Commenters disagreed on the FCC's role in oversight and implementation of next-generation 911, in comments posted Thursday in docket 21-479 on the National Association of State 911 Administrators' (NASNA) petition seeking a rulemaking or notice of inquiry to fully implement NG-911 (see 2110190066). Some public safety organizations backed a rulemaking clarifying demarcation points for cost allocations.
A new-look Washington state Senate privacy bill took fire from all sides at its first hearing Thursday. Business groups at a Senate Technology Committee virtual hearing said they prefer the 2021 Washington Privacy Act (SB-5062) by Chairman Reuven Carlyle (D) to his pared-down SB-5813 this year. The American Civil Liberties Union, a SB-5062 opponent, said SB-5813 is better but still wouldn’t meaningfully protect privacy. Two state government offices also raised concerns.
ATSC 3.0's backers need to focus on attracting consumers, advertisers and consumer tech OEMs to the new technology, said executives from E.W. Scripps, Sinclair, Nexstar, and BitPath in a virtual panel Thursday. “A lot of these OEMs need to understand in a much deeper way what’s in it for them,” said Kerry Oslund, Scripps vice president-strategy and business development. If broadcasters don’t ensure that ATSC 3.0 early adopters see “a tangible difference,” 3.0 “will be 3DTV all over again.”
The U.S. can help mitigate orbital debris by such things as investing in better cataloging of debris, mandatory beacons on satellites to enable better tracking, and pushing a moratorium on anti-satellite testing, said commercial space operator and other speakers at a White House Office of Science and Technology Policy event. Debris remediation was the topic of a similar session last week (see 2201130054). OSTP Space Policy Assistant Director Ezinne Uzo-Okoro said the feedback from the space community will help guide a plan to be issued this summer for agencies on policy actions and R&D the U.S. should prioritize for orbital debris.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 16-6 Thursday to advance to the floor a bill that would ban Big Tech platforms from self-preferencing products (see 2201140049). Despite calls from tech companies and Republicans for a legislative hearing, Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., told us she’s focused on getting the bill to the floor.
Commenters disagreed whether the voluntary wireless network resiliency cooperative framework, launched in 2016, is working and whether to codify some or all of the framework, in reply comments posted in docket 21-346 through Wednesday. Commissioners approved a network resilience NPRM 4-0 in September, amid hints regulation could follow (see 2109300069). State and public interest groups want rules, which they say would make networks more resilient.
NTIA faces several challenges as it prepares to administer more than $48 billion dollars from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, panelists said during a Fiber Broadband Association webinar Wednesday (see 2111240021). It’s “possible” that NTIA will include metrics on latency, said Corning Manager-Federal Government Affairs Jordan Gross. The agency is looking to find metrics, based on the questions it asked in its request for comment due Feb. 4, Gross said.
Illinois Democrats introduced a bill Wednesday to allow app developers to deal directly with customers and avoid app store fees from Apple and Google. This is similar to a bipartisan bill the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to mark up soon. Sponsors of the Illinois bill told us legislators in Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Rhode Island and North Dakota are having similar conversations.
An FCC draft order on largely administrative changes to political advertising rules is considered noncontroversial and could be approved unanimously even before the agency’s Jan. 27 open meeting, said broadcast and FCC officials in interviews. The item’s docket, 21-293, shows no activity since October. The NPRM version was unanimously approved before commissioners’ August meeting (see 2108040058).
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding Maine's prorated cable TV refunds law (see 2201040072) opens the door to other states pursuing similar rules, consumer and cable regulatory experts told us. Whether they actually will is less clear. The ruling reversing a lower court's rejection of the Maine law could mean a 3rd Circuit reversal of a lower court's agreeing with Altice that the Cable Act preempts the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities' prorating rule (see 2108240043), experts said.