House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., confirmed to us that the panel will mark up the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-8449) next week but was uncertain about whether a pair of controversial privacy bills -- the American Privacy Rights Act (HR-8818) and Kids Online Safety Act (HR-7891) -- will also be on the docket. House Commerce scuttled a planned June markup of HR-8449 (see 2406270059), which would mandate automakers include AM radio technology in future electric vehicles, because of some House GOP leaders’ opposition to HR-7891 and HR-8818. “We’re still working through” whether there will be consensus to move on HR-7891 and HR-8818 next week, Rodgers said in a brief interview. The Senate voted 91-3 in late July (see 2407300042) to pass its HR-7891 companion, S-1409, as part of a package that included the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (S-1418) Rodgers and other HR-7891 backers have been hoping to use the bipartisan Senate vote on KOSA to gain momentum for House action on the measure amid resistance from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other chamber GOP leaders to that measure and HR-8818 that derailed the June markup session (see 2406270046), lobbyists told us. House Commerce and HR-7891 backers “continue to work on a bipartisan path forward in the House on behalf of the millions of parents who deserve the ability to keep their kids safe,” a panel spokesperson said. S-1409 cosponsor Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., touted new endorsements of the bill Thursday from 10 conservative leaders, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) and several former Trump administration officials.

The FCC activated the disaster information reporting system and mandatory disaster response initiative for 30 parishes in Louisiana facing impacts from Hurricane Francine, a public notice said Wednesday. The alert includes Acadia Parish, Orleans Parish, St. Martin and others. Reports are due from communication providers starting Thursday. The FCC also issued public notices on priority communications services, FCC availability and emergency contact procedures for licensees that need special temporary authority. The Public Safety Bureau also issued a reminder for entities clearing debris and repairing utilities to avoid damaging communications infrastructure.

Former FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson stresses the importance of finding a terrestrial alternative to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) in a new paper. “A day without accurate and available PNT services is a scenario the U.S. cannot afford,” Simpson argues. The paper comes amid broad opposition to NextNav’s pursuit of an NPRM examining using the 902-928 MHz band for PNT (see 2409060046). Terrestrial PNT “utilizes ground-based infrastructure, making it less susceptible to jamming and spoofing attacks targeting space-based systems” and combined with GPS would “create a more robust and resilient PNT ecosystem, minimizing the impact of single-point failures,” said Simpson, also a former Navy rear admiral, now a professor at Virginia Tech. A terrestrial system would “eliminate the confusion GPS receivers often encounter in urban canyons, difficult geographies and indoors” and “eliminate the asymmetric advantage an adversary might seek from an attack on our space assets.” The paper was prepared in part with the support of NextNav but reflects his personal views, Simpson said.

The FCC's commission registration system (CORES) is open to accept payment of FY 2024 regulatory fees, according to a public notice Tuesday. Fees are due Sept. 26, it said. The agency issued its FY 2024 regulatory fee order Friday (see 2409090029).

The House Commerce Committee will mark up the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-8449) next week, lead sponsor Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., told us Tuesday. “That's what I'm hearing,” he said. The panel scuttled a planned June markup of HR-8449 (see 2406270059), which would mandate automakers include AM radio technology in future electric vehicles, because of some House GOP leaders’ opposition to two other bills on the docket: the American Privacy Rights Act (HR-8818) and Kids Online Safety Act (HR-7891). It was unclear Tuesday afternoon whether House Commerce would try to include HR-7891 and HR-8818 in the next markup session.

The window for applying to be designated as a cybersecurity labeling administrator (CLA) or lead administrator under the new voluntary cyber-trust mark program will open Wednesday and close Oct. 1, the FCC Public Safety Bureau said Tuesday. The notice provides guidance on the application format, filing fees, selection criteria, the sharing of expenses, lead administrator neutrality and confidentiality and security requirements. The bureau declined imposing “selection criteria” beyond those in an order that commissioners approved 5-0 in March (see 2403140034). As discussed in the order, “authorizing one or more CLAs subject to Commission oversight to handle the routine administration of the program will help to ensure its timely and consistent rollout, and independent third-party CLAs will bring trust, consistency, and an impartial level playing field to the IoT Labeling Program and will provide the required expertise for the administration of the program,” the notice said. Applications will be treated as “presumptively confidential” and the FCC won't assess application fees “at this time,” the bureau said. CLAs will share the cost of a lead administrator, but the bureau declined to lay out how that would work. The commission will “rely on CLAs and the Lead Administrator to determine the sharing methodology, which should be reasonable and equitable and will be subject to ongoing oversight by the Commission,” the notice said. Each applicant must submit an “attestation that it already has created and implemented -- or upon selection will create and implement -- a cybersecurity risk management plan,” the bureau said: Each applicant must show it will comply with agency requirements, as well as demonstrate its “cybersecurity expertise and capabilities, knowledge of [the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s] cybersecurity guidance, and knowledge of federal law and guidance governing the security and privacy of information systems.” The program should be “narrowly tailored to cybersecurity so as not to dilute its effectiveness, confuse consumers, and deter manufacturer participation,” CTA and other groups said in a letter to the FCC. The letter warned against imposing a requirement on disclosures about IoT products and privacy. It was posted Tuesday in docket 23-239. “Expanding required disclosures from cybersecurity risks to privacy topics would dilute the effectiveness of the Mark, risk consumer confusion, and undermine the careful balance that the Commission has struck to provide simple and tailored educational cybersecurity information to consumers,” the filing said. Other groups signing the letter were CTIA, the Information Technology Industry Council and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. The groups said the regulator should “treat as confidential” both cybersecurity label administrator and manufacturer applications to join the program.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel noted work the agency has done in recent months that addresses broadband for students following the loss of the emergency connectivity fund and affordable connectivity program in a Monday speech. Speaking to the Consortium of State School Boards Association, Rosenworcel mentioned a July FCC order that lets schools and libraries use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi and an order from 2023 allowing use of E-rate to support school bus Wi-Fi, both of which have been challenged in court (see 2408300027). She also discussed a three-year, $200 million cybersecurity pilot program for schools and libraries that commissioners approved in June (see 2406060043). Republican commissioners dissented on all three items. “Every child needs internet access at home to really thrive,” Rosenworcel said: “This was not true when I was growing up. I didn’t need the internet for homework. All I needed was paper, a pencil, and my brother leaving me alone.” Rosenworcel warned that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' recent 9-7 en banc decision that found the USF contribution factor is a "misbegotten tax” that could undermine FCC education efforts (see 2408140055). The 5th Circuit decision “is misguided and wrong,” she said. “It reflects a lack of understanding of the statutory scheme that helped create the world’s best and most far-reaching communications network” and “that is why we are asking the Supreme Court to overturn” the decision.

The FCC on Friday released the latest version of its broadband competition notice of inquiry. Comments are due Oct. 7, replies Nov. 6, in docket 24-214. “We initiate our latest statutorily mandated annual review, soliciting comment and data to inform our [Telecom Act] section 706 analysis,” the NOI says: “In the next section 706 report, we propose to maintain the standards and goals adopted by the 2024 Report and seek comment here on potential additional metrics as well as potential data sources by which to measure them.” The FCC seeks “objective data and other evidence, as well as methodologies and analytical frameworks, to assist us in evaluating the universal service goals for broadband.” Commissioner Brendan Carr approved in part and concurred in part on the NOI. In a statement, Carr said he was able to partially support the inquiry after several lines of questions were added at his request. “The NOI now seeks comment on whether the FCC should report how many unserved locations are subject to enforceable federal commitments to deploy broadband infrastructure,” he said, noting that much of this data “is available” only “on a piecemeal basis today.” The NOI also now “tees up the concept of measuring progress by comparing results from the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection,” Carr said. Additional added questions should provoke “a more sophisticated discussion of high-speed satellite broadband services, such as those broadband services offered by constellations in low-Earth orbit.” Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel attached a brief comment to the NOI. “We need to know not just where and how broadband is being deployed across the country but also how accessible, affordable, and available it is nationwide,” she said.

Spectrum policy will continue receiving significant attention headed into and following the November election, New Street’s Blair Levin said in a Friday note to investors. “Almost no new spectrum has been repurposed for commercial uses in the last four years,” Levin noted: “If the status quo lingers, that is positive for fixed wireline broadband, particularly cable. If new spectrum becomes available that can be utilized for fixed wireless, that is positive for the wireless companies.” Levin said there is a growing divide on Capitol Hill, with Republicans favoring a policy that will lead to more licensed spectrum and Democrats seeking more sharing. “The Republican aspirations will run into the roadblock related to the Department of Defense not wanting to lose control of spectrum it currently uses.” Democratic aspirations “will run into the roadblock of the technical challenges of figuring out how to avoid interference in a way that all stakeholders can live with.” If former President Donald Trump retakes the White House, the national spectrum strategy will likely survive, he said. Republican criticism “was that the strategy was ‘too little, too late,’ but did not focus on the direction or specifics.” The process, he warned, “could be significantly delayed if [a] Trump Administration replaces all the spectrum experts at NTIA with Trump loyalists.”

The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials and National Emergency Number Association want Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, GOP nominee ex-President Donald Trump and their running mates to make support for funding next-generation 911 tech upgrades “a central tenet” of their campaign platforms. Talks between lawmakers aimed at reaching a deal on a spectrum legislative package that would fund NG-911 and other telecom projects remain stalled (see 2408150039). “Enactment of NG9-1-1 funding legislation will provide the more than 100,000 9-1-1 professionals across the country with improved situational awareness, resulting in a faster and more efficient response for the members of the public they protect,” NENA CEO Brian Fontes and APCO CEO Mel Maier said in letters to Harris, Trump, GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Harris' running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D). “NG9-1-1 will begin saving lives the moment it is implemented. Achieving NG9-1-1 is also a national security imperative, as it will lead to enhanced response to natural and man-made disasters, protection against cyberattacks including state-sponsored attacks, and support for homeland defense efforts in the event of a national emergency.”