The C-band auction and compensating satellite operators for leaving the spectrum are things the FCC could come to regret as a negative template for future spectrum auctions, said Philip Murphy, legislative director to House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa. The auction starts Dec. 8.
Congress authorized the FCC to interpret “all provisions” of the Communications Act, including amendments, so the agency can issue a rulemaking clarifying the immunity shield’s scope, General Counsel Tom Johnson blogged Wednesday (see 2010210022). Authority originates from the “plain meaning of” Communications Act Section 201(b), “which confers on the FCC the power to issue rules necessary to carry out the provisions of the Act,” Johnson wrote. Congress inserted Section 230 into the CDA, making clear “rulemaking authority extended to the provisions of that section,” he wrote. Johnson cited Supreme Court decisions by the late Justice Antonin Scalia in AT&T v. Iowa Utilities Board in 1999 and 2013's City of Arlington v. FCC.
The Wireless ISP Association is grateful the FCC plans to allow higher power in the TV white spaces band and increase the height of towers, but asked the agency to allow use of the Longley-Rice irregular terrain model for looking at TVWS interference, said Louis Peraertz, WISPA vice president-policy. WISPA holds out hope the order will change before an Oct. 27 commissioner vote (see 2010060060), he told the group’s fall conference Tuesday streamed from Las Vegas. WISPA is meeting in person, with limited attendance, unlike most industry groups that are having only online meetings because of the pandemic (see 2010080031).
Any Joe Biden administration could mean major changes in how DOJ and the FTC handle antitrust matters, said current and former FTC commissioners during a Tuesday Technology Policy Institute webcast event. They suggested that what changes might occur if Democratic presidential nominee Biden wins depend on what resources and statutory changes Congress provides. Some FTC alumni commented on the DOJ Antitrust Division’s lawsuit against Google, claiming the company engages in anticompetitive behavior in its search engine business (see 2010200058).
5G should be built by industry, not government, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said at the 6G Symposium Tuesday. The agency may need to consider a 2G sunset, he said. The world is in early stages of 5G, but it will mean rising competition for carriers, Pai said. Others looked beyond fifth-generation to a decade or longer away, with even faster speeds and lower latency.
DOJ and 11 Republican state attorneys general sued Google Tuesday for its alleged monopoly in general search services and search advertising. Senior Vice President Kent Walker called the lawsuit “deeply flawed,” saying consumers choose to use Google, “not because they're forced to or because they can't find alternatives.” New York Attorney General Letitia James and six other Democratic state AGs announced they’re continuing a parallel investigation and could potentially consolidate the case with DOJ in coming weeks. Industry groups condemned the suit; reaction from consumer advocates varied.
The ability of users to control their data and deploy a private network in days is a selling point for deployments in the citizens broadband radio service band, a Fierce Wireless webinar heard. Speakers Monday agreed it remains to be seen what CBRS form these private networks will take and how they will evolve.
The European Commission will “very soon” issue a draft for modernized standard contractual clauses, said International Data Flows and Protection Head Bruno Gencarelli during a Technology Policy Institute panel Monday. There’s a vital need to maintain international data flows after the Schrems II decision (see 2009250071), but it must be balanced with privacy protections, he said. The EC didn’t comment about an exact timeline.
Carriers and other telco stakeholders asked the Pentagon not to push forward with any nationalized 5G spectrum plan. Comments were due Monday but not immediately available online except when filers released them individually. A DOD official said they will be posted.
The FCC is expected to vote on an order opening the 5.9 GHz band for Wi-Fi and cellular vehicle-to-everything in November and an order on proposed further changes in the 6 GHz band in December, regardless of what happens in the Nov. 3 election. Chairman Ajit Pai likely will have broad support for the changes even if Joe Biden is elected and FCC control shifts to Democrats in January, agency and industry officials told us.