The satellite industry is at odds over the FCC-proposed elimination of the domestic coverage requirement for non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) fixed satellite service systems. Though there's not agreement, the agency still could move forward on some change since there's obviously need for a more flexible regime, said satellite industry lawyer Jeff Carlisle. An industry consultant said the deregulatory aspect of the NPRM could carry particular weight with the FCC. Also potentially trumping objections is the added flexibility NGSO operators would have to bring more satellite broadband connectivity at least to the lower 48 states, the consultant said.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., helped begin the 2018 Senate session Wednesday by criticizing the FCC's “flawed” rulemaking process that led to commissioners' 3-2 vote last month to rescind 2015 net neutrality rules and related reclassification of broadband as a Communications Act Title II service. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said Tuesday he has almost enough support from colleagues to clear a procedural hurdle to allow a Senate vote on his planned Congressional Review Act resolution to undo the repeal. Markey and House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., are expected to file the resolution once the order is promulgated (see 1712110050, 1712120037 and 1712140044). It could be released within days (see 1801030040).
Sprint said the nearly 14-year 800 MHz rebanding is almost complete. The big question remains: Why did the process take so long when rebranding originally was projected to be completed in just three years? Former FCC officials and observers said on some levels that the 800 MHz rebanding was uniquely complicated, far more so than envisioned.
When major hurricanes disrupted 911 communications in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands last summer, systems held up in many places and backup procedures were effective, said 911 and government officials in interviews. But next-generation 911, more resilient buildings and other enhancements could save lives in future disasters, they said.
A draft ethics code for the Arizona Corporation Commission would create an ethics officer and clarify rules on conflicts of interest and financial disclosure. Commissioner Boyd Dunn, spearheading the ethics code, said he wants to adopt a final version before March. The draft is a step forward for the Arizona commission but doesn’t go far enough given the body’s history (see 1712010034), a government watchdog said Tuesday.
The local number portability administrator transition timetable "faces significant risks," North American Portability Management said in its monthly update Friday in FCC docket 09-109. The planned "final acceptance date" of May 25 for a new Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC) system "remains unchanged," but "several issues and vendor nonconformances related to interface specifications have been identified and require mitigation," NAPM said. "With additional systems testing still remaining, new issues may arise that require resolution and add pressure to the program timeline." The commission chose Telcordia's iconectiv over incumbent Neustar to run the LNP system, designed to allow consumers to keep their phone numbers when changing carriers.
A bevy of public interest groups and a newspaper publisher oppose an FCC proposal to relax public notice rules, but broadcasters and the Multicultural Media Telecom and Internet Council support the FCC stance, according to comments filed in docket 17-264 for Monday’s comment deadline on an FCC NPRM. A second deregulatory move proposed in the NPRM -- to exempt broadcasters that don’t offer ancillary services from filing ancillary services earnings reports -- was less controversial, drawing support only from broadcasters and no attention at all from public interest groups.
Many questions remain about the rules for the future of the 3.5 GHz band, but industry officials said a compromise appears to be in the works that could leave census tracts in place as the primary license size for the priority access licenses (PALs), the licensed component of the shared band. Industry officials said the path to approval will be much smoother if FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly agrees to leave the license sizes as they are in the original rules, rather than pressing for larger license geographies that wireless ISPs and others say would be too big for everyone but the carriers. The FCC didn’t comment.
Altice USA's dropping of Starz Jan. 1 is the latest clash in a fight between MVPDs and programmers over traditional carriage models in a time of multiplying direct-to-consumer (DTC) offerings, industry experts said. But that cable model evolution is happening slowly, and the fight is simmering more than boiling, with other cable network blackouts not immediately expected, we were told.
Twitter users were largely unmoved Friday by Apple’s apology for slowing down performance of iPhone 6 models. The apology was a “sorry not sorry" move, 1patricksanders said, noting the battery price cut will be temporary when it kicks in late in January.