In a recent report on “distracted driving” in the United States and Europe, the Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) found that the Americans talk, text, and read e-mail behind the wheel far more than Europeans. In its study comparing distracting driving in the United States to Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Technology, Media & Telecoms
Subscribe to Technology, Media & Telecoms RSS FeedSEC Clarifies Stance on Social Media Disclosures
The SEC has issued a report clarifying that companies can use social media to announce key information without violating Regulation FD, provided they alert investors about which social media outlets they will use for their disclosures. The SEC report stems from an investigation into a 43-word message that the CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, posted on… Continue Reading
FTC Issues Report on Emerging Mobile Payments Services
Phillip Berenbroick, an Associate in the D.C. office, contributed to this entry. There has been an explosion in the number and variety of mobile payment services available to consumers in the last couple of years, with new innovations and players growing exponentially. New payments products, including peer-to peer-payments, mobile coupons, contactless options, and mobile wallets… Continue Reading
FCC Issues White Paper on International Spectrum Allocations
The FCC released a white paper February 26, 2013 that presents a comparative analysis of international broadband spectrum allocations. The white paper incorporates no real policy recommendations, but provides a nice compendium of publicly available data. The FCC’s white paper portrays the United States as among the global leaders in the amount of licensed spectrum, whether… Continue Reading
Seven Legacies of the Genachowski Era: Part Two of Two
In Part One, we discussed four achievements that may come to define current Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Julius Genachowski’s legacy. Those achievements include Genachowski’s efforts to modernize the creaky $8 billion Universal Service Fund, his close scrutiny of competition-related transactions, including his decision to take the rare step of blocking the AT&T-T-Mobile transaction,… Continue Reading
Court of Appeals Affirms FCC’s Pole Attachment Decision
Yesterday, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld the key prongs of the FCC’s dramatic shift in its interpretation of the Federal Pole Attachment Act. The Commission’s new interpretations for the first time gave ILECs access to the FCC to resolve their disputes with electric… Continue Reading
Seven Legacies of the Genachowski Era: Part One of Two
Amid widespread speculation that the current Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Julius Genachowski will soon leave the agency, what legacy will he leave behind? In a recent Washington Post interview, the Chairman observed, “One thing I learned from my predecessors is that people don’t remember the day-to-day battles, but they remember you got it done.”… Continue Reading
FCC Offers Modest Reforms to Accelerate Broadband Buildout with Bigger Reforms Over-the-Horizon
Last Friday, the FCC Chairman announced several “new and forthcoming” measures under the Commission’s existing Broadband Acceleration Initiative that seeks to speed broadband buildout by lifting barriers to accessing utility poles, rights-of-way, and other last-mile infrastructure. Despite the hype, the two latest actions offer incremental improvements over the status quo, but no major change. Of… Continue Reading
Review of issues for 2013
The following is a summary of some of the key issues Congress and the Administration will be debating in 2013. Please contact us with any questions. We are happy to provide further analysis as well as insight into other areas of interest. Agriculture: Tom Vilsack is expected to stay on as Secretary of Agriculture…. Continue Reading
DC Circuit Hears Utilities’ Pole Attachment Appeal
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit earlier today heard oral argument in American Electric Power Service Corp. v. Federal Communications Commission – the electric utilities’ petition for review of core aspects of the FCC’s 2011 overhaul and modernization of its pole-attachment regulations. The argument focused on two principal issues:… Continue Reading
Congress authorizes easing of U.S. export controls applicable to commercial communications satellites
In a major step toward export control reform, the U.S. Congress passed legislation on 21 December 2012 giving the President authority to ease export controls applicable to commercial communications satellites (COMSATs) and related items. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (NDAA), which was signed into law by President Obama on 3 January… Continue Reading
FCC Increases Spectrum Concentration Screen
In an otherwise unremarkable order approving AT&T’s acquisition of multiple licenses in the 2.3 GHz band, the FCC yesterday changed its rules on spectrum concentration. Generally speaking, the FCC reviews an acquiring firm’s spectrum holdings and applies a “spectrum screen” to ensure that no more than one-third of the total pool of available broadband spectrum… Continue Reading
Time Warner Cable’s latest victory proves significant for the communications infrastructure industry
On December 13, 2012 the Texas Public Utilities Commission (PUC) ruled that the City of San Antonio’s electric company had discriminated against Time Warner Cable and in favor of AT&T. The PUC found that the discrimination occurred with respect to the rates (that were four to five times as high), terms and conditions for access… Continue Reading
Truth or Dare: Encouraging Truthful Bidding in the US Incentive Auction
By: Coleman Bazelon & Giulia McHenry, The Brattle Group; Trey Hanbury, Hogan Lovells The Federal Communications Commission recently proposed a voluntary “incentive auction” of most of the nation’s over-the-air television frequencies. The process of trading rabbit ears for smartphones begins with a reverse auction for the broadcasters’ spectrum. The auction is called a “reverse” auction because the government is buying, not selling,… Continue Reading
Setting the Arena – The German Regulator Proposes Possible Scenarios for the Future Allocation of Mobile Broadband Frequencies
By Dr. Harm-Randolf Döpkens The German telecoms regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) is currently considering different scenarios for the future allocation of frequencies for mobile broadband services. This initiative relates to the discussion about the 900 and 1,800 MHz frequencies that are currently used by mobile operators for their GSM networks. The current licenses for these frequencies… Continue Reading
Roamin’ Holiday? Court OK’s FCC’s Data Roaming Rules; Hogan Lovells Part of Successful Appeal
On Dec. 4, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a 30-page order upholding the FCC’s 2011 decision to require data roaming for wireless Internet providers. Verizon Wireless had appealed the order, asserting that because the Communications Act only provided for roaming for common carriers, not for other… Continue Reading
Beyond Kolkata: Delivering on the Goals of the Communications Act
Home to more than 4.5 million people, Kolkata, India has a fascinating transportation network. A recent visit to the city revealed bicycles, motorbikes, taxis, buses, rickshaws, cyclerickshaws, cars, trucks, and trams crowding roads already thickly congested with pedestrians, students, street vendors, and parked cars. Perhaps as a result sharp-witted Indian critics have described traffic conditions… Continue Reading
Sequestration Could Potentially Delay Telecom Deals and Slow Smartphone Offerings, But Should Not Affect Phone Subsidy and Auction Programs
When last year’s “supercommittee” failed to reach consensus on a plan to reduce the deficit, it set in motion $1.2 trillion in defense and non-defense spending cuts for 2013. If Congress does not act to prevent this “sequestration” by January 2, 2013, the budget axe will fall across virtually every element of the US government…. Continue Reading
Superstorm Sandy Foreshadows a New Paradigm for Protecting Critical Communications and Electric Infrastructure
On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy sent a fourteen-foot storm surge through New York City. Winds ravaged aerial infrastructure and water cascaded through subway tunnels and utility conduit systems, leading to a series of power station failures that left Wall Street and the rest of Manhattan below 34th Street without electrical power and with only… Continue Reading
California AG Sends Enforcement Letter to Developers of Popular Mobile Apps
On Tuesday, October 30, the Office of California Attorney General Kamala Harris issued a press release confirming that it had begun “formally notifying” mobile device application (“app”) operators that they are out of compliance with the notice provisions of the California Online Privacy Protection Act of 2003 (“CalOPPA”). Those companies — many of which are major marketers — now… Continue Reading
FCC’s WCS Order Raises Cheers…and Questions
Contributed to by Phillip Berenbroick. In a move that has the potential to unleash new broadband deployment across the United States, the Federal Communications Commission recently loosened technical constraints on the long-dormant 2.3 GHz band. The rules that the FCC adopted October 17, 2012 essentially ratify a joint proposal that the two largest licensees in… Continue Reading
United States Rulemaking for Incentive Auction of Broadcaster Spectrum
The US Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released its long-awaited proposal to recapture broadband spectrum from broadcasters on TV Channels 20-51. The proposed auction promises to send waves throughout the entire communications industry: broadcasters will be able to cash in on their spectrum rights, mobile providers will have the opportunity to acquire more spectrum, and companies that rely… Continue Reading
FirstNet Seeks Comment on Design of Nationwide Wireless Broadband Public Safety Network
The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 created a new independent authority within the U.S. Department of Commerce, the First Responders Network Authority (FirstNet), and charged it with constructing and operating a nationwide public safety broadband network. The legislation also budgeted $7 billion of spectrum-auction revenue to fund the new network – an… Continue Reading
Net Neutrality: A Solution in Search of a Problem
Dan Brenner, a partner in the Communications Practice in Washington, D.C., recently authored an article on Net Neutrality for Forbes.com. He discusses the political debate surrounding Net Neutrality as both parties have included the issue in their party platforms. Click here to read the full article.