• On July 2, 2012, Verizon and MetroPCS filed their initial briefs in the appeal at the D.C. Circuit of the FCC’s Open Internet Rules (Verizon Wireless v. FCC, Case No. 11-1355 and consolidated cases). Verizon and MetroPCS jointly argued that the rules unlawfully impose common carriage requirements on broadband in contravention of the Communications Act. They also argued that the FCC lacks authority to promulgate the rules, and thus relies on a “hodgepodge” of statutory provisions that did not express Congressional intent to regulate the Internet. Verizon and MetroPCS also argued that the FCC did not show that the rules were necessary to address an actual harm, making them arbitrary and capricious. Finally, they argued that the rules violate the First Amendment by “stripping them of control over the transmission of speech on their networks,” and violate the Fifth Amendment by taking property through a mandate that operators turn their networks over for others’ use without compensation. MetroPCS separately argued that the FCC’s open access rules were also beyond the statutory authority of the FCC under other provisions of the Communications Act. The joint brief and separate MetroPCS brief are available here and here. Free Press, who had previously complained that the Open Internet Rules did not go far enough, decided to drop its appeal and did not file a brief as scheduled. Intervenors are next scheduled to file briefs on July 23, 2012.
  • Short form applications for the FCC mobility auction must be filed by July 11, 2012. The auction will take place on September 27, 2012 and will distribute as much as $300 million from the USF. A news release on the auction is available here. The procedures for the auction are available here.