The FCC released the second iteration of its new broadband availability maps Tuesday, showing more than 8.3 million homes and businesses lack access to high-speed broadband. It also shows a net increase of more than 1 million new serviceable locations from the initial map. It's "the most accurate depiction of broadband availability in the FCC’s history," NTIA said in a blog. The agency will rely on the maps for its broadband, equity, access and deployment program allocations.

The 42 GHz NPRM, teed up for a vote at the FCC’s June 18 meeting (see 2305180069), was largely unexpected, though it had apparently been in the works since 2021 when staff for Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel started asking about putting the band to work, industry officials told us. The 500-MHz of spectrum is uniquely unoccupied, with no federal or nonfederal incumbents.

Florida will lessen limits on telemarketing, potentially reducing the number of class-action lawsuits filed under the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA). Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill (HB-761) Thursday loosening state robocall restrictions the same week he announced a presidential run. The new law is likely to lessen autodialer litigation in a state that briefly had some of the tightest restrictions, said telemarketing lawyers.

Broadcasters seeking an AM radio requirement for cars are counting on bipartisan support and public safety concerns to carry the day, but opponents argue Ford’s recent reversal (see 2305230047) shows legislation to mandate the technology like the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-3413/S-1669) isn't needed. It would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a rule mandating AM radio access in new vehicles. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, is withholding deciding on whether such legislation is needed pending the outcome of a planned early June hearing on the issue.

The U.S. would benefit from a new federal agency regulating artificial intelligence technology, Microsoft President Brad Smith said Thursday at a Planet Word event in Washington, D.C. Smith said the agency could oversee licensing of AI products much like regulators of automobile and aviation technology. He recommended President Joe Biden issue an executive order saying the federal government will procure AI services only from organizations applying government- and industry-sanctioned AI frameworks.

Recent issues at the FTC raise “troubling” questions for the future of independent agencies, including the FCC, said Mark Jamison, American Enterprise Institute nonresident senior fellow, during an AEI forum Thursday. Jamison was joined by former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly and former FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen, both Republicans.

“Nobody really knows what the FCC was thinking,” said Tegna CEO Dave Lougee Thursday on the company’s first earnings call since it agreed in 2021 to be bought by Standard General. Standard hasn’t responded to requests for comment on the deal’s termination, but it told the FCC in a Wednesday status filing it's ready to continue with the hearing process even without a deal at stake. “Standard General remains prepared to vindicate its rights as necessary, including through participation in the hearing and attendant discovery process.” The FCC, other parties in the case and the administrative law judge are more likely to view the matter as moot, said broadcast attorneys, who don’t expect the hearing to move forward. Tegna and Cox Media Group told the FCC Thursday that they wouldn't participate further in the hearing.

The House Commerce Committee’s Wednesday advancement of the Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (HR-3565) and panel leaders’ push to enact (see 2305170037) a bill to restore the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through June 30 (HR-3345) are aimed squarely at putting pressure on Senate negotiators to reach a deal, said lawmakers, congressional aides and others in interviews. The panel advanced an amended version of HR-3565 50-0 and unanimously approved five bipartisan broadband permitting measures but divided sharply along party lines on the American Broadband Deployment Act (HR-3557).

Carriers are making strides toward cutting energy consumption and becoming greener, but companies need to improve how they work together, speakers said Wednesday at a TelecomTV green network summit. Questions remain, including how AI can help make networks more efficient, while the use of AI technology by itself consumes a growing amount of power, experts said.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is seeking potential options with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to bring a package of children’s online safety bills to the Senate floor, he told us last week.