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Vol. 11, No. 16April 27, 2015
IN THIS ISSUE
BOARD ELECTIONS
ON THE HILL
MEMBER PROFILE
COMMITTEE MEETINGS
WELCOME 
NEW MEMBER


For more information about the benefits of COMPTEL membership, or to join,
email Kevin Morris or call 202-296-6650.
MEMBER NEWS












For more information about submitting member company news, please contact Gail Norris.
FCC DEADLINES

April 28

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TOP OF THE NEWS
Comcast Withdraws Bid To Acquire Time Warner Cable 
After facing significant public opposition and the likelihood of being denied by both the Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission, Comcast last Friday formally withdrew its pending $45.2 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable. 

COMPTEL was a leader in opposing this merger because it would concentrate a significant amount of broadband and content marketshare in the hands of a single company. COMPTEL headed up the Don't Comcast the Internet campaign, and was active in meetings with both the FCC and Department of Justice to discuss the harms to competition this merger would pose. Most notably, COMPTEL spearheaded a meeting with other opposing parties that resulted in a letter last week that illustrated the increasing opposition to the merger. Additionally, COMPTEL filed a formal petition to deny in the FCC's merger proceeding.

"Today is a huge victory for consumers and competition," Angie Kronenberg, COMPTEL's chief advocate and general counsel, said in a statement last week. "COMPTEL commends the Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission for their work on this merger, and we urge them to release their analyses so that all interested parties and the public will fully benefit from the year-long review of the merger."
ON THE HILL

House Circulates Draft Bills in Advance of 

April 30 Hearing on FCC Reauthorization

On April 30 at 2 p.m. the House Energy & Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing on "FCC Reauthorization: Improving Commission Transparency," which will feature testimony from FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioner Mike O'Rielly.
 

In advance of the hearing, three draft bills aimed at increasing transparency at the FCC were released: 

House Passes Cyber Threat Legislation

Last week, the House of Representatives passed cyber threat information sharing legislation to allow two-way sharing between private sector and entities within the federal government.  The legislation includes:

  • H.R. 1560, the Protecting Cyber Networks Act - This bill allows private companies to voluntarily share and receive cyber threat information within the private sector and authorizes the federal government to share cyber threat indicators with the private sector that could prevent or mitigate an attack. The legislation does not authorize sharing with National Security Agency or Department of Defense and does not authorize surveillance, and provides liability protections for companies that share cyber threat information with the federal government or throughout the private sector.
  • H.R. 1731, the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement (NCPA) Act of 2015 - This bill amends the Homeland Security Act to provide liability protections for private companies sharing cyber threat information within the private sector and with the Department of Homeland Security's National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) and only addresses voluntary sharing between DHS's NCCIC and the private sector. The bill does not allow use of cyber information for surveillance or law enforcement. 

The House plans to combine the two bills before sending to the Senate for consideration.

MEMBER PROFILE

Level 3 Helps Customers Address IT Challenges

Level 3 Communications is a global communications provider headquartered in Broomfield, Colo., which delivers communications services to enterprise, government and carrier customers in more than 500 markets in more than 60 countries. The Level 3 portfolio of data, security, video, voice and unified communications solutions helps its customers address their most difficult IT challenges, while enabling the growth, efficiency and security of their businesses.

Visit the COMPTEL website to learn more about Level 3.

 

For more information on submitting a member profile, or updating an existing one, email Gail Norris or call 202-296-6650.

COMMITTEE MEETINGS 
All COMPTEL Committee meetings are held at the association's headquarters, 1200 G St NW, Suite 350, Washington, DC 20005, unless otherwise noted.  All times listed are Eastern. For more information, call 202-296-6650.

April 28            Regulatory/Legislative Committee Meeting
2 p.m.              Contact Karen Reidy

May 5               Regulatory/Legislative Committee Meeting 
2 p.m.              Contact Karen Reidy
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