House Republican leadership removed Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., as top Republican on the House Antitrust Subcommittee to punish him for his bipartisan antitrust efforts, House Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member David Cicilline, D-R.I., told us this week.
Fourteen months after proponents of cellular-vehicle-to-everything use of the 5.9 GHz band asked the FCC for the first waivers so they could start to deploy (see 2112140070), action appears imminent. The FCC has drafted a waiver order, but it’s still at the NTIA for review, officials confirmed. Industry is also still waiting for final rules for the 5.9 GHz band.
Republicans’ return to a House majority is unlikely to mean a big shift in the chamber’s approach to space policy and legislative priorities since those matters have generally been an area of bipartisan cooperation, policy experts said in interviews. The House Commerce Committee made its first foray into space matters for this Congress Thursday via a Communications Subcommittee hearing (see 2301270076) that lobbyists saw as a precursor to panel leaders’ plans to prioritize advancing legislation to revamp the FCC’s satellite licensing rules. House Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., staked the panel's claim to a role in space policy, saying during the hearing it has "been far too long since Congress reassessed the role of satellite technology in the communications marketplace and whether or not our regulatory environment encourages investment and innovation in the space economy, or hampers it."
Some business groups urged delay in enforcing Colorado Privacy Act (CPA) rules from July 1 when the comprehensive state law is to take effect. Staff for Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) presented an overview of proposed rules and took comments at a partially virtual rulemaking hearing Wednesday. Industry and consumer privacy advocates shared laundry lists of additional revisions they seek for a set of proposed rules now in its third draft.
T-Mobile confirmed it added a net 927,000 postpaid phone subscribers in Q4, and 3.1 million for the year, more than both AT&T and Verizon. CEO Mike Sievert promised T-Mobile’s growth will continue in 2023 despite what he predicted will be a challenging year. Sievert also defended how the carrier handled a recent data breach, which the FCC is investigating (see 2301200047).
The House Commerce Committee is talking to Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and incoming ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to advance privacy legislation negotiations, House Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., told us Wednesday.
A New Hampshire House committee Wednesday soundly defeated a bill to regulate social media. But in Kansas, state senators at another hearing the same day appeared largely supportive of a proposed bill that would restrict online platforms from editing or removing political speech. Many state legislators have floated measures to regulate or investigate social media this session while the Supreme Court considers whether to hear industry challenges to Texas and Florida laws from 2021 (see 2301230051).
DirecTV is facing strong pushback from congressional Republicans over its recent decision to drop Newsmax from its channel lineup (see (Ref:2301250042]). Incoming Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz of Texas and three other GOP leaders pressed DirecTV and main shareholders AT&T and TPG Wednesday to explain the action, which they consider new evidence of anti-conservative censorship. Former House Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Ken Buck of Colorado and more than a dozen other chamber Republicans blasted DirecTV on the floor Tuesday and promised hearings on the issue.
Unions representing workers at the FCC and other federal agencies criticized the Stopping Home Office Work's Unproductive Problems Act (HR-139) ahead of House passage of the measure, which would require the FCC and all other federal agencies to return to using the telework policies in place at the end of 2019. The measure would effectively require all federal employees who were working in the office before the COVID-19 pandemic to return to their former work locations. The House passed HR-139 221-206 amid strong Democratic opposition.
Broadband industry officials Wednesday stressed the need for Congress to take an active role in broadband deployment and adoption efforts, before NTIA's broadband, equity, access, and deployment program and other recent federal investments. Some during a Broadband Breakfast webinar emphasized the role of fiber as states consider their plans and proper vetting of the FCC's new broadband maps.