Atlanta attorney Carolyn Roddy, a member of the Trump transition's FCC landing team (see 1701060056), made her way to the agency in the Wireless Bureau as a political appointee, but has since left. Her appointment was revealed in records posted by MuckRock. Roddy was metropolitan Atlanta deputy field representative for the Trump campaign from November 2015 to March 2016, according to her resume. Brian Hart and Tina Pelkey, who handle media relations for Chairman Ajit Pai, are the other political appointees, records show. Roddy shows up in a May version of the bureau organization chart as special counsel in the bureau’s front office. She's no longer at the commission, officials confirmed. Roddy didn't comment.
Members of the Wisconsin Assembly’s Democratic Caucus pressed leaders of the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau with tough questions in a public hearing Thursday about the ramifications of cash financial incentives that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) agreed to pay Foxconn to build a $10 billion LCD display fab in the southeast portion of the state, near Kenosha.
The FCC is seeking comment on ways to increase access to spectrum and improve flexibility and efficiency of the 900 MHz band. The Friday notice of inquiry in docket 17-200 asks for comment on the 896-901/935-940 MHz band, designated in 1986 for narrowband private land mobile radio communications by business, industrial and land transportation licensees and specialized mobile radio providers. “Consistent with our recent efforts to promote flexibility, efficiency, and access in the use of other spectrum bands, we seek comment on the potential for modification to the operational rules and band configuration for the 900 MHz band, which has undergone few changes since 1986, in light of continuing evolutions in technology and the marketplace,” the FCC said. “We invite commenters to provide economic and technical data in order to better understand current and future uses and needs in the band.” Comments are due Sept. 18, replies Oct. 18.
The FCC reinstated six PCS licenses American Samoa Telecommunications Authority (ASTCA) won at auction, but didn’t build out to satisfy the rules. The Wireless Bureau gave the authority until March 7 to meet the original five-year buildout requirements. Doing so is in the public interest and would be beneficial to people in America Samoa, the bureau said. The FCC originally granted the licenses to ATSCA on Jan. 24, 2011, with a construction deadline of Jan. 24, 2016. The letter to the carrier said the company faced difficulties. “There are no direct flights to the U.S. mainland, and only two weekly flights to Hawaii, with cargo ships departing for American Samoa approximately once every two weeks,” the letter said. “The bulk of resources, from telecommunications components to heavy equipment used to construct the communications facilities, must be ordered months in advance and shipped.” The terrain is challenging, the bureau said. “These volcanic islands are extremely rugged and steep with two-thirds of the land covered by forest.”
Lawmakers and communications sector officials lauded Senate passage Thursday of six long-stalled telecom bills, including the Mobile Now Act (S-19) spectrum bill. The Senate approved the legislation as part of a deal to confirm Jessica Rosenworcel and Brendan Carr as FCC commissioners (see 1708030060). The other telecom bills approved were the Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things Act (S-88), Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act (S-96), Kari’s Law Act (S-123), Spoofing Prevention Act (S-134) and FCC Consolidated Reporting Act (S-174). The bills’ passage “brings us a step closer to increasing access to spectrum that powers our 21st century tech economy, improving the quality and reliability of phone calls in rural communities, removing barriers to dialing 911 in emergencies, and cutting inefficiencies in federal bureaucracy,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D. CTA President Gary Shapiro urged the House to “swiftly pass” S-19, saying it would “create better mobile broadband for us all, spurring developments in cellular 5G technologies and securing our wireless future.” S-19 “will help ensure more spectrum is made available,” said Competitive Carriers Association President Steve Berry. The bill “recognizes the importance of deploying wireless broadband services in rural areas and endeavors to streamline deployment challenges, particularly on federal lands, which unfortunately have oftentimes plagued competitive carriers.” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Deb Fischer, R-Neb., praised passage of S-123, which addresses direct dialing to 911. S-123 and House companion HR-582, which passed the House in January (see 1701230071), mean "Americans will one day be able to call 911 and reach first responders without having to dial an access code,” said Pai. S-123 “would ensure families can call for the help they need,” said Fischer, who was a main sponsor of that bill, S-88 and S-134.
Lawmakers and communications sector officials lauded Senate passage Thursday of six long-stalled telecom bills, including the Mobile Now Act (S-19) spectrum bill. The Senate approved the legislation as part of a deal to confirm Jessica Rosenworcel and Brendan Carr as FCC commissioners (see 1708030060). The other telecom bills approved were the Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things Act (S-88), Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act (S-96), Kari’s Law Act (S-123), Spoofing Prevention Act (S-134) and FCC Consolidated Reporting Act (S-174). The bills’ passage “brings us a step closer to increasing access to spectrum that powers our 21st century tech economy, improving the quality and reliability of phone calls in rural communities, removing barriers to dialing 911 in emergencies, and cutting inefficiencies in federal bureaucracy,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D. CTA President Gary Shapiro urged the House to “swiftly pass” S-19, saying it would “create better mobile broadband for us all, spurring developments in cellular 5G technologies and securing our wireless future.” S-19 “will help ensure more spectrum is made available,” said Competitive Carriers Association President Steve Berry. The bill “recognizes the importance of deploying wireless broadband services in rural areas and endeavors to streamline deployment challenges, particularly on federal lands, which unfortunately have oftentimes plagued competitive carriers.” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Deb Fischer, R-Neb., praised passage of S-123, which addresses direct dialing to 911. S-123 and House companion HR-582, which passed the House in January (see 1701230071), mean "Americans will one day be able to call 911 and reach first responders without having to dial an access code,” said Pai. S-123 “would ensure families can call for the help they need,” said Fischer, who was a main sponsor of that bill, S-88 and S-134.
Lawmakers and communications sector officials lauded Senate passage Thursday of six long-stalled telecom bills, including the Mobile Now Act (S-19) spectrum bill. The Senate approved the legislation as part of a deal to confirm Jessica Rosenworcel and Brendan Carr as FCC commissioners (see 1708030060). The other telecom bills approved were the Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things Act (S-88), Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act (S-96), Kari’s Law Act (S-123), Spoofing Prevention Act (S-134) and FCC Consolidated Reporting Act (S-174). The bills’ passage “brings us a step closer to increasing access to spectrum that powers our 21st century tech economy, improving the quality and reliability of phone calls in rural communities, removing barriers to dialing 911 in emergencies, and cutting inefficiencies in federal bureaucracy,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D. CTA President Gary Shapiro urged the House to “swiftly pass” S-19, saying it would “create better mobile broadband for us all, spurring developments in cellular 5G technologies and securing our wireless future.” S-19 “will help ensure more spectrum is made available,” said Competitive Carriers Association President Steve Berry. The bill “recognizes the importance of deploying wireless broadband services in rural areas and endeavors to streamline deployment challenges, particularly on federal lands, which unfortunately have oftentimes plagued competitive carriers.” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Deb Fischer, R-Neb., praised passage of S-123, which addresses direct dialing to 911. S-123 and House companion HR-582, which passed the House in January (see 1701230071), mean "Americans will one day be able to call 911 and reach first responders without having to dial an access code,” said Pai. S-123 “would ensure families can call for the help they need,” said Fischer, who was a main sponsor of that bill, S-88 and S-134.
Additional changes at AT&T: Glenn Lurie, president-CEO of mobility and consumer operations, retiring Sept. 1; reporting to John Donovan, moving to CEO, AT&T Communications amid the company buying Time Warner (see this section of the Aug. 1 issue of this publication), are Senior Executive Vice President-AT&T Technology and Operations Melissa Arnoldi and AT&T Business CEO Thaddeus Arroyo; Entertainment Group now led by President-AT&T Entertainment Group David Christopher, Senior Executive Vice President-Digital, Retail and Care Rasesh Patel and Senior Executive Vice President-Chief Content Officer Daniel York.
Additional changes at AT&T: Glenn Lurie, president-CEO of mobility and consumer operations, retiring Sept. 1; reporting to John Donovan, moving to CEO, AT&T Communications amid the company buying Time Warner (see this section of the Aug. 1 issue of this publication), are Senior Executive Vice President-AT&T Technology and Operations Melissa Arnoldi and AT&T Business CEO Thaddeus Arroyo; Entertainment Group now led by President-AT&T Entertainment Group David Christopher, Senior Executive Vice President-Digital, Retail and Care Rasesh Patel and Senior Executive Vice President-Chief Content Officer Daniel York.
The FCC created a new Broadband Deployment Advisory Group body, the Streamlining Federal Siting Working Group. Chairman Ajit Pai announced the new working group after the FCC meeting Thursday, and the agency later released a notice with members (see the personals section of this issue of the publication). Jonathan Adelstein, president of the Wireless Infrastructure Association, will be chair, and Valerie Fast Horse, information technology director at the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, vice chair. They “will tackle how we will address barriers to deployment on property that is controlled by the federal government,” Pai told reporters. “I think their work will fit in nicely with the work the other working groups are doing. I don't think it's going to hold back the overall mission to help us identify barriers to broadband deployment.” Pai also defended the BDAC's overall makeup, saying the membership is broad. Several federal agencies are represented on the working group, including the Agriculture Department, Interior Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Bureau of Land Management. "Nearly a third of America’s landmass and thousands of buildings are owned or controlled by the Federal government," Adelstein said in a news release. "We need processes that ensure Federal resources are efficiently tapped to bridge the digital divide."