Administrative Law Judge Cameron Elliot at the International Trade Commission set Oct. 2, 2023, as the target date for completing the Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into allegations in a Broadband iTV April 22 complaint that set-top boxes from Comcast, Charter and Altice infringe four VOD and electronic program guide patents (see 2204280027), said an order he signed Tuesday in docket 337-TA-1315. Elliot’s order has five days of hearings scheduled to begin Feb. 6, and his initial determination in the case is to be ready by June 2.

U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven in Tampa rejected summary judgment motions by Bright House Networks and music labels suing it (see 2205180022), in a pair of docket 8:19-cv-710 orders last week. Scriven disagreed with the music labels, saying a variety of issues preclude summary judgment, including whether the digital files that Bright House broadband subscribers distributed are infringing copies of the plaintiffs' copyrighted works and whether Bright House had knowledge of alleged infringement. In denying Bright House's summary judgment motion, the judge said such factual disputes "preclude resolution on summary judgment," adding the case will go to trial for a jury to decide.

Fiber-to-the-home from telco operators will cover about 55% of the U.S. by the end of 2025, up from about 35% today, providing "a significant competitive threat" to incumbent cable operators, S&P said in a note Thursday. It said wireline telcos have undertaken their FTTH investments because of their restructured balance sheets and third-party private investments. It said FTTH's ultimate penetration will depend on variables including returns on capital and the use of aerial vs. buried fiber, it said. Cable will likely lose "some" market share to telcos' FTTH overbuilds, slipping from an average 60%-65% penetration for its copper-based services to 50%-55% in three to four years, it said. The biggest impact on cable might be in eliminating existing growth opportunities from telco customers that would otherwise switch to cable, it said. S&P said helping in the competition with telco overbuilds is that cable operators have heavily invested in their networks over time and most can deliver 1 Gbps download speeds across their footprints, as well as cable operators' pricing flexibility. It projected cable operators can increase subscriber numbers at around 2% annually through 2024, with that growth coming from new home formation and footprint edge-outs as competition grows and the market matures. It said cable operators will likely be active bidders in the broadband equity, access and deployment program as government-subsidized rural markets present a growth opportunity.

By the end of 2025, more than 90% of U.S. households will have access to at least one broadband provider offering 100/20 Mbps service and at least one offering 25/3 Mbps service, ACA Connects said in a white paper Thursday. Citing FCC data and trend lines, it said 84% of households will have access to at least two providers offering 100/20 Mbps service. The paper said increased competition, plus FCC ability to regulate prices and speeds for broadband services it subsidizes, makes moot any supposed need "for common-carrier-style regulatory intervention." It said 7% of U.S. households are in areas served by a subsidized broadband provider, and the number of those households will grow in coming years due to the FCC's broadband equity, access and deployment program spending and other federal stimulus programs. ACA urged that even if there is common-carrier-style regulation on larger broadband providers, smaller operators should be exempt.

Breezeline launched a series of online educational resources aimed at digital literacy and online safety issues, it said Wednesday. They include webinars on digital literacy created in partnership with Cyber-Seniors, videos and webinars created with Boston Children's Hospital's Digital Wellness Lab on media's impact on children, and resources created with CyberSecurity NonProfit on cybercrime prevention.

Comcast shareholders rejected all shareholder proposals, including recommendations the company issue a report on its charitable donations and do an investigation into the effectiveness of its sexual harassment policies, at its annual shareholder meeting this week, it said Wednesday.

ACA Connects' incoming president Grant Spellmeyer (see 2205170043) plans to spend much of the rest of 2022 meeting members and learning about the industry and issues, he said in an ACA video interview this week. "I don't come to this position with a whole bunch of plans to remake the association," he said. "[It has] a great reputation, a great team. I want to build on that."

The FCC Media Bureau granted Digital Broadcasting’s request to be certified to operate an open video system, said an order in Friday’s Daily Digest. The system will serve California cities Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Ana and San Diego, and Florida cities Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami, Tampa and Tallahassee. It will also serve some communities in Puerto Rico. “No comments regarding this application were received,” the order said.

Neither Comcast nor Charter Communications considers fiber overbuilders or fixed wireless significant competitive challenges now, the companies' CEOs said Wednesday during a MoffettNathanson tech conference. Comcast's Brian Roberts said there's increased competitive pressure from fiber and fixed wireless, but Comcast's penetration rate is growing in the areas it serves. He said record-low churn is a mixed blessing because it means fewer customers leaving, but it also means fewer opportunities to get customers who are leaving another provider: "Jump balls will continue to be good for cable." He said about 41% of Comcast's footprint is overbuilt by fiber, and that likely will grow to at least the mid-50s. He said fixed wireless competitors could face congestion problems. "We will see how their services stand up," he said. "They have a lot of trade-offs they will have to sort through." He said Comcast expanded its network by about 813,000 new passings last year, mostly in residential developments, and likely will do about the same in 2022. Comcast is "very confident" in its strategy of DOCSIS 4.0 as a route to multi-gig speeds rather than fiber in most cases, though it will likely use fiber in some areas, said Roberts. While 38% of Charter Communications' footprint has a fiber overbuilder, CEO Tom Rutledge dismissed concerns about fiber being a major competitive threat. "The landscape is littered ... with failed builders" faced with the challenge of getting returns on their investment, he said. He said lack of skilled labor could be a challenge for Charter and other companies considering rural expansions. That labor has to be trained, and rural areas have low population, requiring bringing in crews, he said: "It's challenging. Right now, there is no labor force for any jobs anywhere. We have thousands of unfilled positions."

The FCC needs to ax only the phrase "at their fair market value" from its in-kind contribution rules to align with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision on the agency's cable local franchise authority order (see 2105260035), NCTA, Charter Communications, Comcast and Cox Communications representatives told Media Bureau and Office of General Counsel staffers, per a docket 05-311 filing Tuesday. The cablers said that can be done via ministerial order not requiring notice and comment, and there's no need for a new rulemaking. Localities interests and advocates pushed the agency to open a proceeding about fair market vs. marginal costs (see 2204110042).