Matt Daneman

The FCC staff's final OK of Altice's buy of Cablevision is notably absent of conditions, in contrast to those in a draft order OK'ing Charter Communications' buys of Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable, said cable insiders and observers Wednesday. That could reflect the smaller size of the Cablevision deal or just that the FCC has been particularly preoccupied with Charter/TWC/BHN, they said in interviews. "I have to believe in many ways Altice benefited from Charter coming in," one independent cable programming executive said. "Charter sucked all the wind out of the room."

Arguments that only money, not in-kind requirements, can be counted as franchise fees by local franchise authorities (LFAs) were settled by 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in its 2008 Alliance for Community Media v. FCC decision (see 0806300119) and shouldn't be rehashed, said the FCC and intervenor allies in briefs in a newer 6th Circuit case. They (see here and here in Pacer) were filed Friday with the 6th Circuit in a consolidated challenge to 2007 and 2015 FCC orders on video franchising rules. A lawyer for one of the parties said there likely will be oral argument this fall, after a reply brief by the petitioners.

Comcast's trial of a 1 terabyte monthly data allowance (see 1604270058) could mean more companies offering similar large data caps, industry experts tell us. Some public interest groups, meanwhile, said the Comcast plan is evidence that data caps themselves are somewhat indefensible. "Comcast's sudden shift to a larger cap now indicates just how easily it could shift back down in the future, perhaps under a more favorable regulatory environment," emailed Sarah Morris, director-open Internet policy at New America's Open Technology Institute.

With OneWeb hoping to get the beginnings of its planned 720-satellite network in orbit as soon as late 2017, the company is seeking access to the U.S. market for its planned low earth orbit (LEO) non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) constellation. But OneWeb's petition for declaratory ruling (PDR) filed Thursday with the FCC International Bureau could face challenges in the first major test of NGSO fixed satellite service (FSS) rules crafted during the last NGSO satellite boom, but for much smaller constellations, satellite industry experts tell us. Meanwhile, the agency is preparing some updates.

Charter Communications hopes to close on Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks "within a few days" of the California Public Utilities Commission's expected May 12 vote, if the CPUC approves it and the FCC has given approval by then, CEO Tom Rutledge said during the company's Q1 earnings call. TWC CEO Rob Marcus, in a separate earnings call also on Thursday, said the company is "optimistic the transaction will close sometime next month."

Small multichannel video programming distributors and allies continue to press the FCC for changes to its totality of circumstances test, while NAB continues to push back, according to a series of ex parte filings Tuesday in docket 15-216. One pay-TV industry official told us Wednesday the uptick in activity in the docket shows the issue is being discussed by the agency. But eighth-floor action probably isn't imminent, though the agency is likely to do something before year's end, the official said.

That Comcast would have fared better in its failed attempt to buy Time Warner Cable if it had taken an approach like Charter Communications is unlikely, industry experts tell us. Since Comcast/TWC would have created a company with incentive for stifling competition, "the best path was still denial instead of specific conditions," said John Bergmayer, Public Knowledge senior staff attorney. The FCC and Justice Department Monday made public potential conditions on Charter's purchases of Bright House Networks and TWC (see 1604250039).

The FCC Media Bureau has put together a draft order that would let the National Cable TV Cooperative (NCTC) file complaints, American Cable Association President Matt Polka told us Monday as the FCC hosted the second of two workshops on the state of the video market. ACA had sought such an order (see 1507020018) to help small multichannel video programming distributors gain some leverage in negotiations with major programmers. The workshops, plus the FCC's now-closed notice of inquiry into the challenges for independent and diverse programmers, could help push the agency on such issues before it as a buying group rule change and its current NPRM looking at changes to retransmission consent rules, Polka said. The FCC didn't comment.

Ligado expects to hear feedback from the weather community seeking FCC protection from interference in the spectrum used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and support from the wireless industry for its terrestrial LTE plans, but not as much from major GPS companies. That is now that the FCC has opened the door to comments on its proposed modifications to those LTE plans, one company representative told us Monday. Whether the pair of public notices issued Friday lead to the FCC's taking action this year is impossible to say, the representative said.

The FCC is considering requiring New Charter to stick to its pledge not to charge for interconnection, along with other conditions from the commission and DOJ that would bolster online video. A draft order also would expand its high-speed broadband footprint by 2 million customer locations as a condition of Charter Communications being allowed to buy Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, the agency said Monday. In a statement, Chairman Tom Wheeler said an order is circulating on the eighth floor that contains some seven-year commitments by the cable company. That follows proposed Justice Department conditions that agency announced Monday as terms of a lawsuit it also filed Monday that would bar New Charter from any contractual alternative distribution method (ADM) limits on online video distributors.