FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler will tout “significant progress in our ongoing efforts to maximize the benefits of communications technology” in the four months since last testifying before the House Communications Subcommittee, according to written testimony for a Tuesday oversight hearing. He will talk about the big-ticket initiatives before the agency, from the pending broadcast TV incentive auction to his proposals to overhaul of set-top box rules, Lifeline and privacy rules for ISPs. All five commissioners will testify. The hearing is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.
AT&T has filed for more than a dozen patents on 5G technologies and is “in the throes” of making 5G work, Bill Smith, president of AT&T network operations, said at a Jeffries financial conference Tuesday. “It’s the next exciting step in our technology,” he said. But Smith conceded “the reality is” that standards won’t be in place until “probably 2018” and large-scale commercial rollouts are unlikely before 2020. “We’ll be on top of that,” he said. “The minute it’s commercially viable we’ll be deploying.” FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel also spoke about 5G in her remarks to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, posted by the FCC Tuesday.
AT&T has filed for more than a dozen patents on 5G technologies and is “in the throes” of making 5G work, Bill Smith, president of AT&T network operations, said at a Jeffries financial conference Tuesday. “It’s the next exciting step in our technology,” he said. But Smith conceded “the reality is” that standards won’t be in place until “probably 2018” and large-scale commercial rollouts are unlikely before 2020. “We’ll be on top of that,” he said. “The minute it’s commercially viable we’ll be deploying.” FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel also spoke about 5G in her remarks to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, posted by the FCC Tuesday.
AT&T has filed for more than a dozen patents on 5G technologies and is “in the throes” of making 5G work, Bill Smith, president of AT&T network operations, said at a Jeffries financial conference Tuesday. “It’s the next exciting step in our technology,” he said. But Smith conceded “the reality is” that standards won’t be in place until “probably 2018” and large-scale commercial rollouts are unlikely before 2020. “We’ll be on top of that,” he said. “The minute it’s commercially viable we’ll be deploying.” FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel also spoke about 5G in her remarks to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, posted by the FCC Tuesday.
The FCC voted 3-2 Thursday to launch a rulemaking (see 1602160072) seeking comment on numerous changes to set-top box rules intended to make it easier for third parties to build and sell retail set tops that can access pay-TV content. Commissioners Ajit Pai and Mike O’Rielly as expected (see 1601280066) opposed the proposal, which they said was “slanted” and an unnecessary regulatory intrusion. “I’m confident that most consumers would rather eliminate the set-top box altogether,” Pai said.
The FCC voted 3-2 Thursday to launch a rulemaking (see 1602160072) seeking comment on numerous changes to set-top box rules intended to make it easier for third parties to build and sell retail set tops that can access pay-TV content. Commissioners Ajit Pai and Mike O’Rielly as expected (see 1601280066) opposed the proposal, which they said was “slanted” and an unnecessary regulatory intrusion. “I’m confident that most consumers would rather eliminate the set-top box altogether,” Pai said.
The FCC voted 3-2 Thursday to launch a rulemaking (see 1602160072) seeking comment on numerous changes to set-top box rules intended to make it easier for third parties to build and sell retail set tops that can access pay-TV content. Commissioners Ajit Pai and Mike O’Rielly as expected (see 1601280066) opposed the proposal, which they said was “slanted” and an unnecessary regulatory intrusion. “I’m confident that most consumers would rather eliminate the set-top box altogether,” Pai said.
The FCC approved a report saying broadband isn't being rolled out broadly enough or quickly enough to meet a statutory deployment mandate. The commission action at its Thursday meeting wasn't a surprise after Chairman Tom Wheeler circulated a draft report with a negative finding (see 1601070059). Democratic colleagues supported the report and its conclusion, with one backing an even higher broadband standard, but one Republican dissented and the other concurred while faulting the FCC for failing to bring about more broadband deployment. Key House Republicans and major wireline and wireless telco groups were among those criticizing the report, with USTelecom calling it “not believable.”
The FCC approved a report saying broadband isn't being rolled out broadly enough or quickly enough to meet a statutory deployment mandate. The commission action at its Thursday meeting wasn't a surprise after Chairman Tom Wheeler circulated a draft report with a negative finding (see 1601070059). Democratic colleagues supported the report and its conclusion, with one backing an even higher broadband standard, but one Republican dissented and the other concurred while faulting the FCC for failing to bring about more broadband deployment. Key House Republicans and major wireline and wireless telco groups were among those criticizing the report, with USTelecom calling it “not believable.”
Low-power TV challenges to FCC rules could be a threat to the incentive auction, according to attorneys and recent court and commission filings. It's "impossible" to "harmonize the goals of the Spectrum Act" with protecting LPTV stations in the incentive auction, said the FCC in a brief filed Friday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in response to LPTV broadcasters Beach TV and Mako (see 1512110057).