Federal law doesn't preempt New York state’s Affordable Broadband Act (ABA), the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided Friday. In a 2-1 opinion, the court reversed the U.S. District Court for Eastern New York, which had barred the state from enforcing the 2021 Affordable Broadband Act (ABA). The ABA required $15 monthly plans providing 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds for qualifying low-income households.
FCC staff changes: Office of Internal Affairs’ Nese Guendelsberger moves to acting legal adviser-wireless to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, succeeding Shiva Goel (see 2404250030 and 2404240059); Marco Peraza, wireline adviser to Commissioner Nathan Simington, leaves to become attorney adviser to FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson; and Darryl Cooper of the Disability Rights Office and Pamela Smith of the Office of General Counsel, retiring … Shutts & Bowen hires Patricia Flanagan, ex-Fox Rothschild, as partner-trademark and copyright.
The full FCC unanimously approved proposed forfeitures of $857,775 for operators of six Boston-area pirate radio stations at the commissioners' open meeting Thursday. The FCC is a “watchdog” for airwaves, said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel after the vote. When spectrum users fail to comply with FCC rules “and cause harmful interference to others, we take action,” she said. The Boston area has had increasing problems with pirate radio users over the past decade, said Massachusetts Broadcasters Association Executive Director Jordan Walton in an interview. “It’s difficult to stay on top of them and anything the FCC can do to help our taxpaying broadcasters is welcome,” he said. According to a release, the FCC voted a $597,775 notice of apparent liability against Jean Marius, operator of unauthorized radio station Radio Tele Planet Compas in Brockton, Randolph and Mattapan. Also in Brockton, a $120,000 NAL was approved against Renold David, of pirate radio station Lotnivo FM, while Brockton FM’s Joao Vieira and Brockton Heat’s Djovany Pierre and Mario Turner all face $40,000 NALs. Robert Bellinger of TBR Radio in Contuit also faces a $40,000 NAL and Shane Kelly, operator of the pirate radio station The Test 87.9 FM in Hyannis was approved for a $20,000 NAL. All the pirate stations were discovered during a recent Enforcement Bureau sweep of the Boston area, the agency said.
Mental health community advocacy drove the FCC move to require georouting of calls to the 988 Lifeline, and it would be similar advocacy that would have the agency pursue 988 geolocation, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Thursday. The commissioners approved 5-0 the NPRM that would require georouting of 988 calls to the closest call center based on the caller's location. Rosenworcel said georouting protects privacy while providing a more accurate picture of the caller’s true location than relying on the caller’s area code. She said the georouting approach is based on a consensus in the mental health community. “Going forward, we are going to continue to be guided by the mental health experts,” she said. Rosenworcel added that nationwide wireless providers have made notable headway on 988 implementation since she wrote them in September, urging them to craft georouting implementation plans (see 2309280085). Prior to the vote, Ann Mazur, CEO of Rockville, Maryland-based hotline crisis operator EveryMind, spoke before the commissioners about why georouting is needed. She said providing service and references to local mental health resources is mired in “layers of complexity” due to the lack of georouting as well as relatively little knowledge about 988.
The 5G Automotive Association met with staff from the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology on proposals the group made in June 2021 comments seeking a revised definition of cellular vehicle to everything in the 5.9 GHz band. “C-V2X direct communication in the 5.9 GHz band enables ultra-low latency information sharing among vehicles, roadway infrastructure, and vulnerable road users to enable safer travel, reduce roadway congestion and accidents, and, most importantly, save lives,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 19-138. “The use of C-V2X to provide traffic signal state information to cars, for example, supports red light running violation warnings and promotes general environmental and fuel efficiency benefits by allowing vehicles to avoid unnecessary braking,” 5GAA said.
Standard General and its founder Soohyung Kim filed a civil complaint Wednesday charging that Allen Media CEO Byron Allen, Dish CEO Charlie Ergen and FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, along with lawmakers, unions and public interest groups, were partners in a conspiracy and race discrimination aimed at sinking Standard's $8.6 billion purchase of Tegna last year (see 2306010077). The filing was made in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. “The FCC Chairwoman and her personal staffer blocked the deal at the behest of Mr. Allen, who used business allies and six-figure political donations to destroy Mr. Kim’s chances of acquiring TEGNA,” the complaint said.
The U.S. Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit should deny Essential Network Technologies and MetComm.Net's Feb. 14 petition challenging the authority of the FCC and the Universal Service Administrative Co. to withhold reimbursement of discounts for IT and broadband services that the two companies provided to schools under Section 254 of the Communications Act (see 2402200044), said the FCC’s opposition Wednesday (docket 24-1027).
The FCC Wireless and International bureaus approved, subject to conditions, T-Mobile’s proposed acquisition of Mint Mobile (see 2303150032) and other assets from Ka’ena. Mint Mobile is a low-cost prepaid wireless brand. Meanwhile, T-Mobile announced plans Thursday to partner with private equity firm EQT as part of a proposed acquisition of fiber-to-the-home provider Lumos.
Industry groups largely questioned the wisdom of using the voluntary cyber mark program for IoT devices, approved in March, to further clamp down on international security threats. But the proposals also received some support from the Internet Protocol Video Market (IPVM) and Whirlpool. FCC commissioners approved 5-0 a Further NPRM, along with the implementing order, asking about software and hardware from countries of national security concern and whether data from U.S. citizens will be stored abroad (see 2403140034). Comments were posted Thursday in docket 23-239.
The Senate Commerce Committee confirmed Thursday the panel plans to mark up the draft Spectrum and National Security Act and five other tech and telecom-focused bills during a Wednesday executive session, as expected (see 2404240074). The 108-page draft measure from committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., would restore the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through Sept. 30, 2029, also as expected (see 2403210063). The proposal also provides a new vehicle for allocating stopgap funding for the commission’s ailing affordable connectivity program amid a delay in advancing a separate House-side bid to force a floor vote on providing that money, lobbyists told us.