Today:  Emergency Alert System - Blue Alerts, FTC Tenth Annual Microeconomics Conference, Legislation to Protect the Open Internet, New Mexico Rural USF Workshop

Emergency Alert System - Blue Alerts

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced a proposal to add an alert option to the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to help protect the nation’s law enforcement officers.  Called a “Blue Alert,” the option would be used by authorities in states across the country to notify the public through television and radio of threats to law enforcement and to help apprehend dangerous suspects.  Blue Alerts can be used to warn the public when there is actionable information related to a law enforcement officer who is missing, seriously injured or killed in the line of duty, or when there is an imminent credible threat to an officer.  Commissioners may vote on the proposal at the FCC’s June 22nd meeting.

FTC Tenth Annual Microeconomics Conference

The Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Economics will host a two-day conference to bring together scholars working in areas related to the FTC’s antitrust, consumer protection, and public policy missions.  The conference will take place on November 2 & 3, 2017 in Washington DC.  The FTC will accept submissions of abstracts or completed papers until July 1, 2017.  Preference will be given to completed papers that relate to the FTC’s missions, in fields including industrial organization, quantitative marketing, health policy, and behavioral economics.

Legislation to Protect the Open Internet

Last week U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, took to the Senate floor to call for bipartisan legislation protecting the open internet.  He said “We need a statute offering clear and enduring rules that balance innovation and investment throughout the entire internet ecosystem."  Click here to read the full text of his remarks and/or watch the video.

New Mexico Rural USF Workshop

The Public Regulation Commission will hold a workshop on May 24, 2017, for the purpose of arriving at a proposed rule, or alternative proposed rule provisions, for the Commission to consider to begin a rulemaking proceeding.  This is necessary in light of amendments to the Rural Telecommunications Act of New Mexico, §63-9H-6, that will be effective on June 16, 2017.  TMI Briefing Service subscribers see Briefing dated 4/25/17.

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The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of a TMI Briefing.