Developing rules for opening the lower 3 GHz band, a top focus of U.S. carriers (see 2404080063), won’t be easy, Monisha Ghosh, engineering professor at the University of Notre Dame and former FCC chief technologist, said during an RCR Wireless virtual test and management forum Tuesday. Much discussion at the forum centered on the challenges of performance testing in evolving 5G networks.
Pennsylvania lawmakers should reject a plan deregulating incumbent local exchange carriers, the state’s Consumer Advocate Patrick Cicero said Tuesday. Yet with two 7-4 party-line votes, majority Republicans on the Senate Communications Committee advanced a deregulation bill (SB-85) with an amendment that says the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission lacks VoIP and broadband authority. The Democratic minority -- which controls the governor’s office and has a slim House majority -- raised concerns that the bill would harm consumers.
The Biden administration could impede U.S. competitiveness if it codifies new cloud service regulations that force the tech industry to monitor and share data about foreign customers with the government, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and IBM told the Commerce Department in comments due Monday. Telecom associations worried that definitions for cloud service companies might be too broad.
Tuesday marks the last day that eligible households enrolled in the affordable connectivity program will receive full funding, Miriam Montgomery, chief of the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau’s Consumer Affairs and Outreach Division, noted during a National Association of Telecommunication Officers and Advisors webinar on Monday. The webinar also included an update on the national broadband map.
HOT SPRINGS, Virginia -- Restoring the FCC’s lapsed spectrum auction authority is a major priority of the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Communications & Technology Subcommittee, Democratic and Republican staffers said Saturday at the FCBA annual retreat here. John Lin, House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Republican senior counsel, said while Republicans would consider discussing continuing the affordable connectivity program, changes to it must come first. Speakers also covered next steps for the cyber trust mark and interagency relations on spectrum conflicts.
Wi-Fi advocates and 6 GHz incumbents disagreed sharply on an FCC proposal to expand the parts of the 6 GHz band where very-low power (VLP) devices can operate without coordination, beyond the initial 850 MHz commissioners approved last year (see [Ref:2310190054). In one development of note, tech companies saw support for a proposal to create a geofenced variable power (GVP) device class. Replies were posted Monday in docket 18-295.
FCC commissioners approved fines against the then-four national wireless carriers for allegedly not safeguarding data on customers' real-time locations, in orders released Monday. The vote was 3-2. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon plan to appeal.
Alliance for Automotive Innovation President John Bozzella and CTA CEO Gary Shapiro sharply criticize a draft revised version of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act in written statements ahead of their testimony at a Tuesday Innovation Subcommittee hearing. Conversely, Navajo Nation Washington Office Executive Director Justin Ahasteen and Midway Broadcasting CEO Melody Spann Cooper endorse the updated measure in their written testimony. The revised AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, like earlier version HR-3413/S-1669 (see 2305260034), would mandate that U.S. automakers keep AM radio technology in future domestic-made vehicles. House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., signaled a change in position on the AM radio requirement by leading the revised draft released earlier this month (see 2404160067). Rodgers and other panel Republicans were previously skeptical about enacting a mandate (see 2306060088). The hearing will begin at 10:30 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn.
A new law seeking Chinese divestment of TikTok is unlikely to survive scrutiny if challenged for reasons similar to those that blocked Montana’s ban against the app, free speech experts tell us.
T-Mobile is considering how to use its growing fiber footprint to further bolster its Home Internet base, CEO Mike Sievert said on a call with investors late Thursday. T-Mobile earlier in the day unveiled a joint venture with infrastructure investor EQT (see 2404250047).