The Senate passed several telecom measures Thursday, including the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (Traced) Act (S-151). House Commerce Committee Democratic leaders called the bills part of a series of 2019 tech and telecom successes. They also noted some policy priorities for 2020.
Five states diverted nearly $198 million, or 7.6 percent of all 911 fee revenue, for unrelated purposes in 2018, the FCC reported. That dropped about $87 million from 2017. FCC members said Thursday that any reshuffling is inappropriate.
The FCC faces pushback from yet another federal agency on spectrum. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is concerned about an FCC proposal for sharing the 6 GHz band with Wi-Fi and other unlicensed. Industry officials said the commission is unlikely to change course. Wi-Fi advocates see the 6 GHz band as critical to meeting growing demand for unlicensed spectrum (see 1906250015), and the FCC is expected to take up a 6 GHz item early in the new year. The latest is that the Office of Engineering and Technology is reviewing the item and a vote is unlikely before the March meeting.
Controversy over the FCC Consumer Advisory Committee flared again. In April, questions arose about whether applicants were fairly picked. Many nonprofits that say they represent consumers were turned down for CAC membership, after previously belonging. Now, those who were rejected and transparency experts think the commission under Chairman Ajit Pai is wrongly withholding CAC documents, they said in interviews after reviewing the case.
The Lifeline national verifier soft launches Friday in California, Oregon and Texas, but differently than it did in other states, the FCC Wireline Bureau said Wednesday in docket 11-42. The announcement was expected (see 1912120034). The NV hard launches Jan. 22 in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Washington state, the bureau said separately.
Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, are trying to formulate a proposal on the tech industry’s content liability shield, they told us Wednesday. Schatz previously announced plans to roll out legislation on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (see 1909120058).
The 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference was a mixed success for the U.S., FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said, viewing WRC-19 as falling short. Other WRC watchers echoed O’Rielly’s concerns and said questions about ITU process aren’t going away. The conference ended last month after weeks of negotiations (see 1911220014).
The assets Dish Network would gain through DOJ’s “remedy” with T-Mobile/Sprint would be a “catalyst” to building out a 5G network “faster” than otherwise possible, testified Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen Wednesday at the T-Mobile/Sprint bench trial in U.S. District Court in lower Manhattan. “We’re going to need 5G to compete against the big three incumbents,” including AT&T, Verizon and the new T-Mobile, said Ergen. “We can’t wait” to compete against T-Mobile, he said.
The assets Dish Network would gain through DOJ’s “remedy” with T-Mobile/Sprint would be a “catalyst” to building out a 5G network “faster” than otherwise possible, testified Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen Wednesday at the T-Mobile/Sprint bench trial in U.S. District Court in lower Manhattan. “We’re going to need 5G to compete against the big three incumbents,” including AT&T, Verizon and the new T-Mobile, said Ergen. “We can’t wait” to compete against T-Mobile, he said.
As governments increasingly seek to control aspects of the internet, debate is growing over what they're trying to achieve. Some argue countries such as China and Russia aim for a technical break from the global domain name system (DNS). Others said nations are seeking to align the internet with their jurisdictional boundaries. The issues came up in recent academic writings and a Nov. 27 Internet Governance Forum (IGF) session.