Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, wants the two-year FCC Reauthorization Act (S-2644) to compel the FCC to create a report on program access rules. He filed an amendment last week for a Wednesday markup of the measure, which was postponed, that would have required a report “on the effectiveness of the program access rules after elimination of the ban on exclusive contracts for programming by vertically integrated cable companies,” said the text of the two-page amendment, not publicly released. The FCC would have to submit that report to Congress within a year of the reauthorization bill’s enactment. Schatz’s amendment was one of more than 40 amendments filed (see 1603150049). Schatz also filed an amendment requiring the FCC to release annual reports on the average rates for broadband Internet service, “the types of packages and the limitations of those packages sold by broadband Internet access service providers” and “the average rate for customer premises equipment sold or leased by a broadband Internet access provider to a subscriber of that service.” Schatz filed a third short amendment designed to increase FCC flexibility in administering spectrum auctions that would have slashed a provision in the reauthorization text, which Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., introduced earlier this month. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., filed an amendment requiring an FCC report “on the broadband deployment and data collection practices of the Commission,” which would have to include legislative recommendations. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., filed an amendment that would tweak the FCC Reauthorization Act’s provisions requiring a GAO report on FCC regulatory fees. It would strike the section requiring the GAO report and instead tweak the Communications Act itself. It would strike the act’s section saying how the fees assessed should be derived, and instead insert language saying the fees should be “equitably apportioned among all entities from whom regulatory fees are collected,” based on an annual FCC assessment of its different bureau activities. Udall filed a separate amendment codifying the Office of Native Affairs and Policy, which the FCC created in 2010. Thune has said he now wants to mark up the FCC Reauthorization Act at an April session (see 1603160050).
The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance said India has become the latest market to explore use of TV white spaces spectrum with the government there issuing eight experimental licenses in the 470-582 MHz band. “The purpose of these licenses is to carry out experiments at several locations using TV white space-like rules and regulations already adopted (or being adopted) in other countries such as Malawi, Ghana, Singapore, the Philippines, UK, USA and Canada,” DSA said Thursday. “This decision opens up opportunities for the use of sub-1 GHz spectrum in India in either an unlicensed or lightly licensed fashion without the need for spectrum auctions.”
The U.S. wireless tower industry is "facing some growing pains right now" and was downgraded from "outperform" to "market weight" by Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche Friday. Her investor note cited carrier resistance to current tower pricing, as well as a difficulty achieving "new incremental growth" due to the lead up to the FCC broadcast incentive auction, the creation of the FirstNet system and the development of 5G standards. "Additionally, our sense is AT&T... has still not yet turned on the wireless spending faucet" and instead is focusing capital on fiber deployment, said Fritzsche. "Carriers are indeed saying 'enough,'" Fritzsche said, saying carriers are "definitely pushing back on the structure of amendments and pricing for the tower companies." The current lull in spending is consistent with historical spending plateaus before FCC spectrum auctions and the transition to a new wireless technology, such as 5G, she said. Fritzsche said "little or any of current tower business is at risk." Fritzsche also said the increase in size of cell sites and tower equipment "helps [the] longer term amendment revenue outlook."
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., still plans to pursue FCC reauthorization legislation in 2016, he plans to say in his opening statement during Wednesday’s FCC oversight hearing. “Reauthorizing the FCC is our responsibility as legislators and representatives of diverse constituencies who are increasingly affected by a regulatory agency with a nearly half billion dollar budget,” Thune will say. “It’s time for this Committee to get back to regularly authorizing the Commission as part of its normal course of business. To that end, in the next few days, I will introduce the FCC Reauthorization Act of 2016, and it is my intent to mark up the bill in the coming weeks.” Thune was ready last summer with such FCC reauthorization legislation, which contained FCC process overhaul provisions. He never formally introduced the bill due to struggles in getting backing from ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla. (see 1510130039). FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the four other commissioners will testify. The GOP staff memo for the hearing listed many topics for the hearing, set for 10 a.m. in 253 Russell: “Policy topics likely to be discussed during the hearing include Internet regulations, universal service program reform, spectrum auctions, and pay-TV set-top box regulations.” The memo detailed such topics as broadband privacy rules, stand-alone broadband support and set-top box regulation. “It is likely that Chairman Wheeler will advocate for more funding for NG9-1-1 efforts during this hearing,” the memo said. “To date, the Commission has offered few specific legislative proposals to implement the broad suggestions outlined by the Chairman.”
The 1996 Telecom Act and its implementation drew plaudits and criticisms Monday, the 20th anniversary of its being signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton. AT&T, NTIA and others issued statements that lauded the landmark law, which amended the 1934 Communications Act and set the terms for phone competition, phased out much cable-TV rate regulation, eased some broadcast ownership restrictions, expanded universal service subsidies and encouraged advanced telecom services (now commonly called broadband). But AT&T criticized FCC regulation, and others offered mixed or more critical assessments of the law, with CTIA saying the act was “highly regulatory” and not as effective as a 1993 budget act's spectrum provisions that “took a decidedly different approach to the wireless sector.”
Spectrum auction offsets “are expected to have much smaller effects, on average, in future years,” the Congressional Budget Office said this week, explaining the effect of the offsetting receipts from FCC spectrum auctions. CBO’s 226-page report covered broader budget issues for 2016 to 2026. “CBO estimates that offsetting receipts will fall from $256 billion in 2015 to $237 billion in 2016,” the report said. “That drop is primarily due to receipts from the [FCC’s] 2015 auction for licenses to use a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Some of the proceeds from that auction were collected in 2015 and reduced outlays by $30 billion that year.” Additional proceeds are expected to cut the outlays in 2016, too, to the tune of $11 billion, CBO said. “Over the coming decade, offsetting receipts are projected to increase by 4 percent each year, on average, rising to $350 billion by 2026.” The FCC did the AWS-3 auction in late 2014 and expects to do the broadcast TV incentive auction starting this March, which CBO also mentioned: “Although the [FCC] plans to conduct another large auction in 2016, the receipts for those licenses will not be recorded in the budget until 2017.”
Dish Network’s Q4 lobbying expenses dropped in 2015 compared with what it spent in Q4 of 2014, according to lobbying disclosure forms filed this week. The Q4 reports are due Wednesday, and several organizations had begun filing by our deadline Tuesday. Dish spent $310,000 the most recent quarter, vs. $350,000 a year earlier. Dish lobbying priorities included satellite broadband, wireless competition and spectrum management, including spectrum auctions, it said, plus retransmission consent reform, video market competition and merger and acquisition activity in the pay-TV industry for the three company lobbyists named. Dish spent $380,000 in 2015's Q3, $440,000 in Q2 and $400,000 in Q1, making the latest quarter spending the lowest in more than a year of reports. The Competitive Carriers Association, meanwhile, spent more on lobbying -- $150,000 this Q4 vs. $135,000 reported a year ago. CCA named more than a dozen issues and many pieces of legislation in its recent lobbying report. Focuses included the FCC broadcast TV incentive auction and other issues such as special access, FirstNet and federal lands siting. U.S. Cellular reported spending $110,000 in its lobbying report. ITTA spent more on lobbying: $43,748 up from $20,000. So did TDS Telecom, which spent $40,214.64 compared with $29,936 in Q4 the year before.
The forward part of the TV incentive auction will look to outsiders much like other FCC spectrum auctions, with the agency releasing a list of qualified bidders beforehand and making basic information available after every round, industry and agency officials said. But the reverse auction, in which broadcasters will offer their licenses for sale, is still taking shape and the FCC is likely to make little information available as that auction progresses, the officials said. Broadcasters will also get less information than is normally available to qualified bidders in standard FCC spectrum auctions. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler will address CES Wednesday and the auction is expected to be one of his topics.
T-Mobile arguments that Dish Network and designated entities SNR Wireless and Northstar Wireless shouldn't be able to participate in the TV incentive auction without being classified as “former defaulters” is a T-Mobile attempt to further bend the auction rules in its favor, Dish and the two DEs said in a joint opposition posted by the FCC Tuesday. Sanctions are needed to send a message that Dish and the DEs' behavior in the AWS-3 auction was “contrary to the Commission’s rules and policies and must not be allowed to occur in the future,” T-Mobile earlier told the FCC.
The regulatory fee battle raged as the American Cable Association and ITTA urged the FCC to shift some fees from wireline to wireless companies, while CTIA opposed that. CTIA also opposed NAB’s proposal to reapportion regulatory fees to the wireless sector because of the planned incentive auction, which will allow wireless providers to bid for broadcast TV spectrum. ACA and CTIA filed reply comments (here and here), while ITTA made an ex parte filing this week in docket 15-121 on a recent meeting with FCC officials. NAB met with officials last week to discuss its proposal (see 1512030061).