Tech companies sought action on a pending Further NPRM on the 6 GHz band, in meetings with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington and with an aide to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “The order adopted carefully considered rules that will protect incumbents while permitting innovation in fixed unlicensed equipment and operations,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-295. Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, CommScope, Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Microsoft and Qualcomm were on the calls. A Hogan spokesperson said the suit "highlights how not only are there real policy problems with the digital ad tax, but also serious legal questions surrounding it as well." The Maryland attorney general's office declined comment on pending litigation.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a frequent critic of FCC broadband mapping, called acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s launch of a Broadband Data Task Force (see 2102170052 and personals section, this issue) a “first step in fixing the maps … so states like West Virginia can have a fair shot at the federal funding to expand broadband access. I will continue to work closely with the FCC and the newly formed task force until the maps are fixed.”
This year is proving to be "very difficult" for local ad revenue, said Hearst Television President Jordan Wertlieb in a teleconference Friday with acting FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, per a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-349. Retransmission consent revenue is increasingly important for stations to provide local content such as news, the company said. With more consumers streaming and traditional MVPD subscribers declining, revenue from “virtual MVPDs” has risen in importance, the filing said: “vMVPDs are generally unwilling to carry independent stations to the disadvantage of local viewers.”
The FCC Precision Agriculture Task Force meets virtually March 12 at noon EST, said a public notice Tuesday. The task force will consider a report from its Accelerating Broadband Deployment on Unserved Agricultural Lands Working Group.
Lincoln Networks urged the FCC to act on equipment authorization rules proposed by CTA, as long as devices aren't accessible until authorized. A December NPRM was approved 5-0. “The policy behind the current Commission’s rules on pre-approval marketing and importation is sound but the rules need to be updated to current business practices,” Lincoln said. In other comments posted in docket 20-382 before Wednesday's midnight deadline, the R Street Institute and Information Technology Industry Council supported the change. “Technological innovation often moves fast, leaving outdated regulations designed for different environments and markets in the proverbial dust,” R Street said.
FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks will host his second roundtable with presidents of historically Black colleges and universities Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. EST to discuss how to get students online during the pandemic, a news release said Thursday. The virtual event will be moderated by Dominique Harrison, director-technology policy at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, with panelists Tony Allen of Delaware State University, Wayne Frederick of Howard University, David Thomas of Morehouse College and Glenda Glover of Tennessee State University.
Broadband rate regulation isn't a pressing cable threat, although odds are the FCC will reclassify cable operators as common carriers, S&P told investors Tuesday. It noted the lengthy process of drafting an order, the likely appeal and the ability of a future FCC administration to again reverse things. The debt ratings firm said (login required) the FCC likely also will focus more on increasing broadband accessibility and affordability through consumer subsidies, while price regulation could discourage network investments. Longer term, as cable penetration rates increase, operators could come under heavier regulatory scrutiny and face more possibility of rate regulation, it said.
Staff plans a workshop on digital marketplace incentives and how to ensure the industry does "a better job” protecting privacy and consumer data, said acting FTC Chair Rebecca Kelly Slaughter Wednesday. The agency seeks input about “which remedies best address particular types of harm and feedback on the effectiveness of our existing orders,” she told a Future of Privacy Forum event. She said she asked staff to examine health apps, including telehealth and contact tracing apps, calling the pandemic her “first priority.” She asked staff to “actively investigate biased and discriminatory algorithms.” On artificial intelligence, the official wants staff to explore “the best ways to address AI-generated consumer harms.”
Elon Musk’s Starlink may face a capacity shortfall by 2028 and result in more than 56% of its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund subscribers not being fully served, the Fiber Broadband Association and NTCA said Monday in a technical assessment submitted to the FCC. Starlink received nearly $900 million from the auction and committed to serving 640,000 locations with satellite broadband technology. "NTCA called upon the FCC to vet bidders more thoroughly before the auction given the stakes," said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield in a statement. "This did not happen, making it all the more important now to examine carefully each bidder's ability to perform." The company didn't comment Tuesday.
Reverse unbundling network element rules based on "material errors in fact and law, omissions, and unsupported findings," Sonic Telecom asked the FCC in a petition for reconsideration in docket 19-308 posted Tuesday (see 2101070021). The rules were "based on data it knew is untrustworthy and unsubstantiated theories and predictions," Sonic argued, and its compromise proposal didn't include any fiber-to-the-home builder serving urban areas. The regulations were a product of "many months of good faith negotiations and significant give and take on both sides" and endorsed by the FCC in a bipartisan manner, a USTelecom spokesperson emailed: "At the eleventh hour a single company is seeking to upend this historic agreement and clog the FCC’s busy docket on what is a settled matter. That is their right, but we have a solid framework in place.”