DOJ is suing to stop AT&T's takeover of Time Warner (see 1711200062). There had been speculation about such litigation in recent days (see 1711130006). Justice didn't comment, though in the evening, it released a statement saying it had sued along with the court complaint.
NTIA should look into whether federal agencies with compatible missions and using similar technologies could move into frequency sharing and consolidation. That and other Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee recommendations are heading to NTIA for consideration. CSMAC members Friday adopted subcommittee findings on 5G, band key characteristics, enforcement and spectrum efficiency. Along with recommendations for more emphasis on receiver standards and NTIA opening notices of inquiry on bands that could be considered for sharing (see 1711150019), members recommended NTIA look for ways to make federal procurement processes more responsive to market-based incentives to invest in new technology.
An Intelsat/Intel plan for freeing up some C-band downlink spectrum in metropolitan areas nationwide (see 1710020047) is getting mixed responses. Meanwhile, wireless interests continue to push for opening up the 6 GHz band for unlicensed operations, raising red flags with public safety. Wednesday was the deadline for replies in the mid-band notice of inquiry docket 17-183 that already had disagreements among industries and saw many comments posted through Friday (see 1710030052).
Plans by DOJ to sue to block AT&T's buy of Time Warner are "a radical and inexplicable departure" from antitrust precedent, AT&T General Counsel David McAtee said Monday. In a statement, he said vertical mergers routinely get approved "because they benefit consumers without removing any competitor from the market" and there's no reason AT&T/TW should be any different. The telco said it will hold a news conference at 5:30 p.m. EST with CEO Randall Stephenson to discuss the litigation.
ATSC 3.0 is proving to be a complication in the current cycle of retransmission consent negotiations, with some stations potentially deploying the next-generation standard over the next three years, an FCBA CLE heard on the eve of FCC members 3-2 OK'ing the standard (see 1711160060). One complication on retrans is no one knowing what the new system will look like, said broadcast lawyer Dan Kirkpatrick of Fletcher Heald. He said lack of clarity makes negotiating for rights or compensation challenging. Broadcast lawyer Jack Goodman said implementation will change retrans negotiations dynamics, since standard contractual language now says broadcasters can't use cable operators' interactive plant, but one promise of 3.0 is interactive programming.
The FCC, having made 1,700 MHz additional high-band spectrum available for mobile use Thursday, plans to initiate a third spectrum frontiers proceeding in the first half of 2018 that will look at the 23, 42 and 50 GHz bands and tee up the 26 GHz band, Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said as commissioners approved 4-1 the latest spectrum frontiers NPRM and Further NPRM. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency needs to speed up the path for 5G implementation and laid out a five-point plan: “We are simply not moving fast enough."
The FCC move to ax the domestic geographic coverage requirement for non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) fixed satellite service systems, if it faces any opposition at all, might see resistance from Alaska interests. It's unclear how much sentiment there is among satellite operators for keeping the requirement, industry lawyers said. At least some operators argued in favor of maintaining the rule when another company sought a waiver of that requirement.
The Ka- and Ku-bands have “served us well,” enabling satellite broadband, but “we need to grow out of them,” with the Q- and V-band critical for the industry’s additional spectrum needs, said Hughes Executive Vice President-Engineer Adrian Morris Tuesday at VSAT Congress. Citing the unified front the wireless industry presents on spectrum issues, he urged a more unified satellite voice and more cooperation between low Earth and geostationary orbit constellation interests. He said it will be tough for satellite to retain all spectrum rights, but said it will have more success with a focus on necessities. The industry needs some dedicated bands, but co-primary status “is not a bad place to be,” he said. He said Hughes is “strongly looking” at Q-band technology, in large part because Earth station hardware advanced to enable use of the band. The very small aperture terminal (VSAT) industry is struggling with data price wars squeezing mar- gins, said Susan Bull, Comsys senior consultant. Demand is growing for satellite-enabled mobile services, but they also are becoming a commoditized service, she said. Almost all 2.3 million consumer VSAT sites in service are in North America, with attempts at offering consumer services in developing markets having failed, Bull said. She said new Hughes and ViaSat efforts to expand into developing markets could succeed, though challenged by affordability issues. Bull said the industry is still struggling to see how it can compete with terrestrial data providers, especially since bandwidth around the globe sometimes is being sold way below cost. VSAT’s key problem—latency—will be tackled by low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit satellites and high-altitude platform stations, and VSATs need to bounce from LEOs to geostationary satellites, and integrate with terrestrial wireless networks, she said. The satellite industry is moving toward a configurable standard production of satellites, assembled “in a Lego-type situation,” which should drive down costs, said Bull. She said there’s growing VSAT distrust of satellite operators as the latter move into VSAT operator markets.
The FCC, in its report on video programming, faces arguments against and for further steps, including a push to ensure online video distributors aren't subject to cable rules. Replies on the 19th annual report were due Thursday. Verizon -- echoing its calls for retransmission rules changes and elimination of the network nonduplication and syndicated programming exclusivity rules (see 1710110016) -- said in docket 17-214 comments posted Monday that legacy cable regulations on OVDs "would be highly inappropriate." Regulation would be contrary to the agency's goal of promoting video competition, it said. Cable "remains uniquely burdened" with antiquated regulations, despite choice and competition, Charter Communications said. It pressed the agency to declare the market highly competitive and eliminate regulations based on a lack of competition, looking for routes to regulatory parity. NCTA said similar in initial comments last month. NCTA now pitched for seeing the set-top box marketplace as filled with rivalry. It said apps, the emergence of devices like Roku and MVPD investment in alternatives to set-tops -- plus the growth of streaming services -- eclipsed set-top use. It said app use came despite Section 629 of the Communications Act, which requires promotion of competition in the set-top market. Predictable pay-TV claims about a broken retrans regime "should be taken with a proverbial grain of salt," since pay-TV providers were complaining about negotiating with TV stations even before retrans fees became substantial, NAB said. It said proposals for negotiation reforms are without merit and contrary to statute, saying the FCC lacks authority over carriage of TV stations' signals without broadcaster consent. The multichannel TV sector is "broken," with major programmers using leverage and must-have networks to impose tying and bundling requirements, indie cable network INSP said. It said the report should conclude independent cable networks are in jeopardy, program carriage rules and enforcement need strengthening, and conglomerate programmers should be barred from bundling and tying. Citing "overwhelming evidence" of sizable video competition, Comcast rejected American Cable Association criticisms of its NBCUniversal's minimum penetration terms for its regional sports networks. It said the agency should declare the area competitive "at all levels."
Indications the Justice Department is pushing AT&T for divestitures as part of its proposed buy of Time Warner (TW) (see 1711080047) point to Justice swinging back toward favoring structural rather than behavioral conditions for problematic deals, experts said. On the behavioral remedies on vertical deals in recent years, such as Comcast's buy of NBCUniversal, "most people think they're failures," said University of Baltimore Venable professor of law Robert Lande. The Obama administration was more favorable to employing behavioral conditions than was the George W. Bush administration, experts said, citing the Bush administration's 2004 antitrust guidelines. DOJ didn't comment Monday.