FCC inaction and broadcast consolidation are exacerbating “skyrocketing” retransmission rates, said Mediacom in an ex parte letter addressed to Chairman Tom Wheeler’s chief of staff, Ruth Milkman. “Neither the consolidation that is occurring in local television markets nor the increasing demands for retransmission consent compensation are benefitting the public,” said Mediacom. “Rather, they are benefitting the bottom line of the stations’ corporate parents,” said the filing. Rising retransmission consent fees are driving the increased consolidation by giving broadcasters an incentive to acquire stations they can then leverage against cable companies in retrans negotiations, said Mediacom. Broadcasters can finance station acquisitions through the increased retransmission consent revenue such transactions generate, said Mediacom: “The result is an ongoing cycle of station acquisitions, increased retransmission consent fees, and reductions in local content -- all to the detriment of consumers.” Broadcast consolidation is also a threat to the incentive auction, because it concentrates the available spectrum in the hands of just a few owners, the filing said. The FCC should require the parties in broadcast transactions to produce hard data showing that “the proposed transaction will provide measurable benefits to the public, not just to the parties’ bottom lines,” said the filing. “If the Commission under Chairman Wheeler does nothing else, it should stop accepting at face value the broadcasters’ claims that increased concentration of station ownership and/or control, both at the local level and nationally, is good for consumers and society as a whole,” said the filing.

CenturyLink asked the FCC to stay its inmate calling service (ICS) rules “pending a final decision by the courts,” in a petition filed Wednesday (http://bit.ly/18VEX7m). The order “imposes de facto rate-of-return regulation,” said CenturyLink, an ICS provider. CenturyLink said the order is unlikely to survive judicial scrutiny because the commission didn’t provide a “reasoned justification” for applying its new regime to existing ICS contracts. The commission also based its decision to impose rate-of-return regulation on “a misreading of judicial precedent, invoking a presumption in favor of rate-of-return regulation that lacks a legal basis,” CenturyLink said. CenturyLink said it was the fourth ICS provider to request a stay pending judicial review. The FCC last month denied requests for stay by Global Tel Link and Securus.

Comcast and Nielsen are trialing a new advertising product to insert a full ad load into Comcast’s on-demand TV programming, said Matt Strauss, Comcast Cable senior vice president, in a blog post Monday (http://bit.ly/18bi6nE). On Demand Commercial Ratings (ODCR) will change the current C3 ratings model that measures on-demand commercial viewing within three days of the show’s live airing, said Strauss. The C3 model works only with the most recent episode and it doesn’t apply to any of the TV series’ previous on-demand episodes, he said. With ODCR technology, the catch-up viewer will see the same ads as those who watch the show within three days after airing and the programmer could receive C3 advertising credit for viewers who are watching any episode on demand, said Strauss. The ODCR technology is being tested with NBCUniversal and Strauss said Comcast hope to begin working with other major broadcast networks soon.

Several NTIA Broadband Technology Opportunities Program cities were winners at the 2013 Digital Cities awards, said Laura Breeden, Commerce Department BTOP team leader, in a blog post Monday (http://1.usa.gov/1bb6IbE). The Center for Digital Government, a research and advisory firm for technology in state and local government, gave out the awards at the National League of Cities annual conference in Seattle last month, said Breeden. Boston, which took first place in the “large population” category, received two BTOP grants: to install computers in community anchor institutions and for its Technology Goes Home program to provide digital literacy training, subsidized netbooks and low-cost Internet access to low-income middle and high school students, she said. Chicago was also recognized on the Digital Cities list, and BTOP funds were used in the city to install or upgrade more than 3,000 computers and offer digital literacy training, said Breeden. Chicago received a separate BTOP grant for its Smart Communities program to provide Internet training and computer equipment to local residents and small businesses in five low- to moderate-income neighborhoods, she said. Philadelphia was also near the top of the Digital Cities list, where a citywide partnership called KeySpots established 79 computer centers that offer computer classes and digital literacy training to local youth, the unemployed, people with disabilities and low-income residents, said Breeden. Los Angeles, Calif.; Seattle, Wash.; Austin, Texas; Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Lowell, Mass., also benefited from BTOP funding, she said.

Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corp. joined the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance, said MBC in a news release Monday (http://yhoo.it/IBjC95). The wholesale open-access network transport provider is joining the alliance to advocate for Virginia to participate in legislative discussions on broadband innovation and engage in TV white space trials to bridge the digital divide in the state, said MBC. MBC has TV white space trials underway with wireless ISPs in Pittsylvania, Greensville and Appomattox counties, it said. TV white space spectrum refers to TV band frequencies unassigned or unused by existing broadcasters or other licenses, said MBC. The alliance advocates for “dynamic spectrum access technologies” that can utilize “unused or inefficiently used” radio frequencies to create various forms of wireless connectivity, said MBC.

Wireless technology has opened cars up to new possible breaches and invasions of privacy, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., told 20 auto manufacturers. His Monday letter (http://1.usa.gov/1bdEXMk) asked the companies several questions, including how many wireless entry points their vehicles have, how companies test vehicles’ vulnerabilities and what monitoring is being done to detect cyberthreats or hacking. The letter also asked privacy questions about what data the companies collect, including geolocation information, and how any sale of information to third parties works, as well as details on any requests for information from government agencies. “As vehicles become more integrated with wireless technology, there are more avenues through which a hacker could introduce malicious code, and more avenues through which a driver’s basic right to privacy could be compromised,” Markey said in the letter. “These threats demonstrate the need for robust vehicle security policies to ensure the safety and privacy of our nation’s drivers."

Mandatory 10-digit dialing will be coming Feb. 1 to western Kentucky as a result of a new area code, said the Kentucky Public Service Commission in a news release Monday (http://1.usa.gov/1cVdjGy). Mandatory 10-digit dialing begins in two months, when area code 364 is added to the same geographic area as the current area code 270, said the PSC. A six-month “permissive dialing” period began in August under which customers can dial either seven or 10 digits when making local calls in area code 270, said the PSC. The permissive dialing period allows customers to get used to the new dialing pattern and permits telcos to prepare and test equipment in advance of the establishment of the new area code, said the PSC.

The rule establishing a fee schedule for filing cable and satellite statement-of-account fees will be effective Jan. 1. The fees are $15 to process an SA1 form, $20 for SA2 forms and $725 for SA3 forms, the Copyright Office said in a Federal Register notice (http://1.usa.gov/1b4bJTo). The office also set a Dec. 30 effective date for the 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment in royalty rates for colleges, universities and other educational institutions, it said in a separate notice (http://1.usa.gov/Iwg33G). The rates pertain to the institutions’ use of published nondramatic musical compositions in the Society of European Stage Authors repertory “for the statutory license under the Copyright Act for noncommercial broadcasting,” it said. The rate was adjusted by 2 percent to $143 per station, it said.

Life Wireless is now offering Lifeline service to eligible low-income residents in Colorado, it said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1cOOPyF). Eligible customers can receive a basic mobile handset with voicemail, text messaging, call waiting and other features, and calling plans offer up to 250 minutes a month, said Life Wireless. Customers must participate in a federal assistance program or earn up to 135 percent of the federal poverty level to be eligible, it said.

South Korea intends to hold preliminary talks with Trans-Pacific Partnership countries aimed at joining the TPP negotiations, said the U.S. Trade Representative in a Friday written statement. The U.S. has targeted year’s end for conclusion of TPP negotiations among the current 12 participant nations. “Korea plays an important role in the regional economy, and its interest in the TPP demonstrates the significant importance of this initiative to the region,” said USTR Michael Froman. President Barack Obama, the other TPP leaders “and their teams are currently working actively to complete the negotiations,” said Froman. “Given that prior to entry any new member needs to complete bilateral consultations with current TPP members and those members need to complete domestic processes, as appropriate, the possible entry of any new country would be expected to occur after the negotiations among the current members are concluded."