FCC nominee Gigi Sohn and most Senate Commerce Committee Democratic supporters strongly defended her record and decried what several called an extensive “smear campaign” against her during a Tuesday confirmation hearing, but comments from panel Democrat Jacky Rosen of Nevada about law enforcement groups’ vehement opposition to her candidacy threw her prospects into renewed doubt. All participating Commerce Republicans voiced strong opposition to Sohn Tuesday, as expected (see 2302130001), citing the same concerns as at the nominee’s previous two confirmation hearings and more recent matters that conservative media outlets raised since President Joe Biden renominated her in January. Republicans repeatedly tried to directly correlate her role as an Electronic Frontier Foundation board member and the group’s past actions, but avoided raising reports on EFF’s sex worker policy positions that her supporters claim were instances of veiled homophobia (see 2301310062).
States face a time crunch preparing to spend billions of federal dollars on broadband, said state and federal panelists at NARUC’s winter conference Monday. A possible change in broadband responsibilities is causing uncertainty in Nebraska about who will administer funds from NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program.
The NARUC Telecom Committee unanimously agreed Monday to proposed resolutions on the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) and extending FCC spectrum authority. It’s critical to keep RDOF awards in the location that won them even if the FCC rejected the winning bidder, said Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Chair Gladys Brown Dutrieuille in an interview Sunday. The draft resolutions, passed at the state utility regulator association’s winter meeting, need NARUC board approval.
The Kansas House Legislative Modernization Committee passed by voice vote Monday a bill to codify an executive order from Gov. Laura Kelly (D) banning TikTok on state-owned devices and networks.
The FCC has received more than 4 million availability challenges through its online mapping portal, said Eduard Bartholme, deputy chief of the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, during a NATOA webinar Monday. Bartholme demonstrated how the map portal works, in several locations.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau is prioritizing privacy and robotexting matters alongside robocalls, increasingly scrutinizing confidentiality requests, and may begin paying particular attention to foreign ownership, said panelists Monday on an FCBA CLE. “Robocalling is number one at the top of the pop charts, but No. 2 is consumer privacy, said Kristi Thompson, chief of the EB’s Telecommunications Consumer Division. The division is busy “handling a multitude of privacy-related enforcement actions and investigations,” she said.
FCC nominee Gigi Sohn shouldn’t expect a Valentine’s Day change of tone in the questions she gets during her Tuesday confirmation hearing from Senate Commerce Committee Republicans, who have been steadfastly critical of her since President Joe Biden first nominated her in October 2021 (see 2110260076), lobbyists and observers said. Commerce Democratic leaders are hoping to keep their panel members united in support of Sohn during the hearing, with an eye to using their new outright 14-13 majority on the panel to quickly advance her to the full chamber. The committee tied 14-14 in March on advancing Sohn (see Ref:2203030070]), stalling her confirmation process through the rest of the year. The hearing, Sohn’s third appearance before Commerce as an FCC nominee, will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.
The FCC appears close to releasing a Further NPRM on authorizing fixed-wireless and Wi-Fi outdoors, at standard power levels, in the 5.9 GHz band, industry officials said. More than 200 wireless ISPs and others have received FCC permission to use the band since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic under grants of special temporary authority (STA), but the Wireless ISP Association pressed the FCC to act on final rules.
NARUC draft resolutions on FCC spectrum auction authority and the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) got support from some industry and other groups ahead of this week’s state utilities regulators’ meeting in Washington, D.C. In an interview last week, Nebraska Public Service Commissioner Tim Schram (R) said it’s critical to use auction revenue to fully fund the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, which repays federally funded carriers required to “rip and replace” equipment from Chinese vendors that may pose a security risk.
NAB’s call for an FCC task force on ATSC 3.0 appears to have broad support and is aimed at both the FCC and the consumer electronics industry, said both supporters and critics of ATSC 3.0 in interviews (see 2301260049). “A ‘NextGen Broadcast Acceleration Task Force’ is a good first step along with a firm signal to the marketplace that 1.0 service will end on a date certain,” emailed One Media Executive Vice President-Strategic and Legal Affairs Jerald Fritz. An FCC 3.0 task force could gather more information on the transition and where 3.0 and broadcast TV are going, said frequent 3.0 opponent Michael Calabrese, of New America’s Open Technology Institute.