Agenda

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the August Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 2, 2018:

The Federal Communications Commission launched a proceeding to seek comment on proposed revisions to the children’s television programming rules. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking recommends modifying rules adopted in 1996 pursuant to the Children’s Television Act. The NPRM seeks input on proposed changes to the criteria that children’s programming must meet to be considered Core Programming, which among other things currently require that programming be at least 30 minutes in length and regularly scheduled.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that he has circulated a proposal that would establish the requirements to govern the incubator program that the FCC decided to adopt in 2017 to support the entry of new and diverse voices into the broadcast industry. The proposal, which the FCC will vote on at its August Open Meeting, outlines a program in which established broadcasters would pair with small aspiring new entrants or struggling broadcast station owners who lack access to capital and operational experience, among other things.

As teachers increasingly integrate internet-based programs into both lesson plans and homework, the internet has become an essential tool for students. With such vast amounts of information available online—articles, videos, other imaginative mediums—children are able to do homework and develop interests not only with the help of, but also because of an internet connection. But while that tool can—and does—bring so much opportunity to students whose families can afford it, millions of American families are unable to buy internet at home.

Despite being awash in tech start-ups and the latest innovations, San Francisco has a surprising lack of connectivity. As many as 1 in 8 people  — more than 100,000 residents — don’t subscribe to home Internet, city officials say. To close that digital divide, the local government has come up with an entrepreneurial solution: Build a high-speed network of its own that could compete with the likes of AT&T and Comcast. If the estimated $1.9 billion proposal is approved, San Francisco would become the biggest U.S.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the FCC will vote in its Aug 2 meeting to conduct a Nov 2018 auction of spectrum in the 28 gigahertz band, with a subsequent 24 GHz band auction soon afterwards.  These so-called high-band spectrum swaths are necessary for wireless providers and other tech players because, even though they travel shorter distances than other spectrum, they can deliver more data and traffic more quickly.

Leading off our August agenda will be 5G, the next generation of wireless connectivity. We’ll finalize the rules for the auction of airwaves in the 28 GHz band and the auction of the 24 GHz band, which will follow immediately afterward.  These will be the first auctions of high-band spectrum for 5G services, but they won’t be the last.  Specifically, I’m excited to announce my plan to move forward with a single auction of three more millimeter-wave spectrum bands—the 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 47 GHz bands—in the second half of 2019.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai proposed an overhaul of the agency’s online comment system after millions of fake comments were posted about a recent FCC rule change.

Having your voice heard at the Federal Communications Commission could soon cost you hundreds of dollars, according to congressional Democrats who oppose a looming rule change. But that may not be the case after all, a review of the FCC proposal shows.

The Antitrust Division of the Justice Department appears to have put its thumb on the scale in the ongoing battle between the Walt Disney Company and Comcast over the assets of 21st Century Fox. On June 27, the division approved the transfer to Disney (with conditions) despite the fact Comcast was still bidding. Disney had previously argued to the Fox board of directors that their merger faced less regulatory risk than Comcast’s. The Disney-Fox combination would produce a larger horizontally-integrated company and one that would typically pose the greater risk.