Citing the expanded use of telemedicine, FCC commissioners unanimously adopted a Further NPRM seeking comments on changes to the rural healthcare program’s telecom program’s rates determination rules and to the healthcare connect fund’s internal funding caps, during the agency’s monthly meeting Friday (see 2202170031). They also adopted an order requiring Aureon to submit information needed to calculate refunds to its customers, and a $45 million fine against a company that made more than 500,000 robocalls that violate Telephone Consumer Protection Act rules. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel also said the FCC plans a notice of inquiry on receiver standards, which has been before the agency for 20 years.
Congress is paying increased attention to orbital debris, but it’s not close to legislative action about it, said Capitol Hill committee staffers Thursday at the FAA annual Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington. They said action on space situational awareness (SSA) and space traffic coordination (STC) will be a priority for the 117th session.
Although the U.S should take steps to punish Chinese cyber hackers through sanctions and export controls, it shouldn't expect those tools to slow China’s cyber hacking capabilities, experts told the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. They said the U.S. should use sanctions in conjunction with other defensive tools to make it harder for China to carry out hacking.
The FCC and NTIA committed Tuesday to update their 2003 memorandum of understanding, among other ways to improve the two agencies’ coordination on spectrum policy matters amid continued congressional ire over federal infighting on those matters that’s extended into the Biden administration (see 2202030081). The FCC-NTIA agreement is likely to be a main focus of a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing with NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, communications officials told us. Lawmakers continue to show interest in pursuing legislation to prevent future policy fracases, though it could be tough to address this year (see 2202070066). NTIA stakeholders will also watch the Wednesday hearing for any signs of lawmakers’ interest in pursuing legislation to revamp the agency (see 2202150075). The hearing will begin at noon EST. It’s House Communications’ first NTIA oversight hearing since 2018 (see 1803060048).
Vice President Kamala Harris and other Biden administration officials touted the FCC’s $14.2 billion affordable connectivity program Monday as an example of successful implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as the program hit a milestone of enrolling more than 10 million households. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., is holding out hope that Congress could appropriate additional money for the FCC Emergency Connectivity Fund and other broadband programs by passing it as part of a balkanized chunk of the scuttled Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation package (HR-5376) but told us he believes keeping the connectivity money isn't going to make or break his support.
Important questions still surround the implementation of a potential multilateral sanctions package against Russia, economic and security experts said, including U.S. efforts to enforce an expansion of the foreign-direct product rule. Although details may not yet be clear, a former State Department official warned that new U.S. sanctions against Russia could soon turn strict enough to mirror trade restrictions against Iran.
House Commerce Committee leaders proposed the draft Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act and Secure Space Act Friday in a bid to revamp the FCC's low-earth orbit satellite licensing rules. STSA would require the FCC to issue “specific performance requirements” for satellite licensees to meet on space safety and orbital debris, including limits on the amount of debris a licensee releases “in a planned manner” and limits on the probability a space station will become a debris source, experience an accidental explosion or collide with another station. The measure would require the FCC to determine a satellite licensee’s operations won’t cause harmful interference with other licensees, won’t “diminish the efficiency” of other services’ spectrum use and won’t affect competition in the satellite space. Licenses granted under the measure would be required to share spectrum with other licensees and “coordinate in good faith with any other licensee of the spectrum band.” The Secure Space Act would bar the FCC from granting satellite licenses to any entity the FCC deems a national security risk under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act. “American companies are at the forefront of developing and deploying broadband and other advanced communications services using satellite technologies, which is revolutionizing the communications marketplace as we know it,” said House Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. “We must streamline our regulatory processes to usher in a new era of American innovation and investment in this growing sector, particularly as our economic competitors like China race to dominate this industry, and must ensure our laws and regulations fully protect the public.” The draft bills “are an important step towards developing a bipartisan solution,” the lawmakers said. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr swiftly praised the draft bills. "The final frontier is home to an emerging constellation of satellites that are offering high-speed Internet services," he said. "We need to ensure that America continues to attract the jobs and investments that flow from these innovative operations." The draft House Commerce bills "would strengthen America’s space-based leadership by further streamlining the licensing process and advancing the security of satellite systems," he said.
President Joe Biden froze U.S.-held assets in the central bank of Afghanistan via an executive order issued Feb. 11. In response to "the widespread humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan," the president declared a national emergency. Citing the "potential for a deepening economic collapse in Afghanistan" that could threaten U.S. "national security and foreign policy," Biden ordered the freeze to facilitate access to $3.5 billion of those assets for the benefit of the Afghan people and their urgent need for "food security, livelihoods support, water, sanitation, health, hygiene, shelter and settlement assistance." The order blocks the transfer of bank property held in the U.S. by U.S. financial institutions. All property that is held in the U.S. by an American institution is, as of Feb. 11, blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in, and will be transferred into a consolidated account held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
BIS is preparing to “soon” issue another set of export controls that will cover both emerging and foundational technologies, said Matt Borman, the Bureau of Industry and Security’s deputy assistant secretary of export administration. The controls, briefly mentioned by a senior BIS official last month (see 2201280045), would represent the first set of formal export restrictions over foundational technologies since Congress passed the Export Control Reform Act in 2018.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable said Feb. 10 the business community is trying to find workarounds to the blockade at the Detroit-Windsor Ambassador Bridge and other Canadian border crossings, "but we are already seeing some production cuts, shift reductions, and temporary plant closures. The North American economy relies on our ability to work closely together, including our manufacturing sectors. We need to apply the same spirit of cooperation to tackle this problem.