FCC Technological Advisory Committee Chairman Dennis Roberson rejected claims by three House Armed Services Committee members that his associations with TAC and Roberson and Associates is a potential conflict of interest that could call into question commission approval of Ligado’s L-band plan. Strategic Forces Subcommittee Chairman Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., and two House Armed Services Republicans sought an FCC inspector general probe, citing RAA’s 2016 work on behalf of Ligado counsel Covington & Burling (see 2006120033). TAC reported on interference limits policy and harm claim thresholds in March 2014 and RAA began working on Ligado’s behalf 13 months later, Roberson told us Friday. He didn’t lead TAC’s work on interference limits, which he noted weren’t specifically related to what’s at issue in the Ligado debate. “I was very surprised” when made aware of the claims, especially because of “how far what is suggested is from both the way I personally operate and the way the FCC conducts its business,” Roberson said. “It’s an indictment towards me” and “an indictment of the process the FCC uses. Both are very wrong. Personally I am very careful” not to intertwine RAA work with TAC. He said he hasn’t been contacted by House Armed Services. He said it’s appropriate for FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to handle the commission’s response and for the IG to decide on an investigation if it chooses. Armed Services didn't comment Monday.

The FCC's C-band order, if not stayed, will mean "irreparable losses and competitive harm" to small satellite operators ABS Global, Empresa and Hispasat because they will be left with significantly less spectrum while their competitors will reap taxpayer-funded satellites and billions of dollars that should go to the Treasury, the three said Monday in an emergency motion for a stay. The SSOs told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (docket 20-1146, in Pacer) the stay must be granted by June 22, the order's effective date, or the big C-band satellite operators, their customers and wireless companies will start incurring clearing costs and doing auction preparation they will claim can't be undone fairly. Barring that stay, expedite briefing and argument so the spectrum auction set for Dec. 8 doesn't happen before the SSOs' appeal of the order is decided, they asked. The FCC emailed it's "confident that this misguided effort to delay the clearing of this critical band of spectrum to support 5G services will fail. These companies don't use C-band spectrum in the United States and have failed to show that they will suffer any imminent or irreparable harm from the procedures the FCC has put in place. In any event, their legal arguments are meritless." Its Wireless Bureau denied the SSOs' stay request last week (see 2006110041). Intelsat said it signed agreements with Maxar and Northrop Grumman for six new satellites for the C-band relocation -- four from Maxar, two from Northrop. It said it's in talks with satellite manufacturers about a seventh satellite for the C-band transition.

“Recurring racial violence and hostility against the Black community, compounded by the disparate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities of color, have lain bare the ages-old social, health, and economic inequities and systemic racism that continue,” said the FCC Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment in Friday's Daily Digest. The group helps the agency “promote policies that favor diversity of media voices” and the public interest, as the agency is statutorily obligated to do, it said. “We invite members of the public to continue to engage with the ACDDE in its examination of these issues.” The group believes in "protection of constitutional rights." It supports "inclusive and smart solutions that enable all Americans to thrive in a digital world."

C-band satellite operators' transition plans now are due June 19, after the FCC Wireless Bureau ordered a seven-day extension. Eutelsat (see 2006100005) and Claro (see here) sought extensions for their plans, and the bureau said Friday a delay for all satcom operators won't delay the transition process. It said it's not altering other transition plans deadlines. The bureau denied an NCTA and ACA Connects petition asking for an extended comment deadline on the C-band lump sum (see 2006100005).

Wireless ISPs and low earth orbit satellite providers participating in the upcoming Rural Digital Opportunity Fund phase I auctions must prepare more detailed responses for their short-form applications after the FCC added new questions for those bidding in the gigabit performance tier, said a public notice released Thursday on auction procedures. The FCC emphasized "the level of detail we expect to see in responses from service providers proposing to bid in the Gigabit performance tier" and clarified applicants should include information on upstream speeds. The agency will provide examples of information it seeks on "base station configurations and channel bandwidths, as well as traffic and propagation assumptions." It wants satellite providers to describe how their proposed networks will deliver the proposed performance tier and latency requirements "to all planned locations in a mass-market consumer service." Commissioners approved the item Tuesday (see 2006090031). Stakeholders disagree which tiers spectrum-based broadband providers should participate in (see 2006020036). “The Wireless ISP Association is "generally pleased" the PN "places no restrictions against any fixed wireless providers being able to apply to bid in the Gigabit performance tier," a spokesperson emailed. NTCA Senior Vice President-Industry Affairs and Business Development Mike Romano tweeted his support of added FCC scrutiny.

Microsoft won’t sell facial recognition technology to U.S. police departments until a national law is in place, President Brad Smith said Thursday, following the lead of IBM and Amazon. IBM “no longer offers general purpose IBM facial recognition or analysis software,” CEO Arvind Krishna wrote Congress Monday, “outlining detailed policy proposals to advance racial equality.” Amazon implemented a “one-year moratorium on police use of Amazon’s facial recognition technology” Wednesday, though it will continue allowing use from organizations like Thorn, the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Marinus Analytics. “We hope this one-year moratorium might give Congress enough time to implement appropriate rules, and we stand ready to help if requested,” Amazon said. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., welcomed a “pause” on police use of the technology: “What Amazon should really do is a complete about-face and get out of the business of dangerous surveillance altogether.” It took two years, but the American Civil Liberties Union is “glad the company is finally recognizing the dangers face recognition poses to Black and Brown communities and civil rights more broadly,” said ACLU Northern California Technology and Civil Liberties Director Nicole Ozer. The group's Civil Liberties Attorney Matt Cagle urged Microsoft to halt “its current efforts to advance legislation that would legitimize and expand the police use of facial recognition in multiple states.” Electronic Frontier Foundation Policy Analyst Matthew Guariglia called Microsoft’s decision a good step, saying it “must permanently end its sale of this dangerous technology to police departments.”

The small satellite operators seeking a stay of the FCC's C-band order pending possible judicial review didn't show they will suffer irreparable harm without one, the Wireless Bureau said in a denial order in Thursday's Federal Register, as expected (see 2005180036). If petitioners turn out to be eligible for compensation under the band-clearing plan, the order makes clear new licensees are to cover any unanticipated clearing expenses, it said. Staff said the alleged irreparable harms are all economic, which aren't irreparable. Counsel for petitioners ABS Global, Empresa and Hispasat didn't comment.

Ericsson’s iconectiv asked the FCC to launch a competitive procurement process to select the toll-free numbering administrator. The company earlier won a fight with Neustar to become the local number portability administrator, a transition completed in 2018 (see 1805290021). Unlike almost any other service in telecom today, toll-free services are still based on an FCC approved tariffs. “The existing administrative structure for toll free numbering is an anachronistic accident of history,” said an iconetiv filing. “Over time, it has been stripped of the checks and balances envisioned by the Commission and it now operates as a Commission-authorized monopoly without adequate incentives for efficiency, transparency, or governance role for the intended beneficiaries.” The way the FCC approaches toll-free numbers “stands in sharp contrast to the pro-competitive, contract-based approach that the Commission has taken with respect to other numbering administrator roles,” the company said. An industry lawyer said the service costs responsible organizations, including carriers, $65 million per year. Providers file data under seal. Transparency is lacking because of the tariff-based system, iconetiv said, and its history managing databases shows “a competitive contract approach would lead to significant cost-savings to the industry and consumers, while simultaneously allowing for more modern commercial protections for the Commission and users that are not provided under the tariff arrangement.” Somos "works tirelessly to benefit the dynamic Toll-Free industry in our role as an independent” administrator, emailed Ann Berkowitz, senior vice president. Somos administers the database. “We welcome the opportunity to demonstrate the success of this relationship and the positive impact it has on the Toll-Free industry,” Berkowitz said.

ACT|The App Association will work to promote black voices and “advocate for policies that increase opportunities rather than perpetuate injustice,” said a letter about racial justice Wednesday. ACT vowed to push for regulatory changes on the availability of digital health tools, seek to close the digital divide, and to fight against efforts to weaken encryption and undermine privacy. Strong encryption “protects those who may need increased privacy due to harassment and abuse including minorities, victims of domestic violence, and the LGBTQ+ community,” ACT said. The association said it will establish an internship program with historically black colleges and universities and engage with venture capitalists about the difficulties black business owners face in attracting investors: “We have a new awareness and resolve to help bring justice for the Black community through thoughtful and effective tech policy.”

Public Knowledge and the Open Technology Institute won’t accept funding from Facebook, the groups said Tuesday evening, citing the platform’s decision not to remove controversial comments from President Donald Trump (see 2005290058). OTI cited refusal to remove a post “threatening that ‘when the looting starts, the shooting starts’ in reference to nationwide demonstrations against police brutality, as well as other posts from the President that promoted disinformation about mail-in voting.” Director Sarah Morris said OTI hopes to maintain a constructive dialogue with the platform: “We must all acknowledge our own role in racist systems and make changes to ensure we are part of the solution, rather than the problem. With over 2.6 billion users, Facebook has a clear responsibility to reckon with its role in these systems or risk continuing to facilitate oppression that imperils Black lives.” PK CEO Chris Lewis said the company can do better to play a constructive role in allowing civil discourse online: “That does not include turning a blind eye to messages that intimidate or suppress voters, spread misinformation, or endanger individuals and democracy.” Facebook didn’t comment Wednesday.