Fiber and wireless proponents faced off in comments this week on a California Public Utilities Commission rulemaking to develop state rules for distributing dollars from NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program (docket R.23-02-016). They disagreed on how high California should set its Extremely High Cost Per Location Threshold (EHCT), which will be used to determine what areas can get non-fiber broadband service. Commenters also debated how much the CPUC should add to requirements from the BEAD notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) and how much the state agency should rely on the FCC’s national map to determine what areas are served.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., refiled the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Modernization Act Thursday to update the 2010 Calm Act's bar on excessively loud TV ads. The measure, which Eshoo and Whitehouse first filed last year, would extend the 2010 law's excessively loud ad bar to streaming services and would strengthen the FCC's ability to investigate and enforce violations. The measure would require a study analyzing the existing law's effectiveness in moderating ad loudness. The FCC Media Bureau at Eshoo's behest sought comment in 2021 on whether the FCC needs to update its existing Calm Act implementation rules (see 2104200001). ACA Connects and NCTA argued the FCC doesn’t need to change its rules because existing enforcement is working as intended (see 2106040065). “Since the law was enacted, new popular streaming services have recreated the practice of loud ads because the old law doesn't apply to them, and consumers continue to complain about loud ads on broadcast, cable, and satellite TV,” Eshoo said in a statement. “We're updating the legislation for the benefit of consumers who are tired of diving for the mute button at every commercial break, regardless of what platform they use.” Eshoo’s office cited support from Consumer Reports.
Some states have fairly sharp pencils for estimated awards from NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD), but others are working with wide ranges. States were mixed on whether it's challenging to plan their broadband programs without knowing the award amount. NTIA is expected to make funding allocation announcements June 30.
A coalition of industry groups raised concerns about certain consumer broadband label requirements, in a meeting with FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau staff. USTelecom, CTIA, ACA Connects, NTCA and NCTA said the requirement that providers display pass-through fees from government agencies is "an unwarranted departure from the commission’s approach in 2016 and adds unnecessary complexity to the label for providers and consumers," per an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 22-2. The groups asked the FCC to grant its petition clarifying that providers can satisfy this requirement by providing an explanatory statement saying such fees may apply. They also asked that providers be allowed to satisfy the requirement that they document instances when a customer is directed to the label at an alternate sales channel by "developing appropriate business practices to promote distribution of the label through alternative sales channels and retaining documentation of these practices and any associated training materials for two years."
Talks on a broadcasting protection treaty remained stalled after a March 13-17 World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) meeting, stakeholders said. Some "progress towards finding common ground" was made on several issues, according to the chair's summary, but there were no breakthroughs.
Industry groups and ISPs asked the FCC to refrain from adopting significant changes to its broadband consumer labels, in reply comments posted Friday in docket 22-2 (see 2302170046). Some urged the FCC to allow providers to fully implement the labels and analyze their usefulness before considering modifications. Consumer advocates sought additional information about pricing and speed data, with some raising concerns about the use of hyperlinks.
Industry groups and broadband experts want flexibility in the buy American provision of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, per comments to OMB posted through Tuesday in docket OMB-2023-0004-0001. OMB sought comments on proposed revisions and clarifications to the IIJA's Build America, Buy America Act provisions. Some raised concerns about how the requirements could affect broadband deployment projects funded through NTIA's broadband, equity, access and deployment program and backed establishing a waiver process.
The end seems nigh for affordable connectivity program (ACP) funding, with dicey odds of Congress acting before its money runs out in early 2024, speakers said Wednesday at ACA Connects' 2023 Washington summit. Small cable operator participation in the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program will depend on the rules governing it, they said.
Standard General Managing Partner Soohyung Kim vowed to continue pursuing the purchase of Tegna and urged the FCC to vote on the deal, in a release Monday, but Tegna’s earnings earnings release that morning said the company is “currently evaluating its options.”
Industry groups and consumer advocacy organizations disagree about how the FCC should define digital discrimination and ways to facilitate equal access to broadband, according to comments posted through Wednesday in docket 22-69. The commission adopted an NPRM in December seeking comment on rules to combat digital discrimination, as required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (see 2301190049).