The Communications Workers of America’s "wished-for extra commitments” as a condition for FCC approval of Lumen’s proposed $7.5 billion sale of its ILEC assets in 20 states to Apollo don't “justify imposing unnecessary requirements,” the companies said in replies posted Thursday in docket 21-350 (see 2201190063). Others sought FCC assurance it will impose enforceable commitments on deployment and labor investments. Lumen affiliate Telephone USA Investments, which would be among the transferred assets, sought to have the proposed sale denied (see 2202010044).
AARP warned members of the risk of AT&T’s pending shuttering of its 3G network, and the later shutdown of Verizon’s and T-Mobile’s, in a Thursday webinar. Carmen Group’s Bill Signer, lobbyist for the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC), asked viewers to contact the White House and ask the administration to pressure AT&T to delay the sunset. The California Public Utilities Commission would pass the buck to DOJ on Dish Network’s dispute with T-Mobile over its March 31 3G shutdown, under a proposed decision released Wednesday in docket A.18-07-11.
Anticipating federal infrastructure and COVID-19 relief funding, state legislators reflected on their broadband roles at hearings this week. An Oregon committee weighed a bill Wednesday to get the state ready for funding, and a Maine panel Thursday mulled what connectivity work will be left when federal dollars dwindle. “All these states are figuring out how to now regulate broadband in a more comprehensive manner, especially as we see so much money being devoted,” noted Hawaii House Majority Leader Della Au Belatti (D) at a webcast hearing.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 21-1 Thursday to advance to the floor another major piece of legislation aimed at regulating the tech industry. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, was the only member against the Open App Markets Act. S-2710 would open up app store competition for Apple and Google (see 2108110055). The committee passed a bill last week that would ban Big Tech platforms from unfairly self-preferencing products (see 2201200066).
House Transportation Committee members and witnesses at a Thursday Aviation Subcommittee hearing criticized breakdowns in the federal interagency spectrum coordination process as a primary cause of the C-band aviation safety fracas that preceded delays last month in AT&T and Verizon rolling out commercial 5G use on the frequency (see 2201180065). FAA Administrator Steve Dickson told lawmakers he believes “we are in a much better place than we were” in mid-January, before the wireless carriers and the agency reached agreement to temporarily defer turning on C-band 5G service around some airports. Lawmakers wondered if the situation will deteriorate again when cellular carriers lift those temporary restrictions.
Senators are working with House members to “improve” legislation that would allow news publishers to negotiate revenue sharing with online platforms (see 2201140054), Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said during a Wednesday hearing. Ranking member Mike Lee, R-Utah, spoke against the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (HR-1735/S-673) and efforts to mirror a similar negotiating framework Australia passed in 2021.
Comprehensive state privacy bills marched forward in Indiana and Washington state. The Indiana Senate passed SB-358 in a unanimous 49-0 vote Tuesday, and a Washington House panel narrowly cleared an amended HB-1850 Wednesday. Elsewhere, a Virginia Senate panel cleared edits to its 2021 law and a Maryland committee heard testimony on a biometrics privacy bill.
Nearly every legislator who spoke at Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing on the American Music Fairness Act (HR-4130) appeared sympathetic to compensating performers for radio play of their songs, though many also emphasized protections for broadcasters. Many gave credence to both sides. The most aggressive questions went to NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “The government has the responsibility to protect the property rights of its citizens,” Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., told LeGeyt, noting broadcasters require compensation when their own content is used by others.
The Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC), concerned about AT&T’s Feb. 22 shutdown of its 3G network, is asking the White House for help, hoping for a delay or other concessions. Members of the group asked the National Economic Council and the Domestic Policy Council to get involved, officials said.
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell of Washington told us she plans to press forward with a Feb. 9 follow-up hearing on FCC nominee Gigi Sohn (our bulletin is here), despite misgivings from some fellow committee Democrats and other supporters of the nominee. Commerce delayed a planned Wednesday vote on Sohn and Democratic FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya because Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., is recovering from a stroke (see 2202010070).