The Competitive Carriers Association late Wednesday praised Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for laying out plans earlier in the day for spectrum legislation (CD June 12 p15). “I completely agree that we must find ways to free up as much spectrum as possible by working collaboratively with federal users to support competitive carriers, and we must maximize the use of this limited resource,” CCA President Steve Berry said. “Having a pipeline of future spectrum auctions will only help open up secondary markets for competitive carriers and will provide additional opportunities for carriers to gain access to this much needed resource.” CTIA and PCIA also backed Rubio’s agenda.

Two more House members signed on as co-sponsors to the Local Radio Freedom Act (H. Con. Res. 16), giving the measure 224 co-sponsors in the House, said an NAB news release Thursday (http://bit.ly/1oYp5GD). The resolution has 15 co-sponsors in the Senate, it said. Reps. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., and Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., are the most recent co-sponsors, it said. The resolution would oppose “'any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge’ on local broadcast radio stations,” said the release.

Police should need a warrant to acquire cellphone location data from a service provider, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday (http://bit.ly/SRkbR8). “The exposure of the cell site location information can convert what would otherwise be a private event into a public one,” said the ruling. “When one’s whereabouts are not public, then one may have a reasonable expectation of privacy in those whereabouts.” The decision is a boon to those arguing for an expectation of privacy regarding electronic communications, American Civil Liberties Union privacy and technology lawyer Nathan Freed Wessler told us. Wessler argued the case before the 11th Circuit. “It bolsters the case for Congress to adopt legislation requiring a warrant for electronic location tracking by law enforcement,” he said. Location tracking has been a recent issue on the Hill -- Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., recently held a hearing on his Location Privacy Protection Act (CD June 5 p12), and other lawmakers like Reps. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, have introduced bills (HR-983 and HR-1312) to limit commercial and governmental collection and access to location data. “I think this ruling will help spur legislative reform,” Wessler said. These bills “will both help police by setting clear rules and safeguard American’s privacy by requiring a warrant."

Three top House Democrats want the Communications Subcommittee to hold a hearing on industry consolidation, focusing on Comcast’s proposed purchase of Time Warner Cable, AT&T’s proposed purchased of DirecTV and the possibility of a SoftBank/T-Mobile deal. “If approved, these mergers could have a lasting impact on the wireless and broadband marketplace as well as how video programming is produced, distributed, and consumed across multiple platforms, including broadband-delivered video services,” said Commerce Committee ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., in a letter to Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore. (http://1.usa.gov/1q1xEEe). “The Communications and Technology Subcommittee with its oversight jurisdiction over the media and communications sector has a responsibility to ensure these proposals meet the public interest test and truly benefit American consumers.” A GOP aide has previously stressed to us that Walden prefers to watch these deals and let the expert agencies review the transactions, only intervening with a hearing if there are any problematic issues.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced legislation Wednesday focused on expanding access to spectrum for carriers, much to the delight of CTIA and PCIA. The Wireless Innovation Act, which Rubio alluded to at a spring event, would reallocate 200 MHz of government spectrum for commercial use, Rubio said in Washington at an invitation-only event at 1776, a hub for tech startups. The federal government “has to be forward-thinking” and have “a series of auctions over several years” to free up spectrum “in a clear and predictable manner,” Rubio said, with NTIA better evaluating the value and use of the federally held spectrum. There is a need for more transparency and accountability of government spectrum use, Rubio said. The bill is focused on clearing spectrum for commercial use and would also focus on unlicensed spectrum, Rubio said. The bill would make the FCC move forward with testing the 5 GHz band of spectrum and allow for Wi-Fi use if there’s no harmful interference, he said. The legislation would also kill infrastructure barriers for carriers, whether at the level of state and local regulation or federal agency delays, he said: “A small cell should not be subject to the same requirements as a tower.” He lamented local governments extracting fees from the siting review process and the need “to account for non-tower structures and the collocation of wireless facilities.” CTIA is “excited” about Rubio’s commitment and “forward-looking spectrum policy like this bill,” encouraging investment and economic growth, said CTIA Vice President-Government Affairs Jot Carpenter. Rubio’s “approach recognizes the essential role of wireless infrastructure in expanding broadband capacity,” said PCIA President Jonathan Adelstein. “Government should not be a barrier because Americans cannot afford a delay in wireless broadband deployment due to outdated and burdensome rules.” Rubio referred to the Internet of Things and exploding consumer demand, calling spectrum “the lifeblood of the greatest innovations occurring today” and a “finite” asset. “More needs to be done,” Rubio said. He cautioned against “clinging” to rules of the last century. At our deadline, Rubio had not released a copy of the legislation nor any news release on it, and a spokesman did not supply the bill text.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is planning a “special announcement” on wireless spectrum Wednesday at an invitation-only event planned in Washington. Rubio will host a 3 p.m. fireside chat and question-and-answer session at 1776, a tech hub for Washington startups. Rubio plans “to discuss the importance of spectrum reform in encouraging innovation in the 21st century,” said a Tuesday media advisory. In March, Rubio had said he would introduce legislation calling for the reallocation of 200 MHz of federally held spectrum for commercial use. He has yet to introduce the legislation. A spokesman for Rubio did not comment on whether he would introduce the bill Wednesday.

The House Judiciary Committee plans a hearing on net neutrality, tentatively June 20 at 9 a.m., two committee aides told us. The FCC is collecting comments on how best to reinstate net neutrality rules. The committee has not formally announced any hearing on net neutrality. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., plans a field hearing in Vermont on the issue in July, he has said.

NAB General Counsel Jane Nago will attack recent FCC actions on media ownership, and Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake will defend them, said their written statements for a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing on the topic. The FCC “has failed to fulfill its obligation to review and update the broadcast ownership rules in light of current competitive conditions,” Mago plans to say (http://1.usa.gov/1kjcdGT). “Congress should require that the FCC complete its quadrennial review of the ownership restrictions in a timely manner.” Congress should also “examine how the FCC’s administration of the ownership rules has affected investment and opportunity in broadcasting,” she will say. The FCC did not fail to complete the quadrennial review due to “lack of effort,” Lake will argue (http://1.usa.gov/1l4Wwro), citing the agency’s desire to now complete the review by June 30, 2016. His written statement includes a broad summary and defense of the FCC’s recent actions limiting sharing agreements. The hearing is at 10:30 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.

Comcast disputed the arguments the Computer & Communications Industry Association made to Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., earlier this week (CD June 10 p12) on the cable company’s proposed buy of Time Warner Cable. Comcast “actively competes” against certain CCIA members, it said. “The size of this deal is not unprecedented -- in fact, after the deal [and its associated divestitures], Comcast will have the same [video] market share as it had throughout most of the first decade of the 21st Century,” Comcast told us Tuesday about CCIA’s concerns. “It is particularly disappointing that the association has gotten their facts wrong about Comcast’s share of the broadband market, which will actually only be about 20-40 percent, much lower than its inaccurate figures claim. We'll also be less than 30 percent of the video market -- a level the federal appellate courts have twice said is not too concentrated.” The deal would have “many benefits” for consumers, Comcast said.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association sees many problems in allowing Comcast to buy Time Warner Cable, CEO Ed Black told Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., in a letter Monday. “Acute competitive problems already exist in the last-mile broadband access market and not only will this merger lead to even less competition, but it would make competitive entry less likely in the future,” Black said (http://1.usa.gov/1oNT9Ez). “We are concerned that the merger will increase the quantity and enhance the effectiveness of the anticompetitive tools at the merged company’s disposal.” The combined company could degrade quality of service and raise operating costs of over-the-top content providers and charge “inflated” interconnection prices as well as withhold a bigger catalog of programming from pay-TV providers and over-the-top competitors, CCIA said. The response is “yet another indication that the proposed acquisition would stifle innovation and harm competition in the telecom industry,” Franken said in a statement. Franken also released a May 27 response from Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen on the issue of net neutrality (http://1.usa.gov/1l1jpHD). Cohen defended Comcast’s net neutrality commitments and said he believes the FCC will issue new net neutrality rules under Communications Act Section 706 by 2018, when Comcast’s obligation to follow the 2010 rules as part of its NBCUniversal acquisition will expire. Those rules are likely to survive judicial scrutiny, Cohen said. But it would be “neither fair nor appropriate” to require in this transaction “an indefinite commitment by Comcast alone” to abide by “any form of open Internet rules,” Cohen said, saying this should be an industrywide commitment. Comcast has defended the Time Warner Cable deal as one good for consumers and not likely to cause any competitive harm. Comcast had no comment on CCIA’s critique.