Kepler, a backer of SpaceX's call for a rulemaking to open the 1.6./2.4 GHz "Big LEO" band to more operators (see 2405130035), met with FCC Space Bureau staff to push for such a rulemaking, according to a filing Friday. The company said a rulemaking would be a venue for it and other interested parties to provide technical analyses showing the feasibility of sharing in the band.
The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment Friday on a GeoLinks request that it be allowed to give up some local multipoint distribution service (LMDS) licenses in return for others from the commission’s inventory. GeoLinks proposes to use federal funding to serve some 47,000 locations across Arizona, California and Nevada that now lack access to high-speed broadband. The request involves 51 LMDS licenses that GeoLinks holds -- nine A-block and 42 B-block. Under GeoLinks’ proposal, 32 of the licenses would be modified, and 19 relinquished. “GeoLinks’ current LMDS holdings and the Commission’s unassigned LMDS licenses in inventory are both geographically scattered across the country, which has given rise to a fragmented band map that is underdeveloped, difficult to fully utilize, and less attractive to potential market entrants,” GeoLinks said in a March filing. GeoLinks said it would give up more licenses, markets and MHz-POPs than it would receive but consolidate license blocks “gaining contiguous markets that will result in more efficient and economic deployment targeted to rural and underserved areas in GeoLinks’ core service areas.” Comments are due June 17, replies July 2, in docket 24-150.
AST SpaceMobile is pressing FCC commissioners for quick action as it seeks a U.S. license. The agency has an amendment from AST SpaceMobile seeking conversion of its pending U.S. market access petition to an application letting it launch and operate under U.S. jurisdiction. In FCC Space Bureau filings this week recapping meetings with aides to Commissioners Nathan Simington and Anna Gomez, AST said it needs quick action. That would then allow routine gateway operations with interference protections at sites where work is already underway. FCC approval also would enable AST to conduct continental U.S. testing once it successfully launches its Block 1 Bluebird satellites into their assigned orbits, it said.
House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee members questioned FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel Thursday on the commission's funding request for increased staffing across the agency and the affordable connectivity program. During the hearing on the FCC's FY 2025 budget proposal (see 2403110056), some legislators raised concerns about the FCC's work on combating illegal robocalls and its spectrum authority.
Ethan Lucarelli, 42, first chief of the FCC Office of International Affairs, died Monday of undisclosed causes. An Alexandria, Virginia, resident, Lucarelli joined the FCC in 2020, holding positions in the Wireless Bureau and chairwoman’s office before assuming his most recent position in 2023. Prior to the FCC, Lucarelli was director-regulatory and public policy at Inmarsat and an associate at Wiley. Since 2012, he was an adjunct lecturer at George Washington University Law School. Lucarelli was a key FCC official at the World Radiocommunication Conference last year in Dubai (see 2310270047). Lucarelli's death leaves the International Affairs Office even more shorthanded. Recently, Nese Guendelsberger, one of its deputy chiefs, was tapped in an acting capacity as an aide to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks (see 2404250030). “The FCC family is deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and friend, Ethan Lucarelli,” an FCC spokesperson wrote in an email: “Over his years in private practice and public service, Ethan earned a reputation for his intelligence, honesty, dependability, and sensitivity. … He was open-minded, sincere, and valued the opinions of those who worked with him.” The loss “will be felt by all of us at the Commission and around the world who had the pleasure of working with him.” Survivors include his wife, Victoria Correa; mother, Diane Eubanks; father, Joseph; and siblings, Matthew and Melissa. Visitation is scheduled for May 25, 2-5 p.m., at Elmwood Chapel, 11300 W. 97th Lane, St. John, Indiana. Donations are being accepted for a scholarship in his name benefiting George Washington University Law School students participating in moot court competitions.
The price of smartphones and TVs dropped notably in the U.S. between April 2023 and last month, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index unadjusted data released Wednesday. Smartphone prices were down 9.8% year over year, while TV prices fell 8.2%, it said. Computers, peripherals and smart home assistant prices dropped 1.6%, while the cost of wireless phone service was down 2.7%, it said. The cost of residential phone service rose 4.2%, while cable, satellite and livestreaming TV service costs were up 3.8% and internet service increased 4.9%. The cost of video purchase/subscription/rental rose 9%. BLS said April prices for all items were up 3.4% year over year before seasonal adjustment.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announces as co-leaders of new Spectrum Steering Team Susan Mort, deputy chief-Wireless Bureau, and Ira Keltz, deputy chief-Office of Engineering and Technology; OET Legal Adviser Krista Witanowski becomes chief of staff (see 2405140027) … Open Geospatial Consortium taps Peter Rabley, co-founder of the data trust nonprofit Place, as CEO ... FleishmanHillard rehires Scott Radcliffe from Apple as global director-cybersecurity; he previously served as FleishmanHillard’s senior global data privacy and security expert before leading Apple’s cybersecurity communications.
New America's Open Technology Institute is raising concerns about the FCC's broadband consumer labels (see 2404100076). In a meeting with Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau staff, OTI asked the FCC to issue best practices for formatting and clarify that ISPs "should not block automated collection and access of CSV files by means other than human directed web browser actions," according to an ex parte filing Tuesday in docket 22-2. The group also found instances of "label implementation that either undermined the purpose of the rule or raised other concerns." OTI said some labels couldn't be accessed without providing a service address. One provider's plan directed a user to a "pop-up with a large block of 'fine print' rather than the label" on its website, OTI said. It also noted some consumers shopping for services in person "may not be aware" they can ask for a broadband consumer label to compare plans.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on Tuesday announced the establishment of the Spectrum Steering Team that will lead FCC efforts “to develop and implement forward-looking spectrum policies” and oversee work on the national spectrum strategy (see 2404260050). Susan Mort, deputy chief of the Wireless Bureau, and Ira Keltz, deputy chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology, will co-lead the team. Krista Witanowski, OET legal adviser, will serve as chief of staff. The FCC said the team “brings together policy experts, economists, and engineers from across the Commission.” The Office of Economics and Analytics and Space Bureau are also involved. “Demand for spectrum is growing at a breakneck pace as wireless technology expands and transforms so much in our economy and modern life, so we need to get creative with spectrum policies,” Rosenworcel said.
A coalition of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) winners urged the FCC to grant a limited waiver of the program's rules concerning a letter of credit and relinquish census block groups in areas that have been or will be overbuilt by federal-funded broadband deployment projects. The coalition said in a meeting with Wireline Bureau staff that waiving the letter of credit rule to one year of support was needed because "unforeseeable cost increases place significant strains on RDOF winners to contribute huge amounts of additional funds for RDOF broadband deployments." The group also urged the commission to "promptly address" potential overbuilding "through its deconfliction process and allow RDOF funding recipients to return such areas ... without financial penalties."