President Joe Biden’s forthcoming executive order on AI will direct federal agencies like the FTC to explore existing authorities for ways to regulate the technology, NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson said Wednesday.
Commenters disagreed sharply on what the FCC should do in response to an August notice of inquiry on understanding nonfederal spectrum use. Some observers have questioned how much will be gained by the inquiry, especially because it doesn’t ask about federal use (see 2308020054). Comments were posted Wednesday in docket 23-232.
A Pennsylvania House committee advanced a bipartisan bill on “ghost poles” Tuesday amid a push to increase telecom accountability by six Republicans from rural districts. The bills respond to constituents’ many complaints about Frontier Communications, state legislators said in interviews last week.
The FCC should reconsider proposed changes in an April NPRM on rules for Section 214 international authorizations (see 2304200039), CTIA and others said in reply comments, posted Tuesday in docket 23-119. The order authorized a one-time collection of foreign-ownership information from authorization holders and sought comment on rules requiring carriers to renew the authorizations every 10 years, “or in the alternative,” periodic updates. The FCC got pushback in the initial comment round but general support from DOJ, DOD and Department of Homeland Security, sometimes called Team Telecom (see 2309010058).
Big telecom companies differed with rural telcos on how much the Nebraska Public Service Commission should rely on new FCC broadband data for Nebraska USF (NUSF) high-cost distributions. The PSC posted comments Monday on short-term issues in a comprehensive USF review opened Aug. 29 (see 2308290044).
The Senate confirmed FCC Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Brendan Carr to new five-year terms Saturday, providing stability for the agency and assuring a 3-2 Democratic-controlled commission through the end of the current administration. Two big, contentious items are already in the pipeline -- a net neutrality NPRM at the commissioners' Oct. 19 open meeting and a Nov. 15 statutory deadline to issue digital discrimination rules, with a commission meeting also scheduled for that day. If the Senate hadn't acted, Starks would have had to leave in January and the FCC would have been back to a 2-2 split between Democrats and Republicans.
With the FCC keeping its doors open until at least Oct. 20 (see 2309280084), the communications industry faces less of a challenge if the federal government closed Saturday night, industry experts agree. The FTC also would remain open. NTIA is expected to furlough many employees. For the FCC, there are questions about what would happen after Oct. 20. The last federal shutdown, in 2018-2019, went on for 35 days. A closure in 1995-1996 lasted 21 days and one in 2013 16 days.
The FCC's draft NPRM that would kick off the agency's efforts to reestablish net neutrality rules largely mirrored the commission's 2015 order, according to our analysis of the draft. Commissioners will consider the item during an October open meeting that will include a full commission for the first time under Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel despite a potential government shutdown (see 2309270056). Meanwhile, FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington said the FCC’s net neutrality push is not about protecting free speech but about protecting some tech companies.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel defended an anticipated proceeding that will kick off the commission's efforts to reestablish net neutrality rules (see 2309260047). "We've made it a national policy to make sure broadband reaches everyone, everywhere," she said during a Wednesday Axios event: "I think we should make it a national policy to make sure it's open and not just leave this issue to the states." Rosenworcel in an FCC note also previewed the draft item to be released Thursday, saying commissioners will vote next month on a proposal to begin the process of restoring the FCC’s "overwhelmingly popular" rules.
The FCC Wireless Bureau said it will host a workshop Nov. 2 on the environmental compliance and historic preservation review process required for building communications facilities supporting FCC-licensed services. The daylong workshop starts at 10 a.m. at commission headquarters. “FCC and other federal agency subject-matter experts will provide information on a range of topics related to the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and the FCC’s implementing regulations and related agreements,” the bureau said Tuesday: “FCC applicants (including licensees and registrants), those who construct or manage communications facilities for FCC licensees, environmental consultants, State Historic Preservation Office staff, Tribal Historic Preservation Office staff, and federal agencies that fund or permit wireless facilities are encouraged to attend.”