Wireless carriers don't have much apparent interest in the 42 GHz band, to judge from comments posted Thursday in response to a June NPRM. New America’s Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge were enthusiastic about the possibilities. Comments were due Wednesday in docket 23-158.
The FCC released a draft Further NPRM on the long-awaited 5G Fund Thursday, with commissioners scheduled to vote Sept. 21 (see 2308300062). Also on the agenda is a Space Bureau “transparency initiative,” with the bureau giving more guidance at initial application stages. Per the draft order and accompanying Further NPRM, the streamlining proposal is to be the first in a series of intended improvements to the Space Bureau. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel also is seeking a vote on an additional action targeting VoIP robocalls.
NTIA expects that 90% of broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) equipment spending will go for American-made equipment and materials, said NTIA Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OICG) Policy Advisor Will Arbuckle Wednesday in an FTI Consulting webinar. That expectation stems from an NTIA analysis of the availability of American-made items and from numerous companies announcing capacity expansion, he said. "We don't think we are done," with more companies announcing manufacturing expansions to fill BEAD made-in-America demand, he said.
Hurricane Idalia’s eye left Florida around mid-day Wednesday, but the state is still having effects from the storm, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said at a 12:30 p.m. news conference livestreamed from Tallahassee. The FCC’s disaster information reporting system shows initial communications outages in Florida -- including for 58,941 cable and wireline subscribers -- from the storm, and the agency expanded the system’s coverage to include 16 counties in South Carolina, according to a number of public notices released Tuesday and Wednesday.
Build America, Buy America (BABA) requirements imposed on participants in the broadband, equity, access and deployment program will inevitably slow deployment, said Technology Policy Institute President Scott Wallsten Wednesday. Other speakers said during a Broadband Breakfast webinar NTIA’s proposed partial waiver of the requirements is helpful, and their companies are ready to comply with the rules (see 2308220081).
FCC commenters disagreed about whether there's consumer confusion concerning the price of cable and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) video service, with video providers warning in docket 23-203 replies l that the FCC's "all-in" video pricing proposal will cause rather than fix consumer uncertainty. Confusion is already here, countered locality and broadcast interests. The sides also continued to disagree about whether the commission has legal authority for its pricing disclosure proposal. Initial comments made similar points (see 2308010028). The all-in pricing NPRM was adopted in June (see 2306200042).
The FCC will consider an item at its Sept. 21 meeting that would move the agency closer to launching a 5G Fund, which has been pending since 2020, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Wednesday. Also planned for the September agenda is what Rosenworcel calls a “transparency initiative” for space-related applications and an action aimed at clamping down on “malicious” robocalls.
Nebraska will comprehensively reassess state USF rules, commissioners agreed at a Nebraska Public Service Commission meeting Tuesday. The all-Republican commission voted 5-0 to consider changes to the Nebraska USF (NUSF) high-cost distribution mechanism and associated reporting requirements (docket NUSF-139). The commission will seek feedback this fall.
Congressional delegation of authority and enforcement power to agencies and the tenure protections of agency administrative law judges aren't unconstitutional, argued the SEC in a petitioner's brief before the U.S. Supreme Court Monday in SEC v. Jarkesy. The brief hewed closely to the arguments the SEC made in its loss before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, law professors and attorneys told us. “There’s nothing unexpected in it,” emailed Arizona State law professor Ilan Wurman, who filed an amicus brief in the case supporting neither party. A SCOTUS decision in SEC v. Jarkesy could have ramifications for other federal agencies that use ALJs, such as the FCC (see 2211030063).
The optical network market continues to grow after a “slight hiccup” in 2020 when providers hesitated briefly after the COVID-19 pandemic started, said Jimmy Yu, Dell'Oro Group analyst for optical transport, during the Fierce Telecom Optical Summit Tuesday. But Yu predicts challenges ahead. Other speakers predicted growth as providers look to cut operating costs and make their networks more efficient.