It’s unlikely Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., could offer an amendment to keep the Earn It Act from undermining encryption for millions of Americans, encryption advocates said in interviews about Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee markup (see 2006250067). A victims advocate urged the committee to advance the bill, contending government action is the only way to get Big Tech to respond to rampant child exploitation.
The amplified national conversation about racism after recent police-involved deaths of Black people is providing an opening to grow momentum on Capitol Hill for legislation to place new limits on prison phone charges and increase media ownership diversity, lawmakers and lobbyists said in interviews. Lawmakers sponsoring some of the bills told us they are pushing to ensure such language is included in the next COVID-19 aid measure and other vehicles, including the House Democrats’ Moving Forward Act infrastructure legislative package (HR-2).
The FCC should expedite launch of a $9 billion 5G Fund, not wait to hand out money in 2023 when better maps are available, NARUC, the Rural Wireless Association and other commenters told the FCC. T-Mobile said the NPRM puts too much emphasis on buildout commitments agreed to as part of the Sprint deal. Comments were due Thursday in docket 20-32. Commissioners approved the NPRM in April over partial dissents by Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, concerned about delays (see 2004230046).
The COVID-19 pandemic shows no single solution will fully address the U.S. digital divide, and wireless will play a bigger role worldwide, FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said at the virtual European Spectrum Management Conference Friday. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel stressed the importance of flexible-use rules and said the agency needs to learn the right lessons.
The next National Broadband Plan shouldn't be a 10-year project and shouldn't be assigned solely for the FCC to conduct and implement, said New Street's Blair Levin during a Friday FCBA webinar with panelists who worked on the original National Broadband Plan before it was released as a report to Congress 10 years ago (see 1003170154). Their consensus now is it should be shepherded outside the FCC to gain broader buy-in across government (see 2003030030). Suggestions for NBP ownership included NTIA, the Commerce Department or the White House.
Satellite news truck companies worry the pending C-band partial clearing could mean the end of their industry, since the lost spectrum is a necessary and irreplaceable resource. Satellite C-band providers say those occasional user worries are misplaced. Operators say their post-clearing plans leave enough spectrum to maintain service at least for the near term.
The House Armed Services Committee’s current version of the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act doesn’t include language to intervene in FCC approval of the Ligado L-band plan. Proposal supporters said they are gearing up for a fight if committee members attempt to attach such amendments to the measure. Ligado opponents believe they have a good chance of prevailing because the Senate is considering its Armed Services Committee-approved FY21 NDAA version (S-4049) with related language intact, and a standalone bill is still in the pipeline.
Two issues expected to be contentious at the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference involve potential spectrum sharing in the 6 GHz and the UHF bands, speakers said Thursday at a European spectrum management conference. Agenda item (AI) 1.2 calls for identifying several bands, among them the 6425-7025 MHz band in Region 1, and the 7025-7125 MHz band globally, for mobile services. AI 1.5 considers potential sharing between users such as broadcasting services and mobile applications in the UHF 470-960 MHz band. Other keenly watched discussions include satellite and transport communications issues, they said. Agenda items are here.
European regulators are taking a more measured approach than the U.S., where the FCC aggressively moved to make high-band spectrum available for 5G, speakers said at the virtual European Spectrum Management Conference Thursday. The FCC has already held three millimeter-wave auctions, including the largest, which concluded in March with AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon buying licenses (see 2003120054).
Bullish projections of TV advertising revenue for 2020 show a 4% decline for 2020, while bearish predictions go as low as an 18% decline, said S&P Global analyst Seth Shafer in a teleconferenced presentation for the 2020 Kagan Media Summit Thursday. This was the second half of the summit, the first half was last week (see 2006180053). The current downturn has much more uncertainty than previous recessions because no one can be sure about a second wave of COVID-19 or when businesses will reopen, said NBC Spot On Senior Vice President-Business Development Shawn Makhijani on another panel.