Reactions to Senate reconfirmation of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai divided between supporters of a proposal to rescind 2015 net neutrality rules, who praised the vote, and those who favor keeping the rules, who overwhelmingly criticized it. The Senate voted 52-41 to confirm Pai, with four Democrats joining Republicans in voting for the chairman (see 1710020062). Fight for the Future, a 2015 rules supporter, launched a phone campaign Tuesday targeting the four Democrats who voted for Pai (see 1710030065). “The only people celebrating today’s vote are top executives at the phone and cable companies Ajit Pai so eagerly serves,” said Free Press CEO Craig Aaron. Public Knowledge Vice President Chris Lewis tweeted thanks to the 41 Democrats who voted against Pai, saying “we need more to stand up for [net neutrality], rural broadband & other issues at risk.” Many companies and industry groups Monday and Tuesday lauded Pai's confirmation, including 5G Americas, America's Public Television Stations, AT&T, Comcast, Frontier Communications, ITTA, Verizon and WiFiForward. NCTA CEO Michael Powell said Pai “has consistently demonstrated a thoughtful approach to policymaking that promotes consumer welfare through marketplace competition and innovation.” CTA President Gary Shapiro said Pai's “emphasis on promoting competition, innovation and flexibility will help ensure a thoughtful policy approach as the commission addresses expanded broadband access, digital opportunity for all Americans and the anytime, anywhere connectivity consumers demand.” NAB appreciates "his effort to ease outdated regulatory burdens on local radio and TV” (see 1710030059), said President Gordon Smith.

The FCC says a carriage disruption involving Dish Network and Lilly Broadcasting came to an end Monday night after calls from Chairman Ajit Pai's office to the two. The agency said after it "expressed its concern about the impact of this dispute on the people of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands," the two restored One Caribbean TV carriage. Neither Dish nor Lilly commented. Pointing to that blackout, American Cable Association President Matt Polka in a docket 10-71 filing posted Tuesday pushed for a change in the FCC's retrans good faith negotiation rules. ACA said the agency should add to its list of per se bad faith actions broadcasters failing to provide an MVPD with authorization to retransmit signals, and pay-TV providers refusing to retransmit those signals, in any county where the Disaster Information Reporting System is activated. It also said the agency "should find it intolerable" that a broadcaster would use blocking of viewers during a state of emergency as a means of leveraging higher retransmission consent fees. Switching providers or installing antennas is a ridiculous broadcaster suggestion during an emergency like the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, ACA said.

The telecom recovery from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico is moving at a slow pace. The FCC reported Monday that about 88.3 percent of cellsites remain down, virtually unchanged from the previous day. All counties, except Bayamon, Guaynabo and San Juan, have more than 75 percent of their cellsites out of service. Key public 911 call centers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands remain down, the FCC said. In both places, substantial numbers of cable and wireline customers lack service.

Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, meeting with more FCC officials about fears on Sinclair/Tribune (see 1709290063), also raised concern about Comcast's programming carriage choices and asked the agency not to let ISPs block or throttle content providers including news outlets. Meeting last week with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, the head of the conservative news outlet said of efforts to reclassify broadband back under Title I of the Communications Act that "network neutrality protections have been in place long before the Obama Administration reclassified broadband under Title II and have been affirmed by both Republican and Democrat Administrations." Newsmax said in a filing posted Monday in docket 17-179 that "even if" ISPs hadn't "engaged in anti-competitive activity," the agency is obliged "to take reasonable steps to implement safeguards." On "Comcast’s well-known political bias," Ruddy said the company acts "not only [to] benefit their owned and operated networks like MSNBC and CNBC, but prevent networks that do not share their political point of view" from carriage. The cable operator has at least 11 liberal-leaning news and information channels and "only one conservative-leaning news channel, Fox News," Newsmax said. On Sinclair's planned takeover of Tribune, "Ruddy questioned the apparent rush to approve the Sinclair merger before the ownership cap had been fully reviewed by the Commission or Congress." Comcast and Sinclair didn't comment.

The FCC is moving to "define down" what's acceptable for broadband networks and wireless competition (see 1709260045 and here), blogged former Chairman Tom Wheeler for the Brookings Institution. "By quietly altering the measuring sticks, the Trump FCC is 'Defining Digital Down' to reset the definition of acceptable behavior by the companies that control America’s networks," Wheeler wrote Monday. "Instead of working to build the best possible future for Americans, the agency’s new definitions lower expectations, declare victory where there is none, and set the stage for anti-consumer consolidation." Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel recently objected to the possibility the FCC could, in effect, lower its benchmark through its inquiry into the state of broadband-like advanced telecom capability deployment pursuant to a Telecom Act Section 706 mandate (see 1709200042).

DOJ agreed to clear CenturyLink's planned buy of Level 3 with conditions in a consent decree subject to court review, CenturyLink said Monday. "The consent decree requires the combined company to divest certain Level 3 metro network assets and certain dark fiber assets," said a company release. "The combined company is required to divest Level 3 metro network assets in three metro areas: Albuquerque, N.M.; Boise, Idaho; and Tucson, Ariz. ... The consent decree also provides that the combined company will divest 24 strands of dark fiber connecting 30 specified city-pairs across the country in the form of an Indefeasible Right of Use, a customary structure for such transactions. Because the fibers are not currently in commercial use, this divestiture will not affect any current customers or services." Separately, DOJ and other "Team Telecom" agencies said they wouldn't object to the transaction on national security, law enforcement and public safety grounds, provided that the FCC conditions approval on CenturyLink compliance with a letter of assurances (LOA). "After discussions with representatives of CenturyLink and Level 3 in connection with the [proposed transaction], the Agencies have concluded that the commitments set forth in the 2017 LOA will help ensure that those agencies with responsibility for enforcing the law, protecting the national security, and preserving public safety can proceed appropriately to satisfy those responsibilities," DOJ said in a letter in docket 16-403 Monday that said Justice had the concurrence of the Defense and Homeland Security departments (the LOA was attached). Among CenturyLink commitments: nominate an LOA security officer; establish points of contact for law enforcement; ensure its domestic communications infrastructure and operating personnel can comply with lawful electronic surveillance requests; take all reasonable steps to physically secure that infrastructure and prevent unauthorized access; report any information indicating "unauthorized third-party access to, or disruption or corruption of, a Covered Cable System" or "any material breach" of LOA commitments; and provide certain annual reports. The companies have said they expect the deal to close in mid-to-late October (see 1709120013). The FCC's nonbinding 180-day "shot clock" for review of the transaction remained paused on Day 170. DOJ didn't comment Monday.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai or his representative on the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System subcommittee to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Advisory Council will be exempt from ex parte rules for matters that occur as part of subcommittee business, said an FCC public notice Friday. Participation in the committee by Pai or Pai’s designee is required by statute, the PN said. “This treatment is appropriate since communications to the Chairman or the Chairman’s designee as Subcommittee members, like comments on a Notice of Inquiry, will not directly result in the promulgation of new rules.” Since the subcommittee may look at subjects that are also pending commission proceedings, the agency won’t rely on information gathered through the subcommittee unless it’s first placed into the record of the relevant FCC proceeding, the PN said.

FirstNet gave official notice of state plans to governors, triggering a 90-day shot clock ending Dec. 28 for governors to decide whether to accept AT&T radio-access-network plans, the authority said in a Friday news release. FirstNet delivered final state plans the previous week but couldn’t start the clock until NTIA provided funding level determinations (see 1709270056). Governors now have that funding information and an NTIA spokesman said Friday the agency likely would release it publicly that day or Monday. “As the governors look to make their decisions, we will continue to work closely with the states to ensure the network meets the needs of their first responders,” said FirstNet CEO Mike Poth. Also, FirstNet and NTIA plan Monday to publish an environmental impact statement for the south region of the national public safety broadband network, said a notice in Friday's Federal Register. FirstNet has opt-ins from 24 states and territories; the other 32 are still considering. Earlier last week, FirstNet announced Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) opted in. Oregon and Washington state said they will jointly release a request for proposals for alternative RAN plans covering both states. The states plan to issue the RFP within two weeks and close the solicitation five weeks later, the Washington governor’s office said. The governors haven’t decided to opt out, it said. AT&T at FCC meetings discussed FirstNet (see 1709290054).

With recent hurricanes knocking out 911 in many areas, the FCC Public Safety Bureau gave more time to file annual 911 reliability certifications for covered 911 service providers, among other steps late last week to provide leeway amid hurricane damage. A Friday public notice in docket 13-75 extended the deadline to Oct. 30 from Oct. 15. “Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria have caused significant damage in the areas within their respective paths, including storm surge, wind damage and flooding,” the bureau said. “They also appear to have damaged communications networks, resulting in service disruptions and outages throughout these areas.” The Media Bureau extended a deadline for placing quarterly reports and equal employment opportunity information in the public file to Nov. 13 for broadcasters in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, said a PN Friday. The main public safety answering point in Puerto Rico was taken offline Wednesday, and the St.Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, call center is completely down, the FCC said in Friday’s Disaster Information Reporting System release. The Federal Emergency Management Agency “has reported significant damage to the building.” Large numbers of cable and wireline customers are still out of service in the affected areas, and few radio and TV stations are on-air, the report said.

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said she's pursuing her FCC reauthorization bill despite recent delays in work to revise a draft of the bill that circulated in July and was discussed at a House Communications oversight hearing (see 1707190051, 1707250059 and 1709220055). “Our proposed reauthorization bill includes relief from the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rule, a proposal that has had some bipartisan support in the past,” Blackburn said during a Media Institute event Wednesday evening. “We should at least be able to agree to this slight nod to reality as a first step in considering further reform.” Also at the event, Tegna CEO Dave Lougee said localism is an antidote to America’s increased tribalism, and broadcasters need regulatory changes to continue providing locally focused content. “Localism undermines division,” Lougee said. He's “optimistic” the FCC will loosen ownership restrictions to allow broadcasters to better compete with large companies in other media. “We have to move away from archaic rules and anachronistic market definitions,” Lougee said.