An FCC Further NPRM examining numerous enhancements for wireless emergency alerts is expected to be approved with limited tweaks at the commissioners' open meeting Thursday (see 2303300070), agency and industry officials said. Other wireless items, including receiver principles, are expected to be approved with minimal changes.
Industry welcomed a draft FCC order that would modify access stimulation rules to close a loophole exploited by extending the rules to include IP-enabled service providers (IPES). Commissioners will consider the item during their open meeting Thursday (see 2303300070). Some sought clarifying language to ensure no additional loopholes may arise.
Colorado could soon excise its 18-year-old municipal broadband ban. With a 48-14 House vote Tuesday, SB-183 passed the legislature and will go to Gov. Jared Polis (D). State officials and Colorado’s U.S. senators rallied around an effort to connect 100% of the state’s population by 2027 at a partially virtual NTIA internet-for-all event Wednesday.
LAS VEGAS -- Broadcasters and broadcast CEOs believe the FCC’s Future of TV Initiative (see 2304170056) will speed the ATSC 3.0 transition and that datacasting revenue could start flowing to TV stations as early as 2024, they said on panels Tuesday at the NAB Show 2023.
House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Doris Matsui of California and other Democrats opposed many of the 32 bills and legislative drafts aimed at revamping connectivity permitting processes that the subpanel examined during a Wednesday hearing, arguing the current proposals are too broad and suggesting lawmakers gather more input before moving forward. Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta of Ohio and other Republicans framed the measures as a necessary component of the federal government’s push to improve broadband connectivity that Congress failed to include in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Standard General received only 15 to 20 minutes' notice from the FCC that the agency was about to issue a hearing designation order, and Standard doesn’t plan to go away if the Tegna deal falls apart, Managing Partner Soohyung Kim said in an interview Monday. “I don’t think a regulator should dislike the industry it regulates,” he told former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly during an onstage Q&A at the NAB Show Tuesday.
Fiber and wireless proponents faced off in comments this week on a California Public Utilities Commission rulemaking to develop state rules for distributing dollars from NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program (docket R.23-02-016). They disagreed on how high California should set its Extremely High Cost Per Location Threshold (EHCT), which will be used to determine what areas can get non-fiber broadband service. Commenters also debated how much the CPUC should add to requirements from the BEAD notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) and how much the state agency should rely on the FCC’s national map to determine what areas are served.
PHILADELPHIA -- Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) challenged state enforcers Tuesday to collaboratively address privacy and social media issues, speaking at a National Association of Attorneys General meeting. North Carolina AG Josh Stein (D) asked an algorithms panel later for suggestions on what states can do amid a rise of AI chatbots like ChatGPT.
The FTC is willing to suspend its privacy rulemaking if Congress enacts a new federal privacy law, Chair Lina Khan told House Commerce Committee members Tuesday.
LAS VEGAS -- The structure of FCC regulatory fees and the way they’re applied to broadcasters is a thorny issue that's complicated to change, but this year’s fees will be “closer to a regulatory fee balance,” said David Strickland, media adviser to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, on a panel at the NAB Show Monday. , Media Bureau staff and 10th-floor aides in panels also discussed AM inclusion in cars, media ownership, virtual MPVDs and other topics. The FCC has authority to add Big Tech companies to the payor base, said Adam Cassady, media adviser to Commissioner Nathan Simington: “It may be time for a broad rethinking” of the regulatory fee structure.