The FCC:

The Federal Communications Commission will hold its monthly open meeting on April 17 and is set to consider a series of items related to national security, spectrum auctions and small satellites, among other topics.

The first item on the April 17 agenda is a notice of proposed rulemaking that seeks to introduce new rules that would bar recipients of the FCC's Universal Service Fund from purchasing communications network equipment or services from companies deemed to pose a threat to U.S. national security. USF dollars are designed to help offset the cost of connecting rural residents to phone and internet services.

Though the proposal does not single out any companies by name, it follows the introduction of the Defending U.S. Government Communications Act in the House and Senate, which would block the U.S. government from buying or leasing telecommunications equipment and services from the Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and ZTE Corp., specifically. Moreover, the proposal cites a 2012 report from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that assessed the security threat posed by Chinese telecom companies operating in or providing equipment to customers in the U.S. The report focused on Huawei and ZTE, noting that both had "histories that include connections to the Chinese government." The report indicated U.S. government agencies and federal contractors "should exclude ZTE or Huawei equipment in their systems." The concerns raised by the 2012 report were recently reiterated by a group of 18 senators and U.S. representatives in a letter sent to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai at the end of 2017.

Also on the agenda for the April 17 meeting is a public notice that lays out the procedures for two high-band spectrum auctions, one involving licenses in the 28 GHz band and the second involving licenses in the 24 GHz band. High-band spectrum is expected to play a significant role in the rollout of next-generation 5G services given that it offers wider bands, enabling operators to carry significantly more traffic at higher speeds.

Under the application and bidding procedures listed in the public notice, the 28 GHz licenses will be offered in two 425-megahertz blocks by county, while the 24 GHz licenses will be offered in seven 100-megahertz blocks by partial economic area, or PEA. Generally, PEAs are larger than counties as there are only 416 PEA service areas in the U.S., while there are more than 3,000 counties. The bidding for the 28 GHz band is scheduled to begin Nov. 14 with bidding in the 24 GHz band to follow thereafter.

A third item on the April 17 agenda is a notice of proposed rulemaking that outlines a new, alternative application process designed for a class of satellites referred to as "small satellites." These smaller, less expensive satellites usually have shorter missions and are launched on their own or as part of small groups. The FCC's notice seeks to define a small satellite as one that has a maximum mass of 180 kg, a deployment altitude below 400 km and a total on-orbit lifetime of no more than five years. This class of satellites would be limited to 10 or fewer satellites under a single authorization, meaning that it would not apply to the large constellations contemplated by companies like SoftBank Group Corp.'s OneWeb or SpaceX.

	Congress:
	April 17	The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing titled "From Core to Edge: Perspective on Internet Prioritization" at 10:15 a.m. ET.
	April 18	The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled "Abusive Robocalls and How We Can Stop Them" at 10 a.m. ET.
	April 18	The Senate Committee on the Judiciary will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office" at 10 a.m. ET.
	April 18	The House Subcommittee on Information Technology will hold a hearing titled "Game Changers: Artificial Intelligence Part III, Artificial Intelligence and Public Policy" at 2 p.m. ET.
	April 19	The House Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled "Do Not Call: Combating Robocalls and Caller ID Spoofing" at 10 a.m. ET.
	The DOJ:
	April 16 - 20	Trial will continue in the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against the AT&T Inc./Time Warner Inc. deal.
	The FCC:
	April 16	FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn will take part in a Q&A on net neutrality.
	April 17	The FCC will hold its monthly open meeting at 10:30 a.m. ET.
	April 19	FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly will speak at the American Enterprise Institute about changes in communications policy.
	Industry events:
	April 15 - 17	NTCA — The Rural Broadband Association will hold its annual Legislative & Policy Conference.
	April 16	The Internet Innovation Alliance will hold an event titled "Protecting America's Online Consumers in the 21st Century Digital Economy."
	April 16	The Heritage Foundation will hold an event titled "Do Borders Matter? - The Supreme Court Reviews Internet Sales Tax."
	April 16	The Technology Policy Institute will hold an event titled "Facebook and Cambridge Analytica: The Regulatory and Policy Implications."
	April 16 - 19	The Space Foundation will host its Space Symposium.
	April 17	The Family Research Council will host an event titled "Losing Our Voices: Who Owns Free Speech on the Internet?"
	April 17	Intelligence Squared US will host an event titled "Preserve Net Neutrality: All Data is Created Equal."
	April 18	BroadbandUSA will host a webinar titled "How Smart States are Using Innovative Techniques to Enhance Technology Use."
	April 19	The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation will host an event titled "Accelerating Drone Innovation While Ensuring Public Safety."
	April 19	The Federal Communications Bar Association will host an event titled "Technology and Policy for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles."
	More cybersecurity events:
	April 16 - 20	RSA Conference 2018 will take place in San Francisco.
	April 17	New America's Open Technology Institute will host an event titled "Will Secure Multiparty Computation Reshape Data Privacy?"
	April 18	The Aspen Institute will hold an event titled "Securing the Nation's Secrets, Infrastructure, and Democracy: Counterintelligence in the Digital Age."

Stories of note:

Senators press Facebook CEO over commitment to privacy

House Committee leader asks Zuckerberg: 'What exactly is Facebook?'

Amid 2-month blackout, 3 cities test power to intervene in retrans dispute

Balancing innovation, regulation as EU's digital market falls behind China, US

NAB Show: Sweeping EU privacy regulation will impact US ad market, execs say

Opinion: How will the law treat injuries caused by autonomous vehicles?

S&P Global Market Intelligence provides links to external sites where these offer further, relevant information to our readers. While we ensure that such links are functional at the time of publication, we are not responsible in instances where those links are unavailable later.