The Biden administration’s effort to protect national security by limiting tech investment in China could have the opposite effect by putting American companies at a disadvantage, tech associations told the Treasury Department in comments due Thursday (see 2308100003).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit show cause order Thursday giving the FCC 90 days to complete its 2018 quadrennial review was characterized Friday by NAB as a “big win” in an email to members. But broadcast and public interest attorneys said the agency was likely already on a path to approve the QR in that timeline.
The California Public Utilities Commission would reject cable industry calls to limit support from the state’s $750 million broadband loan loss reserve fund (BLLRF) program to unserved areas, under a proposed decision posted Thursday (docket R.23-02-016). Rural counties praised the proposal, which the CPUC said it may vote on at the agency’s Nov. 2 meeting.
Steve Lang, who recently replaced Anna Gomez as head of the U.S. delegation to the World Radiocommunication Conference (see 2309120069), is already hard at work preparing for the conference, said Austin Bonner, deputy U.S. chief technology officer-policy, at the Mobile World Congress in Las Vegas last week. Lang has been “out on the road, meeting his counterparts to help pave the way for U.S. success,” she said. The WRC starts Nov. 20 in Dubai.
With the FCC keeping its doors open until at least Oct. 20 (see 2309280084), the communications industry faces less of a challenge if the federal government closed Saturday night, industry experts agree. The FTC also would remain open. NTIA is expected to furlough many employees. For the FCC, there are questions about what would happen after Oct. 20. The last federal shutdown, in 2018-2019, went on for 35 days. A closure in 1995-1996 lasted 21 days and one in 2013 16 days.
The FTC’s proposed merger filing changes will cost billions for combining parties and won’t benefit consumers, telecom and tech associations told the agency in comments filed by due date Wednesday. Progressive lawmakers countered that lax antitrust rules have contributed to mass consolidation and harmed consumers. The FTC and DOJ requested comments in June on proposed changes to the Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification process.
Of the items teed up for a vote at the FCC’s Oct. 19 meeting, changes to rules for the 6 GHz band have gotten the most attention since Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the meeting agenda Wednesday. The FCC released drafts Thursday for all the items at what will be the first meeting with new Commissioner Anna Gomez and the first 3-2 Democratic majority during the Biden administration. Among other items also on tap are Wi-Fi on school buses, improving maternal care, changes to wireless emergency alerts, video programming for the blind and visually impaired, and universal service in Alaska.
State net neutrality laws will remain a critical fail-safe even if the current FCC can restore national rules, Democratic authors of California and Washington state measures told us this week. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel announced this week the agency will pursue rules, saying a national policy is better than a state patchwork (see 2309270056 and 2309260047). Title II reclassification may give the FCC legal basis to preempt state laws, said some telecom law experts.
The FCC's draft NPRM that would kick off the agency's efforts to reestablish net neutrality rules largely mirrored the commission's 2015 order, according to our analysis of the draft. Commissioners will consider the item during an October open meeting that will include a full commission for the first time under Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel despite a potential government shutdown (see 2309270056). Meanwhile, FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington said the FCC’s net neutrality push is not about protecting free speech but about protecting some tech companies.
The FTC is watching closely to see if tech companies are unfairly or deceptively using AI technology, Chair Lina Khan said Wednesday.