The Congressional Review Act (CRA) doesn't let the Commerce Department unilaterally change BEAD's rules, as it did in its June 6 restructuring policy notice, without running it past Congress, the Government Accountability Office said Wednesday. But that decision may not ultimately change the course and momentum of the program, broadband policy experts said. NTIA didn't comment.

The FCC drew controversy Wednesday by removing a description of it as an “independent” U.S. agency from its online mission statement in the middle of a Senate Commerce Committee hearing where commission Chairman Brendan Carr faced questions on the agency's role under President Donald Trump. During the hearing, Carr sparred with sometimes-hostile panel Democrats on his media regulatory actions, including his mid-September threats against ABC and parent Disney, which were widely perceived as bringing about the network’s since-reversed decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air (see 2512170070).

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s appearance at a Wednesday Senate Commerce Committee hearing went largely as expected (see 2512160052), with the GOP official sparring with sometimes-hostile panel Democrats on his media regulatory actions since taking over as agency head in January. The FCC also drew controversy Wednesday when it scrubbed a description of the commission as an “independent” U.S. agency from a mission statement on its website during the hearing, where Carr faced pushback for saying the FCC “is not formally an independent agency” (see 2512170067).

Advocates of sharing in the citizens broadband radio service (CBRS) and 6 GHz bands remain concerned that parts of those bands could be reallocated for full-power licensed use, but decisions probably won’t be made for some time, Disruptive Analysis consultant Dean Bubley said Tuesday during a Broadband Breakfast webinar. Bubley and Dave Wright, policy director for Spectrum for the Future, said CBRS offers unique capabilities that many users want and that help the U.S. compete with China.

The FCC is expected to unanimously approve an order at its open meeting Thursday that would update a number of low-power TV and translator rules, industry and FCC officials told us. The final item is expected to change little from the draft version, which updates and clarifies agency policies on station relocation, channel sharing, alerting and other matters. “In light of changes within the broadcast industry and LPTV Service over the last forty years, we adopt changes to our rules to ensure that the LPTV Service continues to flourish and serve the public interest long into the future,” the draft says.

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C., confirmed after Tuesday's subpanel hearing that there's still no clear funding mechanism for proposed federal grants to pay for next-generation 911 technology upgrades. However, he said he's open to providing a smaller first tranche of money to states and localities while trying to establish a new cost estimate for the full buildout. Witnesses at the hearing praised the Hudson-led Next Generation 911 Act (HR-6505), as expected (see 2512150035), even though it doesn’t include a defined amount of NG911 funding. A previous iteration of the measure in the last Congress allocated $15 billion for the tech upgrades (see 2303240067)

Wireless industry groups and EchoStar suppliers are voicing some concerns and opposition to SpaceX's proposed purchase of EchoStar's AWS-4, AWS H-block and AWS-3 block licenses, according to FCC filings in docket 25-302 this week. EchoStar has struck spectrum rights deals with SpaceX and AT&T to end a pair of FCC investigations into its use of the 2 GHz band and the deadline extensions it received for its 5G network buildout (see 2505130003).

The Senate Commerce Committee’s FCC oversight hearing Wednesday remains likely to feature a heavy emphasis on examining commission Chairman Brendan Carr’s media regulatory actions, including his mid-September comments against ABC and parent Disney, which were widely perceived as inciting the network’s since-reversed decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air (see 2509220059). Carr threatened ABC in a podcast interview, saying the network should discipline Kimmel for comments about the reaction to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk (see 2509170064) or face FCC action.

California Public Utilities Commission Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth Fox is recommending that the CPUC approve Verizon's purchase of Frontier Communications, subject to an array of conditions, including state diversity, equity and inclusion requirements. The FCC signed off on the deal in May after Verizon committed to dropping DEI practices (see 505160024). FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has said the agency won't approve mergers at regulated entities that have "invidious" DEI practices (see 2502240073).

WISPA filed a letter at the FCC on Monday asking the agency not to move the citizens broadband radio service (CBRS) operations to another band or otherwise make major changes to the rules (see 2512050029). In other comments posted Monday in docket 17-258, wireless ISPs said they may be forced to shut down if the rules are changed.