Widespread 5G will mean many more Americans will have another choice of broadband provider, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr told the Americas Spectrum Management Conference Wednesday. Carr said the FCC needs to continue its push to get the rules right for broadband deployment. But Carr didn’t discuss next steps or comment on regulatory changes sought by CTIA and the Wireless Infrastructure Association, which the FCC put out for comment (see 1909130062).
Leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees are optimistic about the potential for progress on several of their top telecom policy priorities when Congress returns in mid-October from its upcoming two-week recess, including work to marry House and Senate-passed anti-robocall bills and an upcoming House package of broadband mapping legislation. And Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., voiced his willingness to compromise on some aspects of Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization. Congress is to recess at the end of this week and both chambers will reconvene Oct. 15.
DALLAS -- Broadcasters and broadcast attorneys are pinning their hopes on the FCC's appeal of Monday's 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion (see 1909230067) to undo the “monkey wrench” the ruling threw into broadcast ownership deregulation, according to panel discussions and interviews at the 2019 Radio Show.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote to the FTC Tuesday asking it to release a complete version of its 2012 report on potential anti-competitive behavior at Google. Half the report was inadvertently released in 2015, but the remaining pages are important for knowing whether the platform deceived consumers, he said during a Senate Antitrust Subcommittee hearing Tuesday.
The FCC’s Disability Advisory Committee approved a resolution Tuesday urging the FCC to launch a rulemaking on unresolved real-time text technical issues. In December 2016, FCC commissioners approved 5-0 a common standard for the transition from text technology (TTY) to real-time text (RTT) (see 1612150048). DAC members said some tricky issues remain.
Tech companies cheered Tuesday's ruling that the right to be forgotten by search engines doesn't apply outside the EU. The case involved a dispute between Google and French privacy authority CNIL (Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertes) over whether a subject's request to have links to web pages containing personal data delisted must be honored worldwide. The CNIL said the European Court of Justice didn't buy its approach to that right, but it provided some clarity. One privacy lawyer predicted the ruling won't change much, but a reputation protection firm said it could affect job-seekers for many years.
Groups differ over how much broadband deployment data the FCC should collect from providers, in what form, and how others should be able to challenge its accuracy. Comments posted through Tuesday on docket 19-195 weighed in on the agency's plans to update its Form 477 broadband mapping reporting requirements (see 1908210008). Parties mostly agree more granular information is needed to ensure USF dollars are allocated properly in upcoming Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auctions (see 1906280059), but some say holding out for detailed location fabrics that attempt to pinpoint every serviceable structure in the nation could slow the program.
Evan Swarztrauber, an aide to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, is expected to be tapped this week to replace Nathan Leamer as a policy adviser to Chairman Ajit Pai. Leamer was widely viewed as providing Pai with ties to key interest groups, especially those on the right. Other Pai aides have more of a legal or policy rather than communications background.
TAMPA -- Local telecom officials and their legal representatives are wary of future federal moves to encroach on their authority. They identified a wide gulf between their need for oversight of and compensation from providers and FCC actions this year and last, plus expected future agency deregulation. In interviews this week on the sidelines of their annual conference, NATOA board members and others had much criticism for the agency.
TAMPA -- Localities can get better 5G outcomes by proactively engaging with a wide array of stakeholders to get consistent and uniform policies, recommend NATOA panelists. Part of whether such smart city, fast broadband and digital divide narrowing technology succeeds and in an aesthetically palatable way depends on how far ahead communities plan for fifth-generation technology, industry representatives said Monday. Other suggestions included having published standards and encouraging collocating equipment including small cells with utilities and other carriers.