The C-Band Relocation Payment Clearinghouse as of the end of 2023 received 3,843 claims for a total of $3.28 billion -- up from 1,712 claims for $2.49 billion as of the end of 2022, it told the FCC Thursday in a docket 18-122 quarterly report. It said that as of year's end, total claims received included 1,524 earth station operator claims totaling $227.9 million, and 2,308 satellite operator claims totaling $3 billion. It said that as of year's end, it had paid 1,790 claims of about $2.28 billion.
A senior research analyst from Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology cautioned Thursday that in some locations the cost of replacing Chinese hardware in information technology networks with more expensive alternatives outweighs the benefits. Jack Corrigan told the China Economic and Security Review Commission at a Thursday hearing that procurement bans should be targeted at "high-risk sectors, networks and use cases."
The lower 3 GHz band, a top target for wireless carriers for reallocation for full-power licensed use, remains critical to DOD as well, DOD Chief Information Officer John Sherman said Thursday at NTIA's spectrum policy symposium. The band is one of five targeted for study in the national spectrum strategy (see 2311130048).
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel confirmed to congressional leaders Thursday that the Wireline Bureau will move forward with freezing new affordable connectivity program enrollments Feb. 8 amid the continued push to provide the program stopgap funding to keep it running once its original $14.2 billion allocation runs out in April (see 2401250075). Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., is beginning to cite a recent FCC Office of Inspector General report on its audit of ACP’s 2022 performance (see 2401300090) as vindicating Republicans’ misgivings about the program, which some lobbyists believe may complicate those funding efforts.
Comments to the FCC are due March 4, replies April 1, on NTIA-proposed Table of Frequency Allocation footnotes about the use of spectrum by manned and unmanned spacecraft during missions, said a notice for Thursday's Federal Register. In addition, the FCC is seeking comment on spectrum allocations in specific bands for communications with cargo and crew capsules and payload communications with the International Space Station and other crewed space stations. Moreover, it seeks comment on expanded use of the 2360-2395 MHz band beyond launch vehicle "telemetry and telecommand operations."
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated a draft order and further notice that would allow FM broadcasters to air geotargeted radio “for a limited period of time during the broadcast hour,” according to a joint statement from Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks endorsing the item. “If radio entrepreneurs want to test new business models and deploy new technologies, the FCC’s rules shouldn’t stand in the way,” said the statement, which thanks Rosenworcel for moving the proceeding to an order. The item stems from a 2020 NPRM that followed a petition from geotargeted radio company GeoBroadcast Solutions. The company’s ZoneCasting tech uses multiple synchronized FM boosters to transmit targeted signals that FM receivers pick up as being a single signal. The tech also requires a change to FCC rules barring boosters from originating content to operate. It's expected stations using the technology would mainly broadcast a single stream of content but briefly shift certain zones to geotargeted, specialized content multiple times daily: usually for localized commercials. GBS has said it could be used for localized weather and emergency alerts as well. NAB and large broadcasters such as iHeart have vigorously opposed the technology, saying it will reduce ad rates, interfere with other stations and affect the FM noise floor. In 2022, NAB filed ex parte letters (see 2209230070) with the FCC accusing GBS founder Chris Devine of “fraudulent and deceitful conduct.” NAB declined to comment Wednesday. Smaller broadcasters and groups such as the Multicultural Media Telecom and the Internet Association have largely supported the proposal, although the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters in 2022 voted to discontinue its support. Last year, NABOB was acquired by the U.S. Black Chambers, which has since endorsed the GBS proposal (see 2311030068."Geotargeting technology is not just about modernization; it's about survival and growth," said NABOB President Jim Winston in a UBC release Wednesday. "It's a tool that can rejuvenate a declining sector while also propelling forward the FCC’s vision of promoting minority broadcasting." “Small and independent broadcasters have repeatedly told us that geo-targeting could be a gamechanger,” said Starks and Carr in the joint statement. "It is a great day for radio innovators and a possible salvation for so many facing new levels of competition, said MMTC President Robert Branson in an email. "Importantly, the new service is another way for radio broadcasters to truly serve their local market."
FCC action against Fox station WTXF Philadelphia's license would create a “perilous regulatory environment” and expose broadcasters to constant threats against their licenses, Fox said in a letter to the FCC Tuesday. The letter responded to recent filings from former Fox and Disney executive Preston Padden seeking to add to the FCC record filings from an ongoing defamation case against Fox by the Smartmatic voting machine company (see 2401250072). Padden is part of the Media and Democracy Project effort against WTXF’s license renewal. The Smartmatic case and a settlement Fox reached with Dominion voting machine company don’t involve allegations of conduct that violates the FCC’s character policy and neither case includes a final adjudication against Fox, the Fox letter said. The FCC “can and should deny MAD’s petition on the basis that no claim has been pled that is recognized by the Commission’s own precedent or the Communications Act.” A broadcast license renewal proceeding “is not a venue for adjudicating cable network content,” said Fox. The FCC character policy includes provisions where the agency can consider a licensee's egregious misconduct outside the broadcasting context, Padden wrote in an email. Fox countered that if broadcast licenses can be threatened “based solely on unadjudicated allegations made by a third party in an unrelated civil proceeding,” the FCC process could easily be abused “in attempts to silence disfavored speakers across the political spectrum.” Fox added: “Fortunately, MAD’s law is not the law of the Commission or Congress.” In additional comments filed Wednesday, Padden said: "Leaving aside the indisputable fact that Fox News Channel reports and stories ARE broadcast by the Fox Owned Television Stations including WTXF, I respectfully submit that the Murdochs and Fox are simply flat wrong in arguing that their actions in businesses other than the television stations are not relevant to evaluation of their Character for broadcast licensing purposes."
Intrado in a series of meetings with FCC commissioner aides and staff from the Public Safety and Wireline bureaus warned that moving to next-generation 911 will take years. So Intrado asked that the FCC require carriers to keep legacy time division multiplexing (TDM) technology in place while the transition to IP-based systems is completed. Though the migration to NG911 services “offers great promise for 911 reliability and availability, the timeline to transition should not be underestimated as it will require several more years to complete,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 21-479: “Providing 911 services during this period of accelerated TDM decommissioning is proving challenging as the facilities-based TDM providers seek to quickly turn down their remaining TDM service offerings while also requiring 911 providers to maintain these same circuits for the delivery of 911 traffic to reach Public Safety Answering Points.”
The FCC Wednesday extended deadlines for four carriers to remove, replace and dispose of Huawei and ZTE equipment from their networks. The deadline for Mediacom Communications was extended from Jan. 15 to April 15, for NfinityLink Communications from Feb. 15 to Aug. 15, for Vitelcom Cellular from Jan. 11 to July 11 and for Country Wireless from Feb. 24 to Aug. 23. The Wireline Bureau evaluated the need for an extension as presented in each petition. In the case of Country Wireless, the provider said completing the process by the deadline was “materially affected by the lack of full funding for the required work, coupled with its status as a small rural provider with limited financial resources to spare for this work," the notice said. The FCC encouraged submitting petitions as soon as providers realized they needed an extension: “Recipients should fully explain and support their assertions with specific facts showing why they cannot meet their existing removal, replacement, and disposal term, so that the Bureau can review the sufficiency of the request.” Lawmakers are evaluating legislative vehicles to allocate an additional $3.1 billion, ensuring full reimbursement of rip-and-replace participants' costs (see 2401240001).
The FCC wants comments by March 4, replies April 1, in docket 22-69 on an NPRM proposing "affirmative obligations for broadband providers" as part of the commission's directive from Congress to combat digital discrimination (see 2311150040). A notice for Thursday's Federal Register also sought comment on establishing an Office of Civil Rights within the commission.