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Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) unanimously adopted an order formalizing the referral and review process associated with “Team Telecom”—the group of national security and law enforcement agencies responsible for assessing foreign investment in U.S. telecommunications, submarine cable licensees, and broadcast licensees. The order adopts rules and procedures that will govern what has long been an informal process at the agency, both in connection with the issuance of such licenses and with respect to transfers of control.

The FCC’s action is consistent with the agency’s increased focus on, and involvement in, questions around national security and foreign investment in the telecommunications and media sectors. This attention to national security at the FCC is likely to continue regardless of the outcome of the election in November, given that both Republicans and Democrats at the agency have supported the agency’s heightened role in national security matters under its jurisdiction.…

Continue Reading FCC Formalizes Foreign Investment Reviews; More National Security Actions Likely to Follow

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission circulated a draft order that will formalize its coordination with what has been known as “Team Telecom”—the national security review process for foreign investments in U.S. telecommunications companies.  The draft order, which the FCC will consider for adoption at its September 30 Open Meeting, includes rules and procedures governing what has long been an informal process.

The FCC’s draft order adopts rules consistent with an April 4, 2020 Executive Order that rebranded the group of executive branch authorities long referred to as “Team Telecom” as the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector.  Despite the name change, Team Telecom will largely follow the existing review process; however, the new FCC rules do make a few key changes.  We highlight some of the basic changes below.…

Continue Reading FCC Releases Draft Order Formalizing “Team Telecom” Process

A little over a month ago, the deadline for appealing the D.C. Circuit’s decision in Mozilla v. FCC expired.  The Mozilla decision upheld the FCC’s 2017 Restoring Internet Freedom Order (“Order”), which rolled back Obama-era net neutrality regulations to largely deregulate broadband internet service provider (“ISP”) practices.  No party sought Supreme Court review…

Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) granted GE Healthcare (“GEHC”) a waiver of its equipment authorization rules to allow for the importation, marketing, and operation of certain medical devices that have yet to receive authorization under applicable FCC requirements.  The GEHC devices at issue include bedside and wearable patient monitors; telemetry transmitters; antenna infrastructure; wireless sensors; diagnostic testing ECG analysis systems; mobile radiology equipment; and portable X-rays.

The FCC granted the waiver due to the “unprecedented strain” that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on the U.S. healthcare system.  In doing so, the FCC recognized that GEHC now has to rely on alternative component suppliers to maintain a robust supply chain of devices, and that doing so has and will continue to require GEHC to pursue and secure new or modified equipment authorizations under the FCC’s rules.  By waiving these rules for a temporary period,  subject to certain conditions, the FCC enabled GEHC to import, market, and operate these devices before they are fully authorized, thereby improving the speed at which GEHC can bring them to market.
Continue Reading IoT Update: FCC Waives Equipment Authorization Rules for GE Healthcare to Address COVID-19 Supply Chain and Testing Challenges

With all the current excitement around emerging high-tech autonomous vehicles and internet of things (IoT) devices, it may surprise some observers that around 20 years ago the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), at Congress’s direction, was already taking some important steps with respect to these technologies.  Most notably, the FCC set aside the 5.9 GHz band, which is a swath of highly-valued mid-band spectrum, for vehicle related communications and transportation safety features.  At that time, the FCC pursued Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) as the standard to develop critical safety services, but over time, similar technologies outside of the 5.9 GHz band have developed.  More recently, a number of manufacturers and developers have been focused on a new technology called Cellular Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X), which proponents argue should be the standard going forward.

The FCC has decided to weigh in on the issues in the 5.9 GHz band in a draft notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to be voted on at its December 12 Commission Open Meeting.  The 5.9 GHz band has been a political issue subject to disagreements among the FCC, Department of Transportation, and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, regarding the best path forward, which technologies should be pursued, and whether there is enough spectrum that can safely be shared among different use cases. …
Continue Reading IoT Update: FCC Proposes New Spectrum Plan for Vehicle Safety and Unlicensed Uses

In a long-awaited decision, today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld a January 2018 decision by the FCC to repeal most net neutrality rules and classify broadband as an unregulated “information service,” despite requiring the FCC to conduct further proceedings to justify certain aspects of its decision.  At the same time, the Court found that the FCC exceeded its authority in attempting to preempt any state net neutrality or similar laws regulating broadband.
Continue Reading Federal Appellate Court Largely Upholds FCC’s Order Repealing Most Net Neutrality Rules and De-Regulating Broadband; Holds that FCC Does Not Have Authority to Preempt All State Net Neutrality Laws

From the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) to Congress to the White House, the federal government has continued to push the importance of investment and innovation in fifth-generation (“5G”) wireless technology. This push bodes well for the many industries that rely on the Internet of Things (“IoT”), such as transportation, healthcare, and manufacturing—to name a few. As we have previously discussed, 5G deployment is critical for IoT because the IoT ecosystem will rely heavily on the increased speeds and capacity, as well as the reduced latency, that 5G technology will enable. Below we discuss the most recent pushes for 5G developments from federal leadership before surveying key industries in the IoT ecosystem that we expect to benefit from these efforts.
Continue Reading IoT Update: Flurry of Federal 5G Activity Indicates Important Growth Opportunities for the IoT Ecosystem

In exchange for a stay of the proceedings in both United States v. California and American Cable Association v. Becerra, California has agreed not to enforce its new net neutrality law, SB 822, pending the resolution of Mozilla Corp. v. FCC, the lawsuit challenging the FCC’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order (“Order”).  The Order had repealed Obama-era net neutrality rules.  SB 822, which we previously discussed here, was scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2019, and contains the most stringent net neutrality requirements of any state.  When the law was passed on September 30, the U.S. Department of Justice immediately sued California, arguing it was preempted by the FCC’s Order.
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Continue Reading Net Neutrality Update: California and the United States Agree to Stay Further Proceedings Pending Review of FCC Order

On September 30, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill to apply net neutrality rules to Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) operating in that state.  California is not the first state to enact legislation on net neutrality, but its bill contains the most stringent requirements yet.  The Trump Administration and multiple ISPs have sued to prevent the new law from going into effect, arguing that it conflicts with federal law.  The first hearing on the legal challenge will take place on November 14.
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Continue Reading California Adopts Net Neutrality Law; Court Hearing Scheduled for Nov. 14

5G deployment and availability will greatly expand and enhance the Internet of Things (IoT). As we explored in a prior post, apart from spectrum availability, one of the other primary keys to promoting 5G development is increased investment in both wireless and wireline infrastructure. Without the necessary infrastructure (e.g. small cells, fiber backhaul) to support advanced 5G offerings, nascent IoT technologies will be inhibited by ever-increasing capacity demands that put strains on the existing infrastructure.

On September 26, 2018, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to approve a Declaratory Ruling and Third Report and Order (Order) designed to encourage and facilitate the investment necessary to deploy infrastructure to meet the demands of 5G networks. As the FCC explained in the Order, 5G is so important because it can “enable increased competition for a range of services—including broadband—support new healthcare and Internet of Things applications, speed the transition to life-saving connected car technologies, and create jobs.”…
Continue Reading IoT Update: FCC Efforts to Encourage 5G Infrastructure Investment