The Commerce and Defense departments postponed briefings for the Senate Armed Services and Commerce committees originally expected to happen next week on the Pentagon's report on its study on repurposing the 3.1-3.45 GHz band for commercial 5G use (see 2309280087), lawmakers and communications lobbyists told us. There has been no clear explanation why, but word of the delay circulated in conjunction with chatter that the two federal departments are disagreeing on what the report’s conclusions mean for bids to sell or share parts of the lower 3 GHz band.
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The FAA's space launch and reentry regulatory regime was criticized Wednesday during a Senate Commerce Space Subcommittee hearing, with space launch companies and experts testifying that FAA changes haven't resulted in more streamlined launch license reviews. Several urged more agency funding and staffing. There also were multiple requests for a one-stop-shop for commercial space activity regulatory authorizations.
The Senate Communications Subcommittee rescheduled an anti-robocall hearing for Oct. 24, the Commerce Committee said Tuesday. The hearing will “examine how robocallers are evading enforcement, consider public-private efforts to combat illegal robocalls and investigate what next steps are needed to protect Americans from fraudulent and illegal text messages and calls,” Senate Commerce said. The panel postponed the hearing, originally planned for Oct. 3, amid reshuffling to accommodate senators who wanted to attend the funeral for former Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. USTelecom Vice President-Policy and Advocacy Josh Bercu and YouMail Chief Technology Officer Mike Rudolph are among those set to testify. Also on the witness list: Wiley’s Megan Brown on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Consumer Law Center Senior Attorney Margot Saunders. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.
A few tweaks appear likely as FCC commissioners vote Thursday on a proposed order that would require participating wireless providers to transmit emergency messages in the 13 most commonly spoken languages in the U.S., in addition to English and American Sign Language, and make other changes to the rules (see 2309280071). CTIA and the Competitive Carriers Association have sought changes.
Clashes among nations in the future "will include galactic arenas," and there should be a networked approach when there's a cyberattack on a commercial space operator, said Anjana Rajan, White House assistant national cyber director, Tuesday at a Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center conference. She said there's a need to understand space systems are secured by design and to operationalize best practices for defense against cyberattacks, and, to those ends, her office, the National Security Council and National Space Council are working on an interagency policy. Multiple speakers said space should be declared a critical infrastructure sector. “It should have been done yesterday,” said Samuel Visner, Aerospace Corp. fellow. As space and cybersystems become more interdependent, space will be increasingly sensitive to cyber concerns, he said, and there should be a national R&D initiative for space cybersecurity. Adding functional requirements on operations for security comes at a cost, and that R&D initiative could make cybersecurity more affordable and practical, he said. Being able to anticipate adverse cyber conditions in space means having more space-based sensors and contextual telemetry, said Kassandra Vogel, Blue Origin principal space systems security architect. Withstanding a cyber event is going to require incident response exercises and solutions that inform playbooks that then allow rapid decisions, she said.
Blue Origin is getting into the in-space refueling and logistics marketplace, as it unveiled its Blue Ring spacecraft platform Monday. “Blue Ring addresses two of the most difficult challenges in spaceflight today: growing space infrastructure and increasing mobility on-orbit,” said Paul Ebertz, senior vice president of Blue Origin's new In-Space Systems business unit.
A draft order on expanding audio description requirements to all U.S. broadcast markets within 10 years is expected to be unanimously approved at Thursday’s FCC commissioners’ open meeting with few changes, said agency and industry officials. Though broadcasters asked for concessions and objected to proposals to expand audio description in the past (see 1904020059), they have been largely quiet this time around. The draft order’s docket,11-43, hasn’t had an ex parte filing on the proposal since May.
A bipartisan group of senators is circulating draft legislation to protect entertainers against unauthorized digital replicas created by AI technology. Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del.; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., introduced a discussion draft on their Nurture Originals, Foster Art and Keep Entertainment Safe (No Fakes) Act. The No Fakes Act would hold individuals, companies and platforms liable for creating and hosting such content. Actor Tom Hanks and musicians Drake and the Weekend objected to recent AI-generated content using their likenesses online. “Creators around the nation are calling on Congress to lay out clear policies regulating the use and impact of generative AI, and Congress must strike the right balance to defend individual rights, abide by the First Amendment, and foster AI innovation and creativity,” Coons said in a statement. Blackburn called it a “good first step in protecting our creative community.” The Motion Picture Association said it looks forward to working with sponsors to “ensure any eventual legislation establishes adequate protections against harmful uses of digital replicas without infringing on the First Amendment rights and creative freedoms upon which our industry depends.”
The Senate Commerce Space Subcommittee plans a Wednesday hearing on the “federal government’s role in regulating human activities in space,” including the “importance of streamlined authorization processes, safety regulations for in-space operations, and responsibilities of government agencies overseeing commercial human space activities,” the Commerce Committee said Thursday. SpaceX Vice President-Build and Flight Reliability William Gerstenmaier and Blue Origin Senior Vice President-New Shepard Business Unit Phil Joyce are among those set to testify, the panel said. Also on the docket: Virgin Galactic Vice President-Government Affairs and Research Sirisha Badla, National Aerospace Solutions President Wayne Monteith and CS Consulting President Caryn Schenewerk. The hearing will begin at 2:30 p.m. in 106 Dirksen. Senate Commerce in July advanced the Orbital Sustainability Act (S-447) and Launch Communications Act (S-1648) in a bid to revamp some satellite-related space regulatory practices (see 2307260037).
CTIA said it mostly supports an FCC draft order that would require participating wireless providers to transmit emergency messages in the 13 most commonly spoken languages in the U.S., in addition to English and American Sign Language, and make other changes to the rules (see 2309280071), but sought a few tweaks. CTIA representatives met with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel ahead of an Oct. 19 commissioner vote, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 15-91. “The Commission should require that any potential implementation requirements be placed out for public comment by all affected stakeholders prior to adoption of a Bureau Order, which could be conducted when the Bureau seeks comment on the costs of supporting additional languages,” CTIA said: “Consistent with the traditional demarcation of WEA responsibilities, the content and management of these templates necessarily lies with alert originators, presumably in coordination with [the Federal Emergency Management Agency]. Participating [carriers] and handset manufacturers cannot be responsible for these tasks.” CTIA raised questions about the templates that must be stored on devices. “The Commission should bear in mind that the timeline to comply with a new template requirement will vary depending upon the complexity of the implementation and if the Commission adopts a requirement for including context-specific information, CTIA expects that thirty months will be insufficient,” the group said.