The FCC’s March 31 commissioners' meeting will be livestream only (see 2003240030). Items will be voted ahead of time on circulation and commissioner remarks will be shortened, agency officials said in interviews. The meeting’s changed format takes into account the agency’s COVID-19 preventive measures, which include closing headquarters to most visitors and staff being asked to telework.
Citing COVID-19-related social distancing and the likely recession, Cowen analysts told investors Monday they expect lower Comcast earnings due largely to its theme parks business, which likely will be closed through the first half of the year. The researchers said broadcast TV and cable network advertising likely will take a hit over the next year, and not rebound. Cowen said Comcast's signing of the FCC ISP pledge to not cut off service during the pandemic and to waive late fees (see 2003130066) could have "modest impacts" on its collections and revenue-per-customer growth. The company didn't comment.
The ITU launched a policy and regulatory best practices sharing platform to help regulators, policymakers and industry safeguard telecom services during the pandemic, it said Monday. The Global Network Resiliency Platform is to assist nations "struggling to find appropriate solutions to ensure their networks' resiliency," the ITU said.
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey (D) has until May 20 to answer the telecom industry’s challenge of the state ISP privacy law, the U.S. District Court of Maine ruled Sunday in case 1:20-cv-00055 (in Pacer). The one-month delay is due to the federal court’s Wednesday order responding to COVID-19, which extended by 30 days all civil and criminal case deadlines earlier than May 1.
The California Public Utilities Commission asked communications companies to share COVID-19 response and business continuity policies. Executive Director Alice Stebbins sent a letter Friday to executives at Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, Frontier Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications and Charter Communications. “Please indicate: (1) which essential functions can and cannot be performed remotely or transferred between locations; (2) how your company responds when employees are unable to work at their assigned job sites; (3) how your company is responding to shelter in place orders ... (4) whether continuity planning differs for pandemics versus events such as earthquakes or wildfires; and (5) whether your company has already activated your business continuity plan.” The CPUC sought any related communications to employees or customers. The agency asked if companies implemented Centers for Disease Control and Prevention interim guidance, what effects the coronavirus might have on call centers and credit-and-collections processes, and if companies suspended disconnections or implemented bill payment plans. Elsewhere, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission closed its office to the public and Saturday said business continues, with most staffers working remotely. The Wyoming Public Service Commission ended paper filing requirements Friday and made phone participation “mandatory” for Tuesday’s meeting. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) issued an executive order Sunday suspending certain Public Service Commission administrative rules and empowering the agency to respond to the emergency. The Florida Public Service Commission said Monday it will limit in-person participation at its March 31 meeting. The South Carolina PSC won't close its office but encourages e-filing and is suspending physical hearing appearances except for legal counsel, the agency said Monday: Weekly meetings will continue but can be livestreamed. Many state commissions are responding to the virus (see 2003200014).
The Intelligent Transportation Society of America and others asked to extend the April 6 deadline to comment on proposed changes to rules for the 5.9 GHz band. ITS America cited the “unprecedented disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” in a filing posted Monday in docket 19-138. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials sought a 90-day delay. “State Departments of Transportation are on the front lines trying to maintain current operations of the transportation system as well as respond to nearly hourly and daily requests from Governor’s and other leaders needs for changes and exemptions to current regulations,” the group said. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation supported AASHTO's request.
The FCC is expected to issue an order soon delaying one or more filing deadlines during COVID-19. Commissioner Brendan Carr said last week relief may be on the way (see 2003190049). The FCC has delayed deadlines in the past when the government closed. Here, the delay would help commenters caught up in the pandemic. An extension is expected soon on the FCC’s net neutrality refresh, with filings now due April 29, after various groups complained (see 2003120070) because one topic is how the reclassification of broadband service affects public safety, a key issue to state and local governments dealing with the coronavirus, industry officials said. Unclear is whether the FCC will extend other deadlines.
Negotiations dragged on Monday on a third economic stimulus bill addressing the effects of COVID-19, with congressional lawmakers having yet to reach a bipartisan deal. A second bid for the Senate to invoke cloture on the legislative vehicle for the hoped-for compromise measure (HR-748) failed on a 49-46 vote amid continued Democratic objections to the current contours of a legislative proposal that has GOP buy-in. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was circulating her Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act counterproposal, which includes pandemic-specific Lifeline and distance learning funding.
The Public Safety Bureau has granted a request from Hudson County, New Jersey for special temporary authority to operate its traveler’s information station at ten times it’s allowed power rate “during the national- and state-level emergencies associated with the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic,” said an order Friday. In 2014, the bureau denied the county’s request to permanently operate the 10-watt station at 100 watts, but said then it could allow it temporarily during an emergency. The county TIS station “is its only means of communicating with all of its residents and transients during this national emergency, and the station has only limited reach within the County at its licensed power,” the order said. The order requires the TIS to cease operating at increased power either after 90 days or when the national emergency ends, whichever is sooner. The station also has to filter audio bandwidths above 3 kHz, notify a nearby broadcaster when it increases power, and reduce power if it receives an interference complaint.
The California Public Utilities Commission suspended renewal requirements for the state LifeLine program for 90 days “to ensure continued access to affordable communications services during the COVID-19 outbreak,” ruled assigned Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma Thursday in docket R.20-02-008. Shiroma asked for comments by April 3 on how long the suspension should continue and if the CPUC should adopt other LifeLine measures... The Vermont Department of Public Service said it's collecting information on telecom and internet availability during the emergency... The Regulatory Commission of Alaska closed doors to visitors Friday because of "confirmed COVID-19 cases in Alaska and in abundance of caution"... NARUC and the National Regulatory Research Institute launched a state commission COVID-19 response tracker.