No one has ever applied to participate in the FCC’s broadcast incubator program, according to an FCC spokesperson. Created in 2018, then tied up in the Prometheus court proceedings (see 2104010067) for years afterward, the program aimed at providing more access to capital for minority and female radio station owners was reinstated in 2021 but a year later is seen by some as dead. The agency hasn't received any applications and doesn't track informal inquiries, an FCC spokesperson told us. “I think those interested in promoting diversity in the industry have pretty much given up on this program,” said former FCC Commissioner Henry Rivera, a longtime participant in FCC diversity efforts. “NAB has been supportive of this program since its creation and encourages the FCC to promote this important initiative as it actively encourages greater diversity in broadcast ownership,” an NAB spokesperson emailed. “It is an incomplete success,” said David Honig, of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council.
Country of origin cases
State departments of transportation in Florida, Georgia and Maryland, seeking waivers to launch cellular vehicle-to-everything operations in the 5.9 GHz band, got broad support in comments posted at the FCC by Tuesday. The applications came after a broader waiver request was filed late last year. Several comments said the waivers are important to U.S. competitiveness. Industry observers expect relatively quick action addressing the waivers (see 2209010047). Comments were due Monday in docket 19-138.
Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., are nearing agreement on legislation that would create a new consumer protection agency to regulate the tech industry, they confirmed with us.
The California Public Utilities Commission should withdraw or substantially change a draft decision on low-income subsidies that would undermine an “all of government” effort to make connectivity affordable, Verizon said Friday in docket R.20-02-008. The CPUC plans to vote Thursday on the proposal to reduce California LifeLine subsidies when total federal monthly support applied to a LifeLine plan is more than $9.25. The commission originally planned to vote Aug. 25, but Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma held the item for further review (see 2208230008). The proposal “risks serious harm” to those “who can least afford it,” said Verizon, saying it raised “serious concerns” in ex parte letters sent Aug. 22 to all five CPUC members. Data analysis by Verizon’s Tracfone found that many legacy emergency broadband benefit (EBB) customers “use well in excess of the LifeLine program supported standard 6 GB plan,” Verizon said. “These data directly contradict the main reason that the Proposed Decision cites for denying consumers the ability to combine all available subsidies … for the purpose of receiving unlimited wireless connectivity.” The draft “relies on a flawed analysis by CPUC Staff asserting that LifeLine customers don’t need unlimited wireless connectivity because they only used an average of less than 2 GB of data per month in a three-month period before the EBB was even available.”
Washington, D.C.’s, 911 center did little in response to recommendations in an October audit that found the Office of Unified Communications (OUC) failed in many months to meet national standards for getting timely help to callers, said a follow-up report Friday. Of 31 recommendations, OUC completed one, made “minimal progress” on 24, and “no observed progress” on two, said the Office of D.C. Auditor (ODCA): OUC still faces issues identified in the original audit, “including call-taking confusion, glitches in dispatch operations, and insufficient management follow-up on after-action reviews.”
Policymakers should remove special legal protections for tech platforms under Communications Decency Act Section 230, increase algorithm transparency and set clear data collection limits, the White House said Thursday, outlining principles for enhancing competition and tech accountability.
The FCC will tackle the growing problem of low-orbit space debris, legacy analog TV rules, inmate calling and rules for emergency alerts at the commissioners' Sept. 29 meeting, the agency said Thursday. Unlike for other meetings, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel was traveling Wednesday and didn’t preview the drafts released.
Industry largely backed the FCC’s Further NPRM on curbing access stimulation, in comments posted Wednesday in docket 18-155 (see 2207140055). The item proposes clarifying rules adopted in 2019 to include IP-enabled services (IPES) providers.
The FCC won’t include funds for indirect full-time equivalents connected with aspects of the USF in calculating broadcaster regulatory fees but rejected many other broadcast proposals for reduced fees, said the FY2022 regulatory fees order and notice of inquiry released Friday. Radio stations that faced a 13% reg fee increase from 2021 will instead have an increase of 7% or 8%, broadcast industry officials said. Commissioners adopted the order unanimously Thursday. “Regulatory fees are not based on a precise allocation of specific employees with certain work assignments each year and instead are based on a higher-level approach,” said the order. Regulatory fees must be collected before the Sept. 30 end of the federal fiscal year.
With the comment cycle complete, proponents of a December waiver request seeking permission to start using the 5.9 GHz band for cellular-vehicle-to-everything technology expect a relatively quick order from the FCC. Other requests have followed. But industry observers also note that FCC staff still must wade through all the comments, and the timing of agency decisions on such issues can be difficult to handicap.