California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) rules could take effect in April or later, said California Privacy Protection Agency Executive Director Ashkan Soltani at the agency board’s virtual meeting Friday. The law itself takes effect Jan. 1. Board member Alastair Mactaggart raised concerns about the process’ estimated length. "It's urgent that we get this stuff out to the community as soon as possible,” he said.
Notable changes in how the FCC handles satellite license applications seem likely due to efforts within the agency and congressional pressure on it, but timing is up in the air, space regulatory practitioners said. The Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act introduced earlier this month (see 2212090064) isn't going anywhere in the remaining lame-duck session of Congress but stands good chances of being reintroduced and making progress in the next, we were told. Introducing it now was "a stake in the ground," and now staff can get feedback that could lead to amendments to it in the next session, said Hogan Lovells space lawyer George John.
Inmate calling services providers and advocacy organizations disagreed whether the FCC should establish rules to better facilitate refunds of inactive accounts, in comments posted Friday in docket 12-375 (see 2211140038). Some groups sought additional information from ICS providers after the third mandatory data collection, and urged better access to telecom relay services for incarcerated individuals with disabilities.
Former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, now a Brookings Institution visiting fellow, and David Simpson, FCC Public Safety Bureau chief under Wheeler, called for a more focus on the risks posed by 5G, during a Brookings in-person and virtual event Thursday. The two released a paper earlier this week on making 5G more secure. They were joined by Joyce Corell, senior technology adviser to the White House cyber director, who said the administration is working to get on top of 5G security.
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project's Release 17 earlier this spring opens the door to commercial satellite communications' role in 5G, and Release 18 should open it far wider, enabling far more applications and broader merging of satellite with terrestrial 5G networks, satellite industry executives said Thursday. It's less clear how long Release 18 could take, said Gilat Vice President-Products Gil Elizov at a GVF webinar. Many see a widespread satcom role in 5G being years out (see 2205180003).
The FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council approved three working group reports Thursday on making networks more secure, including open radio access networks, at its final meeting of the year. CSRIC approved two other reports in September (see 2209210074). The meeting was supposed to be partially in-person, for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the FCC made it virtual because of an expected ice storm.
Senate Commerce Committee leaders hadn’t resolved a longstanding disagreement Thursday night over how hoped-for compromise spectrum legislative language would structure repurposing parts of the 3.1-3.45 GHz band for commercial 5G use, a hurdle that could derail a bid to attach the proposal to an FY 2023 omnibus appropriations measure (see 2212070068). Those leaders made progress on some parts of the measure, including moving closer on amounts of spectrum auction revenue they will allocate to fully fund the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program and finance next-generation 911 tech upgrades.
FCC commissioners and panelists at the Practising Law Institute’s Institute on Telecommunications Policy & Regulation Thursday outlined expectations for 2023 involving employment data collection, enforcement and the USF, but many speakers were focused on cyber and national security, such as compromised apps and obsolete devices. “It’s time to turn our attention to the millions of wireless devices in our country that are insecure,” said Commissioner Nathan Simington. “There’s an industry-wide acquiescence to careless practices.”
The federal government is struggling to keep up with the changing world of drones, said Rob Chamberlin, principal at Elevate Government Affairs, during an Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) webinar Wednesday. Hoffman said more attention than ever has been focused on drones because of all the things they can do like deliver drugs remotely and fight fires, and their prominence in news, including in the war in Ukraine.
Broadband experts and industry officials encouraged property owners and providers Wednesday to develop partnerships to meet the connectivity needs for residents in multidwelling units. Panelists during a Broadband Breakfast webinar cited challenges of deploying broadband in MDUs, including retrofitting older buildings, and encouraged stakeholders to consider various technological solutions.