can, they’re selling out fast.”
Maine's need for state FirstNet coverage is far bigger than original estimates, FirstNetME reported through its data collection Monday. The updated map shows far more red regions, indicating more high-priority areas of the state than originally thought. But FirstNetME also went a step further and identified high-, medium- and low-priority coverage needs across specific areas. For example, airports and military fall under the high-priority category, federal lands and railroads the medium-priority category, and parks and beaches the low-priority category.
Maine's need for state FirstNet coverage is far bigger than original estimates, FirstNetME reported through its data collection Monday. The updated map shows far more red regions, indicating more high-priority areas of the state than originally thought. But FirstNetME also went a step further and identified high-, medium- and low-priority coverage needs across specific areas. For example, airports and military fall under the high-priority category, federal lands and railroads the medium-priority category, and parks and beaches the low-priority category.
The Senate Commerce Committee approved the Reinforcing American-Made Products Act of 2015 on Nov. 18, it said in a news release (here). The legislation (here) would "supersede any provisions of the law of any State relating to the extent to which a product is introduced, delivered for introduction, sold, advertised, or offered for sale in interstate or foreign commerce with a ‘Made in the U.S.A.’ or ‘Made in America’ label, or the equivalent thereof, in order to represent that such product was in whole or substantial part of domestic origin.’" The role of state law on such issues came up recently as several lawsuits, including class actions against Macy’s, Lands’ End and Nordstrom, were filed by consumers alleging the retailers violated California law by selling “Made in the U.S.A.” apparel that incorporates minor foreign-made components (see 1504100014, 1411030049 and 1506220017).
There's no digital mapping information about the Oklahoma historical map, which the FCC recently adopted as a way to distinguish between tribal and nontribal lands in the state, said the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in an ex parte filing with the federal agency posted Wednesday in docket 09-197. The Feb. 9 deadline doesn't provide enough time to alert affected customers of a coming change in Lifeline support, said OCC. To remedy the situation, it recommends the FCC extend the effective date to 90 days from the date digital mapping information is made available to those affected parties. The boundary changes will result in a 73 percent reduction in Lifeline support -- from $34.25 per month to $9.25 per month -- for a "considerable number" of program customers, the OCC said.