Broadcasters seeking an AM radio requirement for cars are counting on bipartisan support and public safety concerns to carry the day, but opponents argue Ford’s recent reversal (see 2305230047) shows legislation to mandate the technology like the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-3413/S-1669) isn't needed. It would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a rule mandating AM radio access in new vehicles. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, is withholding deciding on whether such legislation is needed pending the outcome of a planned early June hearing on the issue.
The U.S. would benefit from a new federal agency regulating artificial intelligence technology, Microsoft President Brad Smith said Thursday at a Planet Word event in Washington, D.C. Smith said the agency could oversee licensing of AI products much like regulators of automobile and aviation technology. He recommended President Joe Biden issue an executive order saying the federal government will procure AI services only from organizations applying government- and industry-sanctioned AI frameworks.
Recent issues at the FTC raise “troubling” questions for the future of independent agencies, including the FCC, said Mark Jamison, American Enterprise Institute nonresident senior fellow, during an AEI forum Thursday. Jamison was joined by former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly and former FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen, both Republicans.
“Nobody really knows what the FCC was thinking,” said Tegna CEO Dave Lougee Thursday on the company’s first earnings call since it agreed in 2021 to be bought by Standard General. Standard hasn’t responded to requests for comment on the deal’s termination, but it told the FCC in a Wednesday status filing it's ready to continue with the hearing process even without a deal at stake. “Standard General remains prepared to vindicate its rights as necessary, including through participation in the hearing and attendant discovery process.” The FCC, other parties in the case and the administrative law judge are more likely to view the matter as moot, said broadcast attorneys, who don’t expect the hearing to move forward. Tegna and Cox Media Group told the FCC Thursday that they wouldn't participate further in the hearing.
The House Commerce Committee’s Wednesday advancement of the Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (HR-3565) and panel leaders’ push to enact (see 2305170037) a bill to restore the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through June 30 (HR-3345) are aimed squarely at putting pressure on Senate negotiators to reach a deal, said lawmakers, congressional aides and others in interviews. The panel advanced an amended version of HR-3565 50-0 and unanimously approved five bipartisan broadband permitting measures but divided sharply along party lines on the American Broadband Deployment Act (HR-3557).
Carriers are making strides toward cutting energy consumption and becoming greener, but companies need to improve how they work together, speakers said Wednesday at a TelecomTV green network summit. Questions remain, including how AI can help make networks more efficient, while the use of AI technology by itself consumes a growing amount of power, experts said.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is seeking potential options with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to bring a package of children’s online safety bills to the Senate floor, he told us last week.
Rural healthcare program (RHC) participants and industry continued to back the FCC's efforts to modify the program's rate methodologies, in reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 17-310 (see 2304250074). Some urged the FCC to facilitate competitive bidding and a copayment structure in the telecom program and Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) rather than revert to the commission's previous rates database.
Las Vegas has been able to deploy a private network in just three years, initially as a way to control costs, but it continues to find new ways to use the network, said Michael Sherwood, the city’s chief innovation and technology officer, at the Private Networks Global Forum Tuesday. Other speakers said momentum is starting to build for private networks.
Ford Motor announced the company won’t remove AM radio from its cars in the U.S. after getting pushback from lawmakers and broadcasters. “After speaking with policy leaders about the importance of AM broadcast radio as a part of the emergency alert system, we’ve decided to include it” in all 2024 Ford and Lincoln models, Ford CEO Jim Farley tweeted Tuesday. “In light of Ford’s announcement, NAB urges other automakers who have removed AM radio from their vehicles to follow Ford’s lead and restore this technology in the interest of listeners and public safety,” said NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt. Carmakers such as BMW and Tesla said AM won’t be in some models. “Broadcasters will continue to support this major legislation to ensure consumer access to AM radio in all vehicles," NAB said.