The federal government should set auditing standards for evaluating “high-risk” AI systems and impose liability for tech companies failing to honor their terms of service, NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson told reporters Tuesday in remarks embargoed until Wednesday, when the agency released its AI Accountability Report.
CTIA is hopeful a legislative vehicle will be found soon that will restore general FCC auction authority, more than a year after it lapsed, CTIA Senior Vice President-Spectrum Umair Javed said Wednesday during a Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy webcast. “It sort of feels like there’s a lot of smoke, and maybe not fire yet,” Javed said. He hopes a bill floated by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, will provide the needed “spark.”
Numerous challenges -- from development of hybrid antennas that work for both satellite and mobile networks, to getting chipset manufacturers on board churning out dual-network chips -- need to be met before satellite/cellular convergence arrives, satellite operator executives said Wednesday during a Global Satellite Operator's Association webinar. Sateliot CEO Jaume Sanpera said terminals that allow seamless connectivity, not just between satellite and terrestrial networks but among mulit-orbit satellite constellations, also are key. Intelsat Chief Technology Officer Bruno Fromont said satellite operators must ultimately become mobile operators, allowing roaming with terrestrial networks. While Mediatek is working on a Ku-band chip to enable higher-speed satellite broadband, the resulting terminals will have to be mass-produced to see the big drops in terminal costs that also are needed, Fromont said. Multiple speakers said direct-to-device (D2D) business models must be assessed.
Rising opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion policies puts the latest iteration of the Communications, Equity and Diversity Council in a difficult position, said several CEDC members Wednesday during the group’s first meeting under its new charter. “We have always been challenged in our work, but I cannot remember a time that we have been so challenged,” said former FCC Commissioner Henry Rivera, who has served on every FCC diversity committee dating to the 1980s.
A Maine privacy bill with strict data minimization standards is moving to the final stages. The joint Judiciary Committee voted 7-1 Tuesday evening to say that the Democratic caucus’ LD-1977 “ought to pass,” while rejecting a Republican alternative (LD-1973). A nuanced exemption for broadband providers, currently in LD-1977, could mean that the proposed law would still apply to mobile services provided by a company that’s covered by the state’s 2019 ISP privacy law, two consumer privacy advocates said Wednesday.
The 5G Fund order that FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated last week (see 2403200071) is expected to have several gaps that will need addressing with a Further NPRM on a tribal reserve but also through auction public notices, industry officials said. One question that needs answering is how to define open radio access networks, slated to get up to 10% of the $9 billion to be awarded.
Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) will expand the reach of cellular networks, which is increasingly important when 95% of the U.S. population has abandoned landline phones, David Witkowski, co-chair of the Deployment Working Group at IEEE Future Networks, said during an RCR Wireless webinar Tuesday. Last month, FCC commissioners approved a supplemental coverage from space framework, facilitating carriers working with satellite operators on converged networks (see 2403150045).
Carriers are pushing automation in their radio access networks but “need to be smart” about how they deploy it, Adam Loddeke, AT&T assistant vice president-RAN technology, said Monday during an all-day IEEE virtual workshop. Speakers also discussed how AI can supercharge automation.
New Florida restrictions on kids' social media use can withstand First Amendment scrutiny, state government leaders stressed during a Monday news conference for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signing HB-3. Tech industry group NetChoice probably will sue "the day after this bill is signed," said House Speaker Paul Renner (R). "But you know what? We're going to beat them."
NCTA is seeking to intervene in support of the FCC and against four petitions for review consolidated in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the FCC’s Dec. 26 quadrennial review order for allegedly violating Section 202(h) of the Telecommunications Act, said NCTA's unopposed motion Monday.