FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s “third way” on broadband isn’t a compromise at all, reclassification opponents said Thursday. Several predicted the Genachowski proposal faces the same legal challenges as would reclassification. It also faces strong opposition from FCC Republicans Robert McDowell and Meredith Baker, who released a joint statement. Genachowski has avoided questions in recent weeks on his stance on reclassification. A vote on a public notice is expected within the next few weeks, FCC officials said. It’s expected to be approved 3-2, likely with dissents from the two Republicans, they said.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress divided sharply on FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s plan to cement the commission’s broadband authority. (See separate story in this issue.) Democrats stood by the FCC chairman, while Republicans accused him of partisanship. The GOP called reclassification -- even lightly applied -- a mistake. House and Senate Commerce Committee Chairmen Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., urged Genachowski on Wednesday to pursue “all viable options,” including reclassification (CD May 6 p1).

The perceived industry impact on proposed FCC reclassification of broadband transport as a common carrier service subject to six sections of the Communications Act may fall most heavily on cable operators, investor interviews and stock prices Thursday show. Cable operators largely aren’t regulated under Title II and putting their broadband services under it means the companies will be more heavily regulated, some investors and analysts said. Telcos have always had wireline operations subject to Title II, though their financial outlook is also affected by regulatory uncertainty, analysts and industry officials said.

Subscription contributions for telecom companies that sell DirecTV services are slowing as TV competition intensifies and reliance on land lines declines, the company said in its Q1 earnings call. Generally sold as part of a bundle with telephone services and/or Internet, contributions have fallen to under 20 percent from about 25 percent, said DirecTV Chief Financial Officer Patrick Doyle. The continued roll out of Verizon’s FiOS and AT&T’s U-verse have contributed to the slide, he said.

The FCC restarted its 180-day clock on review of Comcast’s agreement to buy control of NBC Universal after the companies on Tuesday submitted economic studies requested by commission staff. In pausing the clock at 29 days elapsed last month (CD April 19 p1), the Media Bureau said it would restart after the studies, on the stated benefits of the deal and its impact on online video competition, were filed. A bureau public notice Wednesday afternoon set new deadlines for opposition to the deal and other comments.

Most of those who've expressed a view believe it’s a bad idea to allow outside parties to see data on local telephone competition and broadband connections that carriers must file using Form 477, Verizon and Verizon Wireless said in a joint filing at the commission. But Free Press said it’s asking only that the data be available to parties that sign confidentiality agreements. Outside groups could provide important insights if allowed to analyze the information, it said.

Qwest’s Q1 profit fell 81 percent year-over-year to $38 million, but CenturyTel, which has agreed to buy that company for $22.4 billion, said quarterly earnings tripled to $252.6 million. The companies continued to lose landline customers.

Similarities between WiMAX and Long Term Evolution (LTE) would make migration from WiMAX to LTE or even convergence of the 4G technologies possible, Clearwire Chief Technology Officer John Saw said in an interview. The WiMAX operator is set to launch in many new markets this year.

Conservation and industry groups filed an agreement at the FCC Wednesday calling for the development of interim standards for the Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) program. The agreement came after six months of negotiations and offers recommendations on the types of towers for which an ASR is required, based on the height of a proposed tower or the specifications of a replacement tower, the groups said in a news release. The memorandum of understanding also asks the FCC to adopt a preferred lighting scheme for changes to existing towers.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski knows how to cement the commission’s authority over broadband without reclassifying it under Title II of the Communications Act, a senior commission official said late Wednesday in an e-mail sent to reporters by an agency spokeswoman. He won’t say what it is until Thursday, the spokeswoman told us. The e-mail came a few hours after Democratic Commerce Committee leaders urged the FCC to consider “all viable options,” including reclassifying broadband, in the wake of the Comcast decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.