ISPs invested about $5.6 billion, or 3.6 percent, less in 2015 and 16 than they likely would have without Title II Communications Act net neutrality rules, spending about $149 billion total, a Free State Foundation research associate blogged Friday. Michael Horney based the estimate on capital expenditure data on 16 of the largest ISPs for 2014-16, and also cited USTelecom data on broadband capital expenditures (see 1612140074). Free Press, which unlike FSF supports the 2015 FCC rules, disagreed with the analysis, while USTelecom said spending appears to be affected, and Oracle meanwhile seeks a return to pre-2015 rules. "This is not a regression analysis, so I cannot say by how much the regulatory uncertainty and costs imposed in the Open Internet Order negatively impacted broadband investment," wrote FSF's Horney. "If the FCC was right about broadband capital investment not being suppressed by the Open Internet Order, we should have expected the market to continue along or above its trend of investment growth." These "empty claims" are belied by publicly traded ISPs showing a 5.3 percent increase in investments in the two-year period, responded Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood. USTelecom estimates were "flawed and vague numbers," and "Horney descends even further," Wood said. USTelecom’s "initial analysis strongly suggests that investment in 2016 continued to trend downward," the group blogged Friday following FSF. ISPs, usually comprising 90-95 percent of annual industry capital expenditures, spent $71 billion in 2016, down from $73 billion in 2015, wrote USTelecom Vice President-Industry Analysis Patrick Brogan. "Claims by some interest groups that broadband provider capex actually may have increased in 2015 and 2016 depend on figures that ignore accounting adjustments for certain non-material items like leased cellphones and acquisitions, such as AT&T’s merger with DirecTV and a Mexican wireless operation." FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has been doing media interviews and making speeches about his plan to propose to change net neutrality rules (see 1705050025). Oracle meanwhile, backing a proposed return to Title I Communications Act net neutrality rules, sees debate having "inexplicably evolved into a highly political hyperbolic battle, substantially removed from technical, economic, and consumer reality," it wrote Pai Friday in docket 17-108 after previously backing this move. "The stifling open internet regulations and broadband classification that the FCC put in place in 2015," the year of the past net neutrality order, "threw out" the "technological consensus" and "certainty," the software maker said. "Reclassifying broadband internet access as an information service will eliminate unnecessary burdens on, and competitive imbalances for, ISPs. ... It will restore the FTC as the impartial cop on the broadband beat with authority to reach all of the participants." The company was part of a meeting with Pai last month, before he unveiled a draft NPRM to undo Title II common-carrier net neutrality rules (see 1704260002 and 1705050025).

Among media, wireless and wireline industries, cable distribution is likely the best positioned due to strength of its broadband product, S&P Global Ratings reported Thursday. S&P said wireline's fiber-to-the-home (FTHH) service is better than cable broadband, but it's offered only in select markets, and cable ISPs have been adding broadband subscribers while wireline loses DSL and FTHH customers. It said the risk of more government regulation of the cable industry has declined under the Trump administration and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, but cord-cutting and, longer term, 5G are threats. S&P said the current cord-cutting rate of less than 2 percent a month "is manageable." S&P said the media industry -- despite declining TV and film audiences -- remains strong "because content ... is still the key component underlying the overall media, telecommunications, and cable ecosystem." S&P said it views wireless less favorably due to the competitive dynamics, even though it will benefit from increased mobile video and data demand and from IoT devices and services. It said wireline is weakest because of industry pressures and a weak competitive position. S&P ranked Comcast highest of the 12 cable, telco and media companies, followed by Disney, AT&T, Charter Communications, Verizon and, at the end, Discovery and Viacom. S&P raised its long-term corporate credit rating and debt ratings on Disney to "A+'" from "A" on strong business performance, particularly at its movie and TV studio division and cable networks.

Globalstar has identified more than 100 countries where it's interested in pursuing approval for terrestrial use of its 2483.5-2500 MHz band spectrum and has been looking into the feasibility of each, CEO James Monroe said in an analyst call Thursday. He said the company hired multiple legal, engineering and consulting firms to pursue regulatory approvals in various countries, and it applied in an unspecified number of countries covering 375 million people. He said Globalstar also expects to file additional applications with other countries' regulatory bodies this year. The FCC approved the company's terrestrial low-power service plans in December (see 1612230060). Globalstar reported sales rose 13 percent in Q1 to $24.7 million, while its net loss -- at $20.2 million -- was down from the $26.9 million loss in Q1 2016. Monroe said new one-way and two-way products were running behind schedule. He said the company was in talks with senior lenders about raising $150 million in refinancing to "provide runway beyond 2017." He said the apparent AT&T/Verizon bidding war over Straight Path (see 1705030056) shows "licensed spectrum matters." He said spectrum closely situated to Globalstar's was found in the AWS-3 auction "and not a scrap of that was unpurchased." Added Monroe, "It's not to say unlicensed spectrum doesn't get used -- we all live on Wi-Fi. But you can't run a service you want to charge a reasonable amount of money for on unlicensed."

The FCC is acting to curb what he sees as abuses of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Commissioner Mike O’Rielly told the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals Thursday. Prior decisions by the FCC and the courts “expanded the boundaries of TCPA far beyond what I believe Congress intended, as evidenced by the actual wording of the statute,” O’Rielly said. “As the scope of TCPA has increased, so too has TCPA litigation. Thousands of lawsuits are filed each year against businesses who thought they were taking the right precautions.” O’Rielly said “there is reason for optimism” nonetheless. “With the change in Administration, new leadership at the Commission and a new Bureau head overseeing TCPA, we have the chance to undo the misguided and harmful TCPA decisions of the past that exposed legitimate companies to massive legal liability without actually protecting consumers,” O’Rielly said, according to written remarks. The FCC needs to ensure its focus is on illegal robocalls, he said. “Whether it is an informational call like an appointment reminder or a telemarketing call to a person that has previously provided contact information, these can be beneficial,” he said. “We need to make broader changes to the rules to ensure that all consumers are able to get relevant and timely information. For example, companies that follow industry practices to limit stray calls should be able contact a person until they have actual knowledge that a number has been reassigned.” O’Rielly said the FCC must address what constitutes an autodialer. “One of the most ludicrous arguments made in TCPA proceedings is that callers can simply avoid liability by not using autodialers, manually dialing calls, or by using other forms of communication like email,” he said. “This is a red herring.” In March, the FCC approved an NPRM and notice of inquiry targeting “spoofed” robocalls, refocusing on illegal calls (see 1703230035).

Universal Service Administrative Co. CEO Chris Henderson resigned this week, said a news release Thursday from USAC, which administers FCC USF telecom subsidy programs. Henderson, who had been CEO since September 2014, "led the company through a period of tremendous growth and change focused on enhancing program integrity and improving the stakeholder experience, as part of fulfilling the FCC’s universal service mission," the release said. The board named Vickie Robinson, vice president-general counsel, acting CEO until a permanent replacement can be found. No reason was given for Henderson's departure. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who had often questioned USAC oversight when he was a commissioner, recently blasted USAC management of the E-rate school and library discount program, and asked Henderson to devise a plan to address "serious flaws" by May 18 (see 1704190026). Pai didn't comment Thursday. Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, federal chairman of the federal-state joint board on universal service, said Henderson's departure gave USAC a chance "to clean up its act." O'Rielly issued a statement saying: "USAC as it has been managed is not sufficiently accountable to the Commission, and is not meeting the needs of universal service stakeholders or the public, who pay fees to support USAC’s operations. Absent significant and timely improvements, I believe that all options should be on the table, including putting USAC’s functions out for contract, as the Commission has done in other circumstances.”

The FCC should reject proposals by satellite broadband operators to relax rules adopted in July’s spectrum frontiers order designed to protect terrestrial mobile use of local multipoint distribution service (LMDS) spectrum, the Competitive Carriers Association said. “Satellite Operators tout prospective benefits to rural America, but competitive carriers are already using this spectrum to bridge the digital divide throughout their rural and regional service footprints,” CCA said in a filing Tuesday in docket 14-177. “Competitive carriers also are investing in engineering solutions to optimize LMDS spectrum use. These carriers should not be hamstrung by satellite operations to introduce mobile services on those same frequencies, and their activities merit the Commission’s support.” The CCA refers to an April filing by satellite operators (see 1704130062).

Verizon “fully complied with its contractual obligations” in New York City under its cable franchise agreement (CFA), it said Wednesday. New York City sued Verizon for allegedly failing to meet a 2014 deadline in the CFA to roll out Fios video service to all city residents (see 1703140043). In an answer filed Wednesday at the New York Supreme Court, Verizon denied any wrongdoing. “There was no mystery or misunderstanding about how Verizon planned to build its fiber network: Verizon and the City discussed the approach during their CFA negotiations and the CFA itself specifically refers to the fact that Verizon was in the process of upgrading its existing network. All of the obligations, schedules, forecasts, and assumptions regarding residential cable service that were negotiated and ultimately agreed upon were based on the understanding that Verizon would be upgrading its existing network as it was entitled to do -- without the City’s permission -- in its capacity as a common carrier under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934.” After the agreement, Verizon continued the citywide deployment and passed repeated city audits and inspections, the carrier said. “Since 2008, when the Agreement was negotiated, neither the meaning of the Agreement nor Verizon’s performance under the Agreement has changed,” Verizon said. “One factor alone explains the emergence of this dispute beginning in 2014: a change in Administration, which is now trying retroactively to change the Agreement from what was negotiated to what it wishes it meant.”

The FTC is following President Donald Trump's priorities for job creation, limiting federal overreach and streamlining regulations, said acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen in remarks prepared for a Kelley Drye seminar Wednesday. That largely repeated past statements (see 1703160032, 1704170016 and 1704250029). The chairman is focused on civil investigative demands (CIDs) that can impose costs and document requests to companies. "I take these concerns seriously," she said, adding it's part of the FTC mission statement. "The mission statement continues: we are to 'accomplish this without unduly burdening legitimate business activity.' To make sure that we are living up to our own mission statement, I’ve instructed the Bureau of Consumer Protection to form an internal working group on our use of CIDs," she said. Ohlhausen said the commission's focus on substantial harm in both competition and consumer protection will ensure it doesn't overreach. She said she established an internal task force -- headed by the Economics Bureau working with the Consumer Protection Bureau -- to study the economics of privacy "to encourage and clarify economic reasoning on issues relating to the privacy and data security marketplace." The FTC is an independent agency and not subject to executive orders, Ohlhausen said, but she said she shares Trump's "desire to eliminate unnecessary and burdensome regulatory requirements that hurt our economy."

The FCC shouldn’t trust T-Mobile’s predictions about the post-incentive auction frequency repacking because the carrier repeatedly made inaccurate predictions and broke rules, said NAB Vice President-Spectrum Policy Patrick McFadden in a blog post Wednesday. T-Mobile “touts itself as the ‘Un-carrier,’” McFadden said. The FCC should “take a moment to ponder the pattern and wonder just how much it can take T-Mobile at its ‘Un-word,’” he said. The company insisted the FCC needed a spectrum set aside in the incentive auction to keep AT&T and Verizon from buying up too much spectrum, but Verizon didn’t bid at all and AT&T didn’t spend as much as anticipated, McFadden said. T-Mobile violated the forward auction quiet period and “throttled” heavy data users, McFadden said. The FCC should take enforcement action, he said. “We’ll see if the government has anything to say about T-Mobile’s willingness to flaunt its rules in this instance and whether the powers that be will finally catch on to T-Mobile’s pattern of ‘Un-following’ the rules and playing fast and loose with ‘Un-facts.’” T-Mobile’s past actions should lead the agency to discount its claims the repacking can be completed in 39 months, McFadden said. “The FCC can no longer rely on T-Mobile’s now consistently dubious claims.” "T-Mobile is perplexed at how NAB’s rhetoric helps its members," said Steve Sharkey, vice president-government affairs. "We’re working cooperatively with its members on a successful transition that benefits consumers.”

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology released an updated version of the TVStudy repacking software Tuesday, it said in a public notice. Version 2.2.1 contains “the software configuration settings for use in processing construction permit applications during the 39-month post-auction period,” the PN said. A further update is expected “in the coming weeks” that will allow low-power TV stations to “conduct interference analyses that correctly consider pre-auction channel assignments as well as post-auction assignments,” the PN said.