T-Mobile defended its hiring practices in response to the Center for Accessible Technology's (CforAT) petition for the California Public Utilities Commission to reopen its docket on T-Mobile's 2020 acquisition of Sprint (see 2003110043). The company said in a filing posted Wednesday (docket A1807011) that the group's petition is "procedurally improper," and any compliance issues should be resolved through the CPUC's existing enforcement mechanisms. CforAT petitioned the CPUC in May, saying it "appears" that T-Mobile isn't complying with several "mandatory merger conditions" based on a March letter from the company to the FCC.
The California Public Utilities Commission will consider a resolution to approve four grants totaling nearly $200,000 to fund community technology programs. The digital divide grant program is funded by "an allocation of a percentage of revenues" generated from wireless telecom facilities on state-owned property. Commissioners will consider the awards during a meeting Sept. 18.
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
The FCC Media Bureau is seeking comment on channel substitutions for WLOV Licensee and One Ministries, said NPRMs in Tuesday's Daily Digest. One Ministries wants to switch the community of license for KQSL Fort Bragg, California, to Cloverdale, California, said an NPRM in docket 25-246. WLOV Licensee wants to change the channel of WLOV-TV West Point, Mississippi, from 16 to 26, according to an NPRM in docket 25-247.
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.
Supporters of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-979/S-315) are pressing for the House Commerce Committee and congressional leaders to prioritize the measure when lawmakers return from the August recess, given that they have repeatedly put it on the back burner in recent months. HR-979 and S-315, which the Senate Commerce Committee advanced in February (see 2502100072), would require the Department of Transportation to mandate that future automobiles include AM radio technology, mostly affecting electric vehicles. The bill’s supporters unsuccessfully tried to attach it to a December continuing resolution to extend federal appropriations (see Ref:2412180033]).
The decision Friday by public interest groups not to challenge the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ narrow decision overturning last year’s net neutrality order appeared to be based on a number of considerations, including avoiding a precedent that could prevent future FCC rules (see 2508080020). Friday was the deadline to file a petition for certiorari seeking U.S. Supreme Court review. Some lawyers saw the 6th Circuit’s decision as badly reasoned and susceptible to further review (see 2507160048).
Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will consider launching a rulemaking to update the California Teleconnect Fund (CTF), which offers schools, libraries, clinics and nonprofits a 50% discount on charges for advanced communication services. The CPUC will analyze who qualifies, what services should be covered, and whether the $5 million revenue cap for nonprofits should be raised. The cap was lowered from $50 million to $5 million in 2019, said a draft proposed decision. In addition, the CPUC is considering ways to improve how the program is run. The item would explore administrative updates such as how the program is implemented, monitored and evaluated. Comments are due within 30 days, with reply comments 15 days after that. It's not the first time the California Teleconnect Fund has been tweaked. Previously, voice services were dropped, eligibility for funding was revised, and mobile and satellite broadband were added, the draft item noted.
The Center for Accessible Technology (CforAT) asked the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to stay its proceeding on Verizon's acquisition of Frontier. The group asked in a motion filed Friday that scheduled hearings be taken off the commission's calendar so that there's enough time for discovery. A July 23 CPUC ruling ordered both companies to submit third supplemental testimony (see 2502200056). "The testimony from Joint Applicants is lengthy, and both Verizon and Frontier’s testimonies include extensive revisions of past statements of diversity commitments which are ambiguous, unsupported, or dubious," CforAT said: "Listing and detailing those flaws will be a lengthy and time-consuming process."