Next Century Cities praised an FCC proposal to keep a 25 Mbps broadband benchmark in a draft report circulated by Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1801180053). "Maintaining this federal standard is essential to ensuring that all Americans are adequately connected to high-speed broadband services. We are glad the FCC shifted from its original plan to reduce broadband quality and instead will stay with the current 25/3 Mbps standard, and does not see mobile as ‘a full substitute’ for the high-quality broadband all Americans deserve,” said Deb Socia, executive director. NCC said the FCC backed off declaring mobile a substitute "after public pressure" from the "#MobileOnly Challenge" it and others organized (see 1712180057). “If we want to keep our economy chugging along, then we must put broadband networks and the internet on a bullet train to the future," Incompas CEO Chip Pickering said. "Increasing the fixed broadband benchmark to one Gigabit would encourage greater competition, lower prices, and unleash investment." Pickering lauded Pai and the commission for their "continued focus on broadband deployment," and urged them to take new actions to spur competition: "We support the Commission adopting policies that lower barriers for competitors, such as One Touch, Make Ready for pole attachments. The FCC should also clarify that it will not preempt any city or state that enables broadband competition in multi-tenant buildings, and it should open a rulemaking that makes clear that exclusive access arrangements are not permitted. Consumers living in condos or apartments have a right to competition too.”

Next Century Cities praised an FCC proposal to keep a 25 Mbps broadband benchmark in a draft report circulated by Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1801180053). "Maintaining this federal standard is essential to ensuring that all Americans are adequately connected to high-speed broadband services. We are glad the FCC shifted from its original plan to reduce broadband quality and instead will stay with the current 25/3 Mbps standard, and does not see mobile as ‘a full substitute’ for the high-quality broadband all Americans deserve,” said Deb Socia, executive director. NCC said the FCC backed off declaring mobile a substitute "after public pressure" from the "#MobileOnly Challenge" it and others organized (see 1712180057). “If we want to keep our economy chugging along, then we must put broadband networks and the internet on a bullet train to the future," Incompas CEO Chip Pickering said. "Increasing the fixed broadband benchmark to one Gigabit would encourage greater competition, lower prices, and unleash investment." Pickering lauded Pai and the commission for their "continued focus on broadband deployment," and urged them to take new actions to spur competition: "We support the Commission adopting policies that lower barriers for competitors, such as One Touch, Make Ready for pole attachments. The FCC should also clarify that it will not preempt any city or state that enables broadband competition in multi-tenant buildings, and it should open a rulemaking that makes clear that exclusive access arrangements are not permitted. Consumers living in condos or apartments have a right to competition too.”

Telcos backed and critics opposed FCC proposals for further wireline deregulation the agency believes would encourage broadband deployment. Cable interests and others supported a proposal to codify existing FCC precedent promoting "overlashing" of pole attachments, while electric utilities said they must have advanced notice and oversight to ensure system reliability and safety. Comments were posted Wednesday and Thursday in docket 17-84 on a Further NPRM. The notice was combined with an order that streamlined rules for copper retirements and service discontinuances, and that took steps to facilitate pole attachments (see 1711160032).

Telcos backed and critics opposed FCC proposals for further wireline deregulation the agency believes would encourage broadband deployment. Cable interests and others supported a proposal to codify existing FCC precedent promoting "overlashing" of pole attachments, while electric utilities said they must have advanced notice and oversight to ensure system reliability and safety. Comments were posted Wednesday and Thursday in docket 17-84 on a Further NPRM. The notice was combined with an order that streamlined rules for copper retirements and service discontinuances, and that took steps to facilitate pole attachments (see 1711160032).

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn is expected to leave before the end of February, with an announcement possible after Clyburn goes to Las Vegas for CES this week, informed people said. If Clyburn leaves, Republicans would have a 3-1 majority on the commission, with Jessica Rosenworcel the remaining Democrat.

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn is expected to leave before the end of February, with an announcement possible after Clyburn goes to Las Vegas for CES this week, informed people said. If Clyburn leaves, Republicans would have a 3-1 majority on the commission, with Jessica Rosenworcel the remaining Democrat.

Windstream, Incompas and Sprint said AT&T and Verizon misconstrued a 2006 U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit BellSouth ruling in comments (see 1712050061) asking the FCC to reverse a 2016 business data service order against ILEC tariff plans. "AT&T’s misinterpretation of BellSouth and mischaracterization of the record ... would drastically narrow the scope of Section 201(b) and hobble the Commission’s ability to enforce the Communications Act’s 'just and reasonableness' requirement in a BDS marketplace that is largely without ex ante regulations and, at least in the near term, largely without facilities-based competitors to the ILECs," said the rivals' joint reply posted Wednesday in docket 15-247 after court remand of legal challenges (see 1711030050 and 1708300026). "ILECs would be able to cement their control of the BDS marketplace and undermine the Commission’s prediction in [a 2017] BDS Order of competition emerging in the medium term." AT&T disputed the rivals' ("Windstream") two main initial arguments: "Windstream dismisses the D.C. Circuit’s BellSouth decision as limited to its facts, but Windstream never grapples with the court’s holding that the voluntary nature of both the carrier’s offer and the customer’s acceptance effectively preclude any finding of harm under any of the statutory reasonableness standards. Second, Windstream claims the Tariff Order was supported by the record, but in fact the Commission completely ignored extensive evidence that these plans did not, and could not, foreclose competition." AT&T argued the FCC's deregulatory 2017 BDS overhaul undermines the tariff order, as it cited "the existence of widespread competition based on data from the 2013-2015 time period -- when these [tariff] plans were in effect -- thus directly refuting the 'lock-in'/foreclosure theory on which the Tariff Order was premised." Verizon said rivals recycled arguments. "Despite the Commission’s finding of 'intense competition,' the Commenters repeat their claim that ILECs 'dominate the market for low-bandwidth BDS,'" Verizon replied. "They repeat their debunked lock-up claims. And they repeat their arguments -- which failed last year -- against our current, deemed lawful tariffed discount plans. In doing so they rely on stale Commission statements made before the Commission completed its comprehensive data analysis and ignore the Commission’s recent statement that the Tariff Investigation Order 'may no longer represent the position of the FCC.'"

Windstream, Incompas and Sprint said AT&T and Verizon misconstrued a 2006 U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit BellSouth ruling in comments (see 1712050061) asking the FCC to reverse a 2016 business data service order against ILEC tariff plans. "AT&T’s misinterpretation of BellSouth and mischaracterization of the record ... would drastically narrow the scope of Section 201(b) and hobble the Commission’s ability to enforce the Communications Act’s 'just and reasonableness' requirement in a BDS marketplace that is largely without ex ante regulations and, at least in the near term, largely without facilities-based competitors to the ILECs," said the rivals' joint reply posted Wednesday in docket 15-247 after court remand of legal challenges (see 1711030050 and 1708300026). "ILECs would be able to cement their control of the BDS marketplace and undermine the Commission’s prediction in [a 2017] BDS Order of competition emerging in the medium term." AT&T disputed the rivals' ("Windstream") two main initial arguments: "Windstream dismisses the D.C. Circuit’s BellSouth decision as limited to its facts, but Windstream never grapples with the court’s holding that the voluntary nature of both the carrier’s offer and the customer’s acceptance effectively preclude any finding of harm under any of the statutory reasonableness standards. Second, Windstream claims the Tariff Order was supported by the record, but in fact the Commission completely ignored extensive evidence that these plans did not, and could not, foreclose competition." AT&T argued the FCC's deregulatory 2017 BDS overhaul undermines the tariff order, as it cited "the existence of widespread competition based on data from the 2013-2015 time period -- when these [tariff] plans were in effect -- thus directly refuting the 'lock-in'/foreclosure theory on which the Tariff Order was premised." Verizon said rivals recycled arguments. "Despite the Commission’s finding of 'intense competition,' the Commenters repeat their claim that ILECs 'dominate the market for low-bandwidth BDS,'" Verizon replied. "They repeat their debunked lock-up claims. And they repeat their arguments -- which failed last year -- against our current, deemed lawful tariffed discount plans. In doing so they rely on stale Commission statements made before the Commission completed its comprehensive data analysis and ignore the Commission’s recent statement that the Tariff Investigation Order 'may no longer represent the position of the FCC.'"

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed Friday to "force" a floor vote on a planned Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval to counteract the FCC order to repeal 2015 net neutrality regulation. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., are leading the CRA push and will file their respective resolutions in the Senate and House once the order is promulgated (see 1712110050, 1712120037 and 1712140044). Industry lawyers and governance experts noted diverging opinions on the procedural timeline for bringing up CRA resolutions on the net neutrality repeal. The precise timetable for court challenges to the order is also somewhat murky due to the item's structure, attorneys told us.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed Friday to "force" a floor vote on a planned Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval to counteract the FCC order to repeal 2015 net neutrality regulation. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., are leading the CRA push and will file their respective resolutions in the Senate and House once the order is promulgated (see 1712110050, 1712120037 and 1712140044). Industry lawyers and governance experts noted diverging opinions on the procedural timeline for bringing up CRA resolutions on the net neutrality repeal. The precise timetable for court challenges to the order is also somewhat murky due to the item's structure, attorneys told us.