Legislative Activity

Senate Commerce Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Public Safety and Network Reliability in the IP Transition

Last Thursday, June 5, the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet held a hearing titled “Preserving Public Safety and Network Reliability in the IP Transition.” The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the public safety implications of the nation’s evolving communications networks, and how best to preserve consumer access to those networks and life-saving information during and after emergency situations. The subcommittee heard testimony from representatives from the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (Collette D. Honorable, Chairman of the Board and President), USTelecom (Jonathan Banks, Senior Vice President, Law and Policy), Public Knowledge (Jodie Griffin, Senior Staff Attorney), APCO International (Gigi Smith, President) and the Federal Communications Commission (Henning Shulzrinne, Chief Technology Officer).

This Week’s Hearings:

  • Tuesday, June 10:  The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet will hold a hearing titled “Music Licensing Under Title 17 Part One.”
  • Wednesday, June 11:  The House Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing titled “Media Ownership in the 21st Century.”

Regulatory Activity

FCC Open Meeting Friday, June 13

This Friday, June 13, the Commission will hear two presentations at its monthly open meeting.  The first item on the agenda deals with technology transitions. As part of that presentation, staff will provide an update on the efforts to transition circuit-switched networks to Internet Protocol (IP) networks, including a status report on AT&T’s voluntary experiments, designed to assess how the transition to IP networks affects users. The second item relates to expanding community access to radio, and provides an update on the continuing efforts to use increased access to Low Power FM as a way to launch new and diverse voices to the American public.

The FCC will also consider under a consent agenda seven Memorandum Opinion and Orders addressing the following applications for review of Media Bureau broadcasting orders:

  • Application for Review filed by ADX Communications of Escambia and Pensacola seeking review of Media Bureau decisions granting assignment applications;
  • Application for Review filed by The Curators of the University of Missouri seeking review of the Media Bureau’s dismissal of its rulemaking petition to reserve Channel 252C2 in Columbia, Missouri, for noncommercial educational use;
  • Application for Review filed by Smile FM seeking review of the Media Bureau’s dismissal of its application for a new noncommercial educational FM station at Yates, Michigan;
  • Application for Review filed by TJN seeking review of a decision by the Media Bureau dismissing its application for a new noncommercial FM station at Gold Beach, Oregon;
  • Application for Review filed by Dr. Glenn W. Cherry and Charles W. Cherry, II, seeking review of several decisions by the Media Bureau;
  • Application for Review filed by Chicago Public Media seeking review of a decision by the Media Bureau granting a new noncommercial educational FM station in Antioch, Illinois to BVM Helping Hands; and
  • Application for Review filed by World Revivals, Inc., seeking review of a several decisions by the Media Bureau.

FCC Workshop on GPS Protection and Receiver Performance, June 20

On Friday, June 20, the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology along with the Commission’s International, Public Safety and Homeland Security, and Wireless Telecommunications Bureaus will hold a workshop called “Global Positioning System (GPS) Protection and Receiver Performance.” The workshop—which will be open to the public and simultaneously webcast—will focus on the critical infrastructure and public safety uses of GPS, the importance of GPS operations, and the benefits of multi-constellation GNSS operations, among other things.

Modest Changes to CALM Act Rules

Last Wednesday, June 4, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Second Report and Order making minor changes to the rules implementing the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act.  The CALM Act prohibits digital television commercial advertisements from being transmitted at louder volumes than the program material they accompany. Specifically, the Second Report and Order replaces the measurement method contained in the Advanced Television Systems Committee’s (ATSC) Recommended Practice ATSC A/85:2011, and incorporates by reference the more recent Techniques for Establishing and Maintaining Audio Loudness for Digital Television. Regulatees may, until June 4, 2015, continue to comply with the measurement method contained in the earlier guidance.

FCC Announces New Intergovernmental Advisory Committee Members

Last Friday, June 6, the FCC released a Public Notice announcing new members to the FCC’s Intergovernmental Advisory Committee (IAC) for 2014-2016.  The IAC comprises 15 members from local, state, and tribal governments and advises the Commission on telecommunication matters of shared responsibility.  The IAC’s term will begin with a meeting on July 14-15.  Gary Resnick, Mayor, Wilton Manors, Florida will serve as Chair and Bill de Blasio, Mayor, New York City, New York, as Vice Chair.