Things have been quiet on the FCC 10th floor since Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated an order with a new approach on the 4.9 GHz band, and early indications are she probably has the votes for approval. Rosenworcel circulated the order last month to establish a national band manager, which would govern the leasing process in the band, with an accompanying Further NPRM asking for feedback on details of how the leasing process could work (see 2210260064).
Streaming media companies are “fighting for the TV screen” against social media video, said Darren Olive, Crackle Plus executive vice president-advertising sales and partnerships, on a Tuesday StreamTV World webcast. In eyeball share and attention share, “social media video certainly is grabbing and keeping a lot of the younger audiences,” Olive said, citing his own household where teenagers watch their phone concurrently with TV, if they’re watching TV at all.
FirstNet has been able to build, with AT&T, a $40 billion network based on an initial $7 billion investment, said Richard Reed, FirstNet Authority network management officer, Tuesday at the hybrid in-person and virtual IEEE Advances in Public Safety Technology Workshop. The workshop is part of a new IEEE initiative on public safety technology.
Low-power TV and TV translator virtual channel assignments and changes should be limited to avoid conflicts and confused viewers, said NAB, the Society of Broadcast Engineers and others in comments posted this week in docket 03-185. Allowing translating stations to change their program and system information protocol (PSIP) “carries a very real risk of causing viewers to think that the translator or LPTV station is the originator of the programming, when that is not the case,” said SBE. Broadcasters in the docket also discussed apparent errors in a proposed FCC method for calculating station coordinates, and restrictions on low-power television relocation.
The FCC's Communications Equity and Diversity Council unanimously adopted its Digital Empowerment and Inclusion (DEI) Working Group's report offering recommendations on digital discrimination, during a virtual meeting Monday. The WG received additional time in July to complete its report after Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel expanded the group’s mission (see 2207220073).
Four years after the FCC approved a declaratory ruling and order designed to speed the deployment of small cells and 5G across the U.S. (see 1809260029), and two years after the order was largely upheld in federal court, lawyers at a Monday FCBA event questioned how helpful the order really was. The FCC created two new shot clocks for small wireless facilities, 60 days for collocation on preexisting structures and 90 days for new builds, and limited fees. Now-Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel partially dissented.
Communications sector officials and lobbyists believe the outcome of the Tuesday midterm election could affect a range of telecom policy priorities, including whether the Senate confirms FCC nominee Gigi Sohn this year, or any other commission Democrats, during the remainder of President Joe Biden’s term. Election results may affect future federal broadband funding initiatives and the direction of a proposed spectrum pipeline in the years ahead, observers told us. Election prognosticators see only a handful of incumbents on the Senate and House Commerce and Judiciary committees facing tight reelection battles despite volatile polling results in recent weeks.
Some broadcasters are seeing lower than expected political advertising and possible continued shortages in the auto industry, plus are certain how an economic downturn will affect their businesses, executives from iHeartMedia, Gray Television and Sinclair Broadcast said on Q3 earnings calls this week. “We are truly disappointed that several unexpected factors will keep us from hitting our previous guidance” on political advertising for 2022, said Gray co-CEO Hilton Howell, noting the results for Q3 are still up 30% from political ad results for Q3 2018, the last midterm election year.
Space security experts think Russia is unlikely to engage in armed attacks on U.S. commercial satellite assets despite its reportedly considering commercial satellites aiding the Ukrainian military effort as legitimate military targets. Though such an attack might be justified legally, nondestructive attacks like jamming or blinding satellites via lasers are far more likely, we were told.
Companies provisionally approved as automated frequency coordination providers in the 6 GHz band could complete tests by early next year, industry experts told us. The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology conditionally authorized all 13 applicants still before the commission to begin the testing process (see 2211030066). Experts note the use of AFC is particularly important because it could have implications for sharing in other bands.