A draft order tweaking rules of the secure and trusted communications networks reimbursement program, set for a commissioner vote Tuesday (see 2106220060), is expected to get support of all four commissioners. A few slight changes are possible, said industry and agency officials. FCC officials said they are sorting through possible changes, within decisions to be made before the meeting.
ISPs balked at a possible probe into whether broadband deployment practices lead to digital inequity, in comments posted through Tuesday at the California Public Utilities Commission. As part of its broadband docket (R.20-09-001), the CPUC sought feedback on three digital redlining studies by the Greenlining Institute; University of Southern California; and Communications Workers of America and National Digital Inclusion Alliance (see 2105280014). Advocates urged further investigation.
The House Judiciary Committee missed an opportunity by marking up six antitrust bills without holding a post-introduction hearing (see 2106250062), an aide for the New Democrat Coalition told us Tuesday. House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I., told reporters he and ranking member Ken Buck, R-Colo., will continue seeking support from Democratic and Republican members, including the New Democrats and the House Problem Solvers Caucus.
Among associations that deal with telecom and whose website home and About pages we checked for accessibility, the average scores were in the 80s out of 100. The highest score was 100, the lowest 63. Communications Daily used two trackers, www.webaccessibility.com and Google’s Lighthouse extension, to review the sites of some 30 associations. Experts said in interviews that manual checks are more accurate, and results show some accessibility problems.
With nearly 3.1 million households enrolled to date in the FCC’s emergency broadband benefit program, experts told us the program could last at least another year if enrollment numbers and the amount of money ISPs seek for reimbursement remain at the current pace. Others said it’s too early to say because of the limited data available.
Opponents of the FCC’s order reallocating the 5.9 GHz band raise a novel issue in a spectrum fight at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit -- whether the FCC violated a law requiring the allocation of spectrum for intelligent transportation systems. The FCC moved away from dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), the former allocation for the entire 75 MHz. Instead, the agency divided the band with 45 MHz set aside for Wi-Fi and 30 MHz for cellular vehicle-to-everything technology. Wi-Fi advocates say the court is unlikely to reverse the FCC in favor of the Department of Transportation.
Controversy flared this week during talks on a treaty to update broadcasting protections for the digital age. Formal negotiations by the World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) remain stalled due to COVID-19, but some member countries and observers were “quite shocked” to discover that an informal “friends of the chair” group had met twice this year to work on treaty language, emailed Knowledge Ecology Online Geneva Representative Thiru Balasubramaniam. The group, which had lain dormant during the COVID-19 pandemic, met before the Monday-Thursday partly virtual meeting. In his meeting summary, acting Chair Abdoul Aziz Dieng said he would consider concerns raised about the informal talks.
Industry experts said the 3.45 GHz auction, to start Oct. 5, is likely to be a success, with AT&T and Dish Network in particular seen as keen to pick up more mid-band spectrum. But questions remain about the level of data provided by the government. Upfront payments, the first expression of bidder interest, are due July 21 (see 2106090078). The reserve price for federal agencies to clear the spectrum and for the auction to close is $15 billion.
The FTC voted along party lines Thursday to “streamline” agency rulemaking procedures and remove hurdles to issuing compulsory demands in investigations (see 2106300001). The decisions remove policy constraints that hindered enforcement, making commissioners more nimble when investigating companies, Chair Lina Khan said during Thursday’s public meeting. Republicans said they weren’t given enough time to study the proposals that will reduce transparency, public input and commission oversight.
Florida plans to “immediately appeal” to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday's decision by the U.S. District Court in Tallahassee to freeze Florida’s law regulating social media, said a spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) Thursday. Hours before the law was to take effect, Judge Robert Hinkle granted NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association’s motion for preliminary injunction (see our bulletin). Plaintiffs and supporting amici told us they’re confident the 11th Circuit won’t overturn the lower court.