The FCC will consider an NPRM seeking comment on adding a new alert code to the emergency alert system focused on missing and endangered people during a commissioners' March 14 open meeting, said a news release Wednesday. The Missing and Endangered Persons (MEP) code would alert the public about missing people who don’t meet the criteria for Amber Alerts, which are primarily for missing children. The March agenda also includes draft supplemental coverage from space rules and a cybersecurity labeling program for wireless IoT devices (see 2402210057).
Opening the 12 GHz band to a high-power, two-way fixed service would "eviscerate [the] carefully crafted spectrum sharing regime" between direct broadcast satellite and multichannel video distribution and data service, DirecTV said. In a docket 20-443 filing posted Tuesday, it recapped a meeting with FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's office where it asserted advocates for the new terrestrial service haven't met the burden of showing it wouldn't harm incumbent DBS satellite subscribers and services. DirecTV reiterated its criticisms of a Dish Network-commissioned analysis by RKF Engineering (see 2312270045).
Making cable operators provide an "all-in" price in ads and promotional materials "would be intrusive and uninformative," according to cable interests. In a docket 23-203 filing last week recapping a meeting with FCC Media Bureau Chief Holly Saurer, NCTA, Comcast, Charter and Cox said fees vary from region to region. In addition, they said all-in pricing would necessitate geo-targeting advertised prices, "which is highly impractical [and] technically challenging," or that the ads and promos would have to reflect a wide range of fees that might not apply and would be of little use to consumers. They said any all-in price requirement should let cable operators exclude fees that vary based on location, as long as operators include a statement in the ad that refers to those fees and indicates the amount depends on the customer's location. The FCC's all-in price proposal also should exclude fees that are variable for each subscriber and government-imposed taxes and fees, the cabers said.
The Shortwave Modernization Coalition (SMC) filed a Roberson and Associates technical analysis at the FCC discussing the coalition’s proposal for amending the commission’s eligibility and technical rules for industrial/business pool licensees to authorize licensed use of frequencies above 2 MHz and below 25 MHz for fixed, long-distance, non-voice communications (see 2305010053). The proposal is controversial, especially among amateur operators (see 2308180033). The analysis shows the proposed use of this band “can be implemented without interfering with other users, and we look forward to engaging with federal stakeholders, other interested parties, and FCC staff to address any issues and move this matter forward,” said a filing posted Wednesday in RM-11953.
The breadth of AI is hindering regulators, preventing them from proposing regulations for connected tech, said Adam Thierer, R Street senior fellow, technology and regulation, in a panel discussion at the State of the Net conference Monday. Efforts to regulate AI at the macro level are “sucking up all the oxygen in committee rooms” and preventing discussion of smaller components of AI such as privacy. Thierer said. “This is why I don't think anything's gonna move through Congress.” Similarly, Evangelos Razis, senior manager-public policy, at AI company Workday said lawmakers should focus on the most high-impact risks of AI use, such as in healthcare, rather than trying to “have an all-encompassing AI approach that will regulate every potential use of AI.” Thierer said the AI regulatory approach should mirror the light-touch taken with the young internet. “We got a lot about the internet right,” Thierer said. Yet Miranda Bogen, director of the Center for Democracy and Technology’s AI Governance Lab, said the wait-and-see approach used with internet regulation resulted in economic consequences for marginalized communities. A similar attitude toward AI would likely do the same, Bogen added. The White House’s executive order took a “kitchen sink” approach to the matter that was overbroad and will generate a great deal of pushback, Thierer said. Subsequent administrations can easily reverse EOs, Thierer pointed out. Travis Hall, acting associate administrator for NTIA's Office of Policy Analysis, countered that the EO contains many “steam vents” where comments are sought on prospective policies and agencies are given discretion over implementation of rules. AI use and concerns are expanding so quickly that it’s as though policymakers are riding a train while also constructing the tracks, Hall said.
California could be first in the nation to codify the FCC’s definition of digital discrimination into state law. Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D) introduced AB-2239 on Wednesday, the California Alliance for Digital Equity said Thursday. “This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to adopt subsequent legislation that codifies a definition of ‘digital discrimination of access’ in state law that conforms to the definition adopted by the Federal Communications Commission,” said a legislative digest on the measure. In a November order (see 2311150040), the FCC defined “digital discrimination of access” as “policies or practices, not justified by genuine issues of technical or economic feasibility, that (1) differentially impact consumers' access to broadband internet access service based on their income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion, or national origin or (2) are intended to have such differential impact.” Defining digital discrimination could help move a proceeding on digital redlining at the California Public Utilities Commission, said Shayna Englin, California Community Foundation director-digital equity initiative, in an interview. The proceeding stalled amid argument about the definition, said Englin. CPUC digital redlining rules would guide the agency in the years ahead as it distributes $8 billion state and federal broadband funding, she said. Englin predicted a fight between digital equity advocates and the telecom industry, which is expected to oppose AB-2239. The California Broadband and Video Association is reviewing the legislation, said a spokesperson for the state cable group. USTelecom declined to comment. The Los Angeles City Council passed a similar law at the local level last month.
District of Columbia Council members demanded more transparency from Washington’s 911 center about its handling of call-taking and dispatching errors. The D.C. Council Judiciary and Public Safety Committee held a livestreamed oversight hearing Thursday about the Office of Unified Communications, which has received much scrutiny over incidents where incorrect addresses and miscommunication prompted dispatching delays. A former, longtime OUC employee claimed the office engages in unfair labor practices.
Moving most of the FCC’s economists under the Office of Economics and Analytics, a controversial step taken on a Republican 3-2 commissioner vote in 2018 (see 1801300026), has proven helpful to the commission, OEA Chief Giulia McHenry said at an FCBA Engineering and Technical Committee lunch on Thursday.
Google asked the FCC for an emergency waiver of rules requiring environmental sensing capability systems to protect federal incumbent users in the citizens broadband radio service band as storms sweep through parts of California. Operations in one dynamic protection area (DPA) lost commercial power while another “suffered physical damage” due to high winds, Google said. In another DPA, the power provider “is currently unable to provide an estimated time for restoration of commercial power,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 15-319.
An ESPN/Warner Bros. Discovery/Fox partnership creating a sports streaming platform is a further nail in the coffin of the traditional video programming bundle, video industry experts say. GlobalData analyst Tammy Parker said Tuesday it is "a blockbuster deal that will further decimate the traditional US pay-TV sector."