Despite last-minute opposition from lawmakers, the FCC didn't pull from Thursday's meeting agenda an order on overhauling the way it subsidizes participants in its Rural Health Care (RHC) program (see 1907310055). Industry stakeholders also had asked for a delay or revisions to the draft in docket 17-310, which will adjust the way rates are determined when providing telehealth subsidies to rural healthcare providers (see 1907230005).
Both an FCC commissioner and critics of the agency's approval Thursday of a local franchise authority (LFA) order anticipate its being challenged in court. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, who along with Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel dissented in the 3-2 vote, said he has "no doubt" about litigation. Emailed NATOA General Counsel Nancy Werner, "There will be litigation over the final order."
The FCC unanimously approved an NPRM Tuesday on technical changes to low-power FM rules that had been slated for Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting. As expected, the proposals were noncontroversial and the item didn’t undergo substantive changes before getting an OK (see 1907150055). The quick approval and lack of back and forth suggests an order that arises out of the NPRM is also unlikely to meet with much opposition on the eighth floor, broadcast attorneys told us. The NPRM acknowledges that LPFM is developing into “a mature service,” said REC Networks founder Michelle Bradley in a blog post. The FCC issued a notice Wednesday announcing the item's deletion from Thursday's agenda.
Broadcast network efforts to shut down Locast with a copyright infringement suit filed Wednesday in federal court will likely involve how nonprofit the nonprofit streaming service actually is, and what the Section 111 exemption of the Copyright Act applies to, broadcast and copyright experts told us.
Mutliline telephone systems (MLTS) providers and equipment vendors proposed changes in how the FCC implements new laws on better 911 access, in recent ex parte correspondence in docket 18-261. The commissioners are expected to vote Thursday on a draft report and order circulated in mid-July on implementing Ray Baum's Act (see 1902150036) and Kari's Law Act of 2017 (see 1907090047) to provide better location identification to emergency workers who take phone calls from apartment buildings, offices and other multi-unit spaces and to ensure callers who use MLTS phones can reach 911 quickly (see 1812110025).
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and other committee members said during a Wednesday hearing they have no appetite for any further extensions beyond 2020 for railroads to fully implement positive train control technology. Federal and rail officials told the committee railroads have made significant progress since the end of 2018 toward implementing PTC, but some warned about ongoing hurdles from tech interoperability and outside vendors. Congress in 2015 extended to the end of 2018 the deadline for railroads implement PTC technology but allowed them to seek an extension through the end of 2020 if they met benchmarks.
The U.S. wants more vendors to step up to offer 5G wireless equipment, said Robert Strayer, State Department deputy assistant secretary-cyber and international communications and information policy, at a Center for Strategic and International Studies conference Wednesday. Much of the discussion focused on China and the risks of Huawei and other Chinese vendors.
The Trump administration didn’t meet a July 22 deadline for completing its long-term National Spectrum Strategy. An Oct. 28, 2018, memo by President Donald Trump set that date for the National Economic Council director and the assistant to the president for national security affairs to submit the strategy. Two government officials told us the White House missed the deadline, but the report is essentially finished and under internal review. It's still unclear how or when it will be publicly released, one official said.
Blockchain technology could potentially enhance data privacy using digital identities, digital currency company Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire told the Senate Banking Committee during a hearing Tuesday. But skeptical University of California-Irvine law professor Mehrsa Baradaran said policymakers should rely on the Federal Reserve to offer digital currency options, rather than allowing industry to become a dominant money-making authority.
The Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee will form a bipartisan, bicameral working group to aid the Copyright Office’s modernization effort and introduce related legislation before year-end, Chairman Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said Tuesday. Ranking member Chris Coons, D-Del., and Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, are interested in joining, Tillis told us. House members will be invited.