The California Public Utilities Commission doesn’t plan to consider allowing competition in small ILEC service territories at upcoming hearings in docket 11-11-007, reviewing the California High Cost Fund-A program, two administrative law judges ruled, posted Monday. The agency postponed the hearings, originally scheduled Nov. 18, to Jan. 27 because that week is “preferable” to ALJs Mary McKenzie and Hazlyn Fortune, wrote McKenzie.
Country of origin cases
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee rescheduled for Wednesday its postponed hearing on the findings of a 2018 GAO study on tribal spectrum access. The hearing was originally set for July (see 1907080010). The GAO report, sought by the committee, said the FCC needs to improve outreach to tribal governments to improve those entities' access to spectrum (see 1811140069). The hearing will begin at 2:30 p.m. in 628 Dirksen, Indian Affairs said.
FAA should publish a drone remote identification rulemaking “without further delay,” Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., wrote Administrator Steven Dickson Thursday. The Transportation Department last week again delayed publishing its NPRM until at least December (see 1909060062). The legislators sought “clarification on FAA’s plans for any voluntary industry implementation of drone identification.” The original deadline to develop remote ID standards was July 2018. The rulemaking is a “significant part of the Department’s approach to unmanned aircraft systems and the proposed rule’s transmittal to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is an important step in that process,” an FAA spokesperson said. “We look forward to continuing work to further develop regulations surrounding the use of drones.”
With one appeal filed of the FCC cable local franchise authority order, multiple other plaintiffs are expected to appeal and intervene by the Oct. 28 deadline, 60 days after the LFA order was in the Federal Register. Coalitions of local communities and states are seen as possible plaintiffs.
Introducing a privacy bill bilaterally with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., separate from the Senate Commerce Committee working group, is a “thought,” Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., told reporters Thursday. After the group’s apparent fracturing, focus shifted (see 1908010043) to bilateral negotiations between Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. But Moran and Blumenthal are continuing their own talks, though Blumenthal claims the group is moving forward as one.
Broadcasters and ATSC 3.0 advocates are focused on establishing a “beachhead” in the home and in TVs rather than on mobile uses or chips in handsets, said Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle at an FCBA event Tuesday. Consortiums Pearl and Spectrum Co see 3.0 consumer devices rolling out in 2020, she said.
The FCC Media Bureau will add more applications to the licensing management system (LMS) that were originally accessed through the consolidated database system (CDBS), said a public notice in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. The forms include construction permit and license applications for FM, low-power FM and translator stations. Starting Sept. 25, those forms will no longer be available on the CDBS, and accessible only on LMS, the PN said. “The Bureau will be adding more filing schedules to LMS on an ongoing basis.”
Fubo launched a free streaming sports network, Fubo Sports Network, featuring live sports and original programming, it tweeted Monday.
The Transportation Department will again delay publishing its NPRM for drone remote identification of unmanned aircraft systems until at least December (see 1906180075), the agency announced Friday. It was previously delayed until September, more than a year after the original deadline for issuing a final rule. The comment period is expected to end in February, two years after the project was launched. Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International CEO Brian Wynne expressed disappointment, saying the remote ID rule is needed for economic and societal reasons: “Remote ID is critical for ensuring airspace safety by helping law enforcement identify and distinguish authorized UAS from those that may pose a security threat. We urge the FAA to move as quickly as possible with rulemaking for remote identification to keep the skies safe for all aircraft -- both manned and unmanned.”
Google should expand Content ID, YouTube’s copyright infringement tool, to more content creators, a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers wrote CEO Sundar Pichai Wednesday. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; Chris Coons, D-Del.; and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., signed with Reps. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y.; Doug Collins, R-Ga.; Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; and Martha Roby, R-Ala. They noted “access to the Content ID system is only granted to companies that ‘own exclusive rights to a substantial body of original material that is frequently uploaded by the YouTube user community,’” raising concern that smaller copyright holders lack access. Google didn’t comment.