The argument Charter Communications is complicit in copyright infringement due to piracy by its internet subscribers "stretches vicarious liability beyond the breaking point," it said in a motion to dismiss the vicarious liability claim (in Pacer, docket 19-cv-00874) filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Denver. It said the music label and publisher plaintiffs' contributory infringement claim also will fail since they can't prove direct infringement of their copyrights but that it was challenging only vicarious liability in the motion. It said the vicarious liability claim lacks any plausible allegation Charter directly saw financial benefit from the alleged infringing activity or that it can control that alleged infringement since it can't monitor and control its subscribers' internet use. Outside counsel for the music industry plaintiffs didn't comment Wednesday. Some of the same plaintiffs suing Charter (see 1903250004) also are suing cable ISPs Grande Communications (see 1802080001) and Cox Communications (see 1808020009).

That cable and telecom combined surpasses any other U.S. industry in level of infrastructure investment comes as "no surprise," NCTA blogged Tuesday, citing a Progressive Policy Institute report showing that sector eclipsing such others as internet/technology and utility/energy distribution. NCTA said that spending -- more than $290 billion over the past 20 years -- reflects ISPs' work to improve their networks' speeds and capacities, and 10 GB means "more transformation is yet to come." Telecom/cable capital expenditures were $54 billion in 2017, up 4.6 percent from 2016, while internet/technology capex was $46 billion, a 16 percent increase.

ALLVanza is making its way across the FCC's eighth floor, urging commissioners to look into routes to lowering the 5 percent franchise cap on fees charged to cable ISPs, according to a docket 17-108 ex parte posting Friday recapping a meeting between CEO Rosa Mendoza and Commissioner Mike O'Rielly. It also championed NCTA's broadband mapping plan. The group had similarly met with Commissioner Brendan Carr (see 1905200039).

Charter Communications wants until July 3 to oppose Minnesota’s petition for writ of certiorari at the Supreme Court in a case about whether the state may regulate interconnected VoIP (see 1905010191). Respondents’ brief is due June 3, but Charter expects amicus briefs will be filed in support of the petition, and the company needs extra time to consider those arguments, said Charter counsel Ian Gershengorn in a Wednesday letter to the court.

Comments are due June 4, replies June 11, on the transfer of control application as part of Cable One's purchase of various Fidelity Communications subsidiaries, the FCC Wireline Bureau said in a docket 19-20 public notice Wednesday. The $525.9 million deal has U.S. antitrust approval (see 1905200058).

The FCC should look into routes to lowering the 5 percent franchise cap on fees charged to cable ISPs in an effort to avoid excessive and duplicative fees that can slow deployment of broadband services, Latin-American technology advocacy organization ALLVanza told Commissioner Brendan Carr, relayed a docket 05-311 posting Monday. It put its support behind NCTA's broadband mapping proposal (see 1903220036), saying while "not perfect [it] presents an effective plan."

U.S. antitrust authorities cleared the way for Cable One to buy Fidelity Communications, said an FTC early termination notice dated Friday and released Monday. Cable One said in April it had struck a deal to buy the Missouri-based cable ISP for $525.9 million cash.

Midcontinent Communications could support FCC use of Connect America Fund Phase II-like auction processes for the next high-cost fund, the cable ISP told Wireline Bureau staff. Last month, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said a $20 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund plan is coming (see 1904160057). Midco suggested the FCC provide shapefiles of geographical information systems and mapping data during any future auction, in a filing posted Thursday in docket 17-182.

The New York Public Service Commission wants comment by July 8on the state's pact with Charter Communications (see 1904190059), the PSC said Wednesday in case 15-M-0388. To avoid having to exit the state, Charter agreed last month to expand broadband to 145,000 homes and businesses entirely in unserved and underserved areas of upstate by Sept. 30, 2021, and to spend another $12 million on additional broadband deployment. At the PSC's meeting Thursday, Commissioner Diane Burman dissented from an order on the consent agenda that confirmed Chair John Rhodes' April 19 order that further extended the deadline for the filing of rehearing petitions to July 18 and Charter's six-month exit plan to Aug. 15.

While pay-TV subscriber numbers slide, broadband subscriptions continue rising, with 945,000 net additions in Q1 vs. 815,000 in the year-ago quarter, Leichtman Research Group reported Wednesday. The top broadband cable and telco providers, representing 95 percent of the market, accounted for 98.7 million subscribers, led by cable with 65.3 million. Cable added 925,000 subs; telcos added 20,000, with Q1 the first for net broadband additions since Q1 2016. AT&T reported 36,000 net adds to 15.7 million and Verizon 12,000 net adds to 6.97 million. On the cable side, Charter had the most net adds in the quarter, 428,000, to bring its total base to 25.7 million, while Comcast, with 375,000 net adds, ended Q1 with a 27.6 million subscriber base. The past year saw about 2.6 million net broadband adds, vs. about 2 million in the prior year, said Principal Bruce Leichtman.