The FCC probably will appeal to the Supreme Court its legal defeat over a policy of censuring broadcasters for airing one unintentional curse word during a show (CD July 14 p1), veteran industry lawyers and executives predicted. Many of them, and others we surveyed, also think the commission will at around the same time re-examine through a rulemaking what’s called the fleeting expletives policy. Career staffers continue to sort through filings against stations airing Fox programming over a Jan. 3 episode of American Dad, matching viewers’ complaints with the broadcasters in their markets, commission and industry officials said.
A revamped rural health care telecom subsidy program should help more health facilities use broadband to connect to the outside world, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said. The commission initiated a rulemaking Thursday to change the rules of the USF program based on lessons learned from the Rural Health Care Pilot Program. The original program failed to live up to its potential, Commissioner Michael Copps said. In most years it disbursed less than 20 percent of the $400 million that could be spent.
The FCC received thousands of filings this week in response to its inquiry seeking comments on reclassifying broadband transmission under Title II of the Communications Act, making broadband subject to common carrier regulation. Comments were due Thursday. The FCC remains sharply divided, with few signs that the FCC’s three Democrats, who support reclassification, or two Republicans, in sharp opposition, have moderated their views.
The FCC voted to loosen rules in the 2 GHz band allocated to mobile satellite services Thursday, opening the process toward making MSS spectrum more accessible for terrestrial broadband. The rulemaking also would make MSS spectrum fall within secondary market spectrum leasing policies already in place in other bands. A separate notice of inquiry adopted Thursday focuses on eliciting investment in MSS spectrum and how to handle the increased value of the spectrum. The proceedings are part of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan.
The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved amended Internet accessibility legislation by Sens. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and John Kerry, D-Mass., in a voice vote Thursday morning. The bill (S-3304) aims to increase the number of hearing aid-compatible phones, improve access to 911 emergency services, and expand and update closed captioning and video description requirements. Democrats and Republicans supported the bill, despite lingering concerns by consumer electronics companies (CD July 15 p12) .
Portable devices that receive mobile DTV broadcasts were exempted from FCC rules that they contain tuners capable of getting regular analog and digital broadcasts, in a Media Bureau decision Thursday afternoon. Cellphones, PDAs, laptops, dongles and devices used in autos can exclude analog and/or ATSC A/53 digital TV signal reception if they can get mobile broadcasts using A/153. The products must be designed to be used “in motion” and give notice to consumers on the package and in certain cases at point of sale about which types of signals can’t be received.
Factors including cost, lack of digital literacy and access are preventing older Americans from getting online, panelists said at a conference by Project GOAL (Get Older Adults online) Thursday. The FCC is actively working on implementation of the National Broadband Plan, said John Horrigan, the agency’s consumer research director.
The House passed legislation to expand telework opportunities for federal workers after Republicans successfully tweaked it to their liking in a last-minute effort on the House floor Wednesday. The House voted 290-131 to approve an amended bill after voting 304-118 on a measure by Oversight Committee Ranking Member Darrell Issa, R-Calif., that included changes to the bill that Issa said would ensure the legislation is “cost neutral,” as well as ensure federal employee integrity while telecommuting. The bill moves to the Senate.
A wide range of pay-TV companies panned the idea of FCC standards for what the agency calls gateway devices to let all subscribers connect consumer electronics devices bought at retail to multichannel video program distributors (MVPD). Cable, satellite and telco filings posted by the FCC Wednesday in docket 97-80 sought flexibility in their services connecting to what are also called AllVid user interfaces. Google, Intel and major CE companies including Sony backed the commission proposal for an AllVid device, which also could get online content.
The 1675-1710 MHz band is widely and constantly used by federal and non-federal users, and opening it to wireless broadband users could jeopardize important public safety and meteorological connectivity, Raytheon told the FCC. The company responded to an Office of Engineering & Technology notice requesting input on using the band for wireless broadband (CD June 1 p1). While the public notice said the agency believed the band to be “relatively lightly used, both geographically and temporally, and thus could be shared by others,” several disagreed.