Government & Communications

Dish Network sent a letter May 27 to SpaceX demanding that the company retract statements that it says could trigger interference with Dish satellite TV services. The letter came after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted that Starlink is available for RVs, campers and other large vehicle users but didn’t state that the service can’t be used on moving vehicles.

As more bipartisan tech-focused bills gain traction in Congress, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a legislative hearing focusing on the security and innovation behind several telecommunications bills. Expert witnesses accompanied lawmakers during the May 24 hearing on the importance of bridging the digital divide with widespread broadband access nationwide.

A group of organizations referred to as the Joint Advocates [including the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission regarding the implementation of the anti-digital discrimination section in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In their comments, the Joint Advocates requested that the FCC conduct a study to assess preferential treatment for high-income broadband users over the needs of low-income users. The group makes the following arguments in its filing:

Public Knowledge submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission on May 16, in response to the FCC's Notice of Inquiry regarding digital discrimination rules in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. "Digital discrimination is not just unjust towards individuals, but can hold back entire communities and prevent the nation from living up to its potential," states Public Knowledge in its filing. "Thankfully, the Commission now has not merely the legal authority, but an affirmative obligation, to end digital discrimination.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau seeks comment on a petition filed by NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association. NTCA seeks a waiver of the FCC’s rules for small broadband internet access service providers that apply a $75 per month Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) benefit to the bills of qualifying Tribal consumers resulting in a free-to-the-end-user service.

The Federal Communications Commission has announced its agenda for the June 2022 Open Commission Meeting:

Fixed wireless internet service providers represented by the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) are telling the Federal Communications Commission that intention to discriminate should undergird any rules meant to prohibit digital access inequity based on race, ethnicity, income, religion, color, or national origin. It also says rules should be tech-flexible. That came in comments on the FCC's inquiry into its legislative mandate to come up with rules that promote digital equity by eliminating discrimination in broadband deployment and access.

The Broadband Data Task Force, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Wireline Competition Bureau, and the Office of Economics and Analytics seek comment on a Petition for Declaratory Ruling or Limited Waiver filed by the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) requesting that the Federal Communications Commission issue a declaratory ruling to clarify that Broadband Data Collection (BDC) filings may be certified by a qualified professional engineer or an otherwise-qualified engineer that is not a licensed professional engineer accredited by a state licensure board.

The Federal Communications Commission seeks public input to inform the FCC’s required assessment of the state of competition in the communications marketplace in its upcoming Communications Marketplace Report (2022 Communications Marketplace Report) to Congress. Specifically, the FCC seeks data, information, and comment on a wide range of issues relevant to the state of competition in the communications marketplace as a whole.

Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr called for the FCC to adopt new rules that will promote consumer access to robust, resilient wireless networks during disasters. Specifically, Carr proposed adopting new FCC rules to:

• Require wireless providers to participate in the wireless resiliency framework;
• Expand the types of events that would trigger activation of the framework;
• Mandate roaming during disaster arrangements; and
• Ensure an effective roaming during a disaster regime.