The draft order reallocating educational broadband service spectrum for 5G is controversial on the FCC eighth floor. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks are concerned and expected to raise questions when commissioners vote Wednesday, agency and industry officials said. But the major changes to are expected to address questions Commissioner Brendan Carr is raising about the business practices of national nonprofits using EBS licenses (see 1907020072).
The FTC should create a data protection bureau, the advertising industry asked in a final round of comments on policy hearings. Broadband, retail and financial groups backed a federal, pre-emptive privacy standard. A Google-linked researcher said there’s no economic evidence to suggest online platforms need access to large amounts of data to compete “effectively.”
Incumbent rural broadband carriers and competitors disagreed in response to a petition from Texas carriers asking the FCC to prohibit the use of E-rate dollars from the USF to overbuild fiber networks for schools and libraries (see 1905230005). In comments posted to docket 13-184 through Tuesday, incumbents said current competitive bidding rules for E-rate funding can favor large, regional providers over local rural carriers and lead to inefficient use of government dollars when they support the builds of redundant broadband networks at the expense of unserved institutions. Those opposing the petition wrote that the proposals could stifle broadband competition, raise prices for rural schools and libraries, and drive up costs to the USF.
The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals again upheld an RF safety law in Berkeley, California, that requires the wireless industry to provide a warning about possible dangers of too much exposure to wireless frequencies. The Supreme Court had required the appeals court to revisit its 2017 decision, appealed by CTIA, because of SCOTUS’ 2018 decision rejecting a California disclosure law in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra (see 1809070041). Dissenting Judge Michelle Friedland would have preliminarily enjoined the law for unconstitutionally forcing businesses to make false or misleading statements. The ruling gives some leeway for localities to address constituents' RF concerns, said Best Best local lawyer Gail Karish.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr sent a letter to Voqal CEO John Schwartz Tuesday asking questions about the nonprofit’s business model and how it has conducted business. Meanwhile, the FCC is preparing to vote on an order relocating the 2.5 GHz educational broadband service band (see 1906190063). FCC officials told us another 10 or so letters are coming for similar entities. The Voqal letter raises questions about alleged self-dealing. Officials also said the draft 2.5 GHz order is likely to be changed to reflect concerns about the national nonprofits.
The net effect of U.S. concessions on Huawei is murky, much like U.S. trade policy at present, experts said in interviews this week. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed at the G20 conference in Osaka, Japan, to delay discussion of such U.S. sanctions “until the end” of trade talks (see 1907010070). Such penalties were seen as one of the best U.S. bargaining chips with China (see 1905240038). It’s unclear whether Congress will be able to channel into action bipartisan outcry over President Donald Trump’s move to ease federal restrictions on the Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer, experts said.
The Wireless ISP Association, backed up by Google, made a case for sharing with repacked satellite earth stations C band spectrum that's not reallocated for licensed use The two unveiled a new study at an event Tuesday by Virginia Tech professor Jeff Reed on a methodology for sharing the band while protecting earth stations. FCC officials told us the sharing plan may not get much traction there, where a C-band plan is taking shape.
Carriers warned the FCC they will have difficulty meeting a Nov. 30 deadline for more-targeted wireless emergency alerts. Commissioners approved 5-0 an order in January 2018 requiring participating wireless providers to deliver alerts to the target area specified by the alert originator with no more than a one-tenth of a mile overshoot (see 1801300027). In June, the Public Safety Bureau asked (see 1906050072) the five largest U.S. wireless carriers about their plans to meet the geotargeting deadline. Responses were posted Monday in docket 15-91. The carriers noted ATIS didn’t publish a standard for geotargeting until May 6.
Tech and business groups hailed President Donald Trump’s decision postponing the fourth installment of tariffs as his administration tries to negotiate a comprehensive trade deal with China, though three existing rounds of tariffs stay as is. Bipartisan condemnation greeted Trump’s surprise announcement he will let U.S. companies resume shipments to Huawei, though the tech-equipment giant remains subject to Commerce Department export administration regulations and entity list restrictions (see 1905160081).
San Francisco's Police Code Article 52 has been either a boon or barrier for smaller ISPs seeking to enter large multi-dwelling units, backers and critics said before the FCC's July 10 vote on pre-empting one aspect of the regulation (see 1906190067). Portrayed as helping small ISPs compete, the regulation does the opposite, said Carl Kandutsch, a lawyer with small ISP clients and a board member of the Multifamily Broadband Council. MBC petitioned for Article 52 pre-emption (see 1706120052).