State government entities and telecom companies braced Wednesday for the imminent arrival of Hurricane Helene. The powerful weather event could become a Category 4 hurricane before reaching Florida's Gulf Coast Thursday, likely damaging buildings and knocking out power in many places, said an AccuWeather advisory Wednesday.
Europe needs better connectivity to compete globally, speakers said Wednesday at a discussion on the bloc's digital future. They cited former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's Sept. 9 competitiveness report, which, among other things, urged the EU to "profoundly refocus its collective efforts on closing the innovation gap with the US and China, especially in advanced technologies."
ATLANTA -- The U.S. is taking an increasingly hard line against all connected Chinese and Russian devices, not just those from particular manufacturers such as Huawei, cybersecurity expert Clete Johnson told attendees at SCTE's annual TechExpo Wednesday. Meanwhile, cable providers at TechExpo discussed why it's imperative that there is better convergence in wireline and mobile services.
An order approving Audacy’s request for a temporary exemption from the foreign-ownership rules was adopted but isn’t expected to be released before next week, FCC officials told us. The waiver would allow Audacy to complete foreign-ownership review after it finishes a bankruptcy restructuring that involves control of the broadcaster passing to a fund affiliated with George Soros' family. FCC Republicans hadn’t submitted dissenting statements Wednesday afternoon but indicated they plan to do so, the agency officials said. Broadcast industry officials, attorneys and others told us the Audacy transaction wouldn’t attract as much attention without Soros’ name attached, and that radio broadcasters have long sought increased private equity investment in their industry. “They’re making it a political ax,” said Christopher Terry, University of Minnesota media law professor. “The radio industry has been cash-strapped for 20 years.”
CTIA asked on Tuesday for an additional 10 days to finalize an application to serve as a cybersecurity labeling administrator (CLA) under the FCC’s voluntary cyber-trust mark program (see 2409100052). Applications are due Oct. 1. “Given the number and complexity of demonstrations, commitments, and certifications that the Bureau asks applicants to make, it will be a significant challenge to prepare a comprehensive and complete application in the 20 days allotted by the Public Notice,” said a filing in docket 23-239. The notice “acknowledges this reality” and notes that “applicants requiring additional time may … request an extension of time for up to 10 additional calendar days to complete their applications,” CTIA said.
Sorenson sought "minor changes" to the FCC's draft order and Further NPRM on accessibility in videoconferencing during meetings with aides to all commissioners and Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau staff. Commissioners will consider the item during an agency meeting Thursday (see 2409040053). The provider asked that video interpreters be allowed to change their display name before entering an interoperable videoconferencing service (IVCS) call to maintain some privacy. It also sought clarification that a communications assistant (CA) may satisfy the requirement that they must identify themselves as an interpreter by indicating this in their display name. "To the extent that the current language would require another method, such as requiring the CA to identify herself verbally, that would be intrusive to the call," Sorenson said in an ex parte filing Monday in docket 23-61. Sorenson asked that the commission reconsider its proposed rule to provide a five-minute compensable period for CAs to remain on a call if another video relay service user requests a CA, raising concerns about the potential for duplication of CAs on a call. "We think the better approach is to allow the CA to remain on the call provided there remains someone who is actively using [American Sign Language] and who appears to be deaf," Sorenson said. The provider also asked the FCC to consider moving its decision on the use of specially trained CAs from the draft order to the FNPRM to develop a record on whether "allowing providers to route requests for VRS for IVCS calls to specially trained CAs will provide a more functionally equivalent experience for the users."
House leaders will likely take up kids’ privacy legislation, but not before more legislative work is done on the House Commerce Committee-passed bills, a high-ranking Senate Commerce Committee staffer said Wednesday.
The FCC Consumer Advisory Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt recommendations on using AI to protect vulnerable populations from unwanted and illegal calls. CTIA abstained from the vote, held during CAC's final meeting of its current chapter (see 2408130057). The recommendations included nine from Working Group 1, which focused on technical issues. Working Group 2, which focused on outreach and consumer education, offered seven recommendations.
Former FCC Wireline Deputy Bureau Chief Adam Copeland joins Wilkinson Barker as partner … Mediacom Communications promotes Glenn Goldsmith to senior vice president-programming; Joe Appio, Kristi Salmon and Danny Williams to group vice presidents for, respectively, programming/distribution, acquisition marketing and IT-business solutions; and Camille Stevens to vice president-accounts payable … TextUs messaging platform hires Andrew Davis, ex-Fishbowl Inventory, as vice president-marketing.
U.S. companies and trade groups applauded a recent Bureau of Industry and Security rule that expanded the agency’s export control exemption for certain standards-setting activities. They said the rule change will help remove licensing barriers that American officials face at international bodies while working on emerging technology standards. While the Technology Trade Regulation Alliance welcomed the rule changes, it said BIS should continue expanding the exemption to cover a wider set of technologies discussed in standards bodies involving the electronics, telecommunications and aviation industries. For example, the TTRA said BIS should harmonize its standards-setting-related controls with how it treats other information shared publicly, such as fundamental research. The rule “appears inconsistent with the BIS approach to other First Amendment protected commercial speech,” the alliance said. UL Standards & Engagement, a nonprofit standards development organization, and the Wi-Fi Alliance said the rule update will help their members more easily participate in standards bodies. The Wi-Fi Alliance specifically said the rule confirms that the type of standards-related activity its members are involved in “is not restricted by the Export Administration Regulations.” BIS issued rules in 2020 and 2022 that authorize releasing certain controlled technology for specific standards-setting activities, including when companies on the Entity List, such as Huawei, are participating in those bodies.