Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T told the FCC it should move with care on a 5G fund, especially given the perilous state of the USF. Groups representing small carriers said the fund is critical to connecting millions of Americans on the wrong side of the digital divide. Comments were posted Tuesday in docket 20-32 in response to a Further NPRM approved by commissioners 4-0 in September (see 2309210035).
State legislators floated more than 200 content moderation bills this year, the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) said Wednesday. Many of the proposals are “unconstitutional, conflict with federal law including Section 230, and would place major barriers on digital services’ abilities to restrict dangerous content on their platforms,” said the CCIA report. “Many legislators made the measured decision to pause the advancement of this type of legislation until the Supreme Court makes its decision” on Texas and Florida social media laws, it said. “We anticipate this will likely continue to be a main focus for legislators in 2024.”
NAB, broadcasters and tech groups don’t agree whether LG’s withdrawal from the ATSC 3.0 device market (see 2310060068) is a signal the FCC should police patent licensing for 3.0 tech, according to reply comments filed in docket 16-142 by Monday’s deadline. LG’s decision “should be viewed as an unfortunate data point in a marketplace that is still in the process of developing, not as an invitation to unprecedented and overbroad Commission regulation,” said NAB. “LG will almost certainly be only the first of many manufacturers to have no choice but to forego integration or production of ATSC 3.0 technology-based products,” said electronics firm Continental Automotive Systems (CAS). Leaving the patent issue unaddressed by the FCC “is ultimately an existential threat to successful and widespread ATSC 3.0 adoption,” CAS said.
Trade lawyers and importers are wondering how the anti-stockpiling element of a two-year pause on trade remedy circumvention deposits will be enforced.
Trade lawyers and importers are wondering how the anti-stockpiling element of a two-year pause on trade remedy circumvention deposits will be enforced.
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The growing gray area of streaming services being delivered by cable providers needs to be addressed by local franchise authorities (LFA), speakers urged at NATOA’s annual conference Wednesday. Keller & Heckman localities lawyer Sean Stokes said since states' broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program funding proposals need to show steps carriers will take to reduce costs and barriers to deployment, carriers will likely use this as an invitation to look for more limits on municipal authority over the management of rights of way or pole attachments. He called it “a rerun” of the same pushes made for deployment reforms to aid 5G rollouts.
The FCC should reconsider proposed changes in an April NPRM on rules for Section 214 international authorizations (see 2304200039), CTIA and others said in reply comments, posted Tuesday in docket 23-119. The order authorized a one-time collection of foreign-ownership information from authorization holders and sought comment on rules requiring carriers to renew the authorizations every 10 years, “or in the alternative,” periodic updates. The FCC got pushback in the initial comment round but general support from DOJ, DOD and Department of Homeland Security, sometimes called Team Telecom (see 2309010058).
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
House Select Committee on China Chairman Rep. Mike Gallagher, House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith and Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers are telling Ford that pausing its partnership with the Chinese electric vehicle battery maker CATL doesn't get them off the hook to answer their questions about the technology licensing deal it had with the company.
Even though thousands of CBP employees will be required to work without pay to clear cargo in the case of a government shutdown on Sunday, importers are preparing for problems, since they have experienced them in previous shutdowns.