The FCC’s Consumer Advisory Committee will meet May 19 to discuss recommendations from its Robocalls Working Group on the illegal robocalls NPRM and notice of inquiry approved by commissioners in March (see 1703230035), the FCC said Thursday. “It is expected that the Committee will also receive presentations by FCC staff and outside speakers on matters of interest to the Committee,” a notice said. The meeting is to run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room.

The civil rights attorney threatening action against AT&T over alleged income-based discrimination in Cleveland won’t get to speak at Friday’s shareholder meeting, the lawyer and the carrier said. Parks and Crump attorney Daryl Parks sent a letter asking to talk about a National Digital Inclusion Alliance report alleging AT&T denied high-speed internet access to low-income neighborhoods in Cleveland (see 1704250046). But AT&T Assistant General Counsel Stacey Maris sent a fax denying the request, Parks told us Thursday. Maris also didn’t address the lawyer’s request for a meeting or the merits of his letter’s allegations, Parks emailed. “This is 100% ‘stonewalling’ and it is a profound mistake on AT&T’s part. We will not be disrespected and this issue will not disappear." Parks plans “to generate a national dialogue about unequal and unfair essential broadband services,” he said. “And we fully expect to move AT&T from its current posture of denial to one of acceptance, and thence to one of correction, change, and reconciliation.” AT&T told Parks it would share Parks’ concerns with the board, an AT&T spokesman emailed. “Doing so was not only appropriate, but a corporate governance best practice. We expect to continue our dialogue with Mr. Parks after the Board reviews his letter as he requested. We also explained that our agenda for our Annual Meeting was already set, but we warmly invited him to attend.” AT&T doesn’t redline, the spokesman said. “Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is unparalleled. Our investment decisions are based on many factors relating to the cost of deployment and demand for our services. Household income, wealth, race and ethnicity are not factors in these decisions.”

An array of forthcoming seismic technological changes necessitates that policymakers and tech companies start talking about those applications and the policy questions they raise, NCTA President Michael Powell said Thursday at The Near Future. The joint CableLabs-NCTA event -- NCTA’s replacement for its now-canceled INTX show (see 1703060044) -- didn’t delve into those policy questions, but focused on tech, with hands-on virtual reality displays and an array of presentations. CableLabs CEO Phil McKinney said the intent was to showcase applications that could be realized in the next three to five years, all dependent on high-speed networks -- applications including for entertainment, videoconferencing, retail, manufacturing and healthcare. Powell and McKinney said the connective tissue for much of the highlighted tech will be the 1 GB-speed networks expected to become increasingly common over the next couple of years. Video content increasingly will be immersive and short form, with social interactivity aspects, said Technicolor Senior Vice President-Corporate Development Tim Dodd. He said videogame engines are increasingly being used in digital effects and video, because of their interactive real-time and high-end capabilities. VR has been talked about since the 1990s, but smartphones have “softened us up” to finally making that level of content interactivity go mainstream, said 20th Century Fox Futurist Ted Schilowitz. He said unlike the “box on face” model with clunky headsets, “it’s going to get a lot better,” with wearables coming quickly. He said he's working on VR original content now tied to other content, such as motion pictures.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Thursday named Jean Kiddoo chair of the Incentive Auction Task Force, replacing Gary Epstein when he leaves the FCC Friday. Epstein headed the task force for five years since its beginning. Kiddoo was Epstein’s deputy starting 10 months ago. She's a former deputy chief of the Wireless Bureau and before that a longtime regulatory lawyer. Hillary DeNigro is moving from the Media Bureau to become new deputy chair. “We are very fortunate that Jean is ready to step into the role without missing a beat as the important transition phase of the incentive auction commences,” Pai said in a news release.

CTIA officials urged the FCC to open more spectrum for 5G. The request came in a meeting with staff of Chairman Ajit Pai and the International Bureau. The FCC should make the 24 GHz, 32 GHz, 42 GHz, 47 GHz, and 50 GHz bands available for licensed, terrestrial services and the 40-42 GHz band for terrestrial operations, CTIA said, according to a filing in docket 14-177. CTIA countered satellite industry requests for changes to the rules for high-frequency spectrum. “In particular, we highlighted the careful balance the Commission created in the Spectrum Frontiers Order to allow for rapid and flexible deployment of 5G services in the 28 GHz and 37.6-40 GHz bands while also permitting use and expansion of satellite services,” CTIA said. “The licensing framework adopted for those bands was fully vetted and provides flexibility for Fixed Satellite Service providers, as noted by one FSS provider in the record. CTIA urged the Commission to reject requests to revisit the licensing and technical framework or to impose additional limitations on terrestrial mobile deployment in these bands.”

Correction: Ligado CEO Doug Smith's column was on the Fortune website (see 1704240055).

The Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity that President Donald Trump established through executive order Tuesday will count the FCC chairman among its members, said the order text. Other members will include the secretaries of commerce and agriculture and director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. “A member of the Task Force may designate a senior‑level official who is a full-time officer or employee of the member's department, agency, or office to perform the member's functions on the Task Force,” the order said. The group’s goal is to “identify legislative, regulatory, and policy changes to promote in rural America agriculture, economic development, job growth, infrastructure improvements, technological innovation, energy security, and quality of life,” with an eye toward advancing “the adoption of innovations and technology for agricultural production and long-term, sustainable rural development,” the order said. A report is due in 180 days of the order, coordinated by USDA.

Wireless companies see room for state and federal rules on siting of 5G small-cells infrastructure, said CTIA and Wireless Infrastructure Association officials on a NATOA webinar Wednesday. Four states have passed small-cells bills, and several more bills are moving in other states (see 1704240023), and the FCC approved a rulemaking last week on ways to speed wireless infrastructure deployment (see 1704200037). States should have autonomy to act decisively now, said CTIA Senior Vice President-State Affairs Jamie Hastings. CTIA recognizes “cookie-cutter” legislation doesn’t work and is proud state bills passed so far have different language, addressing concerns specific to localities in each state, she said. States can be a good “incubator” for policies and there’s room for states to act now to codify policies, said WIA Senior Government Affairs Counsel Van Bloys. It’s important to have a national set of guidelines as well, but there are areas where state legislation may go further or be more tailored than FCC rules, he said. Localities should view the proposed laws not as wireless bills but as "jobs and economic development bills," Hastings said. Cities and towns will retain local oversight over the permitting process and the right to deny applications that don't meet objective requirements, said CTIA Director-State Legislative Affairs Beth Cooley. Municipalities will retain a key role, especially for siting of new structures, added Bloys.

Government subsidies of satellite-provided broadband services, such as the FCC's Connect America Fund or the U.K.'s Better Broadband subsidies, require ongoing analyses of the comparative costs of different solutions and due diligence in looking at various technology combinations to see what's effective in different situations, said a draft report on broadband satellite by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Working Party on Communication Infrastructures and Services Policy, provided to Communications Daily. The report catalogs the current state of the satellite industry and looks at subsidy and regulatory considerations in satellite-provided broadband. The report also says the uncertainty that comes with new satellite technologies might create a larger need for market-based subsidy mechanisms like auctions to choose providers and technologies in broadband subsidy plans. Laying out a variety of satellite policy and regulatory changes going on by regulators worldwide, the report also said the expected growth of non-geostationary orbit systems will necessitate further changes in regulations. A satellite industry executive told us the report is to be discussed at the Working Party's May meeting.

Correction: Randolph May is the president of the Free State Foundation (see 1704240049).