Federal and industry officials raised concerns about the impact of pole attachments and replacements as states prepare for NTIA's broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. In addition, make-ready processes and economic incentives can complicate efforts to expand high-speed internet -- and rules aren’t always enough, a panel of state officials said during a Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition symposium Thursday.
The U.S. needs to move toward a firm date for the end of mandatory simulcast of ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 signals and fully transition to ATSC 3.0, but it's too early to say when that date should be, NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt said Thursday at the NextGen Broadcast Conference in Washington. Conference-goers applauded the call for a transition deadline, and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr echoed it, saying he would support a proceeding about the issue. Carr also suggested gauging broadcast and wireless industry interest in an "incentive auction 2.0" for low-band spectrum.
Industry commenters urged the FCC to avoid imposing additional outage reporting requirements. Reply comments to a January Further NPRM (see 2401250064) were filed this week in docket 21-346.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Thursday that she circulated for a commissioner vote an NPRM seeking comment on further changes to rules for the citizens broadband radio service band. An FCC and NTIA agreement unveiled Wednesday on broader use of CBRS (see 2406120027) shows what's possible when you push the boundaries of how spectrum is shared, experts said Thursday during a discussion at the International Symposium on Advanced Radio Technologies (ISART) conference in Denver.
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology gave a green light to the inaugural test launch of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, according to a special temporary authorization granted Wednesday. The authorization expires Nov. 1.
The FCC Media Bureau admonished Legacy Broadcasting's KMLU Columbia, Louisiana, for failing to include nondiscriminatory language in its advertising sales agreements. In a letter to Legacy dated Wednesday, the bureau said there's no evidence the station or the Greenwood, Mississippi, licensee engaged in discriminatory behavior in ad sales, so the lack of nondiscrimination clauses doesn't warrant a fine. However, failure to include such language in future ad agreements could result in fines, it added.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez will host a listening session about incarcerated people's communications services on June 18 in Phoenix, a public notice said Wednesday in docket 23-62. Gomez will meet with current and former IPCS consumers for "first-hand accounts of the critical importance of affordable communications services to incarcerated people." The listening session will also offer "additional public comment regarding the commission's ongoing efforts" to establish new IPCS rates and charges. The event will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.
The USF contribution factor for Q3 2024 will be 34.4%, an FCC Office of Managing Director public notice said Wednesday in docket 96-45. That's an increase from 32.8% in Q2 (see 2403150004).
The FCC Public Safety Bureau sought comment on Wednesday on an ATIS petition for reconsideration of the agency’s January outage reporting order (see 2401250064). Comments are due June 24, replies July 5, in docket 24-341. ATIS sought clarification of the decision codifying the FCC practice of waiving network outage reporting system filings that would be due while the disaster information reporting system is activated. ATIS also sought clarification and reconsideration of the order’s requirements on submitting a final DIRS report. ATIS urged “reconsideration of the requirement that final reports include the estimated dates by which all issues will be resolved” given that “it may not be possible for providers to accurately determine such information within the 24-hour window provided.”
Shure executives briefed aides to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Brendan Carr about spectrum needs of wireless mic users. The executives recently provided the same update for staff from the Office of Engineering and Technology and Wireless Bureau and the other three commissioners (see 2406050011). “We discussed the increasing demand for wireless microphone audio technologies … for professional users in the American music, theater, sports, broadcasting and film industries, among other sectors that rely on high-quality professional wireless microphone operations,” a filing posted Wednesday in docket 14-166 said: “It is more and more difficult to meet the wireless audio needs of professional productions and events in those industries.”