Broadcast TV executives are bullish on the future of retransmission consent but are seeing varying levels of softness in the advertising market, they said on Q3 earnings calls this month. Nexstar and E.W. Scripps have experienced softness in the national advertising market, which Scripps CEO Adam Symson ascribed to macroeconomic headwinds. “We’re seeing no sign -- by region or market -- of any kind of recession,” said Gray Television co-CEO Hilton Howell in Gray’s call last week.
The Biden administration released its long-awaited national spectrum strategy and a presidential memorandum on modernizing U.S. spectrum policy at a White House ceremony Monday. The plan identifies the 3.1-3.45, 5.03-5.091, 7.125-8.4, 18.1-18.6 and 37.0-37.6 GHz bands for further study by NTIA over the next two years for potential repurposing (see 2311130007). But the plan omits other bands thought to be in the federal cross-hairs. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr slammed the strategy.
Countries need to decide the way forward on a broadcast protections treaty, the chair of the World Intellectual Property Organization's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) said at a Nov. 6-8 meeting in Geneva, according to a transcript. A review of the third revised draft text accomplished two things, said Owen Ripley, Canadian Heritage associate assistant deputy minister-cultural affairs. It identified issues that could be improved for clarity or to move toward a consensus document and it allowed delegates to map the areas where outstanding issues remain.
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Thursday she will try to hotline kids privacy legislation in the Senate.
CTIA and NCTA locked horns in reply comments on whether the FCC should examine spectrum aggregation limits. AT&T asked for a rulemaking in 2021, focused on mid-band holdings, but the FCC's questions in a September notice (see 2309220064) go beyond what AT&T sought (see 2310060051). T-Mobile took fire from Dish Network and AT&T.
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).
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.
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.