From encouraging spectrum sharing to ensuring regulatory streamlining, Congress has plenty of levers to promote the commercial space industry, space interests said during a Satellite Industry Association panel Wednesday. To have a bigger voice in spectrum policy issues, the space community needs to be unified, said House Space Subcommittee Chairman Brian Babin, R-Texas. "Without spectrum, there is no space business."
Parties diverged on how to curb abuse of toll-free-number originating access charges, which the FCC proposed to phase out over three years. Large telcos, cable interests and others backed transitioning all "8YY" call hand-offs to a bill-and-keep regime, under which carriers exchanging traffic recover costs from users not each other. Rural carrier groups, one cable company and others opposed such a move and sought different solutions. Comments were posted Tuesday and Wednesday in docket 18-156 on a June 8 Further NPRM. Chairman Ajit Pai says the intercarrier compensation (ICC) system is being gamed, including by robocallers generating toll-free traffic to spark payments.
Local franchising authorities shouldn't use video franchising power to regulate incumbent operators' non-cable services offered over their cable systems, under a tentative conclusion in a draft Further NPRM on the Sept. 26 commissioners' meeting tentative agenda. The agency Wednesday released other draft meeting items that would propose to improve 911 calling in buildings and complexes, establish a framework for auctioning toll-free numbers, set rules governing earth stations in motion (ESIM) and eliminate the cable data collection Form 325 reporting requirement (see 1809040058). A draft wireless infrastructure was posted (see 1809050029).
Twitter is considering releasing historical data to increase transparency about account takedown and suspension decisions, CEO Jack Dorsey told the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday. Dorsey, at a hearing with Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, said the platform might expand its transparency report to include archived suspension data. Transparency is key to calming concerns, he said.
A dangling national ownership cap proceeding and a flurry of TV dealmaking mean there’s an expectation the FCC will act to change the 39 percent audience reach cap, officials said. But broadcasters, industry analysts and attorneys aren’t sure when the commission will do so. The agency was seen as on the brink of issuing a cap order in July, and though that didn’t happen, broadcasters have considered an order possible ever since. Some think the midterm elections could affect timing, and others said the jockeying to buy Tribune could lead the agency to act. Commissioners' Sept. 26 tentative agenda Wednesday (see 1809050029 and 1809050056) doesn’t include action on the cap. Attorneys said a vote on such a contentious issue outside a meeting is unlikely.
The FCC draft wireless declaratory ruling and order, circulated Wednesday, says it isn’t targeting most local state governments, but “outlier conduct persists.” Commissioner Brendan Carr announced Tuesday the item would get a vote at the commissioners’ Sept. 26 meeting (see 1809040056), which has seven other items on its tentative agenda (see 1809050056). Meanwhile, at least two petitioners asked the FCC to reconsider provisions approved 3-1 in August that pre-empt state and local legal barriers to deployment, including express and de facto moratoriums (see 1808020034).
Facebook and Twitter will use Wednesday’s Senate Intelligence Committee hearing (see 1808300043) to highlight progress made combating Russian influence and other perceived bad actors. Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg is to testify alongside Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who also will appear by himself at a House Commerce Committee afternoon hearing (see 1808290054). Senate Intelligence leadership, who invited Alphabet CEO Larry Page, declined subsidiary Google’s offer to send Senior Vice President-Global Affairs Kent Walker. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai also continued his scrutiny against such platforms.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai plans a Sept. 26 vote on a proposal to improve 911 calling from office buildings, schools, hotels and other locations using multiline, centralized communications systems. In a Tuesday blog, Pai said commissioners' September meeting also will consider orders aimed at speeding 5G wireless deployment (see 1809040056), consolidating rules governing earth stations in motion (ESIM) and eliminating an annual filing requirement by cable operators; a Further NPRM on changing rules governing franchise fees charged by local franchise authorities; an item on a possible auction of toll-free numbers; and two enforcement actions. The preliminary meeting agenda and draft items are due Wednesday.
An FCC wireless infrastructure draft order would set “high-level guardrails” for rates and shot clocks (see 1809040005) but wouldn’t stop states from setting them lower, Commissioner Brendan Carr said in a Tuesday interview. The proposed order is to be released Wednesday along with other items (see 1809040058) and set for a vote at the Sept. 26 commissioners’ meeting, as expected (see 1808300028). It takes a “balanced approach” by allowing local governments to retain some autonomy over their reviews of small-cell deployments in rights of way while also streamlining the process, Carr said in a livestreamed speech at the Indiana State House.
It’s ironic Donald Trump attacked Google and online platforms last week over alleged conservative bias (see 1808280055) because he owes his 2016 victory to social media amplifying campaign messages, CTA Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Michael Petricone told us Friday. A media group executive, various scholars and a tech expert agreed the president’s complaint wasn't credible.