FCC commissioners approved an NPRM 4-0 Thursday seeking comment on potential sharing in the 42 GHz band. Industry officials disagree how much interest there will be in using the band on a shared basis (see 2305300055). But all commissioners welcomed the NPRM.
Exports to China
TikTok misled Congress about storing sensitive user data in China, Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., wrote the company Tuesday. They sought answers about a report claiming the company “stored the sensitive financial information of U.S. TikTok creators in China, including social security numbers and tax information” (see 2306020033). The reports “directly contradict statements you and other TikTok representatives have made to the public and under oath before Congress about where TikTok stores U.S. user data and the ability of employees in China to access that information,” they wrote CEO Shou Zi Chew. They cited comments from Public Policy Head Michael Beckerman, who told the Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee in October 2021 that “U.S. user data is stored in the United States. Our backups are in Singapore.” The company said in a statement Wednesday: "We are reviewing the letter. We remain confident in the accuracy of our testimony and responses to Congress.”
SpaceX was by far the busiest space launch provider in Q1, with 21 launches putting up 763 spacecraft, per BryceTech Tuesday. China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. did 12 launches in the quarter, putting up 31 spacecraft, it said, and the Indian Space Research Organisation did two launches but put up 39 spacecraft. By country, U.S. launch providers did 27 launches in the quarter, while Chinese launchers did 14, it said. Of the 869 spacecraft launched in Q1 worldwide, 81% were communications satellites -- mostly SpaceX Starlink satellites, it said.
Senators are working to address civil liberty concerns about a bill that could lead to a TikTok ban in the U.S., Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., told us recently.
The growing cadence of commercial space launches is facing a bottleneck from lack of available launch sites, space launch experts told us. A plethora of launch providers is operating or developing launch capability, but facilities “are where we started to get the hiccups," said space lawyer Bryce Kennedy, Association of Commercial Space Professionals president.
Combined global revenue from subscription VOD, ad-supported VOD and free, ad-supported TV (FAST) is expected to hit $312 billion annually by 2028, up from less than $200 billion today, Rethink Technology Research said Wednesday. SVOD and AVOD will dominate as FAST "remain[s] an $11.4 billion minnow" in 2028, although lines between each service becoming increasingly blurry, Rethink said. YouTube "will become ever more dominant in the lives of web users outside of China, and increasingly recognized as a source of legitimately ‘premium’ video."
The House Homeland Security Committee is seeking a briefing on Chinese state-sponsored malicious cybersecurity activity against American critical infrastructure networks, Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said Thursday in a joint statement with House Cybersecurity Subcommittee Chairman Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, NSA and FBI released a joint cybersecurity advisory with agencies in Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. Wednesday. The advisory detailed how China has been using “legitimate network administration tools” to blend into local networks and “avoid identification by many endpoint detection and response (EDR) products, and limit the amount of activity that is captured in common logging configurations.” China’s goal is to steal intellectual property and sensitive data from organizations around the world, said CISA Director Jen Easterly. The House Homeland Security Committee is “extremely concerned” about the malicious activity, particularly activity in Guam, where there are heightened threats to the U.S. military, said Green and Garbarino: “We will request a briefing to better understand the scope of this activity and the resources needed to defend against any renewed threat. Congress must do everything it can to empower and equip CISA to support critical infrastructure owners and operators to defend their networks.”
The House Commerce Committee’s Wednesday advancement of the Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (HR-3565) and panel leaders’ push to enact (see 2305170037) a bill to restore the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through June 30 (HR-3345) are aimed squarely at putting pressure on Senate negotiators to reach a deal, said lawmakers, congressional aides and others in interviews. The panel advanced an amended version of HR-3565 50-0 and unanimously approved five bipartisan broadband permitting measures but divided sharply along party lines on the American Broadband Deployment Act (HR-3557).
Carriers are making strides toward cutting energy consumption and becoming greener, but companies need to improve how they work together, speakers said Wednesday at a TelecomTV green network summit. Questions remain, including how AI can help make networks more efficient, while the use of AI technology by itself consumes a growing amount of power, experts said.
Three House Communications Subcommittee priorities drew equal attention during a Tuesday hearing with NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson: leaders’ push for a wide-ranging spectrum legislative package, oversight of federal broadband spending, and renewed Hill interest in reauthorizing the agency’s mandate with an eye to addressing future policy issues. The hearing was partly a curtain-raiser for the Commerce Committee’s planned Wednesday markup of the newly filed Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (HR-3565) and six broadband measures House Communications approved last week (see 2305170037).