In response to a request for comment, the Wireless Infrastructure Association urged NTIA to focus on improving permitting processes and access to land as well as power if it wants to spur growth of data centers. NTIA said in the September RFC it’s seeking better understanding of data center issues related to the power grid, supply chain, workforce development and cybersecurity (see 2409040016). “Particularly relevant to the wireless industry is the deployment of neutral host and edge data centers” which “provide critical capacity and enable interconnection -- key drivers of the digital economy,” WIA said. Innovation at the edge “will help 5G networks realize their potential in high-bandwidth, low-latency communications,” the group said: “This will not only improve mobile broadband but unlock new technologies like augmented and virtual reality and bring new AI tools into peoples’ everyday lives.” Incompas members “consistently face delays in permitting and gaining access to the public rights-of-way when deploying broadband,” the group said. Incompas supports “increasing access to public rights-of-way, accelerating approval of permits, and asking state and local governments, utilities, and railroads to charge fees that are based only on their actual, objectively reasonable costs.” Incompas said the electric grid poses a challenge: “The electrical grid must be modernized to support this economic growth and ensure: 1) timely access to reliable energy for large customers, 2) utilities and grid operators move fast to build new carbon free generation, new transmission and modernize existing transmissions through [grid enhancing] technologies, and 3) utilities have the programs available for large customers to support their operations with new renewables and carbon-free electricity.” The Information Technology Industry Council called data centers the “infrastructure backbone that underpins today’s digital economy.” ITI said it’s critical that policymakers “have a comprehensive understanding of data center market dynamics, including the different data center types and sizes.” The group also stressed the importance of technology-neutral rules and speeding permitting. Data centers are “essential to our modern and distributed economy and are the foundation upon which our modern digital ecosystem is built, including cloud computing, IoT, AI, and many other virtual products and services,” ITI said: “They provide the necessary computing power and storage capacity to enable these innovations, making them an essential part of AI and emerging technology value chains.”

The FCC Enforcement Bureau held a meeting of government communications officials from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.K. Thursday to discuss communications security threats, an FCC news release said Friday. “The threats facing the communications sector are bountiful and know no territorial boundaries, therefore it is imperative that we work with our closest allies to ensure we are doing everything we can to protect our respective citizens and critical infrastructure,” said EB Chief Loyaan Egal in the release. The officials discussed “emerging security and enforcement trends in the communications sector related to national security, data protection, cybersecurity, and transnational fraud, as well as a greater shared commitment to cooperation and collaboration.” Officials from New Zealand’s Government Communications Security Bureau, the U.K. Office of Communications and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada attended the event, the release said.

Missing in many spectrum policy discussions during events and conferences is a unified "spectrum voice for enterprise," technology analyst and founder of the U.K.’s Disruptive Analysis Dean Bubley wrote on LinkedIn. There should be an alliance of companies "like Boeing, John Deere, Walmart, Tesco, Marriott, Coca Cola, Shell and Johnson & Johnson that takes a collective stance on licensed, unlicensed and shared spectrum," he noted in a post this week. Such companies "are at the forefront" of wireless connectivity, communications and sensing through use of public 4G and 5G networks, private 4G and 5G and wireless in their facilities, and specialized wireless applications such as microwave links and industrial mesh, he wrote. "They collectively see the need for, and relative benefits of, different spectrum regimes, and complex landscapes of service providers and vendors." Yet they are represented only indirectly. "There is no coordinated 'Enterprise Spectrum Advocacy' group, either to give the collective voice of business users at conferences, or to respond to initiatives such as FCC, NTIA, Ofcom or EU consultations and national spectrum strategies." Technology-specific industry associations often avoid discussing multi-technology systems, he added.

The FCC “is not in the business of regulating content, full stop,” said Commissioner Anna Gomez Tuesday in a speech on the dangers of disinformation at The Media Institute’s Free Speech Gala. “Mis- and disinformation cloud our view of reality and inhibit our ability to discern the truth,” said Gomez, adding that “regulatory options are limited” in combating the problem. Modern technology and the decentralization of news have made it easier for false stories to spread further, Gomez said. She noted the response to hurricanes Helene and Milton as a recent example of the harms of disinformation. “Unworthy news sources” spread rumors that “dissuaded survivors from seeking help, and weakened morale among our first responders.” Gomez said “preserving local media” is a possible antidote to misinformation, because it offers “community specific information in an easy-to-access, reliable format.” As the U.S. “contends with a growing frequency in weather-related disasters, it is imperative that we make preserving local media a priority.” During the event, The Media Institute honored former FCC Chairman Richard Wiley with a lifetime achievement award. In addition, it presented former America’s Public Television Stations CEO Patrick Butler with the American Horizon Award. Cahill Gordon Senior Counsel Floyd Abrams, who represented The New York Times in the Pentagon Papers case, received the Institute’s Free Speech award.

NextNav's FCC petition on a proposed terrestrial complement to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing services is "a strong step toward addressing" the U.S.' national security PNT risk, according to cybersecurity expert David Simpson. The former head of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau wrote Wednesday in Breaking Defense that a commission order establishing a ground-based PNT service category "would let the market introduce and sustain competitive solutions without the tail of a new federal program." Now Pamplin Business College Professor in Leadership and Cybersecurity at Virginia Tech, Simpson said that while the FCC is reviewing the record on the NextNav proposals, DOD and other agencies overseeing GPS should motivate a diverse mix of PNT solutions. NextNav provided partial support for a Simpson paper about the need for a terrestrial alternative for GPS PNT services (see 2409110035).

The FCC could potentially use merger conditions as a replacement for regulations the courts knocked down after the overturning of Chevron deference, said Jeffrey Westling, American Action Forum director-technology and innovation policy. In a blog post Wednesday, he wrote, “If the agency fails to defend its signature rules in court, it could follow the lead of the Biden Administration’s FTC and DOJ and use merger review as a venue for regulation through condition setting.” Westling pointed to device unlocking rules as an example: the agency is considering requiring broadband providers to unlock devices within a certain time frame, but some providers -- including T-Mobile -- are already subject to such requirements because of merger conditions. These conditions let the agency “go around existing rulemaking procedures,” are often negotiated in haste, and aren’t subject to judicial review, Westling said. The agency is reviewing a number of large telecom deals, including DirecTV/Dish, Verizon/Frontier and T-Mobile/USCellular, Westling noted. “How the FCC reviews these transactions can give additional insight into how the agency may approach its merger review process after the overturning of the Chevron doctrine.” If the agency begins using conditions to block acquisitions, then Congress should act to reign in the agency, or even take away the FCC’s merger review authority. Though transactions would still be subject to FTC or DOJ review, those agencies lack the FCC's expansive authority to impose conditions that aren’t related to competition, Westling said.

The FTC "click-to-cancel" rule and California's automatic renewal law amendments give the FTC and private plaintiffs new leverage in challenging advertising claims for any company selling products on an auto-renewal or continuous service basis, say Venable lawyers. Shahin Rothermel, Ari Rothman and Claudia Lewis blogged Tuesday that the additional leverage has "potentially business-ending implications" as the two provide new rights of action where companies could face millions of dollars in liability for allegedly false or misleading claims about products or services. However, multiple challenges of the FTC rule (see 2410240001) could delay its implementation date of 180 days after publication in the Federal Register, they said.

The FCC is eyeing undertaking its first major comprehensive review of its submarine cable rules in 23 years, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel noted Wednesday as she announced the agency's Nov. 21 meeting agenda. Also on the agenda are additional robocall steps and a permanent process for authorizing geotargeted FM radio broadcasts, she said. While the technology, economics and security challenges involving submarine cables have changed notably since 2001, "FCC oversight has not," she said. That year saw the agency adopt procedures for streamlining the processing of landing licenses. The Stir/Shaken caller ID authentication framework is one of the FCC's most effective tools for mitigating deceptive robocalls, Rosenworcel said. With third parties used for Stir/Shaken implementation, Rosenworcel noted there have been "concerns about improperly authenticated calls and diminished accountability." The FCC will "vote to establish clear rules of the road for the use of third parties in the caller ID authentication process," she said. Industry groups urged the commission to allow third-party caller ID authentication last year (see 2307060045). In April, the FCC unanimously approved an order creating a temporary authorization process for broadcasters to use FM boosters to offer geotargeted ads. Along with that order, the agency sought comment on a more permanent process, which seems the focus of the November order. Geobroadcast Solutions, the primary company offering geotargeted FM tech to broadcasters, has pushed for the permanent authorization process to loosen restrictions on broadcasters offering geotargeting. GBS has called for the FCC to raise the number of commonly owned booster stations allowed to originate content and to increase the amount of time per hour the geotargeted content can be broadcast. The current limit is three minutes per hour. NAB and NPR have called for the FCC to closely monitor geotargeted radio users and impose additional interference protections. Two entities, Press Communications and REC Networks, have petitioned the agency to reconsider the original radio geotargeting order. The November agenda also has an unspecified enforcement item scheduled.

The FCC will coordinate with the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) on privacy efforts, the federal agency said Tuesday. The FCC’s privacy and data protection task force signed a memorandum of understanding with the CPPA, which is charged with rulemaking and enforcement related to California privacy laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act. Under the pact, the two agencies will “share close and common legal interests in working cooperatively to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute or otherwise take enforcement action in relation to privacy, data protection, or cybersecurity issues.” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said, “Coordinated state and federal partnerships like this are essential to our privacy work.” CPPA Executive Director Ashkan Soltani said the partnership will “help increase trust and security in the digital marketplace.” CPPA Enforcement Head Michael Macko added, “collaboration is key to vigorous enforcement.” Also Tuesday, the CPPA released an agenda for its Nov. 8 board meeting. The agency may vote to advance draft rules, including on automated decision-making technology, risk assessments, and cybersecurity audits, to a formal rulemaking, it said. The board also has plans for considering possible changes to data broker registration requirements.

A day following a major Frontier Communications shareholder voicing opposition to Verizon's bid for the company (see 2410230054), Frontier is trying to convince others of the merits of the $20 billion offer. The Verizon offer exceeded most analysts' price targets for Frontier prior to the deal, Frontier said Friday in a shareholder presentation filed with the SEC. The Frontier board unanimously concluded the Verizon deal is in the best interest of shareholders, it said.