There are 49,824 cable and wireline subscribers out of service in the nine Louisiana counties still being monitored for outages related to Hurricane Delta using the disaster information reporting system, said Tuesday’s FCC report. The area was narrowed Monday, said a public notice. No public safety answering points are down, while 6.5% of cellsites are offline. One TV station, three FM stations and two AMs are off-air.

Auction economists Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. They “studied how auctions work” and “used their insights to design new auction formats for goods and services that are difficult to sell in a traditional way, such as radio frequencies,” the committee said Monday: “Their discoveries have benefited sellers, buyers and taxpayers around the world.” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Tuesday “their work has made possible the extraordinary success of U.S. radiofrequency spectrum auctions.”

The Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear Enigma Software v. Malwarebytes, which alleges anticompetitive behavior by a cybersecurity rival (see 2006150054). Justice Clarence Thomas issued a statement in agreement, saying the high court should consider reviewing Communications Decency Act Section 230’s language in an “appropriate case.” Malwarebytes claimed Section 230 immunity after Enigma sued. Enigma alleged Malwarebytes “engaged in anticompetitive conduct by reconfiguring its products to make it difficult for consumers to download and use Enigma products.” Thomas noted SCOTUS hasn’t interpreted Section 230 in the 24 years since its enactment: “Many courts have construed the law broadly to confer sweeping immunity on some of the largest companies.” He argued justices “should consider whether the text of this increasingly important statute aligns with the current state of immunity enjoyed by Internet platforms.” Extending the immunity “beyond the natural reading of the text can have serious consequences,” Thomas wrote. Before allowing immunity from civil claims for “knowingly hosting illegal child pornography” or “for race discrimination,” the court should “be certain that is what the law demands.” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said Thomas’ statement “strengthens the case for reform,” tweeting that it “explains how a couple of sweeping and questionable court decisions have expanded Big Tech’s protections far beyond the terms of Section 230 itself.” Attorneys for the companies didn’t comment.

The FCC announced the final list of census blocks eligible for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase 1 auction, set to start Oct. 29, said a public notice from the Wireline Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics in Friday's Daily Digest.

FCC staffer Axel Rodriguez is the commission’s new Enforcement Bureau field director, leading staff in its work, which includes investigating rule violations and interference complaints and supporting the restoration of communications after disasters, said a Friday release. Rodriguez, an electrical engineer, has been a supervisor at the FCC lab for seven years. Five years ago, the agency restructured its field offices, closing some and consolidating others (see 1507160036). It now has 13 field offices, the FCC said.

The FCC activated the disaster information reporting system for Hurricane Delta for affected counties in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, said a public notice Thursday. The bureau also issued PNs on emergency contact info for licensees that need special temporary authority, and on 24-hour availability of FCC staff.

Cutting intercarrier compensation charges should undermine the incentive for 8YY arbitrage schemes such as robocaller "traffic pumping," said the FCC in an 8YY order approved by FCC commissioners Friday (see 2010090047). Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who dissented on the 8YY NPRM adopted in 2018 (see 1806070021), concurred in the vote. The 5-0 vote was expected by some (see 2009040016). The order caps originating 8YY end office, database query and tandem switch and transport charges at their current amounts. It also sets transition periods for them, with the originating 8YY end office charges reduced to bill-and-keep in phases starting July 1 through July 1, 2023. It sets a nationwide rate cap of .001 cent per minute for originating 8YY tandem switching and transport access charges effective July 1, and cuts database query charges to .0002 cent per query over three phases ending July 1, 2023. The order also bars carriers from charging for more than one query per call.

Countering repeated SpaceX arguments against allowing 5G in the 12 GHz band (see 2008070028), RS Access said in an RM-11768 posting Friday that inaction in the band would stunt 5G deployment for "years to come." It said SpaceX wrongly indicates satellite/terrestrial sharing can't work in the band, though radio engineering organizations say otherwise. SpaceX didn't comment. Criticizing overenthusiasm for 5G, TechFreedom said a request for spectrum for 5G shouldn't make the FCC "genuflect and pull that spectrum from any other use." The agency "must not 'eat the seed corn' of satellite spectrum to feed the hungry 5G beast," it said. Dell CEO Michael Dell, in a call with Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, urged the FCC to keep identifying spectrum for 5G deployment, including the 12 GHz band, per an ex parte posting.

Preserve the full 75 MHz in 5.9 GHz for vehicle-to-everything use, Continental Automotive Systems asked the FCC. Commissioners agreed 5-0 in December to examine revised rules, reallocating 45 MHz for Wi-Fi; 20 MHz would be reserved for cellular V2X and possibly 10 MHz for dedicated short-range communications (DSRC). Comments were posted Thursday in docket 19-138. “If only 30 MHz is retained, many Americans whose lives could have been saved will needlessly die in motor vehicle accidents,” Continental said: “If V2X is shortchanged here ..., Collective Perception Messages safety-of-life applications and Maneuver Coordination Messages safety-of-life applications will be impossible in the U.S. They require at least 20 MHz of spectrum each.” In a call with an Office of Engineering and Technology official, Qualcomm said the 10 MHz block being considered for DSRC should be allocated instead to C-V2X. Qualcomm said that “while there are active commitments to deploy C-V2X in vehicles (once authorized by the FCC), not one automaker has said it will sell" such cars in the U.S. Facebook told an aide to Commissioner Mike O’Rielly it seeks outdoor and portable use: “The ability to use portable devices as peer-to-peer access points outdoors, is an important incentive for device manufacturers to build 5.9 GHz capability into devices."

Wednesday night's vice presidential debate featured telecom and tech policy, unlike the debate last week between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris of California contrasted Biden’s infrastructure proposals with Trump’s record. Biden has “a plan that is about investing in infrastructure, something [Trump] said he would do,” Harris said. She cited the Trump administration’s repeated bids for an “Infrastructure Week” aimed at advancing talks on spending for broadband and other projects, but “I don’t think it ever happened.” Trump in March noted interest in pursuing $2 trillion in infrastructure spending as part of COVID-19 legislation (see 2003310070). The House passed the Moving Forward Act (HR-2) in July, including broadband and next-generation 911 funding (see 2007010071). Harris said the administration doesn’t believe sufficiently enough in science, and that hurt the U.S. position as innovation leader. Vice President Mike Pence said Biden is a “cheerleader” for the Communist Party-led Chinese government and “wants to go back to the economic surrender to China.” Harris criticized the Trump administration's trade war with China. Neither candidate named specific Chinese companies that have drawn lawmakers’ scrutiny.