At least the three FCC GOP members will approve a public notice on Rural Digital Opportunity Fund procedures at Friday's meeting that would authorize an Oct. 22 auction date for the first phase of the USF program, industry and agency officials said in interviews this week. It's less clear how much pushback it will get from Democratic commissioners. At last month's meeting, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel called the fast pace of the RDOF rulemaking, before the FCC had a chance to correct widely disputed broadband mapping data, "an election year bonanza" (see 2001300001).
The C-band order will get some changes from the draft circulated by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai three weeks ago, industry and FCC officials said in interviews Thursday. They said the overall framework will be the same as was proposed by Pai, with a few changes proposed in recent filings. When commissioners vote Friday on the rules, Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks are expected to express concerns and may dissent.
Low-income consumers shouldn't have to reveal sensitive personal information or open themselves to surveillance in exchange for Lifeline subsidies, said replies posted through Wednesday in docket 17-287. FCC commissioners voted in November on party lines for a Further NPRM (see 1911140064).
Nexstar and Sinclair expect a 2020 political advertising boom and didn’t lay out any immediate merger and acquisitions plans, in respective Q4 calls Wednesday. Nexstar CEO Perry Sook and Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley have opposite views on the upside of sports betting. Executives of both companies said their stocks are cheap. Sinclair ended the day down 15% at $23.36. Nexstar fell 6% to $107.02.
The Disability Advisory Committee approved a resolution Wednesday at the FCC asking the regulator to pause before issuing a public notice indicating the telecom relay service user registration database (URD) is ready to receive user registration information. Commissioners approved an order a year ago integrating IP captioned telephone service into the URD, with data submission and verification rules largely aligned with those for video relay service (see 1902140032). A Further NPRM approved then proposes to require IP CTS providers to add user account identifiers to call records submitted for compensation.
ANNAPOLIS -- A Maryland House vice chair asked why the state should pass net neutrality given litigation against other states and possible constitutional hurdles. The Maryland House Economic Matters Committee heard testimony Wednesday on a hybrid net neutrality/ISP privacy bill (HB-957). Two other privacy bills at the hearing covered topics that could be part of an effort this summer by a working group led by Del. Ned Carey (D) to develop a comprehensive data privacy bill for next year, said Comcast Vice President-State Government Sean Looney.
The FCC will face big pushback from the mental health community to some telecom arguments for a longer phase-in of 988 for a national three-digit suicide hotline number or for looking at 211 in its place (see 2002180021). The significant publicity about the agency’s 988 direction (see 1911190054) also complicates the matter, we were told this week. Chairman Ajit Pai's office didn't comment.
NSA’s call detail records (CDR) program cost more than $100 million between 2015 and early 2019, and led to only one foreign intelligence investigation, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board reported Thursday. Later that day, the House Judiciary Committee postponed a markup on legislation that would end the USA Freedom Act Section 215 CDR program (see 2002250065).
House Communications Subcommittee leaders are eyeing an early March markup for the Reinforcing and Evaluating Service Integrity, Local Infrastructure and Emergency Notification for Today’s (Resilient) Networks Act (HR-5926) and at least some of the seven other public safety communications measures it will examine Thursday (see 2002200060), industry lobbyists told us. Communications and public safety stakeholders endorsed several of the measures in written testimony. HR-5926 didn’t get universal praise. The hearing begins at 10:30 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn.
In tapping 27-year company veteran Bob Chapek as new CEO, Disney chose a loyalist with experience in managing the company’s home entertainment, consumer products and theme parks businesses but not its media networks or direct-to-consumer operations.