Astronomers and allies view the FCC's partial approval/partial deferral on SpaceX's second-generation satellite system plans (see 2212010052) as a mixed bag, with questionable ability to tackle light pollution worries raised by the mega constellation. They said the agency's order acknowledges concerns, but it's unclear what the commission can or would do if even the scaled-down deployment the agency OK'd causes significant astronomical observation or environmental problems. SpaceX didn't comment.
Communications sector observers don’t see any early evidence to indicate Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's shift Friday from the Democrats to become a registered independent will materially affect FCC nominee Gigi Sohn's prospects of winning confirmation. Sohn faces long odds of getting a floor vote during the lame-duck session amid Senate Democratic leaders’ decision to prioritize passage of year-end bills like the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (see 2211300074). The House voted 350-80 Thursday to pass a compromise version of the NDAA, filed as an amendment to shell bill HR-7776, that includes language to restrict the federal government’s use of products with semiconductor manufacturers deemed to be Chinese military contractors (see 2212070056).
House Judiciary Committee GOP leaders signaled before a Wednesday voice vote on the American Music Fairness Act (HR-4130) they intend to continue pursuing a compromise on music royalties legislation when their party regains control of the chamber in the next Congress. HR-4130, filed last year (see 2108120059), would levy a performance royalty on stations playing music on terrestrial radio. Lawmakers reintroduced the bill in September (see 2209220076).
States are marching ahead with plans to get as much broadband money as possible through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). NTIA announced planning grant awards to many more states Thursday for broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) and digital equity programs. NTIA can and should give states a couple of more months to submit challenges to FCC maps to ensure BEAD money gets allocated properly, CCG Consulting President Doug Dawson said Thursday at the Maine Broadband Summit.
Broadcasters tout ATSC 3.0’s capabilities for disseminating detailed emergency information, but it’s not clear what form the standard’s advanced emergency information offerings will take and who will provide it, said participants at an Advanced Warning and Response Network Alliance roundtable event at NAB’s headquarters Wednesday. AWARN’s roundtables are intended to help determine what advanced emergency alerting is, said AWARN Executive Director John Lawson, who's also the president of ATSC 3.0 alerting firm America’s Emergency Network.
Ukraine wants to become "the most convenient country in the world," Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said at an Atlantic Council online event on the nation's digital resistance. A key priority of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is turning the government into a tech company, driven by the Ministry of Digital Transformation, to best resolve citizens' problems, he said. The European Commission, meanwhile, is working to ensure mobile roaming and the availability of digital devices in the country.
Language from the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (S-673) didn’t make it into a compromise version of the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act released Tuesday, after a wave of criticism from the bill’s opponents (see 2212050067). The House was expected to vote on the revised NDAA, filed as an amendment to shell bill HR-7776, as soon as Wednesday night. The broadcasting industry, which backs JCPA, faced a potential second legislative hit Wednesday at a House Judiciary Committee markup of the American Music Fairness Act (HR-4130), which NAB opposes (see 2202090053).
NTIA encouraged industry stakeholders Wednesday to partner with state broadband officials to understand their states’ workforce landscape and current needs of employers, as they draft plans for the broadband, equity, access and deployment program. The agency is also “in the final stages” of awarding states and territories their initial BEAD planning grants, said NTIA Special Policy Adviser Lucy Moore, during a Fiber Broadband Association webinar Wednesday.
The government's Alaska USF plan wouldn’t preserve universal service, Alaska Communications Systems (ACS) said in Tuesday comments at the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA). The carrier lambasted the staff proposal to extend the AUSF sunset by two years to June 30, 2025, while reducing support (see 2210260076). The Alaska attorney general’s office sought a longer sunset, and CTIA urged the commission not to let up.
The American Data Privacy and Protection Act still has a chance -- albeit a slim one -- of passing during the lame-duck congressional session, privacy experts said Wednesday at a Broadband Breakfast panel. Without comprehensive federal legislation, expect an ongoing wave of states crafting their own privacy rules, said R Street Institute's Brandon Pugh.