Reconsideration petitions on the FCC much-debated Lifeline order rained into the commission Friday. The agency received petitions from CTIA, NASUCA, NTCA, USTelecom and others in docket 11-42. “There are aspects of the Order where the Commission ignored requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), unnecessarily increased administrative burdens, as well as areas where the Commission should have been clearer,” USTelecom said. The FCC didn’t provide enough notice for changes to the carrier recertification process or port freeze requirements in the order, it said. The wireline association said the FCC should reconsider the effective date of the streamlined federal eligibility criteria and obligation to offer Lifeline broadband internet access service (BIAS) requirements. USTelecom said the date should be delayed until Dec. 31, 2017, or 12 months after Office of Management and Budget approval of the order, whichever is later: “A December 1st obligation to offer Lifeline broadband does not allow adequate time to modify systems to identify those locations where Lifeline broadband must be made available.” Among other requested changes, USTelecom urged reconsideration of the FCC decision that voice should continue to be supported in census blocks with a single Lifeline provider. And it should reconsider the exception to its minimum standard requirements for fixed providers that haven’t deployed broadband networks in specific geographic areas, it said. Also, the commission should reverse its decision that high-cost carriers with state eligible telecom carrier designations are subject to BIAS Lifeline obligations, it said. In a joint petition, NTCA and WTA also urged the FCC to reconsider the exception to the fixed broadband minimum speed standard, saying “it represents a failure to properly leverage the High cost universal service program and will inadvertently punish certain low-income rural consumers.” The FCC should reconsider phasing out support for voice-only service, and exempt rural Lifeline providers using satellite backhaul from the 150 GB minimum usage allowance standard, they said. CTIA asked the FCC to reconsider its decision to set long-term minimum capacity standards for mobile broadband at 70 percent of the average mobile data usage per household. “The record raises serious questions about whether the 70 percent average of mobile data usage per-household standard adequately accounts for the affordability of Lifeline broadband service for the lowest-income consumers who otherwise would stand to benefit the most from the Commission’s recent modifications to the Lifeline program,” CTIA said. NASUCA urged reconsideration of the decision to remove Lifeline support for stand-alone voice services and said the agency failed to adopt regulations so that customers who can’t afford bundled services can maintain basic voice service, failed to require payment arrangements for backup power for Lifeline customers, and failed to require USF contribution from broadband services. NARUC has challenged the Lifeline order in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (see 1606030053).

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioners Mike O'Rielly and Ajit Pai agreed on one thing at Friday's press conference following the agency's monthly meeting: The commission will move ahead with its regulatory agenda in the wake of its net neutrality court victory. Responding to a reporter's question, Wheeler denied the agency was slowing down or backing off on its plans for big-ticket items such as broadband privacy, special access, cable set-top boxes and media ownership. But he wouldn't say whether particular items would come before or after the November election, other than a media ownership proposal that he said will come this month: "We will move them as they become ripe. We just extended the privacy reply comment period, and I'm not going to say it is going to have to be done by the second Tuesday in November or by Thanksgiving or whatever the case may be." Asked a similar question, O'Rielly and Pai said they didn't see any evidence of an FCC slowdown or shift, other than a possible compromise on cable boxes. "It does take time for those items to materialize," O'Rielly said. "I'm fully anticipating those issues we talked about are coming; it's just a matter of when. I believe privacy is going to happen before the election." Pai also said the "ideological views" of Democratic FCC majority remain strong and he expects it's moving ahead on the major items. Neither Republican was willing to predict the ultimate outcome of the net neutrality litigation, but Pai said he expects critics of the order to appeal. O'Rielly suggested supporters of the net neutrality and broadband reclassification order could "be a little more magnanimous in their approach, rather than cheerleading and running around celebrating." He said the court didn't say it agreed with what the FCC did, just that it was deferring to its decision-making under Chevron deference. Opening the news conference, Wheeler thanked and lauded fellow Democratic Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mignon Clyburn, plus FCC staff, for putting together the net neutrality order, and the agency's attorneys for defending it in court.

The FCC hasn't made any decisions on zero-rated services, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said during a news conference Friday. Protesters outside FCC headquarters Friday pressed for action, as expected (see 1606230065). The FCC didn’t put specific language on zero rating in last year’s net neutrality order despite pressure to do so, Wheeler said. “The issue of zero rating is … broad and it’s not a one-size-fits-all situation,” he said. “We’re collecting information, as I’ve been telling you for months. We’re in ongoing discovery mode.” Wheeler has offered a similar answer several times in the past. Wheeler said he appreciated the “input” from the pro-net neutrality groups “and all the other input that we have gotten on the topic.” Consumers, "not government, should choose what plans and services they want," said Brad Gillen, executive vice president of CTIA. "Surveys routinely show that the vast majority of Americans want free data so they can use more content and services without it counting against their data plans.” The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council expressed concerns about the zero-rating protests. "Innovation and competition in the form of free data practices are significant tools in the struggle to connect Americans who cannot afford to pay for the full Internet experience," said MMTC President Kim Keenan. "To keep the internet affordable for consumers who are heavily reliant on mobile devices as their only gateway, we need the FCC to carefully explore the public interest benefits before interrupting free data practices. Otherwise, these consumers will lose."

The state of Globalstar's broadband terrestrial low-power broadband system (TLPS) remains in limbo, with two FCC commissioners having yet to vote. Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said Friday he hasn't voted on or made up his mind about Globalstar. An agency official tells us likewise for Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. Commissioners Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel voted no (see 1606030041). Asked after the commissioners' meeting Friday about the likelihood of changing his vote, Pai said the Globalstar issue "involves a fundamental question: Do we want to grant special rights to a particular company to unlicensed spectrum? I think the answer should be no ... the agency has not bestowed largess upon a competitor in that space." Meanwhile, Globalstar continues to lobby the FCC on approval, with the company repeatedly talking to the agency about the possibility of opportunistic sharing of Wi-Fi channel 14 where TLPS isn't otherwise deployed. A big part of any such approach would be Globalstar's network operating system protecting the company's mobile satellite service and other services from interference, the company said in an ex parte filing Thursday in docket 13-213. Public Knowledge and the Open Technology Institute and, separately, the Wireless ISP Association pushed for that condition on Globalstar's TLPS plans (see 1606140020), and Globalstar discussed the idea at other recent lobbying meetings. The ex parte filing recapped a meeting with Chairman Tom Wheeler aide Edward Smith.

While global cooperation has increased among government agencies combating cartels and reviewing transactions, the head of DOJ's Antitrust Division told the annual Chatham House Competition Policy conference Thursday about differences in criminal treatment of cartel individuals and about becoming more transparent and fair when applying laws. Renata Hesse, who succeeded Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer in April, said in her speech posted on DOJ's website there's "near unanimity around the world about the importance of discovering and prosecuting price fixing, bid rigging, and market allocation" by international cartels, and over the past decade a majority of fines have been imposed outside the U.S. But there's a "pronounced difference" between the U.S. and most countries on holding individuals accountable for corporate wrongdoing and that needs to change. Hesse also said there has been more focus on the procedural differences in applying competition law -- "the way we do our work" -- not so much on the substance of the law. A competition agency should measure its success not just by output, but also public confidence in it, which can be achieved through more transparency and procedural fairness, she said. Hesse said there has been great cooperation on deal review procedures and analysis. "Many jurisdictions now apply essentially the same substantive assessment of likely competitive effects from proposed mergers," she said. Last year, DOJ worked with 16 foreign enforcers on 30 different investigations, she added.

An FCC rule requiring parties to email the agency certain lawsuits takes effect July 25, after a summary of a commission order was published in Thursday's Federal Register. The new rule "requires persons petitioning for judicial review who wish to participate in a 'judicial lottery' to notify the Commission of the petition by email," said the summary. A judicial review statute "provides for a lottery to select a court when parties have petitioned for review of the same FCC decision in more than one court," provided they petition within 10 days of issuance of the order, said the commission order approved 5-0 and released June 3. The FCC had required parties to hand-deliver such petitions to its Office of General Counsel to ensure timely delivery. "However, that method of service is not easily reconciled with the security protocols that currently apply to other filings with the Commission," said the order. "These procedures will allow for timely service on the Commission without raising the issues with respect to Commission security requirements that are currently presented by service in person. We also expect that this method of service will be more convenient for most petitioners and their counsel, especially those located outside of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area." The new rule "encourages, but does not require, notice by email for persons who petition for review but do not seek to participate in a lottery. It likewise encourages, but does not require, notice by email for persons who judicially appeal Commission decisions," said the summary.

AT&T Senior Executive Vice President Jim Cicconi and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings are among more than 50 major technology, cable TV and other business executives who endorsed Hillary Clinton for president Thursday, her campaign said in an email. “I’ve supported every Republican Presidential candidate since 1976, and was honored to work for two of them," said Cicconi in a statement supplied by the Clinton campaign. "But this year I think it's vital to put our country's wellbeing ahead of party. Hillary Clinton is experienced, qualified, and will make a fine President. The alternative, I fear, would set our Nation on a very dark path.” Hastings said in a statement from the campaign that presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump "would destroy much of what is great about America. Hillary Clinton is the strong leader we need, and it's important that Trump lose by a landslide to reject what he stands for." The Trump campaign didn't comment. Others who endorsed Clinton include Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff; Airbnb Chief Technology Officer Nathan Blecharczyk, CEO Brian Chesky and Chief Privacy Officer Joe Gebbia; IAC and Expedia Chairmen Barry Diller; Dish Network co-founder Candy Ergen; Dropbox CEO Drew Houston; Qualcomm CEO Emeritus Irwin Jacobs and Executive Chairman Paul Jacobs; Black Entertainment Television founder Robert Johnson and CEO Debra Lee; Tumblr CEO David Karp; Box CEO Aaron Levie; former Time Warner Cable CEO Rob Marcus; Prologis CEO Hamid Moghadam; Zynga co-founder Mark Pincus; Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg; Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt; Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman; and Entravision Communications CEO Walter Ulloa.

The FCC tentatively plans to take new tech transition actions at its July 14 meeting. "The Commission will consider a Declaratory Ruling, Report and Order, and Order on Reconsideration that adopts a framework to guide transitions to next-generation communications technologies while protecting the interests of consumers and competition," said a tentative agenda released Thursday.

FairPoint Communications plans to stop offering its broadband internet transmission service as a telecom service "and offer it instead as a private service," the company told the FCC Wireline Bureau Thursday in a filing in docket 14-28. "In the Open Internet Order, the Commission classified retail mass market broadband Internet access service ('BIAS') as a partially forborne telecommunications service, but declined to reclassify other broadband services, such as special access, enterprise broadband and wholesale broadband services, as telecommunications services," FairPoint said. "The Commission's forbearance allowed telecommunications carriers to provide BIAS free from a variety of provisions of the Communications Act otherwise applicable to telecommunications carriers, such as ratemaking regulations. At the same time the Commission indicated that any carrier that had elected to provide BIAS subject to 'the full range of Title II requirements' remained subject to all the applicable Title II rights and obligations unless and until such carrier elects to change its offering of broadband Internet transmission services 'pursuant to the construct adopted in this Order,' in which event the carrier 'should notify the Wireline Competition Bureau 60 days prior to implementing such a change.'" The company said its filing was such notice, meaning the change would take effect Aug. 22. FairPoint didn't comment further Thursday.

CTA and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) want more testing of Globalstar's proposed broadband terrestrial low-power service (TLPS) and its possible effects on unlicensed users in the 2.4 GHz band. In a filing Wednesday in docket 13-213, CTA opposed FCC approval before more testing to ensure TLPS deployment wouldn't negatively affect Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. "While we appreciate the potential of TLPS to open up new spectrum resources, it must be balanced against the potential harm to existing uses with proven consumer value," CTA said, saying Globalstar-submitted data from its demonstration seemingly didn't include comprehensive testing of unlicensed uses. In an ex parte filing Tuesday in the docket about phone calls to staff of Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael O'Rielly, ITI said its member companies have similar concerns about TLPS effects and that more testing could help in assessing safeguards. Globalstar didn't comment.