John Eggerton

Cable and telecommunications internet service providers are pushing back on Democratic Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society]'s promise to recuse herself from some issues if confirmed. They‘re suggesting such an offer signals a wider problem with which issues she would or should be weighing in on, and what impact that would have on the agency and the industry.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo spelled out the Biden Administration's ambitious goals for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's $65 billion investment in broadband at a February 1 Senate Appropriations Commerce Subcommittee hearing. This investment, according to Raimondo, will depend on the Federal Communications Commission's progress in coming up with better broadband availability maps.

Democratic Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] has promised that, if confirmed to the open seat, she will recuse herself from decisions where retransmission consent or TV broadcast copyright are material issues. Sohn was a board member of TV station streamer Locast, which a court concluded had violated copyright by streaming broadcasts without permission or compensation. Republicans and some broadcasters had issues with that connection, suggesting it could be a conflict of interest.

New America's Open Technology Institute (OTI) wants to nip in the bud any suggestion the Federal Communications Commission may be making that the congressionally mandated broadband nutrition label is voluntary. The FCC plans to vote at its January 27 open meeting on implementing the requirement in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that broadband internet access service providers be required to provide broadband service consumer labels that let consumers know what speed and quality of service they are getting at which price and with what fees attached.

The head of the National Urban League is calling on the Senate Commerce Committee to favorably report Democrat Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society]'s Federal Communications Commission nomination to the full Senate and to work actively for a vote in that body.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is still looking to hold a confirmation vote for FCC nominee Gigi Sohn sometime soon. Although Chairwoman Cantwell had hoped to hold a vote in January, a spokesperson said "because the [Senate] recess [a planned January 17-21 "state work period"] was moved to next week," the Chairwoman is now hoping to "have something confirmed at some point next week."

Wireless internet service providers (ISPs) have some modifications they are asking the Federal Communications Commission to make to its draft Affordable Connectivity Program broadband subsidy before it adopts the rules by Congress‘ January 14 deadline.

Associations representing cable, telecom and wireless internet service providers (ISPs) have teamed up to ask the Federal Communications Commission to create a safe harbor for companies that want to enroll eligible consumers in the new Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) subsidy before the FCC has figured out just how to transition from the COVID-19-driven Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) subsidy to ACP under rules not yet hammered out.

The Federal Communications Commission is considering putting new restrictions on wireless use of C-Band spectrum, including a nationwide power reduction, as the Biden Administration works on how best to free up that spectrum for 5G without risking interference to critical aviation communications. Wireless deployments in the band were delayed from fall 2021 given concerns by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but are now scheduled to launch January 5, 2022.

Gigi Sohn, President Biden's nominee for the Federal Communications Commission, told Sen.