The United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry protested Talton’s failure to provide data the ministry needs to comment on a Talton petition seeking a waiver of the commission’s rules capping rates for audio and video for incarcerated people provided to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The FCC Wireline Bureau recently reopened the comment cycle on the petition, with initial comments now due Thursday (see 2504240026).
The FCC on Friday approved waivers for Ericsson and Samsung Electronics America to offer dual-band radios that operate across citizens broadband radio service and C-band spectrum. Samsung filed its waiver request last year, and Ericsson, which already had a waiver, sought a second that parallels Samsung's request (see 2303170044). NCTA and WISPA raised concerns, which the Wireless Bureau and the Office of Engineering and Technology addressed in the order.
The FCC sought comment Friday on eliminating 2,057 docketed proceedings as dormant. A sampling studied by Communications Daily found many smaller, limited dockets, often in which few, if any, filings had been made. The FCC said it closed almost 100 other dockets “administratively” in advance of the release. The notice from the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) isn’t tied to the ongoing “Delete” proceeding, the agency said. Comment deadlines will come in a Federal Register notice.
Parties interested in being the space launch frequency coordinator for the FCC's space launch service must divulge any interest they have in FCC licenses, including through subsidiaries or affiliates, said a Wireless Bureau notice for Friday's Federal Register. The bureau announced the mechanism and criteria for frequency coordinator selection, saying applicants must show they can get technical data from licensees and maintain a database of transmitter locations and operational parameters. They also must show knowledge of or experience with wireless telemetry and with space launch and aerospace transmissions. In a separate notice announcing the licensing and coordinating procedures for the space launch service, the bureau said space launch service licensees will have to register the fixed, base, itinerant and mobile stations needed for a launch in the FCC's universal licensing system under its nationwide, nonexclusive license. Launch service licensees can choose up to 5 MHz of their own bandwidth and can request more if they can show why it's needed.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau’s Region One office in Maryland sent a warning to a business in Worcester, Massachusetts, about pirate radio broadcasts emanating from its property, said an agency notice issued Thursday. EB agents from the New York office found unauthorized radio broadcasts coming from the property owned by Devaney Realty Holdings in July and December of last year, the notice said. The address, 60 Fremont St., appears to house a leather goods store and an auto repair shop, according to an online search. The notice warned that the landowners could face up to a $2.4 million penalty for hosting pirate broadcasts. The FCC’s authority to issue monetary forfeitures is currently facing legal challenges in multiple courts (see 2504180021).
Major communications trade groups filed a petition Thursday asking the FCC for a rulemaking on its enforcement procedures, especially in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 Jarkesy decision about whether federal regulatory agencies can bring in-house proceedings to enforce civil penalties. CTIA, the Competitive Carriers Association, NCTA, USTelecom and the Wireless Infrastructure Association filed the petition.
Sinclair's Tennis Channel names Jeff Blackburn, ex-Amazon, chairman and CEO, replacing Ken Solomon, who left last year … Television Bureau of Advertising President and CEO Steve Lanzano will retire at year’s end; a nationwide search for his replacement is underway … Rivada Space Networks appoints Mustafa Afifi as sales director-Middle East region.
The FCC Space Bureau signed off on a modification of Lynk Global's previous authorization, now allowing it to provide supplemental coverage from space service in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. In the approval Tuesday, the FCC gave the go-ahead to Lynk's use of Docomo Pacific's terrestrially licensed spectrum in the 845.1-845.3 MHz and 890.1-890.3 MHz bands. Lynk Chief Global Affairs Officer Amy Mehlman said the company is "taking great strides on our mission to connect everyone, everywhere, and this approval demonstrates our progress on our strategic roadmap, enabling Lynk and our trusted partner, Docomo, to provide services in parts of the country that are underserved or out of reach from conventional mobile networks.”
What will come out of the FCC’s “Delete” proceeding is hard to say at this point, since it builds on other FCC efforts to cut regulations, experts said during a webinar Wednesday by the Center for Business and Public Policy at Georgetown University. The FCC has logged more than 1,100 comments so far in docket 25-133, with replies due this week (see 2504290054 and 2504290038).
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr names Joseph Calascione, ex-Akin Gump and FCC, Wireline Bureau chief, replacing acting Chief Trent Harkrader ... Vonage promotes Seckin Arikan to COO; Christophe Van de Weyer, formerly Proximus Group, replaces him as president and head of business unit API … Changes at TowerCom: George Davis promoted to CEO; Matt Richard to CFO, replacing Dave Olson, a board member; Chip Bulloch to senior vice president-East, a new position; John Stevens, ex-Boingo Wireless, joins as regional vice president-West, replacing Chris Colton, deceased ... Correction: Trent Harkrader, who has stepped down as acting FCC Wireless Bureau chief, has been at the agency since 1999 (see 2504280019).