Ligado is partnering with Viasat and Skylo Technologies to offer direct-to-handset service via Ligado's SkyTerra satellite network (see 2303020023).

A June 2020 wireless infrastructure declaratory ruling merely clarified existing rules, the FCC told a federal appeals court Wednesday. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month resumed a long-paused case on a League of California Cities challenge to the FCC decision clarifying shot clock and substantial change rules (see 2302070041). The FCC said in a brief it made no procedural errors and reasonably interpreted its rules (case 20-71765). "Wireless communications depend on a network of antennas and equipment placed on structures including towers, buildings, and utility poles,” the FCC wrote. “Local governments often use their zoning and land use authority to delay or block the installation of such equipment because of perceived aesthetic and other impacts." Congress, the agency said, has long sought to reduce such barriers.

Senate Commerce Committee leaders now plan to support a House-backed proposal to extend the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through May 19, panel Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Wednesday. The House passed its temporary reauthorization bill (HR-1108) Monday, but Cantwell and Senate Commerce ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, weren’t at that point certain whether they would back another renewal of just over two months. “Everybody seems to be cool” now about renewing the remit through May 19, Cantwell said: “I didn’t know” earlier in the week “if everyone had gotten comfortable with that exact date,” but that now seems to be the case. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., remains a wild card in any bid for Senate concurrence with HR-1108 because he’s eyeing filing a bill that would instead reauthorize the FCC’s mandate until the end of FY 2023, the night of Sept. 30. Congress in December agreed to extend the auction authority through March 9 after a bid to attach a bipartisan spectrum measure to the FY23 omnibus appropriations package fell through (see 2212190069).

NAB, CCIA and CTA joined with many other trade groups and state chambers of commerce in a letter asking Congress to oppose the FTC’s proposed ban on noncompete clauses. “The FTC lacks the constitutional or statutory authority to issue such a rule and, in attempting to do so, the agency is improperly usurping the role of Congress,” said the letter, which was also signed by ACT|The App Association, the National Newspaper Association and numerous local chambers of commerce, and trade groups from various industries --including trucking, pest management, retail and insurance. “In the past, Congress curbed FTC’s excesses with appropriations riders, and we encourage Congress to revisit such tools today,” the letter said. “The FTC’s blanket ban on noncompete clauses is vastly overbroad and likely will harm both employees and employers.”

The FCC’s Communications Equity and Diversity Council scheduled a virtual Digital Ecosystem Forum Monday, said a public notice in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. The event, at noon EST, will feature telecom industry leaders discussing “how the U.S. can provide digital and technology upskilling” and the future of work, and will be kicked off with remarks from FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, the PN said.

The FCC and Ukraine’s National Commission for the State Regulation of Electronic Communications, Radio Frequency Spectrum and the Provision of Postal Services signed a new memorandum of understanding at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Monday. The regulators agreed to cooperate on issues including “resilience of telecommunications infrastructure, quality of service and coverage, 5G and other new technologies and related security issues, consumer protection and regulatory best practices and institutional capacity development,” the FCC said. “Nothing can be more clear than that the United States is a friend and a partner for a strong, safe, independent and prosperous Ukraine,” Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said: “This includes communications policy, and we are committed to supporting and listening to our friends and partners in Kyiv.” Rosenworcel also signed a MOU at MWC promoting bilateral cooperation with the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel agrees content moderation and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act could be improved, she said during a Q&A at the Knight Foundation Media Forum Thursday: "I think a lot of people would say there must be a way to do better. I'm among them." Section 230 is important and helped the internet grow, but “we might over time want to condition its protections on more transparency, complaint processes, things that make you a good actor,” Rosenworcel said, conceding that creating an alternative to 230 would be difficult. Asked about FCC authority over 230, Rosenworcel condemned the previous administration’s efforts on that as “not particularly well-developed” but also seemed to indicate the agency could be involved in future 230 revisions. After Gonzalez v. Google, “we’re going to have to have some discussions about what changes we might see in Congress or what changes we might see at the FCC, but I don’t think that earlier petition that was filed was it,” she said, referencing a case argued Tuesday at the Supreme Court (see 2302210062). Rosenworcel said the agency has done a lot of “incredible things” with four commissioners, but she hopes it gets a fifth soon. One policy she would tackle with a majority is the FCC’s definition of broadband speeds, she said. “If I have five people we’re gonna up that standard,” she said. “It’s really easy to decry polarization and politicization in any environment in Washington,” she said. “But I think the more interesting thing is to put your head down and see what you can do. History is not interested in your complaints.” Asked about FCC efforts to improve connections for the incarcerated, Rosenworcel touted her recent circulation of an item on prison phone rates. She's “optimistic” about having unanimous support for the item at the agency, she said.

The wireless industry faces a significant challenge training the workforce needed for open radio access networks, 5G, 6G and beyond, experts said Tuesday during an RCR wireless webinar. The industry is becoming increasingly competitive and carriers are having to pay “top dollar for top talent” to hire the staff they need, said Shirish Nagaraj, Corning chief technologist. With the transition from earlier Gs to 5G, things are happening “on a much faster timescale,” Nagaraj said. “Networks are getting deployed faster” and industry has to “do more with less,” he said. Staffers need new skill sets like managing the cloud, system integration and working with fiber, he said. Workers need training to make sure they’re focused on“cutting-edge technologies, on new innovations that are leading edge, and it makes for very interesting work," Nagaraj said. Industry needs to cross-train staff and break down “silos,” he said. Corning projects a need for 850,000 fiber technicians this decade, “so this in a tall ask that we have to fill,” he said. Corning has launched two training programs, a fiber broadband technician training working with AT&T, and a registered apprenticeship program, working with the Wireless Infrastructure Association, he said. “There’s a massive, inevitable momentum already happening in the need for secure networks to be built,” said Vishal Mathur, Telecom Infra Project global head-engagement: “We’re driving toward a whole new agenda here in the industry and there’s economic value to chase after.” Governments are driving change, as they seek supply chain diversity and more security in the way networks are built, he said. There has been lots of “proving” and testing of new networks, like those built using ORAN technologies, Mathur said. “Actual deployment” is happening, he said. With ORAN, open-optical and open-Wi-Fi networks “we need more people who understand the product set, understand how to integrate it and test it, understand how to procure it in a multivendor environment,” he said. The move from a single vendor network to multiple vendors requires workers with a “fundamental understanding of what builds up the solutions stack from a technology perspective,” he said. “That’s who we’ve designed fundamental training at the common layer for everyone,” he said. Network and test engineers, and operations staff “need to speak in the same taxonomy and need to understand exactly the same glossary of terms,” he said.

M&A deals in tech, media and telecom plunged 33% globally in 2022, from $1.26 trillion in 2021 to $841 billion last year, GlobalData said Monday. Last year saw 124 deals valued at $1 billion or more, vs. 269 in 2021. It said 2021 was particularly active in deal numbers and sizes, and the 2022 decline was particularly pronounced in Q4 2022. It said the TMT M&A outlook is uncertain going forward given rising interest rates, volatile markets and a slowing economy.

Hikvision, which sells surveillance cameras and other security gear, challenged in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit a November order by the FCC clamping down on equipment from Chinese companies, preventing the sale of yet-to-be authorized equipment in the U.S. The order bans FCC authorization of gear from companies including Hikvision and other Chinese companies. Legal challenges were expected (see 2211230065). Hikvision USA is a California company wholly owned by Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, the pleading said. It’s being represented by HWG.