The FCC should “take immediate action” on two petitions against radio stations airing programming from Russia-sponsored news channel Radio Sputnik, said a letter to FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel from Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich. The petitions were filed in 2022 on behalf of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America. Smithwick and Belendiuk broadcast attorney Arthur Belendiuk prepared the filings against the two stations, which broadcast to the Washington, D.C., area. The petitions ask the FCC to hold license hearing proceedings on WZHF (AM) Capitol Heights, Maryland, and a Reston, Virginia, translator that rebroadcasts WZHF's signal (see 2203230054). “The programming being broadcast does not represent the views and interests of the audience the stations have been licensed to serve,” wrote Bergman. “It is Russian propaganda, bought and paid for by a hostile foreign government.” The FCC hasn’t responded to the petitions, but it also hasn’t granted the license renewal applications of other stations owned by WZHF owners Arthur and Yvonne Liu, said their attorney Mark Lipp of Fletcher Heald. Bergman called out the Radio Sputnik broadcasts for characterizing Ukrainians as Nazis and for “antisemitic tropes” connected with the Israel-Hamas conflict. The stations “have stated that Hamas was justified in its attacks, that Israel is guilty of war crimes and that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza,” Bergman wrote. The letter doesn’t cite specific programming, making it difficult for WZHF’s owners to look into or address the allegations, Lipp said. “It certainly doesn’t sound like something the station would air,” Lipp added. “UCCA and its members deserve a definitive answer. The issues raised in these petitions are serious and merit the FCC’s prompt attention and response,” Bergman’s letter said.
Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer Quectel pushed back Friday against the House China Committee’s call for DOD and the Treasury Department to blacklist it over ties to the Chinese government, Huawei and ZTE. House China Chairman Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Calif., urged Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Thursday to act on new information about Quectel's “multiple affiliations” with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the company’s collaborations with Huawei and ZTE. Those ties should qualify Quectel to appear on DOD’s blacklist of Chinese military-affiliated companies and Treasury’s similar “Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List,” the House China leaders wrote Austin and Yellen. Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi asked the FCC last year about the threat Quectel and Chinese gearmaker Fibocom posed to U.S. IoT devices (see 2308080059). “We are disappointed to see continued and false allegations from” House China about Quectel’s “supposed cooperation with the Chinese Communist Party” and the Chinese military, Quectel Wireless Solutions President Norbert Muhrer said Friday. “We are an independent company publicly traded on the Shanghai stock exchange that operates internationally.” The company “maintains the highest industry standards of security and data privacy,” Muhrer said, noting its products are designed only for civil and commercial use cases: “We comply with all U.S. and international export control and sanctions laws. We do not sell to any person or entity in Russia, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria or Crimea, nor do we sell to military manufacturers anywhere.” Even “if Quectel were placed on the lists,” as House China leaders are asking, “the only impact would be to block U.S. investments in Quectel securities,” Muhrer said. “Quectel would not be barred from selling any of its products, in other words would not be blacklisted.”
As the FCC sees increased dissent votes by Republican minority commissioners, those dissents frequently challenge agency authority. That's becoming a more common line of argument among GOP commissioners across federal regulatory agencies, often based on the U.S. Supreme Court's major questions doctrine, administrative law experts tell us. Republican commissioners and former commissioners say dissent votes are a reflection of the Democratic majority pushing partisan issues. Commissioner Nathan Simington in a statement said he is "disappointed that the Commission is now focused on misguided, partisan items, but I remain hopeful that we can continue making progress on real, non-partisan solutions to long-standing technical issues."
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr announces Arpan Sura, from the Wireless Bureau, as legal adviser (see 2401040043) … Pierson Ferdinand tech-focused law firm launches, with more than 130 partners representing 80-plus practices areas including partners, all from FisherBroyles: Rachel Huffstetler and Keats Quinalty, both intellectual property; Adam Ettinger, chief technology officer; Vincent Bushnell, cyber risk, privacy and data Security; Jed Davis, Charles Geitner and Dan McGuire, cybersecurity and privacy; Maryam Meseha, cybersecurity and data protection; and Tony Onorato, cybersecurity, cyber risk and data breach … Brent Skorup announces he’s left George Mason University's Mercatus Center to become a research fellow at the Cato Institute's Levy Center for Constitutional Studies.
The limited intent of the FCC Space Bureau grant allowing SpaceX to conduct supplemental coverage from space (SCS) operations over the G block (see 2312050029) is gutted by the thousands of SpaceX satellites involved, Dish Network said in a docket 23-135 reconsideration petition posted Wednesday. "At 10 days for each satellite, the authorization would be for the equivalent of centuries," Dish said, adding that the intended limits don't place meaningful boundaries on SpaceX's operations. It urged the grant be deferred or discontinued or limited to a sample of 10 SpaceX satellites. In a separate filing in the docket, Dish and new parent EchoStar (see 2401020003) called Omnispace's interference analysis of the 990-1995 MHz band (see 2310230035) "worthy of study." SpaceX launched its first batch of SCS-dedicated satellites this week (see 2401030032). It didn't comment Thursday on Dish's petition.
Comments are due Feb. 5, replies March 5, concerning the FCC's proposal banning charging early termination fees for cable TV and direct broadcast satellite and mandating prorated refunds for canceled service, said a notice for Friday's Federal Register. The docket is 23-405. The FCC adopted the MVPD fees NPRM 3-2 during its December meeting (see 2312130019).
The FCC Wireline Bureau approved a transfer of control of Tennessee-based cable and fiber connectivity operator CableSouth from parent Hunt Group Holdings to Australia's Macquarie Group, according to a notice in Thursday's Daily Digest. It said that under the deal Hunt and Macquarie will each own 50% of CableSouth, with Macquarie having de facto control. CableSouth does business as SwyftFiber and SwyftConnect.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau warned two Brooklyn, New York, property owners of possible forfeitures of up to $2.3 million for allegedly hosting pirate radio stations, said Enforcement Bureau letters in Thursday’s Daily Digest. The notices to property owners 70 Rockaway Parkway and RAAV 2617 LLC formally notify them of illegal broadcasting that EB field agents found. They demand proof that the transmissions have ceased and request that the unauthorized broadcasters be identified. Entities that allow third parties “to engage in so-called 'pirate radio' broadcasting on their property can face significant financial penalties,” the letters said. Property owners have 10 business days to respond.
An ATSC 3.0 set-top receiver made by ADTH is available on Walmart’s website, a release from the Advanced Television Systems Committee’s spokesperson said Thursday. The ADTH NEXTGEN TV set-top receiver costs $89.99, according to the website. It's the cheapest ATSC receiver in the pipeline, the ATSC spokesperson told us. We searched; the cheapest 3.0 TV we found on the NextGen TV device shopping guide -- a Sony 43-inch -- carried a $599.99 price tag. The FCC and Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel have repeatedly emphasized concerns about the availability of low-cost ATSC 3.0 receivers (see 2307130057). Walmart’s website also sells a Silicon Dust 3.0 set-top receiver at $199.99, but the spokesperson said the Silicon Dust device is not currently compatible with the digital rights management encryption used by some ATSC 3.0 broadcasters. The ADTH receiver is. ADTH's is the “first certified and security verified device,” the release said. Multiple online campaigns are calling on the FCC to bar broadcasters from encrypting their 3.0 signals with digital rights management (see 2307110073) because they believe it favors certain manufacturers and runs counter to broadcasting's traditional free availability. The issue is a focus of the NAB-run, FCC-involved ATSC 3.0 task force, the Future of TV Initiative (see 2311160064). CES 2024 will include the ADTH model and several other low-cost receivers, the ATSC spokesperson told us.
The Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector is reviewing RGTN USA's direct number access authorization request, said a DOJ letter to the FCC posted Wednesday in docket 23-335. An interconnected VoIP provider, RGTN requested numbers in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas (see 2309210055). The agency will notify the FCC when its initial request for information is complete and the 120-day initial review can begin, the letter said.