---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <6420EF93-91BA-4699-BB1F-973FB82A9C00@roscom.com> Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2016 09:25:17 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: One Last Growl for F.C.C.'s Sharp-Toothed Watchdog One Last Growl for F.C.C.'s Sharp-Toothed Watchdog Tom Wheeler, who increased regulation of the cable and wireless industries, now faces tough industry opposition and a review of a media megadeal. WASHINGTON - When President Obama picked Tom Wheeler, a former cable and wireless lobbyist, to head the Federal Communications Commission in 2013, AT&T celebrated the pick as "inspired" and the cable industry said it was "exceptional." But after days on the job, Mr. Wheeler quashed the idea that he would look favorably on his past employers. In a meeting at the F.C.C. with the heads of telecommunications, cable and technology lobbying groups, he held up a newspaper article quoting industry executives publicly calling for weaker oversight from the regulatory agency. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/technology/chief-who-sharpened-fccs-teeth-faces-final-hurdles.html --------------------------- Message-ID: <9B6FF022-28EC-4F47-B29E-B484EFD310F8@roscom.com> Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2016 09:57:22 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Samsung Holdouts Won't Give Up Their Fire-Prone Galaxy Notes? Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Holdouts: You're Not Taking Our Phones! Diehards are so attached they choose to ignore recall, despite explosion risk By JONATHAN CHENG and EUN-YOUNG JEONG Jonathan Buckhouse, an extra on the hit television series "The Walking Dead," has lived through a zombie apocalypse. http://www.wsj.com/articles/samsung-holdouts-wont-give-up-their-fire-prone-galaxy-notes-1477488021 ***** Moderator's Note ***** Subscription or sign-in required to read this story. Bill Horne Moderator --------------------------- Message-ID: <7e92ad8a4452ffc16553a26a298af36a.squirrel@email.fatcow.com> Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2016 10:27:50 -0500 From: "Neal McLain" <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com> Subject: Comcast Sues Over Nashville Pole Law By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10/26/2016 MSO says city's make-ready ordinance should be permanently invalidated WASHINGTON - Comcast has sued the mayor of Nashville, Tenn., the city and its head of public works over what the MSO said was an illegal attempt to move its pole attachments without Comcast's consent. According to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Comcast said Nashville also provided "far less" notice than either federal law or its contract with the city allows. Telco AT&T filed a similar suit last month. http://www.multichannel.com/comcast-sues-over-nashville-pole-law/408688 -or- http://tinyurl.com/zj54srm Well I'm a former cable guy who spent hundreds of hours inspecting utility poles trying to figure out the least-expensive way to attach a CATV coax cable to existing poles. I would never have expected the other occupants of a pole would allow my contractor to move their facilities. And I wouldn't want any other company's contractor to move my facilities. Neal McLain --------------------------- Message-ID: <B9906B06-BBB6-4667-A8D0-B1F9D90952CE@roscom.com> Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2016 09:25:04 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: AT&T Cheerleading Squad for Merger: Nearly 100 Lobbyists By Cecilia Kang and Eric Liptonoct As a multimillion-dollar donor to lawmakers, with a huge roster of lobbyists, the communications giant is ready to pursue its $85 billion bid for Time Warner. WASHINGTON - From the political right and the left, AT&T's $85 billion bid for Time Warner has provoked pushback. But AT&T, in addition to its billions of dollars of capital, has another arsenal at its disposal: one of the most formidable lobbying operations in Washington. The company's list of nearly 100 registered lobbyists already on retainer in 2016 includes former members of Congress. AT&T is the biggest donor to federal lawmakers and their causes among cable and cellular telecommunications companies, with its employees and political action committee sending money to 374 of the House's 435 members and 85 of the Senate's 100 members this election cycle. That adds up to more than $11.3 million in donations since 2015, four times as much as Verizon Communications, according to a tally by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit research group. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/technology/att-set-to-lobby-for-merger-with-deep-pockets-and-a-big-network.html --------------------------- Message-ID: <4871982a3b385140c23b7607b1f84135.squirrel@email.fatcow.com> Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2016 10:33:53 -0500 From: "Neal McLain" <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com> Subject: Divided FCC Adopts Tough Broadband Privacy Regs By: John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10/27/2016 Subs have to agree to third-party marketing based on Web, app histories WASHINGTON -- The FCC has voted along party lines to require ISPs to get their subs' permission to share their Web surfing and app use histories and other "sensitive" data with third parties for marketing and other purposes. It was billed as based on transparency, consumer choice and data security. The vote was 3-2, with one concurrence from Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn over the absence of a prohibition on mandatory arbitration clauses, and two strong dissents from Republican commissioners. http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/divided-fcc-adopts-tough-broadband-privacy-regs/408700 -or- http://tinyurl.com/zfcze68 Neal McLain --------------------------- Message-ID: <DBF3AE5C-A583-4419-A66C-854084731137@roscom.com> Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2016 09:24:48 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Why a Media Merger That Should Go Through Might Not By JAMES B. STEWART Opponents of the proposed AT&T purchase of Time Warner don't want to just block the $85.4 billion deal: They want to overturn decades of antitrust policy and case law. Until recently, that would have been all but unthinkable. But in today's superheated and politically charged environment, they may just succeed. Under longstanding antitrust policy, the AT&T-Time Warner deal should be practically a shoo-in. But these are not usual times. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/business/economy/why-a-media-merger-that-should-go-through-might-not.html --------------------------- Message-ID: <9d024c10-90ad-2f0c-46d7-66c7a9d22fab@horneQRM.net> Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2016 13:37:53 -0400 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Re: Samsung Holdouts Won't Give Up Their Fire-Prone Galaxy Notes? On 10/26/2016 9:57 AM, Monty Solomon wrote: > Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Holdouts: You're Not Taking Our Phones! > > Diehards are so attached they choose to ignore recall, despite > explosion risk This is obvious spin-control by Samsung's PR department. The FAA won't allow Galaxy Note 7 phones on U.S. commercial airlines, so it is dead for practical purposes. Bill -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Fri, 28 Oct 2016