Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) officials made their case Friday for assigning the 4.9 GHz band to FirstNet, a proposal that faces objections on numerous fronts. A year ago, commissioners approved 4-0 a long-awaited order and Further NPRM on the band's future, establishing a national band manager governing the leasing process. The FCC also sought comment on rights and responsibilities of the band manager (see 2301180062). The PSSA has asked that a single, national licensee get the spectrum (see 2304240057).

Congress should “enshrine” the consumer welfare standard into law and defend companies against the White House's aggressive attack on acquisitions, former FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson said Thursday.

Cable operators not providing 100/20 Mbps speeds and fixed wireless access operators will be among the broadband equity, access and deployment program's biggest beneficiaries, speakers said during a Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers/Light Reading webinar Thursday. In addition, installers and equipment providers can anticipate "a very busy [next] four years," Morgan Lewis communications lawyer Andrew Lipman said.

Industry opposition to an FCC proposal reclassifying broadband as a Title II service under the Communications Act continued in reply comments posted through Thursday in docket 23-320 (see 2312150020). Most groups warned reclassification would stifle competition. Some consumer groups disagreed, urging the FCC to reinstate its net neutrality rules without preempting state and local governments.

An FCC proposal prioritizing application processing for broadcasters that originate local programming may not offer enough incentive to change behaviors and would likely favor the largest broadcasters that already create their content, said broadcast attorneys and academics in interviews Thursday. Since the proposal would apply only to applications facing holds or petitions to deny, it also may not have a wide reach, said Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Anne Crump. “Ultimately, it won't really make that much difference because the vast majority of applications just run a normal course.”

Groups representing wireless carriers and cable operators urged the FCC to take a cautious approach as it responds to a November Further NPRM on protecting consumers from SIM swapping and port-out fraud (see 2311150042). Additional rules beyond those approved in an accompanying order aren’t warranted, industry groups said. However, the Electronic Privacy Information Center urged the agency to go further in protecting consumers. Comments were posted on Wednesday and Thursday in docket 21-341.

While the FCC received support for moving forward on a November proposal permitting schools and libraries to get E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services (see 2311090028) many commenters raised questions. Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissented on an NPRM, questioning the proposal's legal underpinnings, and several comments agreed. The comments were filed the same week as the U.S. Supreme Court considered the Chevron doctrine's future and how strictly regulators must adhere to statutory language (see 2401170074).

Democrats peppered a Florida age-verification bill’s sponsors with questions Wednesday on their proposal to remove kids younger than 16 from social media platforms this summer. Several young people gave forceful testimony against the bill at the livestreamed hearing. But the state's House Judiciary Committee voted 17-5 to advance HB-1 to the floor.

The retransmission consent blackout rebate NPRM that FCC commissioners adopted 3-2 along party lines last week (see 2401100026) asks numerous questions about agency authority and implementation but has few tentative conclusions about how such a rebate regime might work. The approved NPRM was released Wednesday.

Twenty-six attorneys general urged the FCC to use its AI notice of inquiry to clarify that AI-generated calls mimicking human voices are considered “an artificial voice” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Reply comments on a November notice of inquiry (see 2311160028) were due Tuesday and posted Wednesday in docket 23-362. In initial comments, CTIA and USTelecom urged that the FCC allow flexibility in how providers use AI (see 2312200039).