Top DOD officials stressed the continuing military importance of the lower 3 GHz band as DOD and NTIA kick off a study of the band that the national spectrum strategy requires (see 2403120056). DOD and other administration officials during a Monday event at CTIA stressed the importance of developing more sophisticated ways of sharing spectrum. The National Spectrum Consortium also sponsored the event.
Industry and consumer advocates urged the FCC on Friday to include changes in its draft order reestablishing net neutrality rules. Commissioners will consider the item during the agency's April 25 meeting (see 2404040064). Some said the draft order didn't adequately address forbearance for ISPs. The draft’s state preemption provisions received praise -- and concern -- from current and former regulators.
Globalstar is at the center of a regulatory tussle between the FCC and Chinese government over interference with Globalstar's HIBLEO-4 satellite system. The culprit seemingly was China's BeiDou/Compass global navigation satellite system. Correspondence between the commission and China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) shows a back-and-forth disagreement about BeiDou. We obtained 142 pages of that correspondence -- letters and emails between the two -- via a Freedom of Information Request filed with the FCC in October. The request was fulfilled at the end of February. Our request was for all written communications with MIIT Jan. 1-Oct. 19, 2023.
Industry experts were still parsing the net neutrality rules Friday, looking at language about some hot-button issues such as 5G network slicing. On slicing, the draft doesn't reach conclusions about whether it should be exempt, noting carriers are just in the early stages of adopting slicing (see 2404040064). Slicing lets providers create multiple virtual networks on top of a shared network. How slicing should be treated has been hotly contested (see 2404010032).
The House plans to vote this week on foreign surveillance legislation, an aide for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told us Friday.
CTIA told the FCC that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act doesn’t apply to robocalls and robotexts from wireless service providers to their subscribers. Indeed, CTIA added that the FCC has affirmed this "multiple times." However, consumer groups said nothing in the TCPA “justifies special treatment for wireless providers.” Comments were posted Friday in docket 02-278. Commissioners approved an order and Further NPRM in February seeking comment on the wireless provider exemption (see 2402160048).
Minnesota could expand a no-cost prison calls law enacted last year that would make free all forms of communication, including email and video calls, and add coverage for confined patients in direct care facilities. The state’s Senate Judiciary Committee voted by voice Wednesday to advance the bill (SF-4387), despite a Minnesota Department of Corrections official saying that he’s uncertain about costs.
The FCC will take a series of steps to reestablish the commission's net neutrality framework and reclassify broadband internet access service (BIAS) as a Communications Act Title II telecom service in a declaratory ruling and order (see 2404030043). A draft of the items to be considered during the agency's April meeting, released Thursday, would establish "broad" and "tailored" forbearance for ISPs. The draft doesn’t make a final determination on how network slicing should be treated under the rules.
The FCC’s Consumer Advisory Committee, which will have a special focus on AI, held its first meeting under its new charter Thursday at FCC headquarters. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the FCC eagerly awaits the group’s work on AI and robocalls. The group also heard reports from FCC staff about several consumer issues before the agency, including the affordable connectivity program's demise (see 2404020075). CAC last met in August (see 2208300059).
FCC commissioners will vote on restoring net neutrality rules during the agency's April 25 meeting, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced Wednesday (see 2403290057). Commissioners will consider a declaratory ruling, order, report and order, and order on reconsideration. "A return to the FCC’s overwhelmingly popular and court-approved standard of net neutrality will allow the agency to serve once again as a strong consumer advocate of an open internet," Rosenworcel said. Also on April's agenda is a draft NPRM about georouting 988 calls (see 2404030051).