Localities interests and allies see at least a short-term win with the FCC seeking to pause an appeal of its 2019 cable local franchise authority (LFA) decision, as the agency takes a fresh look at the order. They aren't sure the motion for abeyance filed with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means the agency will do a 180-degree turnabout on the order itself. A major issue with the rules and the odds of the agency doing anything about it is the deadlocked 2-2 FCC.
Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., seeks Senate Judiciary Committee markup for her bill letting small news outlets negotiate revenue-sharing with online platforms (see 2103100058). She told us after Thursday’s subcommittee hearing that she spoke about the possibility with Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who sponsored the bill last year.
The FCC Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council approved a report Wednesday with recommendations on measuring risks and remediation costs in 911 and next-generation 911 networks. During its virtual meeting, CSRIC also OK'd reports on making standalone 5G networks more reliable and addressing session initiation protocol (SIP) security challenges. The meeting was the last under the group’s current charter and the first under President Joe Biden's administration.
The House voted 220-211 Wednesday to approve Senate-passed changes to the American Rescue Plan Act COVID-19 budget reconciliation package (HR-1319), paving the way for emergency E-rate remote learning money. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. It includes $7.17 billion for E-rate, $10 billion for state-level broadband and other infrastructure projects, and $175 million for CPB (see 2103080057). Deputy commerce secretary nominee Don Graves, meanwhile, cited his interest in increasing rural broadband deployments during a Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing.
Homes that enroll in the FCC’s $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program could be forced to discontinue their services if the commission fails to take additional action (see 2102260058), advocates said in interviews. Some suggested now is the time to consider how to update Lifeline before money runs out.
Increasing resources for antitrust enforcers is one potential area for Senate Judiciary Committee compromise, ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told us Wednesday. It’s something Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., has pushed for along with comprehensive antitrust legislation (see 2102040053). Klobuchar will lead the subcommittee’s first hearing this session Thursday (see 2103040033).
Lobbying intensified before an expected Wednesday sunshine notice on what model FCC members should approve March 17 for auctioning frequencies at 3.45 GHz, filings showed. Cable and satellite stakeholders were among those seeking changes to the auction draft rules so that bidding resembles that used in bidding for citizens broadband radio service airwaves. Others seek for the regulator to stick with the C-band auction approach, which is what the original draft that recently circulated would do.
State and local officials backed Connecticut broadband regulations proposed by Gov. Ned Lamont (D) that would require universal buildout while updating infrastructure rules. But telecom industry officials opposed HB-6442 as regressive overreach, at the livestreamed Joint Energy and Technology Committee hearing Tuesday. Anticipating federal net neutrality action, some Connecticut lawmakers questioned the need for SB-4. Telecom lawyers disagreed in recent interviews on how other states will be affected by last month’s ruling by U.S. District Court in Sacramento allowing California’s law to take effect.
President Joe Biden’s reported decision to nominate Columbia Law School’s Lina Khan for an open FTC seat drew reactions mostly along party lines Tuesday. Consumer groups praised the news. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation called her “populist” views a threat to traditional antitrust enforcement.
The House appears poised to agree later this week to Senate-passed changes to the American Rescue Plan Act COVID-19 budget reconciliation package, which includes emergency broadband and CPB funding. The Senate passed its amended version of HR-1319 Saturday 50-49 after a protracted floor battle in which Republicans proposed but ultimately didn’t seek votes on almost two dozen telecom amendments, as expected (see 2103030063). Telecom-focused Capitol Hill Republicans, meanwhile, pressed the FCC to explain why it now believes improved broadband coverage data maps won’t be available until at least late 2022 (see 2102170052).