The prospect of seeking unanimous consent for kids’ privacy legislation spurred further negotiation on the bills, so the Senate Commerce Committee will hold off initiating a hotline process, Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us last week.
The House Judiciary Committee plans to mark up legislation Wednesday reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told us last week (see 2311280042).
A proposal to split the District of Columbia’s unified 911 system could advance in the D.C. Council despite opposition from D.C. Fire and Emergency Services (DCFEMS), said sponsor Brianne Nadeau (D) in an interview Friday. Nadeau was to introduce her bill Friday evening with fellow Democrats Zachary Parker, Janeese George, Trayon White and Robert White, a Nadeau spokesperson said.
Most commenters supported adding the equipment and services needed to use Wi-Fi on school buses to the FY 2024 eligible services list for the FCC E-rate program as a category one service. Comments were posted Friday in docket 13-184. FCC Republican Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissented last month on an NPRM asking about the change (see 2311090028).
Republican condemnation of the FCC’s actions since it shifted to a Democratic majority in late September -- and Democrats’ defense of the commission’s recent record -- dominated a Thursday House Communications Subcommittee hearing on agency oversight, as expected (see 2311290001). The hearing’s slightly rancorous tone signaled a return to more overtly partisan oversight, in contrast to relatively more bipartisan discussion when FCC commissioners testified in front of the subpanel in June, while the commission was still tied 2-2 (see 2306210076).
House Republicans are again issuing “baseless subpoenas” to appease their “far-right base,” the White House said Thursday after the House Judiciary Committee sought to compel testimony in its investigation over claims the Biden administration colluded with Big Tech to censor social media content.
If the FCC doesn’t impede state regulation, the California Public Utilities Commission will support FCC open internet rules and reclassifying broadband information access service (BIAS) as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act, the CPUC decided Thursday. Through a unanimous vote on the consent agenda during the state commission’s livestreamed meeting, commissioners agreed the CPUC should file comments urging the FCC to reclassify broadband as a telecom service and mobile BIAS as a commercial mobile service.
Industry and consumer groups disagreed in comments posted Thursday in docket 20-67 on whether certain certification and disclosure requirements would hinder efforts to strengthen the FCC's direct numbering access authorization process. Commissioners sought comment in a Further NPRM adopted during the agency's September meeting proposing to impose new rules on interconnected VoIP providers seeking direct access (see 2309210055).
The Cross-Sector Resiliency Forum, formed after Hurricane Michael in 2018, is proving useful as a liaison between the power and communications industries, but it's probably best left alone as a voluntary effort, without formal FCC rules, speakers said Wednesday during an FCBA Homeland Security and Emergency Communications Committee lunch. During an FCC forum last year on lessons learned during disasters, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel called for greater coordination between communications providers and power companies (see 2211170079).
The FCC should make clear that, consistent with the national spectrum strategy, the 7.125-8.4 GHz band should be targeted for 5G and 6G, CTIA said in comments on an NPRM on implementing 2015 and 2019 decisions by the World Radiocommunication Conference. Most comments were short and urged the FCC to preserve the 60-meter band for amateur use. Replies were due Tuesday in docket 23-120.