Concerns are already being raised about FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s draft NPRM on spectrum above 95 GHz, which he circulated Thursday for a vote at the Feb. 22 commissioners’ meeting (see 1711130059). Federal agencies like NASA are among those with concerns, government officials said. Michael Marcus, a former FCC engineer and proponent of looking at the extreme high-frequency spectrum, said he appreciates that Pai circulated the draft, but parts need a lot more work.
FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and Chairman Ajit Pai exchanged barbs over what's holding up a long-pending tribal USF operational-expense relief order, after Clyburn's decision to change her vote to a partial dissent. Clyburn said the order should expand tribal broadband, but Pai said Clyburn's vote robbed the draft of a necessary third vote for an order that would increase tribal broadband funding.
EU efforts to finalize revamped copyright rules have been hampered by lack of consensus among governments and lawmakers on what to do about copyright protection in user-uploaded content and whether news publishers should have a new right to protect extracts of their publications that appear online, stakeholders said. The so-called "value-added" provision and the "snippet tax" are contained in articles 13 and 11, respectively, of the European Commission's proposed directive for copyright in the digital single market. The provisions are so controversial that the new EU Bulgarian presidency asked for "political guidance" on how to resolve the standoff.
Commenters raised concerns in comments in docket 17-340 about the nine spectrum policy principles recommended by the FCC Technological Advisory Council. The National Spectrum Management Association (NSMA), T-Mobile and CTIA said the FCC should move with care in further steps. CTA said TAC should further explore how industry itself can help to prevent and resolve interference disputes. The Office of Engineering and Technology asked in December whether the FCC should implement and formalize the recommendations as spectrum policies (see 1801310055). OET asked whether it should more widely adopt “risk-informed interference assessment and statistical service rules.”
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday largely upholding a finding that Cox Communications was liable for willful contributory copyright infringement by ISP subscribers left unanswered questions about Digital Millennium Copyright Act safe harbor issues, experts told us. The lower court and appellate rulings give some guidance on issues like what constitutes repeat infringement, though not as much as many hoped, said IP lawyer Rick Sanders of Aaron Sanders. About the only thing clear for ISPs is to make sure they follow their policies -- something Cox was blasted for not doing, said Public Knowledge Senior Counsel John Bergmayer.
Chairman Ajit Pai proposed an NPRM on flexible rules for spectrum above 95 GHz, what the FCC calls “the outermost edge of usable spectrum,” for a vote at the Feb. 22 commissioners' meeting. That and other items on a tentative agenda Thursday were expected (see 1801310065). Pai blogged that February is “innovation month” at the agency. It would also examine rules implementing Section 7 of the Communications Act, which requires the FCC to respond to petitions or applications proposing new technologies and services within a year, and resolve petitions to reconsider USF Mobility Fund rules. Three other draft items aim to roll back "outdated and unnecessary regulations" on broadcasters, cable companies and payphone service providers, Pai said.
A “completely redesigned” SiriusXM app for iOS and Android devices is beta testing and will debut in Q2, “providing the springboard” to launch streaming-video content on the service, said CEO Jim Meyer on a Wednesday earnings call that also saw much discussion of increased royalties and coming price hikes. “There’s no reason we can’t begin to acquire larger numbers of streaming-only subscribers.” The "plan is to launch video, first with Howard Stern in the second quarter, and then follow up later in ‘18 with additional short-form content from around the SiriusXM bundle,” added the executive.
The U.S. and EU are dealing with similar digital connectivity issues, and have more common ground than reports would lead one to believe, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and others said Wednesday at a webcast Computer & Communications Industry Association trans-Atlantic digital economy dialogue in Brussels. The future of digital connectivity is "extremely bright" given interesting trends in technologies and governments' commitment to reforming regulations, said Carr. CCIA's event preceded Thursday's EU-U.S. information society dialogue.
Observers disagree on practical effects of states blocking government contracts with broadband service providers that don’t follow net neutrality principles. Democratic governors in New York and Montana last week issued such executive orders (see 1801240041), while California senators voted 21-12 Monday to pass SB-460 (see 1801300025). Supporters said tapping procurement could be an effective way to incentivize neutrality without conflicting with FCC pre-emption. Others said the approach might have unintended consequences like stopping FirstNet and could be pre-empted.
FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Mike O'Rielly jointly proposed a list of expenses that rate-of-return telcos would be excluded from recovering through USF subsidy mechanisms and their consumer rate base. They hope such personal and other nonbusiness items will be included in a pending rate-of-return draft order (see 1801160040). Two rural telco groups involved in discussion with the commissioners back the effort and hope "consensus" action will clear the way for advancing broader USF goals.