The FCC voted to deny AWS-3 auction bidding credits to SNR Wireless and Northstar Wireless, the designated entities Dish Network used to buy spectrum licenses at reduced prices in the auction, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a statement Monday. Dish CEO Charlie Ergen said Aug. 5, when the denial was proposed, that the company was still examining its options and would make a decision after the order is released (see 1508050042). Industry officials agree Dish is likely to take the FCC to court rather than pay an extra $3.3 billion for the AWS-3 spectrum without a challenge (see 1507240048). “Small businesses require an on-ramp into the mobile marketplace to provide more choices for consumers,” Wheeler said Monday. “Our competitive bidding rules were designed to do just that—give bona fide small businesses an opportunity to acquire valuable spectrum. Today, our review of two winning bidders in the recent AWS-3 auction has concluded that they in fact are not eligible for bidding credits.”

Public TV interests want to know if FCC anti-collusion rules prohibit public TV stations from engaging in public fundraising after the short form application deadline for the incentive auction, said a joint ex parte filing from the CPB, PBS and the Association of Public Television Stations. Representatives of the public TV groups and NAB met with the Incentive Auction Task Force and “raised multiple questions” about the communications prohibitions from the incentive auction's anti-collusion rules and how they could affect public TV stations' “routine business and financial operations,” the filing said. FCC officials have told us the rules bar stations from discussing their bids in the auction and other bidding strategy-related information from the deadline for applications to participate in the incentive auction until the auction is complete. Along with questions about fundraising, the public TV representatives asked whether the anti-collusion rules keep stations from stating publicly that they will continue operating after the auction, such as when requesting donations. They also asked if stations are prohibited from releasing Freedom of Information Act-requested information about their post-auction plans, or posting multiyear strategic plans on their websites. The public TV groups also asked if the rules bar them from signing multiyear contracts during the signing period, if their boards' open meetings are allowed under the rules, and other questions on how deep the anti-collusion rules go.

Thousands of Verizon workers and supporters rallied at more 50 Verizon locations Thursday, urging the company to negotiate a fair contract, said a news release from the Communications Workers of America. Verizon and CWA, along with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), have hit a stalemate in bargaining for a new contract (see 1508070029). Verizon continues to insist on outsourcing more jobs, increasing healthcare costs by thousands of dollars per person and slashing retirement security, CWA said. “We’re ready to bargain. But despite one billion a month in profits, Verizon still insists on everything from eliminating job security to taking away benefits from workers injured on the job,” said Dennis Trainor, vice president of CWA District One. Verizon is working to reach an agreement that's fair to employees, good for customers and positions its landline unit well, said a company spokesman. “We respect the rights of our employees to hold rallies, but we truly believe the best way to achieve a new contract is not on the street rallying, but at the negotiating table in serious and meaningful bargaining," he said. "We’ve had discussions with union leaders from both the CWA and IBEW this week and we stand ready to meet with them again.”

The Wi-Fi interference problems that will come with nonstandard LTE-U can be headed off if the FCC acts now to set up effective means of sharing, NCTA said in an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 15-105. Rick Chessen, NCTA senior vice president-law and regulatory policy, was among those who met with a variety of commissioner and Office of Engineering and Technology staff in a pair of meetings to discuss routes to "effective coexistence" between LTE-U and Wi-Fi. The problem with LTE-U is its unconstrained "duty cycling" sharing, which has LTE-U carriers deciding when to transmit, even if it's atop Wi-Fi and other unlicensed users, NCTA said. However, "Wi-Fi-like sharing" would allow for coexistence, NCTA said, saying the FCC should demand better LTE-U testing and analysis. LTE-U Forum testing has used too few devices in its tests, not properly simulating a more real-world crowded environment, and has overestimated the amount of available spectrum, NCTA said. LTE-U backers like Qualcomm have said acceptance of the technology is rising, and it disagrees with NCTA that the commission should start a review of LTE-U and license assisted access (see 1507010052). The company had no immediate comment Thursday.

Cablevision sought a hearing on the scope of a temporary restraining order awarded to Verizon in a dispute over the cable operator's advertising. U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Brown of Central Islip, New York, granted Verizon the restraining order Monday, blocking any ads asserting Verizon is telling lies in its ads. The legal battle began in January when Cablevision sued Verizon in federal court over Verizon ads saying it offered "the fastest WiFi available." In a letter to Brown Tuesday, Cablevision said it's constrained by the restraining order even from responding as Verizon put out "false, misleading and defamatory" information about the court ruling itself to the media and public. "This situation is untenable," Cablevision said, though Cablevision put out its own news release about the court decision. "Cablevision continues to make 'anti-FiOS' statements," Verizon said. "What Cablevision is really upset about is that ... Verizon has now publicized the fact that Cablevision's false, misleading and defamatory advertising campaign has been put to a stop."

Fifty-three journalism and other groups asked President Barack Obama again (see report in the July 14, 2014, issue) to stop what they contend is near-censorship by some federal agencies in dealing with the media, and to issue an executive order "prohibiting restrictive public information policies." Their letter dated Monday and released Tuesday to Obama asked him to bar prohibiting agency staff from communicating with journalists unless spokespeople are involved. He should also bar "speaking only on the condition that the official not be identified even when he or she has title of spokesperson," wrote the American Society of News Editors, the Center for Media & Democracy, Demand Progress, Government Accountability Project, iSolon.org, the NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America, the Online News Association, the Radio Television Digital News Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, Sunlight Foundation and others. "Shift the federal government away from secrecy toward transparency and accountability." It's not too late for Obama to meet his promise of being the most transparent U.S. president, the groups wrote. The White House had no comment Wednesday. Our and others' research, including some letter signers like SPJ, have found that many agencies have more work to do to fulfill Obama's commitment (see report in the Oct. 18, 2013, issue).

Frontier will deliver broadband with speeds of 25 Mbps for downloads and 2-3 Mbps for uploads to an additional 750,000 households across its entire footprint by the end of 2020, CEO Daniel McCarthy told FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in a letter posted Wednesday in docket 15-44 on the company's planned buy of Verizon wireline systems in California, Florida and Texas. The FCC's general broadband ("advanced telecom capability") definition is 25/3 Mbps, though it's only 10/1 for telcos using USF subsidies to serve high-cost rural areas. McCarthy said the deal presented new broadband opportunities and would build on its previous takeover of Verizon wireline systems in 14 states, where he said Frontier met its broadband commitments. "Over the last five years we have invested heavily in broadband infrastructure and I commit to continue that investment," he said. McCarthy said the new deployment will be coordinated with the company's efforts to expand broadband to 650,000 households and businesses in rural areas backed by USF support from the FCC's new Connect America Fund. "While this commitment is aggressive, we have spent the last five years building out our network and identifying ways to achieve high speeds over our copper loops for our rural customer base," he said.

Seven industry and public safety organizations submitted a proposal to the FCC recommending key principles for guiding efforts to deploy and operate next-generation 911 systems with effective governance and accountability, said a news release from Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions. For the IP transition, the recommendations said efforts should be made to accelerate the continued development and implementation of NG-911 standards and systems, while assuring reliability. On governance, providers of 911 services must be accountable for the reliability of their services and vendor contracts, the filing said. On NG-911 reliability, the transition to NG-911 must be accomplished in a manner that doesn't undermine the availability, reliability and resiliency of the system, it said. ATIS is one of the seven organizations that submitted these principles. Others are the National Emergency Number Association, National Association of State 911 Administrators, Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies, USTelecom, Commission on State Emergency Communications and the Texas 911 Alliance. The principles included in the proposal are designed to help the FCC address the issues about governance, accountability and reliability that exist in today’s evolving 911 systems and services, ATIS said in docket 13-75.

Businesses regulated by the Wireless Bureau are being undercharged by $26.6 million for regulatory costs, and the FCC needs to fix the problem before finalizing FY 2015 fees, NAB and the Satellite Industry Association said in an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in FCC docket 15-121. The problem is that auction-funded full-time employees (FTEs) are not counted in apportioning those FTEs, resulting in entities regulated by the International, Media and Wireless bureaus subsidizing costs that should be charged to wireless licensees, NAB and SIA said. "The impact on the fees ultimately paid is substantial." SIA previously argued its case individually, with CTIA objecting as it argued the wireless industry pays more than its fair share (see 1507060063). "The data relied on by CTIA clearly prove that [Wireless Bureau-regulated] entities are being under-assessed for regulatory fees," NAB and SIA said. "Auction revenues fund less than one indirect FTE for each [Wireless Bureau] FTE [though] the actual indirect-to-direct FTE ratio for the commission as a whole is much higher." According to NAB and SIA math, entities regulated by the International Bureau should pay $19.2 million, $2.1 million less than proposed; Media Bureau entities should pay $106.5 million, down $11.6 million; Wireline Bureau entities should pay $118.2 million, $12.9 million less; and Wireless Bureau entities should pay $95.9 million, instead of $69.3 million. “Through regulatory fees and spectrum auction proceeds, the wireless industry accounts for more than 36 perc ent of the FCC’s total 2015 budget, which is more than any other industry segment," CTIA Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Scott Bergmann said in an email Tuesday. "CTIA continues to support the Commission’s efforts to ensure that regulatory fees appropriately reflect the work conducted by agency staff. That’s why we urge the FCC to reject any proposals that target regulatees of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau for a disproportionate share of regulatory fees.”

The time has come for a national review of how administrative agencies work and how the process too often breaks down, wrote Jon Blake, a retired communications lawyer from Covington Burling, Tuesday on an American Enterprise Institute blog. “With 70 years of experience in administrative law under its belt, our country should now be able to revivify and, where appropriate, reform the understanding of the mutual roles played by the four components of the administrative process,” Blake wrote. “So, convening at this time a special commission, like the old Attorney General’s Committee, to make recommendations for improving the performance of all four components in the administrative process could at the very least reconnect them to a common vision of how the process should work.” Members should include former and current agency heads, and representatives of the White House and Congress, he suggested. Regulatory humility is key to all components of the system -- the agencies themselves, Congress, the courts and the executive branch -- but is too often missing, Blake said. “A lack of humility in all four components is difficult to police,” he wrote. “Agencies can overreach in their intrusions into the marketplace, Congress can overreach in its oversight, legislators vis-à-vis agencies, and courts can overreach in second-guessing agency decisions, often based on technological innovation and consumer trends with which they are all too unfamiliar.”