Leaders of the House Communications and Senate Appropriations Financial Services subcommittees are using the month-plus August recess to finalize their plans for a legislative solution to the debate over how to clear spectrum in the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band for 5G use. Some lawmakers said they need to reach a quick decision on how to proceed to influence the outcome before the FCC releases its proposal. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai appears to be aiming for a plan to clear at least 300 MHz of C-band spectrum (see 1908200044). The sides offered conflicting readings earlier this month of initial comments to the FCC on alternative plans (see 1908150042). Those comments showed little move toward consensus (see 1908080041).
The North American Numbering Plan Administration estimates it needs $11.4 million for FY 2020, said an FCC Wireline Bureau public notice in docket 92-237 and Friday's Daily Digest. The contribution factor will be 0.0000908, up from the previous year's factor of 0.0000427. The fund size estimate and contribution factor are considered approved within 14 days unless the FCC acts otherwise.
Amazon invested more than $400 million to ensure products offered on its website are “safe, compliant and authentic,” blogged the company Friday. It responded to a report of “thousands of banned, unsafe or mislabeled products." Reacting Friday, FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra tweeted: “This article raises real concerns about whether Amazon is profiting from widespread deception on its platform. Deceptive acts or practices can threaten our health and safety, and are unlawful under the FTC Act.” Amazon cited the hundreds of millions of items it sells, saying it continuously works to refine and improve tools that “prevent suspicious, unsafe, or non-compliant products from being listed in our store.” It described new seller account vetting that includes several verifications and machine learning technology to stop bad actors “before they can register or list a single product in our store.” All products offered on Amazon “must comply with applicable laws and regulations, and our own policies,” it said, citing safety testing requirements set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Last year, Amazon teams and technologies proactively blocked more than 3 billion suspect listings “for various forms of abuse, including non-compliance,” before their listings appeared on the e-commerce site, it said. Once a product is available, Amazon continuously scans product listings and updates to find products that might “present a concern.” Every few minutes, tools review the hundreds of millions of products Amazon sells, scanning the more than 5 billion daily changes to product pages and analyze customer reviews, it said. Tools use natural language processing and machine learning to “constantly get better at proactively blocking suspicious products.” When Amazon receives reports of safety issues, it removes unsafe products from the website and investigates, it said. If a customer reports a concern with a product, “a customer service associate can instantly trigger an investigation.” Amazon can trace and directly alert customers to a potential safety issue, it said, and its “robust programs” ensure products offered for sale there are “safe and compliant.”
Amazon invested more than $400 million to ensure products offered on its website are “safe, compliant and authentic,” blogged the company Friday. It responded to a report of “thousands of banned, unsafe or mislabeled products” on Amazon.com.
After years of work, the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band appears ready to open for business, as early as next month, FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly told us. O’Rielly predicted an FCC decision soon on the C band, and said the agency may not need to review CBS' buy of Viacom. O’Rielly insisted relations have improved among commissioners.
NAB and several large radio groups defended an FM translator interference order, in filings in docket 18-119 posted Friday opposing petitions for reconsideration by the LPFM Coalition, Skywave Consulting and several radio licensees (see 1907290064). The FCC “was on solid empirical ground” in deciding the 45 dBu contour limit and other policies for the revamped translator interference rules, said iHeart, Entercom, Cox, Neuhoff, Radio One and Beasley. Media Alliance supported of the LPFM Coalition’s recon petition, saying the revamped rules violate “citizen rights to petition a government agency for redress.”
Viacom, CBS and those worried about their long-expected combination (see 1908130039) foresee more retransmission and affiliate fee pressures. The combined company will have 22 percent of U.S. TV viewership, and will look to greatly beef up its affiliate fees as part of its growth strategy, CBS acting CEO Joe Ianniello said in a call with analysts Tuesday as the two programmers announced the recombination; the companies split in 2006.
BALTIMORE -- The T band remains a big concern for some APCO members, based on questions at an FCC session Tuesday at the group's annual meeting. Commission officials didn’t focus on the band during a presentation, but almost all the questions afterwards were on the topic. “I didn’t know it would be the first question, but I did know it would be one of the questions,” joked Public Safety Bureau Deputy Chief David Furth, who led the session.
Viacom, CBS and those worried about their long-expected combination (see 1908130039) foresee more retransmission and affiliate fee pressures. The combined company will have 22 percent of U.S. TV viewership, and will look to greatly beef up its affiliate fees as part of its growth strategy, CBS acting CEO Joe Ianniello said in a call with analysts Tuesday as the two programmers announced the recombination; the companies split in 2006.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., have introduced a companion bill to the House's U.S. Reciprocal Trade Act (see 1901240017).