A Big Fall Kickoff

The Federal Communications Commission’s Sept agenda looks like a well-balanced fantasy team; we’re rolling out a diverse lineup featuring at least one item from each of the FCC’s seven bureaus.

• Building on a rulemaking launched in 2019, I have circulated to my fellow commissioners a Report and Order to remove the secondary, non-federal allocations from the 3.3–3.55 GHz band. We will also vote on seeking comment on further changes to the band to enable future commercial use, such as reallocating the 3.45–3.55 GHz band on a co-primary basis for non-federal fixed and mobile (except aeronautical mobile) services, rules for limited future federal incumbent use of the band, and licensing, operating, and technical rules for commercial operations.
• A second spectrum item is a Report and Order that would give states the opportunity to lease 4.9 GHz band spectrum to commercial entities, electric utilities, and others. 
• On April 4, 2020, the President issued an Executive Order formally establishing the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector. Our International Bureau has prepared a Report and Order to streamline and improve the timeliness and transparency of this inter-agency review process. 
• Our Wireline Competition Bureau has crafted a new Order to take the next steps toward STIR/SHAKEN implementation.
• Our Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has crafted a Notice of Inquiry seeking comment on the effects of 911 fee diversion and exploring additional steps the FCC or others could take to discourage states from diverting 911 fees.
• Our Media Bureau has led the Modernization of Media Regulation Initiative, and its two latest offerings are on our Sept agenda. The first seeks to make sure consumers are accurately informed rather than confused when there are disputes between video programmers and cable operators. The second item is an Order to eliminate our rule requiring that cable operators maintain in their online public inspection file information regarding their attributable interests in video programming services and their carriage of vertically programming on systems in which they have an attributable interest. 
• The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau has crafted an Order to bring expenditures for the Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service  (IP CTS) service more in line with costs, preserving the viability of IP CTS for those people with hearing loss who need it.