The FCC’s final order approving new outage reporting rules, approved 4-0 Thursday (see 2211170051), addresses at length concerns raised by CTIA and other industry commenters, based on a side-by-side comparison with the draft order. Because of a field hearing after the commissioners meeting Thursday, FCC staff didn’t have a press briefing on changes to the items while on the 10th floor. The order was released Friday.
FCC nominee Gigi Sohn’s Senate supporters face what’s likely to be an even more compressed timeline to confirm her during the busy lame-duck session because the chamber will probably need to delay any push until after the Dec. 6 Georgia runoff election between Commerce Committee Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker, said panel Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and others in interviews. Cantwell and other Sohn supporters believe the nominee’s confirmation prospects improved significantly because Democrats at least cemented a 50-50 tie in the chamber following the midterm election, but opponents continue to insist confirmation isn't a certainty. Some Sohn supporters also acknowledge continued Democratic Senate control means there’s no longer the same urgency to press for approving her this year (see 2209130065).
Industry and broadband experts welcomed the release Friday of the FCC’s draft broadband availability maps. Many said they plan to participate in the challenge process because NTIA is required by Congress to use the FCC’s maps for its broadband, equity, access and deployment program funding allocations.
The European Commission is under pressure to approve EU-U.S. data flows but is likely to face another legal challenge, data protection advocates said on a Thursday European Parliament Greens/European Free Alliance panel. The EC reportedly expects to unveil a preliminary response next month to President Joe Biden's executive order (EO) initiating a EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (see 2210070069) for review by data protection authorities and politicians. The EO doesn't resolve the problems noted by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Schrems II, panelists said.
The FTC should end its data privacy rulemaking process because the agency lacks authority and Congress is the proper venue to settle the privacy debate, Senate Republicans told the agency in comments on an Advanced NPRM. A bipartisan group of 33 state attorneys general urged the commission Thursday to issue a rule to better protect consumers.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Thursday more changes to FCC rules are possible, after Hurricanes Fiona and Ian, speaking at the start of a “field hearing” on some lessons learned from those storms. Rosenworcel noted the FCC held a similar hearing after Ida last year (see 2110260067) and later made the wireless industry’s voluntary resiliency cooperative framework mandatory and expanded roaming requirements. The framework was a hot topic at that hearing. The big topic at the Thursday hearing was improving coordination between power companies and communications providers.
Pennsylvania is seeking “equitable, affordable, and robust high-speed broadband infrastructure and services connecting Pennsylvania for the 21st century and beyond,” said a state broadband plan adopted Thursday. The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority board approved the plan in a unanimous voice vote at a partially virtual meeting Thursday. Authority Executive Director Brandon Carson said the shot clock is now running to develop the plans required by NTIA to get Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) federal funding.
FCC commissioners approved rules to improve the delivery of outage information to public safety answering points 4-0 Thursday, largely as circulated by Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Last week, APCO, CTIA, wireless carriers, ATIS and others sought a few changes to the draft order (see 2211140072). The order was approved before commissioners held a virtual field hearing on other potential changes that could be made to disaster-related rules (see 2211170079).
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., confirmed to us this week they intend to stay in their respective roles in the 118th Congress. Incompas CEO Chip Pickering said during a Thursday webinar he believes there will be relative continuity in the House and Senate Commerce panels’ leadership. That continuity contrasted with top-level turnover in House Democratic leadership after Thursday announcements by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland that they will step down from top party roles after this Congress.
Industry and state broadband officials emphasized the need for better data on broadband availability and public-private partnerships as NTIA prepares to administer its broadband, equity, access and deployment program, speaking at USTelecom's broadband investment forum Wednesday. Some raised concerns about regulatory requirements in the BEAD program and ensuring state broadband offices are prepared to administer funding to subgrantees.