The Disability Advisory Committee approved a resolution Wednesday at the FCC asking the regulator to pause before issuing a public notice indicating the telecom relay service user registration database (URD) is ready to receive user registration information. Commissioners approved an order a year ago integrating IP captioned telephone service into the URD, with data submission and verification rules largely aligned with those for video relay service (see 1902140032). A Further NPRM approved then proposes to require IP CTS providers to add user account identifiers to call records submitted for compensation.
ANNAPOLIS -- A Maryland House vice chair asked why the state should pass net neutrality given litigation against other states and possible constitutional hurdles. The Maryland House Economic Matters Committee heard testimony Wednesday on a hybrid net neutrality/ISP privacy bill (HB-957). Two other privacy bills at the hearing covered topics that could be part of an effort this summer by a working group led by Del. Ned Carey (D) to develop a comprehensive data privacy bill for next year, said Comcast Vice President-State Government Sean Looney.
The FCC will face big pushback from the mental health community to some telecom arguments for a longer phase-in of 988 for a national three-digit suicide hotline number or for looking at 211 in its place (see 2002180021). The significant publicity about the agency’s 988 direction (see 1911190054) also complicates the matter, we were told this week. Chairman Ajit Pai's office didn't comment.
NSA’s call detail records (CDR) program cost more than $100 million between 2015 and early 2019, and led to only one foreign intelligence investigation, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board reported Thursday. Later that day, the House Judiciary Committee postponed a markup on legislation that would end the USA Freedom Act Section 215 CDR program (see 2002250065).
House Communications Subcommittee leaders are eyeing an early March markup for the Reinforcing and Evaluating Service Integrity, Local Infrastructure and Emergency Notification for Today’s (Resilient) Networks Act (HR-5926) and at least some of the seven other public safety communications measures it will examine Thursday (see 2002200060), industry lobbyists told us. Communications and public safety stakeholders endorsed several of the measures in written testimony. HR-5926 didn’t get universal praise. The hearing begins at 10:30 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn.
In tapping 27-year company veteran Bob Chapek as new CEO, Disney chose a loyalist with experience in managing the company’s home entertainment, consumer products and theme parks businesses but not its media networks or direct-to-consumer operations.
Military training, precision agriculture and immigration enforcement are among possible uses for datacasting using public TV spectrum and ATSC 3.0, America’s Public Television Stations’ summit heard Tuesday. FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly endorsed public TV’s focus on datacasting, in a speech. “You may just be on to something here,” he said. “Please keep me posted.”
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act remains a vital tool for allowing innovation and startups to grow, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., told reporters Tuesday, the day after another legislator threatened the tech industry’s liability shield with a legislative proposal (see 2002240051). “It’s just as important now as it was then, and the big guys are always ... looking to have more tools to dominate the little guys,” said Wyden, an author of Section 230. “Our constituency was always for the disruptor, the innovator, the person who is willing to take on the powerful and entrenched interests.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., urged the FCC to “resolve” consideration of Ligado's L-band license modifications. She urged all federal agencies to “come to the table” on reassessing their spectrum needs to help bolster the U.S. position in the race against other countries for dominance in 5G development. FCC proceedings on a C-band auction plan (see 2002250076) and TV white spaces NPRM (see 2002250068) also came up at Tuesday's American Consumer Institute event.
The FCC is expected to approve an NPRM Friday, pushed by Microsoft, which would allow white space devices to operate at higher power levels in less congested areas. There likely won't be major changes from Chairman Ajit Pai's proposals (see 2002060013), industry and FCC officials said in interviews. The biggest change is expected to be inclusion of a footnote, which says channels 36 and 37 issues needs to be addressed separately, they said.