Improving rural broadband access is critical to protecting and sustaining the national food supply, the FCC Precision Agriculture Task Force was told at Wednesday's online meeting. The COVID-19 pandemic will help the PATF identify "where we are strong and where we are weak" on connectivity, said group Vice Chair and Pioneer Communications CEO Catherine Moyer.
The White House posted a 5G security report Tuesday evening, providing a high-level overview of efforts to secure networks. Industry and government officials said in interviews Wednesday the White House likely would have released the report as part of its planned April 1 5G summit, which was expected to focus on open networks, but posted it after the event was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic (see 2003170004). The White House hasn't released its long-term national spectrum strategy, which had been expected last year (see 1907310033).
Backers of extra filing time to comment on public safety aspects of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s Mozilla v. FCC net neutrality decision applauded the agency's 21-day extension announcement Wednesday (see 2003250031). Some left the door open to seeking more time. About a dozen groups had sought a month longer, citing COVID-19.
States are rapidly changing rules to increase telehealth access as a pandemic intensifies the need for remote care. Most policies weren't ready for the novel coronavirus, and even with states now taking emergency steps, “there’s a lot of work” left, said Mei Kwong, executive director of the Public Health Institute’s Center for Connected Health Policy. She and other experts predicted the virus will have a tremendous impact on telemedicine.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Wednesday she and other congressional Democrats plan to push for the next bill addressing COVID-19 to include broadband capacity and distance learning provisions. A compromise of a third stimulus bill unveiled that day failed to include those priorities. Capitol Hill leaders and President Donald Trump’s administration reached a deal early Wednesday. A cloture vote on the COVID-19 legislative vehicle (HR-748) was expected to have happened Wednesday night. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and three other Republicans made that outcome more uncertain when they objected to the bill's proposed amount of unemployment insurance.
The FCC Wednesday postponed the first mid-band auction of citizens broadband radio service licenses for about a month because of COVID-19. The FCC postponed indefinitely an auction of FM construction permits. Analysts disagreed Wednesday whether the C-band auction could get pushed to next year.
COVID-19 could have "a material adverse impact" on company operations over the near to medium term, Comcast said in an SEC filing Tuesday. The impact led to the closing of theme parks, delayed theatrical distribution of films, and disrupted creation and availability of film advertising during TV programming. The pandemic's effects on Sky come atop what had already been a declining economy and ad market in Europe, Comcast said. It said the pandemic also likely will affect its cable residential and business services customer base due to economic stresses. The company said the scope of the virus-related business hit "will generally depend on the extent of governmental measures affecting day to day life and the length of time that such measures remain in place." S&P said the effect of the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games -- for which Comcast's NBC had the U.S. rights -- will be spread across the company's broadcast and cable networks and TV stations, since most outlets were to air games. It said total revenue from the 2016 Rio games was $1.6 billion, including nearly $1.2 billion in ads. It said NBC indicated earlier this month it had received more than $1.25 billion in commitments, selling about 90% of the inventory for national ads, and those results were about 6% above 2016 games. The debt ratings firm said other effects on Comcast include filling its summer programing schedules for its networks and stations. The beta launch of its Peacock streaming service, to come July 15 and be tied to the Olympic programming, also could suffer, S&P wrote.
S&P Global says there's a "negative outlook" for Tegna due to projected reductions in advertising spending related to COVID-19. "While our expectations for retransmission and political advertising revenue remain unchanged, we expect advertising revenue will decline materially over the next year due to the spread of the virus," the debt ratings firm emailed Tuesday. "We could revise the outlook to stable if the pandemic has a limited effect on TEGNA's business." The already below investment grade issuer credit rating was lowered a notch to "BB-". S&P says the pandemic could affect Sinclair (see 2003190048).
Smartphone production could fall 30% during 2020's first half from coronavirus disruptions, said ABI Research Tuesday. “Ripples from China will be felt globally,” said David McQueen, calling mass disruption to production lines and stalling of supply chains due to labor shortages and inactive logistics “disastrous.” With China the world’s manufacturing center for most smartphones -- and a top market -- the sector has been hardest hit by delayed shipments and a “weakened development of next-generation products,” he said. A move to lower price tiers was expected to boost 5G smartphone adoption this year, but the pandemic will push out development and shipments of affordable models, McQueen said. Though the outbreak is expected to come under control by the end of Q2, it will take time for consumer confidence to return, said the analyst.
President Donald Trump signed the Secure 5G and Beyond Act (S-893) and Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act broadband mapping legislative package (S-1822) Monday, to applause from lawmakers and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. S-893 requires the president to develop a strategy for ensuring the security of 5G networks and infrastructure (see 2003110074). S-1822 requires the FCC to collect more granular broadband coverage data and create a user-friendly challenge process. It includes language from the House-passed Mapping Accuracy Promotes Services Act (HR-4227), which would bar companies from knowingly giving the FCC inaccurate broadband coverage data (see 2003110071). Trump said he will apply a section of S-893 requiring the president engage in international diplomacy to share information and pursue policy goals specified by Congress “in a manner that does not interfere with the President's exclusive constitutional authorities with respect to foreign relations.” Trump believes a section that “purports to condition the President's authority to implement parts of” the 5G security strategy “upon the approval of” the FCC “does not preclude me or future Presidents from exercising our constitutional authorities as the ‘sole organ’ of the Nation in foreign relations and as the head of the unitary Executive Branch.” S-893 and S-1822 “are critical to ensuring that all Americans can access broadband and that our networks are secure,” said House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio. "The need for connectivity is even more critical now that millions of Americans are teleworking and learning from home in response to the coronavirus pandemic.” To "close the digital divide, we need accurate maps to show where there is broadband service and at what speeds," said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss. Pai said the law “affirms the FCC’s approach to collecting more precise and granular broadband data through our new Digital Opportunity Data Collection program" and it's "vital for Congress to provide the FCC as soon as possible with the appropriations necessary to implement the Act." S-1822's prohibition on Universal Service Administrative Co. means "if Congress does not act soon, this well-intentioned legislation will have the unfortunate effect of delaying rather than expediting the development of better broadband maps," he said.