Economists and telecom experts urged NTIA to develop evaluation and accountability metrics to ensure the $42.5 billion broadband, equity, access, and deployment program is effective in reaching unserved and underserved communities during a Technology Policy Institute webinar Tuesday (see 2205240052). Some suggested NTIA release specific metrics on the type of data states should submit or allow for independent reviews once the program ends.
Lionsgate is engaged in a “robust and productive process” with its bankers and “a number of potential strategic and financial partners” to spin off Starz as a stand-alone company, said CEO Jon Feltheimer on an earnings call Thursday for its fiscal Q4 ended March 31. “We're targeting an announcement of our plan by the end of the summer and expect a transaction could close as early as our fiscal fourth quarter,” he said.
While cable's video subscriber numbers continue their downward slide, cable operators and watchers see video still having a long tail, with major providers not reaching a tipping point anytime soon.
The tech industry and state officials were waiting Friday for a potential Supreme Court decision that could prove significant for social media content moderation practices. Various court decisions issued throughout the week raised questions about interpretation of Communications Decency Act Section 230 that some want the Supreme Court to settle.
Satellite communications companies see a big opportunity in tying into terrestrial telecom networks but face big hurdles like ground network equipment that may not be up to the task, industry executives and watchers said Thursday in a Northern Sky Research webinar.
A 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last week against the SEC could have implications for FCC enforcement actions and the powers of administrative law judges like the FCC’s ALJ Jane Halprin, but it is too early to be sure how the ruling against the SEC applies to other agencies, said academics and communications attorneys in interviews. Based on that Jarkesy v. SEC decision, U.S. Supreme Court rulings and a pair of cases currently before SCOTUS, the outlook for ALJs at federal agencies -- including the FCC -- “looks a little shaky,” said Jeffrey Lubbers, an administrative law professor at American University. “I’d be surprised if this decision is the final word,” said former FCC General Counsel Tom Johnson, now with Wiley.
A Pennsylvania Assembly panel showed appetite for a comprehensive privacy bill at a hearing livestreamed Wednesday. Microsoft supported the measure while other witnesses sought minor edits. Elsewhere, the Louisiana House delayed a floor vote on its state privacy bill for the third straight day. Lawmakers in each state are looking to follow California, Virginia, Colorado, Utah and Connecticut in passing broad privacy laws.
Disability rights advocates and digital navigators on Wednesday urged the FCC to emphasize accessibility in its forthcoming consumer broadband labels. Several panelists at the commission’s third public hearing on the labels highlighted the need for multiple languages and alternative formats for individuals who may not understand technical language (see 2204080027).
Dynamic spectrum sharing is a slow, expensive process, and though it has a role to play in meeting growing needs for mobile spectrum, it's not the silver bullet, Peter Rysavy, president of wireless tech consultancy Rysavy Research, said Wednesday in a Georgetown University Center for Business and Public Policy presentation. Beyond more spectrum, the U.S. also needs denser networks and better antenna technology to increase capacity, he said.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) doesn’t mind if a federal privacy law preempts the proposed Colorado Privacy Act as long as it's “as good as what we have” and gives state attorneys general the authority to protect consumers, he said Wednesday at the Mountain Connect Broadband Development Conference. Weiser also discussed digital literacy, broadband infrastructure and consumer protection, and blamed the need for individual state laws on a broken federal system.