The Regulatory Mix - Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Maine Announces Federal Grant for 911 Enhancements

The Maine PUC announced it has received a $680,741 Federal Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Commerce to improve 911 location information in Maine.  Maine is one of 34 states to receive federal funding to advance the development of next generation 911 systems.

"This federal funding will allow us to improve location information to Maine's statewide emergency 911 system", stated Commission Chair Phil Bartlett said.  Maine is fortunate to already have a NextGen 911 system, including text to 911. This improved data will be provided through the NextGen 911 system to Maines 911 Public Safety Answering Points so they can dispatch first responders to more precise locations.

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The Regulatory Mix Today: Maine Announces Federal Grant for 911 Enhancements, FCC's Pai Recommends Approval of T-Mobile/Sprint Merger, FCC Form 396-C Public Notice Correction

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FCC’s Pai Recommends Approval of T-Mobile/Sprint Merger

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the has shared with his colleagues a draft Order that would approve, subject to conditions, the proposed merger between T-Mobile and Sprint.  Pai said, in part: “After one of the most exhaustive merger reviews in Commission history, the evidence conclusively demonstrates that this transaction will bring fast 5G wireless service to many more Americans and help close the digital divide in rural areas. Moreover, with the conditions included in this draft Order, the merger will promote robust competition in mobile broadband, put critical mid-band spectrum to use, and bring new competition to the fixed broadband market.”

According to the News Release, among other things, the draft Order:

• “Carefully reviews” concerns raised in the record as to the competitive effects of the transaction and concludes that the divestiture of Boost Mobile, along with other conditions, would address the potential for competitive harm from the transaction and that, as conditioned, the transaction would be in the public interest. 
• Analyzes the proposed merger in light of DISH’s planned acquisition of Boost Mobile, and addresses certain extensions, commitments, and modifications to DISH’s spectrum holdings to effectuate its deployment of a nationwide 5G network.  It  finds that DISH’s planned 5G deployment, in connection with its acquisition of Boost, would also be in the public interest.
• Delegates the associated extensions, commitments, and modifications to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau for processing and implementation in accordance with procedures set forth in the Communications Act and the draft Order.

FCC Form 396-C Public Notice Correction

The FCC has released a correction to its August 5, 2019, Public Notice reminding multichannel video program distributors (MVPDs) that they must file with FCC Form 396-C, MultiChannel Video Programming Distributor EEO Program Annual Report, by September 30, 2019.  See the Regulatory Mix dated 8/7/19. The Erratum corrects some inaccurate information in the “ID No.,” “City or County,” and “State” columns.

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s 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 an Inteserra Briefing.