President Joe Biden’s nominee for U.S. coordinator of international communications and information policy, drew a favorable response from Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrats during a truncated Thursday confirmation hearing. Steve Lang emphasized the need for U.S. “solidarity with like-minded partners around the world” on communications and cybersecurity issues “to better face the existential challenge from” China and other “countries that don't share our democratic values.” Lang is currently deputy assistant secretary of state-international information and communications policy.
Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act (HR-889/S-341) lead Senate sponsor Mark Warner, D-Va., is considering attaching the measure’s language to the House-approved Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act (HR-7024) ahead of the upper chamber’s consideration of the package. Lobbyists question whether there’s sufficient momentum for swift action on HR-889/S-341 despite communications industry interest. Meanwhile, a potential bid to allocate $3.08 billion from an FCC reauction of 197 returned AWS-3 licenses to fully fund the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2401240001) is unlikely to become part of the 2024 National Security Act supplemental appropriations package but could be a factor in talks for other must-pass legislation this year.
Space operators see themselves facing emerging policy hurdles around the globe that could impede satellite spectrum sharing and satellite mesh networks. At the SmallSat Symposium in Silicon Valley Thursday, there also was discussion about the growing challenges of an increasingly noisy and crowded low earth orbit (LEO) environment and talk of the need for a global approach to space sustainability.
Moving most of the FCC’s economists under the Office of Economics and Analytics, a controversial step taken on a Republican 3-2 commissioner vote in 2018 (see 1801300026), has proven helpful to the commission, OEA Chief Giulia McHenry said at an FCBA Engineering and Technical Committee lunch on Thursday.
FCC commissioners moved quickly to approve 5-0 a declaratory ruling prohibiting voice-cloning technology in robocall scams. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated the ruling a week ago. The agency issued a notice of inquiry exploring the issue in November (see 2311160028).
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announces leaders of U.S. AI Safety Institute, to be established at the National Institute for Standards and Technology: White House National Economic Council’s Elizabeth Kelly as director and NIST’s Information Technology Laboratory Elham Tabassi as chief technology officer (see 2402070069) … Slingshot Aerospace, satellite tracking and space modeling platform, hires Dun & Bradstreet’s Tim Solms, also former Microsoft, as CEO ... Cybersecurity vendor SoSafe names Andrew Rose, ex-Proofpoint, chief security officer ... Digital communications company IDX hires Scott Paterson, ex-Trend Networks, as chief financial officer.
Comments are due March 8, replies April 8, on an FCC proposal requiring refunds for consumers when blackouts occur due to failed retransmission consent negotiations, said a notice in Wednesday's Federal Register. The blackout NPRM was adopted 3-2 on circulation in January (see 2401100026).
The Virginia Senate passed a junk-fees bill Tuesday that the wireless industry raised concerns about last month. Also on that day the Senate approved an AI bill and the House passed a kids privacy bill. State senators voted 28-11 for SB-388, which would prohibit businesses from displaying prices that don’t include mandatory added fees other than taxes. CTIA opposed including the wireless industry in the bill. The FCC’s 2023 broadband labeling rules already protect consumers from surprise or unfair fees, the association said in a Jan. 24 letter. Wireless providers also follow the FCC’s truth-in-billing requirements, CTIA said. “Any new law should expressly exempt services already regulated by the FCC.” The Virginia Senate voted 39-0 for SB-487, which would set guardrails on public bodies’ use of AI. The House voted 98-0 for HB-707, which would add children-specific protections to the state’s comprehensive consumer privacy law. It would prohibit data controllers from selling a child’s personal data or using it for targeted advertising or profiling (see 2401310071).
The FCC Wireless Bureau Wednesday rejected a request by the North Shore Emergency Association (see 2401290030) to extend by two months the deadlines to comment on a request from Garmin International (see 2310060031) for a waiver of rules concerning certification of the hand-held general mobile radio service (GMRS) devices it manufactures. Comments remain due Feb. 12, replies Feb. 27 (see 2401120031). The group “has not shown that an extension is warranted,” the bureau said.
The FCC updated a notice on deadlines for responses to a CTIA petition seeking a 12-month extension (see 2401090026) to the FCC's current six-month deadline for carriers to implement rules protecting consumers from SIM swapping and port-out fraud. Intended for Thursday’s Federal Register, the notice adds a date for replies to oppositions -- Feb. 23. Oppositions are due Feb. 13 (see 2401260054).