Leading 2020 Democratic presidential candidates' proposals for major broadband funding likely signal a definitive end to hopes for enacting a long-sought infrastructure package before the next election, communications sector officials and lobbyists told us. But focus on the issue is a net positive for the ongoing policy debate, they said. Experts question, though, whether attention to broadband as part of rural-focused campaign platforms will translate into a shift in support among those voters who moved away from Democrats in the 2016 election.
Leading 2020 Democratic presidential candidates' proposals for major broadband funding likely signal a definitive end to hopes for enacting a long-sought infrastructure package before the next election, communications sector officials and lobbyists told us. But focus on the issue is a net positive for the ongoing policy debate, they said. Experts question, though, whether attention to broadband as part of rural-focused campaign platforms will translate into a shift in support among those voters who moved away from Democrats in the 2016 election.
Eutelsat's no longer being allied with the C-Band Alliance (CBA) (see 1909030041) hurts its band-clearing plan before the FCC, though it remains to be seen how much, experts told us. The key is why Eutelsat left and what it does now. Chairman Ajit Pai’s office and Eutelsat didn’t comment.
As the 15 percent List 4A Section 301 tariffs took effect Sunday on $52 billion worth of TVs, Bluetooth headphones, smartwatches and other Chinese-sourced consumer tech goods, CTA renewed its call for congressional legislation to rein in presidential authority to wage tariff actions. The U.S. president “does not have unilateral authority on trade,” said CTA CEO Gary Shapiro.
Broadcasters and satellite operators got some of what they wanted in the FCC FY 2019 regulatory fees order. As expected (see 1908220040), there's no sign of overhaul both sectors want in the unanimous ruling. An accompanying Further NPRM tees up issues like the assessing regulatory fees on foreign satellites allowed to communicate with U.S. earth stations. Some say history shows the agency isn't likely to go that route. The money is due Sept. 30.
The FCC should seek comment on new developments in T-Mobile buying Sprint, including Dish Network’s waiver request and the DOJ consent decree, said the Communications Workers of America, Public Knowledge, New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute and Consumer Reports to Commissioner Mike O’Rielly Thursday, per a filing posted Monday in docket 18-197. “Given the extraordinary nature of these developments, failure to seek public comment on these inextricably interrelated developments would be a violation of the” Administrative Procedure Act, the groups said. “The DOJ Consent Decree and the DISH waiver and extension requests represent significant changes to the original transaction and raise new and important public interest and competition issues.” Attorneys for T-Mobile had calls about the deal Wednesday and Thursday with an aide to Commissioner Brendan Carr, in response to questions from that office, said a filing. It described the conversations only as referencing the draft order and concerned with “several issues raised in the Applicants’ previous submissions and relevant to the Commission’s public interest and competition.”
The FCC should seek comment on new developments in T-Mobile buying Sprint, including Dish Network’s waiver request and the DOJ consent decree, said the Communications Workers of America, Public Knowledge, New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute and Consumer Reports to Commissioner Mike O’Rielly Thursday, per a filing posted Monday in docket 18-197. “Given the extraordinary nature of these developments, failure to seek public comment on these inextricably interrelated developments would be a violation of the” Administrative Procedure Act, the groups said. “The DOJ Consent Decree and the DISH waiver and extension requests represent significant changes to the original transaction and raise new and important public interest and competition issues.” Attorneys for T-Mobile had calls about the deal Wednesday and Thursday with an aide to Commissioner Brendan Carr, in response to questions from that office, said a filing. It described the conversations only as referencing the draft order and concerned with “several issues raised in the Applicants’ previous submissions and relevant to the Commission’s public interest and competition.”
Size matters when considering safe harbor protections for voice service providers' blocking of robocalls. Parties squared off before the FCC about how broad or narrow such protections should be in docket 17-59 replies posted through Friday. There's disagreement on creation of a critical calls list. Some questioned the need for a secure handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) and secure telephone identity revisited (Stir) mandate since industry is implementing it fine.
The 15 percent Section 301 tariffs taking effect in less than a week on Chinese-sourced TVs and other consumer tech goods would add roughly $31 in cost to the average set imported to the U.S., using the 9.28 million TVs shipped here in 2019's first half as a base, we found from analyzing Census Bureau trade statistics through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool.
Size matters when considering safe harbor protections for voice service providers' blocking of robocalls. Parties squared off before the FCC about how broad or narrow such protections should be in docket 17-59 replies posted through Friday. There's disagreement on creation of a critical calls list. Some questioned the need for a secure handling of asserted information using tokens (Shaken) and secure telephone identity revisited (Stir) mandate since industry is implementing it fine.