FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s office pulled a draft order on robotexts and robocalls from the agenda for the commissioners' open meeting Thursday and returned it to circulation. The FCC issued a notice late Tuesday that the item was deleted from the agenda. Some observers warned last week of potential opposition from Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington over First Amendment concerns, though they noted commissioners have traditionally embraced additional robocall rules as one of the FCC's top consumer items.

The FCC gave the go-ahead to EchoStar's request this week for extensions of milestones in its 5G network buildout. In a notation Friday in the FCC's Universal Licensing System, the agency said it granted the extension request contingent on EchoStar fulfilling the conditions it made with its application. EchoStar previously cited issues ranging from the pandemic's impact on supply chains to the cost of moving Boost subscribers from the legacy Sprint CDMA network to the T-Mobile network as reasons for delaying its 5G work. Accordingly, it asked that the FCC extend 2025 milestone deadlines into late 2026.

Ron Repasi, chief of the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology, is leaving the agency. An email sent to industry on Monday announced a retirement party in the commission meeting room Sept. 26. Repasi took over from longtime OET Chief Julius Knapp, initially in an acting capacity, in late 2019. Knapp had led the OET since 2004. Repasi has been in the middle of most spectrum policy issues at the FCC, from 6 GHz rules to the future of the citizens broadband radio service, lower 12 GHz and other bands, industry officials said. Repasi became chief FCC engineer on a permanent basis 18 months ago. “Please join us for a retirement celebration honoring … Repasi on his many accomplishments during his 32 years of Government service,” said the email on his retirement.

The FCC approved an order establishing a multi-round reverse auction to pay out up to $9 billion to bring voice and 5G mobile broadband service to rural areas of the U.S. otherwise unlikely to see 5G. The vote was 4-1, with a dissent by Commissioner Brendan Carr. The commission plans a public notice to announce the start date of the auction. It also released a Further NPRM on related tribal issues.

A three-judge panel in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the FCC's net neutrality order Thursday (see 2407220044). Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton concurred with the ruling, noting that in only the past three years has the FCC "taken its current position that broadband internet access service qualifies as a telecommunications service as opposed to an information service." The panel noted that ISPs have "shown that they are likely to succeed on the merits and that the equities support them" (docket 24-7000). The court found that the final rule "implicates a major question" and the FCC "failed to satisfy the high bar for imposing such regulations." Net neutrality "is likely a major question requiring clear congressional authorization," the ruling said, adding that the Communications Act "does not plainly authorize the commission to resolve" this issue. The court declined to reach a determination on the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's Brand X decision. The court set oral argument for its fall sitting "so that a randomly drawn merits panel may consider the case." Opening briefs for petitioners are due by Aug. 12. The FCC has until Sept. 11 or 30 days after petitioners file to submit its own brief. The FCC didn't immediately comment.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is temporarily staying the FCC's net neutrality order until Aug. 5. In an order Friday (docket 24-7000), the three-judge panel granted an administrative stay "to provide sufficient opportunity to consider the merits of the motion to stay" the order. The judges gave a July 19 deadline for filing supplemental briefs regarding the application of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2005 Brand X decision. The FCC didn't immediately comment.

The Senate Commerce Committee is again postponing a planned markup of the Spectrum and National Security Act (S-4207), a spokesperson confirmed Monday night. The Tuesday meeting would have been Senate Commerce’s fourth attempt to vote on S-4207, which in a revised form unveiled last week would renew the FCC’s lapsed spectrum auction authority for five years but mandated no sales of specific bands. S-4207’s prospects of getting bipartisan support had appeared doubtful Monday, but the bill’s backers were continuing that afternoon to court a handful of Republican holdouts to back it.

The Senate Commerce Committee is postponing a planned Wednesday vote on the Spectrum and National Security Act (S-4207), a spokesperson confirmed Tuesday night. That marks the third time the panel has postponed consideration of S-4207 since early May amid continued stumbling blocks in talks aimed at garnering GOP support for the measure. S-4207 would restore the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through Sept. 30, 2029, allocate money to the expired affordable connectivity program and fully pay for the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program.

A coalition of industry groups on Friday challenged the FCC's net neutrality order and declaratory ruling reclassifying broadband as a Communications Act Title II telecom service.

Mission Broadcasting is withdrawing from its proposed $75 million purchase of WADL Mount Clemens, Michigan, according to documents obtained Wednesday by Communications Daily. The FCC approved the sale in April but with a host of conditions that would essentially prevent Nexstar from operating the station through a local marketing agreement, as had been planned. The FCC order “constitutes a law that prohibits the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the purchase agreement,” Mission said in a letter to WADL owner Adell Broadcasting. The order conditionally granting the sale said that if Mission didn’t accept the conditions, the matter would be designated for hearing. The transaction won’t be consummated, “thus obviating any basis for a hearing,” Mission told the FCC in a rejection of grant filing Wednesday. Broadcast attorneys have told us that they expect that the dissolution of the deal would lead to the FCC not moving forward with the hearing, but it’s not certain how the agency will proceed. Last year, a hearing on the Standard General/Tegna deal was terminated on the deal’s breakup. Attorneys have said that a hearing proceeding could be a threat to the licenses held by Mission and Nexstar. Adell Broadcasting CEO Kevin Adell told us he believes a hearing would have been a “dumb risk” for Mission and Nexstar and said he isn’t bothered by the deal’s dissolution. “It doesn’t matter to Kevin Adell,” he said. Adell said Nexstar still needs to find a home for the CW network in the Detroit market by the end of August, and that he believes his company could reach a deal with Nexstar to carry the network through a local marketing agreement. Adell had previously threatened to pursue legal action against Mission if the deal weren't consummated. He didn't comment Wednesday on whether he was still planning to pursue the matter in court. Nexstar and Mission didn’t immediately comment.