Changes to the FCC’s E-rate program have worked, as evidenced by the level of interest being shown by schools and libraries, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Monday in a blog post. Changes to the USF program “will only have their intended impact if schools and libraries step up to take advantage of new opportunities,” he said. “Early indications are that they are up to the challenge.” Applications are in for E-rate funding for the coming school year and schools and libraries have asked for a total of $3.9 billion in support, including more than $1.6 billion for internal Wi-Fi networks, he said. “These requests reflect long pent-up demand,” he said. “It is the first time in three years that E-rate has had any funds available for Wi-Fi at all. In the past, many schools and libraries didn't bother to apply for Wi-Fi funding because they had no hope of getting funds. That is no longer a problem.”

A smart car seat, an authentication platform for self-check-in at hotels and on-demand network management software were some of the "art of the possible" technologies featured at the AT&T Innovation Showcase in New York Friday. The technologies underscored AT&T's plan to shift to a 75 percent software-defined network by 2020, the company said. Product prototypes included a car seat developed by an AT&T intern that sends an alert to a phone if a loved one or pet is locked in a hot car, it said. An omnichannel analytics solution could aggregate and analyze a customer’s journey across all customer care channels, including phone calls, emails, online chats and tweets, it said. The App2Door authentication platform would let users bypass the front desk at a hotel and use a virtual mobile key to check in via Bluetooth Smart. The Pilgrim project would enable users to monitor and control all of their connected devices using a single app. A personal safety monitoring app from AT&T Digital Life would let a user connect to AT&T’s professional monitoring center when not at home and enable location services on request. A user could have the app contact the monitoring center in response to a programmed if-then scenario involving a specific situation such as walking to a car alone late at night, AT&T said.

The FCC Friday formally denied two petitions asking the agency to stay the February net neutrality order. They were filed by AT&T, CenturyLink, CTIA, USTelecom and the Wireless ISP Association, and also by NCTA and the American Cable Association. That development was expected (see 1505010059). The order was signed by the chiefs of the Wireline and Wireless bureaus. “Petitioners have failed to demonstrate that they are likely to succeed on the merits,” one of the things the FCC looks at in deciding whether to grant a stay, the agency said. The FCC also denied an argument that industry faces “irreparable harm” if a stay is not granted. “Petitioners’ broad arguments regarding an environment of uncertainty ignore that they already were subject to a case-by-case standard governing their conduct,” the order states. “For over two years while the 2010 Open Internet rules were in effect, all fixed broadband providers were subject to a prohibition on ‘unreasonable discrimination.' Moreover, all [broadband Internet access service] providers are subject to general legal standards under other federal and state laws and regulations that govern their conduct with respect to protecting consumers and competition.”

Local number portability administrator incumbent Neustar asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit for expedited briefing and oral argument on its challenge to the FCC order giving Telcordia the inside track to winning the next LNPA contract. In a motion filed Thursday, Neustar said that under the order, Neustar, Telcordia, the telecom industry and others will "immediately begin incurring substantial costs" to make the transition to the new LNPA, with the costs accelerating as the handover nears. "In the event this Court grants Neustar’s petition for review, expedition will reduce the potential waste of resources associated with work on a transition that may never occur," Neustar said. Neustar said the FCC and Department of Justice plan to oppose the motion, while would-be intervenors CTIA and USTelecom are taking no position, and Telcordia hasn't decided its stance. CTIA and USTelecom are siding with the FCC and Telcordia on the underlying legal challenge.

AT&T countered Netflix's allegations that AT&T's proposed purchase of DirecTV would invite discrimination against online video distributors (OVDs), and urged the FCC to reject any related conditions. In a filing responding to Netflix's allegations (see 1505050028) posted Thursday to docket 14-90, AT&T tweaked Netflix for opposing the AT&T/DirecTV deal after previously saying it would be a "plus for Netflix." AT&T disputed the contention that Netflix would be harmed unless AT&T is barred from charging content providers seeking to connect to its networks. The FCC "should reject any such condition, especially when imposed on only one company in a hotly-contested broadband marketplace dominated by incumbent cable companies," said the telco. It said Netflix overlooked its agreement to gain long-term direct access to AT&T's network "on terms that will allow Netflix to continue to thrive in the marketplace." AT&T said Netflix enjoyed "spectacular" growth since 2013, even when it encountered network congestion, and AT&T cited reports that Netflix commented that recent interconnection deals, such as with AT&T, wouldn't hurt its margins. AT&T included information about its Netflix contract with the specifics redacted. AT&T said Netflix ignored two technological and economic realities: "AT&T could not effectively and persistently degrade any OVD without degrading all OVDs and degrading any single OVD, much less all OVDs, would risk significant loss of broadband and bundle customers while saving few, if any, video customers." It would be self-defeating for it to degrade OVD performance because it could lose broadband profit and "much greater double and triple-play revenues and profits, which include video profits," said the telco. "It makes no economic or business sense for AT&T to pursue the hypothetical OVD degradation strategy put forth by Netflix, either before or after the transaction."

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai said the FCC's net neutrality order to "adopt President [Barack] Obama's plan to regulate the Internet" is having unintended consequences by harming small broadband providers and rural broadband deployment. He said the FCC should stay its own order but doubts it will happen. In a Thursday release, Pai noted that in his dissent he had predicted that thousands of small ISPs lacked the means "to withstand a regulatory onslaught," with smaller rural competitors to be particularly affected. "Just last week," he said, "many small broadband operators declared under penalty of perjury that this is in fact the case -- that they are cutting back on investments because of the FCC's decision." He cited six examples, including KWISP Internet, which has 475 customers in northern Illinois. Because of the regulatory uncertainty and costs arising from the FCC decision, KWISP was delaying a network upgrade from 3 Mbps to 20 Mbps, other capacity upgrades to reduce congestion, and new tower construction, he said. Pai also said Wisper ISP with 8,000 customers around St. Louis estimates that its compliance costs will be equal to 10 percent of its operating revenue, and has put plans for new base stations on hold. The Small Business Administration has warned that small businesses would be unduly burdened, he said, "The FCC still has a chance to heed these calls and stay the effect of President Obama’s plan to regulate the Internet. But I doubt this will happen. That’s because moving forward with this plan isn’t about logic, the law, or marketplace facts. It’s about fulfilling a political imperative."

The FTC will let confidential documents be filed electronically starting May 12, the agency said Tuesday. The changes reflect the agency’s decision to adopt revisions to its rules of practice, which were published in Wednesday's Federal Register, the agency said. Changes to Part 4 rules include removing the requirement that confidential documents only be filed in paper form along with a copy on a CD or DVD; the deadline for filing electronic documents is until 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, while paper documents must be filed by 5 p.m. Eastern; and parties in administrative litigation may be served electronically in some cases, the FTC said. Semantic changes were made to Part 3 rules to conform to the changes to Part 4, the agency said. Commissioners voted unanimously to issue the revisions.

Simulations run by the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition suggest the FCC can reallocate at least 126 MHz of TV spectrum in New York and Los Angeles in the incentive auction “especially if it adopts the Coalition’s improved pricing formula,” the group said in a series of meetings at the agency Tuesday. “The initial clearing target should reflect this, reallocating as much unimpaired spectrum as possible in those two markets,” said an ex parte filing by the group, posted in docket 14-252. “This approach will maximize the value of spectrum in the forward auction and lead to the most efficient reallocation of spectrum nationwide.” The group argued that broadcasters and carriers broadly oppose dynamic reserve pricing (DRP), as proposed by the FCC. “By continuing to lower prices after a station should be frozen, DRP undermines broadcaster confidence in the integrity of the auction. Necessary impairment of the flexible use spectrum will be unavoidable in a limited number of border markets,” EOBC said. DRP is a “value destroying unnecessary impairment in a penny-wise/pound foolish attempt to save a few Dollars,” the group said.

The FCC rejects almost all requests for reconsideration on the service rules for the TV incentive auction, approved by the FCC last May (see 1405160030), in a draft order circulated for commissioner consideration Wednesday, an FCC official said. A few technical changes are proposed in the draft order, but no major changes, the official said. “Procedurally, it’s an important step,” the official said. “It clears the deck” and lets the FCC focus on the auction procedures public notice, the official said. More than 30 parties filed requests for reconsideration and every request is addressed in the order, the official said. Carriers, broadcasters and other parties sought reconsideration of the order.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler reappointed Debra Berlyn, representing the National Consumers League, chairwoman of the agency’s Consumer Advisory Committee, said a public notice Tuesday. The newly reconstituted CAC scheduled its first meeting June 12 starting at 9 a.m. at FCC headquarters, the agency said. Thirty-seven people have been named to the committee (see 1505050029), the FCC said. Of these, 21 represent general consumer organizations/academia, two represent disability organizations, eight represent industry, four represent regulators, one represents seniors, and one represents unions.