Regulatory approval of cable ISP WideOpenWest going private should be "relatively straightforward," UBS analyst Batya Levi told us Tuesday. WOW announced the $1.5 billion all-cash deal with investment funds DigitalBridge and Crestview Partners after the market's close Monday. The transaction should close by year-end or in Q1 2026, with shareholder and regulatory approval to come, WOW said.
Carolina West is getting support for a petition from June 2024 seeking a waiver that would permit it to receive supplemental high-cost universal service support. The Competitive Carriers Association urged the FCC to grant a blanket waiver or initiate further proceedings on expanding the availability of support beyond Carolina West. CCA also filed at the FCC a new report by the Brattle Group discussing the unique challenges faced by rural carriers. Comments were due Monday in docket 19-197 and posted Tuesday.
Broadband experts applauded state officials for moving quickly to submit new BEAD proposals to NTIA following the agency's June 6 policy restructuring notice for the program (see 2507290070), but they warned that the delays are only furthering the digital divide.
TV broadcasters are positioning for a wave of deals in anticipation of changes to FCC limits on broadcast ownership, according to broadcasters, media brokers and recent announcements from station groups. Sinclair Broadcast announced in a release Monday that it's evaluating “all value-enhancing opportunities,” and Nexstar and Tegna are reportedly negotiating a possible deal. The rumors are likely an indication of pent-up demand but could also be aimed at mollifying shareholders, said broadcasters and media brokers.
As the FCC moves forward on revised copper retirement and other rule changes (see 2507240048), AT&T is quickly retiring parts of its network, said Jeremy Legg, chief technology officer for AT&T Services, at a KeyBanc financial conference Monday.
Consumers’ Research and its allies objected Friday to the proposed USF contribution factor for Q4, citing unanswered questions from the group’s unsuccessful challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court in late June. The factor is projected to increase from 36% in Q3 to 39.3% in Q4, based on the latest projections from the Universal Service Administrative Co. (see 2508040049).
Items on emergency alerting, business data services (BDS) and satellite licensing saw some changes of note before they were approved by FCC commissioners last week. The items were posted in Monday’s Daily Digest. The next FCC meeting won't be until Sept. 30.
The FCC’s proposed $4.5 million robocall-related fine against Telnyx (see 2503050026) seems to be dead, CEO David Casem told us. "At this point, it's our understanding that there's going to be no pursuit" of the notice of apparent liability, he said in a recent interview. The FCC didn't comment. The NAL got strong pushback from parts of the voice-service provider industry (see 2503110023).
Australian telco Optus could face fines of more than 21 trillion Australian dollars ($13.7 trillion) for a September 2022 data breach that compromised the privacy of nearly 10 million people, the Australian Information Commissioner (AIC) said Friday.
The FCC added numerous questions to its draft notice of inquiry on how the agency examines competition in its Telecom Act Section 706 reports to Congress. The NOI was approved 3-0 ahead of Thursday’s FCC meeting. Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez said in a statement Wednesday that questions were added on broadband affordability at her urging, and she was, as a result, able to vote in favor of it (see 2508060061). The FCC posted the final version Friday.