NTCA takes special interest in the impact of the FCC’s Nov. 20 digital discrimination order on its small-business members, the association’s amicus brief argued in the 8th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court (docket 24-1179) said Monday. The brief supports the 20 industry petitioners that want the order vacated as unlawful (see 2404230032). The “potential adverse effects” of the order implementing Section 60506 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act “risk particular impact to small businesses that generally lack access to resources and economies of scale that can enable larger businesses to absorb substantial market or regulatory changes,” NTCA’s brief said. But those impacts “are neither envisioned nor authorized by the statute, whose language contemplates a far more limited scope of implementation,” it said. Compliance with certain of the standards presented in the FCC’s order “is effectively impossible since the processes by which those measures can be achieved are wholly inconsistent with the normal and ordinary practices within which NTCA members conduct their business,” it added. The standards contemplate the ability of small private businesses “to have access to the confidential business considerations of other businesses,” it said: “This result, too, is neither contemplated nor accommodated in the statutory language.” The 8th Circuit should hold the order as "unlawful" and set it aside, said NTCA.

The FCC's supplemental coverage from space (SCS) licensing framework that commissioners adopted 5-0 in March (see 2403140050) becomes effective May 30, according to a notice for Tuesday's Federal Register. Comments are due May 30 and replies July 1 in a Further NPRM adopted with the order, said a separate notice. The NPRM asks questions about SCS delivery of 911 service and protection of radio astronomy.

A final bipartisan, bicameral bill reauthorizing the FAA includes a provision directing the Government Accountability Office to undertake a study of airspace congestion and DOT's inspector general to audit the FAA's internal processes for communicating civil aviation operators' positions to NTIA when it comes to spectrum reallocation or auctions. The FAA Reauthorization Act, released Monday, says the GAO will examine issues including commercial space launch and reentry activity. The bill directs the DOT IG to "improve internal processes by which proposed spectrum reallocations or auctions are thoroughly reviewed in advance" to ensure civil aviation stakeholders' stances get submitted to NTIA and then the FCC. The IG also must seek ways of improving communication with those aviation stakeholders about proposed spectrum reallocation or auctions that could affect the national airspace system, the bill says. It directs the FAA to conduct R&D in consultation with NTIA and the FCC on "effective and efficient use and management of radio frequency spectrum in the civil aviation domain." The legislation also directs that the FAA, with NTIA and FCC consultation, start an R&D program for development of standards for next-generation radio altimeters.

A joint proposal from NCTA and several consumer groups representing the hearing impaired “does not solve all technical issues” involved in improving closed caption display settings accessibility, but is enough for the FCC to move forward, NCTA said in reply comments posted Friday in docket 12-108. The Joint Proposal “at least provides a mechanism to deliver device-level caption display settings to applications hosted on the device” and could “provide a path” for eventually tackling “more complex issues.” Responding to CTA concerns about the proposal (see 2404170061), NCTA said that each entity in the video production chain would be responsible for its products and that cable operators will consult with consumers and train customer care and support employees to help subscribers adjust their caption displays. In their own joint reply comments, several consumer groups representing the hearing impaired said FCC action is the only way to get better caption display accessibility. “Market forces have simply failed our constituency – not now, nor ever over the past twenty years” since the FCC adopted rules on digital TV closed captioning display settings “have these settings been readily accessible to television viewers,” said the filing from the National Association of the Deaf, the Hearing Loss Association of America, Communication Service for the Deaf, and TDIforAccess. The groups also called for the FCC to apply similar accessibility requirements to other entities beyond the cable companies covered in the joint proposal and to give any new rules an implementation deadline no longer than two years.

Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said Thursday Nese Guendelsberger, from the Office of International Affairs, will serve as his acting adviser for wireless, space and international issues. She replaces Shiva Goel, now at NTIA (see 2404240059). Guendelsberger “brings deep knowledge of international spectrum issues, which I got to see firsthand on the ground at [the World Radiocommunication Conference] in Dubai,” Starks said: “She is a true public servant, and I am glad to have her counsel.”

The Nebraska College of Law's Space, Cyber and Telecommunications Law Program is changing its name to the Space, Cyber and National Security Law Program, the school said Wednesday. It said the change acknowledges that "a defining feature of the program" is its longstanding relationship with the U.S. Air Force and Department of Defense. Dozens of Judge Advocate General’s Corps officers have completed the program.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court granted the unopposed March 20 motion of Hamilton Relay, a telecommunications relay service (TRS) provider, to intervene in support of the Ohio Telecom Association’s petition for review challenging the FCC’s Dec. 21 order modifying and expanding the commission’s data breach notification rules on telecom carriers, VoIP providers and TRS providers (see 2403210001), said a clerk’s order Wednesday (docket 24-3133). Hamilton provides intrastate and interstate text telephone, speech-to-speech and captioned telephone services in numerous states through individual state TRS contracts, plus nationwide relay service through its internet protocol captioned telephone service, which is regulated by the FCC. Hamilton’s motion said it was entitled to intervene because it was a party of interest in the proceeding leading to the adoption of the order and because the order’s data breach notification rules changes adversely affect its interests.

Nokia became the first vendor to announce the availability of buy America-compliant fiber broadband network electronics and optical modules ahead of NTIA's broadband, equity, access, and deployment program Wednesday (see 2402230064). The company, which powers 70% of fiber broadband lines in North America, said its products "have rolled off the Sanmina manufacturing line." Nokia will "self-certify each product according to NTIA specifications to ensure that listed vendors comply with the final guidelines," it said, adding its optical line terminal cards, which connect users to gigabit data services, "can be ordered as individual products or as part of Nokia’s Network-in-a-Box program." NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, who traveled to Wisconsin to see the new equipment and meet workers who manufactured it, praised the milestone. “President Biden challenged industry to create good-paying manufacturing jobs in support of our major infrastructure investments, and companies like Nokia have risen to that challenge,” Davidson said.

Instead of considering opening the 1.6/2.4 GHz band to mobile satellite systems, as SpaceX has argued (see 2403270002), the FCC should investigate whether SpaceX should even keep its FCC licenses, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America said Wednesday. If the FCC doesn't revoke the company's licenses, it should restrict CEO Elon Musk's control and management of SpaceX, said UCCA, an umbrella group of Ukrainian-American organizations. "Musk cannot use FCC licenses to militarily aid Russia, a state that is subject to U.S. sanctions," UCCA said. UCCA pointed to SpaceX allegedly refusing a Ukrainian government request to allow the Starlink satellite constellation to be used in Sevastopol to aid in an attack on Russia's fleet and Musk allegedly directing the disability or impediment of Starlink terminal functions that Ukrainian armed forces use. It alleged Musk made Starlink available to the Russian military, as it purchases terminals through other countries, and that its use in Russia-occupied Crimea is allegedly no longer geofenced. Beyond what it called unreliable Starlink service, UCCA said evidence of Musk's "illegal drug use and his erratic behavior is overwhelming." It added, "Simply stated, there is much more than smoke, there is a fireball of evidence that Musk lacks the basic qualifications to remain a Commission licensee." Accordingly, the commission should hold a hearing to determine if Musk can remain an FCC licensee, it said. SpaceX didn't comment. UCCA in 2022 petitioned for a hearing on the licenses of the owners of a Washington, D.C., area station that airs Russia's Radio Sputnik network (see 2203230054).

The FCC Public Safety Bureau issued an order granting a two-week extension request from Public Knowledge and several other groups for comment deadlines for responses to the agency’s outage reporting Further NPRM (see 2404170053). Comments on the item are now due May 13, replies June 12. The groups requested the extension because of the proximity of the original April 29 deadline to the agency’s net neutrality vote Thursday and the Passover holiday. “We conclude that the totality of the circumstances warrants a limited 14-day extension of the comment and reply deadlines to facilitate the development of a comprehensive record in this proceeding,” said the order.