Commercial space startups' access to capital is increasingly a challenge, GVF event panelists said Thursday. Financing costs for debt capital are substantially higher than a year ago, and equity investors have higher expectations, said Noel Rimalovski, managing partner at investment bank GH Partners. Financing deals are still getting done, but investors are focusing far more heavily on business fundamentals like having revenue now, he said. Echoed, Akshay Patel, PJT Partners Strategic Advisory Group managing director, the bar investors have for considering a company is "quite high." He said it has become hard to get investors' attention to equity investing when the debt market is more attractive right now.

A draft order, Further NPRM and NPRM on the broader 12 GHz band includes, as expected (see 2304260072), asking about fixed-wireless use in the lower part. It also asks about possible unlicensed use. The FCC also released a draft order on the 60 GHz band and a robocall order and FNPRM. All are proposed for votes at commissioners' May 18 open meeting. The proposed title of the 12 GHz draft is “Optimizing Spectrum for Services from 6G to Satellite.”

The Chips and Science Act offers $39 billion to boost the U.S. semiconductor industry, but many applicants could come away empty-handed, said Michael Schmidt, director of the Commerce Department’s CHIPS Program Office, at an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation conference Wednesday.

Texas House members showed wide support for creating a state fund for broadband infrastructure this week, voting 137-7 for a proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday on its second reading. On Thursday, the Senate received HJR-125 and the House voted 140-8 for companion bill HB-9 on third and final reading. Rural carriers applauded the House for passing the measures, which they said would help fill gaps from the state not fully funding Texas USF. “We will now shift our focus to the Senate where we hope to find similar support,” said Texas Telephone Association (TTA) President Mark Seale.

The FCC’s Section 214 international authorizations order and NPRM, approved by commissioners 4-0 last week (see 2304200039), got a number of changes in approach and language between the draft and final version, based on a side-by-side comparison. The item was posted in Wednesday’s Daily Digest. The order authorizes a one-time collection of foreign-ownership information from holders of international Communications Act Section 214 authorizations and seeks comment on rules requiring carriers to renew these authorizations every 10 years, “or in the alternative,” periodic updates.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo countered Republicans’ renewed assertions that NTIA’s notice of funding opportunity for the $42.5 billion broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program includes rate regulation requirements and other provisions Congress didn’t mandate via the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, during a Wednesday Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee hearing. Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune of South Dakota, meanwhile, is eyeing potential next steps in Commerce Committee Republicans’ push for NTIA to revise or otherwise strip out language from the NOFO they find objectionable (see 2304200064).

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is proposing a bifurcated approach on the 12 GHz band for the commissioners' May 18 open meeting, dedicating the band's lower section, for now, to satellite broadband and the upper part to mobile broadband. The order involves some of the most hotly contested spectrum before the agency. The decision is in line with advocacy from SpaceX and others that said the upper 12 GHz band, which some refer to as 13 GHz, makes more sense as a target for wireless broadband than the lower 12 GHz (see 2210130063). Industry officials said the FCC may ask questions about fixed-wireless in the lower band. The FCC will also take on 60 GHz and robocalls.

The FCC’s reconstituted Disability Advisory Committee held its initial meeting Wednesday, receiving updates from agency staffers on recent developments at the commission. DAC took no actions at what was a virtual introductory meeting. Commissioner Nathan Simington said the start of the new DAC raises questions about the role the FCC will play in the future as more services are no longer clearly regulated by the agency.

The FAA is “not planning to seek an extension” of wireless carriers’ previous commitment to delay some use of their C-band spectrum for 5G past the current July 1 deadline, acting Administrator Billy Nolen said during a Wednesday House Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee hearing. The House, meanwhile, easily passed two spectrum bills -- the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences Codification Act (HR-1343) and Advanced, Local Emergency Response Telecommunications Parity Act (HR-1353).

A New York Senate panel approved a sweeping privacy bill Tuesday with a private right of action. After the hearing, Consumer Reports praised the bill, but tech industry groups raised concerns. Parts of the proposed New York Privacy Act are stricter than other state laws, said Fox Rothschild attorney Odia Kagan.