Communications sector lobbyists and officials say they will be watching during and after the Senate Commerce Committee's planned Wednesday hearing on Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization (see 1910160036) for any new signs of the direction committee leaders plan to go. Both Senate Commerce and the House Commerce Committee appear to be nearing decision on contours of their respective STELA bills, though they appear likely to differ on the time frame for renewing the statute, lobbyists told us. Senate Commerce also examined the recertification debate in June, as did the House Communications Subcommittee (see 1906050083). STELA sunsets Dec. 31.
The FCC Wireline Bureau denied petitions from Connecticut, Georgia, Nebraska, New York and Vermont to postpone launch of the Lifeline national eligibility verifier scheduled for Wednesday, in an order Tuesday on docket 11-42. States worried the Lifeline NV isn't fully operational and will improperly drop eligible phone and broadband customers from the program (see 1910180004). Eligible telecom carriers will be required Wednesday to use the NV for consumers applying for Lifeline in Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.
Southern Pennsylvania community leaders and stakeholders said House Small Business Rural Development Subcommittee members should consider changes to federal broadband programs, during a Monday hearing in Gettysburg. Witnesses cited overlapping FCC and Department of Agriculture mandates on broadband funding and pointed to state-level initiatives as both a positive and negative development. House Communications Subcommittee leaders are working on a combined broadband mapping legislative package that's expected to be filed using Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability (Data) Act (HR-4229) as its vehicle (see 1909250063).
Senate Judiciary Committee staff is meeting with tech industry officials and others about a child safety-related Section 230 bill, Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told us (see 1907090062). “We’ve had some discussions with the tech community, and with some people on the committee. I don’t want to destroy the social media companies, but they’ve got to be more accountable.”
Industry groups representing telcos, cable companies and telecom service bundlers endorsed an FCC draft declaratory ruling to ensure 911 regulatory fee parity between VoIP and functionally equivalent traditional phone services, in interviews last week. Commissioners will vote on the draft at Friday's meeting (see 1910040053). The ruling, on docket 19-44, is an attempt to answer a referral from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama on litigation between AT&T's BellSouth and some 911 districts (see 1909110027).
Colorado joined Mississippi in dropping out of state attorneys general lawsuit against T-Mobile/Sprint after signing state-specific agreements. New York and Minnesota AGs said they’re moving ahead with litigation that now counts 16 AGs as plaintiffs at U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In addition to the state case, the deal faces a Tunney Act challenge in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and opponents are expected to challenge the FCC’s approval order in federal court (see 1910170028). Opponents said the New York challenge is the most likely to derail the transaction.
Technology neutrality and convincing regulators about spectrum needs are among challenges the commercial satellite communications industry faces, satcom regulatory officials said at a University of Nebraska space law conference Friday. Lack of regulatory certainty for new space ventures was bemoaned.
FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra warned Congress about the threat of regulatory capture Friday, contending data-rich tech companies wield excessive power. “All too often, the government is too captured by those incumbents who use their power to dictate their preferred policies,” he told the House Antitrust Subcommittee.
Nebraska will join other states seeking waiver of Wednesday's Lifeline national verifier start in many places, Public Service Commissioner Crystal Rhoades (D) told us Friday. Connecticut and Georgia sought waiver, too. Five states so far have sought delay, raising concerns about state database access for eligibility verification. Many are concerned the NV will incorrectly cause eligible poor consumers to be dropped from or not be able to start being subscribers to government-subsidized broadband and phone service from private-sector companies.
Growing use of 5G networks for emergency services raises security issues that must be addressed, stakeholders said in recent interviews. Emergency communications systems are subject to hacking, jamming, human error and poor software development, they said. Policies that encourage reliability and security are key, said National Emergency Number Association (NENA) Technical Issues Director Brandon Abley.