FCC Drafts Detail 'Assembly Line' for Space Applications, ATSC 3.0 Transition

The FCC will also vote on an NPRM that would tee up a transition to ATSC 3.0 but appears to stop short of giving broadcasters everything they have sought. A draft equipment authorization order and Further NPRM would strengthen equipment rules with an eye on national security.

Also on the agenda is an NPRM that proposes dropping interconnection and related obligations on incumbent local exchange carriers (LECs) as a way of trying to speed up the transition to all-IP technology, as well as a draft order on incarcerated people's communications services that would reform prison-calling rules adopted last year (see 2510070044). In addition, commissioners will vote on an FNPRM and public notice on improving call verification; an NPRM proposing reforms to rules on upper microwave flexible-use service (UMFUS); an NPRM on streamlining broadband labeling; and another order axing legacy rules that the commission considers outmoded as part of Chairman Brendan Carr's ongoing "Delete" proceeding.

The space licensing NPRM says the "assembly line" approach would see standardized application materials go from one stage of the review process to the next "in a highly predictable way." Key to that approach is an expedited processing pathway, where an application gets put on public notice for seven days and then is approved quickly if it meets certain criteria and doesn't need waivers. The FCC said it expects that operators will end up designing their systems and organizing their license requests to take advantage of that expedited path. Even for applications that don't qualify for expedited processing, "our proposal still postures toward granting a license application," and there will be a limited set of exceptions to the expedited route.

ATSC 3.0

The draft item on ATSC 3.0 tentatively concludes that the agency should eliminate requirements that broadcasters switching to 3.0 must also provide a “substantially similar” ATSC 1.0 simulcast of their programming. The FCC’s substantially similar rule is currently scheduled to sunset in July 2027. The new draft doesn’t include tentative conclusions on sunsetting 1.0, a tuner mandate requiring 3.0 in new TVs, or requirements that MVPDS carry 3.0 signals, but it seeks comment on those proposals.

Broadcasters have pushed for the FCC to set a specific date for the ATSC 3.0 transition and sunset of 1.0, with the top 55 markets to transition by February 2028. The NPRM seeks comment on when 1.0 should sunset but doesn’t appear to push the NAB-backed timeline. The Consumer Technology Association, MVPD groups and public interest groups have been vocal opponents of the NAB proposal (see 2505090060).

Broadcasters have long maintained that the substantially similar and simulcast requirements have slowed the voluntary transition by forcing broadcasters to devote spectrum capacity and resources to offering both 1.0 and 3.0 feeds. “While the existing rule aims to provide flexibility to ixnnovate, some broadcasters have reported that the substantially similar requirement is preventing plans to develop innovative programming,” the draft NPRM says. “We tentatively find such arguments are compelling.”

The draft item also seeks comment on the use of digital rights management encryption in ATSC 3.0 signals, the effects of a transition on alerting and user privacy, and the ATSC 3.0 patent market.

Equipment Rules

The equipment rules order makes clear that “covered equipment includes modular transmitters” and would prohibit such gear from authorization by companies on the FCC’s “covered list.” It provides a process for limiting previously granted authorizations without restricting continued operation or use. The FNPRM seeks to further fine-tune the rules.

“We clarify and strengthen our existing prohibitions on covered equipment while also addressing and continuing to explore ways we can further strengthen the security of our supply chain through controls on importation and marketing,” the draft says. The new rules would also close the “component parts loophole,” so gear from companies including Huawei and Hikvision could no longer be used as components in otherwise lawful or authorized devices.

IP Interconnection Transition

The requirement that LECs maintain infrastructure that allows interconnection with other carriers using time-division multiplexing equipment "is impairing investment in modern services for consumers and has become unnecessary in a communications market where the majority of voice traffic is now IP-based," according to the IP interconnection transition NPRM. It says the LEC interconnection requirements aren't needed any longer "to ensure that interconnection practices for voice services are just and reasonable and not unreasonably discriminatory." The NPRM asks how the FCC can help the all-IP interconnection transition for voice services while still having oversight on public safety and consumer protection issues.

UMFUS

The UMFUS NPRM floats the idea of allowing UMFUS licensees and fixed satellite service operators to enter into agreements that ultimately would mean more intensive use of the 24 GHz, 28 GHz, upper 37 GHz, 39 GHz, 47 GHz and 50 GHz bands. The NPRM also seeks comment on revising UMFUS protection criteria, such as increasing or dropping the caps on the number of earth stations per county and per partial economic area. In addition, the item asks questions about streamlining the UMFUS earth station application process.

Call Verification

Also among the FCC's released drafts was an FNPRM and public notice on improving call verification, which proposes requiring providers to transmit indicators that a call originated outside the U.S. and verify caller ID information. It seeks comment on prohibiting spoofing of U.S. numbers by calls from outside the U.S. “These proposals advance two robocall priorities -- stopping illegal calls before they reach consumer phones and empowering consumers with more information about calls so they can better decide whether to answer them,” said an FCC fact sheet on the item.

Broadband Labeling

The NPRM proposing broadband labeling changes "would better align the requirements with the mandate from Congress and reduce unnecessary compliance burdens while preserving the core information that helps consumers compare different broadband plans,” according to an FCC fact sheet. The NPRM suggests eliminating requirements that providers read labels to consumers over the phone, display labels in customer account portals and itemize state and local pass-through fees. The item would also seek comment on eliminating multilingual display requirements and other potential streamlining steps.

'Delete' DFR

The agency will also vote on another draft direct final rule order deleting regulations. It would eliminate 398 wireless rules that have sunset, govern expired events, regulate obsolete tech or are otherwise outdated, an FCC fact sheet said. However, as with past DFR items, the draft provides very little about the rules that would be eliminated -- merely brief descriptions contained in lists of footnotes that cover entire pages. Under the DFR process, potential objectors would have 20 days after Federal Register publication to file significant comments on why a rule shouldn’t be eliminated, or it will be automatically deleted. Commissioner Anna Gomez has dissented from all previous DFR items in protest of the process (see 2509300063).