Broadcasters, MVPDs and network programmers want the FCC to shelve plans that require disclosures about the use of AI in political ads because they’re unworkably burdensome, exceed agency authority and won’t affect digital platforms, said reply filings in docket 24-211.
Having received FCC approval for 7,500 of its second-generation satellites in 2022 (see 2212010052), SpaceX is now asking the FCC to green-light 22,488 satellites the agency deferred on. Those additional satellites, plus "several small-but-meaningful updates" to the orbital configuration of the already-approved second-gen low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, would "improve space sustainability, better respond to evolving demand, and more efficiently share spectrum with other spectrum users," it told the FCC Space Bureau in an application posted Tuesday.
The FCC in a 3-2 vote adopted a notice of inquiry seeking comment on the impact of data caps on consumers and competition in the broadband marketplace. The NOI "launches a formal proceeding through which the agency can hear from those impacted by data caps," said a news release Tuesday. Comments are due by Nov. 14, replies Dec. 2, in docket 23-199. Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissented.
AST SpaceMobile CEO Abel Avellan discussed the company's satellite system and its interest in the 5G Rural America Fund with FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, said a filing Friday in docket 20-32. Avellan has met with all the regular commissioners in recent days (see 2410080045 and 2410030025).
The Media Bureau will open a filing window for applications for new noncommercial educational TV stations from Dec. 4 to Dec. 11, said a public notice in Friday’s Daily Digest. Effective Friday, the FCC won’t accept petitions to amend the Table of Allotments for new NCE channels, the PN said. Additionally, during the NCE window, there will be a freeze on petitions from full-power and Class A TV stations seeking to change channels or make minor and major changes, the PN said.
The FCC’s order allowing geotargeted radio broadcasts let broadcasters “go after new revenue streams” and is “the dawn of new possibility for radio,” said FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks in remarks at the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters Black Media Summit and Power of Urban Radio Forum. The order is “a game changer,” especially for “small and singleton owners that are working hard to stay on the air,” said Starks. Both the commissioner and NABOB were vocal supporters of the radio geotargeting order before it was approved unanimously in April. REC Networks and Press Communications targeted the order with petitions for reconsideration (see 2406210054). The FCC is working to wrap up the 2022 quadrennial review “as soon as we can,” said David Strickland, media adviser to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, in a panel discussion Thursday. Strickland declined to comment on the timing of the 2022 QR or say whether ongoing litigation over the 2018 QR could influence it.
The FCC’s February Telephone Consumer Protection Act consent order (see 2402160048) is effective April 11, said a notice in Friday’s Federal Register. The commission adopted rules “making it simpler for consumers to revoke consent to receive unwanted robocalls and robotexts,” said a Friday notice from the FCC: “Callers and texters must honor these optout requests in a timely manner.”
A six-year extension of the freeze of the FCC's federal-state jurisdictional separations of telecom costs and revenue is "appropriate," said four state members of the Federal-State Joint Board on Separations in a letter filed Friday in docket 80-246. The commission in July proposed extending the current freeze, set to expire Dec. 31 (see 2407020017).
FCC Connect2Health task force members will provide an update on maternal health and broadband mapping efforts during commissioners' open meeting Thursday. The task force will speak on "new, more extensive broadband and maternal health data sets" that will be added to the Mapping Broadband Health in America platform, said a news release Thursday (see 2306200074). The update will also "consolidate the chronic disease, opioid, and maternal health modules into one unified platform," the agency said.
FCC efforts to have 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline calls georouted to the crisis call center closest to the caller's location should be replicated for calls to the national toll-free poison control number, America’s Poison Centers (APC) said. In a docket 18-336 posting Friday, APC said routing calls to a poison control center based on area code, not physical location of the caller, can have "adverse and potentially life-threatening consequences." Poison control center specialists are experts in the poisonous plants and animals of their region and can provide tailored support, said the association, which represents 54 accredited poison control centers in the U.S. FCC commissioners will vote at their open meeting Thursday on a proposed 988 georouting requirement (see 2409250041).