Maine could designate wireless companies as eligible telecom carriers (ETCs) for the federal Lifeline program under a bill a legislative panel approved Thursday. The Technology Committee voted 10-0 to advance LD-2193 by Sen. Matthew Harrington (R). Like some other states, Maine relies on the FCC to designate mobile phone providers as ETCs. The Florida Senate passed a similar measure Wednesday (see 2402210055).
Representatives of the Open Technology Institute at New America and Public Knowledge spoke with staffers of the FCC Wireless Bureau, Office of Economics and Analytics and others about their request for handset unlocking requirements for T-Mobile as part of its proposed buy of Mint Mobile (see 2402060025). “Consumer advocates have long argued that mobile phones should come unlocked by default, allowing users to more easily make choices about the device and service they purchase, as they can for most products,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 23-171. They noted that the U.K.’s Office of Communications has required mobile phones to be sold unlocked there since 2021. Ofcom found that “more than a third of people who decided against switching said having to get a handset unlocked put them off" changing providers, which “means they could be missing out on a better deal,” the groups said.
Industry associations called for a voluntary cyber trust mark program during a meeting with aides to FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. Commissioners are set to vote on a cyber mark program March 14 (see 2402210057). “There is broad support in the record for the idea that flexible, voluntary, risk-based best practices are the hallmarks of IoT security as it exists today and as it is being developed and iterated upon around the world,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 23-239. Groups at the meeting were CTA, the Connectivity Standards Alliance, CTIA, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, USTelecom and the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.
The FCC should create an Office of Civil Rights, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Media and Telecommunications Task Force told FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a meeting last week, according to an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 22-459. The existing Disability Rights Office and Office of Native Affairs and Policy perform important functions but are focused on different tasks than an Office of Civil Rights would be, the filing said. “Resolving individual disputes or encouraging participation” are different matters from “legal and quantitative analysis that could proactively identify systematic problems” and addressing those problems with rulemakings and enforcement actions, the filing said. “Intergovernmental consultation may belong in the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, but civil rights enforcement does not,” the filing said. The Leadership Conference also called on the FCC not to leave the 2022 quadrennial review open past 2024, keep ISPs active in encouraging digital equity, and endorse the FCC’s collection of workforce diversity data. Representatives from groups including the Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Communications Workers of America, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, National Hispanic Media Coalition and Common Cause also attended.
Commerce would take "a go-slow, cautious" regulatory approach if given oversight of novel space missions, as proposed in the White House's novel space activities framework (see 2402210036), according to Glenn Tallia, NOAA weather, satellites and research section chief. Speaking Thursday at the FAA’s annual Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington, he promised a "light-touch," noting concerns that regulation could chill innovation or investment. FCC Space Bureau special counsel Karl Kensinger said the policy proposal leaves the agency's authority largely unaffected.
The FCC's supplemental coverage from space framework draft order would see the service operate in select spectrum bands and on a secondary rather than a co-primary basis. The agency on Thursday released agenda items for commissioners' March 14 open meeting. A vote on the framework is expected that day. Also on the agenda are orders for "all-in" pricing disclosures by multichannel video distributors and launch of a voluntary cybersecurity labeling program, initially focused on wireless consumer IoT “products." In addition, Commissioners will vote on a report raising the FCC's broadband speed benchmark to 100/20 Mbps and an NPRM proposing creation of an emergency alert system code for missing and endangered adults.
AT&T acknowledged Thursday it suffered extensive outages on its wireless network, including the ability of customers to call 911. The FCC is investigating.
R2 Space will pay an $8,000 civil penalty and implement a compliance plan to resolve an FCC Enforcement Bureau investigation into whether the company transferred a satellite license without prior authorization, a bureau consent decree said Wednesday. The bureau said the transfer came in connection with Meta Aerospace's acquisition of R2 and its conversion of the business to an LLC without prior FCC OK. It said sale of the satellite license to Iceye is pending the outcome of a bureau investigation.
The FCC's denial of reconsideration of its 2020 orbital debris order is effective Thursday, said a notice for Thursday's Federal Register. The commissioners approved the orbital debris reconsideration order 5-0 in January (see 2401250064). The order rejected three petitions seeking reconsideration of the 2020 order but provided clarification and guidance on some issues the petitions raised.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr is in New Delhi holding bilateral meetings on security, supply chain and connectivity issues, a Wednesday release said. “Over the course of two days, Carr will meet with his Indian counterparts, including officials at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the Department of Telecommunications, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the National Cyber Coordination Centre,” the release said. “The strong bond between the world’s oldest democracy and its largest has never been more important,” Carr said.