FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez warned at the CES in Las Vegas that the U.S. could fall behind other nations unless the agency once again has authority to conduct spectrum auctions. The remarks were her first at a CES as an FCC member. Meanwhile, Commissioner Brendan Carr, also at the show, said the FCC is moving backward on spectrum. Carr slammed the administration’s national spectrum strategy for not opening any new spectrum (see 2401100032), which he called “a bit of a miss.” CTA officials said Carr and Gomez toured the CES show floor together Wednesday.
The FCC’s one-year window for certain low-power TV stations to apply for Class A status will open Feb.9, according to a notice for Wednesday’s Federal Register. The window stems from the FCC’s implementation of the Low-Power Protection Act in December (see 2312080043), and is open only to LPTV stations that broadcast a minimum of 18 hours a day, carry three hours per week of local programming and are located in markets of 95,000 households or fewer.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau Tuesday approved a waiver request by Alert SouthBay allowing wireless carriers to participate in a wireless emergency alert test in Los Angeles County's South Bay region. The test was scheduled to start at 11:20 a.m. PSD that day. “We are persuaded it is in the public interest to allow ... Alert SouthBay to test WEA’s performance over the County’s variety of geographic and demographic conditions, especially considering recent land movement and landslides, as well as the prevalent high fire risk,” the bureau said in post in docket 15-91. Alert SouthBay later confirmed the test took place.
Representatives of major trade associations stressed to the FCC that a cyber trust mark program for smart devices (see 2311130034) must remain voluntary. “The Trade Associations highlighted several factors that will be necessary in order to make the FCC’s proposed Labeling Program a success,” the reps told Public Safety Bureau Chief Debra Jordan and others from the bureau, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 22-239 from by CTA, the Connectivity Standards Alliance, CTIA, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association and USTelecom. The program should “leverage” the work of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and industry standards and “allow for self-attestation,” the groups said. “Preemption and safe harbors are critical to the Labeling Program’s success,” they said: The program “should be launched at the device level but should allow for expansion to the product level in the future.”
CTIA sought a 12-month extension to the FCC's current six-month deadline for carriers to implement new rules protecting consumers from SIM swapping and port-out fraud. Commissioners approved the rules 5-0 in November (see 2311150042). “CTIA seeks a targeted revision to the Order to ensure that providers have adequate time to develop the comprehensive systems and processes needed to implement the new rules and best serve the Commission’s and industry’s shared goals,” said the petition, posted Tuesday in docket 21-341. “The Order underestimates the time needed for providers to implement the new rules,” CTIA said: Eighteen months is “the minimum window needed to complete the needed changes across the varied and complex systems impacted by the Order’s new authentication, notification, recordkeeping, and other requirements as well as other new rules by the Commission that impact some of these same systems.” CTIA noted that providers “already have robust protections in place such that consumers and businesses will not be left unprotected during this transition period.” CTIA warned that the record didn't support the deadline in the order, calling the decision “arbitrary and capricious.”
More funding is "urgently needed" to maintain the FCC's affordable connectivity program, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told lawmakers in a letter Monday. Reps. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., plan to introduce legislation Wednesday that would provide ACP with stopgap funding, though Congress’ appetite for providing the program more money remains in question given misgivings among top Republicans on the House and Senate Commerce committees (see 2312210074), communications policy-focused lobbyists told us.
CTA is fighting the same policy battles today it has been fighting for years, CTA President Gary Shapiro said at the start of CES in Las Vegas Tuesday. Every company “can be, or perhaps should be, a tech company,” he said. “We’re urging policymakers in Washington, and around the globe, to adopt rules and laws that protect consumers but also promote innovation and growth,” Shapiro said. “That means developing lighter touch rules” supporting existing businesses and those seeking market entry, Shapiro said.
Numerous satellite operators welcomed the idea of expanding the range of minor satellite and earth station modifications that can be done without having to first notify the FCC. But support was far more mixed in docket 22-411 filings posted Tuesday when it came to use of deadlines on FCC decisions regarding applications. Commissioners in September by a 4-0 vote adopted a Further NPRM regarding streamlining of satellite and earth station applications (see 2309210055). Reply comments in the docket are due Feb. 6.
The FCC is adopting, 3-2 along party lines today, an NPRM on circulation seeking comment on a requirement MVPDs refund subscribers affected by programming blackouts due to retransmission consent negotiations, a 10th-floor official tells us. Commissioners in December adopted, 4-0, a companion NPRM requiring MVPDs to notify the agency of blackouts due to failed retrans talks. Commissioner Nathan Simington expressed skepticism at the legal basis cited for the reporting requirement.
Urging clarity in FCC rules governing cable operators' compensation for franchise obligations, counsel for state and local interests met with aides to Commissioner Anna Gomez seeking a proceeding that clarifies compensation must be at marginal cost, not fair market value. In docket 05-311 filed Monday, the localities said the agency also should clarify that franchise authorities must pay the marginal cost of using institutional networks, not the construction cost of an institutional network that serves others, such as small businesses and other nonresidential consumers. In addition, they urged repeal of the mixed-use rule as part of proceedings clarifying franchise obligations. Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles County, Hawaii and the National League of Cities were among the interests represented.