House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., is letting the FCC's set-top box NPRM issue play out without intervening, he told reporters Wednesday. “Let’s see what they’re doing,” Walden said of the proposal. “We’re going to give them some space.” The set-top box NPRM spurred objections from some Democrats as well as Republicans on Capitol Hill (see 1602170051). Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., was among those raising concerns ahead of the FCC's recent NPRM vote. “The set-top box thing, we’ll see how the whole NPRM comes out,” Walden said. “Obviously we never said go out and create AllVid all over again. There are copyright issues that matter a lot to content providers. There are a lot of very powerful forces watching all sides of that equation that will cause pressure for everybody on the committee.” But he didn’t foresee that any of the friction would cause trouble on the Commerce Committee. “Some it will make it more contentious, some it will be fine,” he said. “It’s just the ebbs and flows of policy debates.” Walden also pushed back on the idea that the FCC’s big-ticket coming items -- overhaul of the Lifeline program and the onset of broadband privacy rules on top of the set-top box proceeding -- would create tension among Commerce Committee lawmakers along the lines of the partisan divide over net neutrality. “We’re in pretty good communication with the FCC on universal service fund reform,” Walden remarked. “We’re watching what they’re doing in Lifeline and all that. To their credit, in the past they have tightened down on some of the abuse. I’ve publicly given [Chairman Tom] Wheeler credit for that. He has. He’s reined it in quite a bit. But they still need to have a common database, they need to have a budget. You can’t let this thing just be open-ended.” The FCC is expected to appear before Walden for a subcommittee hearing next month.
State and federal regulators need to be focused on making broadband work, experts said during a National Regulatory Research Institute webinar Wednesday. The NRRI event expanded on a panel -- with the same participants -- held at a NARUC meeting in Washington last week (see 1602160004).
State and federal regulators need to be focused on making broadband work, experts said during a National Regulatory Research Institute webinar Wednesday. The NRRI event expanded on a panel -- with the same participants -- held at a NARUC meeting in Washington last week (see 1602160004).
A Uniform Law Commission (ULC) drafting committee is closer to delving into the details of editing draft model legislation that would regulate some virtual currency businesses as money transmission services at the state level, participants in and observers of a committee meeting last weekend told us in interviews. The ULC's Regulation of Virtual Currency Businesses Act Committee is drafting its model legislation with an eye to providing a uniform template for states to use for drafting their own legislation, committee participants said. The ULC's ongoing effort has found support from bitcoin think tank Coin Center and other virtual currency industry stakeholders, though other stakeholders told us they remain apprehensive of any work on possible legislation, given the relative youth of bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Individual states' efforts to regulate virtual currency businesses have met with greater industry resistance in some instances (see 1508180057).
A Uniform Law Commission (ULC) drafting committee is closer to delving into the details of editing draft model legislation that would regulate some virtual currency businesses as money transmission services at the state level, participants in and observers of a committee meeting last weekend told us in interviews. The ULC's Regulation of Virtual Currency Businesses Act Committee is drafting its model legislation with an eye to providing a uniform template for states to use for drafting their own legislation, committee participants said. The ULC's ongoing effort has found support from bitcoin think tank Coin Center and other virtual currency industry stakeholders, though other stakeholders told us they remain apprehensive of any work on possible legislation, given the relative youth of bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Individual states' efforts to regulate virtual currency businesses have met with greater industry resistance in some instances (see 1508180057).
It is "imperative" the implementation of next-generation 911 (NG911) systems happens "now" nationwide, and that there is a universality of the technologies used in the new IP-based systems, FCC officials and emergency communications experts said Monday during a National Emergency Number Association event. Panelists and NENA members also stressed the need for passage of "comprehensive" multiline telephone system (MLTS) legislation, as well as recurring funding sources for local public safety answering points (PSAPs) and robust cybersecurity protections for NG-911 systems.
It is "imperative" the implementation of next-generation 911 (NG911) systems happens "now" nationwide, and that there is a universality of the technologies used in the new IP-based systems, FCC officials and emergency communications experts said Monday during a National Emergency Number Association event. Panelists and NENA members also stressed the need for passage of "comprehensive" multiline telephone system (MLTS) legislation, as well as recurring funding sources for local public safety answering points (PSAPs) and robust cybersecurity protections for NG-911 systems.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler hailed a "bipartisan" draft rural USF order aimed at modernizing high-cost support mechanisms for rate-of-return carriers by shifting to a broadband focus. Wheeler said in a Friday blog post that he and Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Mignon Clyburn agreed on principles for reforming the subsidy program and boosting broadband deployment to unserved rural Americans
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler hailed a "bipartisan" draft rural USF order aimed at modernizing high-cost support mechanisms for rate-of-return carriers by shifting to a broadband focus. Wheeler said in a Friday blog post that he and Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Mignon Clyburn agreed on principles for reforming the subsidy program and boosting broadband deployment to unserved rural Americans
With panels on some of the major telecom concerns, NARUC’s upcoming winter committee meetings will offer some robust discussion, commissioners told us in interviews Thursday. The telecom committee panels Feb. 14-17 coincide with some active proceedings at the FCC, as well, NARUC members said, with topics including Lifeline, carrier of last resort (COLR) and enabling competition in a broadband world, the agenda shows. FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai is expected to speak at a general session about the commission pre-empting state laws on municipal broadband, net neutrality and inmate calling.