NTIA expects that 90% of broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) equipment spending will go for American-made equipment and materials, said NTIA Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OICG) Policy Advisor Will Arbuckle Wednesday in an FTI Consulting webinar. That expectation stems from an NTIA analysis of the availability of American-made items and from numerous companies announcing capacity expansion, he said. "We don't think we are done," with more companies announcing manufacturing expansions to fill BEAD made-in-America demand, he said.
Representatives of the Open Technology Institute at New America and Public Knowledge spoke with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, urging the agency to complete work on issues raised in a 2020 Further NPRM on the 6 GHz band (see 2004230059). “We urged the Commission to finalize the two key issues that remain pending in the 6 GHz FNPRM in a robust way that avoids the risk of creating a new ‘Wi-Fi digital divide,’” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 19-295: “Both the authorization of Very Low Power (VLP) devices and higher power for indoor-only use (LPI) are particularly crucial for digital equity and inclusion, for continued U.S. leadership in next generation Wi-Fi, and for virtually all consumers, businesses and community anchor institutions.” The groups led a recent letter to Rosenworcel raising those concerns (see 2308030061). Southern Co. representatives, meanwhile, raised concerns in a call with an aide to Commissioner Nathan Simington. “To the extent the Commission may be moving forward to expand unlicensed use of the 6 GHz band to include VLP operations, it must first put the details of its proposals out for public comment to receive necessary input and information from stakeholders and to comport with the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act,” they said.
OpenAI will move to dismiss counts II-VI of a copyright infringement complaint, at a hearing Dec. 7 or soon thereafter, said a Monday notice (docket 4:23-cv-03223) in U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Francisco. The notice and memorandum of points and authorities in support of the motion to dismiss address claims brought by authors Paul Tremblay, Sarah Silverman, Christopher Golden and Richard Kadrey.
U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley’s July decision to deny the FTC a preliminary injunction to block Microsoft’s acquisition of video game company Activision was “riddled with errors and should be reversed,” said the FTC’s opening brief before the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Monday. Microsoft announced the agreement to buy Activision for $68.7 billion in January 2022.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted 5-0 Thursday to move forward on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANOPR) on amending state USF rules. The PUC during a livestreamed meeting approved a bid by Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieuille to seek comment on what she said are “broad questions about the challenges of supporting voice and internet networks and services” as part of the ANOPR. The PUC postponed considering the rulemaking proposal in early August (see 2308020057). Comments on the ANOPR in docket L-2023-3040646 are due 90 days after its publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, with replies due within 120 days.
The Commerce Department offered greater explanations of its treatment of four types of income related to the selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense ratio for surrogate company Ayes in the antidumping duty investigation on metal lockers from China. Submitting its remand results to the Court of International Trade Aug. 23, the agency stuck by its treatment of shipping revenue, incentive income, interest income and rental income in setting the SG&A ratio (List Industries v. U.S., CIT # 21-00521).
The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to provide any rationale for adding Chinese printer cartridge manufacturer Ninestar Corp., along with eight of its Zhuhai-based subsidiaries, to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, the companies, led by Ninestar, argued (Ninestar Corp., et al. v. U.S., CIT # 23-00182).
LTD Broadband said there’s no urgent need for the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to resume proceedings on revoking LTD Broadband’s eligible telecom carrier (ETC) designation. The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) winner disagreed with state industry groups and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) in reply comments filed Monday in docket 22-221. "The contention of these parties that LTD’s FCC application could suddenly spring to life and result in LTD obtaining immediate authorization for [RDOF] support, thereby barring others from seeking alternative funding for broadband deployment, has no basis in fact," the ISP said.
The wireless industry asked the FCC to go slow on major changes to wireless emergency alerts, in reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 15-91. Commenters also raised privacy concerns. A Further NPRM, approved by commissioners 4-0 in April, proposed to require participating providers to ensure mobile devices can translate alerts into the 13 most commonly spoken languages in the U.S. aside from English, to send thumbnail-sized images in WEA messages, and other changes (see 2304200040).
The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to provide any rationale for adding Chinese printer cartridge manufacturer Ninestar Corp., along with eight of its Zhuhai-based subsidiaries, to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, the companies, led by Ninestar, argued (Ninestar Corp., et al. v. U.S., CIT # 23-00182).