The FCC Media Bureau will give more consideration in the future to waivers for stations that constructed permitted facilities on time but failed to meet license application deadlines, said a unanimous order from the full FCC Tuesday. The item had been listed on Thursday’s open meeting agenda as an adjudicatory matter, but the agency released a deletion notice Tuesday.
The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment Wednesday on AT&T’s proposed buy of 3.45 GHz licenses from UScellular. Because the acquisition would give AT&T more than 40 MHz of 3.45 GHz spectrum holdings in some markets, the company must seek a waiver under FCC rules, said a bureau notice. Petitions to deny are due April 25, oppositions May 12 and replies May 22, in docket 25-150.
The FCC Wireless Bureau has established the application process for parties seeking certification as a space launch frequency coordinator for the space launch service under the agency's Part 26 rules. In a public notice Tuesday in docket 24-687, the bureau said applicants will need to show they meet minimum qualifying criteria, including an ability to complete coordination using machine-to-machine interface with any NTIA automated coordination process. Separately, the bureau issued licensing and coordination procedures for the commercial space launch service (docket 13-115).
The FCC asked for comment by April 9 on an application by AM Communications Labs for authorization to obtain North American Numbering Plan phone numbers directly from the Numbering Administrator. The company is an interconnected VoIP provider and “indicates that it intends to initially request numbers in the States of Texas, Georgia, and Florida,” the Wireline Bureau said in a Tuesday notice. Comments should be filed in docket 24-628. The bureau also sought comment by April 9 in docket 24-135 on a similar application by Allo Communications, which plans to request numbers for Nebraska.
The FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program helped expand telehealth-based treatments related to the COVID-19 pandemic for health care providers, said a final report Tuesday on the program from the Wireline Bureau. The program operated from 2020 until 2023 and provided reimbursements to heath care providers to aid in the delivery of telehealth services to patients in their homes and mobile locations.
House Oversight Committee members in both parties appeared not to move from their existing positions on cutting federal CPB funding after a dramatic Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee hearing on perceived public broadcasting bias Wednesday (see 2503210040). GOP lawmakers appeared to still favor zeroing the money, with some telling us they want to push it through via a coming budget reconciliation package rather than wait for the FY 2026 appropriations process. Democrats backed maintaining the CPB appropriation and mocked Republicans for holding the hearing instead of probing perceived Trump administration abuses. CPB funding opponents got a boost when President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday afternoon that he “would love to” see Congress defund public broadcasters.
With SES and Intelsat hoping to close the former's purchase of the latter by June, the companies met with FCC Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz to discuss the deal's rationale and benefits. In a docket 24-267 filing Tuesday, they recapped a meeting with Schwarz where they said that building scale is necessary to compete in the satcom marketplace.
The Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division sided with Verizon against T-Mobile's challenge of advertising claims that Verizon made about its Frontline program for first responders. T-Mobile challenged two Verizon commercials, “asserting they misleadingly suggest Verizon is the only network that prioritizes first responders” and “argued that all three major carriers provide such services, including their own, which features advanced technology,” NAD said Tuesday. The decision found that Verizon’s claim that it offers a network “that truly prioritizes first responders” doesn’t “reasonably convey a message that Verizon Frontline is the exclusive network that prioritizes first responders while other networks do not.”
On the eve of a key U.S. Supreme Court case concerning the USF's future, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said questions remain about the program's survival. How USF is paid for has to change, Carr told a Free State Foundation conference Tuesday. He also said he supports President Donald Trump's dismissal of Democratic commissioners at the FTC.
Sinclair Executive Vice President and CFO Lucy Rutishauser will retire after her successor is named and transitions to the role; after retirement, Rutishauser is expected to remain as senior adviser … Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International names Nicole McGinnis, formerly FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, as chief counsel … Austin Bonner, ex-White House and FCC, returns to HWG as a partner in its telecommunications, issues and appeals, and AI and emerging technologies practice groups … Shane Portfolio, Congruex and formerly Comcast, joins Teleste’s advisory board … CoreWeave adds Jean English, ex-Juniper Networks, as chief marketing officer, new post ... Emergency response center data supplier Carbyne appoints Colby Proffitt, formerly Shift5, as chief marketing officer ... Space service company Spire Global names Alison Engel, formerly LeaseAccelerator, as CFO, replacing Thomas Krywe, interim CFO, who remains as executive adviser through April … Morgan Murphy Media promotes Brian Burns to president-CEO, replacing retiring Elizabeth Murphy Burns, who becomes board chair.