Wireless small-cells bills could soon be law in Georgia and West Virginia, possibly increasing the number of states with such 5G laws to 23. Several other states aren’t far behind with bills meant to streamline wireless infrastructure deployment by pre-empting local governments in the right of way. In Arkansas, where two small-cells hearings were scheduled this week, some lawmakers asked about benefits for rural areas.
The Technological Advisory Council urged the FCC to take a deep dive into the new generation of dynamic antennas and the future of sharing spectrum. The group also heard an update on 5G and the IoT Tuesday, as it held its long-delayed final meeting for 2018. The meeting originally was scheduled for December and then twice postponed. No reports approved Tuesday were immediately available. TAC, launched when 2G was transitioning to 3G, celebrated its 20th birthday.
The hope is that the Senate Commerce Committee’s working group can begin negotiating privacy bill specifics (see 1903050074) in the next several days or week, Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kan., told reporters after a Tuesday hearing. The differences aren’t “insurmountable,” and the goal will be to draft a bill that’s strong enough for Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Democrats to support federal pre-emption of state laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act, Moran said.
ISP blocking, throttling or paid prioritization policies aren't necessarily violations of FTC antitrust rules, said Chairman Joe Simons at a Free State Foundation conference Tuesday. Such conduct would need to have involved consumer harm or deception to trigger FTC enforcement actions, Simons said. “We would take action against ISPs if they block applications without adequately disclosing those practices or if they mislead consumers.” Under FCC Communications Act Title I net neutrality rules, the FTC has such authority, which some backing Title II want returned to the FCC. A bill to do that was marked up Tuesday (see 1903260064).
The House Communications Subcommittee advanced the Save the Internet Act net neutrality bill (HR-1644) Tuesday on a party-line 18-11 vote, clearing the way for a likely full House Commerce Committee vote on the bill next week. HR-1644 and Senate companion S-682, filed earlier this month, would add a new title to the Communications Act that says the FCC order rescinding its 2015 rules "shall have no force or effect." The bill retroactively would restore reclassification of broadband as a Communications Act Title II service (see 1903060077).
Apple unveiled subscription streaming video and news services at a Monday event in Cupertino, a venue traditionally known for the company’s splashy hardware debuts. It reversed course this month, launching next-gen iPads, AirPods and an iMac last week in low-key fashion (see 1903210028), saving the glitz for Monday’s highly anticipated service announcement at the Steve Jobs Theater.
Texas telecom providers opposed a state bill to expand state USF to rural broadband, at a livestreamed House State Affairs Committee hearing Monday. Phone companies said they’re open to a separate bill allowing rural electric cooperatives to provide broadband. The committee took testimony but didn’t vote on those and multiple other broadband bills at the hearing, continuing late into the afternoon.
The FTC is examining how it can better protect consumers and promote privacy and competition, Chairman Joe Simons said during the agency’s latest policy hearing. The Electronic Privacy Information Center organized a demonstration outside the hearing Monday at agency headquarters, where the group sought a conclusion to the FTC’s investigation into potential Facebook privacy violations. EPIC seeks enforcement of the agency’s privacy consent order with the social network, President Marc Rotenberg tweeted.
Facing issues like rapidly growing content costs, cable operators said the inflection point where some systems might get out of the video business is coming closer, though that won't happen in the next year or two. The decision on video will be based on profit margin, "and for a lot of guys, it's [already] little or none," said Vast Broadband CEO Jim Gleason.
The Save the Internet Act net neutrality bill (HR-1644) remains likely to clear a Tuesday House Communications Subcommittee markup but by a potentially narrow margin, lobbyists told us. All sides of the net neutrality policy debate say the more dramatic aspect they will monitor is whether enough House Communications Democrats end up supporting an expected set of GOP-sponsored amendments aimed at altering the bill’s intent. The markup is to begin at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.