FCC Releases Text of Section 7 NPRM
The FCC released its NPRM, OK'd Thursday, seeking comment on proposed rules implementing Section 7 of the Communications Act, approved by Congress in 1983 to speed review of “innovative” technologies and services (see 1802220045). Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel dissented and Commissioner…
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Mignon Clyburn partially dissented. “Although the forces of competition and technological growth work together to enable the development and deployment of many new technologies and services to the public, the Commission has at times been slow to identify and take action to ensure that important new technologies or services are made available as quickly as possible,” the NPRM says. “The Commission has sought to overcome these impediments by streamlining many of its processes, but all too often regulatory delays can adversely impact newly proposed technologies or services.” The notice says the FCC has long encouraged innovation, with its experimental licensing program started in 1939. Through its Part 15 unlicensed rules, the FCC “enabled the development of significant technical innovation for devices used on an unlicensed basis including, for example, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and a wide variety of other technologies,” the NPRM said. It addresses the Pioneer’s Preference Program, which Rosenworcel cited in her dissent as an example of why such rules won’t work. “The program was discontinued in 1997 by Congressional action, following the advent of the auctioning of wireless licenses,” said a footnote to the notice.