DOJ is proposing eliminating 26 antitrust judgments entered by U.S. District courts in Washington and Alexandria, Virginia, as the first step to get rid of some of the 1,300 legacy antitrust judgments that contain no termination date (see 1804110056), the agency said Wednesday. Many "do little more than clog court dockets, create unnecessary uncertainty for businesses or ... actually elicit anticompetitive market conditions," said Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim. Justice said they generally date from the passage of the Sherman Act through the late 1970s, with the division in 1979 adopting the practice of including sunset provisions. The first judgments it proposes axing it posted on a DOJ website and the agency said it will take comments on those for 30 days. The agency said if after the comment period, it believes the termination is appropriate, it will file a motion with the appropriate court. The judgments DOJ is starting with include a 1957 order enjoining the National Audio-Visual Association from fixing or establishing prices and trade-in allowances for sale or rental of audio-visual equipment such as 16 mm film projectors and tape recorders.

What the FCC freeze on new or modifications of fixed satellite service licenses in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band (see 1804200003) could help open the door to is fixed wireless use of C-band, said Claude Aiken, Wireless ISP Association president.

Satellite company Globalstar and fiber company FiberLight -- both headed by the same person -- will combine in a $1.65 billion Globalstar stock deal, Globalstar said Wednesday. Globalstar CEO and Chairman Jay Monroe -- also founder and controlling shareholder of holding company Thermo Acquisitions, which includes FiberLight among its holdings -- said the deal combines "strategic assets that are critical" to next-generation networks. Thermo Cos. will be formed combining Globalstar with Thermo Acquisitions assets FiberLight, 15.5 million shares of CenturyLink common stock, $100 million in cash and minority investments and $25 million in other assets. Globalstar said the deal is expected to close in Q3 and has been OK'd by its board. It said Thermo Cos. revenue will come from sources including satellite and FiberLight operations and "leasing or other monetization" of spectrum. It said the combination will better enable it to monetize its 2.4 GHz of terrestrial spectrum and to take part in terrestrial deployments of its bands. Monroe would have 83 to 87 percent of the new company, up from 58 percent of Globalstar today. The deal requires approval by Globalstar and FiberLight lenders and by Globalstar shareholders, it said. FiberLight and Globalstar have FCC licenses, according to the commission. The agency didn't comment on a possible merger review. In an investor presentation filed with the SEC, Globalstar said a sister company under New Thermo, Global SpectrumCo., will focus on residential, industrial and enterprise offerings employing the S-band, and also look into 5G opportunities for its spectrum holdings in the L- and C-bands.

Commissioner Mike O'Rielly will support FCC orders to change the national TV ownership cap or alter the UHF discount, his office told us Wednesday. O'Rielly will vote in favor of any item supported by the record to change the cap, an aide said. Though broadcast attorneys and opponents of media consolidation had said O'Rielly might not support changes to the cap (see 1804240072), the aide said the FCC has the votes to alter the cap. Echoing the statement O'Rielly made before voting in support of the national cap NPRM, the aide said O'Rielly wants to vote for an item on the national cap and see it litigated in court (see 1712140054).

Staffer Sharon Stewart and the FCC continue settlement discussions on her hostile work environment lawsuit (see 1803260002) though they haven't reached a pact, the sides said in a docket 15-57 status report (in Pacer) filed Monday with U.S. District Court in Washington. A federal judge handling an unrelated discrimination complaint brought last year by a now-retired FCC employee gave that plaintiff, Alexander Chan, leave to file oppositions to the agency's motion to dismiss that claim. In his docket 17-921 oppositions (see here and here both in Pacer) filed last week in the court, Chan said that under the Civil Rights Act, he doesn't need to exhaust administrative remedies and thus it's irrelevant he didn't first file a formal complaint. Judge Timothy Kelly in March granted the commission's motion to dismiss, citing Chan not responding to the motion but declined to dismiss the claim with prejudice as the agency had sought.

NTIA said FirstNet Vice Chairman Jeff Johnson resigned from Sonim Technologies, a maker of rugged mobile phones and other "mission-critical smart phone based solutions" that last week named him to the board. "While he consulted with ethics officials before joining the board of Sonim, and received guidance on the proper recusals, Mr. Johnson determined that FirstNet’s mission would best be served by his resignation in order to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest," NTIA said through a spokeswoman Tuesday. A former fire chief, Johnson joined the Western Fire Chiefs Association in 2010 as CEO. Before he joined the board, Sonim and Johnson "extensively checked with the Department of Commerce legal staff to ensure both parties were clear of any conflicts of interest," and Commerce said it was OK, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday evening. "Last week, after we issued our press release, we were notified that the situation had changed since we talked to the Department of Commerce. It was clear to them that Sonim was the leader in the FirstNet handset space and as such given our trajectory, Jeff would need to resign from our board." Johnson didn't comment Tuesday.

Puerto Rico may risk additional USF funding for rebuilding communications infrastructure if the territory keeps diverting 911 fee revenue to unrelated purposes, FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said in a Tuesday letter to Gov. Ricardo Rosselló Nevares (New Progressive Party). The FCC is weighing sending more support to the hurricane-slammed territory (see 1804230065). “As a steward of such ratepayer collected funding, I would find it difficult to support such a move without strong assurances that Puerto Rico is prepared to put an end to fee diversion practices once and for all," O'Rielly said. "Without this guarantee, the Commission is putting precious USF support at risk for being wasted or diverted.” Puerto Rico, which prepared but failed to send information on time to the FCC about 2016 diversion due to “clerical error,” diverted $243,100 of the 911 revenue, Rosselló said in a March 7 letter to O’Rielly. Diversion was legal under Article 19 of Act No. 66-2014, which required all savings in areas including 911 fees must be transferred to the Workforce and Economic Development Promotion Fund under Puerto Rico Trade and Export Co., Rosselló said. To prevent future failures to file with the FCC, the Puerto Rico 911 Office will create a compliance guide for all state and federal request forms, he said. O’Rielly appreciates Puerto Rico eventually filing the information but said it’s “extremely disturbing” the territory diverted. “Of all places, I do not think I need to remind you how important 9-1-1 services can be during critical times,” O’Rielly wrote. “If a surplus of 9-1-1 fees is amassed and revenue is not needed for these purposes, fees should not be collected from the consumer, especially given the devastation and personal losses your residents have endured over the last year.” O’Rielly asked Rosselló for “any concrete plans” to end the fund movement: If it's required by law, “are you prepared to help take steps to amend this act to ensure that all savings should be returned to the ratepayer or invested in network upgrades rather than diverted to a separate fund?” O’Rielly asked if Rosselló alternatively has authority to bypass the law’s diverting requirements. Hurricanes Irma and Maria last year tested Puerto Rico 911 systems and showed need for upgrades (see 1801030008).

A South Dakota tribe alleged Chairman Ajit Pai has a conflict of interest, as it sued the FCC on behalf of itself and about 565 other federally recognized tribes in a challenge of a March 22 3-2 wireless infrastructure order. The FCC said small-cells deployment isn't a “federal undertaking” within the National Historic Preservation Act or a “major federal action” under the National Environmental Policy Act, and applicants “have no legal obligation to pay upfront fees” when seeking tribal review (see 1803220027). In a Monday complaint at U.S. District Court in Aberdeen, South Dakota, the Crow Creek Sioux tribe said FCC actions “negatively affected and damaged the Plaintiff Tribe's culturally significant sites.” It said the “arbitrary and capricious” order in docket 17-79 violated the Constitution's Fifth and 14th amendments, the Telecom Act, federal environmental and historic preservation laws, contract law and “rules prohibiting conflict of interest laws by a federal employee, specifically Chairman Pai.” Pai was associate general counsel of Verizon, which benefits from the order and had comments cited 53 times in the order, Crow Creek said. “The Federal Defendant's mission statement does not indicate the [FCC] will cater and serve the needs of the wireless industry, nor fleece the staff of the FCC with industry shills,” the tribe said. “Pai has a clear conflict of interest and is working for the wireless industry, instead of leading an impartial agency.” Commissioners’ “belief that their numerous meetings with the tribes throughout the United States relieve them of their trust responsibility to federally recognized Indian tribes is misplaced as absolutely none of the concerns” were included in the order, Crow Creek said. The FCC inappropriately changed policy when it decided tribes can’t review small-cell deployment nor charge upfront fees, Crow Creek said. The fees, ranging from $200 to $1,500, pay for “archeological surveys, site documentation, maps and NEPA review documents,” it said. Companies lack necessary cultural knowledge, and inflated cost estimates of the review process, the tribe said: "No true cost-benefit analysis has been completed by an independent party." The FCC lacks authority to redefine an undertaking that would trigger the Section 106 process, the tribe said. Crow Creek noted that many of the wireless sites where additional facilities will be deployed are "twilight towers" not reviewed and erected from 1992 to 2005 against federal law. The agency declined comment Tuesday.

Sinclair is filing a new amendment to its application to purchase Tribune and Tuesday announced plans to divest 23 stations in 18 markets to Standard Media, Howard Stirk Holdings, Meredith Corp. and Cunningham Broadcasting, along with “another party to be announced.” Sinclair would hold on to WPIX-TV New York but will divest additional stations in Denver, Sacramento, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston and Miami, said a memo sent to employees Tuesday by Tribune CEO Peter Kern. The amendments weren't yet available on the FCC database. “While we continue to believe that we had a strong and supportable rationale for not having to divest stations, we are happy to announce this significant step forward in our plan,” said Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley in its release. “The actions outlined in today’s filing are designed to bring our proposed merger into compliance with the FCC’s broadcast ownership rules and pave the way for regulatory approval,” Kern said. Although opponents have faulted Sinclair for failure to specify divestiture plans, Tuesday’s release lays out specific buyers for most of the divested stations. Standard Media will purchase nine, Howard Stirk the three that will be run by Sinclair through joint sales agreements, Meredith and WGN-TV will purchase one each, and Cunningham two. Standard is purchasing its nine stations for $441 million, said an emailed release, while Meredith said it was purchasing KPLR-TV St. Louis for $65 million. Sinclair identifies seven stations as being sold to sellers that haven’t been determined. Broadcast attorneys speculate Sinclair might seek to close its deal quickly after oral argument in FCC defense of the restoration of the UHF discount appeared to go against the agency (see 1804240072). It’s expected that if the FCC approves of Sinclair’s modifications, the amended application will be issued for comment, industry officials told us. Sinclair and the FCC declined to comment.

The FCC will host a daylong workshop on supplier diversity June 4, said a public notice from the Media Bureau and the Office of Communications Business Opportunities. It is part of the efforts by the Diversity and Digital Empowerment Committee to increase diversity in the communications industry and is intended to aid “small, minority-owned, women-owned and other diverse businesses,” the PN said. The event “will teach small business entrepreneurs how to navigate corporate supplier diversity programs; identify successful strategies used by diverse entrepreneurs who do business with corporate entities; and enable one-on-one networking between participating firms and workshop participants,” the PN said. The gathering will include presentations and “one-on-one consulting” from representatives of numerous areas of the industry, including voice, ISPs, broadcasters and tech companies, the PN said. Register by calling 202-418-0990 or emailing supplierdiversityworkshop@fcc.gov. For one-on-one networking sessions, company and vendor profiles are due May 18.