On Thursday, April 16, 2020, the Commission released the following agenda for the April Open Meeting scheduled for Thursday, April 23, 2020 by teleconference at 10:30 am:
Unlicensed Use of the 6 GHz Band – The Commission will consider a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would promote innovation and the use of mid-band spectrum for broadband by allowing unlicensed operations in the 5.925-7.125 GHz band while protecting existing licensed operations. (ET Docket No. 18-295; GN Docket No. 17-183). FCC FACT SHEET
Establishing a 5G Fund for Rural America – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order that would propose to establish the 5G Fund for Rural America to award up to $9 billion in support in two phases for the deployment of 5G mobile broadband services in rural areas. (GN Docket No. 20-32). FCC FACT SHEET
Mitigation of Orbital Debris in the New Space Age – The Commission will consider a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would comprehensively update the Commission’s orbital debris rules for all Commission-authorized satellites. (IB Docket No. 18-313). FCC FACT SHEET
ViaSat Market Access Request –The Commission will consider an Order and Declaratory Ruling that would grant ViaSat’s request for U.S. market access to offer broadband services using a proposed constellation of non-geostationary orbit satellites. (IBFS File Nos. SAT-PDR-20161115-00120 and SAT-APL-20180927-00076). FCC FACT SHEET
Improving Low Power FM Radio – The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would modernize the LPFM technical rules to provide more regulatory flexibility for licensees. (MB Docket Nos. 19-193, 17-105). FCC FACT SHEET
Expanding Availability of Video Description – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would propose to expand video description requirements to 40 additional local television markets over the next four years to increase the accessibility of programming to blind and visually impaired Americans. (MB Docket No. 11-43). FCC FACT SHEET
Chairman Pai released a blog post detailing the plans for the 6 GHz band and the 5G Fund for Rural America, as well as the two satellite-delivered broadband initiatives, the updates to technical rules for LPFM stations, and the availability of video descriptions.
The meeting will be held by teleconference and streamed at http://www.fcc.gov/live and on the FCC’s YouTube Channel. The first three items on the agenda will be considered by the Commission at the teleconference meeting, while the other listed items are expected to be voted on circulation prior to the meeting.
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