A displacement application from Venture Technologies for its low-power television station KMRZ-LD Los Angeles “is based on an almost unfathomable misunderstanding” of the use of private land mobile radio (PLMR) entities in Los Angeles and “must be denied,” said Enterprise Wireless Alliance in an undocketed informal objection Tuesday. The application says no operating land mobile radio stations are on the channel sought by KMRZ, but EWA said the FCC's universal licensing system database identifies “hundreds of PLMR facilities” authorized to operate on that channel within 130 km of Los Angeles: “The Application is not immediately or, in EWA’s opinion, ever grantable.” Venture didn’t comment.

The FCC Wireline Bureau extended to Sept. 30 the deadline for Lifeline documentation requirements for subscribers in rural areas on tribal lands, including reverification, recertification, de-enrollment and income, said an order in Monday’s Daily Digest. The bureau directed the Universal Service Administrative Co. to not de-enroll any subscriber for failing to respond to a documentation request if the given deadline was on or before Sept. 30. The bureau previously extended the deadline to June 30 (see 2102250022).

The FCC should update the rules on protecting TV stations from interference by land mobile systems to reflect the shift to digital television, said the Land Mobile Communications Council in an undocketed petition for rulemaking filed Friday. The rules on those protections are still based on analog broadcasting, the LMCC said. “Updated rules will maximize the interference-free use of this important band by both television stations and land mobile systems, consistent with the more advanced technologies that have been implemented by these licensees.” The shift to digital “warrants a different technical analysis to ensure continued interference-free operation.”

The European Union banned the sale, transfer or export of dual-use goods and technologies for military use to anyone in Belarus, expanding its sanctions regime on the Eastern European nation, the European Council announced in a June 24 news release. Since the forced landing of a Ryanair flight on May 23 and subsequent arrest of journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, the EU has sanctioned individuals, entities and economic activities in the country (see 2106210023). In this most recent push, the EU also barred the sale, transfer or export of technology intended for use in the “monitoring or interception of the internet and of telephone communications.” Trade in oil products, potassium chloride and goods used in tobacco production are also banned. The European Investment Bank is also instructed to halt any payments under public sector-related agreements with Belarus.

The FCC Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment will be rechartered with a broader focus as the Communications Equity and Diversity Council, acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced Thursday at the virtual, final meeting of ACDDE’s current charter. “The Council’s mission will expand from its initial focus on the media ecosystem to review more broadly critical diversity and equity issues across the tech sector,” said an agency news release Thursday. One meeting vote was divisive.

FCC emergency broadband benefit enrollment for eligible tribal households continues to decline (see 2106180041). More than 71,000 tribal households have enrolled so far. In the first full week, more than 26,000 tribal households enrolled. During the week of June 14-20, that dropped to 5,076. The lack of broadband availability and questions about EBB mechanics are an obstacle, stakeholders said in interviews.

European Union-candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania, along with countries in the European Economic Area -- Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway -- came in line with EU restrictions on Belarus (see 2106040016) following the forced landing of a Ryanair flight to arrest a dissident journalist, the European Council said in a June 21 news release. The restrictions ban the overflight of EU airspace and access to EU airports by Belarusian aircraft of all types.

Eighteen House members, led by Reps. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., and Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., introduced the Nicaragua Free Trade Review Act, which requires the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to review Nicaragua's compliance with the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) within 60 days of the bill becoming law. “Under Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua has become a land of oppression” Salazar said in a June 17 news release. “Ortega's thugs are jailing political opponents and violently silencing dissenting voices. I've introduced the Nicaragua Free Trade Review Act because trade with the United States is a privilege, not a right. We must show Ortega's regime that they cannot continue repressing the Nicaraguan people while reaping the economic benefits of free trade with the United States.”

NTIA unveiled a broadband map Thursday. It shows broadband needs by county, minority-serving institutions, areas designated as high poverty and tribal lands. It “paints a sobering view” of broadband challenges, said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told reporters NTIA’s efforts are “significant” because more information is available and the commission is “making a big push” to create accurate maps. The new maps “struck me as curious,” Commissioner Brendan Carr told reporters Thursday. “We don’t need additional inaccurate maps,” Carr said, and it “underscores the need” for the FCC to complete its mapping process. “We’re glad the NTIA is out with this version of a map, but it’s not a substitute for the more accurate ‘fabric’ approach” that USTelecom backs, said CEO Jonathan Spalter in a statement: “The FCC’s map is the only project that will be so granular as to allow us to close the nation’s digital divide.”

NTIA unveiled a broadband map Thursday. It shows broadband needs by county, minority-serving institutions, areas designated as high poverty and tribal lands. It “paints a sobering view” of broadband challenges, said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told reporters NTIA’s efforts are “significant” because more information is available and the commission is “making a big push” to create accurate maps. The new maps “struck me as curious,” Commissioner Brendan Carr told reporters Thursday. “We don’t need additional inaccurate maps,” Carr said, and it “underscores the need” for the FCC to complete its mapping process. “We’re glad the NTIA is out with this version of a map, but it’s not a substitute for the more accurate ‘fabric’ approach” that USTelecom backs, said CEO Jonathan Spalter in a statement: “The FCC’s map is the only project that will be so granular as to allow us to close the nation’s digital divide.”