The flood of full-power TV channel substitution requests into the FCC Media Bureau since November showed pent-up demand that's likely to continue, broadcasters and broadcast attorneys told us. As channel swap requests continue, more low-power stations could find themselves facing being bumped from their channels, said Smithwick & Belendiuk broadcast attorney Mark Denbo, who represents low-power broadcaster King Kong. “I think there’s going to be more and more,” Denbo said. “With ATSC 3.0, more full powers want to get on UHF.”
Some House Democrats are beginning to echo their Senate colleagues’ concerns about the continued lack of permanent leadership at the FCC and NTIA (see 2106160056). House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., told us he plans to delay the subpanel’s customary FCC oversight hearings until President Joe Biden names a permanent commission chair and fills a vacant seat that would give Democrats a 3-2 majority. Qualms about Biden’s failure to name a permanent NTIA administrator also featured during a Wednesday House Communications hearing on nine bills largely aimed at increasing the role that agency and the FCC play in communications security. Subcommittee members from both parties appeared interested in pursuing those measures.
The FCC expects “a lot of interest” in the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund, senior officials told reporters Monday before the first application filing window opens Tuesday (see 2105260048). Officials said the program is intended to complement the existing emergency broadband benefit program.
Industry groups and consumer advocates will watch closely Thursday when the FTC expects to vote on streamlining internal Magnuson-Moss rulemaking procedures. An affirmative vote could set the stage for an agency rulemaking on privacy, a proposal for which Democrat and Republican commissioners have shown interest (see 2102120046).
The House Appropriations Committee’s proposed report on the Financial Services Subcommittee-cleared measure to fund the FCC and FTC in FY 2022 seeks further work on changes to USF contribution rules and wants additional study of how municipal broadband can expand connectivity access. The committee was still considering the underlying bill late Tuesday afternoon. Dueling panels of telecom policy officials disagreed on how lawmakers should translate into legislation the $65 billion broadband component in a bipartisan infrastructure package framework President Joe Biden endorsed last week (see 2106240070).
The Supreme Court refused to hear a local government challenge to the FCC’s 2018 small-cells orders. The court denied certiorari to Portland, Oregon, and other localities in case 20-1354 without explanation, in its Monday order list. Local government attorneys told us they will keep talking about wireless infrastructure concerns at the FCC. Industry applauded SCOTUS not taking the case. Cities argued the case was ripe for SCOTUS review despite the FCC and DOJ saying there wasn’t any reason to take the case (see 2106150079) and 2106030066).
A federal judge chided a Florida counsel at virtual oral argument Monday on the state’s law regulating social media regulation, asking “if you've ever dealt with a statute that was more poorly drafted.” U.S. District Court in Tallahassee Judge Robert Hinkle had a laundry list of questions for the state counsel. He plans to rule Wednesday on a preliminary injunction against the law that would otherwise take effect Thursday (see 2106250028).
Prioritize broadband support in areas with less than 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps uploads, a NARUC broadband task force recommended Friday. At its final virtual meeting, the group unanimously adopted that and other amended recommendations that will be drafted into proposed resolutions for the Telecom Committee to consider at NARUC’s July 18-21 meeting. Another edit responded to ISP concerns about not enough appreciation for that sector (see 2106020077).
Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., is “actively working” to introduce at least one, possibly more, of the six antitrust bills the House Judiciary Committee passed last week (see 2106240071). Klobuchar’s Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act (S-228) passed Wednesday with the House package of antitrust legislation (see 2106240071). “It just shows the momentum” for updating U.S. antitrust law, she told us Thursday. Klobuchar wouldn’t specify which House bill she plans to introduce. “I think there will be others as well,” she said.
The FCC Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment will be rechartered with a broader focus as the Communications Equity and Diversity Council, acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced Thursday at the virtual, final meeting of ACDDE’s current charter. “The Council’s mission will expand from its initial focus on the media ecosystem to review more broadly critical diversity and equity issues across the tech sector,” said an agency news release Thursday. One meeting vote was divisive.