The FCC apparently won't require AT&T/DirecTV to make regional sports networks available to competitors on reasonable terms, the American Cable Association said in a news release Tuesday. ACA is "deeply disappointed" the FCC appears headed toward approving AT&T's takeover of DirecTV "without shielding consumers from being overcharged for three Root Sports regional sports networks (RSNs) owned by DirecTV and a fourth Roots [sic] Sports RSN currently co-owned by AT&T and DirecTV," ACA CEO Mathew Polka said in a statement issued in the release. "The FCC's action would fly in the face of overwhelming evidence that AT&T and DirecTV have overcharged for their RSNs and have every intention of continuing to do so and to an even greater extent. Consumers, particularly those who are customers of smaller rivals to DirecTV and AT&T U-verse, will be forced to pay these costs" in the greater Denver, Houston, Pittsburgh and Seattle markets. "While the FCC Chairman espouses ‘competition, competition, competition,'" if the FCC approves the transaction without protections for smaller video providers and their customers, consumers will see only "higher prices, higher prices, higher prices," Polka said. ACA Senior Vice President Ross Lieberman told us the group's sense of the commission's direction was "based on feedback we've received from the FCC in our discussions." ACA and member enTouch have lobbied FCC officials recently in support of attaching a program-access condition to approval of AT&T/DirecTV (see 1507020047). AT&T and FCC spokesmen had no comment.

Comment deadlines are set on a small-provider exemption to new net neutrality transparency rules, the FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau said in a public notice in docket 14-28. Initial comments are due Aug. 5 and replies are due Sept. 4, the bureau said after the Federal Register published a previous bureau public notice inviting comments and replies 30 days and 60 days after such publication, respectively (see 1506220037). The FCC is seeking comment on its decision to temporarily exempt small ISPs (with 100,000 or fewer broadband connections) from enhancements to its net neutrality transparency rules, which require local broadband providers to disclose to consumers, edge providers and others information about the "commercial terms, performance characteristics and network practices" of their services.

Two minority-owned broadcasters asked the FCC to press AT&T to help them secure carriage for their Spanish-language stations on DirecTV, said letters they filed in docket 14-90 on the AT&T/DirecTV transaction. Hispanic-owned ZGS, which says it's the largest independent affiliate of the Telemundo network, said in a filing posted Monday it has been denied carriage on DirecTV's satellite systems serving millions of Latino customers in major TV markets. While not taking a position on the merits of AT&T's proposed takeover of DirecTV, ZGS asked the FCC to at least "strongly urge the powerful AT&T/DirecTV monolith to give serious consideration to fully and effectively serving local communities, and address ZGS' longstanding carriage request." Korean American TV Broadcasting, which controls the Telemundo affiliate in Atlanta and is also minority owned, said in a filing posted Thursday it supports the ZGS letter because it has had the same problems with DirecTV. AT&T and DirecTV had no comment.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau spelled out procedures for net neutrality advisory opinions, in a public notice in docket 14-28. The bureau said the advisory opinions can be sought by companies wanting a better sense whether a potential business practice or activity they're considering complies with FCC net neutrality rules. The rules require broadband Internet access providers to be transparent on their network practices and bar them from engaging in Internet blocking, throttling, paid prioritization, and any other unreasonable interference with consumers' ability to access the Internet content, services and applications of their choice or with edge providers' ability to access consumers. The advisory opinions aren't legally binding but are intended to give companies "clear guidance" in making their business plans, the bureau said. The bureau will attempt to respond expeditiously to requests for advisory opinions but reserved the right, at its discretion, to decline such a request. "As a general matter, the Bureau will be more likely to respond to requests where the proposed conduct involves a substantial question of fact or law and there is no clear FCC or court precedent, or the subject matter of the request and publication of FCC advice is of significant public interest," said the PN, which contained further details on advisory opinions and filing requests. Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, who dissented on the net neutrality order, has questioned the value of nonbinding advisory opinions and other guidance, which he said could require broadband ISPs to provide business plans that give the bureau a "blueprint" for enforcement action. In a note emailed to us, Capital Alpha Partners said: "The advisory opinion system is ostensibly intended to be helpful for companies, but we have seen it as further evidence of the vague, amorphous catch-all authority described in the order. In our view, regulations should be understandable enough to make advisory opinions unnecessary. Companies are not required to solicit the FCC's view, but we see prudence on the side of 'Mother, may I?' because of what we believe is substantial uncertainty as to the legality of certain new and different business models and products."

An FCC rule change regarding U-NII-3 broadband equipment was delayed five months. In a document in the Federal Register Wednesday, the FCC said it moved the deadline by which devices must comply with new U-NII-3 rules from June 1 to Dec. 2. The U-NII-3 rules -- created in 2014 as the FCC extended the 5 GHz band in which U-NII devices operate -- deal with limiting out-of-band emissions. The FCC said it moved the deadline requiring that U-NII-3 devices meet those new rules to avoid "unduly impairing the availability or cost of U-NII devices or imposing undue burdens on manufacturers or the public."

AT&T and DirecTV gave themselves a little more time to win approval of their deal from the Department of Justice and FCC, said an SEC filing the companies made Monday. The prospective partners "elected to further extend the 'Termination Date' of the Merger Agreement for a short period of time to facilitate obtaining final regulatory approval required to close the merger," it said. "AT&T expects that the merger will be consummated shortly." The filing didn't specify the old or new termination dates, and an AT&T spokeswoman repeated to us that the company expects to close shortly. AT&T/DirecTV appears to be getting closer to winning approval but the review could extend past the July 4 holiday, industry attorneys and analysts told us Monday (see 1506290061). New Street Research analysts said they believe the FCC could approve the transaction the week of July 6 but that they think "the odds favor the week of the 13th or the 20th." Separately Tuesday, AT&T reached an interconnection deal with GTT (see 1506300048).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit set a net neutrality case briefing schedule that runs through Oct. 13. Opening briefs of telco/cable petitioners challenging the FCC order are due July 30, and supporting intervenors challenging the agency order Aug. 6, said the court order from Judges David Tatel and Janice Rogers Brown. The responding brief of the FCC and Department of Justice is due Sept. 14, and the brief of their supporting intervenors defending the order Sept. 21; reply briefs of petitioners and their supporting intervenors are due Oct. 5; and final briefs are due Oct. 13. The court directed its clerk to schedule oral argument on the first appropriate date following the completion of briefing. NCTA outside counsel Miguel Estrada said June 3 that he thought briefing could be completed by fall so oral argument could be in December or January, paving the way for a ruling about three months later (see 1506030034). The briefing schedule tracks the briefing schedule that was jointly proposed by telco/cable petitioners after consulting with the FCC/DOJ and others. But the court shortened the number of words that the petitioners would be allowed collectively in their opening briefs to 33,000 (from 48,000), as it did the number of words that the FCC/DOJ would be allowed in its response brief. The court also urged parties to be careful about their use of acronyms. Petitioners challenging FCC broadband reclassification and other decisions as overly regulatory include: Alamo Broadband and Daniel Berninger, American Cable Association, AT&T, CenturyLink, CTIA, NCTA, USTelecom and the Wireless ISP Association. Petitioners challenging the FCC order as providing broadband providers too much "forbearance" relief include Full Service Network, True Connect Mobile, Sage Telecom and Telescape Communications. The litigation focuses on the merits of the legal challenges after the D.C. Circuit denied a telco/cable stay request (see 1506110048).

AT&T is pressing the FCC to approve its proposed DirecTV buy, according to pleadings filed in docket 14-90. AT&T officials "encouraged the commission to move the AT&T/DirecTV transaction expeditiously to a vote," said an AT&T ex parte filing posted Friday. AT&T also pushed back against a submission by New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) that the telco said seeks "interconnection conditions that are unrelated" to the DirecTV deal. "OTI falsely claims that Internet speed data from Measurement Lab (“M-Lab”) show that AT&T has caused congestion at its interconnections with other ISPs and transit providers that can only be remedied by regulating interconnection rates," AT&T said in another ex parte filing. AT&T said the market is "producing well-considered, commercial agreements that provide for expanding capacity" while balancing industry responsibilities in delivering "a high-quality experience for consumers." AT&T noted it has reached recent interconnection agreements with Cogent and Level 3. AT&T said "such commercial solutions are exactly what the commission had in mind when it refrained from direct regulation of interconnection in the Open Internet order." AT&T also made a filing answering FCC questions about the details of its planned fiber deployments, noting its fiber-to-the-premises footprint will include a total of 11.7 million customer locations to be completed within four years of deal completion.

The FCC didn't schedule an IP technology transition item for a vote next month, shows the tentative agenda for the July 16 meeting released Thursday. A draft IP tech transition order was under consideration early in the week for inclusion on the agenda (see 1506220041), but industry sources said Wednesday that the prospects had dimmed for July action (see 1506240066). The item could still be considered at the FCC's next monthly meeting Aug. 6. Parties continue to lobby the FCC in the proceeding in dockets 13-5 and 14-174. USTelecom called for "reasonable guidelines and/or interim procedures" when ILECs retire traditional TDM (time-division multiplexed) systems while the FCC works through rules for higher-capacity special-access circuits. Proposals from competitors using ILEC wholesale inputs seem "designed primarily to preserve their own particular approach to serving customers ... rather than to ensure that end user customers have an adequate replacement service option," a USTelecom ex parte filing said. Public Knowledge and 28 other groups sent a letter urging the FCC to adopt rules to protect 85 million Americans and millions of small businesses still using traditional wireline phone service from losing access to vital services, and to preserve the stability of the phone network and reliability of 911 service for all Americans. The American Cable Association and ITTA both expressed concern about possible FCC backup power mandates. ACA said it didn't oppose a mandate on cable to offer new voice service customers a reasonable backup power capability but said it should require an offer to be made only once at the point of sale. ACA also said small operators, with less than 100,000 voice customers, should have an extra 180 days to comply with a new rule. ITTA said backup power proposals in a November NPRM "are unwarranted and would result in increased costs and burdens for providers and consumers while impeding the Commission’s broadband deployment goals."

The FCC has opposed regulation where broadcasters support it and supported regulation where broadcasters oppose it, said Matthew Berry, aide to Commissioner Ajit Pai, in a speech to the Florida Association of Broadcasters Convention Wednesday. “And on uncontroversial issues where broadcasters ask for action, the Commission often seems to do nothing,” Berry said in prepared remarks. “The end result has left many wondering what exactly is motivating the Commission’s decision-making.” Pai's office tends not to favor “the clumsy fist” of regulation, Berry said. “I was thinking of wearing a button today that read: 'Don’t blame me; I work in the minority.'" Berry criticized the FCC Democratic majority for supporting certain incentive auction policies over the objections of broadcasters, such as dynamic reserve pricing, preserving vacant channels for unlicensed use, and not limiting the auction budget to the repacking fund. “Too often throughout this proceeding, the Commission has tried to rig that market to benefit favored companies and industries and penalize those in disfavor,” he said. If DRP is abandoned in the FCC July auction order, as expected (see 1506170052), it will be “a major victory” for broadcasters, Berry said. Efforts by wireless carriers to reserve spectrum in the incentive auction are “amusing,” Berry said. ”It isn’t every day that companies with market caps over $30 billion attempt to foment a populist uprising so they can receive more corporate welfare from the federal government,” he said. “If their effort succeeds, there will be less money to pay broadcasters in the reverse auction.” The FCC should stop “thumbing its nose at Congress” and update media ownership rules, Berry said. He criticized the continued existence of the newspaper broadcast cross-ownership rule, and praised efforts in Congress that would counter the FCC rule change to increase how many joint sales agreements are attributable for ownership purposes. “I am optimistic that we will prevail,” he said in support of the congressional efforts. Berry also said it's time for the FCC to act on modernizing contest rules and revitalizing AM radio. “Time is not on the side of the grand old band," he said. The agency had no comment.