The House Commerce Committee will mark up the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-8449) next week, lead sponsor Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., told us Tuesday. “That's what I'm hearing,” he said. The panel scuttled a planned June markup of HR-8449 (see 2406270059), which would mandate automakers include AM radio technology in future electric vehicles, because of some House GOP leaders’ opposition to two other bills on the docket: the American Privacy Rights Act (HR-8818) and Kids Online Safety Act (HR-7891). It was unclear Tuesday afternoon whether House Commerce would try to include HR-7891 and HR-8818 in the next markup session.
House Communications Subcommittee members traded partisan barbs about NTIA’s implementation of the $42.5 billion broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, as expected (see 2409040040). Republicans delivered most of the criticism, in part blasting NTIA for what they view as an unnecessarily long timeline for rolling out the money. House Commerce Committee panel GOP leaders launched a probe in July of NTIA’s BEAD-related communications with state broadband offices (see 2407090057). Democrats defended NTIA’s management of the program and blasted GOP lawmakers for obstructing recent broadband funding efforts.
The House plans to vote as soon as Monday night, under suspension of the rules, on the Future Uses of Technology Upholding Reliable and Enhancing Networks Act (HR-1513) and four telecom security-focused measures. Other bills on the House’s suspension docket: the Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act (HR-820), Countering Chinese Communist Party Drones Act (HR-2864), Securing Global Telecommunications Act (HR-4741) and Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security Act (HR-7589). The House Commerce Committee unanimously advanced HR-820, HR-1513, HR-2864 and HR-7589 in March (see 2403200076). HR-820 would require that the FCC publish a list of communications companies with agency licenses or other authorizations where China and other foreign adversaries’ governments hold at least a 10% ownership stake (see 2210250067). HR-1513 would direct the FCC to establish a 6G task force that provides recommendations about ensuring U.S. leadership in developing that technology’s standards. HR-2864 would add Chinese drone manufacturer Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI) to the FCC’s covered entities list. HR-4741 would require that the State Department develop a strategy promoting the use of secure telecom infrastructure worldwide. HR-7589 would direct the Commerce Department to “specify what transactions involving routers, modems, or devices that combine a modem and a router are prohibited” under a 2019 executive order by then-President Donald Trump that barred transactions involving information and communications technologies that pose an “undue risk of sabotage to or subversion of” U.S.-based communications services (see 1905150066).
Regulatory Commission of Alaska elects Commissioner John Espindola as chairman … High Wire Networks appoints Edward Vasko, Boise State University’s Institute of Pervasive Cybersecurity, as CEO and Victory Insights’ Mark Dallmeier as chief revenue officer-Overwatch managed cybersecurity services division … Vimeo hires Pluralsight’s Robert Petrocelli as chief product and technology officer … Fred Farrell, World Wide Technology, returns to Interop Technologies as director-sales, Americas.
CTIA, Incompas, NCTA, the Wireless Infrastructure Association and six other communications industry groups urged House leaders Thursday that they should “prioritize consideration” of the House Commerce Committee-cleared American Broadband Deployment Act (HR-3557) “in the final months of this Congress.” House Commerce last year advanced HR-3557, a package of GOP-led connectivity permitting revamp measures, without Democratic support (see 2305240069). Some local government advocates have since also vocally opposed HR-3557 (see 2311060069). Congress’ bid to achieve the “goal of universal connectivity” via the $65 billion it allocated in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act “will ultimately be limited unless certain barriers are removed today,” the industry groups said in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. The measure “would go a long way to address these barriers” by mandating “clear and streamlined” rules that will prevent permitting bottlenecks. The groups cited language in HR-3557 that “will codify several deployment streamlining orders and interpretations that the FCC has adopted over the past ten years," including the commission’s 2018 order that removed local barriers to small-cell deployment (see 1803220027). The bill also “takes proactive steps to improve siting on federal lands and reduce unnecessary red tape for applications to deploy or improve communications networks,” the industry groups told Johnson and Jeffries.
The House Communications Subcommittee plans a Sept. 10 hearing on NTIA’s implementation of the $42.5 billion broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, setting up what could be a contentious start to Congress’ return next week from its month-plus August recess. The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society and five other groups, meanwhile, included BEAD among case studies in a Wednesday paper urging ISPs and local governments to strengthen their collaboration to aid the permitting process for connectivity projects.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s admission that the White House “repeatedly pressured” the company to censor COVID-19 content is part of a broader debate about “freedom” and "authoritarianism,” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr told Fox Business on Tuesday. The White House defended its actions.
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Federal lawmakers from both parties back reforming the Universal Service Fund (USF), but whether that happens likely will depend on the November elections, speakers said Monday at NATOA’s annual local government conference. Localities will increasingly face broadband-only providers wanting right of way (ROW) access, and those cable competitors raise questions of whether they too should pay franchise fees, said localities lawyer Brian Grogan of Moss & Barnett.
ASPEN -- The president should have broad discretion without interference from Congress to remove commissioners at independent agencies when they commit offenses the White House deems "fireable," FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson said Tuesday.
ASPEN -- Funding the Universal Service Fund (USF) through general appropriations might make sense on paper, but speaking practically it might not be a feasible goal for Congress, Democratic and Republican staffers said Tuesday.