Daily Digest 7/13/2018 (News from the FCC Meeting)

The Federal Communications Commission eliminated rules applicable to the Cellular Service and other Part 22 licensees. The action:

• Modernizes record-keeping rules by deleting rules requiring licensees to retain hard copies of station authorizations and other station records.
• Eliminates the requirement for licensees to maintain station control points and personnel on duty at those control points.
• Eliminates duplicative rules pertaining to operation of mobile stations, operational control of mobile devices, and equal opportunity regulations.

The Federal Communications Commission launched a proceeding to seek comment on proposed revisions to the children’s television programming rules. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking recommends modifying rules adopted in 1996 pursuant to the Children’s Television Act. The NPRM seeks input on proposed changes to the criteria that children’s programming must meet to be considered Core Programming, which among other things currently require that programming be at least 30 minutes in length and regularly scheduled. Additionally, it asks whether to update the three-hour per week processing guideline used in determining compliance with the children’s programming rules and seeks comment on ways to streamline reporting requirements. It also proposes creating a framework under which broadcasters could satisfy their children’s programming obligations by relying in part on special sponsorship efforts and/or special nonbroadcast efforts. Finally, the rulemaking proposes allowing multicasting stations to choose on which of their free over-the-air streams to air their required Core Programming hours.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that he has circulated a proposal that would establish the requirements to govern the incubator program that the FCC decided to adopt in 2017 to support the entry of new and diverse voices into the broadcast industry. The proposal, which the FCC will vote on at its August Open Meeting, outlines a program in which established broadcasters would pair with small aspiring new entrants or struggling broadcast station owners who lack access to capital and operational experience, among other things. The established broadcaster—the incubator—would help provide financial and operational support, including training and mentoring, to the new or struggling broadcaster. The program would initially apply to AM/FM full-service broadcast radio station ownership, as radio has traditionally been the most accessible entry point for new entrants and small businesses seeking to enter the broadcasting sector.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the August Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 2, 2018:

1. Spectrum Frontiers Auction Procedures – The Commission will consider a Public Notice establishing application and bidding procedures for auctioning Upper Microwave Flexible Use Licenses in the 28 GHz (Auction 101) and 24 GHz (Auction 102) bands. (AU Docket No. 18- 85)
2. Making 39 GHz Band Auction Ready – The Commission will consider a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing an auction mechanism that would transition existing spectrum holdings in the 39 GHz band (38.6-40 GHz) to a new flexible-use band plan and would offer new licenses for contiguous spectrum in the band. (GN Docket No. 14-177)
3. Wireline Infrastructure – The Commission will consider a Report and Order that will allow one-touch make-ready for most pole attachments and further reform its pole attachment process, and a Declaratory Ruling that will conclude that section 253(a) prohibits state and local moratoria on telecommunications facilities deployment. (WC Docket No. 17-84; WT Docket No. 17-79)
4. Connected Care Pilot Program – The Commission will consider a Notice of Inquiry on creating a Universal Service Fund pilot program to promote the use of telehealth services among low-income Americans. (WC Docket No. 18-213)
5. LPTV, TV Translator, and FM Broadcast Station Reimbursement – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order that begins the process of implementing Congress’s directive in the Reimbursement Expansion Act that the Commission reimburse certain low power television, television translator, and FM broadcast stations for costs incurred as a result of the Commission’s broadcast television spectrum incentive auction. (MB Docket No. 18-214; GN Docket No. 12-268)
6. Promoting New Entry and Ownership Diversity in the Broadcasting Services – The Commission will consider a Report and Order establishing the requirements which will govern an incubator program that seeks to promote the entry of new and diverse voices into the broadcast industry. (MB Docket No. 17-289)

Despite being awash in tech start-ups and the latest innovations, San Francisco has a surprising lack of connectivity. As many as 1 in 8 people  — more than 100,000 residents — don’t subscribe to home Internet, city officials say. To close that digital divide, the local government has come up with an entrepreneurial solution: Build a high-speed network of its own that could compete with the likes of AT&T and Comcast. If the estimated $1.9 billion proposal is approved, San Francisco would become the biggest U.S. city to undertake a project that would turn high-speed Internet access into a kind of public utility — and set an example for others across the country. The core question for San Francisco policymakers is whether competitive broadband service is a luxury — or a necessity that's as essential as public transportation or homeless shelters. Supporters say a city-owned Internet service could have a profound impact on life in San Francisco: Lowering broadband costs for everyone because of increased competition and, in particular, helping the poor connect to job opportunities, education and city services. But the initiative has been wildly divisive, drawing opposition from both powerful Internet service providers and other city leaders who question whether spending money on Internet access is as important as providing more affordable housing. 

Robocalls ravaged Americans’ smartphones in record numbers in June. But some of the nation’s top businesses – from credit card companies and student lenders to retailers and car dealers – are still urging the Trump administration to make it easier for them to dial and text mobile devices en masse. For many smartphone owners, there’s rarely a day that they don’t receive an unanticipated call from an unrecognized number, some sporting an area code that’s suspiciously similar to their own. In June, robocalls rang an estimated 4 billion times. A quarter of the calls sought to steal financial information or ensnaring people in other serious scams. But major U.S. corporations like Capital One, Navient and Sirius XM tap that same auto-dialing technology to tout their products or nudge consumers to pay their late bills. Their lobbying blitz to ward off tough, new rules has enraged public-interest advocates, who say the floodgates soon could be open for businesses to pester consumers with calls and texts that they don't want -- while leaving people with fewer options to stop the onslaught.  In 2015, the Federal Communications Commission adopted rules that covered more technologies and opened the door for consumers to bring more lawsuits against entities that ignored their demands to stop calling. In response, a trade association of debt collectors sued the telecom agency, claiming its rules were too broad, and a federal court in March agreed. Under the Trump administration, the FCC once again has solicited reform ideas from consumer and industry groups. In the process, corporations have pushed back on rules that would target them or stiff penalties if they make mistakes.

Our 5G deployment process is slowed by outdated regulatory processes, spectrum scarcity, and local bureaucracy related to building local towers and other infrastructure. The US faces unique challenges associated with the deployment of small cells, which are antennae the size of a pizza box that enable 5G’s signal strength and resiliency. Deployment delays also result from approval times on small cell applications, permitting, and zoning processes at the local level. So what will it take for the US to be 5G ready, and why is it important for us to beat global competitors who are on an accelerated schedule to roll out this emerging technology?

1. The U.S. must rapidly adopt complementary public policies with timelines that address ongoing spectrum shortage concerns.
2. The deployment of small cell technologies must become a priority to accelerate 5G infrastructure.
3. Stakeholders involved in 5G deployment must keep top of mind the economic and social good that these next-generation networks can deliver.

[Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee is a fellow in Brookings’s Center for Technology Innovation]

US District Court Judge Richard Leon’s decision to approve the AT&T-TimeWarner merger was a horse-and-buggy decision utterly blind to the realities of the twenty-first-century economy. His magnum opus means that one of the largest internet service providers is permitted to merge with one of the largest TV and film companies, thereby creating a powerful entity controlling the content and distribution of some of the most important programming in the market.  Marrying content and carriage creates gatekeepers with every incentive to favor their own services at the expense of their competitors, and now the court is telling AT&T and everyone else that’s just fine. The judge tells us that we needn’t worry about a merger that combines both content and distribution. Well, I worry. I worry about sure-to-come rising prices for consumers.  I worry about the disappearance of diverse programmers across the video marketplace. I worry about the newsrooms and journalism jobs that will be lost.  I worry about small and medium-sized innovators and entrepreneurs who will find thousands of opportunities no longer open to them. 

[Michael Copps served as a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission from May 2001 to December 2011 and was the FCC's Acting Chairman from January to June 2009]

Apparently, the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Facebook adequately warned investors that developers and other third parties may have obtained users’ data without their permission or in violation of Facebook’s policies. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s probe of the social-media company, first reported in early July 2018, follows revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a data-analytics firm that had ties to President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, got access to information on millions of Facebook users. The SEC has requested information from Facebook seeking to understand how much the company knew about Cambridge Analytica’s use of the data, these people said. The agency also wants to know how the company analyzed the risk it faced from developers sharing data with others in violation of Facebook’s policies, they added. The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are also probing the data leak and how Facebook and other parties handled it. The FTC is probing whether Facebook violated terms of an earlier consent decree requiring the company to get user consent for collecting personal data and sharing it with others. The SEC is probing whether Facebook should have disclosed to shareholders its knowledge of the Cambridge Analytica violation in 2015, when it learned that Aleksandr Kogan, a professor at the University of Cambridge, had improperly shared data in 2014 for as many as 87 million Facebook users with Cambridge Analytica.

Recent congressional hearings and data breaches have prompted more legislators and business leaders to say the time for broad federal privacy legislation has come. Cameron Kerry presents the case for adoption of a baseline framework to protect consumer privacy in the US. Kerry explores a growing gap between existing laws and an information Big Bang that is eroding trust. He suggests that recent privacy bills have not been ambitious enough, and points to the Obama administration’s Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights as a blueprint for future legislation. Kerry considers ways to improve that proposal, including an overarching “golden rule of privacy” to ensure people can trust that data about them is handled in ways consistent with their interests and the circumstances in which it was collected.