The move toward open radio access networks for 5G is accelerating, though questions remain about buy-in from major operators, speakers said at a two-day virtual forum by LightReading, which ended Thursday. Industry officials said making ORAN fit with legacy networks remains a challenge. Strand Consult's John Strand said in a Thursday report ORAN continues to underperform and reality doesn’t match the hype.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel cautioned House Communications Subcommittee members that some sales from upcoming auctions of the 2.5 GHz band and “construction permits for new full power television stations in communities with no license for the allotted station” will be on hold “pending reauthorization” of the commission’s auction authority if the current statute lapses Sept. 30 without a renewal. CTIA CEO Meredith Baker, meanwhile, urged the leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees to adopt a stopgap renewal due to the limited legislative time before Sept. 30. The issue was a major focus of House Communications’ FCC oversight hearing last week (see 2203310060).
The Senate Commerce Committee is considering marking up a Section 230-related bill from Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Thune told us Wednesday. Thune and Schatz introduced the Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency (Pact) Act (see 2103170058) in 2020. “I’ve been told by some of the leading Dems that we think we’re going to get a markup on it, but I don’t know that it’s been confirmed,” Thune told us Wednesday. Schatz said he “heard things. ... You should keep your eyes open. Just look for hearing notices, etc.”
Advocates are still searching for the first state to pass an electronic right-to-repair bill, amid continued opposition from industry groups. A California Senate panel delayed hearing testimony on a bill Tuesday. Bills in other states haven't moved. CTIA, CTA, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and others wrote several letters this year opposing state bills.
As providers prepare for the June 30 opening of the FCC’s reporting portal for its forthcoming broadband maps, some industry representatives and experts said questions remain about what the broadband serviceable location fabric will look like and the kind of information that will be sought once the portal opens. Most agreed the new maps should be ready to be published by the fall, reflecting what FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told House Communications Subcommittee members last week (see 2203310060).
The FCC is ramping up its back-to-work plans and will transition to phase 3 of its re-entry plans May 15, said a memo emailed to employees Tuesday and obtained by Communications Daily.
An Ohio bill to regulate social media companies’ alleged censorship of political views remained in committee after its sixth hearing Tuesday. The House Civil Justice Committee heard testimony but didn’t vote on HB-441, which would classify social media platforms as common carriers and allow users to sue platforms for viewpoint discrimination. Ohio Majority Floor Leader Bill Seitz (R) asked why Ohio should make a social media law when similar, court-blocked laws in Texas and Florida are pending appeal.
Legislation that permits "cartel behavior," like the bipartisan journalism bill (see 2202280066), is “more likely to hurt the public than to help it,” FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips told us Tuesday. Introduced by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and John Kennedy, R-La., the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (HR-1735/S-673) would allow news publishers to negotiate revenue sharing with online platforms through an antitrust exemption.
AT&T and T-Mobile executives defended their work on policing 10-digit long codes (10DLC), during an FCBA webinar Tuesday. The codes allow businesses, charities and public interest groups to text customers or members using regular 10-digit phone numbers. Proposed carrier rules requiring high-volume text senders to register with a campaign registry, and to impose higher messaging fees on all that don’t file, or potentially block them, have been controversial (see 2109230068).
Network testing and measurement are becoming more complex in a 5G world, speakers said during an RCR Wireless forum Tuesday. The size and speed of the 5G build worldwide makes keeping up technologically more complicated, speakers said.