Experts agreed with Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas, Tuesday that the U.S. would be in a “very bad spot” if American artificial intelligence competitiveness lagged behind China, the EU and others, during a Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing. House Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said China is investing $7 billion in AI through 2030 and $10 billion in quantum research. The EU is planning a $24 billion public-private investment through 2020, he said. DOD’s “unclassified investment in AI was only $600 million in 2016, while federal spending on quantum totals about $250 million a year,” he said.
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FCC OK of a longer C-band earth station registration window and a route to cheaper registrations for multiple fixed satellite service antennas at the same address (see 1806220004) solved many of the major concerns raised by interested parties, and the agency's unlikely to do anything else to drum up registrations, experts told us. They said it's unlikely the extra 90 days to register will have a material impact on the timing of FCC action on the C-band.
The draft NTIA Reauthorization Act received a sometimes lukewarm reception from some House Communications Subcommittee Democrats during a Tuesday hearing. Some House Communications Republicans and two former administrators who testified urged including language elevating the administrator role to a subcabinet-level position. Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and others promoted the legislation's potential as a driver of broadband deployment. It would allocate NTIA $50.8 million a year for FYs 2019-2021, with other provisions (see 1806200038).
Opponents of USTelecom's FCC petition for ILEC wholesale pricing relief have a tough task, particularly in urban areas, more so after the group agreed with previous critic Windstream to propose a delay in eliminating "unbundled network element" discounts until 2021, some told us. Incompas, which represents CLECs using UNEs, said the forbearance petition would cripple the competitors and discourage fiber deployment, including of incumbent telcos. It said the agency should restart a procedural clock and extend comment deadlines. USTelecom said the clock doesn't need to be reset and stood by its analysis that UNE relief would provide consumer and economic benefits.
The FCC kidvid NPRM was constructed to relax those rules for broadcasters while remaining acceptable to kidvid supporters, industry and FCC officials said (see 1806200058). It's not certain how the proposal will be received, and one Senate Democrat condemned the NPRM Tuesday.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr predicted some support from mayors and others in local government on an expected item on state and local government control of wireless siting. Tuesday at the Brookings Institute, he said no decision is made on when the FCC will take up the next big infrastructure order: “We’ve been working pretty diligently.”
TransCore will begin deploying in Q4 its TransSuite Traffic Management System in 7,000-8,000 vehicles in New York's Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program, with full deployment next year, said Vice President Robert Rausch at CE Week. By integrating TransCore’s system in New York’s connected vehicle pilot, the city Department of Transportation hopes to improve traffic flow, reduce accidents and improve pedestrian safety. A program goal is to support Mayor Bill de Blasio’s (D) Vision Zero initiative to eliminate traffic deaths by 2024. Early numbers show vehicle connectivity can reduce fatalities and crashes by 82 percent, said Rausch.
California Assembly members planned another stab at the state Senate’s net neutrality bill, with a key committee proposing simplified language to mandate compliance with the FCC’s now-reversed order. Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee staff suggested the change before a Tuesday hearing on SB-822 and after sponsor state Sen. Scott Wiener (D) claimed a different committee “mutilated” his bill (see 1806200048). Net neutrality advocates prefer language passed by the Senate. Lawmakers also could pass state privacy rules after replacing the text of last year’s ISP privacy bill (AB-375) with language similar to a California privacy ballot initiative for November (see 1806220061 and 1806060063).
The draft NTIA Reauthorization Act at first blush is a largely uncontroversial, but its future prospects and final form may depend partly on whether it gets bipartisan support, communications sector lobbyists told us. A Tuesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing on the draft may give a better sense of where Democrats stand, lawmakers and lobbyists said. The legislation would allocate NTIA $50.8 million a year for FYs 2019-2021 (see 1806200038). The hearing begins at 1:15 p.m. in 2322 Rayburn.
Gray Television agreed to buy Raycom for $3.6 billion, creating the No. 3 U.S. broadcast group, they announced Monday. It includes divestiture of nine stations in markets where the companies overlap, and their combined reach would be 24 percent without the UHF discount, executives told investors. That’s intended to give the acquisition a smooth ride through the regulatory approval process, said Gray Executive Vice President Kevin Latek. “We are doing that on purpose,” he said, calling the plan “the realistic approach.” Latek expects the deal to close in Q4.