While the FCC eyes sticking with telework at least through next June (see 2007240053), many law firms with communications practices tell us they're taking a wait-and-see stance with the pandemic, with no time frame for returning to their facilities. Others have tentative dates in mind for reopening or have partially reopened. Many see increased telework as the norm post-pandemic.
Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, Public Knowledge and tribal groups slammed the FCC’s 30-day delay of the application window for tribes to apply for 2.5 GHz spectrum, after staff acted Friday (see 2007310027). With COVID-19 a problem in tribal areas, groups had asked for an extra six months, but got until Sept. 2. T-Mobile, the dominant player in the band, told the FCC it was comfortable with a 90-day extension (see 2007300052). The order said 229 applications have been submitted and another 55 applications started by tribal entities as of Friday.
A Senate block on FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly is likely to delay reconfirmation until at least after Congress’ upcoming August recess and potentially until after the November election, lawmakers and lobbyists said in interviews last week. Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., placed a hold last week on O’Rielly that he said will last until the commissioner publicly “states that he will vote to overturn” the order approving Ligado’s L-band plan (see 2007280039). President Donald Trump nominated O’Rielly in March to a term ending in 2024 (see 2003180070).
The Environmental Health Trust (EHT), Consumers for Safe Cell Phones and the Children’s Health Defense asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to rule the FCC’s refusal to update its 25-year-old “obsolete” RF exposure rules is a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Telecom Act. EHT officials argued for forcing FCC action during a news conference Thursday.
The Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee unanimously OK'd Thursday a report by the Spectrum Strategy Governance Subcommittee on potential changes to federal oversight of spectrum (see 2004220059). They didn’t reach conclusions (see 2007280047).
A State Department official built the U.S. case against Huawei and other Chinese companies and the threat they pose to 5G and the communications supply chain. “Trust cannot exist where a telecom vendor is subject to an authoritarian government” like China, said Robert Strayer, deputy assistant secretary-cyber and international communications and information policy, during a Thursday Telecommunications Industry Association webinar.
The clock started ticking Thursday for incumbent C-band fixed satellite service earth station operators to decide whether to take the lump sum for spectrum clearing transition costs. Some expect relatively few to take that option after the agency made only some cost estimate changes sought by many MVPDs (see 2007060051). The Wireless Bureau public notice set Aug. 31 for the lump sum election and laid out the cost category schedule and dollar amounts. The FCC seems unlikely to budge on the deadline or inclined to hand out waivers, said broadcast lawyer Anne Crump of Fletcher Heald.
A draft order circulated to eighth-floor offices Thursday would reduce a Dec. 1 increase of the Lifeline program’s minimum service standard for mobile broadband. Currently, the MSS is to go from 3 GB monthly to 11.75 GB monthly on that date. The draft would instead shift it to 4.5 GB per month. It will “permanently clean up the mess” from the 2016 order that instituted the formula leading to the larger increase, Chairman Ajit Pai said. The agency waived a similar increase, from 3 GB to 8.75, in 2019. The metric has to rise to keep up with consumer data use, but increases that are too large prevent providers from keeping Lifeline affordable, Pai said.
Updated pacts proposed by BMI and ASCAP should be treated as proposals to terminate the consent decree regime entirely because they include a sunset clause, said NAB General Counsel Rick Kaplan during a panel Wednesday on day two of DOJ’s workshop on music licensing (see 2007280062). ASCAP and BMI are “cartels” and it's in the public interest to constrain them with consent decrees, he said. There are more performance rights organizations than ever, and ASCAP and BMI face competition from publishers through direct licensing and from powerful tech companies, said advocates for ASCAP and BMI.
The Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee's Disaster Response and Recovery Working Group reported Wednesday on progress on a pandemic report assigned by the FCC. One theme is that access to broadband overrides all other issues raised by COVID-19, officials said during the group’s quarterly meeting, held virtually. A final report should be ready for BDAC’s next meeting in October, said Red Grasso, WG chair who represents the North Carolina Department of Information Technology. “We’ve been pretty aggressive.”