The FCC’s draft low-power TV, translator and FM radio reimbursement order isn’t expected to be much changed from its circulated version and is considered largely uncontroversial, agency and industry officials told us. NPR, T-Mobile and several Class A broadcasters (see 1903070071) lobbied the agency for changes to the item. Now, FCC officials said few changes are likely. The order is to get a vote at Friday's commissioners' meeting.
Commissioners are expected to approve a Further NPRM Friday that would enable first responders to more accurately identify the floor level for most wireless 911 calls from multistory buildings. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks are expected to raise questions about the FCC's approach. The FNPRM proposes a vertical location accuracy metric, a z-axis, of plus or minus 3 meters for 80 percent of indoor wireless calls to 911.
Apple continues to give itself “an unfair advantage at every turn,” said Spotify CEO Daniel Ek in a Wednesday blog post. His company's antitrust complaint against Apple was filed Monday with the European Commission.
The U.S. might need legislation to combat the influx of frivolous Chinese trademark applications, Patent and Trademark Office Director Andrei Iancu told the Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee Wednesday. Chinese trademark applications have increased 1,100 percent cumulatively in the past six years, he said. Iancu noted at the hearing, however, that Chinese applications have decreased to start 2019, possibly because of increased scrutiny.
Administration debates over spectrum use for satellite vs. 5G "have been intense," Commerce Department Office of Space Commerce Director Kevin O'Connell said in Senate Commerce Committee testimony Wednesday. He said a worry on the space side is protecting taxpayer investments in federal capabilities like GPS and weather prediction via NOAA satellites, and Commerce wants to ensure the space community has an advocate while a 5G strategy is formulated.
The FCC should study health risks of 5G RF emissions, city council members in Portland, Oregon, agreed Wednesday. The council, comprised of Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) and four commissioners, unanimously agreed to a resolution asking the FCC to work with the Food and Drug Administration and other federal agencies to revisit the RF emissions issue.
The TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board lacks transparency, has an inherent conflict of interest and inaccurately rates TV content, said parent advocacy groups and many of the approximately 1,600 individual commenters. Docket 19-41 responses were on the FCC’s congressionally mandated call for filings (see 1903010046)on the TV ratings system and the board that oversees it.
Consolidated Communications resolved issues leading to service-quality probes in Maine and Vermont, and is investing in the northern New England territory it acquired from FairPoint in 2017, executives said in an interview. Customer calls to utility commissions in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont declined, after a surge in late summer 2018, commission data shows. The states heard more gripes after the FairPoint sale (see 1810020045).
The draft report and order opening spectrum above 95 GHzfor new commercial technologies is expected to be approved 5-0 by commissioners Friday, with few if any tweaks, FCC and industry officials said. Many questions remain about the treatment of passive bands in the “spectrum horizons” order, and those concerns are likely to surface during the discussion Friday, the officials said. Other questions could be on spectrum policy and spectrum enforcement. House Science Committee leaders raised similar concerns about the 24 GHz auction that starts Thursday.
SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer “wouldn’t have done” the $3.5 billion all-stock deal to buy Pandora if not for the “decent price” he thinks was deflated from the streaming service’s steady declines in listener hours the past three years, he told a Deutsche Bank investment conference Monday. It’s “going to take work” to reverse Pandora’s decline and boost the brand’s stature inside the car, he said.