Big wireless carriers sounded the alarm about California considering a connections-based USF contribution mechanism. Some wireline companies and consumer advocates supported the change, in Monday comments at the California Public Utilities Commission. They highlighted ways to mitigate possible regressive impacts of moving from a revenue-based mechanism for California’s public purpose programs (PPPs). Oklahoma and Nebraska commissions may soon adopt state USF contribution changes, said agency officials in those states.
FCC action on Verizon’s proposed $7 billion buy of Tracfone likely isn’t imminent, industry and agency officials said. The FCC recently created a new docket on the deal, 21-112, following a recommendation by Public Knowledge, but that could mean further delays rather than a faster approval, officials said. The California Public Utilities Commission is also reviewing the transaction, and its work could push a decision into the fall. The deal was announced in September (see 2009140010).
LG’s inability to come up with a “differentiated offering” to retain or win market share led to its exit from the mobile phone space, Gartner analyst Anshul Gupta told us Monday, after LG said it was exiting the “incredibly competitive” mobile phone segment. Getting out of mobile business will allow LG to focus resources on other markets, including electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart home, robotics AI, business-to-business solutions and platforms and services, it said.
Google copying Oracle’s Java code for Android was fair use, the Supreme Court ruled 6-2 Monday, with Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissenting (see 2010290055). Justice Amy Coney Barrett didn’t participate.
Last week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of FCC media ownership deregulation isn’t likely to immediately increase station sales, broadcast brokers and analysts said in interviews (see 2104010067). “This ruling is a day late and a dollar short,” said radio broker Michael Bergner of Bergner and Co. “Anytime there is a relaxation of a regulatory barrier to [mergers and acquisitions], it will be helpful to activity,” said media broker Robert Heymann of Media Services Group, but “the practical impact will be minimal.” Some brokers said the unanimous decision could set the stage for looser regulations later, but most also said that’s unlikely to happen soon.
Some members of Congress are taking a tentative renewed look at legislation to reallocate proceeds from the FCC's recent auction of spectrum from the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band to pay for broadband, before Capitol Hill's debate over infrastructure spending. President Joe Biden proposes $2.3 trillion for infrastructure, including $100 billion for broadband (see 2103310064). Republicans criticized the administration for pursuing corporate tax increases to help pay for it.
Doreen Bogdan-Martin has a good chance of being elected secretary general of the ITU next year, experts said. The U.S. government signaled its support, including statements by Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. In 2018, Bogdan-Martin was elected director of the ITU Telecom Development Bureau, after a campaign led by Donald Trump administration officials including then-FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and then-NTIA Administrator David Redl. She won on the first ballot, with support from the Americas and parts of Europe and Africa (see 1811010052).
Providers would have to implement texting to the 988 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, space launches would get new spectrum, 911 outage reporting rules would be harmonized, and the 800 MHz rebanding would end, if all items on the agenda for the FCC commissioners' April 22 meeting are approved. Also on tap are an NPRM to revise technical rules for wireless microphones, an order to require disclosures for foreign-sponsored broadcast content, a public notice to cap applications at 10 for the upcoming noncommercial educational FM window, and an unspecified enforcement matter.
In a win for companies facing Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuits, a unanimous Supreme Court Thursday sided with Facebook, favoring a narrow definition of what constitutes an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) in Facebook v. Duguid. SCOTUS reversed and remanded an earlier decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said any device that stores and automatically dials telephone numbers can be considered an ATDS under TCPA.
SpaceX faces increased heat from rival non-geostationary orbit satellite operators for supposedly changing types of antennas used on its Starlink satellites without notifying the FCC. Such a change could open the door to fines or the agency ordering the satellites shut down, experts said in interviews.