FCC approval of terrestrial L-band use by Ligado will result in costs of tens of billions of dollars to GPS users, and lives lost from signal degradation or loss resulting in reduced position accuracy or false position information, DOD, Department of Transportation and Commerce officials told FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Mike O'Rielly, Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, recapped a docket 11-109 posting Monday. They said a conversation with Commissioner Brendan Carr is being scheduled. NTIA said DOD officials presented and discussed classified materials. DOT and Commerce said DOT GPS adjacent band compatibility test results clearly show an interference danger to GPS. They said a single 9.8 dBW transmitter on the National Mall in Washington showed widespread interference across a wide radius of downtown, and general aviation GPS would be affected as much as a kilometer away. They said helicopter terrain awareness and warning systems could be severely harmed. They argued for the 1 dB interference standard, which they said major GPS receiver makers support. They said Ligado's proposed spacing would mean transmitter power would have to be reduced by a factor of 10,000 to protect all existing receivers. The FCC didn't comment Tuesday.

Groups from the broadcast, MVPD, direct broadcast satellite and submarine cable industry disagreed how the FCC should calculate FY 2020 regulatory fees, in replies posted in docket 20-105 Tuesday. Don’t treat all satellite companies the same on fees, said Astranis and Myriota. “Large 'one-size-fits-all' satellite regulatory fees will limit the expansion of satellite-based Internet access to the most underserved areas of the United States,” said Astranis. Build a contingency in to prepare for agency changes to fees for non-U.S. satellite operators being knocked down in court, said Kineis. “Reject arguments that incorrectly assert that non-U.S.-licensed systems somehow derive materially less benefit from access to the U.S. market than U.S. licensees,” said SpaceX. “It is long past time for the Commission to complete its phase-in of the DBS regulatory fee,” filed America’s Communications Association and NCTA. The proposed unified seven-tier fee schedule would lead to “unreasonably large fee increases,” said AT&T. “Maintain the existing separate [international bearer circuit] fee categories.” Cut "the fees proposed for submarine cables across all tiers,” said CenturyLink. Submarine cable operators are “mistaken” that FCC use of capacity to allocate tiers is improper, CenturyLink added. The Submarine Cable Coalition disagreed, asking the agency to "reassess its methodology for apportioning regulatory fees to submarine cable providers.” Reject broadcaster proposals to assess regulatory fees based on FCC policy objectives such as propagating 5G, suggested CTIA. NAB called the FCC’s regulatory proposal “an abject failure” for not providing a rationale for fee increases, and for raising fees on radio broadcasters during the pandemic. “The Commission’s approach violates the law by not properly explaining the basis for the increases nor tying them to any discernible increase in the work performed on behalf of broadcasters,” NAB said.

Monday's Supreme Court decision on whether the president can fire the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director doesn’t have much bearing on the FCC, said attorneys and academics in interviews. Seila Law v. CFPB hinged on whether provisions protecting the CFPB director from removal were legal. The court struck down those rules in a 5-4 decision. Chief Justice John Roberts said protections against removal for agencies headed by multimember commissions or boards from both parties -- such as the FCC or FTC -- are distinct from protections for those headed by a single individual, such as the CFPB. That means the ruling is unlikely to have much application for the FCC or FTC, said University of Minnesota School of Journalism assistant professor-media law Christopher Terry and Andrew Schwartzman, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society senior counselor.

Petitions for reconsideration of the FCC C-band order (see 2005270031) got a flurry of amens and oppositions, in docket 18-122 postings Monday. Eutelsat said Intelsat's recon petition is an attempt to protect its tracking, telemetry and control while hurting terrestrial buildout, and delaying telemetry, tracking and control gateway earth station consolidation from December 2021 to December 2023 will limit the efficiency of the transition and otherwise delay provision of 5G services. It said the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization's recon petition is trying to impermissibly expand reimbursement costs beyond what's needed for the transition. Inmarsat and Hughes/EchoStar agreed with Eutelsat the FCC should clarify the order to make clear that reimbursements to C-Band operators are for only reasonable and necessary costs, and that satellites built using reimbursed funds are dedicated to serving the U.S. only in the band for the entirety of their useful lives. SES said Eutelsat's recon petition was "a transparent effort to undermine the transition" of SES and other eligible satellite operators as it tries to "graft new, arbitrary conditions onto the standards for reimbursement of relocation costs." Intelsat also opposed Eutelsat's petition and said requiring satellite operators to buy satellites with a C-band-only payload providing coverage solely to the contiguous U.S. would deviate from industry practice, introduce significant new cost burdens and inefficiencies and create inevitable delays. Intelsat said the FCC will have oversight of the relocation payment clearinghouse to prevent reimbursement of unnecessary costs. Boeing also opposed Eutelsat's recon petition. Some petitions, such as Charter's, reargue issues the C-band order fully addressed, while Intelsat's makes requests that would introduce uncertainty in the transition process, CTIA said, urging they all be denied. AT&T, also urging they all be rejected, said they improperly seek preemptive determinations on the reasonableness of specific transition reimbursement claims, which are decisions the FCC delegated to the clearinghouse. T-Mobile and Verizon also said they all should be denied. NCTA said Intelsat's recon petition raises valid red flags about out-of-band emissions and the FCC should clarify that new 3.7 GHz service licensees must protect incumbent earth stations from harmful interference and cooperate in good faith with earth station operators to remediate harmful interference. Also to be clarified are respective roles of 3.7 GHz service licensees and satellite operators in preventing and resolving harmful interference to earth stations from new 3.7 GHz service licensees during and after the transition period, the association said.

FCC employees will keep working remotely at least until the agency completes its move into its new headquarters near Union Station in Washington, with that switch finished by Aug. 27, said an agencywide staff memo Monday, the commission told us (see 2006290034). Whether the 1,800-some workers at the current HQ will report to the new building immediately after Aug. 27 hasn't been determined. Employees have begun signing up to move their personal effects out through Aug. 10. The agency then will move office equipment, furniture and cubicles Aug. 10-27. The FCC expects telework to remain an option at least through August's end, and it anticipates being more liberal in telework policies (see 2006040050).

The FCC is appealing a lower court's summary judgment against it in a fight over a Freedom of Information Act request to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (see 2005010056), said Friday's notice of appeal (in Pacer, docket 18-cv-08607). New York Times Co. sued after being denied its request for the IP addresses, user-agent headers and related time stamps of net neutrality proceeding comments filed in the FCC electronic comment filing system (see 1809200023). The company emailed it's "disappointed that the FCC continues its efforts to keep the public from knowing what really happened during the net neutrality debate. We look forward to defending the district court's careful and well-reasoned decision before the Second Circuit."

Verizon and CTIA asked the FCC to reconsider rules allowing unlicensed use of the 6 GHz band, in petitions posted Friday in docket 18-295. The rules approved 5-0 in April (see 2004230059) don’t allow power levels “sufficient to integrate wideband 6 GHz unlicensed operations into 5G systems,” Verizon said. Increase the maximum permitted effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) in 5.925-6.425 and 6.525-6.875 sections from 36 to 42 dBm, with maximum conducted power limit of 36 dBm, Verizon said. CTIA asked to reconsider not clearing and licensing part of the band. The U.S. "faces a growing mid-band deficit, even accounting for the 350 megahertz in the 3.5 GHz and 3.7 GHz bands to be auctioned this year,” CTIA said: “The Commission recognizes that there is an urgent need for additional licensed mid-band spectrum, yet inexplicably decided to give to unlicensed the full 1,200 megahertz in the 6 GHz band.” CTIA supported Verizon calls for higher power levels and for licensing part of the spectrum. The Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition sought changes on “two discrete issues" where the group believes the commission erred. “Codify an average activity factor of 0.4% for low-power indoor devices,” FWCC asked: “Mandate testing prior to the release of unlicensed devices, including low-power indoor devices, in the 6 GHz band” or “delay the effective date of the rules to permit more time for testing.”

The FCC is sending contradictory messages how it will calculate C-band earth station lump sums in the band's repurposing, saying the sums will be based on estimated average costs for relocation but also on the number or types of antennas or technology upgrades needed by each specific such station, said ACA Connects. The latter formula runs contrary to the C-band order, said a docket 18-122 posting Friday on a Wireless Bureau call. ACA said bureau assertions the payment clearinghouse will verify the need for a component part of an earth station operator’s lump sum election have no order basis. It said the FCC is proposing a lump sum amount available to MVPD earth station operators "significantly lower" than the group's estimates of $764,500 each. Cox told the bureau the order mandates lump sum amounts reflect average, estimated costs of relocating incumbent earth stations to the upper 200 MHz of the band. It said the modulation and encoding technology upgrades proposed in satellite operators’ plans are a direct result of the transition. Citing Intelsat's C-band order petition for reconsideration (see 2005270031), NAB said if the FCC decides satellite operators don't have responsibility for ensuring same-quality service to earth station users after the transition, it must clearly state flexible use operators must remediate any harmful interference. There can't be any ambiguity about that earth station operators and their viewers and listeners need protection through and after the move, the group said.

Rules required by the Traced Act to enhance penalties and allow extra time to pursue entities that violate robocall restrictions take effect July 27, says Friday's Federal Register. OMB approved information collection for an FCC rule on advanced methods to target and eliminate unlawful robocalls, says Friday's FR. OMB also approved a three-year information collection associated with rules for the Connect America Fund Phase II transition orders effective Friday, says that day's FR.

Telecom lawyer Ken Fellman said many localities are likely mulling supporting cites' case against the FCC June wireless infrastructure declaratory ruling as intervenors (see 2006240060).