UScellular parent TDS is “excited” to start a “new chapter” in the company’s history with the sale of spectrum and other wireless assets to T-Mobile for $4.3 billion (see 2508010012), CEO Walter Carlson told analysts Monday. TDS expects the sale of other licenses to AT&T to close this year, while a deal with Verizon should close in 2026, Carlson added.
The TCB Council urged the FCC to proceed with caution on new rules for telecommunications certification bodies (TCBs) in response to a May NPRM that was part of the agency’s focus on “bad labs” (see 2505220056). Initial comments are due Sept. 3 in docket 24-136, but some parties are filing early.
A three-judge panel has rejected a California business's challenge related to the FCC's rules on over-the-air reception devices (OTARD). In a judgment Tuesday (docket 24-1108), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied Indian Peak Properties' petition for review. The judges said that while Indian Peak's briefing revolved substantially around the human presence requirement in the OTARD rules, it should have filed a petition for reconsideration challenging how the human-presence requirement was adopted before seeking judicial review.
The Hearing Loss Association of America and other groups representing deaf and hard-of-hearing people warned the FCC that a temporary waiver allowing use of the interim volume-control testing method for hearing-aid compatibility (HAC) compliance could create problems for some consumers. In filings last month, industry groups supported extending the waiver, while consumer groups said it should be renewed for not more than a year (see 2507210008).
A National Advertising Review Board panel agreed with the recommendation from the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division, which said T-Mobile should drop a claim that families who switch to the carrier can “save versus AT&T and Verizon’s comparable plans plus streaming,” as well as another similar claim. T-Mobile said it will comply with the decision. Verizon brought the challenge.
Apple and Meta Platforms asked the FCC to move forward on a new geofenced variable power device class with geofencing restrictions in the 6 GHz band. The geofenced devices would be able to operate at higher power levels than other very-low-power devices (see 2506160018).
The Rural Wireless Association, Communications Workers of America and public interest groups asked the FCC to consider AT&T’s proposed purchase of spectrum from UScellular in the context of the T-Mobile/UScellular deal. In addition, the groups said it would be “unlawful” for the AT&T transaction to be approved on delegated authority, as the T-Mobile deal was (see 2507310041). New America’s Open Technology Institute and the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society also signed the filing, posted Friday in docket 25-192.
The Ecommerce Innovation Alliance reported on meetings at the FCC about the group’s pursuit of a declaratory ruling that people who provide prior express written consent to receive text messages can't claim damages under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act for messages received outside the hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. (see 2503030036). The group is being represented on the issue by former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, who met with Commissioner Olivia Trusty and aides to Trusty and Chairman Brendan Carr, according to a filing Friday in docket 02-278.
The FCC should finalize rules clarifying the use of the citizens broadband radio service (CBRS) band, Federated Wireless urged in a filing posted Thursday in docket 17-258. “Immediate Commission action is needed to provide certainty and reassurance to the operators and investors who are actively driving growth and innovation in this critical shared spectrum band.”
The Environmental Health Trust (EHT) petitioned the FCC asking it to act on a 2021 remand from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit of the agency’s 2019 RF safety rules (see 2108130073). The petition was posted Thursday in docket 13-84.