Since the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the FCC's revocation of China Telecom's domestic and international authorities (see 2111150025) without relying on classified evidence obtained in electronic surveillance of the Chinese telco, the company's request for disclosure of that classified evidence is moot, the appellate court said Tuesday (docket 21-5215). If the U.S. government wants to use those materials in another proceeding against China Telecom, it will have to petition a federal district court for a determination that the surveillance was legal, and the court will adjudicate whether due process requires disclosure, the appellate court ruled. Disclosing the classified evidence "would be wholly ineffectual" because the FCC revocation proceeding and appeal of it have ended, it said. The D.C. Circuit vacated the U.S. District Court order granting the federal government's petition seeking a determination the surveillance was lawful and its findings could be used by the FCC, and remanded it to the lower court with instructions to dismiss. Deciding for the D.C. Circuit were Judges Karen Henderson, Greg Katsas and Harry Edwards, with Henderson writing the nine-page decision. A China Telecom outside lawyer didn't comment. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement the agency's 2021 decision to revoke China Telecom's authorization was based on national security agencies' recommendation that the company's U.S. operations "provided opportunities for increased Chinese state-sponsored cyber activities, including economic espionage and the disruption and misrouting of U.S. communications traffic." "There is no higher FCC responsibility than safeguarding our networks, and today's ruling is a strong affirmation of our authority to do so," she said.
President Joe Biden signed off Friday on a continuing resolution (HR-1437) that extended the FCC's spectrum auction authority through Dec. 23 and maintains federal appropriations until the same deadline, the White House said. The Senate passed the CR 71-19 Thursday, providing a temporary lifeline to Senate Commerce Committee leaders' talks aimed at reaching a deal on spectrum legislative language they want to attach to an expected FY 2023 appropriations omnibus package (see 2212150076). Senate leaders may release omnibus text Monday, lobbyists told us. The Senate also voted 83-11 to pass the FY23 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-7776) that includes language to restrict the federal government’s use of products with semiconductor manufacturers deemed to be Chinese military contractors (see 2212070056).
The FCC Hearing Aid Compatibility Task Force recommended what the group says is a path to 100% compatibility for wireless handsets. The group started work in 2020 (see 2002070027). “Consumer advocates and industry representatives worked hand-in-hand for years to offer the FCC a path forward to 100% handset compatibility, per our charter,” said James Craig, task force chair and manager-accessibility standards at Apple, Friday. “We are confident that the recommendations outlined in this report will help ensure the best outcome for all Americans, especially those with hearing loss who rely on this technology," Craig said. Industry groups also applauded the report. “Wireless offers opportunity and connectivity to Americans of all abilities, needs and situations,” said CTIA President Meredith Baker: “This report is the result of years of strong collaboration between the accessibility community and the wireless industry that promotes innovation, reflects marketplace developments and will benefit consumers with hearing loss.” Groups participating include the Competitive Carriers Association, CTIA, the Hearing Loss Association of America, the National Association of the Deaf, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and the Telecommunications Industry Association. The report recommends a revised definition of HAC to say a compatible handset “(a) has an internal means for compatibility (b) that meets established technical standards for hearing aid coupling or compatibility, and (c) is usable.” The FCC should also “consider, along with a more flexible definition of HAC, factors such as ease-of-use, reliability, industry adoption, and consumer use and adoption when evaluating what technical standards meet the above proposed HAC definition,” the report said. For the short-term, the task force recommends “a limited, interim waiver of current transition to the 2019 ANSI Standard that allows wireless handsets to meet a modified volume control test that ensures increased amplification for hearing device users until the TIA 5050 standard has been revised and adopted into the FCC’s rules.” It asks the commission to “adjust the deployment benchmarks for manufacturers (four years from the effective date of an FCC order based on this report) and for service providers (five years from the effective date of an FCC order).” The FCC should also “incorporate” into its rules “an adjusted volume control testing method that accomplishes the goal of increased amplification (i.e., need articulated by user advocates) with an updated testing methodology that better reflects modern wireless handset technologies and operation.”
The FCC's 2-2 deadlock, Commissioner Brendan Carr's dance moves and the agency's expiring spectrum auction authorization caught darts from FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in her address Thursday night at the FCBA annual dinner. A crowd of close to 1,500 attended the event at the Marriott Marquis in Washington -- the first such in-person "telecom prom" since 2019. Being the first woman to deliver the chair's traditional monologue, Rosenworcel quipped she "will receive only 83% as much laughter." She made multiple jokes about the 2-2 commission, likening it to a World Cup score and, pointing to next congressional session's Senate, said "getting a one-vote majority sounds pretty good to me." With the FCC's spectrum auction authorization expiring, she said she would have some 4.9 GHz band spectrum available directly after her speech. Showing a video clip of Carr doing "the floss" dance move, Rosenworcel joked there are "ulterior reasons Brendan doesn't want people looking at TikTok." She also took jabs at such targets as Amazon, the AT&T/Time Warner combination, local news broadcasts and Communications Daily's new sister publication, Communication Litigation Today.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau directed entities subject to emergency alert system rules to submit their annual form one filings for calendar year 2022 in the online EAS test reporting system no later than Feb. 28. The FCC said Thursday it plans to open the reporting window Jan. 3.
Eutelsat CEO Eva Berneke met with FCC commissioners about terrestrial use of C-band spectrum (see 2212140057).
The FCC announced Wednesday that its Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council meeting Thursday will no longer be hybrid, and will be fully remote. The FCC said it made the change in response to the National Weather Service’s ice storm warning in effect for the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area throughout Thursday. The meeting starts at 1 p.m. EST.
Demonstrating or creating public disturbances in the public areas of the Prettyman Courthouse and Bryant Annex are cause for removal from the courthouse and can result in contempt sanctions and/or being barred from entering the courthouse in the future, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said Tuesday, announcing a courthouse decorum policy.
Cost of internet service in the U.S. in November was up 1.4% year over year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index unadjusted data released Tuesday. Residential phone service costs were up 4.4% year over year, and wireless service costs were up 1%. Cable and satellite TV service costs were up 1%. November prices overall were up 7.1% year over year before seasonal adjustment, BLS said.
Extend by 60 days the Jan. 13 deadline for challenges to the FCC’s national broadband map, said Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar (R) in a Tuesday letter to the FCC and NTIA. Hegar sought to extend the challenge deadline until March 14 and to postpone the final map’s release until July 14. Broadband, equity, access and deployment program (BEAD) allocation announcements should also be extended by 60 days, he said. Align BEAD award announcements with final maps' release, he added. “States and stakeholders need additional time to submit challenges to the proposed national map to provide critical, accurate information on the availability of broadband in their communities,” Hegar said. “This will ensure every dollar is fairly allocated using the most reliable data.” The FCC map is flawed, the Texas official said. “Some of the responsibility lies with the service providers who are overstating the coverage they provide in their territories. This practice has become so routine that we often don’t notice it, but it will substantially limit competition as well as our ability to accurately allocate resources to those Texans whose access is inadequate. Some of the responsibility lies with our federal partners who have assumed that public spaces like schools and libraries have access.” Other states including Maine, Pennsylvania and Vermont also sought an extension to challenge the FCC map (see 2212020063).