The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday invalidated the FCC’s definition of “qualifying concealment element” in its wireless siting declaratory ruling approved in June 2020 under former Chairman Ajit Pai (see 2006090060). A three-judge panel upheld other parts of the 2020 ruling, but a lawyer who argued the case declared victory and called on the FCC to immediately make changes based on the 9th Circuit's instructions.
Responding to state budget cuts in the Broadband Loan Loss Reserve Fund Program (BLLRF), the California Public Utilities Commission clarified Thursday during a meeting that it will award just $50 million of the originally planned $750 million. The program was meant to support broadband deployment costs for nonprofits, local and tribal governments. But at the same livestreamed session, commissioners approved about $91 million in grants from the federal funding account (FFA) for 10 last-mile projects.
The message that carriers give to his company “over and over again” is “hands off the network,” emphasizing the importance of removing human control through automation, Sterling Perrin, Heavy Reading's senior principal analyst-optical networks and transport, said during a Light Reading webinar on Thursday. As networks become more automated, the use of AI in managing networks will increase, experts suggested.
Attorneys, academics and First Amendment experts told us that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s calls for ABC to lose its license over Tuesday's presidential debate telecast (see 2409110058) are nonsensical and that government action against a broadcaster would likely ultimately fail. In addition, some said presidential calls for action against broadcasters over their reporting aren’t unprecedented. “All political players tend to do this when it suits them,” said veteran First Amendment attorney Robert Corn-Revere, now chief counsel for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. “None of them have the constitutional authority to back it up.”
The FCC defended its decision to reclassify broadband as a Title II telecom service under the Communications Act in a reply brief to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday (docket 24-7000). It argued the court's decision staying the order pending review was done "without showing adequate statutory support." Moreover, the motions panel lacked "the benefit of the full briefing presented here" (see 2408130001).
Much like the accountants and audit standards that safeguard financial systems, the generative AI universe needs an ecosystem of organizations, rules and people to oversee the technology and ensure it works as promised, NTIA Director Alan Davidson said during a talk Thursday at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Davidson said the federal government is sorely lacking in the technical expertise it needs to wrestle with AI-related policy questions. While the government's technical knowledge is improving, "a huge gap" remains, Davidson said. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., said Thursday that the U.S. is falling behind other nations in AI policy development (see 2409120035).
AI is “part of everything” and will only grow in importance, but the U.S. is falling behind other countries in developing AI policy, Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., said Thursday during the Augmented and Virtual Reality Conference. “Innovation and technology are moving forward and policy is falling further and further behind,” DelBene said. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and the Extended Reality Association (XR) sponsored the conference at the AT&T Forum.
Commenters largely showed support for NTIA's proposed guidance that would allow the use of alternative technologies for broadband, equity, access and deployment program projects in locations where fiber may not be the most suitable option (see 2408260048). Comments were due Tuesday. Additional comments will be made public after an initial review, an NTIA spokesperson told us.
House Administration Committee ranking member Joe Morelle of New York, Communications Subcommittee ranking member Doris Matsui of California and other Democrats voiced continued support Wednesday for FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s embattled AI political ad disclosures NPRM (see 2407250046). However, they suggested the agency should take further steps if Congress can agree on relevant legislation. Congressional Republicans have repeatedly criticized FCC action on the matter so near the November elections, including during a July House Communications agency oversight hearing (see 2407090049).
Carriers have a long history of using statistical methods and machine learning when analyzing their networks, but generative AI means a “step function in capabilities,” Raj Savoor, AT&T vice president-network analytics and automation, said Wednesday during an RCR Wireless webinar. However, another speaker warned of “lazy” AI.