The U.S. had a successful World Radiocommunication Conference, NTIA acting Administrator Doug Kinkoph said in a year-end blog post. “Nearly a dozen NTIA employees were part of a U.S. delegation that secured important agreements on 5G allocations in the ‘millimeter wave’ spectrum,” Kinkoph said Tuesday: “The delegation’s success at this conference will directly benefit U.S. industries as they seek to maintain and advance American technology leadership across the globe.” Others, including FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, said the conference had mixed results for the U.S. (see 1912180045).

The internet access provider industry "is doomed" if IAPs end up liable for $100,000 per user-downloaded copyright infringement, Santa Clara University Director-High Tech Law Institute professor Eric Goldman blogged Monday, citing the $1 billion jury verdict (in Pacer, docket 18-cv-950) earlier this month awarded in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, in a music industry suit against Cox Communications. He said Cox undoubtedly will appeal to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He said IAPs being hit with secondary copyright liability claims stems from "a breakdown in the détente" associated with the failed Copyright Alert System, and that solution, while "terrible," was better than standards courts keep suggesting. "The judgement is unwarranted, unjust and an egregious amount." Cox emailed. "Today, you can download a song for a dollar. This judgement is for nearly $100,000 per song. We plan to appeal the case and vigorously defend ourselves. We provide customers with a powerful tool that connects to a world full of content and information. Unfortunately, some customers have chosen to use that connection for wrongful activity. We don’t condone it, we educate on it and we do our best to help curb it, but we shouldn’t be held responsible for the bad actions of others.”

Comments are due Jan. 29, replies Feb. 28, on call blocking issues, said a Monday notice by the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau in docket 17-59. On Dec. 20 the bureau sought comment on “the availability and effectiveness of call blocking tools offered to consumers, the impact of the Commission’s actions on illegal calls, and the impact of call blocking on 911 services and public safety.” The bureau plans to use the comments to the commission’s first staff report on call blocking (see 1912200017). A June declaratory ruling allows carriers to block telecommunications traffic without a consumer request (see 1906060056).

Democratic 2020 presidential hopeful Andrew Yang said Sunday he wants to address “the race to deploy 5G,” which he believes is “a race [the U.S.] must win” against China and other competitors. Yang tweeted he wants to “scale up federal investments and coordination [in 5G] and fund the training and apprenticeship of tens of thousands of technicians.” He also tied the 5G issue into his proposal for a $1,000 monthly universal basic income, saying that would ensure “we all are in better position to benefit from and participate in our shared progress. 5G would have massive ramifications on the economy and workforce.” Yang’s main tech policy focus in the presidential campaign has been highlighting his concerns with China having a significant edge over the U.S. in artificial intelligence because of Chinese government investment (see 1912200062).

The pre-Christmas announcement of Ivanka Trump's CES keynote appearance next week (see 1912230018) drew frenzied tech-industry responses, many opposed, others in favor. "Here are the facts,” said CTA CEO Gary Shapiro on Facebook. Trump, a White House adviser, “volunteers to serve her country," with a focus on women's advancement, entrepreneurship and training Americans in skills the tech industry needs to fill vacant jobs, he said. Trump has worked in support of extended parental leave for federal workers, he said. She's also a “passionate advocate for entrepreneurs and the competitive market,” he said. The CES "focus on and commitment to entrepreneurs and 1300+ entrepreneurs exhibiting in Eureka Park" make Trump a "logical" federal government choice to speak at the Las Vegas show, he said. Shapiro met recently with her at the White House, discussing the future benefits of artificial intelligence, self-driving and other technologies, he said. She “challenged me that all this great technology is also causing millions of ordinary Americans unease about the future of their jobs,” he said. “She said our industry should do something about it and she challenged us and others to hire and reskill Americans to commit to training and hiring Americans.” On partisan comments assailing Trump as a CES keynoter, Shapiro said: “My sadness is that hatred blinds and divides us." Many of the comments he has seen about her speaking at CES, he said, "are derogatory, sexist and misogynist about a person who did not choose her father but is doing the best she can to use her brains and business experience to make our nation better.” Some commenters posted on Twitter and Facebook that they would not be attending CES because of Trump's participation (see here, here and here). Others praised the decision to invite her (see here and here).

The Commerce Department renewed the charter for the Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness, said Thursday's Federal Register. The committee provides advice “on the necessary elements of a comprehensive policy approach to supply chain competitiveness designed to support U.S. export growth and national economic competitiveness,” it said.

The Boulder Emergency Telephone Service Authority asked the FCC to reconsider part of rules commissioners approved 4-0 in November requiring carriers to provide height above ellipsoid data from wireless calls to 911, within 3 meters accuracy for 80 percent of calls, starting in the largest markets in April 2021 (see 1911220034). “It was arbitrary and capricious, and an abuse of discretion, for the Commission to have declined to adopt proof of performance testing at limited locations in the 50 markets in which carriers will be required to provide Z-axis location data, on the grounds that it would be impractical and burdensome,” BRETSA said, noting carriers have conceded more testing is necessary. “It is inappropriate for the Commission to reject a new proposal as inconsistent with a prior Commission decision, when the accuracy of the assumptions underlying the prior decision have been drawn into question by the very parties implementing that decision,” the authority said. The petition was posted Friday in docket 07-114.

While California’s lawsuit against T-Mobile/Sprint awaits decision, the California Public Utilities Commission “has a full record and sufficient evidence to move forward with a finding that this merger is not in the public interest and to deny merger approval or impose significant conditions,” The Utility Reform Network (TURN) Managing Director-San Diego Christine Mailloux emailed Thursday. The carriers seek a February CPUC decision, but some say CPUC will wait for California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) and a verdict on his and other state AGs’ lawsuit at U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (see 1912230041 and 1912260020). TURN hopes “the CPUC and the AG can cooperate and work together, to the extent the law allows, to ensure a consistent policy and decision-making process to benefit and protect California wireless consumers,” Mailloux said. “However, these reviews have proven unpredictable and TURN is uncertain whether the offices are coordinating or would wait for one or the other to finish their processes.” The CPUC and California AG office didn’t comment.

Lifeline comments are due Jan. 27, replies Feb. 25 on the FCC’s Further NPRM in docket 17-287, says a notice in Friday's Federal Register. The FCC’s related fifth order in that docket takes effect Jan. 27, says another Friday notice. The 3-2 decision is on waste, fraud and abuse in the Lifeline USF program, with the rulemaking asking comment on prohibiting Lifeline providers from offering handsets to consumers at no cost (see 1911140064).

ICANN's withholding consent to the sale of Public Interest Registry would likely be "reasonable" absent concessions from the buyer, Ethos Capital, said Wayne State University law professor Jonathan Weinberg (see 1912230002).