With 3.5 GHz band commercial use rolling out nationwide, focus on clearing the 3.45-3.55 GHz band and studying possibly clearing at least some of 3.1-3.45 GHz or a sharing model like what's being used for the citizens broadband radio service (CBRS), FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said Wednesday. At an event cheering that initial commercial deployment, O'Rielly hoped DOD follows through on the idea it floated of increasing the allowable power levels for the band. Pentagon spectrum chief Fred Moorefield said the department would be amenable to exploring that once it's "comfortable with the rollout. ... More spectrum sharing is the new normal."
Fighting digital disinformation and its potential to affect the 2020 elections requires lawmakers, academia, think tanks, the public, civic society and digital platforms, said speakers Tuesday. They noted tensions between battling disinformation and jeopardizing free speech. The Federal Election Commission organized the event with PEN America and the Global Digital Policy Incubator at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center.
Tech groups opposed third-party repair mandates that they said would thwart innovation, insisting consumers have diversified repair options, as the comments deadline expired Monday in the FTC’s “Nixing the Fix” docket 2019-0013. Right-to-repair advocates urged the FTC to use antitrust authority to crack down on manufacturer repair limitations stifling aftermarket competition.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Competitive Carriers Association members were asked by the federal government to participate in discussions on supply chain security, carrier officials said Tuesday at CCA’s annual meeting. At the opening breakfast, big issues were 5G and what it will mean to competitive carriers. Huawei was at CCA and had a technical presentation on cybersecurity.
The FTC and DOJ haven’t fully honored their clearance agreement while investigating big tech platforms for competition reasons, FTC Chairman Joe Simons said Tuesday. DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim said during the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee hearing he can’t deny instances where time has been “wasted” on such squabbles.
The report on the Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee-cleared FY 2020 budget bill, which includes funding for the FCC and FTC, has language aimed at pressuring the FCC to hold a public auction of spectrum on the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band, subcommittee Chairman John Kennedy, R-La., confirmed to us Tuesday. Some communications lobbyists expected the funding bill to include C-band language (see 1909160062). The subcommittee advanced the measure to the full committee on a voice vote. The full bill text and report isn't publicly available and won't be released until after the full committee marks it up Thursday.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks told the Competitive Carriers Association he met with CCA members before a keynote Tuesday to discuss security of network equipment from Huawei and other Chinese equipment makers (see 1909170023). Starks warned gear that isn’t secure will likely have to be removed from networks. Commissioner Brendan Carr said he hasn’t decided whether issues raised in a public notice Friday (see 1909160018) will be his next focus on wireless infrastructure.
A Maine law requiring cable operators provide video service a la carte and facing cable industry legal challenge isn't likely to be replicated elsewhere soon, experts told us. A cable lawyer said more cable suits challenging this law seem unlikely because the Comcast/programmers litigation (see 1909100041) is likely sufficient. Charter Communications, whose service footprint covers much of Maine, and America's Communications Association didn't comment Monday.
FCC action on the 5.9 GHz band appears unlikely until at least November. The Department of Transportation appears to be digging in to defend the use of the band for safety alone, opposing sharing with Wi-Fi. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told the Wi-Fi World Congress in May the commission would soon take another look at the spectrum (see 1905140050). Pai was expected to circulate a Further NPRM that month but pulled it after Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao objected (see 1906180072). The band is for dedicated short-range communications.
Staff is entering the second phase of a lengthy process to update the FCC's main filing system. After spending about a year on internal communications and other early work, agency employees are now poised to speak with external stakeholders. The update may include ways to help prevent the agency's filing system from being overwhelmed with fraudulent or spam comments that could slow it down, and it could register users, officials told the agency's Consumer Advisory Committee. Unlike past filing system revamps, this one may have bigger changes, staff told CAC.