Plains Internet asked the FCC to designate it as a Lifeline broadband provider (LBP) under the agency's new federal eligible telecom carrier process for the low-income USF support program (see 1604270028). Plains is a facilities-based telecom carrier providing fixed-wireless broadband, VoIP and data services capable of reaching over 293,000 customers, said its petition posted Thursday in docket 11-42. The company seeks LBP approval to serve Lifeline-eligible customers and meets all the statutory and regulatory requirements for such designation, it said. Approval would result in a "higher level of service quality and more competitive pricing and advantageous service options" for low-income consumers, it said, proposing an effective date of Aug. 31.

Symantec won “early termination” of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period on its proposed $4.65 billion cash acquisition of web security company Blue Coat, the FTC said in a notice Wednesday. Blue Coat CEO Greg Clark will be named CEO of Symantec after the close of the deal in Q3, succeeding Ajei Gopal, interim chief operating officer, Symantec said last month (see 1606130010).

Democrats unveiled a version of their 2016 party platform Thursday that includes all amendments. The 55-page text now showcases a significant telecom section, discussing IoT and 5G, that was added as an amendment during deliberations (see 1607110057). “Democrats will finish the job of connecting every household in America to high-speed broadband, increase internet adoption, and help hook up anchor institutions so they can offer free WiFi to the public,” the new language says. The platform backs net neutrality and the need for high-speed broadband (see 1607050058). High-speed internet connectivity "is not a luxury; it is a necessity for 21st century economic success, social mobility, education, health care, and public safety," it says. Democrats also "will take action to help America widely deploy 5G technology—the next generation wireless service that will not only bring faster internet connections to underserved areas, but will enable the Internet of Things and a host of transformative technologies," it says.

The FCC privacy proposal is bad for consumer welfare, said Free State Foundation President Randolph May on the FSF blog Thursday. May is scheduled to speak on privacy and Chevron deference panels at the NARUC meeting next week in Nashville. Consumers do value privacy, but they “also value receiving targeted information that they want enabled by the collection and use of their personal data,” May wrote. “And they value receiving such information without any payment of money or subscription fee.” But the FCC opt-in proposal presumes consumers prefer to broadly restrict collection and use of their personal data, he said. The FCC is widely expected to adopt the ISP privacy rules (see 1607070052).

The U.S. General Services Administration extended Verizon's Networx contracts​ until 2020, the company said in a Wednesday news release. GSA extended the Networx Universal contract to March 2020 and the Networx Enterprise contract to May 2020. Verizon won the initial contracts in 2007. The extensions allow federal agencies to continue procuring network and communications services from Verizon while the government transitions to enterprise infrastructure solutions, the company said.

Microsoft now exceeds 350 million “active devices” using Windows 10, giving the operating system “the fastest adoption rate of any prior Windows release,” CEO Satya Nadella said on a Tuesday earnings call. “We continue to pursue our goal of moving people from needing Windows to choosing Windows to loving Windows.” Microsoft in two weeks will launch a Windows 10 “anniversary update” that will include “a significant step forward in security,” he said. Shares of the company, which also reported earnings, rose 5.3 percent to $55.91in trading Wednesday.

The FTC approved Gannett, OnShore and Tencent acquisitions in early termination notices issued this week. The commission Tuesday said it won't challenge Gannett's $156 million acquisition of digital advertising services company ReachLocal (see 1606270081). Monday, the FTC gave the nod to OnShore's buy of NXP Semiconductors' standard products business, Nexperia, and China-based Tencent Holdings' majority stake in Finnish mobile game maker Supercell from SoftBank.

CTA President Gary Shapiro favors some elements of the 2016 Republican Party platform released this week (see 1607190053). “We are encouraged by the party's goal of creating a business climate that promotes innovation -- allowing the sharing economy to compete in an open and competitive market, ensuring access to spectrum to meet our demand for anytime/anywhere connectivity and encouraging the innovation needed for the Internet of Things to thrive,” Shapiro said in a statement. “We also applaud the platform's recognition that American innovation deserves the freedom to succeed or fail on its own merits and international trade is crucial to our economy.” GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump hopefully will be releasing “a detailed policy agenda” soon, Shapiro said.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is creating a Digital Trade Working Group to target digital trade barriers and promote policies to advance digital trade efforts worldwide, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said. Deputy USTR Robert Holleyman will head the group, which includes USTR experts in e-commerce, telecom, services, intellectual property, innovation and industrial competitiveness, USTR said. “The Digital Trade Working Group is an important resource to help the United States maintain its 'digital trade surplus,' and allow companies and workers in every sector of the U.S. economy to use the Internet to deliver innovative, American-made products and services abroad,” Froman said. The group will focus on barriers to cloud computing, platform services and digital products trade, and will coordinate the negotiation and implementation of digital trade provisions in various bilateral and multilateral agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, and the Trade in Services Agreement, USTR said. Internet Association CEO Michael Beckerman called for lawmakers to work with industry and USTR to create a chief digital trade negotiator position within USTR last week during a House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee hearing (see 1607130066).

More than half of U.S. broadband households will have a smart home controller by 2020, as more companies embed controllers into entertainment products, said a Monday Parks Associates report. Some 24 percent of broadband households will have an IP camera during the forecast period and more than 26 percent will have a home security system, said Parks. About a fifth of U.S. broadband households own a smart home device, and more than 40 percent plan to buy one before year-end, said the firm.