The 4.9 GHz band appears to be one of the wireless items likely to get further FCC action relatively soon, industry and FCC officials told us. Comments have been in since January on rewriting the rules, and 4.9 has long been a focus of Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. There's also general agreement that the band has been underutilized for a long time.
The Senate Armed Services Committee’s FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act includes language seeking “an assessment of the implications of” provisions in the NTIA Organization Act “on DOD's access to the electromagnetic spectrum and resources,” the committee said Thursday. Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen, meanwhile, is urging the aviation industry to “move with all due haste to protect the fleet against known vulnerabilities to 5G C-band interference” and install “radio frequency filters” on altimeters before the July 5 expiration of the AT&T-Verizon agreement to use exclusion zones on their commercial C-band operations (see 2201030063).
The Supreme Court appeared to raise questions about the future of the Chevron doctrine Wednesday, under which agencies like the FCC and FTC are afforded deference by the courts in their decisions as expert agencies. The unanimous court ruled in American Hospital Assn. v. Becerra that the Department of Health and Human Service’s decision to reduce yearly Medicare payments to hospitals as part of the 340B program was unlawful. The government raised Chevron deference, but the decision by Justice Brett Kavanaugh never addresses the doctrine. The case had been decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
House Communications Subcommittee leaders said Wednesday they’re eyeing combining the Extending America’s Spectrum Auction Leadership Act (HR-7783) and revised versions of the Simplifying Management, Reallocation and Transfer of Spectrum Act (HR-5486) and Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-7624) before a full Commerce Committee vote. The subpanel unanimously advanced HR-5486, HR-7624, HR-7783 and four other telecom bills Wednesday, as expected (see 2206140077).
The House Communications Subcommittee will mark up the Extending America’s Spectrum Auction Leadership Act (HR-7783), a significantly modified version of the Simplifying Management, Reallocation and Transfer of Spectrum Act (HR-5486) and five other telecom bills Wednesday, as expected (see 2206100001), the Commerce Committee said Monday. The markup includes a revised version of the Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-7624) that proposes to use proceeds from the 3.1-3.45 GHz auction it authorizes to pay for next-generation 911 tech upgrades and additional money for the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program to repay U.S. carriers for removing from their networks equipment made by companies deemed a national security risk.
California could make jail and prison calls free under a bill cleared Tuesday by the Assembly Public Safety Committee. San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto disagreed with other county sheriff departments that opposed SB-1008. Meanwhile, at a Senate hearing, ISP associations and Republicans opposed a bill to restrict state contracts only to ISPs that offer affordable internet services.
As streaming service providers start to take video piracy more seriously, they face big obstacles such as that pirates may offer services that rival the customer experience of legitimate ones, and that the financial cost of piracy remains a big question mark, experts said during a video piracy event Tuesday.
As the focus on 6G intensifies, Henning Schulzrinne, former FCC chief technology officer, warned an IEEE summit Tuesday that 5G hasn’t turned out as expected, at least not yet. We’re at “an inflection point” in the discussion of next-generation networks, said Schulzrinne, now a Columbia University professor.
Apollo Global Management and its subsidiary Cox Media Group’s noncontrolling shares in the company created by Standard’s $8.6 billion buy of Tegna wouldn’t give them influence over it or on retransmission consent negotiations, said a response from all four companies to the FCC Media Bureau, posted Tuesday. “The companies will continue to compete directly and vigorously in the handful of markets where both own stations,” said the response filing.
The House Consumer Protection Subcommittee plans to mark up privacy legislation next week, Chair Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., told reporters Tuesday, as expected (see 2206080054). An aide said those details aren’t yet official.