The FCC Public Safety Bureau on Friday approved special temporary authority allowing Morgan County, Indiana, to operate its travelers’ information station for a 15-day period at higher power levels than allowed under commission rules so it can “manage the expected influx of visitors, traffic congestion, and public safety surrounding the April 8 … solar eclipse.” The county can use 100 watts of power, rather than 10, starting April 1. The county is part of the eclipse's zone of totality.
The FCC wasted no time in setting the comment dates on a Further NPRM on a voluntary cyber trust mark program commissioners unanimously approved March 14 (see 2403140034). Comments are due April 24, replies May 24, in docket 23-239, said a notice for Monday’s Federal Register. The FNPRM was added to the order that Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated at the request of commissioners (see 2403180046). “We seek comment on whether we should require manufacturers to disclose to the Commission whether firmware and/or software were developed and manufactured in a ‘high-risk country,’ as well as where firmware and software updates will be developed and deployed from,” the notice says.
CTIA warned of a “patchwork” of state net neutrality rules and called for national policies, filing last week in FCC docket 23-320. Because broadband internet access service “is an inherently interstate service, the Commission should exercise its preemption authority to ensure that BIAS is governed by a uniform national framework rather than disparate requirements that vary state-by-state,” CTIA said. “Commenters on both sides of the classification issue … agree and support broad preemption of state regulation of BIAS,” the group said. CTIA said “the need for uniformity is especially acute if the Commission seeks to regulate BIAS under Title II” of the Communications Act. “Proceeding case-by-case, imposing only a regulatory floor, or adopting a narrow view of preemption would spur litigation and regulatory uncertainty that could hinder investments in improved BIAS services beyond those inherent in Title II.”
Gogo Business Aviation requested a time extension to meet requirements of the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program but requested details remain confidential. “The Extension Request contains proprietary commercial and operational information intended to provide maximum disclosure to the Commission for its consideration of Gogo’s request for additional time in which to complete its [replacement] process,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-89. Gogo requested permanent confidential treatment and nondisclosure “because it is impossible to predict when the information contained in the Application would no longer be useful to Gogo’s competitors, other third parties, or, in light of the national security risks ... malignant entities that would seek to take advantage of potential security vulnerabilities in the nation’s communications networks.”
The FCC proposed a total $1.2 million forfeiture for Nexstar and a $612,395 forfeiture for Mission Broadcasting (see 2403210078).
The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research (ACI) urged the FCC against reclassifying broadband as a Communications Act Title II telecom service. Reclassification would "lead to a decline in consumer welfare" due to the "increased tax exposure" ISPs will face at the state and local level, the group said in a letter posted Friday in docket 23-320 (see 2403210026). ACI also noted that some states "consider intangible property to be taxable property" and "the taxation of broader telecommunications property could represent a major increase in the property taxes assessed on licensed spectrum." The impact will be "significant," ACI said, noting broadband services "are not highly inelastic."
The ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates associations seek leave to intervene in support of the four petitions for review consolidated in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that challenge the FCC’s Dec. 26 quadrennial review order for allegedly violating Section 202(h) of the Telecommunications Act (see 2403050075), said their unopposed joint motion Friday.
A combined $1.8 million proposed forfeiture for Nexstar and sidecar operation Mission broadcasting over Mission’s station WPIX New York will likely create uncertainty about similar arrangements that other broadcasters use, though attorneys and the FCC say Thursday’s notice of apparent liability is narrowly targeted. “We stress that the decision we reach today is limited to the facts before us and the relationship between Nexstar, Mission, and WPIX,” said the NAL. On the other hand, “If you’re a broadcaster with a sidecar, you’re saying ‘uh oh,’” said Holland & Knight attorney Charles Naftalin. Nexstar said it will dispute the enforcement action “vigorously.”
State enforcers of net neutrality report no legal actions against ISPs more than five years after the laws took effect. A Communications Daily public records request showed that Washington state’s attorney general's office received 21 complaints related to net neutrality since enacting its first law in March 2018, but most were resolved informally. Half the states with such laws told us they hadn’t received complaints.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., led filing of the Supporting National Security with Spectrum Act Friday as an alternative vehicle for allocating an additional $3.08 billion for the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program after congressional leaders didn't agree to include the funding in the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act FY 2024 minibus spending bill (see 2403210067). Congress inched closer Friday to passing the minibus, which also didn't include stopgap funding for the FCC's ailing affordable connectivity program despite a strong push by the initiative's backers (see 2402210073).