Chairman Ajit Pai told nine House Democrats in letters released Wednesday that during his chairmanship, FCC “review of any broadcast license renewal or broadcast license transfer application will not be impacted by political pressure from the Executive Branch.” House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and seven other Democrats wrote Pai in recent months about President Donald Trump's recent comments threatening to challenge NBC licenses. Trump's comments and its First Amendment implications were a dominant topic during a House Communications FCC oversight hearing last week (see 1710250050). Doyle, Pallone and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., also called on the FCC in September to investigate reports Russian government-owned radio network Sputnik broadcast propaganda over U.S. airwaves in a bid to influence elections, including the 2016 presidential contest (see 1709180054). Pai told Pallone and others he committed in March to Senate Commerce Committee Democrats “that I would inform them and the public if there were any attempt by the Executive Branch to influence my decision-making with respect to any media interests with the FCC's jurisdiction, a commitment that clearly includes broadcast license renewal and transfer applications. I am happy to expand that commitment to include informing you as well.” Pai separately told Eshoo that “the FCC under my leadership has protected and will continue to protect the First Amendment. Moreover, I have made clear that the FCC does not have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast.”

Entercom settled with DOJ’s Antitrust Division on divestitures for buying CBS Radio and agreed to exchanges with Beasley Broadcast, Bonneville and iHeartMedia, said a consent decree and the acquirer's release Wednesday. “In connection with the settlement with the DOJ, the agreements with iHeartMedia, Beasley and a local marketing agreement with Bonneville International announced today will clear the way for the Entercom and CBS Radio merger to move forward, pending FCC approval,” Entercom said. The radio station owner “now expects its proposed combination with CBS Radio to close as early as November 17." The consent decree requires Entercom to divest 13 radio stations in Boston, San Francisco and Sacramento to avoid anticompetitive market control. Entercom would exchange a Boston station targeted by DOJ for one owned by Beasley, and trade four stations in Boston and three stations in Seattle to iHeartMedia for six stations in Richmond, Virginia, and four stations in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Through the local marketing agreement, Bonneville will program four stations in San Francisco and four stations in Sacramento. U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia needs to approve the settlement, DOJ said. The iHeart and Beasley deals are expected to close in Q1, while the Bonneville one will begin after the Entercom transaction is consummated. The Media Bureau didn’t comment.

Comments on FCC policies on regulatory fees will be due Dec. 1, replies Dec. 18, based on expected publication in Wednesday's Federal Register.

Citizens Against Government Waste lobbied FCC Republicans on "Restoring Internet Freedom" in recent meetings. CAGW officials urged Commissioners Mike O'Rielly and Brendan Carr and aides to undo Title II net neutrality regulation under the Communications Act, indicated filings (here, here) posted Tuesday in docket 17-108. They also discussed Lifeline USF, use of TV white spaces, vehicle-to-vehicle communications in the 5.9 GHz band and 5G issues, testimony and letters. CAGW made a similar presentation to Chairman Ajit Pai and an aide on Oct. 18. Verizon urged O'Rielly aides in a Thursday meeting to ensure a "national, light touch" broadband framework that isn't undermined by conflicting state and local regulation, a pitch it made recently to Pai advisers (see 1710190057). Also recently, ADT suggested the FCC use Title I ancillary authority to write net neutrality rules protecting alarm-monitoring companies. Akamai asked the FCC to "expressly clarify" that content delivery network services "differ from paid prioritization" by localizing traffic through data storage near users "in a way that is both neutral and reduces overall congestion," said a filing on a meeting with Wireline Bureau Chief Kris Monteith and others.

The FCC Media Bureau reached a $1.5 million settlement with commonly controlled companies that used minor modification rules to move low-power TV stations from their original communities of license to bigger markets, said a consent decree Tuesday. DTV America, Tiger Eye Broadcasting, King Forward and Tiger Eye Licensing also must relinquish more than 20 licenses and modify numerous other licenses. Several pending station applications from the broadcasters will also be dismissed.

Presentations to the FCC Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment and presentations by the ACDDE to the agency will be treated as exempt for ex parte purposes, said a public notice in docket 17-208 Monday. “This treatment is appropriate because presentations to the Committee will not result directly in the promulgation of new rules.” Though the ACDDE may address issues relevant to ongoing FCC proceedings, the FCC won’t use information submitted to or by the panel in considering those matters, the PN said.

Corrections: Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., told us he's interested in bringing up the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (S-1693) for a Senate Commerce Committee markup soon (see 1710270058) ... An Internet Governance Project paper is titled, "In Search of Amoral Registrars: Content Regulation and Domain Name Policy" (see 1710270001).

NTIA urged the FCC to account for federal government telecom needs in streamlining the processes for copper retirements and telecom service discontinuances under Section 214 of the Communications Act. The Commerce Department agency supports proposals in an FCC April NPRM for streamlining the process and suggested ways to "accommodate the needs" of federal agency communications customers. "The technology transition will require federal agencies -- on a possibly very short timetable -- to purchase new IP-compatible customer premises equipment (CPE) or to install new equipment to ensure that agencies’ existing CPE and systems can interoperate with IP-based services," said NTIA comments posted Monday in docket 17-84. "While the Commission should aggressively reduce or eliminate unjustified regulatory barriers to network evolution, it must also take steps to assure that before a service is discontinued or a facility is retired (1) federal customers are aware of the prospective change and its potential service implications for them, (2) carriers have acquainted themselves with their federal customers’ situation and needs, and (3) carriers have taken reasonable steps to ensure that federal users will continue to be served adequately after discontinuance." The FCC Thursday put a draft item on the tentative agenda for a Nov. 16 vote (see 1710270040).

FCC commissioners approved temporary rules providing immediate relief to schools and libraries contending with “devastation” caused by Harvey, Irma and Maria. It makes "available targeted support to schools and libraries that are forced to rebuild facilities and replace equipment damaged by the Hurricanes, and provide increased flexibility for eligible services to be restored through service substitutions,” said a Monday order in docket 02-6. “We also make additional E-rate support available for schools that are incurring additional costs for eligible services, e.g., for increased bandwidth demand, because they are serving students that have been displaced by the storms, even though they may not be contending with substantial physical damage.” The storms together caused an estimated $150 billion-$200 billion in damage to areas of Texas, Florida and Georgia “and to virtually all of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands,” the agency said. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said the FCC should work with Congress to determine whether the USF programs could be reimbursed through funding targeted to hurricane relief. “Because of our budget limitations, providing additional funding from universal service generally comes at the expense of other recipients,” O’Rielly said.

Large internet edge providers could get drawn into common-carrier regulation along with broadband ISPs due to concerns on both sides of the political spectrum, suggested Harold Feld, Public Knowledge senior vice president, at an NTCA conference Thursday. "What we have seen is that both from the left and the right, nobody is happy; everybody believes the platform is discriminating against them -- they’re not going after the awful guys who are on the other side," Feld said on a recorded clip forwarded by an industry attendee. "So I personally think that we may be headed toward some kind of overall common carriage in this universe for not just the traditional ISPs but for some of these larger platforms as well. I frankly think that they would be much better off embracing it rather than trying to maintain a world where they maintain editorial discretion but try not to use it too much."