The FCC released a light agenda for its next Commission Open Meeting,
scheduled for November 18, 2021. The agency will consider a Second
Report and Order to require covered text providers to support text
messaging to 988 by routing those texts messages to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline ("Lifeline"). The FCC will next address a Further
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("FNPRM") to adopt an incentive program to encourage licensees to make spectrum available to small carriers and
Tribal Nations, as well as to carriers seeking to expand wireless
services in rural areas. The FCC will also review a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("NPRM") to assess whether FM and Low Power FM ("LPFM")
broadcast radio license applicants can verify directional antenna
patterns by computer modeling instead of by taking physical
measurements. The FCC will close its meeting by considering a
Declaratory Ruling and Order ("Order") that would grant Knéis, a French private satellite operator, with access to the United States market so
that it can support connectivity for Internet of Things ("IoT") devices
and improved data collection.