The FCC-proposed satellite operator indemnification requirement that has been challenged by operators (see 2004140052) is likely moving from the orbital debris draft order on commissioners' Thursday agenda to the accompanying Further NPRM, satellite officials told us. An FCC official said calls for the order to be delayed instead of being part of this week's agenda seem like a long shot, however.
FCC members unanimously approved Ligado's use of its L-band spectrum for terrestrial use, the agency announced Monday morning. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called the vote "another step forward for American leadership in 5G and advanced wireless services.” The vote "reflects the broad, bipartisan support that this order has received," he said.
It took White House proxy support and concerns about commercial spectrum being essentially claimed by federal agencies to break the years-old logjam of Ligado's proposed terrestrial use of L-band spectrum with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's decision to circulate a draft approval order (see 2004160019), we were told Thursday. Swift action could be next, with multiple commissioners' offices expecting to vote on it this week. An array of primarily aerospace interests urged the FCC to close and dismiss the proceeding.
House Science Committee leaders and an industry group urged the FCC to pull the orbital debris draft order from April 23's agenda. The agency got increasing resistance to its proposed satellite rules update (see 2004140052), in docket 18-313 Wednesday. A satellite executive told us the agency seemed surprised by the amount of industry criticism.
The satellite industry and allies raised red flags about the draft orbital debris order on April 23's FCC members' meeting agenda (see 2004010063). Operators lobbied for changes or deferring decisions. They cited higher costs, in docket 18-313 Tuesday.
With the FCC expected to soon circulate a Ligado approval order (see 2004100060), NTIA and various federal agencies are making another push to stop the momentum. The military estimated the funding and time needed to replace military GPS receivers potentially affected by Ligado's L-band plans is in the billions of dollars and decades. Given the general pushback from agencies on every move to open up more spectrum for 5G and the lack of a unified spectrum policy, Chairman Ajit Pai's moving forward here makes sense, said Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld.
An order approving Ligado's requested license modifications is about to go on circulation, potentially early this week, stakeholders and agency officials told us Friday. They said the order would include conditions such as Ligado-sought power and emissions levels and the company's government GPS replacement proposal, plus network monitoring and operational requirements. The FCC didn't comment. The agency's under pressure from legislators to approve the company's planned low-power terrestrial L-band broadband (see 2002250083). NTIA didn't recommend approval, and DOD and other agencies opposed approval (see 1912090011).
Following limited waiver of kids' TV programming preemption rescheduling, the FCC could get other requests for broadcast rules waivers or changes in the face of the pandemic, experts told us late last week. The agency got kudos from the children's programming advocacy universe and the White House for Thursday's waiver.
Executive branch agencies recommended the FCC revoke China Telecom's U.S. authorizations for international telecom services. DOJ, which led the review, said the agencies found "substantial and unacceptable national security and law enforcement risks," including Chinese government malicious cyber activity targeting the U.S., and concerns China Telecom -- a U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese government-owned telecom company -- is vulnerable to China's "exploitation, influence, and control." It said China Telecom made inaccurate statements to U.S. authorities about recordkeeping and made inaccurate public representations of cybersecurity practices. The 71-page redacted recommendation filed with the International Bureau said China Telecom "will be forced to comply with Chinese government requests without sufficient legal procedures subject to independent judicial oversight." It also said the company's U.S. operations are a route for Chinese state-sponsored actors "to engage in economic espionage and disrupt and misroute U.S. communications traffic." The "security of our government and professional communications, as well as of our most private data, depends on our use of trusted partners from nations that share our values and our aspirations for humanity," said Assistant Attorney General-National Security John Demers. DOJ said the recommendation was by it and the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, State, Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative. The FCC and China Telecom didn't comment.
Streaming video providers are slowing down video transmissions to free up bandwidth when U.S. ISP networks are jammed, we heard this and last week. More content providers likely dialed back their HD video quality during the pandemic, said Streaming Video Alliance (SVA) Executive Director Jason Thibeault. An FCC official doesn't anticipate requesting streaming video operators throttle bit rates like Europe has (see 2003240032). For our past report about increasing demand on networks, see here.