New FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez’s acting chief of staff Deena Shetler spoke at a National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters panel with other 10th-floor aides Thursday, one of the first public appearances for Gomez’s new team. The panel, which included Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s Media Adviser David Strickland, also discussed media ownership, virtual MVPDs and advertising diversity. “We’re drinking from a firehose right now,” said Shetler, who has had the job just over a week.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit show cause order Thursday giving the FCC 90 days to complete its 2018 quadrennial review was characterized Friday by NAB as a “big win” in an email to members. But broadcast and public interest attorneys said the agency was likely already on a path to approve the QR in that timeline.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit show cause order Thursday giving the FCC 90 days to complete its 2018 quadrennial review was characterized Friday by NAB as a “big win” in an email to members. But broadcast and public interest attorneys said the agency was likely already on a path to approve the QR in that timeline.
The FCC and Department of Health and Human Services are pushing the wireless industry for a means of 988 georouting that could be deployed nationally. "We strongly encourage your members to take the necessary steps to identify and develop a 988 georouting solution that could be deployed in their wireless networks within a reasonable time," said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, HHS assistant secretary-mental health and substance abuse, Thursday in letters to CTIA CEO Meredith Atwell, Competitive Carriers Association CEO Tim Donovan and Rural Wireless Association President Jack Baldwin. In similar letters to T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg and AT&T CEO John Stankey, the agencies say FCC Wireline Bureau staff will contact the companies in coming days "to discuss your plans to move toward a georouting solution for 988."
Of the items teed up for a vote at the FCC’s Oct. 19 meeting, changes to rules for the 6 GHz band have gotten the most attention since Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the meeting agenda Wednesday. The FCC released drafts Thursday for all the items at what will be the first meeting with new Commissioner Anna Gomez and the first 3-2 Democratic majority during the Biden administration. Among other items also on tap are Wi-Fi on school buses, improving maternal care, changes to wireless emergency alerts, video programming for the blind and visually impaired, and universal service in Alaska.
State net neutrality laws will remain a critical fail-safe even if the current FCC can restore national rules, Democratic authors of California and Washington state measures told us this week. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel announced this week the agency will pursue rules, saying a national policy is better than a state patchwork (see 2309270056 and 2309260047). Title II reclassification may give the FCC legal basis to preempt state laws, said some telecom law experts.
The FCC's draft NPRM that would kick off the agency's efforts to reestablish net neutrality rules largely mirrored the commission's 2015 order, according to our analysis of the draft. Commissioners will consider the item during an October open meeting that will include a full commission for the first time under Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel despite a potential government shutdown (see 2309270056). Meanwhile, FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington said the FCC’s net neutrality push is not about protecting free speech but about protecting some tech companies.
The FCC’s Oct. 19 meeting is packed, with items on 6 GHz rules, Wi-Fi on school buses, wireless emergency alerts, video programming for the blind and visually impaired, maternal healthcare and other items. That's aside from the NPRM on net neutrality, which is expected to grab most of the attention (see 2309270056). The meeting will be the first with new Commissioner Anna Gomez and the first with a 3-2 Democratic majority during the Biden administration.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel defended an anticipated proceeding that will kick off the commission's efforts to reestablish net neutrality rules (see 2309260047). "We've made it a national policy to make sure broadband reaches everyone, everywhere," she said during a Wednesday Axios event: "I think we should make it a national policy to make sure it's open and not just leave this issue to the states." Rosenworcel in an FCC note also previewed the draft item to be released Thursday, saying commissioners will vote next month on a proposal to begin the process of restoring the FCC’s "overwhelmingly popular" rules.
The FCC's abdicating its internet oversight authority in 2017 largely neutered the agency's ability to protect online privacy and to require ISPs to address lengthy outages, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Tuesday as she announced the agency was moving to take that authority back. Reclassification of broadband as a service under Title II would end having to often jury-rig legal justifications for actions the agency is taking, she said, saying October's agenda will include a draft NPRM on reinstating the agency's 2015 net neutrality rules. The move met loud criticism, including from inside the FCC, as well as support.