Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

The FCC will consider rules for the vertical location accuracy of wireless calls to 911 and broadband mapping at commissioners’ July 16 meeting, as expected; see here. Also on the tentative agenda, an order addressing supply chain security and equipment from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE.

As broadband bills advance in states responding to the coronavirus, former acting and possibly next FCC Chair Mignon Clyburn said states will be at the “epicenter” of recovery work. Monday at the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utilities virtual conference, the Democrat sought an “uplifting and all-inclusive recovery” that would include a long-awaited USF contribution revamp and increasing Lifeline’s $9.25 monthly government-funded discount.

A House Communications Subcommittee briefing on Ligado’s L-band plan Thursday appears to have been a bid by Commerce Committee leaders to warn the chamber's Armed Services panel against attempting to advance language aimed at scuttling the FCC’s April approval, Capitol Hill aides and lobbyists told us. The company told members of the House and Senate Commerce panels Thursday it obtained emails showing the L-band plan previously had the backing of NTIA’s technical staff and the DOD Chief Information Office (see 2006180034).

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and top lawmakers weighed in Thursday and Friday with additional broadband legislative proposals aimed at tying into COVID-19 aid legislation and broader infrastructure measures. House Democratic leaders announced plans Thursday to merge existing proposals into a $1.5 trillion Moving Forward Act infrastructure measure that would include $100 billion for broadband (see 2006180062). President Donald Trump’s administration is believed to be preparing a $1 trillion infrastructure proposal that will have funding for 5G infrastructure and rural broadband deployments (see 2006160049).

Expect “significant” proposed changes when the Senate Judiciary Committee marks up the Earn It Act, Sen. Richard Blumenthal told us Thursday (see 2006170063). “I’m ready for a markup, which will include some changes, some of them significant, to clarify the provisions in light of the feedback."

It appears there are enough votes for the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance bipartisan, Section 230 legislation for combating child exploitation, Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told us Wednesday (see 2003110070). If Earn It Act (see 2003050066) co-sponsor Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is in favor, Graham will move to a vote: “I think we’ve got the votes, and I’m going to sit down with Sen. Blumenthal right after we do the policing [legislation] stuff, and if he’s ready to go, I’m ready to go.”

FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly got relatively little attention from Senate Commerce Committee members during a Tuesday hearing on his renomination. What attention he did receive was largely positive, with Democrats training their fire on other nominees. President Donald Trump renominated O’Rielly in March to a term ending June 30, 2024. O’Rielly’s current term ended last June, and he can remain until the beginning of 2021. O’Rielly has a good chance of confirmation (see 2004030072).

The FCC has “no discretion to grandfather Franken FMs,” said NPR in an ex parte letter posted in docket 03-185 Wednesday, referring to channel 6 analog low-power TV stations that broadcast content that can be received by FM radios. The agency “lacks authority to rewrite the statutory scheme to permit continued operation of LPTV analog operations after the LPTV digital transition,” said the public radio programmer. The deadline for all LPTV stations to transition to digital is July 13, 2021. Some channel 6 LPTV stations sought permission to continue an analog signal after the transition because their digital TV signal won’t be receivable by FM radios and their content is primarily audio (see 2001230021). “Allowing analog Franken FMs to continue after the DTV deadline is contrary to the Communications Act, Commission regulations, and fundamental federal communications policy,” NPR said.

GAO accepted a 2018 request by then-House Communications Subcommittee member Rep. Bobby Rush of Illinois and seven other Commerce Committee Democrats to review FCC work to deploy its national verifier program to determine consumer eligibility for Lifeline funds, Commerce said. Now-House Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone of New Jersey and now-Communications Chairman Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania were among the Democrats seeking the probe (see 1801230075). GAO said in a scoping document accompanying a letter also released Wednesday it plans to “review FCC planning documentation, including the Verifier plans, cost-benefit analyses, training and consumer outreach documents, and implementation guidelines. We also plan to obtain information” from “other federal agencies that own relevant data to the Verifier; state government officials responsible for overseeing Lifeline or coordinating with FCC,” Lifeline providers and “consumer advocates and representatives of front-line organizations that work with lifeline-eligible populations.” GAO plans “a survey of public utility and social services officials" to understand how” Universal Service Administrative Co. “is working with them to implement the Verifier, including the extent to which FCC has established data sharing agreements with states.” The office plans to interview providers. The auditor “will analyze data on the Verifier’s performance." GAO plans “to complete our work and send a draft” to the FCC for comment this fall. The commission didn’t comment.

The Senate Homeland Security Investigations Subcommittee said Tuesday it believes further action from Congress is needed to define the role of the “Team Telecom” federal agencies to strengthen their ability to assist the FCC in reviewing foreign takeovers of U.S. communications assets. The committee believes more action is warranted because Team Telecom’s limited authority allowed the departments to do only “minimal oversight” of the potential national security risks a trio of Chinese telecom companies posed to U.S. networks. The team is DOD, the Department of Homeland Security and DOJ.