Nine satellite operators submitted plans for a combined more than 38,000 non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) V-band satellites, in a series of FCC International Bureau applications and U.S. market access petitions last week in response to the V-band processing round instituted after Viasat, Mangata and AST V-band petitions (see 2108040062).
Funding is a bigger concern than adopting needed technology as rollout of the 988 call line and likely text-to-988 capabilities nears, crisis call center operators told us. They said most crisis centers anticipate sizable text volume and worry about staffing and tech resources available to manage it. FCC members will decide at their Nov. 18 meeting on requiring text providers to support texting to 988 when the three-digit nationwide suicide prevention hotline goes live on July 16 (see 2110270049).
The FCC Wireline Bureau paused phasedown of Lifeline voice-only support until Dec. 1, 2022, said an order Friday (see 2111050051). Staff waived the increase of minimum service standards for mobile broadband until then, as expected (see 2111030038). The bureau didn't address the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates’ petition for reconsideration and instead acted on its own motion.
The White House is pressing Congress to pass legislation with $52 billion for U.S. chipmaking (see 2106090007), White House National Security Council Senior Director-International Economics and Competitiveness Peter Harrell told an AT&T livestream event Thursday. “The bigger picture is we’ve got to get the funding across the finish line,” he said. “Congress has to get the funding across the finish line, and we have to move on expanding capacity here at home and with our allies.”
Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen is unfazed by investor skepticism about the company’s capability to build out its 5G network in time to meet regulatory deadlines and do so within the $10 billion budget it allocated for the rollout, he said on a Q3 call Thursday. With supply chain bottlenecks so widespread, Ergen dismissed an analyst’s suggestion that Dish should consider asking the FCC to postpone its 5G buildout deadline for 2022.
Funding for next-generation 911 is the “biggest challenge and would make the biggest difference,” said Public Safety Bureau Deputy Chief David Furth during an FCBA CLE webinar. “It’s not something the FCC can make happen.” Others agreed about the importance of funding. Congress is considering NG-911 money via the Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation package (HR-5376), but the measure's prospects remain unclear.
AT&T and Verizon agreed to postpone deploying in the first phase of the C band for a month, until Jan. 5, to give the FAA and FCC time to look more closely at the safety implications for radio altimeters. Industry experts told us the National Economic Council asked the two agencies to work together, looking at the 40 or so nations that made the spectrum available for wireless broadband. One area of frustration is that studies haven’t been released and the FCC will seek additional data, officials said. Analysts said if the two big carriers can start deploying in January it won’t be a huge problem for either.
The private sector should report major cyber incidents to the federal government, despite many company owners considering it a waste of time, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly told the House Homeland Security Committee Wednesday.
Cable operators told a New Jersey regulator their "entertainment services" shouldn’t face stricter service-quality rules than telephone -- especially since competitive over-the-top providers are unregulated. At a New Jersey Board of Public Utilities virtual hearing Wednesday, Altice, Comcast and the New Jersey Cable Telecommunications Association (NJCTA) ticked off a laundry list of legal and practical objections to BPU’s proposal to readopt the state’s Administrative Code Title 14 Chapter 18 rules for cable TV with substantial changes, including new required metrics and reports and tougher enforcement.
The FCC’s new Communications Equity and Diversity Council will meet more often and act more quickly than preceding diversity committees, said Chair Heather Gate at the CEDC's first virtual meeting. Previous diversity committees voted on most recommendations at the end of their terms, but the new group should aim at being “part of the solution as things are happening right now," said Gate, the Connected Nation vice president-digital inclusion: "Waiting until 2023 to drop all of our recommendations, we may miss a window that is open right now.”