In high-technology mergers, the Justice Department now views protecting “innovation” as a key consideration, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse said in remarks to the Conference on Competition and IP Policy in High-Technology Industries at Stanford University. “While competitive prices are -- and will remain -- a key objective, the division fully appreciates the importance of innovation,” Hesse said, according to prepared remarks (http://1.usa.gov/1aN1vIf). “Innovation can dramatically improve consumer welfare by motivating the introduction of extraordinary new products, including some that meet demands that consumers didn’t even anticipate.” Hesse said DOJ looks closely at “evidence that shows that a firm being acquired has been a particularly innovative or disruptive competitor,” in considering a merger. Hesse cited DOJ’s 2011 decision to block AT&T’s purchase of T-Mobile. DOJ said at the time: “AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile would eliminate a company that has been a disruptive force through low pricing and innovation."

The “common carrier” prohibition discussed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in its net neutrality decision “raises significant concerns” about the IP transition, Public Knowledge told FCC acting General Counsel Jonathan Sallet Monday, an ex parte filing said (http://bit.ly/LHojj9). “With regard to Verizon’s pending request to discontinue service on the New Jersey Barrier Island, the decision raises significant concern because grant of the request, without finding Voice Link to be a Title II service, would leave residents of Mantoloking without a guarantee of basic voice service,” PK said. The FCC would have questionable ability to enforce a voluntary decision by Verizon to provide Voice Link on terms similar to those offered for their wireline service, PK said: As the court explained, “the Commission may not impose on a Title I service provider a Title II common carriage obligation.” Without classifying Voice Link as a Title II service, “it is difficult to see how enforcement of a core common carrier obligation (obligation to serve the public indiscriminately) could be enforced,” PK said. The commission may also lack authority to resolve disputes on “interconnection, intercarrier compensation, rural call completion or other areas touching on ‘core’ common carrier obligations,” PK said. “At best, the FCC can impose a duty to negotiate in good faith."

The FCC should override objections from Globalstar and allow the use of the 5.1 GHz U-NII-1 band for Wi-Fi, NCTA said in a report filed at the FCC Wednesday. NCTA said mobile satellite services operators were allowed to use this band for feeder links starting in the 1990s, but now it’s little used. “Today Globalstar is the only MSS operator using the band,” NCTA said. “Every other company has gone bankrupt or uses different frequencies. And rather than serving the millions of customers that the FCC predicted many years ago, Globalstar uses the vast 100 MHz U-NII-1 band -- over 1.5x more spectrum than the entire core 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band -- for four U.S. feeder link stations serving fewer than 85,000 duplex customers worldwide, only a subset of which are U.S.-based.” As long as incumbents are protected, use of the band for Wi-Fi would have many benefits, NCTA said: “It would support expansion of consumer broadband, advance the Commission’s connected schools program, empower additional mobile health systems, and allow technological innovation harnessing the new Gigabit Wi-Fi standard.” Globalstar fired back. “Globalstar appreciates NCTA’s commitment to the ‘fundamental principle that unlicensed devices must not cause harmful interference to Globalstar,'” Globalstar General Counsel Barbee Ponder said in an email. “Unfortunately, it is impossible for NCTA or the FCC to ensure that Globalstar’s mobile satellite services will not suffer harmful interference if the unlimited, potentially ubiquitous outdoor deployment of U-NII-1 access points is permitted. In this scenario, the number of outdoor devices ultimately deployed by ALL providers of Wi-Fi services is unknown and could even far exceed current projections. In its most recent study, NCTA ignores this reality and apparently presumes that cable companies will have a de facto monopoly on the use of free unlicensed spectrum in the U-NII-1 band.”

The FCC said it can’t determine whether it will act on requests by LightSquared about the company’s spectrum. The FCC “is not in a position to confirm whether it will [be] able to complete the work required to act on each of the conditions specified in the FCC Exit Condition” before Dec. 31, it said in a statement filed in the company’s bankruptcy proceeding (http://bit.ly/1moYuzN). LightSquared’s preferred plan out of bankruptcy involves $4 billion in financing backed by investors, including Fortress Investment Group and JPMorgan Chase (CD Dec 31 p1). “Effectiveness of the plan is conditioned on the FCC’s approval of LightSquared’s license modification applications and grant of additional relief,” on or before Dec. 31, LightSquared said in a revised second amended joint plan in the bankruptcy court docket. Spectrum management issues will need to be resolved with the federal stakeholders pursuant to a 2003 memorandum of understanding between the FCC and NTIA, the FCC filing said. The consultation process is ongoing and the FCC will give due consideration to the NTIA’s recommendations before ruling on debtors’ license modification proposals to use this spectrum, it said, referring to LightSquared’s condition to hold terrestrial-based spectrum rights in 20 MHz of L-band uplink spectrum. “Consequently, the timing of any FCC action is not solely within the FCC’s control.” The commission said it will need to do a rulemaking on approval to use the 10 MHz of downlink spectrum at 1670-1675 and 1675-1680. “At this time, it is not possible to provide any assurances that the processes outlined herein will be completed by December 31, 2014.” The FCC’s document is routine and typically seen in bankruptcy proceedings, and usually includes FCC conditions, said a satellite industry professional who’s closely monitoring the process. That the FCC would reference the end of the year gives LightSquared a bit of runway to work through the regulatory hurdles, the professional said. The filing “potentially throws the LightSquared bankruptcy into chaos,” and could leave Judge Shelley Chapman of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York in “a near impossible position,” said independent analyst Tim Farrar. Commitments on LightSquared’s exit financing were due Friday, “and the FCC’s intervention could make the status of that financing even more uncertain,” he said in a blog post (http://bit.ly/1dMPULZ). Given the time it will take the FCC to get through the NPRM process, “we don’t see how Fortress goes through with its latest proposal,” said Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker. There’s no guarantee that the FCC will agree to the other five conditions, she said in a research note. Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen will likely end up with the LightSquared assets, she said. Regarding the conditions that aren’t addressed, the statement’s silence on them “should not be construed as an indication that the FCC could or would issue an approval required under the FCC Exit Condition, or that the FCC would issue a required approval” by the end of the year, the FCC filing said.

President Barack Obama’s announcement Friday that a panel will review “big data and privacy” (CD Jan 21 p1) disappointed both privacy advocates and industry associations, albeit for different reasons, according to statements. On Friday, Obama said a group of government officials -- led by Counselor to the President John Podesta -- “will reach out to privacy experts, technologists and business leaders, and look [at] how the challenges inherent in big data are being confronted by both the public and private sectors; whether we can forge international norms on how to manage this data; and how we can continue to promote the free flow of information in ways that are consistent with both privacy and security.” The Direct Marketing Association said in a Friday statement it’s “disappointed to see the responsible use of consumer data for marketing purposes conflated with ‘government surveillance.'” Data-driven marketing -- which includes data brokers (CD Dec 20 p6) -- is not related to “issues around government surveillance,” the association said, pointing to its “Guidelines for Ethical Business Practice” (http://bit.ly/1juOeqi), which “ensure that consumers have robust transparency and meaningful choices about how data is used for marketing purposes,” said the statement. Software and Information Industry Association President Ken Wasch called Obama’s remarks “thoughtful,” but said in a statement, “we are disappointed he did not go further in the area of increased transparency.” Data-driven “innovation is an economic driver for the U.S. and global economies, providing enormous benefits for individuals, businesses and society,” Wasch said. Jeff Chester, executive director for digital privacy advocate Center for Digital Democracy, said the establishment of the big data and privacy research group does not go far enough. Obama’s big data review group “isn’t the same as real safeguards limiting the collection and use of our commercial data -- and which can be accessed by the NSA and others,” he said in a statement. “Meanwhile, companies such as Google and Facebook are getting a free pass to our data."

Consumer groups, competitive carriers and their trade associations met with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Tuesday to discuss the IP transition and transition proposal on the agenda for FCC’s Jan. 30 meeting, said an ex parte filing. AARP, the Broadband Coalition, Competitive Carriers Association, Comptel, EarthLink, Free Press, tw telecom and XO Communications were among those represented at the meeting. Officials with several of the groups declined to comment Friday beyond the statement made in the filing (http://bit.ly/1dYQgtK). “The participants generally expressed their strong support for the Commission’s recent focus on ‘Protecting Network Values,’ as the forthcoming open meeting item’s caption connotes,” the filing said. “We articulated the need for the Commission to focus on those values and -- as always -- on its statutory mandate. No matter the technology used, the Commission is charged with making the network work for everyone. To that end, the Commission must fulfill its duty to promote competition and interconnection among service providers. That is the best way to promote advanced technologies, robust networks and functioning markets.” “CCA was at the table because interconnection is an important issue for our members,” said Steve Berry, president of CCA. “Consumers expect seamless connectivity on their wireless devices, and we will continue work to ensure that competitive connectivity remains a fundamental principle throughout the transition to an all-IP world."

The American Hotel & Lodging Association will launch an internal task force to address issues regarding 911 calls from hotels, it said Friday. FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai earlier in the week sent letters to CEOs of major hotel chains, following a December incident in which a child tried to dial 911 when her mother was being strangled by her estranged husband. The child had not first dialed 9 for an outside line so that call did not go through, Pai said. “The hotel industry understands the seriousness and importance of the issues raised,” said AH&LA President Katherine Lugar. “Since this issue impacts other businesses as well, we are reaching out to organizations to work together to ensure it’s addressed in a meaningful way across the board.” AH&LA said the problem isn’t simple to solve: “Some hotel telephone systems allow direct access to an outside line for 911 calls, some are set to dial both 9 and 911, and similar to other businesses, some require guests to dial 9 to obtain an outside line. Hotels must take into consideration a variety of factors, both internal, including operational challenges, and external, including municipal, county, and state requirements.” Pai said he was pleased AH&LA was studying the issue: “Nothing can undo the tragic death this past December of Kari Hunt Dunn in Marshall, Texas, which brought this issue to the nation’s attention. But resolving this problem would be a fitting tribute to Kari’s memory."

This week’s net neutrality court decision is an “an open invitation to the FCC to clarify the importance of telecommunications networks to future economic growth and opportunity for all Americans,” said Computer & Communications Industry Association Vice President-Government Relations Cathy Sloan, writing in an op-ed for The Hill (http://bit.ly/1mczUoD). She said broadband access is now “the equivalent of basic telephone service for most Americans” when discussing the context of the case, which rests on the FCC classifying broadband as an information service rather than a Title II telecom service. The agency has kept regulations to a minimum where there’s sufficient competition, she said. “Where choices are few and market failure occurs, end users will look to the FCC for some basic protections that are only possible if the agency restores its own dormant statutory authority over access to critical underlying telecommunications networks,” Sloan said. “Otherwise Internet access providers will be free to block and discriminate at will, prioritizing only those information services that are both willing and able to pay for special connectivity."

The American Civil Liberties Union balked at initial reports that President Barack Obama may not overhaul government surveillance practices to a degree it deems sufficient. Obama is scheduled to talk Friday about what changes he’s going to make. The speech “will not only determine the direction of national security policies and programs, but also define his civil liberties legacy,” said ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero in a statement Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1eDXAMR). “If the speech is anything like what is being reported, the president will go down in history for having retained and defended George W. Bush’s surveillance programs rather than reformed them. Keeping the storage of all Americans’ data in government hands and asking ‘lawmakers to weigh in,’ as reported, is passing the buck -- when the buck should stop with the president.”

The FCC shouldn’t push the panic button and reactively reclassify broadband as a Title II service, said Fred Campbell, executive director of the new Center for Boundless Innovation, on the group’s blog Wednesday. Reaction continued to flow Wednesday after Tuesday’s decision by a federal appeals court overturning the commission’s net neutrality rules (CD Jan 15 p1). “The largest ISPs have already committed to maintaining an open Internet despite the court’s ruling, and there is no reason to believe that will change any time soon,” Campbell said (http://bit.ly/1d7t6Ab). “The Internet is not -- I repeat, is not -- in imminent danger. It is safe to leave the bomb shelter. Don’t believe the doomsayers who claim the ruling leaves consumers with no protection from ISPs. They are wrong. In the unlikely event that Internet openness is seriously threatened, the government retains authority to intervene.” Grant Seiffert, president of the Telecommunications Industry Association, said net neutrality remains important. “We have long-advocated for consumers’ right to connect devices and access content over the Internet,” he said. “In light of the Court’s decision, we rely on all interested parties to maintain an ecosystem where industry can continue to innovate and consumers are protected. Internet service providers have already expressed continued commitment to maintaining an open Internet. As manufacturers and suppliers of network equipment and broadband-enabled devices, we are encouraged by the certainty this commitment provides in and of itself.”