Today: US Congress Hearing on "Ground Rules for the Internet Ecosystem," FCC EAS Test Scheduled for September
US Congress Hearing on “Ground Rules for the Internet Ecosystem”
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) announced the Committee will hold a hearing on September 7, 2017, entitled “Ground Rules for the Internet Ecosystem.” The Committee sent invitations to CEOs of leading tech companies, including Facebook, Alphabet, Amazon, and Netflix and broadband providers including Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, and Charter Communications, requesting they testify before the full committee.
Chairman Walden said “A strong consensus is forming across party lines and across industries that it’s time for Congress to call a halt on the back-and-forth and set clear net neutrality ground rules for the Internet…With almost everyone in agreement about fundamental principles to prevent anti-competitive behavior such as throttling and blocking, I think we are closer than ever to achieving a lasting resolution. The time has come to get everyone to the table and get this figured out.”
Subcommittee Chairman Blackburn agreed adding, “The last FCC, at the behest of President Obama, pushed far beyond its legal authority to create an unstable set of mandates and a mountain of unanswered questions. The ensuing drama has benefitted certain interest groups but has been detrimental for American innovators and consumers, whose experience and reliance on the Internet are diminished by the lack of clear and predictable rules. Like Title II classification, the inflammatory rhetoric is unsustainable, so it has been encouraging to see a change in tone from some quarters and willingness to work with Congress to bring needed certainty to all participants in the internet economy. I expect this hearing will create an opportunity for fruitful discussions and a real solution.”
FCC EAS Test Scheduled for September
The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau announced that it and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will conduct a nationwide test of the EAS on September 27, 2017 at 2:20 PM EDT. The test will assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS, with a particular emphasis on testing FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), the integrated gateway through which common alerting protocol-based (CAP-based) EAS alerts are disseminated to EAS Participants. The test message will clearly state that the alert is only a test of the EAS and will be transmitted in English and Spanish. All EAS Participants are required to participate in this test. The Bureau announced that the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) is now open and accepting 2017 filings. EAS Participants must renew their identifying information required by ETRS Form One on a yearly basis, with filings due by August 28, 2017. The Bureau also announces the release of a revised EAS Operating Handbook.
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The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of a TMI Briefing.
