Big TV groups remain interested in buying other ones, but opportunities are rare and purchases of individual stations in full-power TV and radio are at a crawl, said analysts, broadcasters and brokers in recent interviews. “All the low-hanging fruit has been picked,” said S&P Global analyst Volker Moerbitz. With the industry consolidated and ownership rules unlikely to loosen, that likely won’t change soon, said BIA Advisory Services Chief Economist Mark Fratrik: “It’s a natural evolution.”
Senate Commerce Committee members told us they hope Wednesday’s consumer privacy hearing will reactivate privacy legislation discussions. But Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., said leadership hasn’t been willing to engage in discussions, despite bipartisan potential from other members. Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said she’s focused on getting the FTC more funding.
Semiconductors are “a hot topic these days,” said Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger at the groundbreaking ceremony Friday of two new fabs Intel is building in Chandler, Arizona -- a site he dubbed the “Silicon Desert.” The industry is enduring a demand-supply gap, and the global shortage “is causing chips to halt and slow production of many other areas of the economy,” he said.
An FCC draft Further NPRM tightening rules for gateway providers to curb illegal robocalls originating abroad is expected to be unanimously approved during the agency’s open meeting Thursday. That's despite some industry concerns about the proposal to pause enforcement of the foreign provider prohibition until a final decision on addressing illegal robocalls originating abroad. The item is expected to be approved without any major revisions to the draft, an FCC official said Friday.
Two FCC Wi-Fi items, on rules for automated frequency control in 6 GHz and a notice of inquiry on IoT spectrum needs, likely will have smooth sailing Thursday with 4-0 votes. Neither has been particularly controversial since drafts circulated two weeks ago, though Lumen had recent calls with aides to all four commissioners, saying the AFC rules as proposed don’t go far enough. Commissioner Brendan Carr sought a few tweaks on the NOI, but otherwise both items are expected to be approved largely as-is.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is eyeing a confirmation hearing within the first two weeks of October for DOJ Antitrust Division chief nominee Jonathan Kanter, Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., told us. “I hope that happens. Now remember, it’s in the full committee, so I can’t control everything.”
Comments are due Nov. 8 at the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security in docket BIS-2021-0036 to help the secretaries of Commerce and Homeland Security prepare a report to the White House on the global semiconductor shortage by the one-year deadline of President Joe Biden’s Feb. 24 executive order on America's supply chains, says Friday’s Federal Register. BIS put out a separate call for comments this week due Nov. 4 on supply chain disruptions in the broader information and communications technology sector, also under the Feb. 24 EO (see 2109170042).
Expect fewer deals for commercial space companies to have initial public offerings through purchase by a special purpose acquisition company because the recent SPAC IPO spate has seemingly met a lot of the investor demand, experts said in interviews this week.
An FCC draft Further NPRM on tightening rules for the public safety answering point Do Not Call registry may be unanimously OK'd during commissioners’ Sept. 30 meeting, said experts in recent interviews. The FCC established the PSAP registry in 2012 as mandated by 2012's Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act (see 1210180072). The new draft proposes to allow voice service providers access to the registry to block robocalls to registered numbers.
Boosting broadband access and digital equity will be local government priorities in the year ahead, especially with federal infrastructure money expected to come to states, NATOA President Brian Roberts and General Counsel Nancy Werner said in an interview during the association’s annual conference. Our survey found general member support for meeting virtually.