Industry groups and consumer advocacy organizations disagree about how the FCC should define digital discrimination and ways to facilitate equal access to broadband, according to comments posted through Wednesday in docket 22-69. The commission adopted an NPRM in December seeking comment on rules to combat digital discrimination, as required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (see 2301190049).
Another short-term extension of the FCC’s auction authority is the likeliest scenario amid a slow return to negotiations on a broader spectrum legislative package earlier this month and dwindling time left before the commission’s current mandate expires, lawmakers and other observers said in interviews. President Joe Biden signed off in December on a renewal of the FCC’s auction remit through March 9 that Congress enacted as part of the FY 2023 appropriations omnibus package after a deal to attach spectrum legislative language to the measure fell through at the last minute (see 2212300046).
Noting the rocketing interest in satellite direct-to-handset mobile service tied to terrestrial mobile networks, the FCC will vote at its March meeting on a framework for collaboration between terrestrial and satellite service providers, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote Wednesday, announcing the March meeting agenda. That meeting also will have votes on rules requiring mobile wireless carriers to block robotext messages considered “highly likely to be illegal," and an inmate calling NPRM and order, she said. The agency will also seek comment on expanding audio description requirements “to all remaining broadcast markets” and on “whether the costs of further expansion would be reasonable,” wrote Rosenworcel.
Conservative and liberal Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Tuesday that a social media platform's inaction in removing terrorist content amounts to aiding and abetting terror plots. The court heard oral argument in Gonzalez v. Google (docket 21-1333) (see 2301130028).
A new report by the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) recommends “urgent action” and presidential-level focus on cyberthreats. NSTAC members approved the “Strategy for Increasing Trust in the Information and Communications Technology and Services Ecosystem” during a telephone meeting Tuesday. Administration officials said they will soon release an updated national cybersecurity strategy.
The White House's directive that all construction materials used in federal infrastructure projects, including fiber cable, be American made shouldn't cause big delays in or cost run-ups for fiber for broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) projects, we were told. It's less clear whether the directive could cause challenges in obtaining the electronics -- typically made overseas -- used to light the fiber.
As long as TikTok is subject to the whims of the Chinese Communist Party, the popular Chinese-owned social media app will remain a national security issue, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., told us Thursday. He said he shares concerns of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Groups representing small carriers warned of timing problems and financial hardships for their members from proposed rules to more precisely route wireless 911 calls and texts to public safety answering points through location-based routing (LBR), in comments on an NPRM commissioners approved 4-0 in December (see 2212210047). But public safety groups urged the FCC to act as soon as possible. The commission proposed to require nationwide providers to deploy LBR within six months from the effective date of final rules, while smaller carriers would get 18 months.
Consumer advocacy groups and industry disagreed about whether the FCC should adopt additional requirements for its new broadband labels as the latest version is currently being implemented (see 2211180077). Some industry groups urged the commission to wait until the new labels are being used and can be evaluated for effectiveness before making any revisions. Comments were posted through Friday in docket 22-2.
6G will offer some changes for telecom networks, with more focus on software and AI, but it’s more likely to be evolutionary than revolutionary, experts agreed during Wireless Communications Alliance’s virtual 6G conference Thursday. The questions about 6G have started earlier than for earlier generations of wireless, said Prakash Sangam, principal at Tantra Analyst. “The natural question everybody has is ‘is it too early to talk about 6G?’” he said: “What can 6G do that 5G and 5G-advanced can’t?”