FCC officials told us 4-0 approval is likely at Thursday's monthly meeting of a draft NPRM on SIM swapping and port-out fraud (see 2109230080). Commissioner Brendan Carr's office said it expressed support for the item when it was on circulation, before being added last week to the September agenda. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks' office told us he's seeking two changes to the order. One is a request for comment about whether the FCC, when looking at authentication standards, should incorporate National Institute of Standards and Technology standards or opt for another set. Another change would be a request for comment about subsequent audits for compliance for any requirements adopted.
A draft order and Further NPRM on the future of the 4.9 GHz band is expected to be OK’d 4-0 by FCC commissioners Thursday, despite some questions about who may be eligible to share. A draft NPRM on how networks could be made more resilient during disasters also is expected to be approved unanimously and hasn’t been controversial so far, with industry waiting to file comments rather than seeking changes to the notice.
Big TV groups remain interested in buying other ones, but opportunities are rare and purchases of individual stations in full-power TV and radio are at a crawl, said analysts, broadcasters and brokers in recent interviews. “All the low-hanging fruit has been picked,” said S&P Global analyst Volker Moerbitz. With the industry consolidated and ownership rules unlikely to loosen, that likely won’t change soon, said BIA Advisory Services Chief Economist Mark Fratrik: “It’s a natural evolution.”
Senate Commerce Committee members told us they hope Wednesday’s consumer privacy hearing will reactivate privacy legislation discussions. But Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., said leadership hasn’t been willing to engage in discussions, despite bipartisan potential from other members. Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said she’s focused on getting the FTC more funding.
Semiconductors are “a hot topic these days,” said Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger at the groundbreaking ceremony Friday of two new fabs Intel is building in Chandler, Arizona -- a site he dubbed the “Silicon Desert.” The industry is enduring a demand-supply gap, and the global shortage “is causing chips to halt and slow production of many other areas of the economy,” he said.
An FCC draft Further NPRM tightening rules for gateway providers to curb illegal robocalls originating abroad is expected to be unanimously approved during the agency’s open meeting Thursday. That's despite some industry concerns about the proposal to pause enforcement of the foreign provider prohibition until a final decision on addressing illegal robocalls originating abroad. The item is expected to be approved without any major revisions to the draft, an FCC official said Friday.
Two FCC Wi-Fi items, on rules for automated frequency control in 6 GHz and a notice of inquiry on IoT spectrum needs, likely will have smooth sailing Thursday with 4-0 votes. Neither has been particularly controversial since drafts circulated two weeks ago, though Lumen had recent calls with aides to all four commissioners, saying the AFC rules as proposed don’t go far enough. Commissioner Brendan Carr sought a few tweaks on the NOI, but otherwise both items are expected to be approved largely as-is.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is eyeing a confirmation hearing within the first two weeks of October for DOJ Antitrust Division chief nominee Jonathan Kanter, Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., told us. “I hope that happens. Now remember, it’s in the full committee, so I can’t control everything.”
Comments are due Nov. 8 at the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security in docket BIS-2021-0036 to help the secretaries of Commerce and Homeland Security prepare a report to the White House on the global semiconductor shortage by the one-year deadline of President Joe Biden’s Feb. 24 executive order on America's supply chains, says Friday’s Federal Register. BIS put out a separate call for comments this week due Nov. 4 on supply chain disruptions in the broader information and communications technology sector, also under the Feb. 24 EO (see 2109170042).
Expect fewer deals for commercial space companies to have initial public offerings through purchase by a special purpose acquisition company because the recent SPAC IPO spate has seemingly met a lot of the investor demand, experts said in interviews this week.