Broadcasting&Cable

Cable broadband operators are telling the Federal Communications Commission that it should not start making them pay into the Universal Service Fund, especially given the tens of billions of dollars in broadband subsidies the Biden Administration has offered up in COVID-19 and infrastructure laws.

Cable broadband operators represented by NCTA - the Internet & Television Association are no fans of the Biden Administration's new "Indicators of Broadband Need" mapping tool recently unveiled by the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA). NCTA reiterated its longstanding support of federal efforts to create broadband mapping tools, but said that the NTIA's new map takes from unreliable and inaccurate data sources.

The National Association of Broadcasters took the gloves off in a recent meeting with Federal Communications Commission engineering staffers over TV white spaces (TVWS) -- the use of small slices of spectrum set aside for broadcasting for unlicensed uses like wireless broadband -- calling it a failing experiment. Microsoft has been pushing the FCC to allow unlicensed devices operating in the TV band to do so closer to existing TV channels, but NAB told the engineering staffers that Microsoft's proposal on how to determine if a channel is available for unlicensed use is disingenuous and in s

The US Supreme Court let the Federal Communications Commission ease limits on the ownership of local television and radio stations, siding with the broadcast industry and Trump-era regulators in a long-running fight. The Justices unanimously overturned an appeals court ruling that had required the FCC to first study the potential impact on female and minority ownership in the media industry. Republicans and the broadcast industry have been seeking to relax the ownership limits for decades, saying the restrictions are badly outdated.