The FCC should adopt an intent-based definition of digital discrimination to avoid "imposing liability for unintended differences in broadband access outcomes," said an analysis Tuesday by Seth Cooper, Free State Foundation director-policy studies. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act mandated the agency to adopt rules combating digital discrimination by Nov. 15 (see 2302220045). Cooper warned that a disparate impact standard would "create uncertain legal risks for broadband providers and reduce investments in service deployments." The law gave the FCC "clear authority" to prohibit "intended discrimination against protected classes," he said, allowing the commission to "hold broadband providers responsible for their actions and promote timely deployment of broadband networks to all."
Consumers' Research filed its second challenge of the FCC's quarterly USF contribution factor in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Monday. Oral argument for its challenge of the Q1 2022 contribution factor was heard during an en banc hearing in September (see 2309190072). In a new challenge of the Q4 2023 contribution factor, the group said the USF factor is an illegal tax and should be rejected. The petition was posted Tuesday in case 23-60525.
The FCC Wireless Bureau approved an application by Intelligent Transportation & Monitoring Wireless to transfer parts of an automated maritime telecommunications system (AMTS) license to PTC-220, a consortium of the nation’s Class I freight railroads, for the deployment of positive train control and other rail safety. One party filed an objection, which wasn’t timely, the bureau said Tuesday. “We emphasize that the waiver relief we grant today will only apply to use of the AMTS spectrum to deploy PTC and related rail safety systems in the defined rail corridors in AMTS Region 1 … thereby limiting the area of potential interference,” the bureau said. The license covers the northern Atlantic region.
The Federal Emergency Management Association and the FCC will test the emergency alert system and wireless emergency alerts at 2:20 p.m. EDT Wednesday (see 2308180037), the agencies said in a reminder release and background press call Tuesday. During the call, senior FCC and FEMA officials said they don’t expect audio issues with the test's broadcast portion. They also said the WEA test is expected to reach hundreds of millions of phones. “The purpose of the test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level,” said the release. The WEA test will be received by all WEA-compatible phones that are switched on and in range of a cell tower during the 30 minutes the test is active, said the FEMA official. The message will display in English or Spanish depending on the phone’s menu settings, and be accompanied by unique tones, the FEMA official said. Users who are concerned the tones could reveal the location of a concealed cellphone, such as domestic abuse victims, can avoid the message by keeping their phones off while the message is active, the FEMA official said. The EAS message will be delivered through the internet-based common alerting protocol system rather than solely through the broadcast-based “daisy-chain” of several previous EAS tests, and thus should have improved audio quality, FEMA and FCC officials said. Both messages clearly say they're tests, and that no action is necessary, the release said. On the press call, the senior FEMA official pushed back on rumors around the test, saying it won’t knock phones and smart TVs off the internet. On the X platform, formerly Twitter, posts claimed the test will be used to turn the vaccinated into zombies, or is planned to coincide with a Russian nuclear test. The nationwide tests use the same technology and systems as the more familiar and local tests, and the idea that they're in some way separate may contribute to misunderstandings around the tests, said the FEMA official. He said it's not clear if the test would have continued if the test date had fallen during an ongoing federal shutdown, as appeared likely last week.
A Pennsylvania House committee advanced a bipartisan bill on “ghost poles” Tuesday amid a push to increase telecom accountability by six Republicans from rural districts. The bills respond to constituents’ many complaints about Frontier Communications, state legislators said in interviews last week.
The FCC should reconsider proposed changes in an April NPRM on rules for Section 214 international authorizations (see 2304200039), CTIA and others said in reply comments, posted Tuesday in docket 23-119. The order authorized a one-time collection of foreign-ownership information from authorization holders and sought comment on rules requiring carriers to renew the authorizations every 10 years, “or in the alternative,” periodic updates. The FCC got pushback in the initial comment round but general support from DOJ, DOD and Department of Homeland Security, sometimes called Team Telecom (see 2309010058).
Dish Network will pay a $150,000 fine for improper disposal of its EchoStar-7 at the satellite's end of life, the FCC Enforcement Bureau ordered Monday. The bureau said Dish disposed of EchoStar-7 in 2022 at 122 km above its operational geostationary orbit instead of the 300 km specified in the debris mitigation plan in Dish's license. It said the satellite had less propellant than Dish estimated, resulting in the lower graveyard orbit. “As satellite operations become more prevalent and the space economy accelerates, we must be certain that operators comply with their commitments,” Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan Egal said: “This is a breakthrough settlement, making very clear the FCC has strong enforcement authority and capability to enforce its vitally important space debris rules.” Dish didn't comment.
A hearing over allegedly false transfers of control by the owners of several low-power radio and television stations is set for Oct. 1, 2024, said an order from FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin posted in docket 23-267 Monday (see 2308110063). The proceeding concerns allegations Antonio Guel transferred the stations to his niece, Jennifer Juarez, to avoid including the stations in a bankruptcy filing, although he remained in control of them. Since the hearing designation order's (HDO) August release, Juarez has waived her right to participate in the hearing and surrendered the licenses, and Guel has submitted documentation showing that his company targeted in the HDO, the Hispanic Christian Community Network, has been dissolved. In Monday’s order, Halprin ruled that due to those events, the hearing proceeding would continue forward on only some of the matters originally listed in the HDO, focusing on Guel’s alleged misrepresentation and fitness to hold an FCC license. In Monday’s order, Halprin also noted broadcast attorney Dan Halpert’s representation of both Juarez and Guel, along with the possibility he could be called as a witness in the proceeding, could create conflicts of interest and mean Guel would need another attorney. “Resolution of any client conflicts is primarily Mr. Alpert’s duty, but the Presiding Judge raises the issue at this early stage of the proceeding to forestall any potential future delay that conflict issues might cause,” the order said. Alpert didn’t comment.
The Cybersecurity Coalition raised concerns about a voluntary smart device labeling program, proposed by the FCC in August (see 2308100032). “The Coalition supports several aspects of the Commission’s proposed rule, particularly the binary and layered structure of the voluntary label,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 23-239. But the proposed rule “envisions a labeling system that is overly complex, unwieldy, costly, and untested, and ... this risks suppressing adoption of the label,” the coalition said: “We are concerned with the proposed required data elements, upfront product assessments, creation of new standards, and centralized registry. We are skeptical that these aspects are necessary for effective operation of a basic labeling program, and we believe they are of questionable value to most consumers. While enabling close comparison of technical security nuances will provide value to some consumers, it is unclear that a sufficiently large segment of consumers will use this information to justify the resources required to maintain a more complex labeling program.” The coalition represents some major tech companies.
Dish Network met June's band-specific 5G deployment commitments and two of its three nationwide 5G deployment commitments, with one nationwide commitment still to be verified, FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Joel Taubenblatt told the company in a letter last week. That remaining commitment requires Dish to use a drive test -- which simulates actual user experience under ordinary use -- to verify it has deployed a nationwide 5G network using Dish spectrum, and that network provides download speeds of at least 35 Mbps to at least 70% of the U.S. population, said the agency letter. The bureau said it will verify compliance with that remaining commitment after Dish submits drive test results, and Dish has six months to do the test and submit the results. Dish included the letter in an SEC filing Monday. The company was largely expected to meet its 2023 deployment milestones (see 2306130013).