That Cox Communications is being sued again by music interests for alleged willful infringement of their copyrights is no surprise, given the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision earlier this year in BMG Rights Management's lawsuit against Cox (see 1802010026), IP experts told us. Whether Cox can see a different result in the new litigation, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, will depend on whether it can show it has changed, the experts said.
Boeing dropped plans to hand off two non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite constellation applications pending before the FCC to SOM1101. An FCC staffer said there was skepticism at the International Bureau and it wouldn't be surprising if in conversations between the bureau and companies, it became apparent a grant of the applications would be tough. Boeing and SOM1101 filed an IB notice of withdrawal last week. The agency, Boeing and SOM1101 owner Greg Wyler didn't comment Tuesday. Other satellite operators opposed the handover ask, arguing Wyler had a controlling interest in OneWeb (see 1802130019). A satellite lawyer with a client interested in the proceeding said the two might have thrown in the towel when it looked like the ask wasn't going anywhere. The lawyer said the big question is what Boeing does with the pending NGSO applications. The lawyer said the satellite community's response to another Boeing request to transfer the applications to a different third party might depend on who it was and what issues that proposed recipient raises. But if Boeing does come in with another third party, it would look as if its original applications were speculation and the company is now shopping them around, and that's something the FCC doesn't want to encourage, the lawyer said. O3b argued the applications are speculation and should be denied (see 1807230005).
Having soft launched its mobile service June 30, Charter Communications plans to ramp up features and marketing this summer, expanding mobile devices supported and letting customers transfer handsets, CEO Tom Rutledge said in a Q2 call Tuesday. Rutledge said company labor issues in New York City "politicized the actions" of the state Public Service Commission, which revoked approval of the TWC takeover (see 1807270027). "We're in compliance with the plain reading and the buildout requirements that the state imposed on us in merger conditions and we have a very strong legal case and ability to defend ourselves," he said. "It could play out over a lengthy period of time, if required. If necessary, we'll litigate." Asked about T-Mobile/Sprint, Rutledge said Charter wasn't one of the parties interested in Sprint (see 1807310042). "It doesn't mean in the future mobile assets might be priced right and that natural convergence would occur," he said. The chief said 91 percent of the footprint is all-digital and 6 percent of legacy Time Warner Cable customers had a full analog video lineup. He said about half of the Bright House Networks footprint is analog, and the all-digital shift started in June. He said the whole company will be fully digital by year's end and plans to launch a cloud-based DVR later this year. Rutledge said 62 percent of residential TWC and BHN customers were moved to Spectrum pricing and packaging, up from 55 percent at the end of Q1. He said Charter offers 1 GB service in about 60 percent of its footprint and it raised its minimum Spectrum to 200 Mbps in about 40 percent of its footprint. Charter has 16.2 million residential video customers, down 1.8 percent year over year; 23.1 million residential internet customers, up 4.8 percent; and 10.3 million voice customers, down 0.5 percent. The stock closed Tuesday up 3.6 percent to $304.58
Cable leased access is either an anachronism in need of changes beyond what the FCC is contemplating or hampered by cable operators and at least some of rules in the in-limbo 2008 leased access order should be adopted. Those were competing narratives in docket 07-42 filings due Monday after the FCC in June approved a Further NPRM on a cable leased access rules update that included rescinding the 2008 order that never took effect (see 1806070021). Replies are due Aug. 13.
Comcast ended its bidding for Fox's nonbroadcast assets (see 1807190022) when it decided it "couldn't build enough shareholder value" to justify the cost, CEO Brian Roberts said in a Q2 earnings call Thursday. He said Sky, for which it's vying with Disney (see 1807120001), "will fit well." He said Comcast's focus on connectivity means it's increasingly investing for its xFi service, and it now offers 1 GB speeds across virtually its entire footprint. Comcast Cable CEO David Watson said the company is putting more focus on expanding its broadband-only customer segment. Asked about growth of virtual MVPDs, Roberts said Comcast is "benefiting more from that competition than we're losing," with NBCUniversal having more distributors and through increased data traffic the company is seeing. For Q2, Comcast revenue rose 2.1 percent to $21.7 billion from the year-ago quarter, it said. The 260,000 added broadband customers gave it one of the highest Q2 results in 10 years, it said. The operator ended the quarter with 21.1 million residential video customers, down 136,000; 24.4 million residential broadband customers, up 226,000; and 10.2 million residential voice customers, down 32,000. Its Xfinity Mobile service ended the quarter with 781,000 subscribers, up 204,000. Comcast shares closed Thursday up 4 percent to $34.75. BTIG analyst Walt Piecyk wrote investors that losses from Comcast's wireless business since its May 2017 launch have topped $1.2 billion, while subscriber growth seems to have flattened out at 200,000 per quarter, lower than expected. He said Comcast isn't likely to end its wireless push given the 5G threat to wired broadband, and it makes sense for Comcast to build a wireless network atop its growing fiber investments.
The U.S. could be headed down the same unproductive path for the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference that it trod at WRC-15, when it faced international pushback against its positions, FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said at a Federalist Society event Thursday. He said there needs to be more cooperation on a U.S. position to avoid that outcome. He's "incredibly troubled" by nations that act on parochial interests and try to block the U.S. for competitive purposes.
The FCC attaching deadlines to the Sinclair/Tribune hearing designation order to help speed the proceeding was a relative novelty for the agency, but other federal agencies frequently use deadlines for administrative law proceedings, administrative law judges and other experts told us. Brooke Ericson, chief of staff for Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, who spearheaded the HDO deadlines language, said O'Reilly has about 50 other agency process changes he hopes to pitch to Chairman Ajit Pai. She said it includes others dealing with the ALJ process like eliminating such hearings.
The amended operational terms Ligado is pledging for its proposed ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) broadband network don't fully resolve the GPS interference issues they are supposed to, or address aviation safety and operational efficiency concerns, Aviation Spectrum Resources said in a docket 11-109 filing posted Wednesday. It said given the minimal progress over the years on resolving such issues, the FCC should deny the modification applications unless the issues are promptly addressed. It said Ligado's planned 500-foot diameter standoff cylinder around transmitters raises numerous operational issues that need answering before the agency should OK the applications. It said there need to be other terms in the modification applications dealing with site spacing and base station tower density, among other issues, to safeguard GPS receivers. Ligado in a statement said it's deferring to the FAA, and its amendment reflects that agency's analysis. Also in the docket Wednesday, autonomous nautical craft-maker Marine Advanced Research, which worked with Ligado on a technology demonstration, said the FCC should support Ligado's amended license modification applications. Ligado supporters and critics have been at odds over the ATC license modification application amendment (see 1807190002).
Wireless advocates and Globalstar remain at loggerheads about increased interference in the 5.1 GHz band that Globalstar is blaming on sharing that band with outdoor Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure operations. Numerous wireless advocates in RM-11808 reply comments posted Tuesday repeated their arguments that the company hasn't shown it's suffering harmful interference or proven any such interference is due to U-NII-1 operations (see 1807090003). Globalstar, citing more than 800 noise measurements taken globally since May 2014 that show a sizable increase in the 5.1 GHz noise floor since the FCC allowed outdoor U-NII-1 operations, said opponents haven't shown any data of their own despite knowing about the company's issues since at least November. It said its own consultant considered and dismissed all other possible sources, and no one else has identified a plausible alternate source. Without an FCC investigation and exploration of possible fixes, rising noise levels might hit "extreme levels in the near future" and seriously degrade Globalstar service, it said. Since rules protect Globalstar's licensed operations from unlicensed harmful interference, the company hasn't explained why the U-NII order framework for addressing interference issues in the U-NII-1 band is deficient, CTIA said. It said what Globalstar seeks would put "unnecessary costs and burdens" on Wi-Fi and LTE-U operations and "the mere issuance" of an NOI could chill investment due to regulatory uncertainty. Globalstar is relying on "deeply flawed" measurement data and technical analysis, NCTA said. It said the company's only supporters are its own customers and "opportunistic" satellite companies wanting to use Globalstar's inquiry about U-NII-1 rules as a proxy for their own concerns about terrestrial sharing in other bands. The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance and Open Technology Institute at New America said the FCC should be "skeptical" of incumbents challenging band sharing and that adopting the Globalstar petition would set "a regrettable precedent" undermining agency and NTIA efforts for more efficient spectrum use. Qualcomm said Globalstar's interference analysis includes signals from outside the U-NII-1 band and alleges interference from nationwide U-NII-1 operations using measurements from a single point over the Midwest, while the claimed 2 dB increase in the noise floor comes from a technique that measures noise levels in 1 dB increments. It said Globalstar claims run contrary to U.S. advocacy at the ITU that the FCC’s U-NII-1 framework be applied worldwide. Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Ruckus Networks similarly opposed the petition (see here and here).
Ligado bashers and backers continue to clash over its license modification application amendment for its proposed ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) broadband network (see 1807100046), in replies in FCC docket 11-109 that were due Thursday and posted through Friday. NTIA didn't comment on when it expects to have its own recommendation to the FCC. Ligado supporters noted the need for spectrum for mobile and 5G uses. "Seize this opportunity to promote more efficient use of spectrum," the Competitive Carriers Association asked. L-band user Inmarsat said Ligado's proposed operations in the band will comply with rules and there's an inter-operator cooperation agreement between the companies on interference concerns for Inmarsat transceivers. Ligado has made "extraordinary efforts" to keep its commitments to address potential interference to neighboring services, and acted to address concerns, said the Wireless Infrastructure Association. The record's clear that GPS devices, including certified aviation ones, will be protected, and other stakeholders won't face harmful interference from the ATC deployment, Ligado said. Arguments that unmanned aircraft operating within a 250-foot cylinder of a Ligado transmitter might lose some navigational accuracy aren't backed by data, it said. Ligado said outside analysis shows Iridium won't have harmful interference from Ligado activity in the 1627.5-1637.5 MHz band. Weather and aviation interests said industry concerns about Ligado's ATC "have only intensified" over the past year. They said changes to the ATC proposal made to address the concerns of aviation interests don't address interference concerns involving uncertified GPS systems, satellite communication services or the concerns of the weather data community. They said aside from the harmful effects to a variety of GPS receivers, planned Ligado operations in the 1672.5-1637.5 MHz band also raise red flags about interference to mobile satellite systems. The 27 signers included AccuWeather, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the American Meteorological Society, Iridium, Lockheed Martin, the National Weather Association and Rockwell Collins. The Free State Foundation, which backed Ligado's application (see 1803140014), said since the license modification was filed in December 2015, the mid-band spectrum has gone unused, and once NTIA weighs in on Ligado's network proposal, the FCC should move quickly.