A $100 million Connected Care telehealth pilot is expected to get the go-ahead with bipartisan support Wednesday when FCC commissioners vote at their Wednesday meeting, said agency officials. It also received broad support from patient advocates and telehealth interests, as announced Monday by Commissioner Brendan Carr, who's spearheading the pilot. A draft NPRM released last month asks for stakeholder feedback on how to structure the plan to provide broadband support to homes in a pilot that would test the efficacy of telehealth services and remote patient monitoring (see 1906190013).
Licensing a small satellite could get cheaper and faster through a streamlined process to be on the FCC's Aug. 1 agenda, Chairman Ajit Pai told a U.S. Chamber of Commerce smallsat conference Tuesday. FCC officials told us the agenda could include a local franchise authority order stemming from last year's Further NPRM that would treat cable operators' in-kind contributions required by LFAs as franchise fees and subject to a cap (see 1809250017).
The draft kidvid order is expected to be approved on a 3-2 party line split at Wednesday’s commissioners’ meeting, and will be little changed from the draft version released last month, FCC and broadcast industry officials said in interviews Tuesday. No substantive edits had been made to the item Tuesday afternoon, FCC officials told us. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly published an opinion column in The Hill Tuesday touting the order as “a reasoned and balanced compromise,” adding to the perception that last minute changes to most aspects of the order are unlikely. “It appears that the decision is a fait accompli,” said Parents Television Council President Tim Winter in an interview Tuesday. PTC has opposed the FCC’s kidvid proposals.
The FCC is expected to take up a C-band order in coming months, but several industry officials predict a vote is unlikely before the Nov. 19 commissioners' meeting. Chairman Ajit Pai’s office recently told several parties if they have additional proposals for the band, get them in as quickly possible. Agency officials said Pai is getting close to making decisions, though the commission is waiting for reply comments on the most recent C-band proceeding on a clearing plan. Initial comments came last week (see 1907050035).
In a case that could affect global personal data transfers, Europe's high court will consider a challenge Tuesday by privacy lawyer Max Schrems to Facebook's use of standard contractual clauses (SCCs) to shift personal data to the U.S. Schrems filed the case, Data Protection Commissioner v. Facebook Ireland and Maximilian Schrems, in the Irish High Court. That court referred it to the European Court of Justice for a ruling on whether SCCs are valid under EU law (see 1710030011). ECJ's decision could reach as far as trans-Atlantic data transfer agreement Privacy Shield, lawyers told us.
FCC preliminary numbers show about 12 percent of Lifeline subscribers de-enrolled in states where the national verifier is reaching final steps in the reverification process. Lifeline providers saw many Lifeline de-enrollments in recent weeks in some of the first states where the NV launched, but carrier application program interface remains unavailable and Universal Service Administrative Co. still lacks access to many state databases or the national Medicaid database, said John Heitmann of Kelley Drye, counsel to the National Lifeline Association. At least 2 million could be de-enrolled due to difficulties verifying, he said.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated Monday an order banning malicious caller ID spoofing of text messages and international calls for a vote at the Aug. 1 commissioners’ meeting. In February, commissioners voted 5-0 to launch a rulemaking on curbing spoofed robocalls (see 1902140039), implementing part of Ray Baum's Act.
The intensifying 2020 presidential race could affect FCC policymaking as the election gets much closer, industry and former officials told us, though they don’t all agree on what the effect will be. Some expect the agency and Chairman Ajit Pai to seek to avoid headline-grabbing rulemakings that create ammunition for President Donald Trump’s opponents. Others expect Pai to push his agenda to get policies approved while Republican control of the agency is certain.
Amazon's plan now before the FCC for a 3,236-satellite non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) constellation is increasing the pressure on the agency to act on its orbital debris proceeding, especially since the e-tailer's resources make its constellation plan less speculative than others, satellite experts told us. Amazon's International Bureau application filed Thursday also could raise red flags from other satellite operators about its trying to bypass the processing round process, said satellite lawyer Steve Goodman of Butzel Long.
Facebook later this month will offer high-profile testimony to Congress, this time on the company’s entry into digital currency markets (see 1906190060). Calibra Head David Marcus is expected before the Senate Banking Committee on July 16 (see 1906190060) and the House Financial Services Committee on July 17.