Telecom Alert: May Open Meeting Tentative Agenda; Inactive Dockets Public Notice; Enforcement Practices Petition for Rulemaking; House Letter Restricting Foreign Devices [Volume XXII, Issue 18]
FCC Releases Tentative May Open Meeting Agenda Items
Last Thursday, the FCC published a tentative agenda for the upcoming May Open Commission Meeting, scheduled for May 22nd. Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the Commission could consider new certification and oversight standards for Telecommunications Certification Bodies (TCB’s), including the prohibition of TCB’s who are partially owned or controlled by prohibited entities deemed to be national security threats, either by the FCC’s Covered List or other executive agencies. Additionally, the Commission could consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) which requires further ownership disclosures of foreign adversary control, and a FNPRM seeking comment on best uses for the 12.7 GHz and 42 GHz bands to improve satellite communications by geostationary and non-geostationary orbit systems. For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) or Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202-434-4271).
FCC Seeking Comment on Deleting Inactive Proceedings
Last Friday, Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) would be seeking comment on over 2000 dockets deemed to be inactive or moot. Carr noted that this audit of the Commission’s dockets was distinct and different from the ongoing “Delete-Delete-Delete” proceedings which are seeking comment on unnecessary agency rules and regulations. The CGB will be using its delegated authority under a 2011 Report & Order, known as the Procedure Order, to review and identify dockets where no further action is required or where the docket has been declared dormant. The CGB has recently published the Ninth Dormant Proceedings Termination Public Notice, which identifies such dockets for public comment. For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239) or Tim Doughty (doughty@khlaw.com; 202-434-4271).
Five Trade Groups File Petition to Reform Commission Enforcement Rules
CTIA and four other trade associations filed a Petition for Rulemaking requesting the Commission initiate reforms of the agency’s enforcement rules and procedures. The petition calls for increased accountability in Commission practices to ensure fair notice, consistency, and procedural due process during investigations, letters of inquiry (LOIs) and other enforcement mechanisms. This includes greater transparency into the basis of monetary penalties and codification of the ability to provide initial responses to Commission notices. Additionally, the petition calls upon the Commission to codify a rule prohibiting rulemaking, interpretations of statutes, or guidance through enforcement actions, considering the Supreme Court’s decision in SEC v. Jarkesy, which found agency enforcement proceedings, including the assessment of civil penalties, unconstitutional in violation of the Seventh Amendment. For more information, please contact Casey Lide (lide@khlaw.com; 202.434.4186) or Sean Stokes (stokes@khlaw.com; 410.458.1342).
House Members Ask Carr to Target Foreign-Manufactured Devices
Ten members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to Chairman Brendan Carr asking the Commission to consider additional rules protecting national telecommunications infrastructure by restricting or outright banning routers made by foreign-owned companies. The letter suggested the Carr specifically leverage equipment authorizations by Telecommunication Certification Bodies (TCB) to secure customer networks by only providing uniquely identifiable devices with access, alongside other minimum-security practices. The letter also highlighted the heightened threat from Chinese-made devices, which through federal investigations were found to have provided multiple “backdoors” to vulnerable public and private networks. The House has already acted by recently passing the ROUTERS Act and the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which both look to restrict the access of foreign-owned or controlled technologies. 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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