The House Commerce Committee voted 53-2 Wednesday to advance bipartisan, bicameral privacy legislation to the floor (see 2207190040). Some California Democrats criticized the strength of the bill, saying they may not support the measure on the floor. Some questioned whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will bring the legislation up.
The Universal Service Fund should be revised and the FCC should consider requiring contributions from tech companies, said a bipartisan group of current and former commissioners on a virtual panel Wednesday hosted by the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council. The group, including former Chairs William Kennard and Richard Wiley, also discussed the lack of an FCC majority, the digital divide and media ownership.
Commenters raised concerns on a proposal by the University of Utah for an FCC waiver of citizens broadband radio service rules for its POWDER (Platform for Open Wireless Data-driven Experimental Research) platform, used for wireless research. Comments were due Monday in docket 22-257. The university asked for a waiver to use software-defined radio equipment to interact with the spectrum access system operator “within the POWDER Platform Innovation Zone” and for other exceptions to rules for the band. The university said it uses the platform as a “living laboratory that allows research in a real-world, spectrum realistic environment.”
SAN DIEGO -- The FCC could open its challenge process for new broadband maps in October, said Consumer and Governmental Affairs Chief Alejandro Roark on a Tuesday panel at NARUC’s summer meeting. Utility commissioners must weigh in on state broadband talks even if they’re led by other agencies, said former FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn on a Monday panel about NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program.
Cable operators are moving increasingly toward acting as over-the-top video service aggregators, often as a way of replacing the lost customer stickiness due to ongoing cord-cutting of traditional linear video packages. Cable executives, analysts and others tell us that probably will someday replace the linear programming bundle, though not soon.
NPR and FM6 broadcasters now agree that existing FM6 stations should be allowed to continue and that Channel 6 should be made available for noncommercial educational stations, but NAB and public TV groups have concerns about repurposing spectrum needed for the ATSC 3.0 transition, according to comments posted in docket 03-185. “Any reduction in available spectrum could hinder both noncommercial and commercial television stations as they voluntarily and rapidly adopt NextGen TV,” said a public TV joint filing. Proposals to limit the number of FM6 broadcasters and drop Channel 6 interference protections also drew concern from broadcast commenters. “Limiting FM6 operations to those who happened to take a stab at investing in the technology for a six-month Engineering STA is an arbitrary cut-off,” said Common Frequency.
Industry disagreed whether the FCC should consider an Alternative Connect America Cost Model (ACAM) Broadband Coalition proposal to extend the program through increased deployment obligations in exchange for additional funding (see 2205190023). Some sought to expand eligibility to carriers receiving other high-cost USF support, in comments posted Tuesday in docket 10-90. Others said the FCC should defer new high-cost support until programs funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are completed.
SAN DIEGO -- The California Public Utilities Commission might follow up on disaster resiliency orders that include emergency plan and 72-hour backup power requirements for wireless and wireline industries, CPUC Commissioner Cliff Rechtschaffen told us Monday at NARUC’s summer meeting. On a panel about hardening networks, a wireless industry official disagreed with Rechtschaffen that carriers weren’t doing enough before the CPUC issued rules two years ago.
The Senate planned to vote Tuesday evening on moving forward with a chips package that has broad bipartisan support. Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, helped negotiate with Republicans, and House leadership and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo remained in close contact with negotiators, members of Congress said.
SAN DIEGO -- States could speed 5G deployment by harmonizing rules for accessing poles and power, state commission staffers were told Sunday by wireless infrastructure industry officials at NARUC’s summer meeting. Meanwhile, the Telecom Staff Subcommittee cleared a resolution meant to increase affordable connectivity program (ACP) enrollment (see 2207080016).