The FCC precision agriculture task force's previous report to the FCC and USDA should be considered a "launching pad" to "give better insights [and] better recommendations" in its next report, Chair Teddy Bekele told the group during its virtual first meeting Thursday since being rechartered (see 2111100062). The panel has a “big task of helping rural America become more part of the internet and having connectivity,” said Vice Chair Michael Adelaine, South Dakota State University vice president-technology and security. She said all working group members should be involved and engaged in their group's discussions. Bekele is also Land O'Lakes chief technology officer.
The U.S. government is a big generator of a lot of low earth orbit debris and should kick-start a nascent debris remediation market by becoming a big buyer of remediation services, said space companies and interests Thursday at a White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) event. Speakers -- many of them from debris remediation startups -- made cases for government spending to give impetus to aspects of the market. There were calls for more clarity on the legal and policy framework around debris remediation.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., pressed the FCC and NTIA Thursday to work on "improving the cooperation and collaboration between your agencies that is essential to spectrum management and the future of U.S. spectrum policy," including updating their memorandum of understanding for handling frequency allocations. Top House Commerce Committee Republicans, meanwhile, are pressing the Communications Subcommittee to "promptly schedule" an NTIA oversight hearing, after the Senate's Tuesday confirmation of Alan Davidson as agency administrator.
The time is now to focus on 6G, even as 5G is being deployed, House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., said during a Center for Strategic and International Studies webinar Thursday. “We need to look ahead to what is over the horizon,” Doyle said: “The number of connected devices is ready to explode and we really must begin consideration of the policy implications.”
FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks expressed hope Thursday that political leadership at NTIA, with Alan Davidson approved by the Senate to lead the agency, will lead to improved “working relationships” within the federal government. “There are institutional concerns here,” he told a Cooley webinar: “We are all glad for his confirmation.” Starks noted there hasn’t been a Senate-confirmed NTIA chief since May 2019 (see 1905090051). Meanwhile, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., pressed the FCC and NTIA to work together on improving coordination on spectrum (see 2201130050).
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., was expected to have called as soon as Thursday night for the panel to hold a hearing on shuttered sports rebroadcaster Locast’s $32 million lawsuit settlement (see 2110280039), communications sector lobbyists and other officials told us. He has obtained a copy of the nonpublic, confidential version of the settlement from one of the involved parties, a GOP committee spokesperson said. Wicker plans to seek the hearing in a bid to endanger the confirmation prospects of Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn, lobbyists said. Sohn’s role as a board member for Locast operator Sports Fans Coalition has gotten significant Capitol Hill scrutiny (see 2111290060).
DOJ’s inspector general highlighted “significant” concerns about the department’s intelligence gathering efforts for the discredited Steele dossier, the nominee to lead the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday. The dossier by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence agent linked to the Hillary Clinton campaign, alleged Trump-Russia-linked interference in the 2016 presidential election. The IG’s reports were “very convincing” and detailed 17 omissions or errors in the IC’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act applications, said Sharon Bradford Franklin during her confirmation hearing.
The FCC Media Bureau’s announcement Tuesday that the consolidated database system (CDBS) won’t accept new filings after Wednesday (see 2201110077) surprised broadcasters and broadcast attorneys. But they told us it isn't likely to create many problems for them. Other than having to email some forms that previously would have been entered into the system, “it’s not going to be a big change,” said Dawn Sciarrino of Sciarrino and Associates.
FCC draft rules for the $14.2 billion affordable connectivity program were widely welcomed as more consumer protection provisions were included and several ACP changes were made to reflect challenges seen during the emergency broadband benefit program, industry and advocacy groups told us. Some sought minor changes to rules governing participating providers and connected devices. Rules must be finalized by Friday as required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
State privacy bills are surfacing quickly as legislatures return for 2022 sessions. Washington state Sen. Reuven Carlyle (D) will try for the fourth straight year to pass a privacy bill, and many other state legislators introduced bills this and last week. Experts are also watching California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) implementation this year.