The FCC will “breathe life” into Section 7 of the Communications Act and will determine within a year whether any proposal for a new technology or service is in the public interest, Chairman Ajit Pai said Wednesday in a speech at Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute, webcast from Pittsburgh. The agency posted Pai’s remarks. Pai said he's directing staff to follow Section 7 and is charging the Office of Engineering and Technology with making sure the FCC adheres to the law.
Cybersecurity emerged as a topic during Tuesday’s infrastructure hearing by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said the issue keeps her up at night and cited widespread hacking concerns. “I am calling on the Trump administration to protect the public from growing cyberthreats that Russia and other foreign actors pose against our energy assets,” she said in her opening statement. “I am sending a letter to the president to make sure that we clarify the Department of Energy’s role as a lead agency in our nation’s cybersecurity matters, both on the defense side and on the response side to respond to potential hacking of our critical energy infrastructure. That is very important because we’ve heard rumors of an executive order further designating the Department of Homeland Security as the lead on this matter. I equate this to seeking medical attention and seeing a doctor, but in reality you need a dentist, because what you have is an oral problem.” Cantwell, who also is on the Commerce Committee, noted that during questioning of witnesses and backed “a more aggressive role” for the DOE on cybersecurity. The “right experts” are needed, she said, arguing the digitization of the grid makes the U.S. more vulnerable to attacks. Chairman Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is eyeing the permitting process at the federal, state and local levels. “I certainly hope that package” put forth by the Trump administration on infrastructure “will include provisions that streamline the permitting process for all energy infrastructure projects,” said Murkowski in her opening statement. That administration infrastructure package may include broadband funding. Several committees have begun hearings with an eye toward this pending proposal.
Cybersecurity emerged as a topic during Tuesday’s infrastructure hearing by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said the issue keeps her up at night and cited widespread hacking concerns. “I am calling on the Trump administration to protect the public from growing cyberthreats that Russia and other foreign actors pose against our energy assets,” she said in her opening statement. “I am sending a letter to the president to make sure that we clarify the Department of Energy’s role as a lead agency in our nation’s cybersecurity matters, both on the defense side and on the response side to respond to potential hacking of our critical energy infrastructure. That is very important because we’ve heard rumors of an executive order further designating the Department of Homeland Security as the lead on this matter. I equate this to seeking medical attention and seeing a doctor, but in reality you need a dentist, because what you have is an oral problem.” Cantwell, who also is on the Commerce Committee, noted that during questioning of witnesses and backed “a more aggressive role” for the DOE on cybersecurity. The “right experts” are needed, she said, arguing the digitization of the grid makes the U.S. more vulnerable to attacks. Chairman Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is eyeing the permitting process at the federal, state and local levels. “I certainly hope that package” put forth by the Trump administration on infrastructure “will include provisions that streamline the permitting process for all energy infrastructure projects,” said Murkowski in her opening statement. That administration infrastructure package may include broadband funding. Several committees have begun hearings with an eye toward this pending proposal.
Cybersecurity emerged as a topic during Tuesday’s infrastructure hearing by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said the issue keeps her up at night and cited widespread hacking concerns. “I am calling on the Trump administration to protect the public from growing cyberthreats that Russia and other foreign actors pose against our energy assets,” she said in her opening statement. “I am sending a letter to the president to make sure that we clarify the Department of Energy’s role as a lead agency in our nation’s cybersecurity matters, both on the defense side and on the response side to respond to potential hacking of our critical energy infrastructure. That is very important because we’ve heard rumors of an executive order further designating the Department of Homeland Security as the lead on this matter. I equate this to seeking medical attention and seeing a doctor, but in reality you need a dentist, because what you have is an oral problem.” Cantwell, who also is on the Commerce Committee, noted that during questioning of witnesses and backed “a more aggressive role” for the DOE on cybersecurity. The “right experts” are needed, she said, arguing the digitization of the grid makes the U.S. more vulnerable to attacks. Chairman Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is eyeing the permitting process at the federal, state and local levels. “I certainly hope that package” put forth by the Trump administration on infrastructure “will include provisions that streamline the permitting process for all energy infrastructure projects,” said Murkowski in her opening statement. That administration infrastructure package may include broadband funding. Several committees have begun hearings with an eye toward this pending proposal.
CTIA and Verizon separately urged the FCC to reject a request by the Maine Public Utilities Commission to clarify where the point of demarcation is between carriers and the state’s Next-Generation 911 network for message session relay protocol (MSRP). CTIA also disagreed with several states in the initial comment round (see 1702090021), in docket 11-153. The PUC said the lack of clarity was delaying Maine's adoption of the technology and making it difficult to assess costs (see 1701090027). “The record assembled supports CTIA’s initial comments that the Bureau should not disturb the established cost allocation norm for the interim text-to-911 environment,” CTIA replied. The PUC insists wireless providers should bear the costs of connecting from the text-control center to Maine’s ESInet because the FCC “placed the obligation to provide interim text-to-911 on the service providers, not on the PSAP,” CTIA said. “This mischaracterizes the Commission’s framework for interim text-to-911 and ignores that [public safety answering points] have their own set of obligations once they choose to request text messages from wireless providers.” Verizon said the Maine state agency correctly called attention to the need for collaboration. “However, it would inappropriately alter the interim framework developed between industry and the public safety community that launched the successful and still-growing deployment of text-to-911 throughout the country,” Verizon replied. The Boulder Regional Emergency Telephone Service Authority supports the PUC’s plea for clarity. “This proceeding concerns the anomaly in which providers of telephony services are responsible for delivery, and the cost of delivery, of their customers’ calls; except the most important calls their customers make: calls for emergency assistance,” it said. “The Commission should not further excuse providers from responsibility for delivery of their customers calls and messages to 9-1-1, and thus not permit providers to transfer to PSAPs or 9-1-1 authorities the costs of transport and routing of intrastate 9-1-1 calls and messages to and from nationally or regionally consolidated MSCs [mobile switching centers] or NG9-1-1 Data Complexes.”
The National Association of Farm Broadcasting joined rural groups in a letter last week “to request that Congress preserve the current tax treatment of advertising.” NAB posted and circulated a copy Monday. “Though we certainly support streamlining today’s onerous and complex tax code, the imposition of a new tax on advertising or limiting its current full, first-year deductibility, could damage rural economies and disrupt the distribution of critical local news information,” the rural groups told lawmakers. “For example, farmers, ranchers and residents of rural America have depended on free, over-the-air radio for nearly a century to deliver local news, emergency notifications, sports information and agriculture market news. Changes to the tax treatment of advertising would place an undue financial burden on local businesses and their advertising budgets, resulting in less advertising revenue for rural radio stations.” Free-market groups including TechFreedom weighed in last month.
Viacom elevates Christa D’Alimonte to executive vice president-general counsel-secretary, effective April 15, succeeding Michael Fricklas, who previously announced he's leaving the company; and moves up Keyes Hill-Edgar to executive vice president-global business affairs and general counsel, Viacom Media Networks ... Booz Allen adds ex-Target Chief Information Security Officer Brad Maiorino as executive vice president in its commercial business, working on cybersecurity ... Massachusetts Institute of Technology hires David Edelman, ex-White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, to direct new Project on Technology, the Economy and National Security.
Viacom elevates Christa D’Alimonte to executive vice president-general counsel-secretary, effective April 15, succeeding Michael Fricklas, who previously announced he's leaving the company; and moves up Keyes Hill-Edgar to executive vice president-global business affairs and general counsel, Viacom Media Networks ... Booz Allen adds ex-Target Chief Information Security Officer Brad Maiorino as executive vice president in its commercial business, working on cybersecurity ... Massachusetts Institute of Technology hires David Edelman, ex-White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, to direct new Project on Technology, the Economy and National Security ... ICANN moves Krista Papac to complaints officer, which it called a new function.
Chairman Ajit Pai’s recent moves to shift the FCC away from a role in cybersecurity policy are a “dangerous departure” from President Donald Trump’s “aggressive cybersecurity policy” stance, said former Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson in Morning Consult. Pai reversed a Simpson-authored white paper on communications sector cybersecurity regulation and a notice of inquiry on cybersecurity for 5G devices (see 1702060062 and 1702060059), among other moves (see 1702030070). Pai halted cybersecurity provisions in ISP privacy rules, Simpson wrote. The “greatest concern” will be the FCC’s future “benign neglect” of cybersecurity, he said. Simpson noted Commissioner Mike O’Rielly’s testimony last week before the Senate Commerce Committee that the commission has “extremely limited” statutory authority over cybersecurity absent a clear directive (see 1703080070). “Addressing cybersecurity early is smart policy,” Simpson said. “It leads to more robust, resilient and cost-efficient services. ... This is a national security and emergency preparedness requirement.” He criticized the communications sector’s “self-serving theory” that the Department of Homeland Security should take over oversight of the sector’s cybersecurity. Expanding DHS’ oversight “with no regulatory authority over the commercial communications sector, will be expensive, doomed to failure or both,” Simpson said. Trump can reverse FCC “cyber indifference” by in part making cybersecurity a “whole of government” priority that includes the FCC and FTC in the National Security Council’s assessment of cyber risk, Simpson said. He encouraged stakeholders to “demand a more effective dialog between congressional committees with cybersecurity risk responsibilities." The FCC didn’t comment.
Chairman Ajit Pai’s recent moves to shift the FCC away from a role in cybersecurity policy are a “dangerous departure” from President Donald Trump’s “aggressive cybersecurity policy” stance, said former Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson in Morning Consult. Pai reversed a Simpson-authored white paper on communications sector cybersecurity regulation and a notice of inquiry on cybersecurity for 5G devices (see 1702060062 and 1702060059), among other moves (see 1702030070). Pai halted cybersecurity provisions in ISP privacy rules, Simpson wrote. The “greatest concern” will be the FCC’s future “benign neglect” of cybersecurity, he said. Simpson noted Commissioner Mike O’Rielly’s testimony last week before the Senate Commerce Committee that the commission has “extremely limited” statutory authority over cybersecurity absent a clear directive (see 1703080070). “Addressing cybersecurity early is smart policy,” Simpson said. “It leads to more robust, resilient and cost-efficient services. ... This is a national security and emergency preparedness requirement.” He criticized the communications sector’s “self-serving theory” that the Department of Homeland Security should take over oversight of the sector’s cybersecurity. Expanding DHS’ oversight “with no regulatory authority over the commercial communications sector, will be expensive, doomed to failure or both,” Simpson said. Trump can reverse FCC “cyber indifference” by in part making cybersecurity a “whole of government” priority that includes the FCC and FTC in the National Security Council’s assessment of cyber risk, Simpson said. He encouraged stakeholders to “demand a more effective dialog between congressional committees with cybersecurity risk responsibilities." The FCC didn’t comment.