The Supreme Court might be showing interest in tech groups’ emergency appeal of a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals order allowing a Texas social media law to be enforced, said court watchers this week. Texas responded Wednesday to NetChoice and Computer and Communications Industry Association, as requested by Justice Samuel Alito (see 2205160030).
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel isn’t proposing rules on improving how wireless 911 calls are routed to the appropriate first responders but instead is seeking a record refresh. A notice of inquiry casts a wide net on what the FCC should do to address offshore needs for spectrum. Also on tap is an NPRM on channel 6 TV stations, which primarily broadcast an audio signal receivable on FM radios. Drafts for all three were posted Wednesday, for votes at the June 8 commission meeting.
Industry and consumer advocacy organizations disagreed on the severity of digital discrimination and on potential solutions, in comments posted Tuesday in docket 22-69. The FCC sought comments on how to combat digital discrimination as required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The law directed the FCC to adopt rules that prevent discrimination based on income, race, ethnicity, color, religion or national origin.
Elon Musk agreed for a year after his Twitter takeover to pay each “continuing” employee “at least the same base salary and wage rate” earned before the transaction, according to a preliminary proxy statement filed Tuesday at the SEC for an as-yet-unscheduled special shareholders virtual meeting to vote on the sale. Musk is offering $54.20 a share in cash to take Twitter private.
State telecom industry groups seek to stop LTD Broadband from receiving promised Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) funding in Minnesota and South Dakota. The efforts to deny eligible telecom carrier (ETC) status to the company are the latest in a growing number of state hurdles LTD faces as it tries to secure funding it preliminarily won from FCC auction. Some said the situation shows state ETC designation review’s value, but former Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said the process isn’t working.
Supporters of a proposal to reallocate the 12 GHz band for 5G think the proposal will likely move forward in coming months, buoyed by responses by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Brendan Carr to members of Congress last week, as a follow-up to the recent House hearing. Meanwhile, Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen offered a candid assessment of the future of DBS spectrum in a presentation to analysts.
A draft order that would allow FM broadcasters to use computer modeling to verify the pattern of their directional antennas is expected to be unanimously approved at Thursday’s open meeting, FCC and industry officials told us. The final version isn’t expected to be much changed from the draft order, and would allow antenna manufacturers to do the modeling and still require the construction of full-size or scale models the first time the pattern of a particular type of antenna is verified using a particular modeling software.
Pole policies and participants must respond to climate change, said current and former state utilities regulators during an FCBA virtual event Monday. Pole replacement backlogs and insufficient information about attachments are challenges, they said. Florida could finalize its process this summer to become the 23rd state, in addition to Washington, D.C., to reverse preempt FCC pole attachments authority, said Berger Singerman cable attorney Floyd Self on another panel.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr proposed Monday that wireless carriers be required to participate in the wireless network resiliency cooperative framework rather than a voluntary program, and that roaming arrangements be required before disasters. Carr urged quick action, noting ongoing wildfires and the approach of the Atlantic hurricane season, on an APCO webinar and in a news release.
A draft FCC order that would impose certain requirements on gateway providers would help efforts to curb illegal robocalls originating abroad and is likely to be unanimously adopted during commissioners' Thursday meeting, industry executives told us (see 2204280059). Some providers sought clarifying language in the draft, saying it would streamline efforts and further disrupt bad actors. Several said a requirement for a Stir/Shaken C-level attestation would be too costly.