Amazon, the International Center for Law & Economics, New America's Open Technology Institute and the Digital First Project have jointly launched the Alliance for Satellite Broadband to push for updates to satellite power limit rules at the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference. The coalition said Tuesday that equivalent power flux density limits reduce the availability and increase the cost of broadband via non-geostationary orbit satellite systems. The group is calling for adoption of a future agenda item committing to the study and potential update of those power limit rules, and said an Americas region delegation has submitted a proposal for such an agenda item to WRC-23.

To close the digital divide, the government must decrease the risk broadband network operators face in building in rural areas, but the FCC's net neutrality rulemaking is "a regulatory roadblock ... that will worsen a hard problem and discourage participation among the entities needed to wire America," NCTA President Michael Powell blogged Tuesday. "Revived [net neutrality] rules will destabilize the regulatory environment as challenges drag on for years in the courts," and the lack of clarity "is a challenging environment to take on risky builds," he said. The FCC's regulatory power over broadband provision, including the ability to set prices, "will erode interest in investing the large sums of private money required to match government funds," he said. "While reviving net neutrality will check a partisan political box, it risks blowing our once-in-a-lifetime chance to get all Americans the internet access they deserve."

Low-income households and populations of color point more to lack of interest and affordability concerns than to lack of access as being the big drivers of broadband non-adoption, so digital discrimination rules won't go as far as improving the efficacy of the Affordable Connectivity Program in closing the adoption gap, the Phoenix Center said Tuesday in a paper. The draft digital discrimination rules provide no evidence of digital discrimination, "probably because this lack of evidence conflicts with its aggressive regulatory agenda,” says study author Phoenix Chief Economist George Ford.

The FTC is sending nearly $100 million in refunds to about 389,000 consumers it says were victimized when Vonage imposed junk fees and created obstacles to those who tried to cancel their subscriptions, said the agency Monday. The FTC’s November 2022 complaint alleged Vonage used “dark patterns” to make it difficult for consumers to cancel their service and often continued to charge them illegally even after they spoke to an agent directly and requested cancelation, it said. U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner for New Jersey in Trenton signed an order Dec. 9 (docket 3:22-cv-06435) directing Vonage to pay the FTC a $100 million monetary judgment within seven days to settle allegations it committed unfair acts or practices by failing to give consumers a “simple method” to cancel their telephone services (see 2212120007). The agency also accused Vonage of failing to disclose “material transaction terms” before obtaining consumers’ billing information, and alleged the company imposed fees without customers’ consent. The court ordered Vonage to install a “simple mechanism” for consumers to avoid being charged for goods and services and to immediately stop any recurring charges. The mechanism must be easy to find and use, and “not require the consumer to take any action that is objectively unnecessary” to cancel a charge, said Castner’s order.

While Affordable Connectivity Program enrollment numbers are growing rapidly, "there is more work to do" given the gap between the number of households on federal housing assistance eligible to enroll and the number of those enrolled, FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said last week at Housing and Urban Development's ConnectHomeUSA virtual summit, per posted prepared remarks.

FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief Debra Jordan and lawmakers voiced optimism during a Wednesday night CTA event about the trajectory of the commission’s work on its August NPRM on a voluntary Cyber Trust Mark cybersecurity labeling program for smart devices (see 2308100032). Jordan offered few updates on the FCC’s progress in developing the NPRM’s record but emphasized that replies to comments filed earlier this month (see 2310100034) are due Nov. 10. “Smart devices make our lives easier” and “more efficient” including via “remotely monitoring the thermostat, knowing when your oven is preheated or the health of our kids,” Jordan said. “But increased interconnection also means increased opportunity for bad things to happen with regard to security and privacy.” Cyber Trust Mark will help consumers “get clear information about the devices that they’re considering buying based on” NIST’s “widely accepted” cybersecurity standards and other “industry research,” she said: “We envision a strong partnership” with the private sector “to make this happen,” similar to the joint Energy Department-Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star program. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, said he and other lawmakers are “carefully following” the FCC’s work on the cybersecurity labeling program, which “has the potential to be a good first step in educating consumers.” He cautioned that “we must also make sure the FCC relies on cybersecurity and industry experts to get this right.” Ranking member Doris Matsui, D-Calif., and Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., also praised the proposed program. It “will provide consumers with better cybersecurity,” invoking the “Good Housekeeping seal of approval” as a model. “Anything that helps somebody understand whether or not what they’re purchasing” meets cybersecurity standards is a good thing, she said.

The upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference is critical to U.S. tech policy and the nation’s focus is becoming clear, said Steve Lang, who replaced Anna Gomez as head of the U.S. delegation to the WRC (see 2309120069). “I know how absolutely critical our success at the WRC is to our global strategic interests,” including U.S. economic and technological leadership and national security, said Lang during a U.S. ITU Association conference Thursday. That’s true “not just for the U.S. but our like-minded allies who share our democratic values and rights-respecting approach to technology,” he said. “It’s easy to connect the dots between what happens at the WRC and our defense interests and our commercial successes, but really it’s essential to our overall technological competitiveness,” he said. The decisions at WRC have implications for how technology will work in the future, Lang said. “That’s why it is so critical that the United States and our like-minded allies are leading” at the WRC, he said. Lang said from past work he has existing relationships with others who will represent their nations at the WRC and with ITU officials. But he noted he is a career diplomat who has led U.S. delegations to other international meetings, but not an engineer or telecom lawyer. “I’ve been diving in deep with our team of experts to understand the technical aspects and nuances that we’re facing” at the WRC, he said. Relationships are critical to success in international negotiations, Lang said. For the past few weeks, he said he has been “meeting with as many delegates from other member states as possible” as well as stakeholders. “This process is helping me both to understand our priorities … and also to develop a framework for how we can communicate" them, he said. The WRC starts Nov. 20 in Dubai.

Laser communications company Aalyria Technologies and HICO Investment Group, which specializes in maritime products and logistics, have signed a memorandum of understanding that has them partnering on a deployment of up to 200 Aalyria laser communications platforms across commercial ships worldwide. Aalyria's eventual goal is thousands of vessels outfitted with its Tightbeam laser communications terminals, creating a mesh network for ground-based fiber-speed connectivity far into open water without use of satellites, the two said Thursday.

With initial satellite launches still targeted for this year to test their mobile supplemental coverage from space service, SpaceX and T-Mobile representatives met with FCC staffers to urge approval of their pending applications. That according to a filing Wednesday in docket 23-135 recapping discussions with the Space and Wireless Bureau and Office of General Counsel and Engineering and Technology staffers.

The Biden administration asked Congress Wednesday afternoon to allocate $6 billion in stopgap funding for the FCC’s affordable connectivity program, more than communications sector officials anticipated last week (see 2310200067). The White House also urged Capitol Hill appropriate an additional $3.08 billion to close the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program funding shortfall (see 2310120067). The additional ACP money would “strengthen” ACP "by extending free and discounted high-speed internet for eligible households through December 2024,” the White House said in a fact sheet. ACP “is already helping over 21 million households save over $500 million per month on their monthly internet bills.” The program is “critical for the Administration’s high-speed internet deployment programs for rural, remote, and Tribal communities,” the administration said: “Without this funding, tens of millions of people would lose this benefit and would no longer be able to afford high-speed internet service without sacrificing other necessities.” USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter hailed the administration for seeking the ACP stopgap, saying the program “is a critical part of reaching our shared goal of universal connectivity” and “has already enabled more than 21 million low-income households to participate in our digital economy. We urge Congress to find a long-term solution to sustain this vital program.”