The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology's looking for input on the Technological Advisory Council’s hunt for technical regulations in need of modification (see 1708310035) got suggestions on new filing requirements for internal reorganizations and reforming rules on marketing and operation of RF devices before authorization. Monday was the deadline for docket 17-215 comments.
NTIA urged the FCC to account for federal government telecom needs in streamlining the processes for copper retirements and telecom service discontinuances under Section 214 of the Communications Act. The Commerce Department agency supports proposals in an FCC April NPRM for streamlining the process and suggested ways to "accommodate the needs" of federal agency communications customers. "The technology transition will require federal agencies -- on a possibly very short timetable -- to purchase new IP-compatible customer premises equipment (CPE) or to install new equipment to ensure that agencies’ existing CPE and systems can interoperate with IP-based services," said NTIA comments posted Monday in docket 17-84. "While the Commission should aggressively reduce or eliminate unjustified regulatory barriers to network evolution, it must also take steps to assure that before a service is discontinued or a facility is retired (1) federal customers are aware of the prospective change and its potential service implications for them, (2) carriers have acquainted themselves with their federal customers’ situation and needs, and (3) carriers have taken reasonable steps to ensure that federal users will continue to be served adequately after discontinuance." The FCC Thursday put a draft item on the tentative agenda for a Nov. 16 vote (see 1710270040).
NARUC blasted the FCC for rejecting what the agency termed the “blunderbuss approach” of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission applying state regulations to Charter Communications’ fixed interconnected VoIP service (see 1710270053). In an amicus brief Friday at the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the FCC said allowing Minnesota to regulate VoIP would disrupt the market, stifle competition and hurt consumers. The federal agency again declined to say if it's a telecom or information service. But its statement could have big impact in the case and on the broader question of whether states can regulate such services, observers said.
The Democrat leading the race to be New Jersey governor by a wide margin supports ISP privacy rules. The position, which seems to counter President Donald Trump’s repeal of FCC broadband privacy rules, raised ISP eyebrows and Free Press praise. Meanwhile, gubernatorial candidates in Virginia laid out detailed plans to expand broadband, with the Democrat urging better data and the Republican seeking deregulation to spur private sector deployment. A state cable association said both Virginia candidates need to study, and a municipal advocate said he’s not excited by either’s broadband platform.
The FCC plans Nov. 16 votes on media ownership and ATSC 3.0, as expected, (see 1710250049), and wireless and wireline infrastructure and cable items, Chairman Ajit Pai blogged, although drafts of the items have not yet been issued. Commissioners also will vote, as expected (see 1710100063), on the next phase of the FCC's spectrum frontiers initiative, setting aside high-frequency spectrum for 5G. The order would make available another 1,700 MHz of high-frequency spectrum “for flexible terrestrial wireless use while providing 4 gigahertz for core satellite use,” Pai said. The FCC approved the first order under ex-Chairman Tom Wheeler in July 2016 (see 1607140052).
New commenters urged the FCC to collect more granular Form 477 company data on broadband and voice services, but industry parties continued to resist, in replies posted Tuesday and Wednesday in docket 11-10 on a Further NPRM. New York City "supports proposals to increase the granularity of the Commission’s data collections, standardize propagation models for mobile broadband collections, collect on-the-ground data, and make more data public," it replied. "Doing so would allow for more reliable and transparent comparison and assessment of broadband deployment."
The House Communications Subcommittee's Wednesday FCC oversight hearing featured a sometimes contentious exchange over President Donald Trump's recent comments threatening to challenge NBC licenses, criticism of recent FCC actions that could affect Sinclair's proposed buy of Tribune, and discussion about a mix of lower-temperature issues, as expected (see 1710240065). FCC Chairman Ajit Pai again repeated his commitment to the First Amendment without specifically citing the president. Pai invoked the controversy to announce the details of media ownership reconsideration order that he plans to publish Thursday (see 1710250037 and 1710250049). "If you believe as I do that the federal government has no business intervening in the news, then we must stop the federal government from intervening in the news business" via the order, he said.
The FCC approved elimination of the main studio rule 3-2 Tuesday over the expected objections of Democratic Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel (see 1710130054). Rosenworcel also voted against a plan to tweak broadband-service spectrum rules (see 1710240050). This main studio deregulation will “hollow out the unique role broadcasters play in local communities,” said Rosenworcel. Broadcasters can help communities in times of crisis, but “they can only do so when they have a real presence in their area of license,” she said. “Why would an industry that repeatedly extols the virtues of its local roots want to eliminate their only real connection to that very same community?” Clyburn said.
The digital advertising community needs to adopt tighter controls for what goes on websites, said Interactive Advertising Bureau CEO Randall Rothenberg in testimony prepared for a Tuesday House Oversight IT Subcommittee hearing. There’s a “role” for government regulation and opportunities for the Federal Election Commission to update rules for today’s online communications, but “we believe that legislation alone will be unable to address the underlying need for greater transparency in the digital advertising industry” without trampling free speech, the testimony said.
Parts of an FCC March 24 order on contraband cellphones in correctional facilities took effect Friday, after Office of Management and Budget approval, said a notice in Friday's Federal Register. Other parts take effect Feb. 12. "In the Report and Order, the Commission streamlined the process of deploying contraband wireless device interdiction systems -- systems that use radio communications signals requiring Commission authorization -- in correctional facilities," the notice said. "The action will reduce the cost of deploying solutions and ensure that they can be deployed more quickly and efficiently." Commissioners approved rules and a Further NPRM on contraband devices in March designed to speed permitting of contraband interdiction systems (see 1703230056).