Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., is eyeing potential legislation to reverse the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s July ruling that vacated the FCC’s requirement that broadcasters check federal databases to determine if entities leasing time on their stations are agents of foreign governments (see 2207120069). Broadcast industry officials told us they don’t believe a bid to resurrect the vacated requirement -- that broadcasters check programming lessors against Foreign Agents Registration Act and FCC databases -- would get much traction in Congress.
The FCC won’t include funds for indirect full-time equivalents connected with aspects of the USF in calculating broadcaster regulatory fees but rejected many other broadcast proposals for reduced fees, said the FY2022 regulatory fees order and notice of inquiry released Friday. Radio stations that faced a 13% reg fee increase from 2021 will instead have an increase of 7% or 8%, broadcast industry officials said. Commissioners adopted the order unanimously Thursday. “Regulatory fees are not based on a precise allocation of specific employees with certain work assignments each year and instead are based on a higher-level approach,” said the order. Regulatory fees must be collected before the Sept. 30 end of the federal fiscal year.
The FCC likely gained some useful insights through its notice of inquiry on offshore spectrum, but industry officials said they don’t expect a quick turnaround from the FCC on rulemakings or further steps in the proceeding. The FCC logged 22 initial comments (see 2207280032) and 12 replies, posted last week in docket 22-204 (see 2208290038). Most agreed there are steps the agency can take, but there was little consensus on what to do next.
DENVER -- Give states enough time with maps to plan broadband spending under the federal infrastructure act, said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) at the NATOA conference Wednesday. Weiser also supported removing barriers to muni broadband and accessing the right of way.
The House Commerce Committee’s bipartisan privacy legislation isn’t strong enough to replace privacy laws like those in California, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement Thursday. Some 50 public interest groups demanded she hold a vote on the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (see 2208250040).
With the comment cycle complete, proponents of a December waiver request seeking permission to start using the 5.9 GHz band for cellular-vehicle-to-everything technology expect a relatively quick order from the FCC. Other requests have followed. But industry observers also note that FCC staff still must wade through all the comments, and the timing of agency decisions on such issues can be difficult to handicap.
DENVER -- Over-the-top streaming is a rising concern for local governments, said NATOA General Counsel Nancy Werner in an interview at the association’s annual conference. Local governments could be losing cable franchise revenue as customers cut the cord for the OTT services that don’t pay local fees, said a panel Wednesday.
NTIA awarded Louisiana nearly $3 million in funding through the broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program and Digital Equity Act, said Special Representative for Broadband Andy Berke Wednesday during the state’s inaugural broadband summit (see 2207130047).
The California State Senate passed potential social media regulations Monday that sponsors say will help protect children and combat hate speech. Tech groups and open-internet advocates said the regulations are heavy-handed, unconstitutional and will harm innovation.
FCC nominee Gigi Sohn's supporters are countering a recent Coalition of Large Tribes (COLT) letter to Senate Commerce Committee leaders opposing her confirmation, questioning the truth behind the group’s claims about her past interactions with the leaders of some member tribes and calling them character assassination. Telecom policy stakeholders see COLT’s letter as targeted at maintaining pressure on Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Mark Kelly of Arizona, Democrats who have remained publicly undecided on the nominee for months (see 2205050050).