SpaceX's proposed second-generation non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) system still raises big interference concerns, numerous satellite operators told the FCC International Bureau in comments filed Tuesday, rejecting SpaceX objections to their petitions or criticisms (see 2202250002). SpaceX data files produced in February on the power levels generated into DBS TV dishes in the 12 GHz band show the second-gen system would exceed applicable equivalent power flux density (EPFD) limits even using ITU-approved methodology, Dish Network said. It said SpaceX is trying to obfuscate that by splitting its system into 18 mini-systems. It said not only should the 12 GHz of the application be denied, the FCC also should reopen its approval of SpaceX's first-gen system to see if it "has taken similar liberties." SES/O3b said there should be independent verification of the second-gen EPFD limits, and the data and analysis SpaceX provided don't establish it would operate within relevant limits. Nor has SpaceX shown the 30,000 second-gen satellites operating together would be within EPFD levels, or said anything about the combined EPFD levels of the first- and second-gen systems, it said. OneWeb said any second-gen system approval should be conditioned on SpaceX acting to avoid in-line interference with co-frequency NGSO systems, meeting a higher disposal reliability standard, continuing periodic reporting on the health of its constellation, and clarifying how it will distribute aggregate EPFD among multiple NGSO systems. It said the FCC shouldn't approve the system until the notice and comment stage of the 2020 Ku/Ka-band processing round is done. Lacking either facts or legal backing, "SpaceX simply pounds the table, hoping to bludgeon yet another regulator into submission," Viasat said. It criticized SpaceX for "refus[ing] to provide basic information about the physical and other characteristics of its satellites." Even with 2,000 satellites in orbit, SpaceX's Starlink falls short of providing service "consistent with the ambitious public interest claims it has repeatedly made before the Commission," Viasat said. Kepler said, contrary to SpaceX claims it was seeking a benefit for its own constellation, its comments highlight a concern about end of life of NGSO satellites broadly. RS Access said SpaceX hasn't justified its proposed 5-degree minimum elevation angle, which appears to be about stymying terrestrial wireless use of the 12 GHz band. SpaceX didn't comment Wednesday.

Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., urged NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson Tuesday to use the rules for $48 billion in broadband money from Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act under the agency’s control to “prioritize and protect competition, high quality jobs, affordability, and consumer protection standards,” including net neutrality. Republicans raised concerns during Davidson's Senate confirmation process about whether he would use NTIA's setup of IIJA program rules to set net neutrality requirements for recipients (see 2112140074). NTIA should “implement measures that promote net neutrality as it fulfills its mandates under IIJA,” Blumenthal and Markey wrote Davidson. Those measures should be “consistent with” the Department of Agriculture’s decision to factor a company’s commitment to net neutrality into decisions on whether to award an applicant ReConnect money (see 2111080063). “These rules benefit consumers, promote free speech, and enrich the economy by making the internet a fair playing field where entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes can thrive,” the senators said. NTIA should “encourage state action plans that consult labor organizations, promote Buy American policies, and support expanding and securing the workforce through data collection and prioritizing strong training programs.” The agency should also include wholesale and nondiscriminatory access requirements, which would “avoid new, taxpayer-funded monopolies” and “give rise to companies that compete for traditionally unserved and underserved communities, such as immigrant communities and individuals on the Lifeline program,” the Democrats said.

The transition from the FCC’s emergency broadband benefit program to the affordable connectivity program has been largely smooth for most providers, said Wireline Bureau staff and industry during an FCBA webinar Wednesday (see 2111230058). Some providers said it was challenging to meet the transition deadline, and they're now focused on increasing enrollment.

The Uruguay Round Agreements Act taken as a whole authorizes expedited countervailing duty reviews, the governments of Quebec and New Brunswick along with six Canadian companies argued in a March 8 reply brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. When taking into account the context of the URAA, its legislative history and the legislative process through which the URAA was adopted, it's clear that Congress meant to establish an expedited review process, the Canadian parties argued.

A draft FCC Further NPRM to seek comment on resolving pole attachment and replacement disputes would expedite the broadband deployment to come through programs funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, industry experts told us. Commissioners will consider the draft during the agency's March 16 meeting, which would seek comment on several concerns raised in a 2020 NCTA petition and costs associated with pole replacements or attachments (see 2007170023).

Competitive Carriers Association President Steve Berry and others from the group raised concerns about a shortfall in funding to cover the cost of ripping and replacing Huawei and ZTE gear in wireless networks. The FCC reported applicants requested $5.6 billion, nearly three times the $1.9 billion allocated (see 2202040066). CCA “cautioned” that a “proration approach contemplated” by the FCC “would not accomplish the goals of removing untrusted equipment and services while maintaining service in rural areas,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-89. Some CCA members have “proactively replaced covered equipment, investing significant funds into securing their networks," the group said: “For many small carriers in particular, the financial burden to cover the remaining two-thirds of completing the program could prove financially ruinous, resulting in reduced provision of service or shuttering a business entirely. Many carriers may simply opt out of participating, leaving a great deal of insecure equipment left in the nation’s communications networks.” CCA and other groups last week urged the House and Senate Appropriations committees to give the FCC additional funding for the program, created under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (see 2203030074).

States have a “really big job ahead of them” as they prepare for NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment program (BEAD), said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield during a webinar with the Fiber Broadband Association Friday. The groups unveiled a playbook with recommendations for states as they prepare for NTIA’s forthcoming notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) on the $42.5 billion program, funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Bloomfield said will serve as a “valuable resource.”

Telecom-focused lawmakers are trying to beat the legislative clock as they seek a way to renew the FCC’s spectrum auction authority, currently set to expire when FY 2022 ends Sept. 30. The House Communications Subcommittee is eyeing a March 16 hearing on auction authority reauthorization and potential ways to spend revenue from additional auctions, Hill aides and lobbyists told us. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel recently asked Congress to authorize the agency to use proceeds to pay for next-generation 911 tech upgrades (see 2202220057). Congress last extended the FCC’s auction authority via the 2012 spectrum law.

Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn and FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya cleared an initial confirmation hurdle Thursday after the Senate Commerce Committee voted 14-14 on both picks, but they still face a long road to floor approval, said lawmakers and other officials in interviews. Panel Democrats uniformly backed Sohn and Bedoya, but all Republicans opposed them. Six of the 14 Republicans attended the executive session, fulfilling expectations they wouldn’t boycott the meeting (see 2203020076). The committee also tied 14-14 on Consumer Product Safety Commission nominee Mary Boyle. It advanced National Institute of Standards and Technology director nominee Laurie Locascio and International Trade Administration nominee Grant Harris on voice votes.

Connecticut should quickly adopt one-touch, make-ready (OTMR) so it can take advantage of coming federal broadband support, said two state offices in Tuesday comments at the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. "Creating a streamlined and efficient broadband infrastructure deployment process is increasingly important in light of critical timelines for use of federal funding for broadband expansion,” wrote the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's Energy and Technology Policy Bureau in docket 19-01-52RE01. Because Connecticut's telecom infrastructure "is predominantly aerial, expediting" communications attachments "will be a key component in meeting program timelines." The bureau supports adopting OTMR based on the FCC’s process, "along with a dispute resolution process to ensure accelerated timelines for attachments and reduced backlogs of application processing in order to reduce barriers to entry and increase competition" among ISPs, it said. PURA must complete setting up OTMR based on the FCC process to ready Connecticut for $100 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, said the Office of Consumer Counsel. PURA should oversee a speedy dispute resolution process for pole disputes, OCC added. CTIA urged PURA to adopt FCC pole attachment rules. "The FCC’s rules contain the most widely used OTMR framework in the country, including a self-help remedy; the FCC’s rules address cost allocation and have been thoroughly examined and declared compensatory; and the FCC’s rules contain dispute resolution rules that have been used to resolve more disputes than any other pole dispute resolution rules in the nation." The New England Cable and Telecommunications Association supported an FCC-based OTMR process with “modest revisions,” including shortening time frames for owners to review applications. United Illuminating supported OTMR for simple attachments only. Don’t reduce FCC time frames now, as that “can always be revisited” after the process is in place, UI said. Communications Workers of America raised safety and contractual concerns. PURA should "carefully craft any OTMR practices to be adopted so as to prevent the threatened harm to the safety and economic well-being of the workers” and possible interference with CWA’s collective bargaining agreement with Frontier Communications, the union said.