More work is still needed to ensure providers of all sizes can participate in NTIA's broadband, equity, access and deployment program, broadband experts and industry officials said during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Thursday. Panelists welcomed the agency's recent programmatic waiver regarding the BEAD program's letter of credit (LOC) requirements and sought additional action regarding performance bonds among other policies (see 2311010040).
The House approved an amendment Wednesday night to the FY 2024 Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee funding bill (HR-4664) that would defund the FCC's Communications Equity and Diversity Council, but the proposal’s prospects remained in doubt Thursday after chamber leaders abruptly pulled the measure off the floor amid misgivings from some Republicans. House GOP leaders are eyeing a pivot to a continuing resolution to fund the government past Nov. 17 but were still deliberating on its contours Thursday afternoon.
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Thursday she will try to hotline kids privacy legislation in the Senate.
An FCC NPRM released Thursday proposes allowing schools and libraries to apply for funding from the E-rate program for Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet access services that can be used off-premises. FCC Republican Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissented, as they did last month on a declaratory ruling clarifying that the use of Wi-Fi on school buses is an educational purpose eligible for E-rate funding (see 2310190056).
The House voted 172-257 Wednesday against an amendment to the FY 2024 Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee funding bill (HR-4664) from Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry, R-Pa., that would have reduced the FTC’s annual funding to the almost $310 million it received for FY 2019 (see 1902150055). The chamber, meanwhile, approved on voice votes a trio of amendments aimed at curbing some FTC practices. The House was set to debate some other FCC and FTC-related amendments ahead of a final vote on HR-4664 that could happen as soon as Thursday. House GOP lawmakers are attempting to claw back additional federal funding for CPB via additional amendments to the House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee FY24 funding bill (HR-5894).
AI, quantum science and other emerging technologies can make telecom networks more secure, but they also create new challenges when used by bad actors, Rich Baich, AT&T chief information security officer, said during an AT&T forum Wednesday. Former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Christopher Krebs said the government will always be limited in the role in can play in making networks more secure. The forum comes as the FCC considers a notice of inquiry on using AI to curb unwanted robocalls (see 2310250070).
New Hampshire legislators addressed the state DOJ’s concerns about not having enough resources to enforce a comprehensive consumer data privacy bill, a department spokesperson said Wednesday. The state legislature’s House Judiciary Committee voted 17-3 that day to amend and advance SB-255 to the floor. With the changes, "uniformly, everyone is a little unhappy, and so I consider that a success,” state Rep. Marjorie Smith (D) told the committee at a livestreamed meeting Wednesday.
The Nebraska Public Service Commission adopted a multitude of telecom orders at a livestreamed meeting Tuesday. In mostly unanimous votes, commissioners adopted policies on broadband funding, state USF, dark fiber leasing rates and rip and replace. Looking ahead, Commissioner Kevin Stocker (R) asked about tightening resiliency requirements after hearing a report on October communications outages.
Worldwide 5G strategies have differed widely by region, Gabriel Brown, Heavy Reading senior principal analyst, said during an Informa Tech webinar Tuesday. 5G deployments really started in 2020 with 1.9 billion subscriptions expected by the end of this year, Brown said. Mid-band deployments have been critical, allowing operators to “effectively double site capacity … very rapidly,” he said.
Several telecom-focused congressional leaders told us they’re more seriously considering directly appropriating $3.08 billion to fully close the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program funding shortfall amid the ongoing stall in talks on a spectrum legislative package that top lawmakers long hoped could pay for the additional funding (see 2311010001). The outlook for a spectrum legislative deal is very dim while lawmakers continue to wait for DOD to release a much-anticipated report on repurposing the 3.1-3.45 GHz band for commercial 5G use (see 2310180062). Communications policy-focused lobbyists and officials are closely following how work on FY 2024 appropriations legislation progresses in the weeks ahead for signs to indicate whether a change in tack on rip and replace takes place.