Competitive Carriers Association representatives met with FCC Wireline Bureau staff on delays small carriers face in receiving reimbursement through the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2311160063). CCA members noted that “circumstances, technology, and pricing have changed since their original Reimbursement Program applications were filed,” said a filing Friday in docket 18-89: “Programmatic delays are causing significant financial and business hardships. Participants are being forced to refrain from scheduling more project work pending reimbursements, diverting resources from other projects while waiting for reimbursements, withholding or staggering modification requests in an inefficient way to allow some reimbursements to be completed, and incurring significant non-reimbursable financing costs while waiting for reimbursements.”
Country of origin cases
To help deploy its Kuiper satellite system, Amazon said Friday, it contracted with SpaceX for three Falcon 9 rocket launches. It said the three come atop 77 launches already contracted with Blue Origin, Arianespace and United Launch Alliance (see 2204050003), giving Amazon "even more capacity to support our deployment schedule." It said the Falcon 9 launches are targeted to start in mid-2025.
SpaceX submitted further technical analysis aimed at showing its proposed supplemental coverage from space service with T-Mobile won't cause harmful interference. The eight pages of analysis submitted Friday in FCC docket 23-135 are a continuation of its battle with Omnispace over whether SpaceX's original technical submission was sufficient (see 2311200029, 2311270042).
The U.S. Supreme Court might opt to avoid likely fights over the FCC's digital discrimination rules or proposed Title II net neutrality rules, Andrew Schwartzman, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society's senior counselor, told Communications Daily this month. In an extensive sit-down interview, Schwartzman spoke about his long career as a public interest advocate within telecommunications, evolution of that domain, and how the FCC's net neutrality regulatory push is not merely a repeat of the past. The following transcript of our conversation was edited for length and clarity.
Multiple U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed skeptical Wednesday of regulatory agency power when it comes to handling adjudications differently from court proceedings -- specifically the right to trial by jury (docket 22-859). The SEC, in SEC v. Jarkesy, is seeking to overturn a 2022 decision by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejecting the agency's administrative judgment in a securities fraud case. The appellate court decision was seen having implications for administrative law judge (ALJ) power at regulatory agencies broadly, including the FCC (see 2205260050).
Smith Bagley Inc. (SBi), which serves tribal lands in the Four Corners region of the U.S., called for a tribal 5G Fund of at least $2.5 billion. Reply comments as the FCC considers a proposed 5G Fund (see 2310240046) were due Tuesday in docket 20-32. Other comments urged the FCC to move forward on a fund.
Paramount Global probably isn't headed to the auction block, even though the company adopted handsome golden parachutes for top executives recently, LightShed Partners' Rich Greenfield wrote Tuesday in an investors note. It would likely be doing more aggressive cost-cutting if it were prepping for a sale, he wrote. In addition, it likely would have sold Showtime already instead of using the network to bolster its Paramount+ streaming service, he added. Greenfield says a major question is who would want to acquire Paramount Global. "We do not believe any tech platform (Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft or Netflix) wants to buy a collection of declining broadcast/cable networks that are tied to the fading multichannel video bundle," Greenfield wrote, adding tech platforms are probably more focused on acquiring sports rights when existing deals expire and licensing what they want instead. Legacy media companies also don't seem to be likely buyers, and Paramount Global isn't acting as if it's interested in selling component parts such as its studio or linear TV assets, he said. Instead, the company is more likely moving toward bigger cost-cutting, scaled-back ambitions for Paramount+ and additional licensing of catalog and original programming to third parties, he said. The company told the SEC last week it adopted a change in control severance plan for executives.
While the FCC wants to end cable and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) early-termination fees and require prorated refunds for canceled MVPD service (see 2311210043), it also would seek state and local input about adopting something less than a total ban and allowing state and local variations, according to the draft NPRM for next month's meeting agenda. Meanwhile, an FCC order takes a big swing at robotexts, with rules that override recent objections filed at the agency. In addition, commissioners will vote on new data breach requirements in light of recent leaks at major wireless providers. The agency released the Dec. 13 open meeting's draft items on Wednesday.
Alaska Communications hires former Comcast executive Matthew McConnell as president-CEO ... Entertainment company TMB names Joseph Moschella senior vice president-general counsel; Moschella previously was general counsel of Jukin Media, which TMB acquired in 2021 ... Robert Puentes stepping down as president and CEO of Eno Center for Transportation … Ikotek, IoT original design manufacturer, hires Mathi Gurusamy, former president of Telit Cinterion’s IoT solutions division, as chief operating officer ... Spectra7, supplier of analog semiconductors for broadband connectivity, names its retired former Chief Financial Officer David Mier interim CFO; company previously announced that current CFO Bonnie Tomei will take a personal leave of absence effective Dec. 1 ... Website accessibility platform UserWay promotes Sophia Tupolev-Luz to vice president-communications, and hires Growthspace’s Etay Geller, also former Minute Media, as vice president-product ...
The FTC lacks the authority to regulate copyright matters related to AI-generated content, tech groups told the commission Thursday. In comments earlier this month, the FTC told the Copyright Office AI-generated activity may prompt FTC enforcement against unfair competition and unfair or deceptive practices (see 2311080038). None of the FTC’s authorizing statutes mentions copyright, and the CO’s statutes don’t mention FTC authority, said TechFreedom Associate Counsel Andy Jung during the FTC’s open meeting. The CO doesn’t list the FTC as one of its enforcement partners, he noted, saying the commission “has no expertise or authority related to copyright.” Chamber of Progress Legal Advocacy Counsel Jess Miers said the FTC erroneously supports a licensing framework that would hinder the free and fair use of publicly available works. Interpretation of copyright law falls within the jurisdiction of the courts, not within the scope of FTC Act Section 5 enforcement, she said. Copyright law has traditionally recognized the “fair use of intermediate copying” for activities such as search indexing and browsing, and this logically extends to AI model training, she said. Benjamin Harbakk, a game developer, urged the FTC to help content creators whose work is copied and sold without permission. AI generators can mimic and steal content, and thousands of pieces of artwork can be created in an hour or less, he said. The original creators have no recourse aside from lengthy legal processes associated with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, he said. Chair Lina Khan didn’t address public comments on copyright but said voice-cloning scams are an agency focus. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., provided anecdotal evidence of scammers targeting military families with voice clones of service members. She urged the FTC and FCC to act. Voice cloning scams have the potential to get much worse, and consumers often aren’t able to decipher what’s AI-generated, said Khan: The FTC will continue working closely with its government partners to enforce against voice-cloning scams.