Representatives of Alaska’s GCI asked the FCC not to wait until the end of Alaska Plan commitments in 2026 before revising the commission’s approach to 5G in the 49th state. “New requirements to deploy 5G technology cannot simply be appended to the current Alaska Plan commitments,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 23-328. 5G deployments have “different engineering and core network requirements” than older technology, GCI said: Hitting higher throughput speeds anticipated for 5G “results in a smaller coverage area than the lower throughput speeds for 4G, meaning that a provider may need to construct more towers to provide 5G service to the number of population reflected in its existing Alaska Plan commitments -- construction that has not been planned and was not considered in negotiating the original Alaska Plan commitments.” The GCI representatives met with staff from the Wireless and Wireline bureaus and Office of Economics and Analytics.
Country of origin cases
The Alaska Remote Carrier Coalition (ARCC) recommended that the FCC reject GCI's proposal that addresses revisions in the Alaska Plan for the Alaska Connect Fund (see 2408140040). In a meeting with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, ARCC defended its proposed adjustment factors associated with performance testing results, said an ex parte filing Friday in docket 23-328. "To suggest that no changes should be made to the original Alaska Plan format deviates from the intent of the first paragraph" of the commission's NPRM seeking comment on "innovative solutions" to connect Alaska's communities, the group said. It also urged that the FCC refrain from allowing "constant waivers of its performance testing guidelines with limited consequences," warning that the "regulatory compliance basis" the commission laid out in its plans is "flawed at best."
Much like the accountants and audit standards that safeguard financial systems, the generative AI universe needs an ecosystem of organizations, rules and people to oversee the technology and ensure it works as promised, NTIA Director Alan Davidson said during a talk Thursday at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Davidson said the federal government is sorely lacking in the technical expertise it needs to wrestle with AI-related policy questions. While the government's technical knowledge is improving, "a huge gap" remains, Davidson said. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., said Thursday that the U.S. is falling behind other nations in AI policy development (see 2409120035).
Responding to state budget cuts in the Broadband Loan Loss Reserve Fund Program (BLLRF), the California Public Utilities Commission clarified Thursday during a meeting that it will award just $50 million of the originally planned $750 million. The program was meant to support broadband deployment costs for nonprofits, local and tribal governments. But at the same livestreamed session, commissioners approved about $91 million in grants from the federal funding account (FFA) for 10 last-mile projects.
Patti Kukula, executive director of the Detroit Public Safety Foundation, withdrew a filing at the FCC made in August opposing FirstNet control of the 4.9 GHz band (see 2408290015). The filing "is not reflective” of the foundation’s “position or stance on this public safety communications matter,” said the new filing posted Wednesday in docket 07-100. “The submission of the Foundation’s original filing did not adhere to our organization’s process for review,” Kukula said. The foundation was “operating on an incomplete set of facts regarding this regulatory proceeding and a mistaken assumption regarding the proposal.”
The growing pace of launches in the U.S. is stressing launch site capabilities, particularly Florida's Cape Canaveral, launch operators said Wednesday at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce aerospace conference in Washington. Meanwhile, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said SpaceX could pose a monopolistic threat in commercial space and that more competition is needed. In addition, the FAA was criticized for its launch regulatory regime.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions. Lawsuits added since the last update are marked with an *.
Radio station operator Beasley Broadcast Group's debt restructuring plan will mean lenders end up with less than originally promised, S&P said Tuesday as it lowered its issuer credit rating on Beasley to CC from CCC+. It said that when restructuring is done, it expects to lower its issuer credit rating on the company to selective default. Under the debt restructuring plan announced last week, Beasley will exchange notes due in 2026 for notes due in August 2028, repurchase up to $68 million of its 2026 notes and issue $30 million in notes due in 2028. S&P said the new debt's higher interest rates don't appear to be adequate compensation to the company's lenders.
Under a draft FCC order tackling robocalls and robotexts, related issues will need addressing before consumers will trust telecom networks again. The FCC released the draft Thursday, along with an order on using 17 GHz spectrum for satellite broadband and an order and a Further NPRM on accessibility in videoconferencing. Commissioners are set to consider the items at their Sept. 26 open meeting.
The FCC will vote this month on providing spectrum for satellite broadband and accessibility in videoconferencing, according to a note from Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel Wednesday. The Sept. 26 open meeting will also include items on expanding robocall protections and allowing increased power for digital FM stations, along with seven enforcement items, the note said. The agency typically doesn’t provide information about enforcement items on the agenda until those items have been voted on.