The Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) has released the tentative agenda for its April 2020 Open Meeting, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday, April 23, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. EDT. Open Meetings are streamed live at www.fcc.gov/live and can be followed on social media with #OpenMtgFCC. The tentative agenda includes the following items:
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 midband 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).
Proposing the 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, awarding up to $9 billion in support over 10 years for the deployment of 5G mobile broadband services in rural areas. (GN Docket No. 20-32).
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).
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-PDR20161115-00120 and SAT-APL-20180927-00076).
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).
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).
