The Federal Communications Commission proposed to further simplify and streamline its rules governing satellite communications. One significant proposal is to create a new unified license for space stations and earth stations operating in a geostationary orbit, fixed-satellite service network. The proposed unified network license would eliminate redundancies in the separate licensing processes for satellites and earth stations. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking also seeks comment on other proposals, such as eliminating certain annual reporting requirements for satellite operators and aligning the build-out periods for some earth stations with the accompanying build-out periods for their communicating satellites.

The Federal Communications Commission took steps to facilitate the continued deployment of earth stations used to provide satellite-based services on ships, airplanes, and vehicles by advancing proposals to create a regulatory framework for non-geostationary orbit satellites (NGSOs) to communicate with these earth stations. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on a regulatory framework that would expand the FCC's rules for Earth Stations in Motion (ESIMs) to cover communications with NGSO satellites operating in the fixed-satellite service (FSS) and would be similar to the regime the FCC recently adopted for ESIMs communicating with geostationary-orbit FSS satellites. 

The Federal Communications Commission today adopted a Report and Order that:

• Requires service providers to post on their web sites more up-to-date and accessible information about hearing aid-compatible wireless handsets
• Requires all service providers to certify annually whether they are in compliance with FCC hearing aid-compatibility rules
• Eliminates a less effective and more burdensome method of providing information by ending the requirement that service providers file FCC Form 655 annually, while maintaining that requirement for handset manufacturers
• Establishes a streamlined transition process for the new web site and certification requirements

Rural broadband got an upgrade this week. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $91 million in broadband infrastructure. As Benton readers know, broadband access in rural areas is a huge challenge: according to the Federal Communications Commission, 80 percent of the 24 million American households who lack reliable, affordable, high-speed internet access are in rural areas. The USDA has been investing in rural telecommunications infrastructure for decades. Current telecommunication programs offer more than $700 million per year for modern broadband e-Connectivity (or electronic connectivity) in rural communities. This week, USDA Assistant Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett identified how some of that money will be used: 19 projects in 12 states will receive $91 million in total to bring broadband to 27,000 rural businesses and households. [Yes, that's over $3,300 per potential connection, if you're scoring at home.] Over $58 million of the funding will come as loans while $33 million will be grants.

Sens Ed Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent letters to AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile after a recent study revealed the companies were slowing down certain services on their networks. “All online traffic should be treated equally, and internet service providers should not discriminate against particular content or applications for competitive advantage purposes or otherwise,” write the Sens in their letters. The Senators ask for responses to questions that include:

• Has your company put into practice policies to throttle or prioritize internet traffic for consumers? What is the purpose of these policies?
• Are consumers able to opt-in or opt-out of traffic differentiation? Does a customer’s choice change the price or affect their service, such as data allocation or requiring a different plan?
• How do you determine which network traffic receives faster or slower treatment? Is it based on content, behavior, or IP address?

Why is broadband access in North Dakota as good as it is? First, the federal government helped. The US Department of Commerce's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) invested significantly in North Dakota’s broadband infrastructure. The BTOP created a state broadband program office within the North Dakota Information Technology Department, paid to install hundreds of miles of high-speed fiber cable, and connected several universities in North Dakota to a broader network of high-speed “anchor networks.” But North Dakota’s internet surge has an additional explanation, and this one is easier to reproduce. Rural cooperatives, or co-ops, made up of local service providers are major internet players in North Dakota. 

Facebook said it had removed more than a billion fake accounts and taken action against millions of posts, photos and other forms of content that violated its prohibition against hate speech, terrorist propaganda and child exploitation, the latest sign that the social-networking giant faces an onslaught of online abuse as it builds tools to spot it. In the new report reflecting the company’s activities between April and Sept, Facebook said it had found and removed roughly 1.5 billion fake accounts, while targeting 12.4 million pieces of terrorist propaganda, 2.2 billion pieces of spam and 66 million pieces of content that ran afoul of rules barring adult nudity and sexual activity. The company said that it catches more than 95 percent of nudity, fake accounts and graphic violence before users report it to Facebook. But for hate speech and a related category, bullying, the company catches 51.6 percent and 14.9 percent of incidents before they are flagged by Facebook users.

Facebook will create an independent oversight body to adjudicate appeals on content moderation issues, the company said. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the group, which will be formed in the next year, will attempt to balance an effort to expand the right to free speech with the need to keep people safe around the world. “I believe independence is important for a few reasons,” Zuckerberg said in a note posted to Facebook. “First, it will prevent the concentration of too much decision-making within our teams. Second, it will create accountability and oversight. Third, it will provide assurance that these decisions are made in the best interests of our community and not for commercial reasons.”