Senate Commerce Committee Republicans are launching an investigation into the FTC’s “mismanagement” and “mistreatment of staffers” under Chair Lina Khan, ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, announced Thursday. In a letter he sent June 19, Cruz said he’s “troubled by recent reports regarding FTC employees’ sinking morale and deepening lack of confidence in FTC leadership.” He cited the 2022 Office of Personnel Management Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, which reported in January that 49% of FTC employees agreed agency “leaders maintain high standards of honesty and integrity.” He noted the percentage is 4 points lower than in 2021 and 38 points lower than 2020, when 87% of employees “believed that the agency’s leaders ‘maintain[ed] high standards of honesty and integrity.’” He encouraged FTC employees to report concerns to committee Republicans. House Judiciary Committee Republicans are also probing the agency (see 2304120052). The FTC confirmed receiving the letter but declined comment.
Some state broadband offices see room to improve the FCC’s national broadband map, even with NTIA set to announce allocations by June 30 for the $42.5 billion broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. Other states told us they’re still reviewing the FCC's latest map, released May 30.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel again prodded Congress Wednesday to allocate an additional $3.08 billion to fully fund the FCC's Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, warning Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., that the commission plans to begin prorating reimbursements to participants July 15 unless Congress agrees to bridge the gap by that date. House Commerce Committee aides cited the July 15 deadline Thursday as one of the reasons panel leaders are pressing for a deal as soon as possible on a spectrum legislative package that would allocate some future auction proceeds toward rip and replace.
The FirstNet Authority Board held its first meeting Wednesday under new Chair Richard Carrizzo and new Executive Director Joseph Wassel. The meeting was over in 35 minutes.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is again prodding Congress to allocate an additional $3.08 billion to fully fund the FCC's Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, writing Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Wednesday that the commission “will need to plan to proceed” with prorating reimbursements to providers if lawmakers don’t bridge the current shortfall by July 15. Rosenworcel’s renewed push comes as congressional leaders are still negotiating a spectrum legislative package that could direct some auction proceeds to increase rip and replace funding.
The Florida Senate passed online privacy bill SB-262 Friday, 38-0. The bill would allow consumers to opt out of online data collection and ad targeting, and prevent companies from selling their data (see 2304240045). Bill sponsor Sen. Jennifer Bradley (R) called the measure a “digital bill of rights” that's friendlier to small businesses than other state digital privacy laws, but critics such as the Computer and Communications Industry Association and Consumer Reports said the bill wouldn’t provide meaningful privacy protections.
State legislators advanced bills on social media, privacy, broadband and 988 in votes Wednesday. A Utah bill to regulate social media cleared a Senate committee Wednesday after passing the House Feb. 9. The Senate Business and Labor Committee voted 3-2 for HB-311, which would require parental consent and prohibit social platforms “from using a design or feature that the company knows causes a minor to have an addiction to a social media platform.” The bill would be enforced by the Utah Department of Commerce Division of Consumer Protection and through a private right of action that would allow consumers to get attorney fees and damages “for harm incurred by a minor's use of the company's social media platform.” The Hawaii Senate Commerce Committee voted 4-1 to advance a comprehensive privacy bill. SB-974 remains pending before the Ways and Means Committee. The latter committee voted 11-0 to adopt SB-1317 to appropriate state funding for matching requirements in federal broadband programs. It would appropriate $33 million “or so much thereof as may be necessary” for fiscal year 2023-24 for required matching funds for NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. Also, the bill would use at least $95,000 from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for the same fiscal year for BEAD. The New Mexico Senate voted 33-1 Wednesday to pass a bill to require incumbent local exchange carriers with at least 50,000 customers to be regulated the same as rural ILECs under New Mexico’s Rural Telecommunications Act. Also, SB-41 would say effective competition exists in a wire center when two or more alternative providers sell voice, regardless of technology. It goes next to the House. In Wyoming, the state Senate voted 19-12 for a bill to fund and set state rules for the 988 mental health hotline. The House now must concur with the Senate after passing HB-65 last month 38-23.
Wireless executives don’t think open radio access networks are ready for mass deployment now, but believe that could happen soon, Heavy Reading analyst Simon Stanley said during a Tuesday webinar. Based on a recent Heavy Reading survey, 19% believe ORAN is ready now, and 38% say it will be within the next 12 months, Stanley said. More than 70% see ORAN as likely ready for broad deployment within two years and 17% report they completed their first ORAN or virtual Ran (VRAN) installation, he said.
House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., promotes Jennifer Epperson to Communications Subcommittee’s chief Democratic counsel and hires Lisa Hone, ex-White House National Economic Council senior broadband and technology policy adviser, to be Democrats’ chief counsel on the Consumer Protection Subcommittee (see 2301030064) ... John Lin, ex-Senate Commerce senior counsel, says he's now House Commerce senior counsel.
More than eight in 10 consumers served by NTCA members have access to downstream speeds of at least 100 Mbps, the group said in a new report Monday. An average of 60% of customers can receive "a maximum downstream speed for fixed broadband greater than or equal to 1 Gig," compared with about 55% of customers in 2021. The group noted that subscriptions to speeds of at least 100 Mbps were more popular than services between 25 and 100 Mbps. About 38% of the group's members participated in the survey. “At a time when there’s so much focus on how to reach millions of rural Americans still awaiting quality broadband access, this survey highlights how NTCA members have led the charge to date in delivering on this promise for so many and the tremendous work they continue to do to close remaining gaps,” said CEO Shirley Bloomfield.