The White House is compiling a shortlist of priority candidates to renominate in 2022, an official in the executive office confirmed Wednesday. The list could include noncontroversial candidates to be sent to the Senate as soon as possible.

It’s unclear whether FCC nominee Gigi Sohn, FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya or NTIA nominee Alan Davidson will make the list. Sohn faced scrutiny over her involvement with shuttered sports rebroadcaster Locast, for which she was a board member for operator Sports Fans Coalition. Bedoya faced Republican opposition over his Twitter activity before receiving a 14-14 party-line vote before the Senate Commerce Committee. Davidson cleared the committee on a voice vote, with three Republicans asking to be recorded as no.

Offices for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., didn’t immediately comment.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau settled investigations into AT&T, Lumen, Intrado and Verizon 911 outages that happened last year, the agency announced Friday. The companies will pay a combined $6 million-plus in settlement payments. They will also start compliance plans, as part of the consent decrees.

“Sunny day outages can be especially troubling because they occur when the public and 911 call centers least expect it," said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. "It’s vital that phone companies prevent these outages wherever possible and provide prompt and sufficient notification to 911 call centers when they do occur.”

Lumen's "September 2020 outage was caused by a vendor’s configuration error that impacted next generation 911 services in seven states. Service was restored in just over an hour," a telco spokesperson emailed. CenturyLink, as the company was then called, "worked closely with the vendor, Intrado, to prevent the issue from recurring and cooperated fully with the FCC’s investigation," she added.

For AT&T, the "events were the result of a hardware failure and an outage in our vendor's network," emailed a spokesperson. "We have implemented plans to mitigate the impacts of the hardware failure and are working with our vendor to ensure we are notified of its outages more quickly."

Intrado and Verizon didn't comment right away.

Intelsat said it plans to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early 2022, following U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips of Richmond OK'ing its emergence plan Thursday. The hearing, set to start at 10 a.m., was postponed three hours as Intelsat and creditors hammered out remaining issues. That unanimity, given the competing claims, is "a remarkable achievement," Phillips said.

The plan more than halves Intelsat debt -- from $16 billion to $7 billion -- and has it emerge from bankruptcy as a privately held company, Intelsat said. It said it will be able to cut its debt further when it receives its $4.9 billion in C-band accelerated relocation payments. The $1.2 billion approved by the FCC for its Phase I clearing should come in January, the company said.

The Senate Commerce Committee won't consider Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn at an expected Dec. 15 executive session, a panel aide confirmed Wednesday night. That likely means President Joe Biden would have to renominate Sohn when the Senate reconvenes in January, lobbyists told us.

Sohn has faced strong GOP opposition and misgivings from some Senate Commerce Democrats.

The Senate recently confirmed Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to another FCC term. Adding Sohn would break the 2-2 party deadlock at the agency.

The Senate reconfirmed FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel Tuesday on a healthy 68-31 bipartisan vote, as expected. The chamber previewed its coming approval Monday night, when senators invoked cloture by a similar 64-27 margin.

Rosenworcel's confirmation forestalled any possibility of a 2-1 GOP majority in January, a possibility some Democrats were worried about in recent months. The FCC will remain tied 2-2 until the Senate approves Democratic commission nominee Gigi Sohn, whose path forward remains uncertain.

"It's the honor of my lifetime to lead" the FCC "and serve as the first permanent female Chair," Rosenworcel tweeted. "There's work to do to make sure modern communications reach everyone, everywhere. Now let's get to it."

The Senate voted 64-27 Monday night to invoke cloture on FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s reconfirmation, as expected. The bipartisan cloture vote sets up a likely final confirmation floor vote as soon as Tuesday morning. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., hadn’t set a final vote time for Rosenworcel as of Monday night.

The reconfirmation would keep the FCC in a 2-2 split while the Senate Commerce Committee considers fellow Democratic commission nominee Gigi Sohn. The committee is eyeing holding a vote to advance Sohn Dec. 15.

Schumer and Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., had praised Rosenworcel in floor speeches. Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., confirmed he will again oppose Rosenworcel, as he did in the Senate Commerce vote last week to advance her.

“During her nomination hearing," Rosenworcel "reiterated her position that the FCC should reinstate Obama-era net neutrality regulations, which will once again lead to legal and marketplace uncertainty,” Thune said. “Any attempt by the FCC to use [Communications Act] Title II to create net neutrality restrictions would turn it into a government-regulated utility and stifle our nation’s dynamic and robust e-commerce sector.”

The FCC cleared Verizon's buying Tracfone with consumer protection conditions, the FCC said Monday. The order was adopted with three commissioners approving and Commissioner Brendan Carr concurring.

“After rigorous review, the Commission found that the transaction, as modified by Verizon’s enforceable commitments, will make Verizon and Tracfone stronger providers of prepaid and Lifeline services,” it said.

Verizon welcomed FCC approval, the last regulatory OK needed. “Customers will benefit with enhancements in devices, network performance and innovative products and services -- as well as a continued commitment to Lifeline,” said Senior Vice President-Public Policy Kathleen Grillo in a statement. “We will work hard to serve TracFone’s current customers and look forward to serving new ones in this dynamic and fast-growing marketplace.” The California Public Utilities Commission cleared Verizon/Tracfone last week.

FCC conditions include requiring Verizon to keep Tracfone’s Lifeline plans in the same areas for at least seven years and to maintain existing Tracfone rate plans for new and existing customers for three years. Other conditions sought to ensure a problem-free customer migration.

The agency included an enforcement mechanism with an internal and independent compliance officer who will monitor conditions, ensure no harm to low-income consumers and handle consumer complaints about possible violations. The order requires regular public reporting and more than seven years of oversight, the FCC said.

The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously cleared Verizon/Tracfone. The FCC may be the only U.S. regulatory OK now needed for the multibillion-dollar takeover.

CPUC commissioners voted 5-0 at a virtual meeting Thursday to allow the deal. They agreed to the conditions that were recently proposed by a commission administrative law judge, including a 20-year commitment to California LifeLine.

Consumer protection conditions ensure the deal is in the public interest and add benefits for low-income customers, said Commissioner Cliff Rechtschaffen, assigned to docket A.20-11-001. It's important to ensure a “seamless” customer migration without service interruptions, he said. Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves said the main reason she supports the order is the enforceable requirement that the new company participates in state LifeLine for 20 years.

Verizon would have to complete migration of all Tracfone customers currently on other networks in two years, under a revised draft from earlier this week, which in response to Verizon concerns relaxed some proposed requirements in last month’s first draft. The new company would be required to have at least 200,000 LifeLine subscribers by Dec. 30, 2025. The proposed order also included reporting requirements and an enforcement program like the one the commission adopted in its T-Mobile/Sprint order.

Verizon didn't immediately comment.

The FCC’s 3.45 GHz auction ended Tuesday after 151 rounds. Gross proceeds in the so-called clock phase are nearly $21.9 billion. That makes it the third-highest spectrum auction in FCC history. Bidders won 4,041 of the 4,060 available generic blocks, the agency said.

Next, winners will have the opportunity to bid for frequency-specific licenses in the assignment phase. Some 100 megahertz of mid-band spectrum would be available for commercial use "across the contiguous United States," the agency noted.

“The FCC will release a public notice soon announcing further details … including the date and time when bidding in the assignment phase will commence,” the agency said. See also here and here.

The FCC Wireline Bureau paused phasedown of Lifeline voice-only support until Dec. 1, 2022, said an order Friday, in a move that some had expected (see here). Staff waived the increase of minimum service standards for mobile broadband until then. The bureau didn't address the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates’ petition for reconsideration and instead acted on its own motion.

"The persistent subscriptions to voice-only service offerings, pace of adoption of broadband, and net benefits of continuing voice-only support ... provide strong considerations for maintaining Lifeline support for voice-only services for at least one additional year," the order said. The Lifeline market report released in June and "extenuating circumstances unforeseen until this year ... provide additional evidence in favor of pausing the phase-down."

CTIA "[appreciates] the FCC’s action to preserve Lifeline support for low-income consumers who continue to rely on wireless voice services," said Senior Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Scott Bergmann: "This step is important for vulnerable communities and will give the FCC an opportunity to review and modernize its low-income support programs taking into account its experience with new Congressional programs focused on meeting these consumers’ needs.”

NASUCA didn't immediately comment and the FCC didn't immediately answer our query.

The FCC approved, with some requirements, Boeing's application for a license to build, deploy and run a satellite-broadband constellation, the agency announced Wednesday afternoon. The vote was 3-0, with Commissioner Geoffrey Starks not participating.

“Advanced satellite broadband services have an important role to play in connecting hard-to-serve communities,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “We are committed to a careful and detailed review of all such applications." The International Bureau has completed this round of non-geostationary orbit applications, she added.

The new order doesn't approve all of what Boeing requested. The company didn't immediately comment.

Starks didn't participate in the decision "because he owns a small amount of Boeing stock and the item specifically involves the company as the applicant," a staffer emailed us. The order itself didn't explain why he didn't vote.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is proposing a Nov. 18 vote on an order that would require some providers to support by July 16 people texting 988 to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The order "would adopt a uniform implementation deadline requiring covered text providers to support [such] text messaging" by "the same date the FCC has established 988 as the 3-digit dialing code" for phone calls, the agency announced Wednesday afternoon.

This is one of her first new actions undertaken since Rosenworcel was picked by President Joe Biden Tuesday to be permanent chairwoman, and nominated for another term as an FCC member. See our bulletin here.

Carriers and their associations didn't comment right away.

At the meeting that Rosenworcel blogged "will be headlined" by the 988 action, commissioners would vote on rules for "an enhanced competition incentive program" related to small carriers, wireless spectrum and tribes. Also on tap is what she called "regulatory relief for FM radio broadcasters" via a proposal to let such stations verify some antenna patterns by computer modeling, not "real-world testing." And FCC members would vote on a Kineis' petition to sell satellite services in the U.S.

President Joe Biden intends to renominate FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and designate her as the permanent agency head, the White House announced Tuesday. Biden also intends to nominate public interest lawyer and ex-FCC official Gigi Sohn to the vacant commission seat and Alan Davidson for NTIA administrator. All three moves were expected: See here and here.

Confirmation of Rosenworcel and Sohn would bring the FCC to a 3-2 Democratic majority after nine months of a 2-2 partisan split. Democratic lawmakers and others have been increasingly concerned in recent weeks that further White House delay in naming new FCC nominees would result in the commission shifting to a 2-1 Republican majority in January, when Rosenworcel would otherwise have to leave absent reconfirmation. The FCC and Sohn didn’t immediately comment.

Rosenworcel has long drawn significant support from congressional Democrats, including Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico and House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania. Sohn as a top aide to then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler was seen as key to the commission’s decision to use Communications Act Title II as a legal basis for its now-rescinded 2015 net neutrality rules.

Davidson has held roles at Mozilla, was Commerce Department digital economy director 2015-17, and was Google's first U.S. public policy director. He was involved in Mozilla’s unsuccessful legal challenge to FCC repeal of 2015 net neutrality rules. Davidson didn’t immediately comment.

President Joe Biden is expected to renominate FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel with an intent to designate her as permanent agency head and name public interest lawyer and ex-commission official Gigi Sohn to the agency's vacant seat, according to a senior Democratic congressional official, an industry official and lobbyists.

The White House, FCC and Sohn didn’t comment Monday night.

The Biden administration was expected to announce the nominees as soon as Tuesday, officials and lobbyists said. Democratic lawmakers and others have been increasingly concerned in recent weeks that further White House delay in naming new FCC nominees would result in the commission shifting to a 2-1 Republican majority in January, when Rosenworcel would otherwise have to leave absent reconfirmation.

T-Mobile delayed by three months to March 31 its plan to shut down its 3G CDMA network. The company faced federal and California scrutiny over the move, which was opposed by Dish Network.

To build out the carrier's 5G network, "we need to sunset outdated CDMA technologies as soon as possible so every consumer, no matter their circumstances, will have access to the best connectivity and best experience," T-Mobile said Friday afternoon. "This is why we have aggressively executed on plans to take care of transitioning our impacted Sprint CDMA customers by the end of this year and provided our partners plenty of time and resources to take care of their customers as well."

"Recently it’s become increasingly clear that some of those partners haven’t followed through on their responsibility to help their customers through this shift," T-Mobile said. "So, we’re stepping up on their behalf." It said there should be "no more room for excuses."

Dish got Boost prepaid wireless customers as part of a divestiture when T-Mobile bought Sprint. Dish didn't comment right away.

DOJ has expressed concerns about the cutoff, and it didn't comment right away. Nor did the FCC, and T-Mobile didn't immediately answer our questions.

The FCC 3.45 GHz auction hit $15 billion after the second bidding round Wednesday, which means it’s now above the $14.77 billion reserve price needed to close the auction. The round was the 40th for the auction. Three more 30-minute rounds are scheduled today.

Analysts raised concerns last week the auction might fail. See our report here. Bidding regained momentum starting Friday and the auction more recently had been expected to close successfully.

“Well, well, well --- looks like the FCC spectrum auction cleared the reserve price. So much for all those calls for its failure, mere days ago,” tweeted LightShed’s Walter Piecyk. Last week, he told us he still expected the auction to be a success.

The FCC and industry groups didn't comment right away.

The District of Columbia’s 911 center failed in many months to meet national standards for getting timely help to callers, found the Office of D.C. Auditor (ODCA) in a Tuesday report. Insufficient supervision of 911 call-taking and dispatch, plus operators’ distrust in automatic location technology, contributed to failures at the Office of Unified Communications including inconsistent call handling and difficulties determining location of emergencies, the report said.

Consulting firm Federal Engineering (FE) conducted the audit for ODCA, assessing OUC’s effectiveness against national standards by reviewing 2019 and 2020 call metrics and a sample of 911 recordings, ODCA said. The auditor sought the review in September 2020 after complaints by advisory neighborhood commissioners (ANCs) and news reports, including by Communications Daily, about failures sending first responders on time to the right locations.

“The comprehensive findings include inadequate supervision of the call-taking and dispatch operations, inconsistent or ineffective use of call script protocols, inconsistent use of location determining technology tools to determine locations, and insufficient management follow-up on after-action reviews,” wrote D.C. Auditor Kathleen Patterson in a cover letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D).

OUC made changes in 2021 and will invest more in 2022, interim Director Cleo Subido said in an attached Oct. 7 response to a draft report. “Beginning in February, both during and after the audit review process, OUC made significant strides in call-taking metrics, continuing to create a culture of accountability and excellence, supporting our staff’s mental health, and building collaborative relationships with sister agencies to better serve District residents.”

The FCC has sufficient funding available to keep its full staff working “through Oct. 11” if federal appropriations lapse at midnight and much of the government shuts down, acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said during a conference call with reporters Thursday. A shutdown appeared unlikely because Congress appeared poised to pass a revised continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 3 (HR-5305). The House was expected to soon vote on HR-5305; the Senate voted 65-35 earlier Thursday to pass it.

The FCC’s spectrum auction activities would continue throughout a shutdown, so the commission will be able to “make sure” the upcoming 3.45 GHz band auction begins as planned Oct. 5, Rosenworcel told reporters.

The FCC, Commerce Department and DOJ released shutdown contingency plans ahead of congressional action on HR-5305.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association and NetChoice sued Texas over its social media law, after an industry lawsuit in Florida, the groups announced at around noon EDT Wednesday. Texas HB-20 enacted Sept. 9 prohibits "a targeted list of disfavored 'social media platforms' from exercising editorial discretion over content those platforms disseminate on their own privately owned websites and applications," CCIA and NetChoice said in U.S. District Court in Austin. The groups called it "an unconstitutional law."

The suit wasn't entirely unexpected, as the tech industry groups have told us a legal challenge was possible. Such as see here.

The defendant is Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). His office didn't comment right away.

The 2021 NAB Show won’t be in-person, NAB said Wednesday. The event had been set for Oct. 9-13 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“The pandemic and surge of the Delta variant has presented unexpected and insurmountable challenges for our global community,” said Chris Brown, executive vice president and managing director-global connections and events. “It has become apparent in the face of these challenges that we can no longer effectively host NAB Show or our co-located events, the Radio Show and Sales and Management Television Exchange, in person.”

NAB previously planned to hold the show in-person. Recently, it had added a COVID-19 vaccine requirement. The 2022 show, set for April 23-27, is still planned to be in-person, Brown said. Virtual events to replace the 2021 convention will be announced soon, NAB said.

FTC commissioners OK'd along party lines a recommendation for staff to focus on tech and several other areas over a decade, the agency announced about 5 p.m. EDT Tuesday. The eight points of focus include "Acts or Practices Affecting Children," "Bias in Algorithms and Biometrics," "Deceptive and Manipulative Conduct on the Internet," "Repair Restrictions" and "Abuse of Intellectual Property."

“These resolutions enable the FTC to take swift action against a whole host of illegal conduct in important areas of concern to the Commission,” said Competition Bureau acting Director Holly Vedova. The joint recommendations came from that bureau and the Consumer Protection Bureau.

Chair Lina Khan and Commissioner Rohit Chopra and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter voted yes; they are the agency's Democrats. Republican Commissioners Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson voted no. More on their statements is to come in this evening's Communications Daily. All five members agreed to make the recommendations public.

Tech associations didn't immediately comment.

Consumer advocates praised President Joe Biden’s nomination of Alvaro Bedoya as FTC commissioner. He’s expected to replace Commissioner Rohit Chopra, who awaits Senate confirmation to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The White House made its announcement at around 4 p.m. EDT Monday, and the advocates' comments came beforehand.

Bedoya is founding director of Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy & Technology. He previously worked for the Senate Judiciary Committee as chief counsel for the Privacy Subcommittee. His work includes projects on face-scanning technology, biometrics and mobile location privacy.

Public Citizen Digital Rights Advocate Emily Peterson-Cassin said Bedoya's “expertise on the effect of data extraction on marginalized communities will help the FTC return human privacy and dignity to its rightful place in our surveillance economy.” His research “revealed how Big Data is used to facilitate oppressive surveillance and racial discrimination against the most vulnerable,” said Public Knowledge Competition Policy Director Charlotte Slaiman Monday. Biden is “doubling down on his commitment to breaking Big Tech’s power and control,” said Open Markets Institute Executive Director Barry Lynn, noting Bedoya's experience helping to develop net neutrality rules in 2015. Bedoya will push “for smart and bold policies at this reinvigorated agency and ensure that the impacts and needs of immigrants and communities of color are a priority,” said Free Press CEO Craig Aaron. “He has long been a trusted and strategic ally across the public-interest community, skills that will serve him well in this new role.”

The FTC and Bedoya had declined comment earlier Monday.

FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced what she and her colleagues will vote on Sept. 30. They include public-safety spectrum and 911 issues, plus paving the way for more robust Wi-Fi and cracking down further on some robocalls, she blogged Wednesday afternoon. The drafts will be released Thursday, a spokesperson told us.

"We are fundamentally refreshing our playbook for disaster preparedness and resiliency," Rosenworcel wrote about the commissioners' meeting. That's by "revisiting the Wireless Resiliency Cooperative Framework, our network outage reporting rules, and strategies to address one of the primary reasons for service disruptions: electric power outages."

On 4.9 GHz, the draft she's circulating is "charting a new course," Rosenworcel added. "To avoid a state-by-state approach to spectrum policy, we are seeking comment on how to advance the Commission’s original goal to ensure public safety enjoys maximum access to emerging broadband technologies while also increasing overall use of the band through a single, nationwide framework that creates opportunities for 5G." In May the FCC agreed 3-1 to stay a new 4.9 GHz rule, over a dissent by Commissioner Brendan Carr. The band has been an FCC focus because of purported underutilization by public safety agencies.

On Wi-Fi 6, commissioners "will vote to initiate the process for certifying these systems and speed the deployment of next-generation Wi-Fi," said Rosenworcel. An April 2020 order approved 5-0 allocated 1,200 MHz for sharing with Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use in the 6 GHz band. The key to enable more devices in the band is “an automated frequency coordination system that will better manage the airwaves in and around your house to deliver the best performance possible without interfering with other spectrum users,” Rosenworcel said. Another item is a notice of inquiry on IoT, "as directed by Congress," she said.

Commissioners will vote on two proposals aimed at curbing robocalls. One will require gateway providers for foreign calls to “use new caller ID authentication tools and perform robocall mitigation.” Also up for a vote is a proposal to “bolster the Do-Not-Call registry” for phone numbers used by 911 call centers, Rosenworcel said: “Unwanted robocalls that tie up public safety phone lines and disrupt emergency services are unacceptable."

FCC members will consider a proposal to boost tribal libraries’ access to E-rate. Some tribal libraries don’t meet the technical definition to be eligible. Commissioners will vote to “fix this problem and to explore other measures to ensure tribal entities can access the E-rate program,” Rosenworcel said. And she wrote that commissioners will consider adopting a “baseline set of national security and law enforcement questions for certain applicants with reportable foreign ownership.”

Locast shut down service Thursday following a summary judgment court decision in favor of broadcasters suing the nonprofit streaming service for copyright infringement. In a notification on the Locast app, it said its nonprofit operating model “was designed from the very beginning to operate in accordance with the strict letter of the law” and that following the court summary judgment it's suspending operations immediately.

The decision to shut followed an email Locast sent users after the court ruling saying it disagreed with the finding and was exploring legal options but that it was ending its practice of interrupting service to solicit donations. The service infringes on broadcasters’ copyright, ruled U.S. District Court in Manhattan Judge Louis Stanton Tuesday. He granted summary judgment to plaintiffs that include CBS, Disney, Fox and NBCUniversal. See our report on that ruling here.

NAB urges “Locast to permanently cease operations as its continued service plainly violates federal copyright law,” a spokesperson emailed us now. Lawyers representing Locast didn't immediately comment.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit remanded to the FCC for further explanation its 2019 RF safety rules, which largely upheld the old rules, while making a few tweaks. Judges had appeared skeptical of the FCC’s defense in January argument in Environmental Health Trust v. FCC. “We grant the petitions in part and remand to the Commission to provide a reasoned explanation for its determination that its guidelines adequately protect against harmful effects of exposure to radiofrequency radiation unrelated to cancer,” said a Friday opinion by Judge Robert Wilkins, joined by Judge Patricia Millett, who both expressed skepticism in January. Judge Karen Henderson partially dissented. “It is important to emphasize how deferential our standard of review is here -- where, first, an agency’s decision to terminate a notice of inquiry without initiating a rulemaking occurred after the agency opened the inquiry on its own and, second, the inquiry involves a highly technical subject matter at the frontier of science,” she wrote. The FCC and CTIA didn’t immediately comment.

The FCC will continue to allow employees to telework “at least” through September, acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told reporters Thursday afternoon and in an email sent to staff Thursday that we obtained. The FCC submitted a reentry plan to the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force last month, but the rise of the delta variant of COVID-19 caused the agency to “reassess,” Rosenworcel said.

“The health and safety of the staff at the agency continues to be my top priority,” Rosenworcel emailed. “This is important to reiterate now, as we are confronting increased cases of COVID-19 across the United States, particularly in areas where vaccination rates remain low.” The email tells staff that under federal guidelines, masks are required for anyone entering any of the FCC’s facilities “because the counties of all FCC facilities and/or contiguous counties include areas of high or substantial transmission.” That includes Washington, D.C., which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rates as having a substantial transmission rate.

The commission previously said workers would be able to telework through August. That's extended “in light of the ongoing nature of the pandemic and concerns about planning ahead particularly as it relates to childcare and school openings.” Rosenworcel urged agency staff to take advantage of administrative leave to get vaccinated.

Lumen agreed to sell its incumbent LEC business in 20 states to Apollo Global Management for $7.5 billion including debt assumption, the telco announced about 4:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday. The carrier would retain its ILEC assets in 16 states, plus its national fiber routes and competitive LEC networks.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2022, "subject to customary closing conditions including required regulatory approvals," Lumen said. Apollo separately said it expects completion next year.

"Our investment will help accelerate the upgrade to fiber optic technologies," said Aaron Sobel, Apollo private equity partner. He said executives are "ready to bring faster and more reliable internet service to many rural markets traditionally underserved by broadband providers." The investment company said NewCo will be led by industry veterans Bob Mudge, Chris Creager and Tom Maguire.

Lumen is "pleased with the attractive valuation we received," said CEO Jeff Storey. The company didn't immediately answer our questions. The FCC declined to comment.

The full FCC voted to impose a per station penalty of $512,228 against 14 broadcasters and a reduced $30,000 penalty against another over violations of good faith negotiation rules in retransmission consent negotiations with AT&T and subsidiary DirecTV, said a heavily redacted forfeiture order released Wednesday afternoon. The stations involved are affiliated with Sinclair through service agreements.

“While together these agreements give Sinclair a relationship with, and stake in the success of, each of the Defendant Stations, Sinclair itself is not a party to this proceeding,” said the order. Sinclair didn’t comment right away. The violations involve a total of 18 stations and concern “unreasonably delaying” retrans negotiations and failing to respond to proposals from the MVPDs. All the stations were represented by Duane Lammers of Max Retrans, and the forfeiture stems from a 2020 notice of apparent liability.

The broadcasters include several companies affiliated with Deerfield Media, MPS Media, GoCom Media and KMTR Television. The several TV stations we called said their general managers and other personnel weren't available to answer questions immediately. AT&T also didn't comment.

New York wouldn't enforce its cheap-broadband law as part of a settlement with ISP associations including the New York State Telecommunications Association, USTelecom and CTIA.

New York Assistant Attorney General Patricia Hingerton asked (in Pacer) Judge Denis Hurley to order the proposed stipulation filed by the parties Friday in case 2:21-cv-02389 at U.S. District Court in Central Islip, New York.

“The parties have conferred and agree that the Court’s holdings on preemption” in its June 11 preliminary injunction order “resolve the substantive legal issues in this matter and render the entry of final judgment appropriate,” said the stipulated final judgment (in Pacer). New York reserves the right to appeal the stipulated final judgment, declaration and permanent injunction, it said.

The AG office and ISP associations didn’t immediately comment.

President Joe Biden will nominate Jonathan Kanter to lead DOJ’s Antitrust Division, the White House announced Tuesday. Currently a partner at the Kanter Law Group, he previously served as an FTC Competition Bureau attorney.

Kanter's progressive antitrust views have been compared to those of FTC Chair Lina Khan and White House Special Assistant-Technology Policy Tim Wu.

Saying it accepted the argument that AT&T’s spinoff of its North American video distribution business poses no substantial harms, the FCC signed off on the related license transfers Friday. AT&T didn’t immediately comment.

Network affiliates had sought a condition that New DirecTV be required to provide local-into-local service in the markets where it doesn’t now, but the FCC declined. It also opted not to adopt a condition proposed by indie programmer RMG that New DirecTV be required to allocate at least 1% of its channel lineup for rural-focused programming.

The FTC plans an open meeting at noon Wednesday, when commissioners will vote on issuing a new policy statement on right to repair restrictions. President Joe Biden’s executive order earlier this month encouraged the FTC to issue rules against anticompetitive restrictions on using independent repair shops or doing do-it-yourself repairs of devices and equipment. See our bulletin here. The FTC will vote on issuing a “new policy statement, following the Commission's ‘Nixing the Fix’ report which was unanimously agreed to and announced on May 6, 2021,” Chair Lina Khan announced July 12.

The commission also expects to vote on whether to rescind a policy statement issued in 1995 on “‘prior approval’ and ‘prior notice’ remedies in merger cases.” Speaker registration and comment submission is through 8 p.m. EST Monday.

Tech industry associations didn't comment right away.

There are many broadband and tech provisions in President Joe Biden's executive order on promoting competition, with suggestions for the FCC and FTC, per a White House fact sheet. Among them are net neutrality, broadband billing, and a right for consumers to get their tech devices repaired by third parties.

Among the items:

"Save Americans money on their internet bills by banning excessive early termination fees, requiring clear disclosure of plan costs to facilitate comparison shopping, and ending landlord exclusivity arrangements that stick tenants with only a single internet option." Biden "encourages the FCC to prevent ISPs from making deals with landlords that limit tenants’ choices."

"Make it easier and cheaper to repair items you own by limiting manufacturers from barring self-repairs or third-party repairs of their products."

Noting a past FCC effort, the EO suggests the FCC "revive the 'Broadband Nutrition Label' and require providers to report prices and subscription rates to the FCC."

Biden "encourages the FCC to Restore Net Neutrality rules undone by the prior administration."

The EO recommends "the FCC [act] to Limit excessive early termination fees" by ISPs.

The EO also focuses on areas where “dominant tech firms are undermining competition and reducing innovation.” Agencies have failed to block, condition and meaningfully examine some of the hundreds of Big Tech acquisitions over the past ten years, the White House said, including deals meant to kill competition. It calls out Big Tech for “unfairly competing with small businesses” and “gathering too much personal information.” The EO directed DOJ and the FTC to “enforce the antitrust laws vigorously and recognizes that the law allows them to challenge prior bad mergers that past Administrations did not previously challenge.”

The FCC, FTC and many industry groups didn't comment right away Friday morning.

A federal judge froze Florida’s law regulating social media hours before it was to take effect.

U.S. District Court in Tallahassee Judge Robert Hinkle granted NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association’s motion Wednesday for preliminary injunction against the Florida law that would have taken effect Thursday.

“The legislation compels providers to host speech that violates their standards -- speech they otherwise would not host -- and forbids providers from speaking as they otherwise would,” Hinkle wrote. The signing statement of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) “and numerous remarks of legislators show rather clearly that the legislation is viewpoint-based. And parts contravene a federal statute.”

The law “was an effort to rein in social-media providers deemed too large and too liberal,” the judge said. “Balancing the exchange of ideas among private speakers is not a legitimate governmental interest. And even aside from the actual motivation for this legislation, it is plainly content-based and subject to strict scrutiny.”

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R), NetChoice and CCIA didn't comment right away.

While the case continues, Florida may not enforce the law that makes it unlawful for sites to deplatform political candidates and requires sites be transparent about policing, unless the site owns a Florida theme park. Hinkle grilled the state at Monday oral argument and slammed the law as “poorly drafted.”

President Joe Biden plans to name Lina Khan as his pick for permanent FTC chair, a White House official confirmed to us Tuesday. Khan would succeed current acting Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, who’s led the FTC since shortly after Biden took office in January. News of Khan’s impending ascension to the FTC chairmanship came just hours after the Senate voted 69-28 to confirm her as a commissioner.

Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., announced Biden’s plans during a Tuesday subpanel hearing. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., soon after tweeted that news of the upcoming appointment “is tremendous news” and said Khan “brings deep knowledge and expertise to this role and will be a fearless champion for consumers.”

Khan and Slaughter’s office didn’t immediately comment.

The Senate voted 69-28 Tuesday to confirm Lina Khan to the FTC. The chamber had voted 72-25 Monday night to invoke cloture on Khan, including all 50 Democratic caucus members and 22 Republicans.

Khan, once sworn in, would complete a temporary 3-2 Democratic majority at the commission with acting Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Commissioner Rohit Chopra, who is President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Biden hasn’t yet announced a nominee to replace Chopra or a permanent FTC chair.

A commission spokesperson confirmed Chopra plans to remain a commissioner there until he goes for CFPB. Chopra didn't comment right away and nor did Khan.

New York may not start enforcing a state broadband law requiring $15 monthly low-income plans that was to go into effect Tuesday, a federal judge ruled (in Pacer) Friday.

U.S. District Court for Eastern New York Judge Denis Hurley granted a motion for preliminary injunction in case 21-cv-2389 by the New York State Telecommunications Association, CTIA, ACA Connects, USTelecom, NTCA and the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association. While stopping the state from enforcing the law for now, the court will later decide its legality.

At oral argument earlier this month, Hurley grilled New York about how the state’s law squares with the FCC 2018 net neutrality order. The case raises preemption issues like those in California net neutrality and Maine ISP privacy cases where courts supported states.

The New York attorney general's office didn't comment right away.

The FCC said Thursday AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon agreed to start providing vertical-location information on all calls to 911 nationwide within seven days, to implement compliance plans and each pay a $100,000 fine. The consent decrees settle investigations announced in April of whether the three met an April 3 deadline to provide the data in the 25 largest markets. The providers previously sought 18-month waivers. Compliance filings were due Wednesday.

“Six years is too long to wait for 911 vertical location information that can save lives,” said FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “These settlements accomplish what has evaded the agency for too long: they ensure that the FCC, public safety, and wireless carriers work together to immediately start delivering this information to first responders without further delay,” she said: “They also ensure that we are improving our 911 location accuracy capabilities everywhere in the country and not just in the top 25 markets.”

The carriers didn’t immediately comment.

President Joe Biden proposed substantial budget increases Friday for the FCC and FTC for FY 2022, in documents released Friday afternoon.

The FCC would get almost $388 million, a 14% increase over the $341 million it received in FY 2021. An FCC budget document lumped in the $33 million it received in the FY 2021 appropriations and COVID-19 aid package to implement the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act, which would put the commission’s proposed budget increase for FY 2022 at 3.7%.

The administration is requesting $390 million for the FTC. That’s an 11% increase over the $351 million it got for FY 2021 and 110 more full-time employees from FY 2021. Commissioners approved the budget request 4-0, acting Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter wrote OMB Friday. The agency expects to collect $13 million from Do Not Call fees and $136 million from Hart-Scott-Rodino filing fees. The FTC is requesting $18.5 million for the additional 110 employees.

Internet industry groups sued Florida over its social media law that makes it unlawful for sites to deplatform political candidates and requires sites to be transparent about policing.

NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association sued Thursday in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee. Florida's law "infringes on the rights to freedom of speech, equal protection, and due process protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution," exceeds "Florida’s authority under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause and is preempted by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act," the suit said: Stop the law before it takes effect July 1.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed SB-7072 earlier this week despite industry and other critics from both political parties saying it violates the First Amendment. Opponents also questioned the law’s exemption for companies that own theme parks in Florida.

DeSantis's office didn't comment Thursday.

AT&T and Discovery confirmed Monday morning the latter is combining with the former's WarnerMedia. "In connection with the spin-off or split-off of WarnerMedia, AT&T will receive $43 billion," they said. Information on the blockbuster deal can be found here.

Discovery CEO David Zaslav will lead the new media company. Jason Kilar has been CEO of WarnerMedia. See more information on them here and here.

This transaction would be by far the biggest one in media, telecom and technology proposed under the Biden administration. A "strategic rationale" for the pact "would appear to be driven predominantly by scale for scale’s sake," Cowen wrote investors Sunday night. "The scale certainly would be imposing; the company’s combined share of total day cable viewership in the U.S. would be close to 30%." The combo "looks unwieldy, with close to 30 different cable networks owned in the U.S.," said Cowen, and "the pitch would be around the company’s over-the-top capabilities."

The FTC unanimously supported a long-awaited report finding little evidence for some sectors' opposition to letting consumers fix their own devices. “Although manufacturers have offered numerous explanations for their repair restrictions, the majority are not supported by the record,” said the report OK'd 4-0 and issued Thursday afternoon.

Self-regulation here hasn't widely worked, noted a conclusion on page 54. “The auto industry has shown that in certain contexts, self-regulation can significantly increase consumers’ repair options. But other industries have not adopted similar self-regulation.”

The FTC said it “will pursue appropriate law enforcement and regulatory options, as well as consumer education.” It “stands ready to work with legislators, either at the state or federal level, in order to ensure that consumers have choices when they need to repair products,” it said. The report was addressed to Congress and its release was delayed amid a Supreme Court ruling against the commission on another matter, we previously reported.

Tech interests didn't immediately comment.

FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel plans a May 20 vote on cutting some inmate calling service rates. She also plans for commissioners to vote then on a proposal on mandating actions to help prevent some robocalls, which smaller providers would need to take sooner than anticipated.

Commissioners would "vote to lower interstate phone rates by 33-to-42% for the vast majority of incarcerated people and also limit international rates for the first time," blogged Rosenworcel Wednesday. "People in U.S. jails and prisons and their loved ones often have to pay egregiously high rates to talk on the phone." Representatives for some inmate calling service providers didn't comment right away.

After the FCC gave smaller providers two additional years to adopt caller identification authentication technology, there's "new evidence that an increasing quantity of illegal robocalls are originating with a subset of small voice providers," Rosenworcel wrote. Her proposal would "shorten this extension for some companies who are likely to be the source of illegal robocalls." Most big voice providers have until June to implement secure telephone identity revisited and signature-based handling of asserted information using tokens (Stir/Shaken) standards, the blog post noted.

Telecom and cable associations didn't comment right away on the Stir/Shaken plans.

President Joe Biden during his ongoing speech to Congress Wednesday night said he's putting Vice President Kamala Harris in charge of leading the push to include $100 billion for broadband in an infrastructure spending package. He said she's capable of getting that part of the plan across the finish line. The money is part of Biden's larger $2.3 trillion infrastructure proposal.

The plan would "create jobs connecting every American with high-speed internet, including 35% of the rural America that still doesn't have it," the president said. "This will help our kids and businesses succeed in a 21st century economy."

Biden also touted the infrastructure proposal as a way "to develop and dominate the products and technologies of the future," including semiconductors and artificial intelligence. "We’re in a competition with China and other countries to win the 21st century," he said.

Approval on circulation Monday of SpaceX's pending license modification for relocating more than 2,800 planned satellites to a lower orbit has conditions limiting its use of the 12 GHz band and on spectrum sharing, parties involved in the proceeding said in interviews. The license mod had gotten heavy opposition from other satellite companies. Parties told us litigation challenging the approval is a strong possibility.

The order limits SpaceX to operating in the 12 GHz band without using more than one satellite beam in the same frequency in the same area at a time, we were told. The company voluntarily conceded earlier this month it would do so for the 19.7-20.2 GHz band downlinks. The order said approval is contingent on the outcome of the pending 12 GHz proceeding, we were told. Such an item was circulated April 16, the FCC's circulates list shows.

Asked about the details now, the FCC said the adopted order "would grant SpaceX’s modification request subject to conditions on how SpaceX will operate the modified system and to ensure SpaceX’s implementation of space safety measures, among others." The company didn't comment.

We were told the SpaceX approval includes language indicating it's subject to terms of the pending orbital debris rulemaking and has language on spectrum sharing. The adopted item wasn't released Monday.

FTC Act Section 13(b) doesn’t authorize the agency to “seek, or a court to award, equitable monetary relief such as restitution or disgorgement,” the Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday in AMG Capital Management v. FTC (19-508). The agency can seek restitution for consumers under sections 5 and 19, said the opinion delivered by Justice Stephen Breyer. “If the Commission believes that authority too cumbersome or otherwise inadequate, it is, of course, free to ask Congress to grant it further remedial authority,” the court wrote.

All four FTC members told the Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday that Congress needs to protect the agency’s redress authority for cases involving fraud, deception and other illegal activity. Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said she would explore legislation if the court delivered an adverse decision for the FTC. Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif., introduced legislation to clarify the statute.

The commission didn't immediately comment. Nor did DOJ or AMG.

The FCC will hold a news briefing with bureau staff after Thursday’s commissioners' meeting, agency spokespeople told us Tuesday. This will be the first such briefing in over a year, since February 2020.

“Ultimately, the Chairwoman thought it was important and wanted to find a way to make it happen,” a spokesperson said, referring to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The briefing will be on the record and held via teleconference before the usual news briefing with Rosenworcel, the spokespeople said. The Rosenworcel FCC had been continuing the same policy begun at the start of the pandemic under then-Chairman Ajit Pai, where bureau briefings of journalists on the record weren’t held.

The briefings will be officially announced Wednesday, the agency said.

Communications Daily has highlighted the reduction in such briefings. See here and here.

The Supreme Court sided with Facebook in a case that could narrow the number of lawsuits filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The court reversed and remanded an earlier decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which had found that any device that stores and automatically dials phone numbers can be considered an automatic telephone dialing system under the TCPA. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for a united high court in the long-awaited decision in Facebook v. Duguid.

“To qualify as an ‘automatic telephone dialing system’ … a device must have the capacity either to store a telephone number using a random or sequential number generator, or to produce a telephone number using a random or sequential number generator,” SCOTUS ruled. Justice Samuel Alito issued a concurring opinion.

Facebook didn't comment right away, and nor did lawyers who have represented Duguid.

Also Thursday morning, the court ruled 9-0 in favor of the FCC on a media ownership case. Our bulletin on that ruling is here.

Many telecom and ISPs say they want to participate in the FCC emergency broadband benefit programs, the agency announced Thursday. Among those are AT&T's BellSouth Communications (which AT&T confirms to us is the same as that company), Cable One, Comcast, Consolidated Telephone and Windstream.

Some notable companies didn't appear to be on the list. The list didn't include Frontier, Lumen, Verizon, Cincinnati Bell, TDS, Alaska Communications, GCI, T-Mobile, UScellular, Tracfone, Charter, Cox, Altice or Midco. It couldn't immediately be confirmed whether any of those companies' affiliates are participating. The companies didn't comment right away.

The priority window to submit an application to participate in the $3.2 billion program ended March 22. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Participating providers can start offering discounted services at the end of the month.

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the FCC in the agency’s appeal of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Prometheus broadcast ownership case. “The FCC’s decision to repeal or modify the three ownership rule was not arbitrary and capricious for purposes” of the Administrative Procedure Act, said Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the majority opinion. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion. “In light of the sparse record on minority and female ownership and the FCC’s findings with respect to competition, localism, and viewpoint diversity, the Court cannot say that the agency’s decision to repeal or modify the ownership rules fell outside the zone of reasonableness for purposes of the APA,” wrote Kavanaugh. The decision reverses the ruling of the 3rd Circuit, which had reinstated the newspaper/broadcast ownership rule, the eight-voices test and other broadcast ownership limitations. The FCC didn’t immediately comment.

The FCC is mulling a requirement that the 988 national suicide prevention hotline be reachable by text. The agency said a Further NPRM on the April 22 agenda would propose requiring text providers to implement texting to 988.

“We have a mental health crisis in this country, especially among young people, and we need to find accessible ways to reach them when they need help,” acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said. “From the outset of this proceeding, I’ve thought the FCC should have a plan to make texting to 988 available as a tool for reaching the Lifeline." The July vote approving the 988 hotline order was unanimous, though Rosenworcel said at the time the order should have incorporated rules about texting.

Groups including the National Association of the Deaf, National Association of State Agencies of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and National Federation of the Blind petitioned the FCC last year, asking it institute a hotline texting mandate.

The FCC said the item would also seek comment on the types of texts that would be supported, adoption of a nationwide implementation deadline for covered text providers and whether to require text providers send automatic bounce-back messages when text-to-988 service is unavailable.

USTelecom, Competitive Carriers Association and CTIA didn't immediately have any comments.

Frontier Communications got its final regulatory OK to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The California Public Utilities Commission voted 5-0 at its Thursday virtual meeting to clear the proposed reorganization with conditions.

With California’s nod, Frontier has approvals from all states it needed to close the deal. The FCC gave its OK in January. A bankruptcy court approved the Chapter 11 plan Aug. 27.

The CPUC adopted settlement agreements between the carrier and the California Emerging Technology Fund; the Yurok Tribe; and Communications Workers of America, The Utility Reform Network (TURN) and CPUC Public Advocates Office. The commission added other conditions, including an enforcement mechanism and a tribal and municipal government clause.

The telco couldn’t be reached for comment immediately. General Counsel Kevin Saville told a Minnesota agency last month that the carrier planned to exit Chapter 11 immediately after the CPUC voted.

President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act COVID-19 budget reconciliation package (HR-1319) Thursday, a day earlier than expected. Biden’s signoff formally allocates some $7-plus billion for emergency E-rate remote learning, along with additional amounts for state-level broadband projects and emergency CPB funding.

Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has welcomed the E-rate move; see here. "Today’s signing of the American Rescue Plan provides the FCC with new tools to support the millions of students locked out of the digital classroom," she said now. "I look forward to implementing this program, so we can help ensure that no child is left offline.”

Biden is, meanwhile, expected to deliver a speech at 8 p.m. EST marking the one-year anniversary of widespread pandemic-related shutdowns. Lobbyists expect this to formally kick off an infrastructure funding legislative push that’s likely to include substantial broadband funding.

Virginia looks set to become the second state, after California, with a comprehensive privacy law. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed the Consumer Data Protection Act into law, the legislature's website showed Tuesday evening. The action was widely expected but the governor's office hadn't commented on whether he would give his OK. The bill is SB-1392.

The Virginia Senate voted 32-7 recently to send HB-2307 to Northam. That was after the House voted 89-9 for SB-1392, the Senate's same version. See our earlier report here. The governor's office didn’t comment right away.

"Like the landmark California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Virginia’s CDPA gives consumers the right to access, delete, and stop the sale of their personal information," said Consumer Reports. CR said the law takes effect Jan. 1, 2023. Some privacy advocates wanted a bigger opt-in requirement for companies to get consumer consent to share people's information.

FCC members unanimously approved an emergency broadband benefit program order earlier Thursday, the agency announced tonight. This paves the way for the $3.2 billion program to give "qualifying households discounts on their internet service bills and an opportunity to receive a discount on a computer or tablet."

The rules are for largest-ever U.S. "program to help households nationwide afford broadband service," the agency said. Work is "underway to get this program up and running," said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. "I expect it to be open to eligible households within the next 60 days as providers sign up and program systems are put in place."

Rosenworcel "demonstrated that dedication and timely ‘got it done’ at a moment of significant transition within the Commission," said the agency's newest member, Republican Nathan Simington. ISPs "advocated for a common start date to the program, a lighter compliance load for" noneligible telecom carrier providers, "and an expedited review of their eligibility verification processes," he noted. "All of these concerns have been addressed."

The order will be released once "we receive statements from all commissioners," said an FCC spokesperson. The other FCC members didn't immediately have statements, and further details on the vote weren't immediately provided.

FCC members approved an emergency broadband benefit program order 4-0 earlier Thursday, the agency announced tonight. In their statements about the item, commissioners revealed some of the document's details.

Geoffrey Starks noted fellow commissioners worked with him on "a streamlined process for onboarding families with children who attend schools that participate in meal programs under the Community Eligibility Provision." Commissioners also supported his "proposal to require affirmative consent from households to continue service during the final month of the program if they are to receive only a partial discount on services," he said.

Commissioner Nathan Simington earlier had said there were other modifications, in a statement reported on in our earlier news bulletin. That bulletin's headline incorrectly said the FCC vote was 5-0.

Some commissioners may have other, formal statements that accompany the final order, FCC officials told us. A spokesperson said the document would be released once such statements are received.

Verizon dominated the record-setting C-band auction with $45.4 billion in bids, almost twice the $23.4 billion bid by AT&T, the FCC announced. T-Mobile was third at $9.3 billion, as it further buttressed its midband holdings. UScellular bid $1.3 billion. The auction started Dec. 8 and closed Feb. 17 at $81.2 billion after the assignment phase. That doesn’t include roughly $13 billion in accelerated clearing payments. The FCC sold all 5,684 spectrum blocks up for bid.

“This auction reflects a shift in our nation’s approach to 5G toward mid-band spectrum that can support fast, reliable, and ubiquitous service that is competitive with our global peers,” said acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel: “Now we have to work fast to put this spectrum to use.”

Verizon was widely expected to be the top bidder, followed by AT&T, T-Mobile, Dish Network and the major cable companies. Verizon has seen some downward pressure on its stock because of concerns over spending in the auction. S&P Global Ratings warned that the auction “will have a significant effect on balance sheets for U.S. wireless operators.”

The bidding eclipsed the AWS-3 auction five years ago, which raised $44.9 billion.

A federal judge denied preliminary injunction for ISP associations against California’s net neutrality law at a teleconferenced Tuesday hearing at the U.S. District Court in Sacramento. The comments came following industry and government arguments. See our news report here.

"I don't find that the plaintiffs have demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits at this stage of the litigation," said Judge John Mendez, ruling from the bench. Sections 151 and 152 of the Communications Act don't clearly preempt states, the jurist said. The FCC’s 2018 order said the federal agency can’t regulate, but it wasn’t an affirmative act of deregulation that would preempt states, he said. There's no irreparable harm to ISPs, he added.

ISP associations ACA Connects, CTIA, NCTA and USTelecom brought the challenge against California in case 2:18-cv-02684. Legal and other representatives for those groups didn't immediately comment.

Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated for a vote at the March 17 commissioners’ meeting a draft order launching an October auction of the 3.45-3.55 GHz band for 5G. She also circulated a draft public notice on bidding procedures.

Rosenworcel proposed flexible-use rules, said a news release: “It would establish a framework for coordination of non-federal and federal use and establish a band plan, as well as technical, licensing, and competitive bidding rules for the band."

Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated her proposal for rules for the $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program, a news release said Monday afternoon. The proposal would allow "all types of broadband providers" to participate and require them to "deliver the qualifying broadband service to eligible households" to be reimbursed from the program.

The FCC didn't immediately comment on whether an interested ISP must be designated as an eligible telecom carrier before it can participate.

Eligible households would receive a discount of up to $50 per month, $75 for those on tribal lands, for the cost of their broadband services. Rosenworcel proposed that eligibility be determined based on whether a household member qualifies for the FCC's Lifeline program, receives free or reduced-price school meals, experienced a "substantial loss of income" since Feb. 29, 2020, received a Pell Grant, or meets the eligibility for a participating provider's existing low-income or COVID-19 program.

“As we work our way through a pandemic that has upended so much in our day-to-day life, we have been asked to migrate so many of the things we do online," Rosenworcel said in a statement. "Today I’m proud to advance a proposal to my colleagues to implement this program so we can help as many eligible households as possible."

Virginia could soon become the second state with a comprehensive privacy law, after California. The Senate voted 32-7 Friday for HB-2307. The House voted 89-9 Thursday for SB-1392, the Senate's same version. The Senate concurred with House changes.

The Virginia privacy measure would let consumers access, correct, delete and obtain copies of personal data, plus opt out of targeted advertising. The state attorney general would enforce the bill after giving 30 days to cure violations. The bill doesn’t include a private right of action.

Legislators amended the bill to add a work group to review the law and implementation issues and report back to the legislature by Nov. 1, before the law takes effect Jan. 1, 2023.

The bill goes next to Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who is expected to sign. His office didn’t comment right away.

The House Commerce Committee voted 31-24 along party lines Friday night to advance to the House Budget Committee language in its part of the coming COVID-19 budget reconciliation measure that would allocate $7.6 billion for E-rate remote learning funding, as expected. The section would also allocate $50 million to the Consumer Product Safety Commission that would in part be used to monitor e-commerce websites selling pandemic-related and other dangerous consumer products.

House Commerce Republicans ultimately didn’t seek votes on a host of proposed amendments on telecom issues filed during the markup, including some on net neutrality and municipal broadband. The committee earlier dispatched amendments from House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio, and Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., that would have affected the E-rate money. Latta proposed redirecting the funds to an NTIA pilot to fund “covered partnerships” for broadband projects established in December via the FY 2021 appropriations and pandemic aid package. Walberg wanted to give the money only to schools and libraries that reopen five days a week.

The new administration told a court overseeing the federal government's challenge to California net neutrality rules that the government wants to dismiss that case. As expected, DOJ notified U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of California Monday "of its voluntary dismissal of this case," No. 2:18-cv-2660-JAM-DB. See here in Pacer.

Justice noted the court had ordered parties in USA v. California to file a status conference statement by Tuesday, “informing the Court whether the United States of America intends to pursue this case further, or whether, upon review by the Biden Administration, it will file a stipulation or motion to dismiss this lawsuit.” DOJ contended now that this deadline is "moot given its voluntary dismissal of this action."

Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, "pleased" DOJ withdrew its lawsuit, said "Washington is listening to the American people, who overwhelmingly support an open internet, and is charting a course to once again make net neutrality the law of the land.” Her statement noted she voted against the agency's rolling back net neutrality rules, and "states like California sought to fill the void with their own laws."

DOJ didn't comment for this report.

President Joe Biden has named Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel as the FCC’s interim chair, until a permanent chair can be confirmed later this year, said a news release. Rosenworcel is among several candidates considered to be in the running for the permanent job. “I thank the President for the opportunity to lead an agency with such a vital mission and talented staff," Rosenworcel said in the release. "It is a privilege to serve the American people and work on their behalf to expand the reach of communications opportunity in the digital age.”

President Joe Biden designated FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter as acting chair, the agency announced Thursday. “I am deeply honored and grateful to lead an agency that is critical to helping the U.S. economy get back on its feet and function more fairly for all Americans,” Slaughter said.

Slaughter, who joined the commission in May 2018, will be the lone Democrat. Commissioner Rohit Chopra is expected to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Slaughter was chief counsel to Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., before joining the commission.

The C-band auction, which opened Dec. 8, closed at $80.9 billion in its first phase, not including roughly $13 billion in additional accelerated clearing payments. That's according to the FCC's auction website and to an agency announcement shortly after 1 p.m. EST Friday.

“This historic FCC auction is already a record-breaking success," said Chairman Ajit Pai. "Bidders have won all of the 5,684 spectrum blocks that were up for bid." Winning bidders can bid for frequency-specific licenses in the assignment phase of Auction 107.

This auction is the highest in the regulator's history, as we reported in an earlier news bulletin. The bidding eclipsed the AWS-3 auction five years ago. Pai noted the past record was $44.9 billion.

Verizon is expected to be the top bidder, followed by AT&T, T-Mobile, Dish Network and major cable companies. More will be known soon when the FCC releases its list of winning bidders.

The Trump administration's outgoing antitrust head said he won't act to change consent decrees governing performing rights organizations' licensing of public performance of music. After a two-year DOJ Antitrust Division investigation into the pacts with ASCAP and BMI, division chief Makan Delrahim laid out principles to keep in mind. But he said he's not acting now.

"The Antitrust Division has considered carefully stakeholders’ views on all of these issues and recognizes that continuing disagreements exist among artists and within the music community regarding the benefits, drawbacks, and continued need for the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees," said the text of a speech Delrahim was giving early Friday afternoon. "Continued review of, and stakeholder input concerning, the decrees remains necessary to ensure the decrees continue to satisfy their purpose to protect competition and do not act as an impediment to innovation."

Industry stakeholders including ASCAP, BMI and NAB didn't comment right away.

The 2.5 GHz competitive bidding procedures NPRM saw an important change after it was circulated by Chairman Ajit Pai, FCC officials told us. Pai had proposed a single-round, sealed-bid auction design rather than the more traditional simultaneous multiple round auction format. The notice was changed to seek comment on both, we were told.

Commissioners approved the notice 5-0 before the ongoing monthly meeting Wednesday and it was taken off the agenda. Commissioners also approved beforehand a 12 GHz NPRM, with concurrences by Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai slammed Donald Trump over the outgoing president's rhetoric against the Nov. 3 election results, which led protesters to storm the Capitol Wednesday and turn violent. Pai also confirmed he won't propose changes to how the FCC interprets a tech liability shield law, conforming with expectations (see here and here).

Pai was asked Thursday if Trump bears any responsibly for what happened with Wednesday’s violence at the Capitol. The episode of C-SPAN's Communicators was posted online at around 12:30 p.m. EST Friday and is expected to be televised this weekend. "The scenes we saw yesterday were outrageous and extremely disappointing to those of us who cherish American democracy, one hallmark of which is the peaceful transition of power," Pai answered. "It was a terrible mistake to suggest that the results of the election, and particularly the process that culminated yesterday in the Senate and the House, could in any way be changed. That was a terrible mistake and one that I do not believe should have been indulged."

Pai was then asked if such indulgence was partly responsible for the violence. Several people were killed, and Pai and other FCC members condemned what occurred (see here and here). "Given the circumstances that we saw, armed guards defending the Senate chamber, people wielding Confederate flags in the seat of American government, other actions like that, it was completely unacceptable, it was completely outrageous," Pai answered. Asked if he agrees with Facebook and Twitter acting against some of Trump’s posts, he said "given the circumstances that we saw yesterday … I’m not going to second-guess those decisions." The FCC declined to comment further. The White House didn't immediately comment.

On the FCC's interpretation of Communications Decency Act Section 230, Pai doesn't "intend to move forward” with an NPRM, he said. "Given the results of the election, there is simply not sufficient time to complete the administrative steps necessary to complete that rulemaking." There’s "bipartisan consensus among elected officials that the law should be changed," the chairman said. He noted Trump and President-elect Joe Biden say they want the section repealed. What to do legislatively here is "a very complicated issue, one that I think Congress will have to study and deliberate on very carefully," Pai said.

The FCC's newest member, Nathan Simington, became the third and final GOP commissioner Thursday to acknowledge that Biden will be sworn in Jan. 20 and to condemn the violence. See here. Simington's statement left Commissioner Geoffrey Starks as the only FCC member not to weigh in. His office didn't comment now.

Making good on a threat Wednesday when protesters turned violent at the Capitol after the president encouraged them to go there during the Electoral College ratification (see here), Twitter said Friday it permanently suspended the account of Donald Trump. The social media platform said this followed the company's "close review" of recent @realDonaldTrump tweets "and the context around them -- specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter." The platform cited "the risk of further incitement of violence."

Washington stakeholders immediately welcomed the action, asking other platforms to follow suit. The White House didn't comment.

"After years of the President using Twitter's platform to spread lies, spew hate, and damage the fabric of our democracy, Twitter has finally banned him for perpetual incitement of violence," said House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. "His lies on Twitter and other social media platforms have cost lives."

Thompson wants Google's YouTube and Facebook to further ramp-up their actions against Trump's communications on those platforms by "removing him from their platforms permanently." Those companies didn't comment right away.

“While Twitter has permanently suspended President Trump, Facebook and Youtube have implemented half measures that give him future opportunities to exploit their platforms to spread disinformation," wrote Yosef Getachew, director of media and democracy at Common Cause. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights urges "Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and others to be equally responsible and permanently suspend Trump’s accounts,” said LaShawn Warren, executive vice president-government affairs. Free Press (here) and the National Hispanic Media Coalition (here) said similar.

E.W. Scripps completed its $2.65 billion deal to buy Ion Media from Black Diamond Capital Management, divesting 23 stations to the newly formed Inyo Broadcasting as part of the transaction, it said in a news release Thursday. The FCC approved the deal Dec. 15, with no public notice of the approval issued after no petitions to deny were filed, a broadcast industry official told us. Scripps is holding on to 48 of the stations and plans to combine Ion’s content with its Katz networks and Newsy for a “full-scale national television networks business,” the release said. “Bringing our networks together with ION will create a formidable national television business focused on connecting with audiences and advertisers in the rapidly evolving media landscape,” said Scripps CEO Adam Symson in the release.

Inyo is headed by interim CEO John Chachas and Chief Operating Officer Louis Zachary, the managing principals of Methuselah Advisors, a media broker that worked with Scripps in the past and on this deal. Scripps didn't comment further, and the FCC didn’t comment.

The draft NPRM on circulation about opening the 12 GHz band to 5G service has been added to the FCC's January agenda, per the sunshine agenda Wednesday evening. Also added are two public notices: one unveiling the first round of selections for the agency's Connected Care pilot program, and one seeking comment on competitive bidding procedures for a 2.5 GHz auction. It was expected that Chairman Ajit Pai might put 12 GHz NPRM and 2.5 GHz auction procedures on the agenda to assure a vote on them. Both were circulated last month. The Connected Care selections began in late December.

Before the added items, the Jan. 13 agenda consisted of only reports from five panels updating commissioners on various parts of the agency's work. Those panels still will take place.

The meeting will be Pai's last as chairman.

Commissioner Brendan Carr, among those in the communications sector condemning an outbreak of violence Wednesday afternoon in the Capitol, became one of the first FCC Republicans to say he believes Joe Biden is the next president. In an interview, Carr agreed with the statement that President-elect Biden will take office Jan. 20.

Chairman Ajit Pai said Tuesday that "we will soon hand the baton to a new administration. They will have to decide the approach that they are going to take to addressing the security of our communications networks. And I hope that they succeed. On this issue, their success will be our nation’s success." An FCC spokesperson Wednesday referred us to these remarks, when asked if Pai acknowledges that Biden takes office later this month.

The third GOP FCC member, Nathan Simington, wasn't commenting now. Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted it was "such a sad day" and she was "praying for everyone's safety." Her office didn't answer our other questions. Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks didn't comment.

"We must be governed by the rule of law, not the rule of the mob," Pai tweeted Wednesday. "Law and order must be restored and democracy must be respected." Carr and others at the FCC had similar tweets. Pai's representative said the chairman was specifically referring to the Capitol being stormed.

In the area around the Capitol, starting at around 2:30 p.m. EST, we heard and saw an abundance of emergency vehicles. Inside the building, some reporters, including one of our own, were trying to stay safely away from any protesters intent on violence. In the area where our journalist is currently sheltering in the Capitol, a Capitol Police officer came by to offer escorts to anyone wanting to decamp to the Cannon House office building. The police didn't immediately answer our media query.

Meanwhile, U.S. District Court in Washington told us all employees teleworked Wednesday as a precaution and will again Thursday. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is doing likewise.