Twenty-seven Senate and House Democrats in a letter Friday urged the FCC to reinstate the collection of broadcaster equal employment opportunity data, seconding a Dec. 11 call for urgent action from Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y. (see 2312110067). Although broadcasters were anticipating an EEO item since a 2021 Further NPRM (see 2306020056) and Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said one was in the works during the 2022 NAB Show (see 2204250067), it hasn’t materialized. “In 2021, after nearly 20 years, the FCC took the important step of soliciting comment on how to recommence this important data collection using Form 395-B,” said the lawmakers' letter. “It is now time for the Commission to follow through.”
Four lead Republicans on the House and Senate Commerce committees and their Communications subpanels raised major concerns Friday with the FCC’s “deeply misleading” claims about the affordable connectivity program's efficacy. Some lobbyists think this is a problem given the Biden administration’s push for Congress to appropriate an additional $6 billion to fully fund the initiative through the end of 2024 (see 2310250075). Estimates peg ACP as likely to exhaust its initial $14.2 billion tranche from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act during the first half of 2024 (see 2309210060).
Industry and consumer groups clashed on whether the FCC should reclassify broadband internet access as a Title II service under the Communications Act in comments posted through Friday in docket 23-320 (see 2310190020). Commenters against reclassification warned that it would stifle innovation and competition. Supporters said the proposal would ensure consumers have equal access to broadband ahead of anticipated federal broadband deployment programs.
Louisiana is the first state to get full NTIA approval of its initial proposal for the broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. NTIA approved volume 2 of the state's plan, the agency said Friday. On a videoconference with reporters Thursday, outgoing Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) said he has no concerns that Gov.-elect Jeff Landry (R) “will depart from the commitment that we have made in our submission.”
The 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference “has been a clear success for U.S. interests," U.S. delegation head Steve Lang, State Department deputy assistant secretary-international information and communications policy, told reporters Friday, minutes after the four-week U.N. event concluded. He said the U.S. delegation "achieved many important objectives," including further harmonization of 5G spectrum across the Americas with an international mobile telecommunications (IMT) identification in the 3.3-3.4 and 3.6-3.8 GHz bands in Region 2. That creates 500 MHz of contiguous spectrum in the 3 GHz band for 5G, Lang said.
The FCC didn't violate the nondelegation doctrine when it used the Universal Service Administrative Co. to calculate quarterly USF contribution factors and administer USF programs, a federal court ruled Thursday. In denying Consumers' Research's challenge of the FCC contribution factor (see 2306220062), the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals noted "all USAC action is subordinate to the FCC, and the FCC retains ultimate decision-making power."
The FBI’s surveillance authorities will extend through April after the House voted 310-118 Thursday to approve the National Defense Authorization Act (see 2312120073).
Don’t cut a free broadband requirement from California Advanced Services Fund public housing account (PHA) rules, The Utility Reform Network (TURN) urged this week. The California Public Utilities Commission posted comments and replies this week on a staff proposal in docket R.20-08-021. TURN reacted to a suggestion by the California Emergency Technology Fund (CETF) to consider removing the proposal's requirement to provide five years free.
After a span of frequent unanimity among the FCC commissioners, this week brought a spate of dissents from GOP commissioners, with no votes at Wednesday's open meeting coming after dissents the previous day on an order upholding a Wireless Bureau decision excluding SpaceX from participating in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program (see 2312130004). At the December meeting, Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington raised the specter of the federal government increasing rate regulation in dissents against the MVPD early termination fees (ETF) NPRM. They complained that the data breach notification rules were an attempt to sidestep the Congressional Review Act.
The Republican minority FCC commissioners and White House critics took aim of the agency's order Tuesday upholding the Wireless Bureau decision rejecting SpaceX's application for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) (see 2208100050).