Top members of the House and Senate Commerce committees are having varying levels of success in moving forward in the coming weeks on spectrum legislation. The House Communications Subcommittee plans to mark up a revised version of the Extending America’s Spectrum Auction Leadership Act (HR-7783) Wednesday along with other legislation, subpanel Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., said in an interview. Senate Commerce leaders, meanwhile, told us they're still grappling with how to move forward on the Improving Spectrum Coordination Act (S-1472) after an amendment fight prompted them to remove it from a markup last month (see 2205250063).
For ATSC 3.0 to become a commercial success, broadcasters “have to promote the heck out of it,” CTA CEO Gary Shapiro told the NextGen Broadcast Conference Thursday in Detroit. Shapiro spoke in person on a panel with NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt, who participated via Zoom because, he said, his wife tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday. Shapiro said he tested positive a few weeks ago.
FCC commissioners adopted an NPRM seeking comment on how it should craft rules for annual data collection on prices and subscription plans for services offerings through the affordable connectivity program (see 2206020058). The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act directed the commission to adopt rules for the data collection by November.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi and other panel Republicans criticized NTIA’s plans for rolling out its $48 billion share of broadband money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act during a Thursday hearing with agency Administrator Alan Davidson, as expected (see 2206020070). Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico and other panel Democrats delivered more positive, but not universally complimentary, reviews of NTIA’s work. There was significantly less focus on the agency’s government spectrum coordination role.
The FCC’s newly reconstituted Technology Advisory Council met for the second time Thursday, dedicated to exploring 6G, as directed by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. She and TAC members said 5G is still in early stages, but it’s not too early to focus on the next generation of wireless. TAC heard updates from its working groups on the work they have done so far during a virtual meeting.
A recent increase in U.S. sanctions against ransomware actors helped to slow the effectiveness of cyberattackers and limit their profits, witnesses told the Senate Homeland Security Committee Tuesday. But the U.S. can do more to counter ransomware activity, they said, including working closer with allies to track ransomware payments and collecting better information from industry.
California greenlit a much-awaited privacy rulemaking when the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) agreed at a meeting livestreamed Wednesday to consider California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) draft rules. Proposed regulations tilt heavily toward consumers and could raise business compliance costs, said privacy lawyers.
Expect a subcommittee markup on bipartisan privacy legislation in the weeks after a June 14 legislative hearing (see 2206070062), House Consumer Protection Subcommittee ranking member Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., told us Wednesday.
The FCC unanimously approved a public notice seeking to refresh the record on improving how wireless 911 calls are routed to the appropriate first responders (see 2206060052), as expected. Commissioners at Wednesday's meeting also agreed to propose a $34,000 fine against an Idaho man for allegedly interfering with emergency communications as firefighters took on a wildfire, the largest fine of its kind, officials said.
The FCC won’t have a finalized estimate of demands for money from the 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 ready by June 15 as initially anticipated, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in letters to Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and other leaders of the House and Senate Commerce and Appropriations committees released Wednesday. Cantwell, Wicker and other lawmakers have been eyeing whether and how much additional funding they will seek to appropriate to the “rip and replace” program beyond the $1.9 billion Congress allocated to the program via the FY 2021 appropriations and COVID-19 aid omnibus law (see 2203140061).