The FCC gave the green light to extended milestone deadlines for EchoStar's 5G network buildout Friday, three days after the company filed its request (see 2409190050). EchoStar called the approval "a significant step to promote competition in the wireless market."
A phone company may be held liable for illegal robocalls transmitted over its network, a federal court ruled Thursday. Partly granting Florida’s motion for summary judgment, the U.S. District Court of Southern Florida found that Smartbiz Telecom violated the Truth in Caller ID Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). While the court will move to trial on Florida’s additional counts alleging Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) violations, Judge Jose Martinez disagreed with Smartbiz, which, as an intermediate provider that didn't initiate the calls, argued it can't be held liable under the TCPA. Smartbiz, Martinez wrote, "was involved in the placing of the telephone calls because it knowingly allowed fraudulent calls to transit its network.”
Legislators, broadcasters, cable groups, the Heritage Foundation and civil rights groups disagree on whether the FCC can or should require disclosures for political ads created with generative AI, according to comments filed in docket 24-211 by Thursday’s deadline.
The FCC urged that the 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court reject Maurine and Matthew Molak's challenge of the commission’s October declaratory ruling clarifying that the use of Wi-Fi on school buses is an educational purpose and eligible for E-rate funding (see 2408300027). In a brief Wednesday, the agency argued the Molaks lack standing to bring the challenge and the agency acted within the law when it addressed school bus Wi-Fi.
House Oversight Committee Democrats tussled with Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr during a Thursday hearing over his responses to their questions about former President Donald Trump’s call to revoke ABC’s licenses over the network’s handling of his Sept. 10 presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris (see 2409110058). House Oversight Democrats also repeatedly highlighted that Carr wrote the telecom chapter of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 policy agenda (see 2407050015). Panel Republicans focused on amplifying Carr’s criticism of NTIA’s implementation of the $42.5 billion broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program (see 2408070023).
Telecom network operations worldwide are moving to the cloud, though not without challenges, experts said Wednesday during a TelecomTV webinar. “We’re seeing ... momentum,” said Mark Longwell, Redhat director-telco and edge alliances: “It’s real. It’s happening. Is it moving as fast as everyone wanted? Probably not.”
Cable is increasingly employing fiber to the home (FTTH) in its networks, and competition is accelerating that drive, cable industry experts said Thursday during an SCTE webinar. Cable operators' expansions into greenfield areas like converted farmland almost exclusively are fiber, said Jack Burton, Broadband Success Partners principal. Anyone operating a coaxial cable network and not planning to incorporate or add fiber "is in for a rude awakening" from fiber competition, he said.
Citing "unanticipated intervening global events beyond [its] control," EchoStar is seeking additional time to meet construction milestones attached to some of its wireless licenses. An advantage EchoStar has is that the FCC wants to see increased national wireless network competition, analysts told us.
Statutory language in the 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act allowed the FCC to act against those responsible for illegal voice-cloning in the New Hampshire presidential primary election (see 2408210039), Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Wednesday.
The successful deployment of open radio access networks will require international cooperation, speakers said Wednesday during NTIA’s first International ORAN Symposium in Golden, Colorado. On day one, conference attendees heard U.S. officials highlight the Biden administration’s commitment to open networks (see 2409170061).