Communications and Technology Alert: December Open Meeting Agenda; Non-Deployment Funding Letter; WRC-15 Report and Order; Emergency Communications Hearings [Vol. XXII, Issue 50]
Commission Finalizes December Open Meeting Agenda
Last week, the Commission finalized the three items it will consider at this month's open meeting. First, the Commission will consider a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would expand the pool of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers that must make robocall-related certifications and disclosures in order to receive access to phone number data. Second, the Commission will consider a Report and Order that would update the Commission's Low Power Television rules in order to reflect changes in the broadcast industry. Finally, the Commission will consider a Direct Final Rule that would eliminate 35 regulations the Commission describes as "obsolete, outdated, and unnecessary." For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) or Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202.434.4271).
State Legislators Request BEAD Funds for Non-Deployment Purposes
On December 9th, a group of bipartisan state legislators accounting for 28 different states sent a letter to the Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth requesting that remaining BEAD program funds be released for non-deployment purposes. The lawmakers state that Congress intended for BEAD funding to not only be used for network deployment, but also support critical activities such as building AI infrastructure and enhancing cybersecurity measures. Non-deployment funding is also necessary to expand all aspects of connectivity, especially in rural or underserved communities. The lawmakers further claim that denying non-deployment funding would unfairly penalize states who anticipated receiving the funds. For more information, please contact Casey Lide (lide@khlaw.com; 202.434.4186) or Sean Stokes (stokes@khlaw.com; 202.434.4193).
Commission Adopts WRC-15 Final Acts
On December 9th, the Commission released a Report and Order (R&O) adopting final acts from the 2015 World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-15). Among the adopted provisions were new satellite regulations addressing satellite-based search and rescue systems operating in the 406-406.1 MHz band, allocating the 410-420 MHz band for space-to-space operations on a secondary basis, and other spectrum reallocations to meet domestic and national security needs. Additionally, the R&O revised terrestrial operations such as allocating the 60-meter band to the amateur service on a secondary basis along with operating guidelines and deleting broadcasting service allocations in the 700 MHz band. For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) or Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202.434.4271).
House Schedules Legislative Hearing on Emergency Communications
Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee scheduled a legislative hearing on a number of bills focused on public safety communications for Tuesday, December 16th. Among the seven bills to be considered is a bill requiring the Commission to issue reports following activations of the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) on difficulties emergency callers faced and a bill calling for the establishment of an Office of Public Safety Communications at the NTIA. Additionally, the Committee will consider the Next Generation 9-1-1 Act (H.R. 6505), which would direct the NTIA to take a number of actions to further the nationwide implementation of NG-911 technologies. Relatedly, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing last week in part to consider the Making National Parks Safer Act (S. 290), which would require the Secretary of the Interior to develop a plan for NG-911 implementation in the United States' national parks. For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) or Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202.434.4271).
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