The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed cyber incident reporting legislation Wednesday. It plans to attach the bill to the National Defense Authorization Act, mirroring efforts in the House (see 2110010045).
House Communications Subcommittee Republicans used a Wednesday hearing ostensibly aimed at highlighting bipartisan cooperation on a dozen communications bills to criticize subpanel Democrats’ legislative and oversight process. Democrats appeared interested in moving at least some of the dozen bills before year's end, including the Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-5378). Republicans’ targets for criticism, as expected (see 2110050072), included the Senate-passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (HR-3684) and a pending reconciliation package, both in legislative limbo.
Infrastructure companies should view Wi-Fi not as a threat but a way of making networks more efficient, said Kevin Robinson, Wi-Fi Alliance senior vice president-marketing. The Wireless Infrastructure Association conference where he spoke Tuesday was both in person and streamed from Orlando. Wi-Fi and 5G compete with each other but more often work together to “deliver more value to the end customer,” Robinson said. When data is shifted from a smartphone to Wi-Fi, it means “a better user experience” for those still on the network, he said.
Witnesses praise a dozen communications-focused bills set to be the focus of a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing, in written testimony. The subpanel intends the dozen bills, including the Spectrum Coordination Act (HR-2501) and Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-5378), to highlight bipartisan cooperation on the House Commerce Committee, lobbyists said. At least one witness backs the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (HR-3684) and parts of the Democratic-sought budget reconciliation package, which could inject talk of the fracas over the timeline for considering those measures into the hearing, lobbyists said.
A petition challenging the FCC USF Q4 contribution factor is likely to fail on procedural grounds but may be part of a bigger challenge to dismantle USF entirely, legal experts said in recent interviews (see 2110010062). Some said it may be an effort to force a reevaluation of the nondelegation doctrine that prohibits Congress from delegating legislative powers to executive branch agencies.
Congress will move forward with legislation to roll back Communications Decency Act Section 230 immunity and give victims of online harm legal remedies against amplified content, Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told reporters Tuesday. Members of the subcommittee are “very engaged” on the issue, and it’s going to be a priority to find consensus, said ranking member Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., speaking to reporters after a hearing with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen (see 2110010047).
Localities got a second veto of a California small-cells bill. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) rejected SB-556 Monday, after his predecessor Jerry Brown (D) rejected a similar bill meant to streamline wireless infrastructure deployment by preempting localities in the right of way. In a win for the wireless industry the same day, Newsom signed AB-537 to codify a deemed-granted wireless remedy.
While the E band isn't widely used by commercial satellite communications today, satcom operators are urging the FCC to ensure future access and many see it the spectrum becoming contested space between satellite and wireless interests. Dennis Roberson of Roberson and Associates said there "inevitably" will be a fight over satellite vs. terrestrial use as there's always demand for exclusivity.
China was the unmentioned presence lurking among participants in the inaugural meeting Wednesday in Pittsburgh of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (see 2109290006), agreed panelists on a Center for Strategic and International Studies webinar Friday to discuss key takeaways. They agreed the meeting was a moderate success for setting in motion 10 working groups to address specific tasks before the TTC meets again in the spring.
Commenters on FCC-proposed collection of equal employment opportunity data agreed the agency should gather broadcast ownership information but disagreed on how that should be collected, in filings posted in docket 98-204 by Thursday’s deadline.