An FCC order requiring providers of incarcerated people's communications products to offer access to all telecom relay services in certain jurisdictions went into effect Tuesday, according to a notice in that day's Federal Register (see 2212080063). Previously, an incorrect date was announced.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker (R) and more than 170 other U.S. cities' leaders urged House and Senate leaders Tuesday to “renew and extend” funding for the FCC’s affordable connectivity program, which is expected to exhaust its current $14.2 billion allocation in April. Last week, the FCC began initial steps to wind down ACP, with the Wireline Bureau declaring it would freeze new enrollments Feb. 8 (see 2401110072). Also, last week, a group of lawmakers filed the ACP Extension Act (HR-6929/S-3565) in a bid to infuse $7 billion for FY 2024 into the program (see 2401100056). ACP “has been a key tool in our efforts to eliminate the digital divide in America” since Congress first authorized it via the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and it “has wide support,” the U.S. Conference of Mayors said in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and their respective minority leaders. “From Democrats to Republicans, to rural and urban areas, to the telecommunications industry and all levels of government,” ACP “is recognized by all as successful.” Extending the program “will help close the digital divide, allow Americans to access the resources they need, and strengthen the U.S. economy to compete in the 21st Century,” the mayors said in the letter.
More than 200 artists, including authors Neil Gaiman and Cory Doctorow and singer/songwriters Tom Morello and Kimya Dawson, signed an open letter backing the FCC's pending net neutrality proceeding. "Net neutrality protections ensure that we get to decide what we do online, without interference from companies we pay to get online, like Verizon and Comcast," they said in the letter, which organizers Fight for the Future and Demand Progress released Tuesday. "That means they can’t block, throttle, favor or try to extract payments from online services."
The broadband equity, access and deployment program risks leaving multi-dwelling units across the U.S. unserved or underserved, broadband access advocates tell us. States are taking a variety of approaches to address MDU connectivity in their BEAD plans submitted to NTIA. These range from requiring connectivity for individual units to, in some cases, not addressing MDUs at all, our reading of BEAD volume 2 plans found.
Former NTIA acting Administrator Diane Rinaldo and other witnesses set to testify during a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing say in written testimony that smart, expedited use of funding from NTIA’s Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (Wireless Innovation Fund), among other actions, will help supercharge innovation in U.S. open radio access networks. Several witnesses also urge accelerated development of ORAN standards, ensuring equipment interoperability. The hearing is set to begin at 2 p.m. in 2123 Rayburn, the House Commerce Committee said Tuesday.
Most early comments supported a proposal in a November FCC NPRM letting schools and libraries apply for funding from the E-rate program for Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet access services that can be used off-premises. The agency approved the NPRM 3-2, with Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissenting (see 2311090028). Comments were due Monday in docket 21-31.
A reconsideration petition on the FCC's denial of SpaceX participation in the rural development opportunity fund (see 2401040018) doesn't rely on new facts or circumstances that couldn't have been brought up earlier in the proceeding, Viasat said Friday in a docket 19-126 opposition. It said the Virginia petitioner acknowledges he wasn't a party to the underlying proceeding and doesn't try to show a good reason why he couldn't participate. The petition also doesn't cite any finding or conclusion that the petitioner believes to be erroneous or show any error in the underlying reasoning, it said.
The FCC Space Bureau approved Lynk Global's requested extension of its surety bond posting deadline (see 2401050062), according to a notation last week. The company had said damages involving its Tower 5 and Tower 6 satellites delayed their launch, and thus the need for an extension.
The FCC Media Bureau proposed a $150,000 forfeiture for Mission Broadcasting over violations of the good faith retransmission negotiation rules, said a notice of apparent liability released late Friday. The violations stem from Nexstar's negotiations on Mission’s behalf with Comcast for retransmission consent rights for Mission’s station WPIX New York (see 2301180034), the NAL said. Nexstar allegedly conditioned retrans consent on Comcast’s acceptance of contract proposals that “would foreclose the filing of future complaints with the Commission,” which the FCC said is “inconsistent with competitive marketplace considerations.” Nexstar’s negotiating retrans rights for WPIX on Mission’s behalf is the subject of litigation between DirecTV and Nexstar (see 2310040024), and has also been the focus of legal challenges brought by Comcast and Charter (see 2211220061). The NAL doesn’t directly address allegations from the MVPDs that Nexstar and Mission’s relationship violates antitrust laws, but it says the proposed forfeiture was adjusted upward in light of Nexstar’s ability to pay, citing the companies’ SEC filings. “Mission’s revenues and assets are consolidated with Nexstar’s financial accounting and annual reporting,” said the NAL. “Hence, Mission and Nexstar are effectively treated as a single entity for financial purposes in the Nexstar 10-K.” The agency also dismissed arguments from Mission that it wasn’t responsible for Nexstar's actions. Since Mission identified Nexstar as the “approved delegated negotiator” for WPIX, that argument “contravenes basic principles of agency law” and “ignores Commission precedent that licensees are ultimately responsible for the acts of their licensed stations.” The NAL also contains a footnote that appears to leave room for future enforcement actions involving Mission and Nexstar’s relationship. The Comcast complaint that led to the NAL “alleges additional good faith negotiation violations against both Mission and Nexstar Media Group,” but in this NAL “we address only a subset,” the footnote says. “The remaining allegations are under review by the Commission pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.” Nexstar and Mission didn’t immediately comment,Comcast said it was pleased by the FCC's actions.
State and local interests continue to press for repeal of the cable mixed-use rules. According to a filing Friday in docket 05-311 recapping a meeting with FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks' office, the state and local interests also advocated for a ruling that cable franchise obligation compensation must be for marginal cost, not fair market value. The local and state interests -- including Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles County, Hawaii and the National League of Cities -- this month had a similar meeting with Commissioner Anna Gomez's office (see [Re:2401080032]).