The EU should consider issuing a renewed, unified policy on China, given French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments in April about U.S.-China relations, said European Parliament Member Eva Maydell of Bulgaria Wednesday.

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska unanimously tabled action on Alaska’s June 30 USF termination to hold a supplementary 10-day comment period for feedback on last-minute draft regulations from the Department of Law (see 2305080035). The additional comment period was jointly requested just before Wednesday’s meeting by many entities, including Alaska's Office of the Attorney General, the Alaska Telecom Association, Alaska Communications, the city of Ketchikan and public interest group Native Movement. The DOL proposal is “different than anything we’ve seen” and “merits feedback,” said Birch Horton attorney Elisabeth Ross, who represents Alaska Communications. The supplementary comment period is from Friday to May 22.

Private cellular 5G networks are starting to move beyond the early hype, experts said during a LightReading webinar Wednesday. Experts said private networks won’t always replace but will often complement Wi-Fi networks.

The GOP leads on the House and Senate Communications subcommittees were noncommittal in interviews before a Wednesday House Commerce Oversight Subcommittee hearing about what kind of modifications they would like for the FCC’s affordable connectivity program. Current estimates peg ACP as likely to exhaust the initial $14.2 billion in funding from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act during the first half of 2024, perhaps as early as Q1. The Commerce Oversight hearing highlighted partisan fault lines over how much Congress should modify the existing federal broadband funding apparatus.

It’s getting more difficult for telecom companies to maintain cybersecurity insurance due to the constant barrage of ransomware attacks, NTCA General Counsel Jill Canfield said Tuesday. She highlighted some of the cyber hurdles telecoms face, during an FCBA webinar. If a company has more than one insurance claim a year, the insurance provider will start denying claims, and it’s not easy to find a new provider, she said. Itron Privacy Counsel Nicole Thomas agreed, saying threat actors are going to continue to attack due to the profitability of ransomware efforts.

TV broadcasters are getting presidential campaign ad buys earlier than in any previous race, expect opportunities for sports deals, and vary on whether a possible recession is affecting their businesses, said executives from E.W. Scripps, Gray, Sinclair and Nexstar on recent Q1 earnings calls. “We candidly don't see current signs of recession looming on the horizon,” said Gray co-CEO Hilton Howell last week. “There is no question that there are economic headwinds out there,” said Nexstar CEO Perry Sook Tuesday.

The League of United Latin American Citizens has shifted away from an executive’s past backing of former acting NTIA Administrator Anna Gomez to be President Joe Biden’s nominee to fill the FCC seat former Chairman Ajit Pai vacated in 2021 and instead endorsed retired T-Mobile Vice President-Legal Affairs Chris Luna for the role. Many communications sector stakeholders believe Gomez is the prohibitive favorite to be the next nominee (see 2305020001).

Incarcerated people's communications service providers and advocates disagree on how the FCC should implement the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act. Commissioners adopted the item in March, seeking comment on permanent rates for IPCS services and how to address accessibility concerns for incarcerated individuals with disabilities (see 2303160009). Comments were posted Tuesday in docket 23-62.

The FCC should drop any plan to revoke existing equipment authorizations as part of the ongoing push to make networks safer, industry groups agreed in reply comments on an FCC Further NPRM (see 23040700500). The Competitive Carriers Association, CTA, NCTA and the Telecommunications Industry Association were among those raising concerns about retroactive revocations. Initial comments also urged caution (see 2304100057). Most comments were posted Tuesday in docket 21-232.

Consumer and public interest groups want the FCC to get more aggressive in clamping down on illegal and unwanted robotexts to consumers, according to comments on a March Further NPRM (see 2303160061). CTIA said robotexts and robocalls are inherently different, and extending the same rules to both doesn’t make sense. USTelecom said the FCC could take some steps but should proceed with caution. Comments were due Monday in docket 21-402.