A June 2020 wireless infrastructure declaratory ruling merely clarified existing rules, the FCC told a federal appeals court Wednesday. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month resumed a long-paused case on a League of California Cities challenge to the FCC decision clarifying shot clock and substantial change rules (see 2302070041). The FCC said in a brief it made no procedural errors and reasonably interpreted its rules (case 20-71765).
Adam Bender
Adam Bender, Senior Editor, is the state and local telecommunications reporter for Communications Daily, where he also has covered Congress and the Federal Communications Commission. He has won awards for his Warren Communications News reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists, Specialized Information Publishers Association and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. Bender studied print journalism at American University and is the author of dystopian science-fiction novels. You can follow Bender at WatchAdam.blog and @WatchAdam on Twitter.
The federal Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) doesn’t preempt states from taxing digital advertising, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) argued Wednesday at the state’s highest court.
T-Mobile seeks to cloak its "private concern” with a change to California USF “in the language of equity and solicitude for low-income Californians,” the California Public Utilities Commission said Monday at the U.S. District Court of Northern California. T-Mobile and subsidiaries seek a preliminary injunction to stop the CPUC’s October decision to switch to connections-based contribution from taking effect April 1 (see 2302020058). Opposing that motion in case 3:23-cv-00483, the CPUC said T-Mobile lacks standing and fails to show California’s connection-based surcharge violates federal law.
Don’t look at Google’s anti-competitive actions in isolation when considering if there's a Sherman Act violation, said DOJ, states and amici in recently posted filings at the U.S. District Court in Washington (case 1:20-cv-03010). They opposed Google seeking summary judgment to avoid trial in the antitrust case. DOJ and states cited as precedent the 2001 decision in U.S. v. Microsoft at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Securus failed to show that California’s interim cap on incarcerated person calling services (IPCS) intrastate rates must be set aside, the 2nd District California Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday. The court affirmed the California Public Utilities Commission’s 2021 decision to provide interim relief by capping the rate at 7 cents per minute and banning ancillary fees.
T-Mobile will take California regulators to federal court over a decision to switch state USF contribution to a connections-based mechanism. In a complaint Wednesday against the California Public Utilities Commission (case 3:23-cv-00483), T-Mobile and subsidiaries urged the U.S. District Court of Northern California to preliminarily enjoin a $1.11 monthly per-line fee from taking effect April 1. A consumer advocate scoffed Thursday at T-Mobile’s claim that the order hurts low-income households.
A Texas appeals court should affirm a lower court’s ruling that a 2017 small-cells law is constitutional, urged Texas this month. Houston and other cities asked the Texas 3rd Court of Appeals to instead uphold the lower court’s other finding that a 2019 right-of-way (ROW) law was unconstitutional. In Jan. 20 briefs in case 03-22-00524-CV, they disagreed with each other’s November briefs in which Texas urged the court to reverse on the 2019 law while cities sought reversal of the decision on the 2017 statute (see 2211230015). Texas and cities agreed there should be oral argument.
TRENTON -- New Jersey justices challenged Altice on its claim that a state requirement to prorate cable bills is impermissible rate regulation preempted by the Cable Act. The state Supreme Court heard oral argument Tuesday on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and Division of Rate Counsel's appeal of a lower court’s ruling for Altice. Justices noted the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Maine’s similar rule applying to customers who end service before the month is up.
Procedural concerns could complicate a case at the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on a New York law requiring affordable broadband. At oral argument Thursday in Manhattan, Judge Richard Sullivan grilled parties on a procedural maneuver they used to move the case to the 2nd Circuit from the trial court. Sullivan asked New York’s attorney tough questions on the state’s argument that its law isn’t preempted.
A federal court refused to dismiss a challenge to South Carolina courts’ data scraping ban Monday. The U.S. District Court of South Carolina lifted a stay on discovery in light of its decision to proceed with the case (see 2211300055). It’s an “important victory” in the First Amendment case (docket 3:2022-cv-01007), said the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit with NAACP on behalf of the NAACP South Carolina State Conference.