FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for April 2020 Open Meeting

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, April 23, 2020:

1. Unlicensed Use of the 6 GHz Band – The FCC will consider a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would promote innovation and the use of midband spectrum for broadband by allowing unlicensed operations in the 5.925-7.125 GHz band while protecting existing licensed operations. (ET Docket No. 18-295; GN Docket No. 17- 183)
2. Proposing the 5G Fund for Rural America – The FCC will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order that would propose to establish the 5G Fund for Rural America, awarding up to $9 billion in support over 10 years for the deployment of 5G mobile broadband services in rural areas. (GN Docket No. 20-32)
3. Mitigation of Orbital Debris in the New Space Age – The FCC will consider a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would comprehensively update the FCC’s orbital debris rules for all Commission-authorized satellites. (IB Docket No. 18-313)
4. ViaSat Market Access Request – The FCC will consider an Order and Declaratory Ruling that would grant ViaSat’s request for U.S. market access to offer broadband services using a proposed constellation of non-geostationary orbit satellites. (IBFS File Nos. SAT-PDR20161115-00120 and SAT-APL-20180927-00076)
5. Improving Low Power FM Radio – The FCC will consider a Report and Order that would modernize the LPFM technical rules to provide more regulatory flexibility for licensees. (MB Docket Nos. 19-193, 17-105)
6. Expanding Availability of Video Description – The FCC will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would propose to expand video description requirements to 40 additional local television markets over the next four years to increase the accessibility of programming to blind and visually impaired Americans. (MB Docket No. 11-43)