Eligibility for the network equipment “rip and replace” reimbursement program would be capped at providers with 10 million or fewer subscribers, instead of 2 million or fewer, under a draft order (docket 18-89) released Tuesday to be voted on at the FCC's July 13 meeting. The agency also released the drafts of the three other non-enforcement items. Under the “rip and replace” draft, the agency would set a June 30, 2020, date by which providers had to have purchased communications equipment and services to be eligible for reimbursement and create a prioritization system if reimbursement program demand surpasses the $1.9 billion appropriated by Congress. The draft NPRM on permissible uses for short-range radars in the 57-64 GHz band (docket 21-264) would set operating frequencies and power limits for unlicensed field disturbance sensors/radar devices operating in the band. A draft NPRM on updating radio rules (docket 21-263) is focused on small changes to technical rules. It “proposes to update regulations to better reflect current technical requirements and eliminate redundant, outdated, or conflicting provisions.” Those updates include proposals to eliminate an AM transmitter power limitation, to do away with a “seldom-used” rule on FM transmitting antennas, update signal strength contour requirements for noncommercial educational FM Class D stations, and eliminate requirements that broadcasters protect grandfathered common carrier services in Alaska. A draft order on International Bureau applications (docket 21-265) would require electronic filing for the few such submissions that aren’t all-electronic. It would eliminate requirements for duplicate paper versions of those applications.

The FCC is expected to issue an order this week on 911 fee diversion, officials told us Monday. Commissioners approved an NPRM in February that defines 911 fee usage and what constitutes diversion (see 2102170049). Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated the new draft order June 8. The commission is required to issue final rules on 911 fee diversion by June 25 under Section 902 of the Don't Break Up the T-Band Act of 2020. The order is in its final stages and largely adopts the NPRM's language, one official said. A agency spokesperson didn't comment.

The FCC's July 13 meeting will have commissioners voting on congressionally mandated changes to its system for replacing insecure U.S. network equipment from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE, plus a cleanup of its rules for full-power and translator radio stations, acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel blogged Monday. Drafts of four of the five items on the agenda are to be released Tuesday, the fifth being an enforcement item. Rosenworcel said topping the agenda is a draft order that would incorporate such changes to the insecure network replacement program as expanded eligibility that allows more carriers to participate and a wider array of services and equipment eligible for reimbursement funding. Commissioners adopted the replacement program unanimously at their December meeting (see 2012100054). The agency will also vote on a proposal to “update and clean up” rules for full-power and translator radio stations. The update will “reduce any potential confusion, alleviate unnecessary burdens, and make sure they reflect the latest technical requirements,” said Rosenworcel. The July meeting will also include a proposal to mandate electronic filings for some applications to the International Bureau and remove duplicate paper filings, she said. “This common-sense move would reduce costs and administrative burdens, facilitate faster and more efficient communications, and improve transparency to the public.” Also on deck is a proposal for more permissible uses for short-range radars in the 57-64 GHz band, Rosenworcel said. “With the right policies in place, we can help spur the use of these radars for vital sign monitoring in car seats that will enhance in-vehicle safety, for touchless control of device functions or features that can benefit users with mobility or speech impairments, and for much, much more,” she said.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s recent Telesat Canada v. FCC decision (see 2106040044) supports NAB’s arguments the agency has authority to expand the base of entities that pay regulatory fees to include “Big Tech,” NAB replied Friday in FCC docket 21-190. The D.C. Circuit “found that it is reasonable for the FCC to charge regulatory fees to entities that benefit from its activities, regardless of whether the entity is a licensee,” NAB said. “Given Telesat’s interpretation of the Commission’s regulatory fee authority, the Commission must, at a minimum, address NAB’s requests and issue” a Further NPRM seeking comment on expanding the base of regulatory fee payers, NAB said. The Internet Association declined to comment. Spire Global's reply supported Myriota's request for clarification that integrated non-geostationary orbit systems with multiple call signs are subject to a single regulatory fee.

There were numerous changes between draft supply chain rules and final rules OK’d by commissioners 4-0 Thursday (see 2106170063). The FCC added several questions to a section on certification rules, including for telecom certification bodies (TCB) that do most of the work. “Are there additional compliance measures beyond” an attestation “that we should consider?” it now says: “Should the applicant have an ongoing duty during the pendency of the application to monitor the list of covered equipment and provide notice to the TCB or the Commission if, subsequent to the initial filing of the application or at the time a grant of certification, the equipment or a component part had become newly listed as ‘covered’ equipment in an updated Covered List?” The NPRM now asks whether existing rules or procedures should “be enhanced with respect to applicants that intentionally attempt to circumvent our rules or TCBs that repeatedly fail to meet their responsibilities to comply with our proposed prohibition” and on “revisions that could better ensure that applicants comply with our proposed requirements.” The draft was changed to ask for comment on “any other types of action or activity (e.g., outreach and education) that would be helpful to ensure that all parties potentially affected by these changes understand the changes and will comply the prohibition associated with ‘covered’ equipment.” Other sections also were modified to ask about the need for additional education. In a change requested by Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, the NPRM asks “should we also require that the compliance statement include the name of a U.S. agent for service of process (if different from the responsible party)?” As indicated Thursday, the NOI now includes new language on the roles played by stores and standards groups. “Even with broad adoption of industry best practices and standards, some equipment sold in the United States may lack appropriate security protections,” it says: “What is the role of retailers in voluntarily limiting the sale of such equipment? How can retailers educate consumers about the importance of security protections for their devices?” The NPRM asks for comment on “the status of international standards setting that could be relevant to supply chain security.” As mentioned by Commissioner Nathan Simington, the NOI asks: “Are there other technologies or cybersecurity methods that mitigate security risks (e.g., RF fingerprinting256 or some other method)? What, if anything, should the Commission be doing to encourage” such.

SES and Intelsat asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips of Richmond for summary judgment in SES' $1.8 billion claim against Intelsat regarding the breakup of the C-Band Alliance as part of Intelsat's Chapter 11 proceeding (see 2007140029). Evidence during discovery shows that Intelsat, "in a desperate, calculated act of betrayal," intentionally breached CBA's agreement with SES to be able to claim an additional $421 million promised to SES, SES said in a motion for summary judgment Wednesday (in Pacer, docket 20-32299). The plain language forbade Intelsat's unilateral termination, SES said. It said when it and Intelsat received word in January 2020 that the FCC C-band clearing order would allocate proceeds individually based on an agency methodology, SES and Intelsat agreed to prepare a draft filing asking to accelerate payments to CBA so that it could then allocate them under the pact. It said that filing was never submitted due to objections of another CBA member. SES said it's entitled to punitive damages because Intelsat "willfully and intentionally breached its fiduciary duties." Intelsat said CBA and its members told the FCC the alliance exists strictly for carrying out the band-clearing approach it was advocating. With the FCC going a different route, making the accord inapplicable, SES "now seeks to cast itself as a jilted bride .... entitled to half of everything that [Intelsat] earns on its own pursuant to the FCC’s order." It said SES "flagrantly abused the discovery process, using scorched-earth tactics to seek soundbites ... in an apparent effort to make a splash in the trade press and besmirch its key competitor."

The FCC said it will follow Office of Personnel Management guidance and close Friday to mark the Juneteenth federal holiday signed into law Thursday. OPM tweeted that while the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act establishes June 19 as a federal holiday, the date this year falls on Saturday and "most federal employees" will instead observe it Friday. A commission public notice said that, in accordance with rules about filing deadlines on holidays, all June 18 deadlines are moved to Monday. It said June 18 won't count in computing filing periods of less than seven days. Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told reporters her agency's Office of General Counsel was working on the PN, as stakeholders awaited President Joe Biden signing the law.

Commissioner Nathan Simington wants the FCC to focus more on receiver standards, told a Hudson Institute webinar Wednesday. They “could prove very useful in allowing for more efficient use of spectrum in bands where there’s a need to protect or coordinate against in-band interference with incumbents in the band, or in bands where there’s currently a large guard band,” he said. Most receivers lack an emissions mask, which can mean “spurious emissions that contribute to intermodulation interference,” he said. The commission has emissions mask rules for transmitters, he said. “Having them apply to both the transmitter and receiver ends may allow for further spectral efficiency.” Simington said an agency proposal would have risks: Many in industry “would be worried that the FCC would prejudge the issue and start imposing standards.” It could have a role as a coordinator, he said. The FCC Technological Advisory Council recommended creation of a multistakeholder group (see 1212110072). Simington said TAC should revisit how standards might work. The FCC didn't comment.

Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel last week circulated for a vote an amendment to rules on FCC registration number (FRN) requirements for the commission registration system (Cores). The proposal from the Office of Managing Director would require FRN registrants to provide an email address when they register for the first time for an FRN in Cores, or when current registrants seek to change any information, including password resets, officials said. Other registrants will be asked to provide email addresses later.

The top four network broadcast affiliate groups said streaming services should be required to disseminate emergency alert system messages, while a wide range of opponents from NPR to NCTA contend that’s not necessary or practical, in replies filed by Monday’s deadline in docket 15-94. Streaming services “are not ill-equipped to distribute EAS information, and no wholesale reconfiguration of Internet-based programming distribution technology would be needed,” said affiliate groups for Fox, CBS, ABC and NBC. “Requiring streaming services to create this infrastructure and solve these technical challenges would be infeasible in many cases, and costly and unduly burdensome in others, especially when EAS alerts already are delivered widely through traditional broadcast and wireless means,” said NPR. Requiring this would be “technically impracticable” and “produce little, if any, benefit,” said MPA, the Digital Media Association, Digital Content Next and Internet Association. Streaming is too vague a term, said the Information Technology Industry Council. “The difficulty of defining an unbounded term such as 'streaming' makes any effort to bring streaming services into the EAS untenable.” Comtech sided with affiliate groups, saying it's “absolutely imperative” to enable such alerts and conceding it would involve “significant technical challenges.” Instead of new alerting requirements, the FCC should consider convening a multistakeholder working group to study “the alerting ecosystem as a whole” and how to best to reach consumers, said NCTA.