CTIA urged the FCC to avoid imposing additional requirements to block texts, in response to a December Further NPRM (see 2312130019). A filing posted Friday reports on a meeting with an aide to Commissioner Brendan Carr, ahead of the FCC’s release of a draft order for the Sept. 26 open meeting on new robocalling and robotexting rules (see 2409050045). “The record continues to show that a requirement to incorporate text message authentication solutions are unnecessary to address the main problem in text messaging: identity spoofing/impersonation,” the filing in docket 21-402 said. CTIA urged the commission “to reject calls from a handful of non-consumer message senders to dismantle the wireless ecosystem’s existing practices that are stopping billions of spam and scam text messages.”
Very low power (VLP) devices pose little risk to mobile electronic newsgathering (ENG) receivers, tech companies said in a meeting with FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff. A Broadcom analysis “demonstrated that ENG systems can operate error-free with SINRs [signal to interference and noise ratio] at and above 1 dB and that interference from VLP transmitters is very unlikely to cause SINR levels to fall below that 1 dB threshold in any plausible operating scenario,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-295. New, supplemental analysis further “confirms that VLP devices in U-NII-6 and U-NII-8 do not present a significant risk of harmful interference and that mobile ENG systems will operate with a[n] SINR above 8 dB in every realistic scenario,” the filing said. Also in the meeting were Apple, Google, Meta Platforms and Qualcomm.
The FCC “clearly lacks authority” to assign the 4.9 GHz band to the FirstNet Authority and FirstNet “clearly lacks authority to receive it,” the Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI) said in a filing posted Friday in docket 07-100. Coalition representatives met with aides to FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr, Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington about concerns with a Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) proposal that would give FirstNet control of the band. “PSSA’s and AT&T’s alternative proposal that the Commission effect this unlawful assignment indirectly through a forced sharing agreement with a Band Manager does not solve the problem,” CERCI said: “The PSSA and its allies do not cite a clear congressional grant of authority for this proposal.” CERCI cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which “makes clear that agency interpretations of statutes … are not entitled to deference.”
The National Association of Surety Bond Producers urged the FCC to allow performance bonds to be used as an alternative to letters of credit for USF high-cost program recipients (see 2408200021). The FCC in July sought comment on whether it should amend its letter of credit rules. In separate meetings with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Wireline Bureau staff, the group noted that performance bonds "guarantee the funding recipient's performance of the construction and installation of the broadband network needed" to provide broadband services "even in bankruptcy" for the amount of the bond, per an ex parte filing Friday in docket 10-90. It's also "in the public interest" to let performance bonds be used as NTIA did for the broadband, equity, access and deployment program.
The House plans to vote as soon as Monday night, under suspension of the rules, on the Future Uses of Technology Upholding Reliable and Enhancing Networks Act (HR-1513) and four telecom security-focused measures. Other bills on the House’s suspension docket: the Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act (HR-820), Countering Chinese Communist Party Drones Act (HR-2864), Securing Global Telecommunications Act (HR-4741) and Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security Act (HR-7589). The House Commerce Committee unanimously advanced HR-820, HR-1513, HR-2864 and HR-7589 in March (see 2403200076). HR-820 would require that the FCC publish a list of communications companies with agency licenses or other authorizations where China and other foreign adversaries’ governments hold at least a 10% ownership stake (see 2210250067). HR-1513 would direct the FCC to establish a 6G task force that provides recommendations about ensuring U.S. leadership in developing that technology’s standards. HR-2864 would add Chinese drone manufacturer Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI) to the FCC’s covered entities list. HR-4741 would require that the State Department develop a strategy promoting the use of secure telecom infrastructure worldwide. HR-7589 would direct the Commerce Department to “specify what transactions involving routers, modems, or devices that combine a modem and a router are prohibited” under a 2019 executive order by then-President Donald Trump that barred transactions involving information and communications technologies that pose an “undue risk of sabotage to or subversion of” U.S.-based communications services (see 1905150066).
The FCC on Friday released the latest version of its broadband competition notice of inquiry. Comments are due Oct. 7, replies Nov. 6, in docket 24-214. “We initiate our latest statutorily mandated annual review, soliciting comment and data to inform our [Telecom Act] section 706 analysis,” the NOI says: “In the next section 706 report, we propose to maintain the standards and goals adopted by the 2024 Report and seek comment here on potential additional metrics as well as potential data sources by which to measure them.” The FCC seeks “objective data and other evidence, as well as methodologies and analytical frameworks, to assist us in evaluating the universal service goals for broadband.” Commissioner Brendan Carr approved in part and concurred in part on the NOI. In a statement, Carr said he was able to partially support the inquiry after several lines of questions were added at his request. “The NOI now seeks comment on whether the FCC should report how many unserved locations are subject to enforceable federal commitments to deploy broadband infrastructure,” he said, noting that much of this data “is available” only “on a piecemeal basis today.” The NOI also now “tees up the concept of measuring progress by comparing results from the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection,” Carr said. Additional added questions should provoke “a more sophisticated discussion of high-speed satellite broadband services, such as those broadband services offered by constellations in low-Earth orbit.” Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel attached a brief comment to the NOI. “We need to know not just where and how broadband is being deployed across the country but also how accessible, affordable, and available it is nationwide,” she said.
Hundreds of commenters opposed a proposal from NextNav that would reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band and "enable a high-quality, terrestrial complement” to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services (see 2404160043). Amateur radio operators weighed in early and often (see 2408120024). Joining them were many other groups whose members use the band. Comments were due Thursday in docket 24-240. NextNav on Friday defended its petition seeking a rulemaking.
In a dissent attached to a combined $3.6 million forfeiture against Sinclair Broadcast and others over kidvid violations, FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington has vowed he will dissent from monetary forfeitures until the agency “formally determines the bounds of its enforcement authority.” Simington's move comes in the wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision SEC v. Jarkesy. The order was approved 3-2, with Commissioner Brendan Carr also dissenting. The forfeiture order was adopted Aug.14, but not released until Thursday. The FCC didn't immediately comment on the delay. “I call on the Commission to open a Notice of Inquiry to determine the new constitutional contours of Commission enforcement authority,” Simington wrote. “The statutory structure governing the FCC’s forfeiture power is quite different from that of the SEC,” the FCC said in a footnote in the order, arguing that the agency’s enforcement actions don’t violate the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial as SCOTUS ruled the SEC’s do.
Securus asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the FCC's August order on incarcerated people's communication services. In a petition filed last week (docket 24-60454), Securus said the FCC's denial of its clarification and waiver petitions on alternative payment plans was "arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion within the meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act" (see 2408230012).
The FCC Wireless Bureau on Thursday launched a record refresh seeking comment on updating performance standards for maritime radiocommunications equipment under Part 80 of the commission’s rules. Comments are due Oct. 21, replies Nov. 4, in RM-11765. The bureau asked for comment on the specific updated version of the standard the agency should incorporate into its rules, “the rule section(s) where the standard appears, … the element(s) of the standard which have been modified from the version currently referenced in part 80” and “the costs and benefits of referencing the updated standard,” among other issues.