The federal Bureau of Prisons last week tested micro-jamming technology to determine if micro-jamming could prevent wireless communication by inmates using contraband cellphones, DOJ said Friday. The pilot test was conducted at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina, and follows earlier tests at a federal corrections facility in Cumberland, Maryland (see 1801180054). “Contraband cellphones have been used to run criminal enterprises, distribute child pornography, and facilitate the commission of violent crimes -- all while inmates are incarcerated,” said DOJ, noting that only federal agencies, not state or local prisons, can obtain authorization to jam the public airwaves. NTIA authorized the test, which was coordinated with the FCC. NTIA will analyze the data and prepare a report.
Wiley Rein's Kevin Rupy wasn't referring to a need for additional anti-illegal robocall legislation when he told the Senate Communications Subcommittee Thursday there isn't a "single silver bullet" that will fix the problem (see 1904110066) ... Arkansas is the 23rd state to enact small-cells legislation (see 1904110059). Georgia's bill needs gubernatorial OK.
DOJ will hold a May 2-3 public workshop on competition in TV and digital advertising, including on implications for antitrust enforcement and policy. Justice seeks comment through June 15 on the topics covered by the workshop. Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim will open Day 1 at 1:30 p.m., and the event is at Liberty Square Building's Bingaman Auditorium and Lecture Hall, 450 5th St. NW. Academics and executives "from leading companies, including buyers and sellers of advertising inventory" will speak, the department said. "The Division intends to explore the practical considerations that industry participants face and the competitive impact of technological developments such as digital and targeted advertising in media markets." Panelists haven't been disclosed.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., separately said Thursday they plan to talk with President Donald Trump's administration in the coming weeks about infrastructure funding in a bid to revive interest in enacting a comprehensive bill to allocate up to $2 trillion for broadband and other projects. Trump sought in his February State of the Union for Congress to “unite for a great rebuilding of America's crumbling infrastructure” (see 1902060002). In 2018, he called for a bill “that generates at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment” that relied heavily on public-private partnerships, though that effort stalled (see 1803290046). The communications sector has been hopeful there will be more appetite for infrastructure legislation this year because Democrats regained the majority in the House in the 2018 election (see 1811130011). Schumer told reporters he and Pelosi will meet with Trump in the coming weeks. They will warn Trump that “if [the administration is] not going to put real money and have real labor and environmental protections” in a final bill, “we're not going to get anywhere,” Schumer said. Legislation needs to provide “at least $1 trillion” in funding, but “I'd like it to be closer to $2 trillion,” Pelosi said at a House Democratic retreat in Leesburg, Virginia. Senate Assistant Democratic Leader Patty Murray of Washington led filing of the Digital Equity Act, which would allocate federal funding for digital inclusion projects. Many tech stakeholders immediately praised it.
At NAB's annual convention, executives from the group and from Beasley Media Group, Tegna and Zimmer Radio met with FCC officials who also attended the NAB Show, including Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1904100069), said filings posted Thursday in docket 18-349. The lobbying meetings occurred at the event in Las Vegas, a spokesperson confirmed. Easing radio ownership rules as NAB has proposed were discussed in most conversations. "Radio stations, especially those in small and medium markets and AM stations in markets of all sizes, need relief from the Commission’s outdated ownership rules," NAB General Counsel Rick Kaplan reported telling Pai. "It is imperative that the Commission modernize the radio and television ownership rules." The association sought action "soon to modernize" kidvid rules. Later at the show, Pai said that will happen. The group also lobbied on the C band, just as a satellite executive did while she was on the plane to the event with Commissioner Brendan Carr (see 1904110034). Separately, Beasley CEO Caroline Beasley told Carr of her backing NAB's radio ownership plan: "Radio broadcasters are competing against dozens of digital giants, including YouTube, Spotify and Pandora." Beasley said radio station owners need "greater economies of scale," in the meeting that Kaplan also attended. The association's TV ownership cap proposal and kidvid deregulation were talked up by Tegna in its meetings with Pai and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks that included CEO Dave Lougee and an NAB representative. Lougee sought OK of Tegna's getting divested stations in Nexstar's buy of Tribune Media (see 1903200058), he told Pai, recounted Tegna General Counsel Akin Harrison. Zimmer Radio President John Zimmer wrote that he told Carr "all radio broadcasters, and especially those in smaller markets, must be allowed to achieve greater economies of scale in order to compete against the growing number of digital competitors."
President Donald Trump and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai are expected to make a joint announcement Friday clarifying that the U.S. isn't headed toward a nationalized 5G network, industry and government officials said. Trump is also expected to discuss the push to deploy 5G in rural areas. Details were still emerging at our deadline. Trump has been working to associate himself with 5G and a U.S. win. National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told a CTIA event last week the U.S. definitely isn't losing the race to 5G (see 1904040048). Earlier in the week, CTIA said the U.S. is catching up with China (see 1904020004). The FCC and the White House didn’t comment.
The FCC’s newly reconstituted Consumer Advisory Committee meets for the first time June 3, starting at 9 a.m., in the Commission Meeting Room, said a Wednesday public notice. Consumer Institute President Stephen Pociask is chair and National Consumers League board member Debra Berlyn, vice chair. The FCC named 25 other members from industry, government and public interest and consumer groups (see personals, this issue). The first meeting will be mostly organizational, the agency indicated.
The FCC corrected dates for comments on a March NPRM proposing reconfiguring the 900 MHz band (see 1904020014) to June 3, replies July 2, says a notice for Thursday’s Federal Register. ... Also for Thursday's FR, the FCC corrected a notice on the compliance date (see 1903260016) for a December order creating a reassigned phone number database. Compliance won't be required for sections 52.15(f)(1)(ii) and (f)(8), 52.103(d), and 64.1200(l)(1) and (2) until FR publication announcing the compliance dates, it says.
The C-Band Alliance proposal for clearing the 3.7-4.2 GHz band is the opposite of a market-based approach, inevitably resulting in years of litigation and delayed 5G deployment while siphoning billions that otherwise would go to the Treasury, free-market groups said in a letter Wednesday to the FCC. The spectrum "is not just a valuable American asset, it is a valuable strategic American asset with national security implications," they said. They urged the FCC to instead oversee a public auction. Signing were Taxpayers Protection Alliance, Taxpayers Protection Alliance Foundation, American Consumer Institute, Americans for Tax Reform, Citizens Against Government Waste, Digital Liberty and others. CBA emailed that good spectrum policy's chief goal "is to move spectrum to its highest and best use as quickly as possible at the lowest possible cost to society [and its market-based approach] is the best means of achieving that goal: the larger consumer and societal benefits of quickly enabling 5G use of this ‘goldilocks’ mid-band spectrum dwarf any benefits of revenues gained from a public auction at some point years in the future. This approach is transparent requiring FCC oversight and approval.” Eutelsat in a docket 18-122 posting Wednesday pointed to Intelsat and SES having laid their transponder migration plans for any C-band clearing (see 1902070045) and spelled out its own migration plans for its C-band satellites that provide service in the U.S.
The Enterprise Wireless Alliance questioned whether the Wireless Infrastructure Association had effectively killed a move to a new process for licensing 800 MHz expansion/guard band spectrum. During a meeting last week with a majority of the certified 800 MHz frequency advisory committees (FACs), Wireless Bureau staff said, “FCC leadership” had rejected a round-robin application approach, EWA recounted Wednesday. EWA said the rejection was surprising: “Matters involving coordination of Part 90 Private Land Mobile Radio spectrum rarely -- if ever -- cause a ripple with the Commission’s leadership, which typically relies on the recommendations of its resident experts” in the bureau. EWA noted the WIA was one FAC that never agreed to an amended memorandum of agreement but also didn’t express reservations. If WIA had objected earlier, its concerns could have been addressed, EWA said. “WIA’s belief that the current process will work fine even if 2,000+ applications are dumped into an inter-FAC concurrence regimen that typically handles only a few applications daily seems to EWA to be the product of magical thinking,” the alliance said. “EWA fears it will produce hundreds of mutually exclusive applications that will have to be sorted out one-by-one without a clear standard for determining priority.” The Land Mobile Communications Council complained Tuesday no agreement is in sight (see 1904090044). “After attempting for a year to develop a workable coordination process, we see little likelihood that further effort would produce a solution acceptable to all FACs given WIA’s position that no solution is needed,” said EWA President Mark Crosby. “At no point did WIA nor its leadership advocate any recommendation independently to the FCC regarding the Memorandum of Agreement we have with other FACs. The FCC made its decision on its own. Implications to the contrary are presumptuous, mischaracterize the facts, and are plainly incorrect,” a WIA spokesperson emailed. “As a market leader in frequency coordination, WIA will continue to work closely with other FACs and the FCC on establishing a fair process. WIA would support the round robin approach if the FCC adopts it and will support the FCC’s determination on how to proceed. WIA will strive to achieve a successful process and look forward to this important work.”