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☆ U.S. orders hearing for Standard General bid for Tegna
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission, which regulates the U.S. telecoms industry, on Friday said it would hold a hearing on hedge fund Standard General's bid for TV station operator Tegna Inc (TGNA.N), a step that has historically led deals to collapse. Tegna, which manages 64 stations in 51 U.S. markets, agreed in February to be acquired by Standard General in a $5.4 billion all-cash deal that would take the company private. Standard General, which is Tegna's third-largest shareholder, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The announcement comes after Standard General said earlier this week that the U.S. Justice Department had allowed its review period to expire without taking any action. Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Standard General says only FCC approval left for Tegna deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Hedge fund Standard General said its proposed acquisition of TV station operator Tegna Inc (TGNA.N) only needs Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval after the U.S. Department of Justice reviewed it without mounting any challenge. Standard General said in a statement on Tuesday that the so-called Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period, which gives antitrust regulators time to review the deal, had expired. Tegna shares ended trading in New York on Wednesday at their highest level since September, as investors assigned a higher probability to the deal closing. The discount to the $24-per-share deal price - which Tegna and Standard General agreed to in February 2022 - reflects lingering uncertainty over whether the FCC will let the deal go through. Standard General added in the statement it now expects the deal with Tegna, which is valued at $8.6 billion, including debt, to close in March or April, subject to approval by the FCC.

☆ These 26 words ‘created the internet.’ Now the Supreme Court may be coming for them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

This week, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on two pivotal cases dealing with online speech and content moderation. A set of rulings against the tech industry could significantly narrow Section 230 and its legal protections for websites and social media companies. If that happens, the Court’s decisions could expose online platforms to an array of new lawsuits over how they present content to users. Such a result would represent the most consequential limitations ever placed on a legal shield that predates today’s biggest social media platforms and has allowed them to nip many content-related lawsuits in the bud. “The massive social media industry has grown up largely shielded from the courts and the normal development of a body of law.

☆ Watch Out, Gigi Sohn Is Back
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

His Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn proved too partisan for the last Senate to confirm. Yet he has renominated her even as the commission considers a dangerous rule-making that has flown under media radar. We’ve written before about Ms. Sohn’s left-wing views and desire for political control of the airwaves. As a counselor to Obama FCC Chair Tom Wheeler , Ms. Sohn championed the net-neutrality regulation that classified broadband providers as common carriers under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act. Those rules were repealed by the Trump FCC to the great benefit of new investment and competition.

☆ U.S. senators urge telecom agency to OK use of connected vehicle spectrum
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Two U.S. senators on Monday urged the Federal Communications Commission to move quickly to grant some automakers and universities the ability to use some spectrum to deploy connected vehicle technology aimed at preventing crashes. Senators Gary Peters and Cynthia Lummis urged the FCC to approve "waiver requests to enable deployment of Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology in the 5.9GHz spectrum band. C-V2X technology is poised to save lives, (and) will pave the way for the future of automobile and transportation infrastructure." The FCC said in November 2020 it intended to offer waivers. It has received 18 waiver requests to date and none have yet been granted, the senators said.

☆ Biden telecom board nominee says industry out to block her from position
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Gigi Sohn, who was nominated in October 2021, will have her third hearing for the job before the Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday. Her written remarks said she will seek to answer the question, "Why am I still President Biden’s nominee for the 5th seat on the FCC?" In July 2021, Biden signed an executive order encouraging the FCC to reinstate the open internet net neutrality rules. Republicans have questioned Sohn's role as a board member of a nonprofit that operated a transmission service called Locast. "The work of the Commission - from net neutrality to closing the digital divide - is too important for this nomination to be delayed any further," said Senator Ed Markey.

☆ U.S. Senate panel sets new hearing for Biden telecom nominee
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Pete Marovich/Pool via REUTERSWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate committee on Tuesday set a third confirmation hearing for the Biden administration’s nominee to a seat on the Federal Communications Commission that has been vacant for more than two years. President Joe Biden last month renominated Gigi Sohn, a former FCC senior official under President Barack Obama, to serve as a commissioner. Biden first nominated Sohn in October 2021 but she was not confirmed despite hearings in 2021 and 2022. The Senate Commerce Committee said Tuesday she would appear at a hearing on Feb. 14. In July 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order encouraging the FCC to reinstate the rules.

☆ Robocallers are preying on the elderly with fake Medicare calls. It's a no-brainer to stop it, but nobody has.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

These honeypots comprise only a sliver of the total number of US phone numbers but provide valuable insights into how robocalling scams operate. Every day, the honeypot numbers get inundated with calls from scammers purporting to be from Medicare. Many of those calls spoof the services' "1-800-MEDICARE" (1-800-633-4227) hotline in the phone's caller ID. "Many seniors are targeted by scammers who want to steal their Medicare numbers to do things like rack up fake health care charges and commit identify theft," the representative said. With this in mind, it's unclear why the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services use the phone line for both outbound and inbound calls.

☆ Democratic senator urges Apple and Google to ban TikTok from their app stores
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —A member of the Senate Intelligence Committee is calling on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores over concerns about national security, in the latest indication of mounting scrutiny on the short-form video app from members of Congress. The laws in question, Bennet wrote, require organizations in the country to “cooperate with state intelligence work” and to allow the government to access company resources. China could potentially try to shape what US users see on the app, Bennet warned, with possible implications for foreign policy and democracy. Apple, Google and TikTok didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Some other US officials have also called on Apple and Google to voluntarily remove TikTok from their app stores.

☆ FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr on upcoming TikTok testimony
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFCC Commissioner Brendan Carr on upcoming TikTok testimonyFCC Commissioner Brendan Carr joins 'Closing Bell' to discuss the CEO of TikTok testifying before Congress, the security concerns associated with TikTok, and how other countries have taken action against TikTok and Huawei.

☆ TikTok and its parent company spent about $5.4 million on federal lobbying last year as it faced renewed threats of a ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance spent about $5.4 million on federal lobbying in 2022. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance spent about $5.4 million on federal lobbying in 2022, a roughly 4% increase from the previous year, according to year-end disclosures filed by the companies and their hired lobbying firms on Friday. While ByteDance's and TikTok's lobbying spend remained relatively flat between 2021 and 2022, both years represented a significant spike from 2020 when the companies spent around $2.6 million. In late 2020, the Trump administration attempted to ban TikTok's app from US app stores. TikTok's app has faced similar government-device bans at the state level.

☆ Piper Sandler sees a rally ahead in this unusual tech play on customer service automation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

NICE Systems , which provides customer experience and anti-fraud and risk management software, is poised to rally in the coming year, according to Piper Sandler. The upgrade comes as Piper Sandler sees NICE gaining new clients and building revenue in the coming year as its main competitors struggle. Piper Sandler also sees the second half of 2023 as a potential recurring revenue inflection point. Nice win rates NICE is well-positioned to win seats in the contact center as a service space. NICE also offers a full suite of products that customers want, according to Piper Sandler.

☆ U.S. FAA proposes requiring 5G safeguards on planes by early 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Octavio JonesWASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Monday it is proposing a requirement that passenger and cargo aircraft in the United States have 5G C-Band-tolerant radio altimeters or install approved filters by early 2024. The proposed airworthiness directive, which would take effect in February 2024, is similar to one that took effect in December 2021, prohibiting passenger and cargo flight operations in the vicinity of 5G C-Band wireless transmitters unless the FAA specifically approved them. Some international airlines have privately expressed reluctance to install filters absent a legal requirement from the FAA, officials told Reuters. FAA acting Administrator Billy Nolen in October sought a delay in some 5G C-Band transmissions from smaller operators over aviation safety concerns. A deal struck shortly before a 2022 deadline did not prevent dozens of foreign carriers from canceling international flights to the United States.

☆ 411 is going out of service for millions of Americans
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Starting in January, AT&T customers with digital landlines won’t be able to dial 411 or 0 to reach an operator or get directory assistance. The human telephone operator, a job that came to be dominated by White women during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 2021, there were fewer than 4,000 telephone operators, down from a peak of around 420,000 in the 1970s, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. “0” became universal for operator assistance and “411” was the number for directory assistance. By 2004, at the dawn of the smartphone age, 56,000 people were employed as telephone operators.

☆ Why India banned TikTok — and what the US can learn from it, as pressure mounts for Biden to follow suit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

To see what could happen if the US were to ban TikTok, analysts say to look at India. Why did India ban TikTok? What happened when India banned TikTokIn the summer of 2020, India banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat, Weibo, and QQ, an instant-messaging service owned by the internet giant Tencent. While the situation wouldn't be exactly the same, the US might face these questions if it decides to ban TikTok. "So if that continues to deteriorate, I can't imagine that that that doesn't increase the odds of some sort of TikTok ban."

☆ U.S. FCC proposes additional spectrum for drone communications
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday proposed new rules to make licensed radio spectrum in the 5 GHz band for the rising number of unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, in use. Currently, drones typically operate under unlicensed and low-power wireless communications rules or experimental licenses. The FCC also said it is seeking comment on whether current rules for various spectrum bands are sufficient to ensure co-existence of drones and terrestrial mobile operations. "The FCC must ensure that our spectrum rules meet the current – and future – spectrum needs of evolving technologies such as unmanned aircraft systems, which can be critical to disaster recovery, first responder rescue efforts, and wildfire management," FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said. Because drones are usually operated remotely, they depend "critically on wireless communications between a ground-based control station and the (drone) to control the flight," the FCC said.

☆ FCC Set to Gain More Power Over Prison Phone Call Rates
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Will Feuer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The costs to inmates for phone and video-calling services for in-state calls could be capped under new federal legislation. The Federal Communications Commission is set to gain the ability to cap prices on in-state calls made from prisons and jails, giving the federal regulator more power to tackle what it has called excessive rates. The FCC would have the authority to ensure that charges for phone and video-calling services in prisons are “just and reasonable,” according to legislation passed last week that now awaits President Biden‘s signature.

☆ Appeals court rejects China Telecom bid to reverse U.S. ban
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected China Telecom Corp's (0728.HK) challenge to a Federal Communications Commission order withdrawing the company's authority to provide services in the United States. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the bid by the U.S. arm of China Telecom to reverse the order that took effect in January. The FCC said in 2021 that China Telecom (Americas) "is subject to exploitation, influence and control by the Chinese government." A lawyer for China Telecom (Americas) and the FCC did not immediately comment. China Telecom had argued the FCC violated its rules by refusing to hold a hearing before revoking China Telecom (Americas)’ domestic and international common-carrier authorizations.

☆ FCC Deadlock Shields Wireless Companies From Privacy Penalties
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Drew Fitzgerald | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Cellphone carriers facing roughly $200 million in fines for sharing their customers’ locations are for now shielded from paying by the Federal Communications Commission’s partisan deadlock, according to people familiar with the matter. The U.S. telecom regulator currently has four commissioners—two Democrats and two Republicans—and needs at least three votes to move forward with fines it proposed years ago on the biggest wireless service providers.

☆ Appeals court rejects China Telecom bid to reverse US ban
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected China Telecom Corp’s challenge to a Federal Communications Commission order withdrawing the company’s authority to provide services in the United States. A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the bid by the US arm of China Telecom to reverse the order that took effect in January. The FCC said in 2021 that China Telecom (Americas) “is subject to exploitation, influence and control by the Chinese government.”A lawyer for China Telecom (Americas) did not immediately comment. In 2019, the FCC voted to deny state-owned Chinese telecom firm China Mobile Ltd the right to provide US services and later withdrew US authorizations for several Chinese telecom carriers. China Telecom had argued the FCC violated its rules by refusing to hold a hearing before revoking China Telecom (Americas)’ domestic and international common-carrier authorizations.

☆ Scammers are using Biden's student-loan forgiveness as a 'cover for fraud' to get borrowers' personal information. The federal government is cracking down.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The scams were directly related to Biden's announcement of broad debt relief in August. Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it would be cracking down on a scam robocall campaign that used Biden's announcement of up to $20,000 in debt relief to get information from borrowers. The FCC identified Urth Access, LLC as the group responsible for generating upwards of 40% of student debt robocalls in October. "Today we're cutting these scammers off so they can't use efforts to provide student loan debt relief as cover for fraud." A generic script of the call is typically as follows, per the FCC:"Hello this is to inform you that the Student Loan payment suspension has been extended to December 31 of this year.

The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday that it had blocked all U.S. phone companies from taking calls from a tiny communications company accused of sending robocalls that push fraudulent student loan relief services. “Today we’re cutting these scammers off so they can’t use efforts to provide student loan debt relief as cover for fraud,” FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in an emailed statement. It identified a single company, UrthAccess, as the central origin for a substantial amount of student loan spam. UrthAccess was by far the single biggest provider of student loan robocalls in recent months, Quilici said. It was responsible for more than 40% of all student loan robocalls in October, the FCC said.

☆ Venezuela's biggest refinery halts gasoline production -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CARACAS, Dec 2 (Reuters) - A refining unit that turns crude oil into fuel at Venezuela's largest crude processing facility has broken down, three people familiar with the operations told Reuters on Friday, halting production at the key gasoline producing plant. The breakdown of the fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) caused the country's largest refinery, 645,000 barrel per day (bpd) Amuay on the Paraguana peninsula, to halt gasoline production on Thursday, one of the sources said. Venezuela's refineries suffer frequent outages leading to production losses due to system failures and lack of supplies. Amuay, together with the nearby Cardon refinery, make up the Paraguana Refining Center (CRP) in Venezuela's western Falcon state, with a combined crude processing capacity of 955,000 bpd. Cardon's catalytic cracker, which can process up to 45,000 bpd, was still operational on Friday, the sources said.

☆ FCC authorizes SpaceX to begin deploying up to 7,500 next-generation Starlink satellites
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Federal Communications Commission issued a key authorization to Elon Musk's SpaceX on Thursday, granting approval for the company to move forward with launching up to 7,500 next-generation satellites in its Starlink internet network. "Our action will allow SpaceX to begin deployment of Gen 2 Starlink," the FCC wrote in the order. The FCC did not grant SpaceX's full application, which included deployment of nearly 30,000 satellites in low Earth orbit, and it placed some conditions on the company's plan to deploy the satellites. The FCC imposed a limit on the number of satellites in SpaceX's second-generation of the Starlink constellation, also known as Gen2, in order "to address concerns about orbital debris and space safety." To date SpaceX has launched about 3,500 first-generation Starlink satellites into orbit.

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