President Donald Trump seems receptive to prioritizing broadband access, potentially through his infrastructure proposal, senators who raised the issue with him told us. During last year’s presidential campaign, Trump invoked plans for an infrastructure stimulus of as much as $1 trillion, and this year several lawmakers from both chambers and parties pressed the White House to incorporate broadband funding through such a vehicle. Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., a key Trump liaison to the House, cautioned it’s too soon to say.

President Donald Trump seems receptive to prioritizing broadband access, potentially through his infrastructure proposal, senators who raised the issue with him told us. During last year’s presidential campaign, Trump invoked plans for an infrastructure stimulus of as much as $1 trillion, and this year several lawmakers from both chambers and parties pressed the White House to incorporate broadband funding through such a vehicle. Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., a key Trump liaison to the House, cautioned it’s too soon to say.

CenturyLink is hopeful the FCC will allow price-cap telcos to shift from Part 32 rules to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), said Jeff Lanning, vice president federal regulatory affairs. The Part 32 uniform system of accounts "is another part of the regulatory edifice created to deal with a monopoly, and we’re way past that. All of that framework needs to go away," he told us Tuesday. Commissioners are scheduled to vote at Thursday's meeting on a draft item to simplify price-cap carrier accounting. "We need to be treated like other providers," he said, calling potential FCC streamlining "a very positive step." Incompas backed NCTA opposition to the telco plan for ending mandatory Part 32 use in calculating pole-attachment rates as part of the proposed FCC optional shift to GAAP for price-cap carriers. "Ensuring the rates are reduced to the appropriate level -- let alone not allow for an increase -- is critical to the Chairman’s broadband build-out agenda," said an Incompas filing Friday in docket 14-130. "NCTA has demonstrated that the ILECs’ proposal risks raising these rates substantially. The Commission should not take action that results in any rate increases for pole attachments, even if temporary or transitioned over time." NCTA more recently sought to attach conditions to an ILEC-proposed transition for pole-attachment rates from Part 32 to GAAP treatment (see 1702170038). Lanning said Part 32 and GAAP accounting produce the same pole-attachment rates on average in the long run, but he said Incompas and cable advocates are trying to use "regulatory arbitrage to lock in rates" at artificially low levels.

CenturyLink is hopeful the FCC will allow price-cap telcos to shift from Part 32 rules to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), said Jeff Lanning, vice president federal regulatory affairs. The Part 32 uniform system of accounts "is another part of the regulatory edifice created to deal with a monopoly, and we’re way past that. All of that framework needs to go away," he told us Tuesday. Commissioners are scheduled to vote at Thursday's meeting on a draft item to simplify price-cap carrier accounting. "We need to be treated like other providers," he said, calling potential FCC streamlining "a very positive step." Incompas backed NCTA opposition to the telco plan for ending mandatory Part 32 use in calculating pole-attachment rates as part of the proposed FCC optional shift to GAAP for price-cap carriers. "Ensuring the rates are reduced to the appropriate level -- let alone not allow for an increase -- is critical to the Chairman’s broadband build-out agenda," said an Incompas filing Friday in docket 14-130. "NCTA has demonstrated that the ILECs’ proposal risks raising these rates substantially. The Commission should not take action that results in any rate increases for pole attachments, even if temporary or transitioned over time." NCTA more recently sought to attach conditions to an ILEC-proposed transition for pole-attachment rates from Part 32 to GAAP treatment (see 1702170038). Lanning said Part 32 and GAAP accounting produce the same pole-attachment rates on average in the long run, but he said Incompas and cable advocates are trying to use "regulatory arbitrage to lock in rates" at artificially low levels.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., sees no easy opening to continue her pay-TV scrutiny under the banner of the Homeland Security Committee, where she's the new ranking member this Congress. Last Congress, she was ranking member of the committee’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), a perch that allowed her to press in conjunction with Subcommittee Chairman Rob Portman, R-Ohio, for a hearing that happened last summer on the topic. She had hoped to hold a follow-up hearing late last year on retransmission consent and programming costs. “Probably, it would depend on the chairman’s proclivities that way, and I’m not optimistic,” McCaskill said in an interview last week about the possibilities of continuing those activities in this new Congress. She wrote to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai this month on some of the findings of her staff on the topics, uncovered in the midst of last Congress’ PSI inquiries (see 1702080066). Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., took over as ranking member of PSI this Congress. Spokespeople for Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Portman and Carper didn’t comment about their desire to continue the inquiries and perhaps hold another hearing. The Senate has rarely considered video policy issues directly in hearings in recent years, usually doing so only peripherally in Commerce Committee hearings or when Judiciary Committee senators consider acquisition proposals. Senate Commerce sought to hold a video policy hearing, with one tentatively scheduled for fall of 2015, but it never happened. During a panel at last week’s Incompas meeting in Washington, Dish Network Senior Counsel Alison Minea said satellite TV reauthorization is poised to change that. “Before the end of 2019, Congress will need to act,” she said of the next satellite reauthorization deadline, which is Dec. 31, 2019. “I assume that much like in prior years, the information gathering and hearing process will turn into a process for lots of different video competition issues to be discussed.” Those processes, which would pull in the Commerce and Judiciary committees in both chambers, would start in 2018 if not sooner, Minea said.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., sees no easy opening to continue her pay-TV scrutiny under the banner of the Homeland Security Committee, where she's the new ranking member this Congress. Last Congress, she was ranking member of the committee’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), a perch that allowed her to press in conjunction with Subcommittee Chairman Rob Portman, R-Ohio, for a hearing that happened last summer on the topic. She had hoped to hold a follow-up hearing late last year on retransmission consent and programming costs. “Probably, it would depend on the chairman’s proclivities that way, and I’m not optimistic,” McCaskill said in an interview last week about the possibilities of continuing those activities in this new Congress. She wrote to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai this month on some of the findings of her staff on the topics, uncovered in the midst of last Congress’ PSI inquiries (see 1702080066). Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., took over as ranking member of PSI this Congress. Spokespeople for Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Portman and Carper didn’t comment about their desire to continue the inquiries and perhaps hold another hearing. The Senate has rarely considered video policy issues directly in hearings in recent years, usually doing so only peripherally in Commerce Committee hearings or when Judiciary Committee senators consider acquisition proposals. Senate Commerce sought to hold a video policy hearing, with one tentatively scheduled for fall of 2015, but it never happened. During a panel at last week’s Incompas meeting in Washington, Dish Network Senior Counsel Alison Minea said satellite TV reauthorization is poised to change that. “Before the end of 2019, Congress will need to act,” she said of the next satellite reauthorization deadline, which is Dec. 31, 2019. “I assume that much like in prior years, the information gathering and hearing process will turn into a process for lots of different video competition issues to be discussed.” Those processes, which would pull in the Commerce and Judiciary committees in both chambers, would start in 2018 if not sooner, Minea said.

Comcast executives sat with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to discuss his regulatory reform steps, focus on the digital divide and other issues, said an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 13-236. The operator said it also gave him its latest Internet Essentials broadband program subscriber numbers and urged Pai "to act expeditiously" in restoring the UHF discount. Such action is expected to occur soon (see 1701110067). Also at the meeting were Pai Chief of Staff Matthew Berry, Comcast Senior Executive Vice President David Cohen, NBCUniversal Senior Vice President-Government Relations Mitch Rose and Comcast Senior Vice President-Regulatory and State Legislative Affairs Kathryn Zachem. Pai, since assuming the chair, also met with Incompas (see 1702130023). The agency declined to comment now.

Comcast executives sat with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to discuss his regulatory reform steps, focus on the digital divide and other issues, said an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 13-236. The operator said it also gave him its latest Internet Essentials broadband program subscriber numbers and urged Pai "to act expeditiously" in restoring the UHF discount. Such action is expected to occur soon (see 1701110067). Also at the meeting were Pai Chief of Staff Matthew Berry, Comcast Senior Executive Vice President David Cohen, NBCUniversal Senior Vice President-Government Relations Mitch Rose and Comcast Senior Vice President-Regulatory and State Legislative Affairs Kathryn Zachem. Pai, since assuming the chair, also met with Incompas (see 1702130023). The agency declined to comment now.

Lawmakers joined Incompas Wednesday to press for further action on spectrum and broadband deployment, speaking at the association’s Washington meeting. “I’ve encouraged President [Donald] Trump to include telecommunications in any infrastructure package,” said Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., a Commerce Committee member, in one among many references to such a possibility. The conference also heard from executives (see 1702150052).

Congress should address net neutrality even if it can't pass a broader rewrite of the Communications Act, said Verizon Senior Vice President Kathy Grillo Wednesday. She said election-driven political changes cause regulatory shifts that increase uncertainty and complicate long-term business plans. "Ultimately, Congress does really need to speak to this issue," she said on one of several panels at an Incompas policy conference. It also heard from legislators about dig once and broadband infrastructure (see 1702150068).