The FCC would conclude mobile broadband isn't a full substitute for fixed broadband, and maintain a fixed service benchmark of 25/3 Mbps, Chairman Ajit Pai said Thursday on a draft report he circulated with commissioners under Section 706 of the Telecom Act. Taking a "holistic approach," the draft would say the FCC is "meeting its statutory mandate" to promote broadband on a reasonable and timely basis, though more actions are needed, he said. A notice of inquiry asked whether 10/1 Mbps mobile broadband might be a fixed substitute for purposes of advanced telecom capability (ATC) deployment, a suggestion Democratic commissioners and others opposed (see 1709200042 and 1710100053).
The Trump administration was at CES and administration officials indicated policy formation was rolling forward in such areas as drones and autonomous vehicles (see 1801110009) and spectrum (see 1801100015). But industry observers disagree whether the administration is making progress. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) issued a report Thursday slamming the administration’s record on science. Among CES speakers were Michael Kratsios, deputy chief technology officer, and Ethan Klein, policy adviser, both from the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The Senate Commerce Committee voted Thursday to again advance FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr's renomination to a full five-year term. But lawmakers in both parties acknowledged in later interviews that he's unlikely to get a full Senate vote soon. President Donald Trump nominated Carr last year to consecutive terms, including an abbreviated one expiring in June. The Senate confirmed Carr to only the abbreviated term, under a deal aimed at providing a clear Republican nominee to pair with a potential successor to Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn if she leaves (see 1706290063 and 1708030060). Trump renominated Carr earlier this month to a term ending in 2023, after the Senate sent back all nominations it failed to act on in 2017 (see 1801040058 and 1801080062 and see the personals section of this issue).
Tech company efforts to combat online terrorism faced skepticism at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Wednesday, with some senators pressing for fuller explanations of technologies for identifying and removing extremist content. Chairman John Thune, R-N.D., told reporters the hearing was a “really good first step” and Facebook, YouTube and Twitter witnesses “were pretty responsive.” The committee will keep tracking the issue but doesn’t plan further action at the moment, Thune said: “We know how important these platforms are to extremist groups to recruit and radicalize folks that will commit violent acts against Americans, and we just want to make sure we’re staying on top of that issue.”
Senators debated legislation Wednesday reauthorizing Section 702 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act authority, after Tuesday's 60-38 cloture vote disappointed senators eager to strengthen privacy protections. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., cast the last of 18 Democratic votes in favor of cloture with 41 Republicans and one Independent. “I am deeply disappointed by the vote,” said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. “The new warrant provisions in this bill are filled with loopholes that any biased government agent can exploit, and tonight’s vote has made it much more likely that improperly obtained private conversations will be used for political gain."
Idaho USF probably isn't sustainable and may require a legislative fix, Public Utilities Commission staff said at a teleconferenced Wednesday workshop. The PUC is assessing state USF viability, as several other states also are expected to revamp state funds this year. State changes are appropriate, but federal action is needed, Joint Board on Universal Service State Chair Chris Nelson told us.
Dallas will be the first test market of plans by a new consortium for the ATSC 3.0 transition and, if things go well, possibly the location of the first commercial offering of the new standard as well, said American Tower and Sinclair executives in interviews Wednesday. “We fully expect this to go on to be a commercial market,” said American Tower Vice President-Broadcasting Peter Starke. “We don’t plan to take this equipment down.” The broadcast consortium of American Tower, Nexstar, Sinclair and Univision hopes to use the Dallas test bed to work out the details of 3.0 simulcasting, connectivity and wireless offerings, said Mark Aitken, Sinclair vice president-advanced technology.
The FCC will push for the development of best practices for calls to 911 and work to speed transition of public safety answering points to next-generation 911, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said during a speech at the NG911 Institute Wednesday. The program also included 911 officials from three of the areas hardest hit by last year’s wave of storms -- southern Florida, Houston and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Lawmakers in both houses are gearing up to scrutinize the false alarm about a possible ballistic missile headed for Hawaii that caused panic there Saturday. Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, told us Wednesday he's strongly considering legislation aimed at fixing faults in the emergency alert system. The Senate Commerce Committee is aiming for a hearing next week focused on the incident, two Capitol Hill aides said. The House Communications Subcommittee also is planning a to-be-scheduled hearing that will examine the false alert in the context of other public safety telecom issues. The FCC is investigating, as are Hawaii officials (see 1801160054).
Level 3 and ExteNet threatened to sue the Maine Public Utilities Commission over pole-attachment licensing requirements they deem too burdensome. Commissioners voted 3-0 Friday to amend pole attachment rules as directed by the legislature (see 1712060035). The order in docket 2017-00247 didn’t streamline certification for Level 3 and ExteNet, declined state lawmakers’ pleas for prescriptive rules and refused local governments’ requests for free access to poles for municipal broadband. The commission agreed to CLECs' and lawmakers' requests to apply to all pole riders “Oxford rules” that the state’s biggest ILEC opposed. Oxford rules include the right to attach equipment below an ILEC’s facilities when higher space isn’t available.