LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Congress should continue “lifeblood connectivity” provided through the affordable connectivity program (ACP), Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Chairman Stephen DeFrank said in an interview at this week’s NARUC meeting. Expect broadband, universal service and pole attachments to be key issues for the state PUC in the year ahead, he said. Industry officials debated possible USF changes during a Tuesday panel.
DOJ’s effort to update U.S. antitrust policies with the FTC could have the opposite intended effect and undermine competition, party leaders on the House Antitrust Subcommittee said Tuesday.
The House Rules Committee Monday night turned down two Republicans’ bids to further restrict public broadcasting funding as part of the Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee FY24 funding bill (HR-5894), but allowed consideration of two amendments related to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The House’s ability to pass HR-5894, which deleted advance money for FY 2026 (see 2307210065), remained in doubt Tuesday. Meanwhile, the House was set to vote Tuesday afternoon on a continuing resolution that would extend federal appropriations for the FCC, FTC, NTIA and other Commerce Department agencies through Feb. 2 (HR-6363) at levels enacted in the FY 2023 appropriations omnibus package (see 2212210077).
House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and others are hopeful that AI can aid in spectrum management activities, they said during a Communications Subcommittee hearing Tuesday. Rodgers and Pallone also praised the Biden administration Tuesday for releasing its long-awaited national spectrum strategy (see 2311130048). However, Senate Commerce Committee member Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., was far less enthusiastic about the plan, which directs NTIA to study the 3.1-3.45, 5.03-5.091, 7.125-8.4, 18.1-18.6 and 37.0-37.6 GHz bands over the next two years for potential repurposing.
Big Tech platforms are making a good effort at complying with the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), but much more remains to be done, European Commission (EC) officials said during a Nov. 10 briefing where they presented the first transparency reports required of the 19 companies classified as "very large online platforms" (VLOPs) (see 2304250008). These include Facebook, Bing, LinkedIn, Google and YouTube. Separately, the EC requested information from VLOPs Meta and Snap about how they're protecting minors.
Repealing Section 230 isn’t the “right answer” for holding tech platforms accountable, Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told us last week.
The breakup of the Iridium/Qualcomm mobile supplemental coverage from space (SCS) partnership (see 2311090077) could point to ongoing questions about monetization of the direct-to-handset service. Globalstar's SCS service partnership with Apple failed to drum up notable interest in iPhone 14s, and the Iridium/Qualcomm deal seems to have followed a similar path, satellite and spectrum consultant Tim Farrar told us Monday. He said Android OEMs likely foresee a challenge to selling more phones as a result of the messaging capability.
LA QUINTA, Calif. -- The EPA took “very seriously” telecom lead findings reported by the Wall Street Journal this summer (see 2307210004), EPA Senior Counselor to the Administrator Grant Cope said Monday. The government’s investigation continues, he told the NARUC Telecom Committee at the association’s meeting here. Also, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s former chief of staff Travis Litman said the FCC will have to “run, not walk” to complete net neutrality and other possibly divisive items before the election.
Groups including the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Consumer Reports (CR) supported robust rules as part of the FCC’s proposed cybersecurity labeling program for smart devices in reply comments posted Monday in docket 23-239. In a letter posted last week, CTA, CTIA and other industry groups laid down a marker, saying the program should be voluntary and based on existing National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidance (see 2311090033).
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said during a Federalist Society panel discussion Friday that the Supreme Court’s growing focus on the major questions doctrine and the expected death of the Chevron doctrine (see 2306290063) has potential benefits in forcing lawmakers to make hard policy decisions.