A point of contention between industry and consumer groups will be how lawmakers define FTC rulemaking authority when crafting privacy legislation, experts and witnesses told us. The Senate Commerce Committee holds a hearing Wednesday (see 1810040040) on legislation (see 1809260050), this time with privacy witnesses, after questioning an all-industry panel in the first round.
A compromise on reducing interference protection for Class A AM stations is likely to lead to a contentious proceeding, said radio engineers and attorneys in interviews Tuesday. The FCC issued a unanimously approved NPRM Friday. It's seen as offering a “middle” solution that stops short of total removal of interference protections (see 1808210045) previously proposed by the agency but that still would reduce protections for existing Class A “clear channel” stations, said duTreil, Lundin Vice President Ronald Rackley.
Public interest groups, wireless ISPs and some industrial players are expected to make a push at the FCC over the next two weeks for changes to the revised geographic sizes for priority access licenses in the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band. Chairman Ajit Pai last week circulated revised rules, as crafted by Commissioner Mike O’Rielly (see 1810020050). The draft would auction PALs on a countywide basis rather than by census-tracts, the approach of Obama-era rules.
The Senate Commerce Committee has a staff briefing scheduled this week with Facebook to discuss the recent hack (see 1810020046), a committee aide said Friday. A House Commerce Committee aide said leadership will pursue follow-up briefings with Facebook after a preliminary phone conversation with staff Thursday. Questions remain about the impact on third-party apps from the breach, the House Commerce aide said. The House Judiciary Committee, which didn’t comment, also requested a briefing from the platform. Facebook didn’t comment.
Cable industry support for the cable basic tier regulation Further NPRM and order on October's FCC agenda (see 1810010027) doesn't appear to have coalesced, while localities are tied up responding to and fighting other FCC matters, officials on both sides told us. The import of the eventual rules may be limited by the relative lack of local cable regulation, too.
The midterm elections in 2018 will generate vastly more broadcast political advertising spending than the 2014 midterms, broadcasters and analysts said in interviews. A host of tight congressional races, an early focus on negative ads, and high rates of spending by outside groups are seen as reasons for the increase. That’s going to lead to “healthier than expected” political ad revenue for radio and TV stations, said BIA/Kelsey Chief Economist Mark Fratrik. E.W. Scripps projects revenue in 2018 will grow more than 50 percent over 2014. “It feels more aggressive,” Alpha Media CEO Bob Proffitt told us.
Some parties object to the FCC's plan to require use of a Lifeline national verifier in six states without ensuring an electronic interface for carriers and database access to determine low-income consumer eligibility. Lifeline providers and a NARUC official said the NV's lack of an application programming interface and automated access to key databases will complicate eligibility verification, increasing administrative costs, burdening consumers and undermining enrollment.
ThePirateBay.org, an illicit torrent indexing service, remains a prominent target for the music, film and video game industries, show comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative posted this week. USTR collected comments through Monday for its Special 301 report on countries and groups that infringe U.S. intellectual property.
Michigan lawmakers advanced 5G wireless legislation Thursday, while Georgia went back to the drawing board, as states come to terms with the FCC’s order last month to lower state and local barriers. The Michigan Energy Policy Committee voted 15-4 to clear two wireless bills, SB-637 and SB-894, with one lawmaker noting the measures expand on the FCC decision. Later, a Georgia Senate study committee talked about a possible second attempt to update local right-of-way policies. In California, a state court decision could cause problems for Sacramento and Verizon’s 5G launch (see 1810010028).
Bipartisan interest in federal broadband funding mechanisms and criticism of FCC coverage data collection practices dominated Thursday's Senate Commerce Committee hearing on rural broadband, as expected (see 1810030055). The panel also became a forum for Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and other committee members to tout broadband-related legislation eyed for potential combination into a package bill (see 1807250056).