FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated a draft NPRM Wednesday that would seek comment on requiring disclosures when a political ad on TV or radio contains AI-generated content. The item proposes requiring on-air and written disclosures in broadcaster online public files, and also requiring disclosures by cable operators and satellite TV providers, said an FCC news release. “As artificial intelligence tools become more accessible, the Commission wants to make sure consumers are fully informed when the technology is used,” Rosenworcel said in the release.
The full FCC rejected an application for review from radio broadcaster Americom appealing a Media Bureau denial of its request to increase the power of a Carson City, Nevada, FM translator station. The rejection was detailed in an order released Tuesday. “We find no error in the Staff Decision,” the order said. Americom had sought a waiver to increase the translator’s power from 40 watts to 250 watts to better reach Nevada's Reno and Sparks markets and better serve Carson City, the order said. The Media Bureau found that “neither the irregular size and shape of the Nielsen Reno Market nor the signal degradation due to terrain obstruction, were unusual circumstances sufficient to justify grant of a waiver,” the order said. In its application for review, Americom argued that the Media Bureau decision didn’t match the spirit of the FCC’s AM Revitalization order, and that the bureau should have been more flexible and didn’t give Americom’s request sufficient consideration. The order said that Americom’s request would have conflicted with language in the AM Revitalization order limiting AM station service areas, and affirmed the Media Bureau ruling. “The benefits of Americom increasing its service area beyond the parameters set forth in the FM Translator Siting Rule do not outweigh the public interest benefits of applying that rule in a fair and consistent manner,” the order said.
The Major County Sheriffs of America urged the FCC to approve a waiver request allowing Axon Enterprise to market three investigation and surveillance devices to law enforcement agencies. The devices would operate at higher power levels than allowed under FCC rules in heavily used 5 GHz spectrum and proved controversial when the FCC took comments (see 2403080044). “Law enforcement’s use of these devices in high-risk situations could help avoid potentially violent confrontations, preserving and protecting the safety of law enforcement officers and the public,” a filing posted Tuesday in docket 24-40 said.
Various groups supported arguments by the Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI), which opposed the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance's (PSSA) move giving FirstNet effective control of the 4.9 GHz band (see 2405100061). The groups “fully endorse the legal analyses supporting both the CERCI April 15 Letter and the more recent CERCI filing explaining why the PSSA’s suggestion that the FCC is free to do indirectly what it cannot do directly is equally legally infirm,” the filing said: Not considering the CERCI arguments would “risk embroiling the 4.9 GHz band in an ongoing legal dispute, thereby perpetuating the underutilization of this spectrum that prompted the FCC to initiate this proceeding.” Posted Tuesday in docket 07-100, the filing was signed by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the American Petroleum Institute, the Enterprise Wireless Alliance, the Forestry Conservation Communications Association, the International Municipal Signal Association, the National Sheriffs’ Association and the Utilities Technology Council.
Representatives of the Commercial Drone Alliance (CDA) met with FCC commissioner aides in support of initial rules allowing drone use of the 5030-5091 MHz band, circulated for a commissioner vote by Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in April (see 2404080065). “We discussed the many ways that CDA members are using [uncrewed aircraft systems] to deliver benefits to communities today, and how access to spectrum will support the continued growth of this innovative industry,” a filing posted Tuesday in docket 22-232 said. They met with aides to Rosenworcel and Commissioners Brendan Carr, Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington.
APCO representatives met with aides to the FCC commissioners, except Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, on the public safety group's top issues. Among the topics was the 6 GHz band, said a filing posted Tuesday in 18-295 and other dockets. “APCO remains concerned that the expansion of unlicensed devices in the 6 GHz band presents a substantial threat of interference to public safety,” it said: “Real-world testing has raised doubts over the technical assumptions underlying the Commission’s decision to open the band.” APCO also remains concerned about wireless 911 location accuracy. “Further Commission action is needed to improve the transparency and reliability of testing to evaluate location technologies and to provide stronger requirements for carriers to deploy methods, several of which are feasible today, to derive dispatchable location,” APCO said.
R Street Institute is concerned that the FCC's proposed rules banning broadband bulk billing in multi-tenant environments (MTE) could retard broadband inclusivity efforts. The group told an aide to Commissioner Anna Gomez the rules could "potentially exacerbate challenges to getting Americans online and staying connected," in an ex parte filing Tuesday in docket 17-142 (see 2405080043). Consumers "benefit from lower prices that are possible when a broadband provider can negotiate with" MTE owners, "reducing the risk of investment and increasing potential return," said R Street. It also warned that letting consumers opt out of bulk billing agreements "could prevent such agreements at all, depending on the text of the rule." It urged that the FCC seek additional data on the potential rule's impact. In addition, Summit Broadband raised concerns about the proposed rules, holding separate meetings with aides to Gomez, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington. The facilities-based provider warned of the potential harm the proposed rules would have on its customers, many of whom are homeowners associations (HOA). "These mandatory opt out provisions would cause ISPs to raise prices to recoup potential lost revenues and could push some providers to exit the HOA marketplace altogether, leading to less facilities-based competition," Summit Broadband said.
A trial is underway and expected to end this year on the use of cross-border call authentication (CBCA) technology, ATIS told FCC Wireline Bureau staff. CBCA will let calls be "verified end-to-end, even if they originate in a country that has not yet deployed Shaken" technology, ATIS said in an ex parte filing Tuesday in docket 17-97. It expects to launch CBCA live service this year and said the next steps include formally requesting the Secure Telephone Identity Governance Authority's "recognition of CBCA to allow cross border calls to be fully authenticated" and signing additional international service providers.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr took the unusual step of praising, ahead of Thursday’s vote by commissioners, a draft NPRM proposing to bar test labs from entities on the agency’s “covered list” of unsecure companies from participating in the equipment authorization process. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel noted Carr’s work on the rulemaking when she announced it last month (see 2405010073). Industry officials expect the draft will receive unanimous approval Thursday. They note no one has visited the commission to protest or offer changes, based on filings in docket 24-136. “I am pleased we are taking the step of proposing that the test labs and certification bodies that review devices before they can be used in the U.S. are themselves trustworthy actors that we can rely on, including by barring those with risky ties” to China, Carr said Tuesday: “The proposal is based on time-tested precedent. The FCC has long limited foreign control of U.S. licensees in other contexts." He called it the FCC’s “Bad Labs” proposal.
The Utilities Technology Council, Anterix and others that filed reply comments this week told the FCC the record of support is clear for a proposal to launch a rulemaking authorizing 5/5 MHz broadband deployments in the 900 MHz band. As such, the agency should move forward, they said in comments (docket 24-99). Initial comments offered insights about how the band could be used, with some commenters expressing concerns (see 2405030053).