Retail revenue from recorded music in the U.S. rose 17 percent to $4 billion in the first half of 2017 from the same period last year, RIAA said. At wholesale value, the industry increased to $2.7 billion, up 15 percent, but "significantly below" 1999 levels. Revenue from music subscription streaming services grew 48 percent to $2.5 billion for the first half of 2017, over the same period in 2016. Streaming services had 62 percent of the total market, and continued to offset declines in traditional unit based sales, said RIAA Wednesday. "The streaming category includes revenues from subscription services (such as paid versions of Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music, among others), digital and customized radio services including those revenues distributed by SoundExchange (like Pandora, SiriusXM, and other Internet radio), and ad-supported on-demand streaming services (such as YouTube, Vevo, and ad-supported Spotify)." CEO Cary Sherman blogged that his group estimates there may be a trillion streams this year from both on-demand services and digital radio. "That staggering number ... also speaks to the foundational challenge" as payouts to creators "are very different and vastly impacted by outdated or abused laws and regulations," he wrote. "A united music community continues to be incredibly animated about music’s 'value gap' and calls upon policymakers -- and our business partners -- across the globe to do better and address these inequities." In an International Federation of the Phonographic Industry report Tuesday (see 1709190075 and 1709190031) on audio streaming trends, IFPI CEO Frances Moore said the music industry’s “value gap” remains the biggest threat facing the music world.

The FCC should seek public comment on consumer open internet complaints and related correspondence, said a motion that the National Hispanic Media Coalition and 20 other groups posted Tuesday in docket 17-108. They said it includes about 50,000 complaints, 18,000 carrier responses, 1,500 documents on an agency ombudsperson's exchanges with users and 10 spreadsheets with complaint data. In response to NHMC Freedom of Information Act requests in May, the FCC gave the group most of the records and posted them on a webpage (see 1709150031), but most carrier responses are among documents missing, said the motion. It asked the commission to put all records into the open internet docket and issue a public notice seeking comment. "Just as an agency may not rely on data that has not been admitted into the administrative record, it also may not prevent directly relevant information from being admitted into the record simply because it does not support the agency’s proposed rule," said the motion (NHMC news release here). Among backers were the American Civil Liberties Union, American Library Association, Common Cause, Fight for the Future, Free Press, Future of Music Coalition, New America's Open Technology Institute, Public Knowledge and United Church of Christ. The FCC didn't comment.

The FCC can address emergency communications needs "24/7" as Hurricane Maria threatens and affects U.S. coastal areas, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, a public notice said Wednesday. The PN said communications industry providers, emergency response managers and first responders can contact the FCC Operations Center at 202-418-1122 or by email at FCCOPCenter@fcc.gov. It said consumers should contact their service providers directly about any outages, but can file complaints here. The FCC activated the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) in response to Hurricane Maria for all counties in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Public Safety Bureau said in a public notice Wednesday. Reports are requested beginning 10 a.m. Thursday. DIRS was deactivated for Irma Tuesday (see Ref:1709190030]), and companies in the affected areas are expected to provide new reports for Maria, rather than updated reports on Irma, the report said. Companies can access DIRS at https://www.fcc.gov/nors/disaster. The bureau also released a PN listing updated emergency contact information for each bureau for licensees in affected areas seeking special temporary authority.

​Add Qualcomm and Ethertronics, a supplier of embedded antennas and RF components for mobile devices, to companies opposing an ATSC 3.0 reception in smartphones requirement and saying an FCC mandate would be a bad idea. The issue has been a hotbed for discussion in docket 16-142 for the past 10 days as the commission works toward meeting its self-imposed deadline of releasing by year-end an order authorizing voluntary deployment of 3.0 (see 1709180039). Qualcomm “broadly agrees” with T-Mobile’s Sept. 11 white paper (see 1709120020) detailing “significant challenges associated with supporting ATSC 3.0 reception in new mobile devices.” The chipmaker said “any proposal to mandate that mobile devices incorporate support for ATSC 3.0 should be out of the question.” Requiring 3.0 support in mobile devices “would unduly impact device performance, the efficient use of spectrum, and mobile device competition,” said the company. “ATSC 3.0 receiver operation can cause interference to 4G LTE and 5G radios operating in the same device." Ethertronics said challenges of “incorporating both 600 MHz LTE and ATSC 3.0 technologies” in a single smartphone are “substantial.” There are “practical limits to the acceptable size” of a mobile device that consumers will be “willing to purchase,” it said.

The Telecommunications Industry Association said it agreed to combine with QuEST Forum, an information communication and technology association, and more alliances are possible. The combined tech group will focus on IoT and related areas, such as smart cities, network virtualization and the transition to the cloud, TIA and the forum announced Tuesday. Forum CEO Fraser Pajak will be an officer of the new organization and will report directly to TIA CEO Wes Johnston, with the groups' boards combined into one, said a Q&A. A spokesman told us and online materials say no job cuts are now planned. With six staffers from the forum, TIA will have about 45 total employees, he said. Johnston was named head of TIA earlier this year (see the personals section of the June 6 issue of this publication), after an interim CEO followed Scott Belcher leaving after about two years (see 1702010030). More alliances are possible, online materials said Tuesday: "Current strategic alliances are being evaluated, and new ones being formed" and "we will continue to explore opportunities to expand value for our community through new partnerships and alliances, or when appropriate, through mergers and acquisitions." The combination is "reflecting" the consolidation that "naturally happened in the industry" and within the membership, said telecom industry consultant Grant Seiffert, head of TIA 2007 through 2014, in an interview. "In the past, TIA has merged with other organizations to provide synergies and like-minded services." Overlapping members (here and here) include big ISPs like AT&T and Verizon, and device maker/suppliers like Cisco and Nokia. The merger, subject to ratification of a definitive agreement, is expected to close in Q4, the groups said. The forum's focus includes ways for companies to be environmentally friendly and some standards.

The FCC extended comment deadlines by two weeks on a Form 477 Further NPRM proposing to update broadband and voice service data submission duties. Initial comments and replies are now due Oct. 9 and Oct. 24 (instead of Sept. 25 and Oct. 10), said an order Tuesday from the Wireline, Wireless and International bureaus in docket 11-10. The American Cable Association, NCTA, NTCA, USTelecom and the Wireless ISP Association asked for a four-week extension to Oct. 23 and Nov. 6, citing recent hurricane disruption (see 1709130046).

The FCC deactivated the Disaster Information Reporting System for Hurricane Irma at the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s request, said a Public Safety Bureau in a public notice Monday. That leaves Monday’s DIRS report the final one for Irma (see 1709180034), the PN said. The FCC “anticipates that, within the next couple of days, FEMA will likely request activation of DIRS for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands,” the PN said, and a separate notice will be issued. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai praised the dependability of AM radio in disasters but conceded that the band is perceived as outdated. “Whenever these emergencies hit, listenership goes through the roof,” Pai said in a radio interview in iHeartMedia’s Miami headquarters during a visit to Irma-damaged Florida with Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. “You guys do a terrific job giving people the information when they need it,” he said. Younger listeners don’t gravitate to AM, and “time is not on the side of the AM dial,” Pai said, but he said he and Clyburn are working to improve things for AM. “A bipartisan majority at the FCC” believes in AM radio, Pai said. It's “critically important” for broadcasters to have an FCC that supports them, Clyburn said. Broadcasters should know that the FCC is thinking about their issues and the emergency services they provide, she said. Clyburn and Pai also toured a public safety building, and met with a Florida public service commissioner and staff from the FCC’s Miami Field Office, said a news release. They spoke with a team restoring cell towers and other wireless infrastructure damaged during the storm, it said. “The lessons learned during our visit will help the FCC’s continued work to improve the performance of communications networks in future emergencies,” Pai said in the release, praising emergency and wireless workers, plus broadcasters. There's “much more work to be done in the days and weeks ahead, including in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where more than 50% of cell sites remain out of service,” said Clyburn in the release. “Working with my colleagues, Members of Congress, as well as state and local officials, we can translate these lessons into policies that ensure our nation’s communications networks and 9-1-1 systems remain reliable and resilient during disasters.” The FCC added a briefing on its response to the recent hurricanes to the agenda for the Sept. 26 commissioners' meeting, said a notice. The briefing will be done by Public Safety Bureau staff, the notice said.

T-Mobile and Sprint are again in talks on combining in an all-stock deal, with their shares closing up 5.9 percent and 6.8 percent respectively Tuesday. CNBC reported no announcement is likely for weeks. The structure reportedly is complicated, but would put T-Mobile CEO John Legere in charge with Masayoshi Son, CEO of Sprint parent SoftBank, having a say in decisions. A T-Mobile/Sprint is seen as having a good chance of approval by the Trump DOJ and FCC (see 1612090053). In 2014, under pressure from then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, Sprint dropped its pursuit of T-Mobile (see 1408070044). The companies didn’t comment. “This is a different kind of [DOJ] Antitrust Division,” analyst Jim Cramer said on CNBC Tuesday. “I think this goes through.” Weeks ago, "we put 50/50 odds on approval,” Craig Moffett, analyst at MoffettNathanson, emailed. “That seems like a reasonable starting point. There are good arguments for why it should be approved. But there are also good arguments for why it shouldn’t.” New Street analyst Kirk Boodry said on Bloomberg Tuesday a Sprint/T-Mobile is probably “much more likely” than a deal between Sprint and Charter. “What you get with T-Mobile is a lot of synergies,” he said. In a presentation last week at a Goldman Sachs financial conference, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said he was “heavily, heavily advised” by lawyers not to comment on potential deals. “We are always evaluating options,” Claure said. “We think, ‘Which is the one that's going to generate the highest shareholder return or create more shareholder value.’” Sprint operations and financials improved in the past three years, Claure said. “That has allowed us to have several different options.” Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche said if talks are underway again, it explains why the usually “outspoken” Claure was so reticent in his comments. “The equity market seemed to be to be pricing a scenario where Softbank would have to put in equity to close a deal,” she said in a note to investors. “We do not see this as a logical outcome.”

The FTC is targeting "consumer informational injury" in privacy and data security cases, said acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen, announcing a Dec. 12 workshop. "The goal is to inform our case selection and enforcement choices," she said in an FCBA speech Tuesday. She said the FTC takes "very seriously" its privacy and data security enforcement role, having brought more than 500 related cases, including six settlements in the past month with Uber (see 1708150010), TaxSlayer (see 1708290042), Lenovo (see 1709050020) and three companies to uphold the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield agreement (see 1709080025). The "case-by-case" approach to countering deceptive or unfair actions, she said, allows the commission to adapt "in the complex, fast changing technology industry" where consumers have "disparate and evolving expectations." Looking for patterns, Ohlhausen identified consumer informational injury of: "deception injury or subverting consumer choice," in which consumers are misled through claims about privacy or security features; "financial injury," in which "fraudsters" use private data to steal money; "health or safety injury," including from stalkers or revenge porn; "unwarranted intrusion injury," which led to the FTC's Do Not Call registry; and "reputational injury," which usually overlaps with other injuries, such as financial harm from release of medical information. She said the FTC needs to further understand when informational injuries require intervention. She said the privacy and data security workshop will seek to better identify consumer injuries, explore frameworks for quantitatively measuring injuries and estimating risks, and understand how parties evaluate the tradeoffs to sharing, collecting, storing and using information. Responding to questions afterward, Ohlhausen said communications "silos" are breaking down, with IoT a "fantastic example" of technology implicating FTC privacy and other authority. Despite having two commissioners, the FTC is being productive, she said: "Commissioner [Terrell] McSweeny and I work together very well." Ohlhausen welcomed FCC robocalling actions and is "excited" about connected and automated car technology, recognizing privacy and data security concerns.

Three trade groups criticized FCC Connect America Fund Phase II auction plans as "so inordinately complex that they will deter many potential bidders from participating" in the reverse auction of subsidies for fixed broadband services. "While these complex mechanisms may be intended to promote efficient auction outcomes among bidders, this intended benefit will be substantially undercut by diminished participation, especially from smaller providers," said the American Cable Association, NTCA and Wireless ISP Association Friday in docket 17-182. "This will leave only the nation’s largest eligible providers to divide up the funds," said the groups, which planned to file separate comments due Monday on a public notice on proposed auction procedures (see 1708070032). "With fewer auction participants, bids will be won at higher than optimal prices, and fewer consumers will reap the benefits intended by the CAF Phase II program." They urged the FCC "to design an auction and adopt procedures that can stimulate the robust participation, especially by smaller entities," and to "provide smaller entities with greater opportunities to use auction experts."