The small number of local officials on the FCC Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee “has unsurprisingly resulted in BDAC recommendations that would undercut the important potential of local governments to help improve and accelerate broadband access and availability throughout the nation,” said Coalition for Local Internet Choice CEO Joanne Hovis and President James Baller in a Thursday letter to FCC commissioners. The BDAC’s model state code especially hurts broadband deployment, the CLIC officials said. Appointing another local official after two resigned (see 1804090013), they said, “does not come close to addressing the stark imbalance in the composition of the BDAC.”
Congress is "very likely" to pass CFIUS "reform" in 2018, said strategist and consultant Bruce Mehlman of Mehlman Castagnetti in his Q2 Washington update, referring to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The broad executive branch group reviews the national security implications of foreign takeovers of U.S.-located companies of all types; the narrower Team Telecom -- DOJ, DOD and the Department of Homeland Security -- focuses on foreign takeovers of U.S. telecom and internet firms and assets (see 1711080040). Mehlman said "data breach notification" legislation is "possible," but "infrastructure" and "data privacy/online bill of rights" bills are "longer-term." He didn't handicap net neutrality legislation but said 36 states are "attempting to thwart" an FCC regulatory rollback through "state laws, executive orders or lawsuits." More generally, he cited institutional failures, motivated citizens, "revolutionary" technology, and "accelerating" societal changes as creating an "Age of Disruption" that "may usher in an Era of Reform." A Democratic "wave election" is "increasingly possible" in November, he said, though Republicans are less vulnerable in the Senate, where they're defending only nine incumbent seats to the Democrats' 26, than in the House, where the GOP is defending 50 "competitive" seats to Democrats' five.
About 14,000 AT&T union workers may strike if they can’t agree to new contracts covering the carrier’s Midwest and Legacy T contracts, Communications Workers of America said in a Tuesday news release. CWA members voted Monday to authorize a strike, the union said. Workers seek job security and fair wages and benefits, it said. AT&T continues to bargain and is confident about reaching a fair agreement with the union that gives “excellent wages and benefits,” an AT&T spokesman emailed. “A strike vote is a common and not unexpected step in negotiations of this sort.”
The Intel Product Assurance and Security group, formed as a response to Google Project Zero earlier this year (see 1801110011), is looking long term to the evolving threat landscape and improving future chip security, said group General Manager Leslie Culbertson. Intel sees an opportunity to accelerate security innovation in the industry via partnerships in academia and through more engagement with security companies, Culbertson said. Although the Google Project Zero vulnerabilities “presented many challenges,” a positive outcome was the “unprecedented collaboration among so many in the ecosystem,” she said, citing security researchers, operating system and software vendors, system manufacturers, cloud providers and other chip makers. “I hope this collaboration is a blueprint for the future.”
AT&T expects to raise between $564 million and $653 million with the initial public offering of its Latin American digital entertainment units, DirecTV Latin America and Sky Brasil, it said Thursday as it launched the IPO. AT&T said in March it was considering an IPO for the Vrio holding company (see 1803070024).
Comments are due May 4, replies May 21 on FCC proposals to implement Section 7 of the Communications Act and speed review of new technologies and services, said Wednesday's Federal Register. An NPRM was approved Feb. 23, with Chairman Ajit Pai urging removal of bureaucratic barriers to innovation, and Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mignon Clyburn raising objections (see 1802220045 and 1802230055).
Interconnection provider Equinix completed buying the Infomart Dallas data center complex from ASB Real Estate Investments in a $800 million debt and cash deal that adds some 1.6 million gross square feet of "fiber entry points" with network, collocation providers and office tenants, Equinix announced Tuesday. On March 21, Infomart Data Centers said it's selling San Jose, California; Hillsboro, Oregon; and Ashburn, Virginia, data centers and its management company to IPI Data Center Partners.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau sought comment on ISPs’ progress on security measures designed to prevent exploitation of carrier Signaling System 7 (SS7) network infrastructure. The FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council recommended last year that service providers take steps to protect SS7 infrastructure, the bureau said Tuesday. The bureau cites a March 2017 CSRIC report. “These recommendations were intended to increase awareness of SS7 signaling vulnerabilities, and included risk mitigation strategies for the continued use of SS7. The recommendations also listed measures, such as filtering and authentication of traffic between service provider networks, designed to promote the security of SS7 communications network traffic.” The bureau asks for comment on “progress, barriers, and lessons learned” on implementing the recommendations. Comments are due May 3, replies June 4.
Verizon said it will invest more than $200 million more toward “providing immersive next-gen technology, teacher training, STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] curricula and connectivity to under-resourced students across the United States.” Verizon already had invested $200 million, and said it's giving schools "access to 5G" plus exposing students to "skill-building in augmented reality, machine learning, coding, 3D printing and more."
Comments are due May 29 at the FCC on disaster information reporting system duties, which now affect wireless, wireline, broadcast, cable, VoIP and ISP entities, said a notice in the Federal Register Wednesday. The commission is to review comments on the DIRS burdens for industry under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and make any appropriate adjustments, which the Office of Management and Budget must approve. The FR is to publish several FCC items Thursday, including: a notice seeking PRA comments by May 29 (calendar) on Lifeline USF information-collection requirements; a notice seeking PRA comments by May 29 on telecom relay service information-collection requirements; and a rule requiring short-form applications to be filed by Friday in the Connect America Fund Phase II fixed service subsidy auction to start July 24.