Between now and the U.S. 5G future sit hurdles ranging from an "urban crunch" of spectrum availability to the morass of dealing with legions of local zoning and permitting steps, speakers said at an Axios event Wednesday. North America “started late” on 5G standardization, behind the Far East, but the country has reversed its position in the past two years and the first large-scale rollout likely will happen within the next 12 months in the U.S., said Ericsson North America CEO Niklas Heuveldop.
September's expiration of DOJ-imposed behavioral conditions on Comcast's buy of NBCUniversal will unleash a vertically integrated behemoth with plenty of incentive to squash competition, panelists said at a Public Knowledge-organized panel Wednesday. There were no Comcast-friendly voices, and much discussion involved how to extend the conditions or whether broader changes are needed in antitrust enforcement. “Beware Comcast unleashed,” said American Cable Association Senior Vice President Ross Lieberman.
September's expiration of DOJ-imposed behavioral conditions on Comcast's buy of NBCUniversal will unleash a vertically integrated behemoth with plenty of incentive to squash competition, panelists said at a Public Knowledge-organized panel Wednesday. There were no Comcast-friendly voices, and much discussion involved how to extend the conditions or whether broader changes are needed in antitrust enforcement. “Beware Comcast unleashed,” said American Cable Association Senior Vice President Ross Lieberman.
Between now and the U.S. 5G future sit hurdles ranging from an "urban crunch" of spectrum availability to the morass of dealing with legions of local zoning and permitting steps, speakers said at an Axios event Wednesday. North America “started late” on 5G standardization, behind the Far East, but the country has reversed its position in the past two years and the first large-scale rollout likely will happen within the next 12 months in the U.S., said Ericsson North America CEO Niklas Heuveldop.
A Department of Health and Human Services report on implementation of a cybersecurity law “omitted or lacked sufficient detail on many outstanding issues,” a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers told the agency Tuesday. House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore, and ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., penned a letter with Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash., raising concerns about HHS implementing the 2015 Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, aimed at increasing security through sharing cyberthreat information. The department “failed to document HHS’s policies and procedures for responding to cybersecurity concerns or incidents that implicate multiple HHS operating divisions or offices,” the group wrote. The agency didn’t comment.
A Department of Health and Human Services report on implementation of a cybersecurity law “omitted or lacked sufficient detail on many outstanding issues,” a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers told the agency Tuesday. House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore, and ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., penned a letter with Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash., raising concerns about HHS implementing the 2015 Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, aimed at increasing security through sharing cyberthreat information. The department “failed to document HHS’s policies and procedures for responding to cybersecurity concerns or incidents that implicate multiple HHS operating divisions or offices,” the group wrote. The agency didn’t comment.
TV broadcasters and the FCC haven’t coalesced around a single path forward on the national ownership cap, broadcasters and their lawyers said in interviews. Though many in the industry believe the FCC will try to issue an order this summer raising the 39 percent cap to get ahead of an expected U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision against reinstating the UHF discount (see 1804200059), it’s not clear what change the regulator and industry are moving toward. “They’re going to end up in court no matter what,” said University of Minnesota School of Journalism assistant professor-media law Christopher Terry.
Consumer and labor advocates objected to FCC draft plans to relax consumer protection and education mandates when telcos discontinue legacy telecom services in favor of IP-based fiber and wireless offerings. Verizon and AT&T disputed ADT Security Services and Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC) concerns that a proposed "alternative options test" could effectively scrap an "adequate replacement test" and its interoperability requirements. Parties made closing arguments before lobbying restrictions took effect heading into this coming Thursday's commissioners' meeting that includes a draft order to streamline discontinuance duties.
Tests demonstrate the 3.7-4.2 GHz band can be safely shared, the Broadband Access Coalition (BAC) commented in docket 13-1. The FCC is preparing a report to Congress on the spectrum, also known as the C-band, as required by the Mobile Now Act. This offer a preview of arguments to come, with Chairman Ajit Pai promising to tee-up a C-band NPRM for commissioners' July meeting (see 1805230031).
Two more IP captioned telephone service providers opposed a draft order's cuts in their compensation rate, though they suggested smaller cuts as a backup. CaptionCall said the FCC shouldn't reduce a $1.95 per minute rate by 10 percent in each of the next two funding years -- to $1.75 on July 1, and to $1.58 on July 1, 2019 -- but the Sorenson Communications subsidiary floated a $1.75 rate for two years if the agency insists on an interim rate. ClearCaptions suggested $1.85 for FY 2018-19 and $1.75 for FY 2019-20. Hamilton previously offered a $1.75 rate for both years (see 1805250056). The draft seeks to reduce IP CTS funding approaching $1 billion per year.