State broadband officials said Thursday they expect big differences in the level and type of provider participation in the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. Also during the Broadband Nation Expo, numerous speakers bemoaned workforce challenges that could bedevil BEAD-funded broadband network expansions. The Telecommunications Industry Association and Fierce Network staged the event at National Harbor, Maryland.
Communications companies said they’re responding to power outages and network damage in the wake of Hurricane Milton, which made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday night. Emergency 911 systems appeared largely to withstand the onslaught, as they did with Hurricane Helene two weeks earlier (see 2409270058). AccuWeather said the total damage and economic loss from Milton will likely be between $160 billion and $180 billion, making it "one of the most damaging and impactful storms in Florida history."
FCC Commissioners Nathan Simington and Geoffrey Starks warned the Mobile World Congress in Las Vegas that the FCC’s loss of general spectrum auction authority last year is hampering U.S. competitive efforts against major rivals in the 6G race. CTIA President Meredith Baker sounded a similar theme at the beginning of the conference, which CTIA sponsors with GSMA (see 2410080044).
Former President Donald Trump called Thursday for the FCC to pull licenses for all U.S. broadcast networks, an apparent escalation from his recent threats against ABC and CBS over what he claims has been biased coverage of his campaign as the Republicans’ 2024 nominee (see 2409110058). Trump has repeatedly sought FCC revocation of broadcasters’ licenses since early in his 2017-2021 administration (see 1710110075). FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel quickly shot down Trump’s threat, going beyond her similar responses to past incidents (see 2409120056) and directly criticizing the former president.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday called for an investigation into 60 Minutes over the editing of the CBS program's interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. In a Truth Social post, Trump said that the CBS “News Division” “must be licensed.” However, the FCC doesn't license news programs. Trump, who reportedly backed out of a similar interview with 60 Minutes, said editing of the interview was intended to make Harris appear more favorable and was “possibly illegal” and “may be a major Campaign Finance Violation.” Trump's post is the latest in a string of threats and calls for government action against broadcasters over their news content (see 2409230022). “This is an open and shut case, and must be investigated, starting today!” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has repeatedly condemned calls for agency action against broadcasters over their content (see 2410080056). CBS didn't comment.
Sirius XM Radio opposed FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's proposal to allow the operation of very-low power (VLP) devices, without coordination, in the U-NII-6 and U-NII-8 portions of the 6 GHz band (see 2410040055). The company’s radio service in the satellite digital audio radio service band “cannot operate without reliable access to the 7.025-7.075 GHz band to uplink programming for delivery to tens of millions of listeners and to control its spacecraft,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-295. “SDARS is highly vulnerable to aggregate interference from the open-ended deployment of unlicensed devices operating outdoors,” Sirius XM said: “The Commission’s decision just four years ago to limit operations in the U-NII-8 band to indoor use correctly reflected that concern.”
Hikvision USA asked the FCC to process all applications by the company and its subsidiaries or affiliates seeking equipment authorizations for all equipment not categorized as “telecommunication” or “video surveillance” gear. The China-based company is on the FCC’s covered list of organizations that pose a threat to U.S. security. Hikvision offered as an example the EZVIZ RH1 Smart Cordless Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner, manufactured by an affiliate: “While this vacuum cleaner is not currently authorized by the FCC or sold in the United States, it cannot be classified as either telecommunications equipment or video surveillance equipment.” The filing was posted Wednesday in docket 21-232.
The FCC and the U.S. government on Wednesday asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court to hold in abeyance a challenge of the agency's Oct. 25 declaratory ruling authorizing E-rate funding for Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2312200040), pending a U.S. Supreme Court decision in another case. That SCOTUS case, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, examines whether the Hobbs Act permits a “party aggrieved” by an agency’s “final order” to seek review in a federal court of appeals and “allows nonparties to obtain review of claims asserting that an agency order exceeds the agency’s statutory authority.” The appeal is of another case by the 5th Circuit. Maurine and Matthew Molak, concerned about unsupervised access of students to social media, brought the school bus case. Their son died by suicide at 16 after he was cyberbullied. The FCC disputed whether the Molaks had legal standing to appeal the order because they didn't participate in the FCC proceeding (see 2406040024). “The Supreme Court’s decision” in the NRC case “may invalidate petitioners’ sole basis for asserting that this Court can review their petition, and require this Court to grant respondents’ pending motion to dismiss,” the FCC said in the Wednesday filing: “To avoid a potentially needless expenditure of judicial and litigation resources, this Court should grant the requested abeyance.” The FCC noted the Molaks' argument that they had standing was predicated on the 5th Circuit’s holding in the case before SCOTUS: Should the high court conclude "that the Hobbs Act does not allow nonparties to obtain review of claims asserting that an agency order exceeds the agency’s statutory authority, petitioners will have no basis for seeking judicial review under the Hobbs Act, and this Court must grant the Commission’s pending motion to dismiss.” Oral argument in the school bus case is scheduled for Nov. 4 (see 2409260046). The Molaks, meanwhile, asked the FCC not to include Wi-Fi gear for off-premise or school bus use in its FY 2025 list of eligible services under the E-rate program. “Subsidizing off-premises use of Wi-Fi hotspots means facilitating unsupervised social media access by children and teenagers, which means enabling the very sort of destructive behavior that we all should strive to prevent,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 13-184.
CTIA mostly agrees with the FCC’s approach in the draft hearing-aid compatibility order teed up for a vote Oct. 17 (see 2409260047), but in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 23-388, it urged a few tweaks. “The Draft Order should set up a clearer path for the use of a revised volume control standard,” CTIA said: “As the Commission is aware, the HAC Task Force identified material problems in the codified testing standard for volume control, developed an interim solution, and recommended deferring long-term deployment benchmarks on volume control until a more permanent solution could be developed and approved by the FCC.” CTIA also urged "refinements and clarifications" to the proposed labeling rules. “Specifically, the new labeling rules should be implemented on the same timeline as the manufacturer deployment benchmark transition, rather than potentially before them,” the group said.
Communications providers are taking steps to prepare for Hurricane Milton while recovery from Hurricane Helene continues. SpaceX and T-Mobile have accelerated the rollout of Starlink direct-to-device connectivity for hurricane-affected areas, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote Wednesday on X. SpaceX posted that it and T-Mobile have activated SpaceX's D2D satellites to provide emergency alerts for phones in hurricane-affected areas. The D2D activation comes atop more than 10,000 Starlink kits delivered in response to Hurricane Helene, it said. SpaceX has enabled SMS testing for people on T-Mobile phones in hurricane-affected areas, it said. In addition, it said users "may have to manually retry text messages if they don't go through at first, as this is being delivered on a best-effort basis." T-Mobile said it had activated its emergency operations and preparedness plan in anticipation of Milton. That work, it said, includes emergency response teams preparing portable generators and network equipment to provide support. Its emergency response teams also are working with federal and state public safety agencies and Florida's State Emergency Operations Center to identify early prioritization needs following the storm. The carrier also said it has temporarily closed stores and other operations in Milton's path. Verizon said it was staging its mobile network solutions fleet, including portable generators and satellite assets, as part of prep for Milton. It said it had readied network engineers and crisis response team members to deploy to the region and begin restoration work as soon as it is safe. Multiple wireless carriers said they were temporarily waiving some charges and fees for hurricane-impacted areas. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement's communications strike team is ready to support local law enforcement agencies in ensuring 911, internet and radio communications work after Milton, according to the governor's office. Wednesday's disaster information reporting system update showed 11% of cellsites down in the North Carolina and Tennessee counties affected by Hurricane Helene, an improvement over the 12.5% reported down Tuesday. Wednesday's report listed 68,602 cable and wireline subscribers without service in the affected counties, compared with 84,085 Tuesday. The report also listed two TV stations out of service, both in North Carolina. DIRS reports for Hurricane Milton are due to the FCC starting Thursday morning.