With the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference finished, Viasat told the FCC in docket 22-273 Friday that it has no objection to further FCC action on possible non-geostationary orbit operations in the 17 GHz band. The company had urged the commission to avoid acting on the band prior to WRC-23, as the ITU was evaluating the feasibility of NGSO fixed satellite service in the 17.3-17.7 GHz band segment in ITU Region 2 (see 2301250024).
The FCC on Friday posted a Disability Advisory Committee report, approved last month and written by the Audio Description File Transmittal to IP Video Programming Working Group (see 2401300051). Members of the WG discussed the report in detail at last month's DAC meeting. The report said it’s “not intended to be an exhaustive discussion of issues related to the distribution of already-described programming, but instead provides a high-level overview of the current ecosystem and highlights technical, human, and organizational process challenges and opportunities to address them.” The report was posted in docket 12-107.
The cable industry and local franchise authorities are at odds over the mixed-use rule, with both sides presenting conflicting takes in FCC lobbying last week. LFA arguments that the mixed-use rule doesn't follow the law and should be repealed (see 2401080032) are incorrect, NCTA said Thursday in docket 05-311. It said the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the FCC rule, "finding that the statutory interpretation embodied in the rule is compelled by the plain and unambiguous language." NCTA said the LFAs' argument that only the cost of an LFA's use of an institutional network -- and not the cost of the network's construction -- counts toward the 5% cap on cable franchise fees also runs contrary to the 6th Circuit decision. LFAs including Los Angeles County, Dallas and Boston in the docket recapped a meeting with Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's office when they urged that the agency remand its 2019 LFA order that was subject of the 6th Circuit decision so that FCC rules don't "continue to misrepresent the state of the law, leading to confusion and opportunities for obfuscation."
The FCC Enforcement Bureau Friday reminded carriers and interconnected VoIP providers of their obligation to file an annual certification documenting compliance with the customer proprietary network information rules by March 1. “Failure to file a timely and complete certification calls into question whether a company has complied with the rules requiring it to protect the privacy and security of its customers’ sensitive Information,” the bureau said:
The FCC’s data breach notification rules, approved by commissioners 3-2 in December (see 2312130019), are effective March 13, said a notice for Monday’s Federal Register. Commissioners made several changes to the proposed rules before adoption (see 2312220054). “The Commission’s breach notification rule provides an important protection against improper use or disclosure of customer data, helping to ensure that carriers are held accountable and providing customers with the tools to protect themselves in the event that their data is compromised,” the notice said.
Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai was among those hailing Thursday's FCC declaratory ruling prohibiting voice-cloning technology in robocall scams (see 2402080052). “Excellent move by the @FCC to clarify that calls made with #AI-generated voices are ‘artificial’ under the law, making voice-cloning robocalls illegal,” Pai said on X Friday. Also praising the ruling was North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D). “This ruling gives attorneys general more tools to go after robocallers who break the law, and I plan to use them," said Stein: “I’ll keep holding scam callers accountable and doing everything I can to reduce the number of robocalls we all have to deal with.” Stein was one of the state AGs who urged the FCC to address the issue (see 2401170023).
ViaPath raised concerns with the FCC about calls for the FTC to apply its proposed ban on unfair or deceptive fees to incarcerated people's communications services. In a letter posted Friday in docket 23-62 (see 2310110076), ViaPath said the FTC should clarify that its rule "does not apply to IPCS or IPCS-related fees because IPCS is regulated by and under the exclusive jurisdiction" of the FCC.
Echodyne asked the FCC for a five-year extension of its waiver of rules allowing ground-based use of its EchoGuard radar. The radar detects objects on the ground and in the air. The Wireless Bureau approved a waiver in 2019, which expires June 12 (see 1906130051). Since the waiver was granted, the radar “has been successfully deployed by many Federal and non-Federal users without any complaints of interference,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 12-352: “With the product still in high demand, Echodyne seeks a 5-year extension under the same terms and conditions as the original grant.” The radar operates in the 24 GHz band.
The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition filed at the FCC a letter signed by groups that support the agency’s November proposal allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services (see 2311090028). Comments to the FCC were divided on the proposal (see 2401300063). “While the COVID-19 pandemic propelled a nationwide surge of off-campus connectivity, online learning and remote schoolwork have become common practice for many students and library patrons throughout their daily journeys -- even after the end of the pandemic,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 21-31: Today, “learning simply does not stop after school or library operating hours or the moment a student or patron steps off the premises.” Signers included the American Library Association and other library and education groups, Common Sense, the Open Technology Institute at New America and Public Knowledge.
5G Automotive Association representatives met with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on a June 2021 petition (see 2106030075) asking the agency to reduce by 20 dB the permitted level of unwanted emissions from the unlicensed services that share the 5.9 GHz band. Representatives discussed “the importance of granting the 5GAA Petition to ensure that the safety-critical benefits of C-V2X are not compromised by the risk of interference,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 19-138: “5GAA provided examples of how such interference would reduce the effectiveness of C-V2X by, for instance, delaying the receipt of safety messages, reducing the available driver reaction time to those messages.”